Long across the Den as the ship rumbles, most displeased. John is behind the console with Pilot. A couple of glowing green blobs sit on the console shedding a nice light on the situation. Some few sparks fly from the edges of the console.
Sikozu, Chiana and Rygel attend to issues in the central core. An explosion of sparks startles Rygel.
Shot cuts back and forth between the Den and the core as the crew, such as it is, works on keeping things... working.
Sparks fly and Sikozu ducks a bit, still trying to affect a repair of some kind.
Chi chuckles.
[ and Chi's incomprehensibility just keeps on coming ]
Moya's semi-crippled transport pod makes atmospheric descent, coming onboard the planet over a blue ocean. In the distance a rugged coastline, with a plateau at the top, barren save for a alien structure. Oh, and those dual trails of white smoke cannot be a sign of a healthy transport pod. The pod turns, heading for the alien structure.
Shot is long and wide on the site of an ancient temple; the main structures seated in a hollow, the backside sitting flush against the wall of the hollow, the front a broad sloping decline which extends from ground level down to the floor of the temple proper. John's black clad form walks the temple floor to camera.
Cut to long on Chi, the beam of her flashlight cutting through the semi-darkness of a recessed area, the open air, and a wall forming one side of the recessed temple proper behind her. She backs slowly, and--
Cut to John, walking up the sloping decline to a large blue platform at the near side of the recessed area. At the center of the blue platform is a stained reddish oval.
Cut to close on John as he steps up to the platform. Chi's voice emanates from the structure below and behind him.
He turns toward the structure, shouting his answer, his voice like hers, bounces across the empty spaces.
Uh, yeah, kinda dark in here despite the two small illumination devices on either side of the entrance behind Chi. She removes the small pistol from her belt as John enters behind her, his own huge frellin' flashlight providing slightly greater illumination.
He moves quickly past her, glancing back at her nervous posture at the corner, pistol at the ready.
John's forward progress falters.
They move further down the tunnel, now wading through shallow water soaking the tunnel floor.
Jump cut to long on another tunnel, sometime later-- the water now above their ankles, John pauses, turning about.
He unholsters Winona, and closes the small distance between them.
She takes the light.
Following her as she continues down the corridor, he removes the cartridge from the butt of the pistol. Chi exits shot as she takes a turn in the tunnel, John following, quickly catching up as she is stopped in the next tunnel.
Taking the turn in the tunnel, John steps up out of the water and staggers a bit, surprised by the male Interion holding a weapon on Chiana. With a chakkan oilless pistol, he does what he can, and holds his hands up in the air.
The guy turns the weapon strapped to his arm on John.
He turns the weapon back on Chi.
Cut to a point further down the tunnel, Jool leaps out from a junction in all her leather glory; still with the cheesecloth bodice, but at least the rocking horse hips have been scaled back.
Another familiar figure enters from the junction and it is a purely joyous reunion. Jool squeals over a subdued Chiana while D'Argo dodges around the traffic jam, heading to John.
Grinning, John gets taken into a huge bear hug and spun in a circle.
D'Argo sets him back on his feet, and John staggers, but grins happily. D'Argo takes his face in both his huge paws.
[ well, gosh, D. Just can't stop doin' that, but that's anyway. ]
Brief cut to Tarnat watching dubiously, while behind him a less than enthusiastic Chi pries herself out of Jools hug.
Cut back to John and D'Argo, shouting simultaneously, and hugging again.
The ever suspicious Tarnat flings a wet blanket while John tries to recover some male dignity from too much man huggin'.
Cut to John, breaking away again, doin' the guy dance.
John and Chi leap to mutual defense, John forgetting he's got a chakkan oiless pulse pistol, points it emphatically at Tarnat in the process.
Jool puts a hand on Tarnat's arm, pulling him off guard point.
Guy's just a little too intense for John and D'Argo, they turn their backs on him, discussing what they are most interested in.
He nods, jams the chakkan oil cartridge back in the pistol and moves out of shot, D'Argo turning to watch him go.
Cut to John, holstering his pistol as he walks up a sloping tunnel floor toward a blue-green light flooding from archways at the far end of the tunnel.
