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It was hard to implement a strategy when you did not know what you were fighting. It put everyone on edge and yet there was also a deep calm permeating Moya that reassured them that this was the right thing to do. Crichton wanted desperately to talk to Aeryn but was not sure what to say. How to put into words a plethora of feelings and emotions that defied any dictionary. He was in the apothecary with Zhaan, watching her calmly measure out her herbs by eye and then gently but effectively pummel the tiny seeds into a powder that she then mixed with other herbs and flower essences to produce a variety of useful preparations. He was quiet so long that Zhaan raised her head, her gentle eyes looking deep into his blue ones. His eyes seeming to reflect almost the hue of her skin. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong exactly, Zhaan," He drawled softly.

Zhaan knew who he was thinking about. "Speak to her, John."

"And say what?"

Zhaan finished measuring some concentrated drops into a little glass jar and shook in some powdered seeds turning the liquid from a murky orange to a bright vibrant yellow. She swirled the mixture as she spoke, watching the yellow deepen. "Whatever it is you want Aeryn to know. You may be pleasantly surprised."

Her words made him frown, a suspicion forming in his mind. "Have you two been talking?"

"No, but I do know that she loves you."

"Aeryn said that?"

She smiled at his surprise. "Aeryn didn't have to, John. We've all known it for monens."

He was not sure whether he should be relieved or not. She watched his face, such a sensitive face for an alien. It always amazed her that the human could have so many subtle depths. "You know Zhaan, I never told you about Stark."

"There is nothing to tell."

His eyes widened. "Yeah but you don't know about..."

"You merging? Exchanging love?"

Crichton looked so stunned that she laughed gently then put down her jar and seeds. Zhaan cradled his cheek in one beringed hand, her look so gentle that he fell in love with her all over again. No wonder Stark adored her. "Did you think I would not know, John Crichton?"

"And you're not mad at me?"

Her thumb gently caressed his cheek, her eyes bright and amused as she watched his reaction. "You humans are so strange. You say you love but you give it boundaries. Confine your excesses to a narrow path then wonder at the stress that ensues. In our culture, among my people, love is not the single expansion of the heart that it is for you. It touches all, encompasses all, seeks to isolate nothing. Human love is so possessive. Perhaps that is why humans and Sebaceans are so closely matched."

"What, because we're both jealous as hell of losing our partners?"

She smiled then rested her forehead against his. Her gentle eyes taking him in, drinking in the gentleness of this alien. Triggering Unity before he could say another word, his body juddering in a prolonged shudder as every sense was filled with a wave of erotica and bathed in love. For one incredible, drawn out microt that seemed to last forever and no time at all. As the wave passed he remembered to breathe. Every time they shared Unity the wave got stronger. He looked at her with a mix of wonder and surprise. "Why did you do that?"

She smiled and kissed him then leaned back, a mischievous smile hovering on her lips. "Because I wanted to. Now go. Find Aeryn and let me get on with my work."

He smiled, leaned towards her and kissed her back. His lips lingering a little, her fragrance as dear to him as the scent of flowers back home. "Thanks." He whispered softly.

Zhaan watched him go, shook her head gently, then got back to work.

* * * * *

Chiana was sleeping in their bed, Rion cradled in her arms. D'Argo sat next to her and watched them, his hearts so full of love it left him weak. No one in the history of the Uncharted Territories had ever been happier than he was right now. He gently brushed a hand through the shock of white hair, smiled at the pixie like white face so innocent in slumber. Kissed her forehead then looked down at their sleeping child. Wonder stirred in his hearts. His eye followed the immature tenkas framing the infant's white face. Longed to see his blue eyes open and capture his gaze but was unwilling to wake him. After all Rion had been through he deserved his rest.

He considered leaving them to sleep but knew he would just be wandering around Moya's tiers waiting for them to wake. The thought made him smile. Carefully he rested his qualta blade against a wall then went round to the other side of the bed and lay beside Chiana. He would watch over them while they slept and pass the time reminding himself how fortunate and blessed he was. D'Argo had every intention of staying awake but the measured sound of Chiana's breathing and the warmth and pleasure of being the one place he most wanted to be had a sophomoric effect on him. He yawned and closed his eyes. He would just rest them for a microt. Soft snores soon replaced his yawns and for a while nothing else stirred.

The baby was dreaming. Every image so filled with vibrant colours that he felt he could reach out and touch them. Fashion their form with his tiny hands. His mind reached out and touched Crichton, aware that the human was awake and thinking of Aeryn. Then his thoughts drifted and touched Chiana, briefly merging with her mind and sharing a link of love so strong that it almost woke him. He became aware of a deeper love, more masculine and very definite in its' intention. It was his father D'Argo. The baby smiled, happy, content. In a state of bliss.

