SCIFI.COM | Farscape: Journey Logs

I had high hopes when we arrived at the planet Kanvia. Its dense nelvastatic atmosphere would hide us from the scans of Talyn's as-yet unknown attackers, and Chromextin — a stimulant we needed to heal Talyn — was available on the planet's surface. Moya sustained her offspring through transfusion while D'Argo, Chiana, and Rygel went to purchase the Chromextin.

My hopes dimmed after D'Argo and Chiana got into a brawl with Rinic Tolven, the planet's powerful security director, who immediately blocked the Chromextin sale. Still, our side possessed a skilled negotiator. I was optimistic that Rygel could persuade Kanvia's sovereign, Rinic Pralanoth — Tolven's father — of our honest and peaceful need for Chromextin.

As we waited for the outcome of Rygel's meeting, Crais finally awoke and provided some grim inforamtion. Talyn had been attacked by four Prowlers and a Peacekeeper Vigilante ship, armed with an Immobilizer Pulse. It injured Talyn so severely that the young Leviathan barely managed to Starburst and escape.

Aeryn recognized that Talyn's attackers were an elite Peacekeeper Retrieval Squad, sent to recapture the gunship. They would not stop until Talyn was theirs — and if they captured Moya, they would not hesitate to use her to coerce Talyn's surrender. It was dangerous for the two Leviathans to remain together, but for the moment, we had no choice.

Speeding Talyn's recovery with Chromextin was now critical. But we realized Rygel's negotiating skills had failed when we saw a salvo of concussion missiles launched at us from the planet. The distrustful Pralanoth had authorized Tolven to attack us. Since we dared not break orbit for fear of the nearby Retrieval Squad, Crichton — both of them, actually — urged us to fly lower and target Kanvia's government house with Talyn's inoperative gun.

To distinguish between our two identical Crichtons, at Officer Sun's suggestion one was given a green shirt while the other remained in his original black garments. This proved helpful, as they both drove us all mad with their senseless bickering over who was the original — particularly when they completed each other's sentences ad nauseam.

The Crichtons' bluff worked, and Pralanoth agreed to re-open negotiations. This time Crichton[Black] met with him, insisting that we posed no threat. Pralanoth believed this only after subjecting Crichton[Black] to the dangerous mind scan of a strannat — a creature capable of sensing lies ... and killing the liar.

I was relieved when Pralanoth approved the sale, but naturally my renewed optimism was premature. Rinic Sarova, Tolven's sister, demanded a secret meeting with Crichton[Black]. She began to explain that Tolven would block the Chromextin shipments as a political maneuver — when suddenly, a bomb tore apart the room, leaving her and Crichton[Black] seriously injured.

D'Argo, Chiana, and Rygel brought Crichton[Black] back to Moya, where he might have died of blood loss had there not been a perfectly matched donor on board. I suspected at that moment that the two Crichtons had finally begun to see that their situation was not without its benefits.

There was an immediate benefit for us, as well. Pralanoth had cut off our Chromextin shipment because he suspected Crichton[Black] had been present at, and responsible for, the bombing that injured his sister. The sovereign was thus mystified when an uninjured Crichton[Green] testified truthfully, under the watchful senses of the strannat, that he was uninvolved. Once again Pralanoth approved the Chromextin delivery, and at last Rygel and Chiana began administering the stimulant to Talyn.

To our horror, the wounded Leviathan's condition drastically worsened. The Chromextin was poisoned.

Crichton[Black] blamed the Retrieval Squad; Crichton[Green] blamed Tolven. Regardless, we had enemies on either side: the Peacekeepers above us and Kanvia with its missiles below. Unless we could somehow make Talyn well enough to Starburst, we were trapped....