SPOLIERS: none i think, if there are its just minor stuff.
 

Chiana wandered the market place aimlessly. There was nothing good
here, just different kinds of food cubes and ship parts. Nothing she needed.
Usually these trading stopovers provided her with at least some excitement in her
humdrum life. Yeah, sure, there were some exciting times but they were too few
and far apart. She had found a book written in Nebari on the last stop but it
had been even more boring than her day to day life. It had reeked of the
blandness of her culture, a culture she found embarrassing to call her own. But
then it really wasn’t her own was it? She didn’t believe in their values or
anything else they had told her for that matter. Did being born into a culture,
even though you reject it, still make it your culture? She was broken from her
thoughts by a salesman yelling.
        “You there, young girl, did you set out into the market to trade today? If
you did I have something that may bring interest to your eyes.”
        Chiana walked over to him, intrigued by his strange way of speaking. His
table was empty except for one item, a elaborately decorated tube that was thinner
in the middle than at two ends. “What do you have that will interest me old
man?”
        “This,” he rasped picking up the tube. “When you walked by I sensed that
you wish to know what your traveling mates think when you pass through their
heads, what they forget to speak to you so not to cause conflict. Am I right?”
        “Yes, but everyone wants to know what their friends think of them, besides
what does that have to do with that thing?” Chiana asked cautiously, sensing a
scam.
        “Ah, this item, whose name does not translate to my language, can show to
you what thoughts pass through them, and they will not know unless you make it
known to them.”
        He turned it on its end and stood it on the table. It wont work you know,
thought Chiana. But it is very pretty, if I could get it for a good deal, I could
make up something and trade it for something better on someother planet. And
what’s a few food cubes, the rest of them were off getting crates more. “I can
trade you some food cubes for it, how many will you accept?”
        “No less than two sets of twenty five.”
        “Fifty food cubes for that thing, you must be crazy, no one will pay that
and certainly not me. I can give you twenty, at most.”
        “Twenty! You insult me, I should leave and wish you never find out what
anyone thinks in their private about you.!”
        “Thirty, that’s all I have with me.” Chiana lied, she actually had about a
dozen more but she didn’t want the thing that much.
        “I can accept thirty, but the deal favors you over me.” He handed her the
thing after she put the cubes on his table. It tingled in her hand. Strange,
probably has a small power source to make the scam more realistic, She thought
as she put it in her coat pocket. She made her way back to the transport pod and
back to another boring day.

*        *        *

        Chiana sat in her quarters and played with the tube. She didn’t tell
anyone about it, mostly because she didn’t want Rygel to find out and try to steal
it. It wouldn’t be to hard to steal it back but she didn’t really feel like going
through the trouble. If he did steal it then at least I would have something to do.
She rolled of her bed on purpose and landed on her back on the floor. I’m sooo
board! she rested the thing on her stomach and the tingling increased.
Suddenly the room went black.
        When Chiana opened her eyes she was standing. She looked around and
behind her she saw something that really scared her. She could see herself lying
on the floor! panic took over and she ran to herself. She tried to touch herself
but her hand passed right through her body. She freaked out and kept trying to
slap her face or shake herself, wake up from this dream. In the process she
knocked the tube off her stomach and instantly she was looking up from the floor
and apparently inside herself. Was that a dream? What else could it be? Did it
symbolize something? she hadn’t been able to make contact with her body but
when she bumped the tube it had moved so she hadn’t passed through that. If it
had some meaning then she couldn’t figure it out. anyway, It couldn’t be a
dream, I didn’t fall asleep. That just made the whole thing weird then.
        “OK time for a little experiment then,” she said out loud to know one. She
lied down on the bed and put the tube on her stomach again. Almost instantly
she was standing next to herself. OK I know I didn’t fall asleep that time. She
tried touching everything in her room and made contact everytime. Then she
tried touching herself and again her hand passed right through. She was about
to move the tube when she heard someone coming.
        “Chiana, did you find anything good on the planet?” came the voice of
Rygel as he appeared in the door. <good she’s asleep, maybe I can find
something valuable> Chiana realized he didn’t see her, but more interesting, she
had heard his voice but his lips hadn’t moved. Could that man have been telling
the truth? Had she just heard Rygels thoughts? She knocked the tube of her
body and sat up.
        “What are you doing in here frog lips?” Chi asked, already knowing the
answer.
        “Looking for something to steal. if you don’t like it you should lock your
door.” The small being said as he hovered out of the room.
        This was weird. If she had been dreaming then when she woke up Rygel
wouldn’t have been there. But then that the man had been telling the truth, and
she could really hear their thoughts. Well if she could hear thoughts and sneak
around with no one seeing her then why was she still sitting here, this could
prove fun.
        She left herself for a third time and began wandering Moya. The first
room she past was Rygel’s quarters. She entered and picked up one of his
various trinkets. To him it would look like it was floating. She brought it in
front of him and made it “fly” in little circles.
        “no!” the very scared Hynerrean yelped, “why are you still haunting me?! I
put everything back! I swear! Its all back on that graveyard planet! WHAT DO YOU
WANT!?” Chiana drooped the item and held back a laugh, for all she knew he
could hear her. She didn’t hear any of his thoughts so she moved on.
        She passed Aeryn in the gallery but all she was thinking was how bland the
food cubes were. She made her way to the hanger where John was working on
his ship, again. As she came close she heard him thinking, <this better work this
time, if it doesn’t I don’t know what else to try.> He put on his helmet and the
door to the hanger closed. If he opens the bay doors I’ll be exposed to the
vacuum! Chiana realized. She ran to the door but the Bay doors opened before
she could get there. John took off to test his new system without even realizing
he had just killed Chiana.

