STARK
While Crichton was imprisoned on Scorpius's Gammak Base, he shared a cell with Stark, who described himself as a member of the Banik slave race. ![[ STARK ]](images/stark_main.gif) Crichton at first thought Stark was insane, a victim of too many trips to Scorpius's mind-probing Aurora Chair. But it was revealed that Stark's insanity was — mostly — an act, a way of protecting his secrets until he was certain Crichton could be trusted.
Stark wore a mask over half his face. Crichton assumed Stark was deformed in some way, until Stark removed the mask to reveal a surface as smooth and featureless as still water — a surface that glowed, rippled, and radiated an energy that eased first Crichton's pain, then Gilina's. When Crichton asked what Stark had done, Stark merely stated he was "able to give a few thoughts, that's all." This ability stemmed from Stark's status as one of the Stykera, a group with great mystical powers.
This strange and wondrous being escaped the Gammak Base with Crichton, then vanished for a time. Eventually, he reappeared, only to be sentenced by the Plokavians to death by dispersal. But dispersal doesn't kill a being like Stark, and so he returned to Moya once more, this time bearing the blueprints — literally — for an audacious plan to rescue D'Argo's son, Jothee. During that adventure, Stark and Zhaan grew close and shared a deep, spiritual bond. When, half a cycle later, Zhaan gave her life to save the crew, Stark mournfully called upon his Stykera powers to guide the noble Delvian priestess' passage into death.
During a period aboard Talyn, Stark commandeered the young gunship briefly, developed a fascination with Aeryn, and eased the death of one of the twinned Crichtons — all while being forced to share cramped quarters with Rygel. But in the cycle that followed the death of his beloved Zhaan, Stark claimed to hear her voice. On the mystical planet Valldon, Stark finally disappeared to search for her. Maybe his is a profound quest ... maybe it is a mad folly, the product of an inconsolable grief. Knowing Stark, it likely is a combination of both.
JOURNEY LOG REFERENCES
The Hidden Memory
Picture If You Will
The Ugly Truth
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 1: A Not So Simple Plan
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 2: With Friends Like These
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 3: Plan B
...Different Destinations
Meltdown
The Choice
STARBURST TO ANY LIFEFORM
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