* * * * *

Crichton found Aeryn Sun on the Terrace. He stood for a few microts watching her as she stood staring out at the stars. He was just about to join her when she spoke. "If you're coming in come in."

He smiled, his good nature to the fore. He walked over to her and stood as close as he could without actually touching. "I've been looking for you, Aeryn."

She did not turn her head even though she could feel his warm breath stir against her bare shoulder. Her leather vest would certainly never keep out the cold but she was warm where she had been working out in the gym, and now she was cooling off here on the Terrace. Drinking in the silence and beauty of this place. "You've found me." She answered.

He moved slightly, just enough so that their shoulders gently touched. Aeryn did not move away. So far so good. "A penny for your thoughts?"

She frowned slightly. "You are most odd."

He smiled. "So you keep telling me, Sunshine."

He longed to kiss her but did not dare. Not yet. Sharing any kind of intimacy with Aeryn Sun was an action fraught with difficulty. Timing was everything. One hasty move could break the spell building between them and pull this house of straw down on top of their heads. Back to square one. He did not want to lose any of the ground he had already won. He could be patient. He had too much at stake to be otherwise. Then to his surprise Aeryn turned her head, looked him in the eye and dazzled him with a smile. His breath caught, her radiant beauty sending him into freefall.

Aeryn looked amused, loved his reaction. She leaned in to him and captured his startled lips with her own, gently teasing him until he started to respond. Like a man waking from a dream.

"Aeryn, are you sure?" He whispered, his breath stirring in her warm mouth.

She did not miss the ache in his voice. The barely surpressed longing. It did crazy things to her heart. By way of reply she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him again, her tongue sliding between his slack lips, her body conforming to his as if the two had been made to go together.

As the kiss deepened she felt him suddenly stiffen. His shudder setting off alarm bells. Aeryn pulled away swiftly, in time to see the colour leaving his face, pain twisting his features in silent agony as he dropped to his knees. Aeryn hunkered down and looked anxiously into his face. "John! John! What is it? What the frell is wrong?"

* * * * *

Scorpius smiled disingenuously. It sent little ripples down Lt Braca's spine but it was also intoxicating, like the addiction to the thrill of the rollercoaster. The proximity of power drew him just as the fear that co-mingled with that power held him in place. Scorpius knew the Sebacean would do anything he wanted. Right now they were speeding to the co-ordinates as fast his command carrier could go while waiting for the final calculations that would enable them to go to starburst.

The crystal had been activated. The countdown begun. The crew of Moya would soon be too distracted to realise the danger until it was upon them. His smile widened. Anticipation sharpening his appetite.

* * * * *

It was not D'Argo's snores that woke him. Some instinct set off an alarm that brought him quickly out of his sleep cycle. The baby opened his eyes but made no sound. He was thinking, stretching his senses in an effort to discover what was wrong. His mind reached out and touched his mother, smiled at her as she slept. He touched his father but D'Argo was likewise lost in slumber. He reached further afield and recoiled suddenly as he touched Crichton's mind, a shock of fear almost making him cry out. It took a few microts to calm down the wayward beating of his hearts. Rion closed his eyes and opened himself up fully as a sliver of ice touched him deep inside and a mocking voice echoed in his brain. Not looking for him but for Crichton. You will be mine. You know it, know that I will never let you go until I have the wormhole technology. You cannot resist me. There is no escape

Rion felt the pain in the human, knew his nemesis Scorpius was responsible. Tried to reach out to soothe Crichton's pain, the grip of agony on his mind robbing him of function. The human was close to passing out. He sensed that he was not alone, Aeryn was with him. Vaguely he felt a gentle response from Crichton. Rion, what's happening?

Scorpius

H....how?

Yes. How? Rion searched via Crichton's connection, a detective looking for clues. Nothing. Then he felt demonic laughter in his own head, a sick dread spreading as it grew and grew and gradually stepped out of the deepest shadows of his mind and took over all the imagery in his brain. Mentally he recoiled at the piece of Scorpius that had linked with Crichton through him.

Horror interrupted the regular beats of his hearts, almost knocking them out of sync. The baby tried to trace how it could have happened. Painstakingly ignorning the taunting pain that was the clone's gift and gradually finding the subtle pathways that led him to his father. D'Argo was in a deep sleep, his mind was malleable in this state. Carefully Rion flowed into his subconscious, searched through his memory centre and worked out from there until he found it. Such a tiny thing, so well masked that no scan would ever find it. The little crystal radiating a faint neural pulse. Somehow this crystal had fractured infecting both himself and Crichton with echoes of the original neural clone. Not enough to be noticable to the unsuspecting hosts but enough to send back a trace to the originator.