*        *        *

        Zhann peaked into Chianas quarters. Still asleep. She walked over to her
and gale her a little shake. Then she noticed a strange object on her
mid-section. Zhann absent mindedly picked it up. Chiana nearly jumped up,
causing Zhann to jump a little. “Oh, Chiana, I came to check on you. You’ve been
asleep for arns you know. I was getting worried, are you OK?”
        Chiana looked around for a microt, “uh yeah, I’m fine. just tired I guess.”
        “OK then, if you do start feeling sick just come see me.” She said as she
left. Chiana looked around, she was back in her room. Asleep for arns, wasn’t
that what Zhann said? Chiana tried to remember. She had been to the market,
bought that thing, then she figured out how to work it. She had been spying on
everyone when she went into the hanger. And she had been pulled out into
space! She had tried to get to the door but she couldn’t, then space, and cold,
she had gasped but there was no air. then dark.
        What a nightmare. That’s what it had to have been, right? She must have
gotten back from the planet and fallen asleep, dreamed the whole thing up. She
started to walk to the gallery to get some food. She passed Rygel in the hall.
        “Chiana! Don’t go that way there are ghosts in my quarters!”
        “Ghosts?” but then it hadn’t been a dream! She had died in space but
came back when Zhann moved that thing! What if she hadn’t come along, what if
there was some time as to how long you could stay dead and if Zhann had come
three microts later then she would have really died?! Chiana ran back to her
room and hid the evil device.

*        *        *

        It had been two weeks since Chiana bought the tube from that man on the
streat. She hadn’t taken it out from its hiding place since that day. She even
walked on the other side of the room, as if it would jump out at her if she came
too close. Why had she bought the stupid thing any way? She thought suddenly
mad at herself.
        [:If you thought it was a scam then why did you get it?:] she demanded
        {I thought I could trade it for something better.}
        ||no you didn’t,|| came a third, calmer part of herself ||you didn’t think it
would work, but you wanted it to. You care what these people think of you. You
don’t need to just survive now, you need friends too.||
        [:oh yeah, and listening to their thoughts and spying on them is gonna
help you be friends with them how?:] interupted the meaner part of her.
        {well, if I knew what they thought of me...}
        ||if you want to know what they think about you just ask them||
        [:oh yeah like they would even listen to you long enough to ask, when was
the last time they asked what you had to say. Face it, to them you’re just a little
extra weight Moya has to pull:]
        || that’s not true and you know it. You’ve saved their lives a bunch of
times, you do help them, with out you they would probably be dead.||
        {yeah!}
        [:Sure you’ve saved their lives, but did they ever thank you? or did they
even acknowledge what you did? I bet if you were to use that thing again you
would find out that they don’t think anything bad about you, because they don’t
think about you at all.:]
        {they do think about me! I’ll prove it!} She got the think out if its hiding
place and sat on her bed. she leaned back but paused before using it.
        ||you can do it, you prove they appreciate you||
        The conversation with herself ended and the room went black.