He stops at an archway, looking outward; the shimmering surface of water beyond reflected on his face. On his right side is a wall covered in symbols.
Cut back to Chi, Jool and Tarnat.
Cut back to John, still and quiet. A tiny critter jacks itself up the wall in the FG on its single leg. John turns toward the wall painted with glyphs.
Cut to D'Argo, deciding to follow John. Jool natters on in the background.
Cut to John, his hand tracing across the wall and settling palm down over a five-fingered representation of a hand. The fit seems perfect. Above that is another painted symbol which looks annoyingly like the Eye of Horus. [ of course the eye we saw was the 'right' Eye of Horus, sometimes refered to as the Eye of Ra, the eye of the sun. Can't help but be tantilized by it's inclusion here. ]
John turns away from the wall, looking back down the tunnel.
Cut back to Chi, Jool and Tarnat.
Cut back to John, looking out through the archway again as D'Argo arrives. The big guys claps a hand on his friends shoulder.
Cut to lovely two-shot of John and D'Argo, standing side-by-side in the archway.
He urges John away from the arch, and back toward his friends.
Cut to the ever enthusiastic Jool. Happy as a clam.
Cut to long and wide on the archways from within a subterranean chamber, the water disagreeing with the air temperature to the point that the shadows of John and D'Argo's retreating figures waver in the light as they move away.
At the glowing green surface of the water, something surfaces. The something turns its boney ridged skull and the creature from the green lagoon faces camera. And close on the critter, looking all yellow and black in this light. Scary.
Shot follows the critter beneath the surface as it submerges, pulling back smoothly as it turns away and strokes off through the water. Technicolor glo in the dark beasty with conchshell head. Cool.
John stands, back to shot, hands braced on opposing walls of a tunnel entrance, facing out toward a wooded area. Jool cuts on a large bank of lights and turns it toward him. She walks into the tunnel and he turns, trying to follow her and take in her unbridled enthusiasm.
They exit the tunnel and emerge to an open air atrium. Roughly circular, although we only see 'one' side, and open to the sky. Chiana lurks at the end of the tunnel, peering cautiously around the corner before following.
John sighs, heading toward a stone bench at the center of the open space. Standing by the curved wall, Jool points out a small black device mounted there.
She prances over to another tunnel opening, this one slopes downward from the level of the atrium.
Cut to John and Chi, neither one paying too much attention. John sitting on the stone bench, focus elsewhere. Chi perched at his side. John looks up at her and somehow manages to nearly crack her up; giving us the weirdest looking smirk in the history of smirks.
Chi stands and steps to the floor, moving back toward the tunnel opening.
Meaning the odd shaped ceramic piece in John's hand, she gestures to same and we get a nice closeup. Looks like a bird.
A quick side arm motion and Chi hurls the rock in her hand at Crichton's, shattering the object in an explosion of ceramic. Jool screeches a bit.
Shot pans up from his dust coated hand to close on his face, he gives her a side long glance and a veiled compliment.
Chi bolts. Jool moves to the bench. For his part, John looks contemplative, his left thumb coasting over his lips; Chi's a problem, requiring a solution. Jool sits down in front of him, there's very little room behind him, making me wonder just where Chi was perched earlier.
He moves to stand but she half turns, taking his hand.
She stands, tugging him toward the downward sloping tunnel.
He allows himself to be led at her urging.
Chiana prowls, on the hunt. A medium sized open chamber, much rubble about. This 'could' be the temple proper, but hey, DK... not too big on establishing a sense of place.
She moves away from the center of the room, investigating a design imbedded in the wall. Cut to a large bank of lights as they switch on, throwing a broad blanket of yellow light over the startled Nebari... I think that's a whispered 'frell' on her lips as she turns toward the light.
Shot pans 180 to D'Argo, emerging from behind the lights.
The lights switch off.
Close on the technicolor beastie, peering out from behind a pillar. Jool's voice initially over the shot.
Cut to Jool and John descending a flight of stairs to an intersecting tunnel. [ more walkin' and talkin', and Jool's still got his hand. ].