Rion's little hearts froze. The evil echoing in his own mind telling him that they had very little time. Crichton had so little time. He flowed swiftly along the connection to Crichton but he had passed out. Zhaan was with him now, he could feel the Delvian's concern and knew she would be most sensitive to him so touched her mind as strongly as he dared, not wanting the others to know.

Her eyes widened. Aeryn noticed, her thoughts only on Crichton. "Zhaan, what is it? What's wrong? What is happening to John?"

Zhaan heard Rion beg her to say nothing, to just listen. She inclined her head slowly, not wanting to alarm Aeryn but also wanting Rion to know she heard him and would do as he asked. Yes, Rion, I hear you. What is it?

I know what is wrong with John. You must tell Moya to starburst immediately. Scorpius is coming

Scorpius? How do you know?

No time to explain. We must act quickly or he will capture John and we all know what will happen then

The link disolved and Zhaan looked at Aeryn. "Scorpius."

That one word caught Aeryn's heart and expunged all the breath from it. Shock, pain and anger vied with each other for possession of her soul. She wanted to ask Zhaan how she knew, what they could do, but she was unable to speak. Zhaan gently touched Crichton's face and said a brief prayer to Kah'leen and got to her feet leaving him lying on the floor. Aeryn felt the breath pump painfully back into her lungs as if suddenly freed from a vice. "What are you doing? We have to get John to the apothecary. Help me."

Zhaan shook her head. "No, Aeryn. Stay with him here. I have to go to Pilot."

Then the Delvian was hurrying out of the Terrace leaving a distraught Aeryn kneeling beside Crichton, hardly able to hold back the walls of panic that threatened to crush her for love of him.

Zhaan hurried, speaking to Pilot as she lengthened her strides. Half walking, half running. "Pilot!"

"Yes, Zhaan."

"Please ask Moya to go to immediate starburst!"

"Is something wrong?"

"Just do it! I am on my way and will explain when I see you."

A pause then Pilot's voice responded, tinged with concern. "Prepare for starburst!"

Zhaan stopped walking and braced herself as the leviathan did as she asked.

* * * * *

Rion was inside Crichton's mind now. Trying to mitigate what Scorpius had done. He had already done what he could to disable the piece of crystal lodged in his father's brain. It had weakened him only a little. The manipulation of his mind had been second nature once he saw the threat. It was harder with Crichton because he was not looking for a physical object but the neural afterimage. He delved deeper and deeper, the human's pain and pinsharp memories affecting him. He paused and blocked himself as much as he could from drowning in the strength of his emotions and continued. When he found it he made quick work of erasing the link then gently tried to soothe the passage he had taken, to ease the pain of one he loved so much. A man he saw as a father in a similar way to D'Argo. His link to Crichton was all emotion while his link to D'Argo was all physical. Between them and Chiana he had been formed, born into this world of constant changes.

It took him no time at all to realise what he must do. Like someone erasing their tracks as they walked along so that no one could follow he had one more set of tracks to erase. His own. He knew if he woke his father or mother they would panic, they would not do as he asked - and certainly not quickly enough. The clock was ticking and he could feel, sense, almost touch the approaching storm that was Scorpius. He tried not to weep at the dispair, the sorrow reaching out with shaking fingers to touch both heart and soul with the burden of his knowledge. One last time he touched them all. A fleeting memory of love. Then calmly, quietly and with no fuss at all he did the only thing he could do. He absorbed what was left in D'Argo of the crystal and married it with the piece that had been fragmented and embedded unknowingly into himself at conception. Then with a burst of determination he set it off and gave himself up to the only gift he had left to give.

Chiana stirred in her sleep. Felt the baby's love wash through her mind then slowly, oh so slowy fade away. D'Argo rolled on to his side, still fast asleep. An arm flopping over to lay across Chiana's stomach and touch his gentle son. She had no idea what had woken her. Looked at D'Argo as his eyes fluttered open in a happy haze of contentment. They exchanged a smile then Chiana tensed, sensing a subtle change. She looked down at the baby. Rion lay cradled in the circle of her arms, his eyes closed, his breathing very shallow. Tendrils of gentle thought lapped at her mind, growing ever fainter.

"Rion? Come on baby."

Her whispered words brought no response. She felt as if she had been lying in the warm sunshine and now a shadow blocked out those bright rays and the cold was seeping through. D'Argo sat up quickly and leaned over the baby. He touched the rapidly cooling flesh and his hearts faltered.