*        *        *
(D’argo)
        D’argo sat polishing his Quanta Blade as he had done so many times
before. It had been passed to him from his father who had gotten it from his.
<but my son will never get it> he thought grimly. <even if I did find him, which
is becoming less and less likely, would he want it? Who would want a father
that’s a escaped prisoner. Not to mention a liar> he thought as he rubbed his
chin. <He must coming up on his teen years now, he had to wonder about his
anceresty. what a disappointment if he ever learns the truth. How would I feel if
I found out my father was a man like me? I wouldn’t want anything to do with
him> he thought with a sigh. There was a noise behind him but when he turned
around he saw no one was there. <Does my son have a lunatic for a father as
well?>

(Rygel)
        Rygel floated down the hall towards the gallery. <and again I go eat, when
I was dominar servants would have brought me my lunch, I wouldn’t have to go
get it. Rygel the 16th getting his own lunch, a lunch of food cubes even. Ha what
a joke. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. When he was younger he had
dreamed of being the best dominar his people had ever had, and now look at him.
Not even the people here on this ship gave him any respect, but then why should
they? What had he ever done to earn it? He had even tried to sell them out> he
remembered with a wince. <but I did save them before, when John and Aeryn
were caught in the flax. So wouldn’t the tow events balance eachother? Apparently
not. I can make it up to them. but how? Opportunities to save lives didn’t come
along every day, and when they did they were usually his fault, unless they
involved the peacekeepers, that was John and Aeryns area of expertise. So
bacially, I cause most of the problems and the ones I don’t cause are usually best
solved by shooting or kicking and punching, both of which he was incapable of>
he thought depressingly looking at his little hands that would be useless in firing
a pulse riffle. His train of thought was broken by a crash to his side, he looked
and saw a box of food cubes had fallen to the floor. “The ghosts,” he whispered.

(John)
        John sat in his room, just finished making another recording to his Dad.
<If I ever did get home, would I even give them to him? Yeah *if* I get home,
that’s real likely. Why do I try and fool myself, I’m never getting home. But if
I could go home right now, would I? Would I be able to leave all these people
behind, leave my friends? I think I could, I would miss them a hell of a lot, but
It’s my home. Yeah its my home, but what do I really miss? Dad and DK, and the
superficial stuff like ice cream, But do I miss ice cream more than I would miss
these people? Maybe not ice cream but Dad and DK, Do I miss them more than I
would miss my friends here? I don’t know, leaving here would be hard, I don’t
think I could do it. Leaving earth had been easy because it was a accident, but
could he leave his friends on purpose? Why bother myself with questions like
that any way? odds are I’ll never have to decide.> There was a small noise
behind John but, deep in his thoughts, he didn’t notice.

(Aeryn)
        Aeryn hit the punching dummy again. A memory attacked her then, her
kicking the dummy, then John coming in, then blood and dizziness. She hit the
thing harder, as if it would help. <if you don’t really need anyone then what
would you have then? or all the other times? you know you really do need them,
need him, you’re just afraid. If you really do need him then what would you do if
he left? shut up!> she told the voice as she kicked the dummy harder. <you
don’t know what you’re talking about!> In all the hitting and kicking she didn’t
hear the footsteps running away.

(Zhann)
        Zhann was meditating again. She took out the rocks and tried to make the
even pitch, but it wouldn’t work. <that’s strange, I’m doing everything right.>
She looked around the room to see what could be causing them to sound strange
but she didn’t see anything. She tried again, still not working. Then a strange
feeling came over her. <there’s someone else here> and at that thought, there
was a small wave of panic from the other entity. “who’s there?” but before she
finished the question the entity was gone.