At the bottom of the steps, John turns back to look up. Cut to close on technicolor beastie, who then darts out of shot without a clue where it might be. Jool continues the briefing as they follow a series of twists and turns in the tunnels.
His pleased smile cut short as a huge bank of lights cuts on, bathing the semi-darkened corridor in blazing yellow light. Winona leaps into his hand on her own volition and he points her, blindly, into the light. A shadowed figure stands in the doorway of an adjoining tunnel, a soft voices speaks.
Jool moves away from John, standing near the shadowed figure.
Ah, our second female Interion. Dark curly hair. She steps into the hazy yellow light of the tunnel, pulling off her gloves while John holsters his weapon.
A small smile and he peers at Jool in the bright light.
She circles him as though anticipating bidding on a piece of Grade A Prime american beef.
Finishing her circuit, she offers one final 'observation'.
Demonstrating, he turns his head and coughs. Jool coughs as well, but for a different reason, you can't see in this light but she 'must' be arching an eyebrow at him. He looks her way. Innocent protest.
Vella walks away and Jool steps close again, standing by his side.
Cut to close on John, just barely tolerating this lesson. He shoots a look Jools way, by way of thanking her for the field trip, but she misses his annoyed displeasure, listening intently as Vella rattles on. The older female removing a odd shaped object from a recessed panel in the wall.
John affects a lovely a southern-yokel accent. He cannot conceal his scorn.
He makes a little 'trotting' motion with his fingers, a little 'trotting' noise with his tongue and tries to motor; Jool snags his arm, holding him back. [ And oh geez, he is just 'so' adorable. That arched eyebrow, barely concealed-- annoyance? Doesn't know whether to laugh or just walk away. I love all this light. You can see everything, but lovely shadows as well. Oy. ]
She puts the probe back into the recess.
He walks back to an adjoining chamber, crouching on the floor, fiddling with something. Chi follows him.
Chi moves closer, sitting beside him.
He looks up again, waiting on her point.
D'Argo finds whatever he was looking for, and standing, walks further down the enclosed area. Chi pursues him.
They stop at an open doorway, sunshine increasing the light at the opening.
Looking out, D'Argo speaks a short gutteral sentence of Luxan.
Cut to long across a rocky plateau, D'Argo and Chiana standing to the right in the open doorway. From nothing becomes something, and the cloaking device makes an appearance, as the Luxan fighter appears, parked on the plateau.
The ship fades from view again, cloak reengaged.
And he walks away again.
The dull gray hulk of the dying Leviathan cruises past.
Head and shoulders inside the module, Sikozu stands up, sighing as she eyes the interior of the small vessel. An idea strikes and she steps down, crossing the open area to the wall, rising on tiptoes she pops open a small access panel, and peers inside.
Walking on a narrow dirt trail in a forrested area. It's sunny and bright.
Rygel is perched before the Pilot's console, a deep continuous throbbing hum in the background-- Rygel shouts to be heard.
John listens while Rygel whinges.
In the hangar bay, Sikozu yanks a huge bundle of wiring. Sparks shower.
In Pilot's Den, Crichton's return comm is broken with static and unintelligible.
Cut to the hangar bay, Sikozu hauls the length of wiring back toward the module.
Cut to Pilot's Den.
Cut to the hangar bay, Sikozu wrangling some heavy wiring. Shot continues to cut back and forth between the hangar bay and Pilot's den.
She climbs up a step out side the module, dragging a heavy wire with her.
Familiar close shot of the side of a Command Carrier cruising by with attendant smaller escort vessel.
Close on small full length holo-representation of Vella. Shot cuts to Grayza, sitting in a lovely little chair, smirking as she listens.
Cut to wide on the Commandant's chamber, Braca also listening as she speaks.
Braca switches the display off, moving closer to Grayza.
She stands, heading out of the room.
She pauses on the other side of the room, turning back to look at him.
Piecemeal images of Scorpius's childhood, courtesy of 'Incubator'.
Cut to three shot on Grayza and Braca looking forward at the display screen, and Scorpius strapped in the Aurora Chair [ hm, must come standard on all Command Carriers now. ]
She taps a control on the side of his head and the cooling rod chamber cycles out.
