SCIFI.COM | Farscape: Journey Logs

After the death of Officer Sun (see "Die Me, Dichotomy"), a dark cloud hung over us all. With Crichton still in surgery and each member of Moya's crew quietly deliberating over what his or her next move would be, it was a strange time for Moya and myself. We had given Aeryn's body to Grunchlk to preserve until we were able to give her a proper Peacekeeper burial in space.

We were shocked and forced to pull together when Rygel returned to the Diagnosan's lab and found Tocot unconscious — and Crichton on the operating table, unable to speak. Rygel summoned the rest of us to relay the news, and immediately Zhaan and the others insisted upon going to help.

D'Argo, Zhaan and Stark arrived at the Diagnosan's laboratory to find Grunchlk wounded. He informed them that Scorpius had come, retrieved the wormhole technology from Crichton's brain, and had left hours earlier.

We were suspicious; there was nothing on Moya's sensors to suggest that Scorpius' Command Carrier was in the area. When Crais and Talyn arrived, they confirmed that Talyn's sensors also detected no sign of Scorpius or his vessel.

After helping Tocot regain consciousness, Zhaan joined in Unity with Crichton and discovered that the Scorpius Neural Clone still had a presence in Crichton's brain, despite the fact that the neurochip and all its tendrils were gone. Thinking that the merciful thing to do would be to help Crichton cross over to death — to free him from Scorpius once and for all — Zhaan tried to end Crichton's life. And, while I do trust the instincts of Pa'u Zhaan, in this case, I am thankful that D'Argo did not let her go through with it.

Zhaan and Grunchlk continued to press for a merciful death for Crichton. D'Argo, unable to listen to their entreaties any longer, sent them from the operating room and implored the Diagnosan to restore Crichton's powers of speech.

While exiled from Crichton's side, Zhaan and Stark explored the facility and found the body of Officer Sun suspended in one of the cryopods. Zhaan noticed that Aeryn's vital signs suggested that she was frozen while still barely alive — possibly because Grunchlk had preserved her as a source of spare parts (and future revenue). Zhaan also sensed that Aeryn's spirit was not truly gone, that the preservation of her body had left her trapped between life and death. Believing she could use her own life-force to save Aeryn, Zhaan sought to join with her in Unity. When Stark tried to stop her, Zhaan rendered him unconscious.

Meanwhile, the Diagnosan restored Crichton's powers of speech, and Crichton and D'Argo waited in the operating room for Zhaan and Stark to return so they could all travel together back to Moya.

They did not wait long. When Zhaan and Stark didn't respond to their comms, Crichton and D'Argo went after them — but when they opened the door to the laboratory, they were greeted by a Scarran. Crichton and D'Argo fled outside, hoping the bitterly cold weather and heavy snowfall would slow the Scarran and give them a chance to escape.

While D'Argo and Crichton fled from the Scarran, Zhaan entered into Unity with Aeryn, who was farther gone than Zhaan had thought. Bringing her back to life would be costly to the Delvian priestess. Still, Zhaan tried, struggling to convince Aeryn's spirit to accept her gift of life-force and return to the people who love her.

As Crichton and D'argo ran from the murderous Scarran and Zhaan prepared to rescue Aeryn from the abyss of death, we seemed on the verge of losing everything — and we still had no idea where Scorpius was, or when he might return to destroy us all....