*        *        *

        Chiana ran back to her quarters and removed the tube. Zhann had felt
her there.
        [:see no one was even noticing you I was right:] came the meannie.
        ||they didn’t notice you because they were all absorbed in their own
problems, as you are now.|| answered the nice part of her.
        {don’t either of you care that Zhann felt me?}
        [:so? you got away:]
        ||she didn’t recognize you||
        {yeah but she felt me, frell, this is so wrong, listening to peoples private
thoughts! why did I let you guys talk me into it?!}
        [:they don’t know do they? what they don’t know wont hurt them:]
        ||you didn’t mean any harm||
        {maybe I didn’t but its still wrong, I’m never using this thing again, as for
you two, go away, I’ll decide what I want to do on my own from now on.}
        [:fine, be that way.:]
        ||I was just trying to help||
        Good riddance, Chiana thought as she returned the thing to its hiding
spot. Just as she did the ship shook and tossed her to the ground.
        “Pilot what’s going on did Moya starburst?”
        “ I think everyone better come to command.”
        Chiana raced to command, Pilot had sounded upset and he didn’t get
upset at minor things. She saw John in front of her and Rygel was leaving his
quarters ahead of her. Before she got a chance to ask again she saw Pilot was
already putting a transmission on the screen.
        The sickly form of scorpius appeared and John tensed next to her.
“Commander Crichton,” he began, “ that was a warning shot, the next one will be
very real. You know what I want, come in one of the leviathans transport pods
and your friends will be allowed to starburst away. You have half an arn.”
        “Oh I’m sure you’ll keep your promise too.” John said in disgust to the
blank screen. Pilot appeared again. “Pilot, how long until Moya can starburst?”
        “A little less than 3/4ths of an arn.”
        “OK, Scorpy wont fire on Moya until hes sure I’m not on her, so I could
leave Moya in half an arn and take a *realllllly* long time getting to the
command carrier, which would give you time to get away.”
        “John, if Scorpius captures you he’ll put you back in the arora chair.”
Aeryn said grimly.
        “No he wont.” John said, his expression matching hers, “I’ll take a pulse
rifle, once you’re gone...” he let the sentence die in the air.
        Then, an idea came to Chiana and almost without thinking she blurted,
“Wait! John you don’t have to, I have an idea.” strange confused looks followed
her as she ran out of command.

        *        *        *

        She stood in front of them with the device in her hands. She had told
them the events of the day two weeks ago, minus the part that took place today.
They had been a little annoyed that she had wanted to “read their minds” as
John had put it, but not very. For all they knew she had only used it to scare
Rygel and didn’t use it again after being sucked into space.
        “That’s a nice story, but how does it help us?” Aeryn asked
        “Don’t you get it? I can fly the pod, Scorpy will think its John, then when
you’re away one of you move this thing and I wake up.”
        “No, un uh, you might die, you have no idea if you’ll be able to get back
after Moya starbursts, we might be too far away. No, we stick with the first plan,
I go, you guys leave.”
        “With my plan, I might die, with yours, you *will* die. Besides, if
everything works out right then we have nothing to worry about.”
        “Yeah but when does anything ever work out right?”