Braca removes a rod from a small tube, familiar in shape, but not in color. This one is filled with a sickly yellow liquid.
Braca places the rod in Grayza's outstretched hand.
Braca pats Scorpius on the shoulder, leaning in close.
Grayza removes the old cooling rod.
Replacing it with the yellow rod, pressing a control, the chamber cycles closed while she speaks.
Braca powers up the chair and Scorpius howls!
John walks out of a tunnel into the atrium, calling for the old woman.
He walks toward the opening of another tunnel. Above him the muted voices of Vella and Tarnat.
Shot pans up above John's head as they walk by between the edge of the forest and the upper rim of the open atrium.
Shot pans down again as they walk into the forest, to John looking up as though he may have heard something. Cut to tunnel access, the old woman popping out as John attempts to enter. Startled, he steps back.
and then startled again by the technicolor critter, poking its head around one of the temple support pillars.
John dodges away, his back to the open air atrium.
Seeing no menacing moves from the critter other than a preliminary hiss, John turns his attention to the old woman.
She gives him a blank look.
The continuing blank look suggests she doesn't.
He touches his own chest with the 'me, Crichton' remark, but the critter takes offense when he touches the old woman with the followup identification. It leaps from behind the pillar hissing and growling. John dodges backward a bit, but Winona doesn't make an appearance, as the old woman seems to have it in hand, shooing the critter away.
The critter gits, back to cowering behind a pillar in the background, and John relaxes a bit, further reassured by the welcoming smiling on the old woman's face.
She leaps into his arms givin' him a big 'ol hug, but he winces, drawing back almost immediately.
Oh, dear, and bothersome that we keep getting closeups of Oo-nii, some of them with thoughtful expressions, as he/she/it listens in.
She makes to exit, but John insists.
She tries to leave again, and he's 'more' insistent.
Before he can formulate a response to that incredible segue...
She gasps, clapping her hands to her substantial ears, the sound of chanting voices slowly building.
She briefly turns her attention to John.
John takes her arms in his hands, pulling hers away from her ears.
Once more Oo-nii takes exception to John touching the old woman and leaps howling from behind the pillar. This time Winona makes an appearance.
Critter sees the sense of that and returns to cowering behind the pillar.
He reholsters Winona.
John's looking more annoyed and less angry, which is probably a good thing. The old woman plucks a icky looking one legged grub off the wall, placing it in her hand she squeezes it til the guts poke out.
She turns away, then turns back; with sudden strength and certitude.
Back to confused and erratic, she scurries off. Oo-nii snarls once more and follows her.
The old woman's a weird place to visit, he shakes his head.
Elsewhere in the network of tunnels, Jool gives D'Argo a lesson.
She's holding his arm steady as a device strapped to it emits a beam against a wall, stripping dirt and debris from a colorful pattern.
[ oh, yeah. He's really enjoyed it alright. ]
Cut to med on Vella, entering the tunnel from a junction behind Jool and D'Argo.
They both laugh as his little joke.
Vella removes the carver from D'Argo's arm and straps it onto her own. Jool stands up against the wall like a school kid caught makin' faces at the teacher.
She points the carver at a crawling Laka just over D'Argo's shoulder, and with a burst of light transforms it to rock.
Grayza soaks in a huge frellin bath, the water an ill looking milky color, safely opaque. Standing far behind her, Braca delivers a briefing.
Braca gets the hint and steps up on the platform, standing behind her left hand side. Grayza rolls her eyes slightly.
Hands still tucked neatly behind his back, Braca kneels beside the tub, eyes still averted decoriously.
Grayza strokes her fingers across the bared flesh of her chest, tiny beads of, what; perspiration, flecking her skin [ can I get an, ew! ].
Braca leans in fractionally closer, hands braced on the sides of the tub. But she needs him a bit
Braca leans down and she reaches up with that hand that stroked her chest, Braca senses it and leans in closer. Her fingers stroke across his lips; and his eyes roll in a fairly emotional display.
Braca, looking down now, smiles.
Satisfied, Grayza looks away, smiling herself.
Unobserved, Braca looks a little startled.