Worried eyes looked at Chiana, her own terror mounting as she gently shook their tiny son. Bright silver tears began their journey down her white cheeks as her body recognised what her mind refused to accept. "He's just sleeping, D'Argo," She said, as if the words being spoken would make it true. "Yeah, that's what it is, he's sleeping aren't you Rion?"

A finger of dread touched D'Argo where all his nightmares slept. "Chiana."

She ignored him.

"Chiana!"

"No D'Argo, he's asleep."

D'Argo sighed, hung his head and gently stroked his son's pale face as his last breath left him. His hearts welling up with emotion. The warrior in him recognising the look of the near departed for he was no stranger to the veil of death. Too stunned as yet to acknowledge his grief. He activated his com. "Zhaan?"

She answered almost immediately. "Yes, D'Argo?"

He spoke quietly. His voice calm. There was no need of haste now. "Please could you come to our quarters?"

He heard the anxiety in her voice. "On my way."

He did not thank her. Did not wonder at the fact that she had not asked him what was wrong. His thoughts were on his son. His beautiful gift. With them for such a short time, now gone. Gone. He put his arms around Chiana and began to rock her, no words passing his lips and none needed.

Chiana's tears gently washed the tiny still face.

Zhaan knew immediately she entered their room. Her steps reluctant, her heart aching. Her mind cast to Stark, his answer as puzzling to her as it was sad. We know, Zhaan

How? How could you know when I did not?

Not now, Zhaan. Comfort Chiana and D'Argo

What are you going to do?

Help John

Then Stark was gone and Zhaan turned a damp cheek to the sad duty of comforting her friends. The grief striking her so deeply she had to search to find sufficient words.

* * * * *

One microt Scorpius was savouring the anticipation. As close to smug as it was possible to come. The next, the rage ripped through him like a hurricane, his voice deepening with the dark sinister echo of his Scarran half. The signal had gone. Not vanished momentarily. Not become distorted or fragmented. It had gone. As if it had never been. His fury knew no bounds. They emerged from starburst to empty space. Nothing.

Lt. Braca tried not to meet his eye. Afraid to become the new focus of his commander's piercing attention. Scorpius turned a baleful eye his way. "You will search this sector dench by dench and find that leviathan for me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Scorpius turned and stormed out of command back to his quarters. Once inside he went straight to the crystal. Glared at it then removed it from the shielding, his temper flaring anew as he regarded the technology on which he had placed all his hopes. Without thinking he touched the crystal.

Immediately something flowed fast and seductively into the farthest corner of his mind and burrowed deep, taking root. He yelled and dropped the crystal. It shattered into thousands of gritty motes like the smallest grains of sand. His cries and his rage were sundered by a new voice. A new mind impinging on his dark and twisted thoughts. This one was subtle but powerful with an energy signature that was new to him. Yet it seemed to know him almost as well as he knew himself. It was eerie. Discomfitting.

How do you like it, Scorpy? The truth too close for comfort?

Disbelief tinged his voice. "Crichton?"

No, he is not here

"Who are you?"

I am the one who will haunt your every thought. Dog your steps and repay you thought for thought, deed for deed, for everything you have done to him

"The crystal..." said Scorpius slowly, a dread understanding dawning on him.

Yes. An elegant solution

He frowned. The desire for information momentarily overcoming his horror at the mental intrusion into his thoughts. "How did you find it?"

He felt the presence mock him but was given no answer. Suddenly it became the single most important question he could think of. "You *will* tell me!"

The presence laughed. A sound of delight edged with the delicious passion of revenge.

"Who are you?"

There was no reply but as Scorpius tried to work it out he felt something slithering through his thoughts, touching off memories from his childhood that were so painful he had buried them deep within his subconscious. The pain of recall set forth a string of fever bright invective. "You will get *out* of my mind this instance!" He roared.

The only response was gentle mocking laughter as other memories were touched and brought to life, the images flashing inside the half-breed's mind with a clarity that stunned, shocked and abhored him. His own cruel childhood lived again and again scene by awful scene. He raged. He swore. He threatened. His implaccable heart forming hairline cracks that only the intruder could see. The alien mind sliding imbetween the cracks to widen them, slowly. Nothing rushed. Nothing so coarse as sudden revelation. Scorpius was too intelligent not to know what was happening. What was being done to him. He closed his eyes but could not block out the scenes, could not shut out the mocking laughter that revealed his hideous deceit. Every act of spite, every cruelty he had ever visited on John Crichton was being returned to him. With interest. In quiet rage he simmered. Eyes closed, mind screaming, while another part of his brain set out on the task of trying to find the intruder.