*        *        *

        “OK, to make it work push this button and to stop it.” John pointed to
another button on his recording device. He had recorded a bunch of phrases to
provoke Scorpiuos into sending prowlers to chase him, which he thought would be
a better way to ‘stall’ for a quarter arn than just flying slow. “Um what should I
do with this?” he asked, knowing I wouldn’t be going in my physical body.
        “Just put it there and I’ll get it.”
        As she leaned back in her bed the little mennie came to her again. [:so
you’re using it again, I thought you said it was wrong?:] she said with a smug
sound to her voice, [:or maybe you just don’t have any morals at all.:]
        {This is different and you know it, I’m doing this to help everyone, not hurt
them.}
        [:But you weren’t hurting them before, just finding out what they should
have told you in the first place.:]
        {you know what, I don’t have to justify my actions to anyone, and certainly
not another part of myself}.
        She was outside of herself and carrying the recorder to the transport pod.
It must look funny to everyone else, like this thing is just floating in the air. A
DRD bumped into her twice and she had to step around. She got to the transport
pod and fired the engines, no use saying good bye, she had already figured out
that they couldn’t hear her voice.
        She flew the pod into space and prepared to fly in circles but as soon as
she was out she was surrounded by prowlers. She hit the comm, “Pilot! why
didn’t you tell me there were...” she stopped herself, he couldn’t hear her. This
part of the plan was up to her. She could have no help.
        A voice cracked over the comm, “Ahh Commander Crichton, you just
made your deadline” Chiana remembered what John had told her, fly close to
Moya, Scorpous wouldn’t be able to fire the command carrier’s weapons for risk
of hitting the pod he thought contained John. He would though, send prowlers to
try to surround the pod and force it to board the command carrier. Chiana had
known this but she hadn’t expected to be surrounded right out of the hanger, now
how was she going to run around for a quarter arn?
        She looked around frantically for an opening, but saw none. With her back
to Moya and a dozen prowlers in front of her she was pinned. Then another,
unexpected, voice came over the comm, Aeryns. “Chiana, I don’t know if you can
hear me, but if you can, turn around, there’s a space between the prowlers and
Moyas back, cut through there, they wont expect it. Stay close to Moya, almost
touch your belly to her back.”
        Chiana looked out her back viewpoint and saw Aeryn was right about the
opening. She turned the pod quickly and darted through the hole. The prowlers
hesitated a microt then gave chase. “OK good, turn to Moyas tail and dive deep.
As soon as you do, pull out and come back around her far side, then the
command carrier cant help them.” Chiana moved even before she was finished
and seemed to keep ahead of them. Then out of nowhere one of the prowlers
came over Moyas back, he hadn’t followed her through Moyas tails. Before
Aeryn had a chance to give more instructions he took a pot shot. He wasn’t
supposed to be shooting! “Chiana, its OK, don’t get hit, pilot says it was enough
time, let them take you.” Chiana brought the pod to a stand still. The rest of the
prowlers caught up and surrounded her again.
        They began to move her around Moya. Scorpous’ calm, disembodied, voice
came again, “I don’t suggest you try anything like that again, Commander, the
results could be painful.” Chiana shivered in spite of herself. When she was on
board the PK’s wouldn’t be able to see her, and how could they hurt something
they couldn’t see? Despite her reasoning, she still felt a gnawing in her stomach
insisting that only bad could come from entering the carrier. She looked back
and saw Moya starburst. Good, she thought, as soon as they leave starburst
they can wake me up. I just have to fly into the carrier and wait.
        The hanger of the giant ship filled the front viewpoint and Chiana set the
pod down. I’ll jump out and find some corner away from everything to wait. She
opened the door and a bunch of PK’s were waiting. She pushed them out of her
way, and, assuming that the one that pushed them was the one next to them, a
few started to push eachother but the commanders glare was enough to quiet
them. Chiana watched as they looked in the pod and came out quite confused.
“There’s no one in there sir.”
        Chiana was bored watching them and began to explore the rest of the huge
ship. Maybe I can find something useful before I leave. Scorpious walked down
the corridor in the opposite direction, this was the closest encounter she had had
with him as of yet and just thinking of what he did to John sent chills down her
spine. I don’t even want to know what he thinks, she thought. She pushed
herself against the wall as he passed. There was someone following him, not a
sebation, he was tall and thin, but graceful, not lanky. His skin was a soft yellow
and seemed to glow. He looked over at Chiana and seemed to see her. An
expression of surprise that almost matched hers at being seen crossed his face.
Chiana froze, as if her being still would stop him from seeing her, and squeezed
her eyes shut, sure she would be captured. Sure that him seeing her ment
everyone could see her. She peeked out and he was gone. Everyone went about
as if he were never there.