Braca's gaze is drawn to her hand as it moves along the shelf of the tub.
He plucks her hand from the edge of the tub, cradling it in both of his. He's pretty confused.
She ignores him, giving out her thoughts while Braca lifts her hand to his lips, licking her fingertips.
Giving up on the hand, he moves closer, leaning down to snatch a kiss.
She turns into his lips at the last word, but raises a hand and pushes him away. He staggers back, very surprised at his impropriety.
Fade to black.
Jool and Vella are alone in a tunnel. Vella works on loosening a large panel from the stone wall of the tunnel. Both hands gripped firmly on a protruding object on the panel.
She loosens the panel with a sharp tug, sound of stone grating on stone.
She steps back and draws Jool close, instructing her where to grip the panel, how to loosen it.
Cut to long on the tunnel and pan slightly left to reveal D'Argo lurking at an intersection, and the two women standing at the panel.
Jool braces herself and slightly averts her face, dropping the panel open slightly. A brief flash of light accompanies a slight explosion.
Vella steps forward again, replacing the panel with a slight shove.
She turns toward Jool and they begin to walk and talk, down the tunnel toward the junction where D'Argo lurks.
D'Argo backs off, lurking at a further junction, still listening in.
Vella stalks off. Her role as 'not a nice person' firmly in place. Shot is wide and 'we' can see D'Argo lurking just around the corner.
She turns and walks back down the corridor.
Shot is close on John's upraised palm. Cut to long and angle up on John standing on what appears to be the edge of a cliff, arm upraised palm outward-- touching the sky, before slowly lowering his hand.
Cut to extreme long and wide on the site of the ancient temple, placed in a recess in the ground, walls that slope gently downward to the floor of the temple proper. The far side of the temple is flush against the wall on the back side of the recess, likely where the tunnels lead into the subterranean chambers. The ruins in fairly good condition, although the portion of the temple which is above ground seems relatively small. On the near side, at ground level is a large platform, slightly bluish with a reddish oval in the center. On the far side of the temple proper in the far background, Crichton's black clad figure is silouetted against the sky.
Cut to close on Crichton as the silence is abruptly broken by the arrival of the old woman and the male Interion.
John turns toward the voice. Reacting mildly to the approach of the armed male Interion as he brandishes the carver strapped to his arm. John flings up his hands.
Tarnat brandishes the carver with his right arm, the old woman's head trapped in the curve of his left arm.
The old woman sinks her teeth into Tarnat's hand. He howls and she drops to the ground.
John doesn't even remotely seriously ponder the possibilty.
The old woman scurries behind John.
The old woman drops to hands and knees behind Crichton at his urging. He turns and heads back to Tarnat.
Tarnat raises the carver at John's approach. John stops, holding his hands up, he's harmless... really.
He turns away slightly, pondering something, hands still upraised.
Turning quickly, his upraised right arm directing the carver away and down while the left delivers an efficient pantak jab that drops Tarnat like a stone. Before the guy hits the ground, John has Winona out and aimed at the fallen man.
The old woman stands.
She scurries over to the fallen Tarnat and slugs him in the jaw. Then clutches her hand with a grunt of pain.
John reholsters his pistol, turning away, his reply generally ignored.
John sees that the old woman is all cranked up and he puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, his voice softly reassuring under her frantic words.
His words are cut off by a shout of pain as the old woman blows a palm full of white powder directly into his eyes. Groaning, he staggers about, hands futily shielding his eyes.
Blindly, he staggers to the edge of the plateau [ and here I admit, I shrieked 'oh, no!' but, ]
Cut to long across the plateau, John's silouetted figure in the far background, a heavy mist overlies the temple proper but slowly thins to reveal the structure. John's figure fades from the plateau to reappear on the floor of the temple proper, walking to camera. The sound of chanting voices quiet in the background.
His figure fades again, reappearing closer to FG, walking up the sloping decline between the ground level and the floor of the temple proper. All around him appear figures dressed in red robes. Before him, the large bluish platform fades in, a small body curled at the top of the reddish oval. The chanting swells slightly.
He fades out and in again, now standing at the edge of the platform, all else remains in place; including the mist which thins no further.
