"Home on the Remains" The Human, the Sebacean, the Luxan, the Hynerian and the Nebari all must consume food and water orally to survive. Without it, they become weak, and they complain, their demeanor becoming cranky and unpleasant. The Hynerian, being perpetually cranky and unpleasant, became even more so recently when the crew's store of rations dwindled, grew scarce, and ultimately disappeared. But perhaps the strangest response to the food shortage was the Delvian one. Zhaan's body, having gone too long without sustenance, entered a state of metamorphosis, and her plant-lifeform began to flower. Zhaan informed us that if she was not fed meat quite soon, her body would completely change and the budding process would kill her. To further complicate matters, the Delvian buds caused physical reactions in Crichton, D'Argo, Chiana and Rygel, causing them to have difficulty breathing and to make a series of strange hacking sounds whenever they were in Zhaan's presence. Fortunately, Moya encountered in space the carcass of a Budong, inside which a mining colony lived and worked. Among the residents of the carcass were some old friends of Chiana's ... or, to be more correct, old enemies. Still, with Zhaan dying and no time to nurse old grudges, Chiana brought Crichton, D'Argo and Rygel over to the carcass in an effort to procure meat for Zhaan. Aeryn remained with me aboard Moya, but Zhaan began budding more and more. Aeryn thought that perhaps the Delvian would benefit from strong light, knowing that plants photosynthesize light into energy. However, the effect of the light caused the near-starving Zhaan to release a spray of spores into Moya's environment. These airborne spores caused an allergic reaction in Aeryn, and, even more seriously, began to cloud Moya's systems, preventing her from functioning properly. The spores grew denser in the air and Moya began to malfunction at an accelerated rate. Despite her own, debilitating physical reaction to the spores, Aeryn tried to help Moya, but there was little she could do. The only way to save Moya was to clear the ship of all the spores, which would require depressurizing the ship. Aeryn would remain in my chamber which would maintain the life-support necessary for her to survive during the purge ... but Zhaan was nowhere to be found and Moya was suffering. Aeryn tried to find Zhaan and bring her to safety before the purge, but time was running out. I needed to release the spores into space and save Moya — even if it meant killing Zhaan in the process.... John Brumpton  . . . . . .  B'Soog Justine Saunders  . . . . . .  Altana Rob Carlton  . . . . . .  Vija Hunter Perske  . . . . . .  Temmon Gavin Robins  . . . . . .  Keedva Writers  . . . . . .  Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr. Director  . . . . . .  Rowan Woods << Previous Log Next Log >>