*        *        *

(Wodahs)
        The committee sat in front of him. He had called an emergency meeting,
an action unheard of by someone so new. The committee members looked
annoyed as the leader asked him the reason he had woken them in the middle of
the night. He began his report in a shaky voice, “um... I was watching the Evil
One, just following him around like I was assigned, and umm... I was walking
down this hallway thing, and there was this other person there, a girl.”
        The annoyed leader spoke again, “So, has not the Evil One had females on
his ship before?”
        “Well, yeah, but she wasn’t on his ship like that, she was on the ship like I
was, not in her body, she must have had a lednec device.
        “A foreigner with a lednec device, you must be mistaken. I will go to
investigate this claim, until then, activate a freeze on all devices except my own.
No one will be able to leave or enter their bodies until it is known exactly what
you saw.”

*        *        *

(Chiana)
        What could be taking them so long? She had been waiting over an arn.
Something’s happened, the thought crept into her head again but she refused to
entertain the notion, pushing it out again. I’ll be back soon, don’t worry so much.
Probably just some little delay, nothing was wrong.

*        *        *

(John)
        Something was wrong. They had been trying to wake Chiana up for about
half and arn and nothing had worked. Rygel came in and dumped a drink on her
face to no avail. “Sparky, what are you doing?”
        “I thought it might wake her up>”
        “Yeah, well now she’s just asleep plus wet and sticky.”
        Zhann spoke up now. “Everyone leave, you’re not helping things, I’ll stay
and try to find out why this isn’t working.”

*        *        *

(Chiana)
        Chiana sat in the empty side hall wondering what she should do. Her plan
had been to wait but there was no denying now that something had happened to
Moya and they couldn’t get her back. They might even be dead. The thought
scared her but before she had proper time to consider the possibly the person
she had seen before appeared in front of her. Startled she jumped up.
        “Stranger,” the man spoke, boy really, “My name is Wodhas, the leader of
the committee has seen you and sent me to bring you to him so we can decide
your fate. You see never before has a stranger used a lednac device and we
don’t really know what to do, so they sent me to get you, and here I am, getting
you to bring you back and umm... well could you come with me?”
        Chiana just looked at the jabbering boy and dozens of questions came to
mind. How could he see her? Who sent him again? What was he talking about?
Looking at him again she realized he didn’t have and answers, he was a foot
soldier, whoever was ordering him didn’t tell him much. one question he would
know, though. “Who do you work for, the peacekeepers, or what about the
Nebari, did they send you?”
        “oh no I was sent by the committee.”
        “yeah, you said that, what committee?”
        “The sacrran committee that watches the Evil One”
        “The Evil One, what, you mean Scorpious?”
        “That is what the others call him yes. I’m sorry, I think I mislead you
before, coming with me isn’t a choice.” He grabbed her arm and they were
suddenly in a large room.
        The walls were a bluish crystal and the floor was purplish. There was a
shelf about waist high around 3 sides of the room on which other beings of the
Wodhas’ species sat. One stood on the shelf, directly in front of her. He spoke,
“leave us young one, you have served you purpose.” Wodhas started to object
but stopped himself and disappeared. Chiana looked back at the leader, “your
name is Chiana.”
        “yeah how did you know”
        “We will ask the questions young one.” he said, using the term young one
as if it were an insult. “Where did you get the lednac device? did you kill one of
us and steal it? That would be just like a young one to do. Why were you near
the Evil One? Were you planning to help him in his wrongs?”
        “Wait, wait, I am *not* working with Scorpious, and I’ve never seen you
people before, let alone kill one of you.”
        “Be quiet! Its too late at night to be dealing with someone like you.
Guards, put her in a cell until morning.”
        Chiana looked for an escape but two guards approached her with guns.
Better to be alive now and escape later than dead now and never escape. She let
the guards take her.

*        *        *

(Wodhas)
        Wodhas lay in his bed thinking about the girl he met tonight. There had
been something about her. Stop thinking about her, they’re going to kill her.
Just try to forget her, he told him self, but he couldn’t. Maybe if she had been a
few years older they would have spared her, even found some use for her in the
committee, but she was about his age, which ment if she showed any signs of
rebellion they would kill her. She was sure to, she didn’t know the rules. The
rules said that until you reached 25 cycles you were prone to evil so if you
showed any sign they must kill you to prevent the threat. The only reason he was
here was because his father sat on the committee. He sighed. I hope she passes
their tests, but realistically he knew she wouldn’t, better to just forget her.

TO BE CONTINUED...