Cut to close on a red robed priest, a colorful mask over his face. A long wicked knife in upraised hand. He lowers the blade slowly and shot pans down to include the small figure on the platform, a small alien critter with four curling horns and four eyes. The blade of the knife moves over its throat. The chanting voices growing louder.
Cut to wide and long on the temple proper; John now leaning on the near side of the large platform, a bloodstained altar holding a ritual sacrifice before the red garbed priests of the temple. John wavers and looks about as the chanting reaches a peak.
Cut to close on John standing on the plateau; he kneels and reaches for an object on the ground.
He lifts the small golden pyramid in both hands, all four sides etched with symbols.
He looks up again.
Standing, he continues looking around, the ocean and coastline a backdrop to past events. He looks up at the sound of an explosion. A bright burst of light which spreads to a wide halo. Three bright objects spaced evenly around the edges of the halo drop toward the ground.
He watches as the three probes drop toward the ground with the halo of energy. Cut to long on the shoreline as the probes strike with a thundering explosion, the halo of energy spreading outward, the wave front passing through him.
Cut to close on John, flinching back from the suggested explosion.
Cut to long on John, stumbling and sitting abruptly at the top of the plateau, legs dangling slightly over the edge. The old woman approaches slowly. She crouches beside him as he settles a bit, coming to himself.
She leans in, whispering in his ear. And extreme close up on this, it's just not a pretty sight.
And more white powder in the face. John falls back, arms flailing, late in the protection maneuver again.
Close on John, flat on his back, eyes rolling up into his head.
Close on John, face down and floating, submerged in water. His eyes pop open and he flails, pulling back.
Cut to the surface as his head rises above the waterline, gasping for breath, hands flailing wildly. Sharing the ocean with him, in very close proximity, Oo-nii. The camera bobs beneath the surface as he turns and makes an only slightly panicked swim for the shore a short distance away.
Oo-Nii swims after him, diving beneath the surface to do that cool mermaid swim.
Shot surfaces in time to see Crichton stumble out of the water, over the rocky shore.
John takes an impromptu seat on one of the large boulders, then stands and staggers a bit further inland. Oo-nii climbs out of the water behind him. He turns toward the large brightly colored critter as it approaches.
Oo-nii takes a position behind a large rock, while John gathers his wits, looking up at the sky, water rolling down his face.
Still gasping for breath, John isn't in shape to stop anyone right about now.
John's hand goes immediately to the holster, finding it empty.
And, he bolts. Oo-nii sniggering slightly behind him.
Eyes closed, Pilot chants quietly. Rygel emerges with a green bag 'o light from under the console, patting it into place it brightens, significantly increasing the light level in the area.
Jool enters as D'Argo's indulging in a bit o' the liquid refreshment.
He tosses the empty container across the room, Jool glances at it, a bit concerned.
D'Argo turns to face her, one shoulder braced against the wall... just a tiny bit drunk.
A long pause and a very grim look from D'Argo as he moves a bit closer.
Exit pissed Luxan, brushing past her on his way out.
Rygel's hangin' in the Den and Sikozu is messin' around with Crichton's switches.
Pilot mumbles quietly. Getting no response from Ms. Handyman, Rygel turns to comfort Pilot, shushing her tenderly.
In the hangar, Sikozu looks triumphant as the module cranks over, engines firing.
Jool's followed him around the corner.
He moves closer. [ Good look at sleeker costume, lightweight material in the robes, foreshortened shoulder guards, shiny metal bracers from wrist to elbow. And good god, do I hear chains rattling when he walks? Yep, there's something on his boots... spurs? Chainmale, er, chainmail boxers? ]
Exit surly Luxan, bent feelings and all.
Shot is angle up and wide through the scrawny treetops of the scrawny wood which manages to thrive on the planet. John's voice loud over all, angrily seeking.
Long on a well lit tunnel, the old woman lurking in the FG.
John, pacing slowly through the wooded area, still calling out for the old woman.
Stops and turns toward camera.
Close on the hold woman, Winona held firmly in her grasp.
Close on John, pressing knuckles to aching eyes. The old woman's voice over the shot, echoes slightly on the final word.
Close on the old woman, still peering around inside the tunnel, Winona raised in her right hand. The sound of water trickling in the BG.
Cut to John, jogging down a ramped tunnel, past an open barred gate. He pauses, turning to look back as the light behind him changes slightly, perhaps a shadow of someone passing by.
He runs back up the stairs at the far end of the ramp, heading back out into the open.
Cut back to the old woman, somewhere in the depths of the tunnels.
She turns to camera, and we still hear her voice but her lips most definitely are 'not' moving.
Cut to D'Argo maneuvering himself down the tunnels, using his hands to brace himself-- he may be a wee bit drunk. The last few of Wrinkle's words are over shot. He's got his Qualta Blade out, drooping in his right hand.
D'Argo stops, spotting something on the ground.
He bends down, picking up the perilous archeologists tool.
Cut to Wrinkles, entering a tunnel from an intersection near an exit, behind her is the open air of the forest.
Cut to long on Vella, crouched on the floor in another tunnel, chanting voices of the priests in the background becoming ever louder, although completely unnoticed by all.
Cut to close on the old woman.
She hurries on her way, and...
Cut to Vella moving down a tunnel, shot pans right as she passes and follows as she continues down the tunnel, shot peering around the corner as she stops at the far end.
Cut to close on Vella, angle up and through a shelf containing a few artifacts; she somehow gains an awareness that she's being watched. Or maybe she's just paranoid.
She turns her head quickly, and cut to long on her, someone peering from behind a recess point in the corridor-- peerers pov.
Following shot moves into the open and around the corner to 'confront' Vella, who seems unsurprised.
Angle up on John, circling about aimlessly, the sun above his head casts his figure in a hazy bright light.
Close on Vella, some slight tinge of fear overlying annoyance.
John makes his way down a trail, ducking past overgrowing vegetation.
Vella raises her hands in fear against her unseen agressor, screams in fear.
John's attention is drawn to a partially concealed tunnel opening by an echoing shout and a bright burst of light. He clambers down a slight decline to the opening.
Bracing his hands against the top of the tunnel opening, John peers inside before dropping down to enter.
Walking the last distance on the ramped entry, bright light of the open air just behind, John enters the tunnel, walking a short distance before discovering an 'odd' formation in the walls.
The head and shoulders of Instructor Vella, solid stone and sticking out of the wall, one arm still reaching out. The scene brightly illuminated by the large bank of lights just behind him. He taps the head of the frozen figure, muttering a mild oath.
A large hand grips him by the neck, hauling him backward.
D'Argo presses him against the wall of an adjoining tunnel, out of sight for the moment.
Just a bit frightened out of his wits, John's fist balls reflexively before he can get it to drop quiet by his side.
New arrival interrupts them.
D'Argo leaps out of hiding and Tarnat gets out one accusation before D'Argo fells him with one blow.
Tarnat goes down and D'Argo steps over him, grabbing the lurking Oo-nii by the scruff of his... uh, scruff, flinging him against the far wall and holding the carver menacingly to the critters gasping face.
Freeze and fade to black.
The old woman, sitting behind a small cairn of rocks, speaks softly, a prayer for the dead.
Close on the alien fish-guy, Oo-nii; bowing and scraping, seems to also be muttering a sort of prayer in an undetermined language. Shot pans up and wide, Chi standing behind him, alternately examining Oo-nii and the petrified Vella. Behind her stands John, one hand braced against the near tunnel wall. Behind him, D'Argo is propped, shoulder against an intesecting tunnel wall. And behind him, Jool is crouched over the fallen Tarnet.
John's glaring at the remains of Vella. Chi is simply facinated, Jool stepping up behind her.
Oo-nii continues a groaning chant, kneeling on the floor below Vella.
The old woman still sitting behind the rock cairn, still praying.
Close on the exhaust of the Farscape. Cut to Sikozu, sitting in the pilot's seat. Rygel worms up the side of the craft, peering in at her.
A static filled dissonance fills the cockpit, drawing the attention of both.
Rygel worms his way out of sight.
Sikozu closes the canopy, ready for flight.
Back at that same familiar rock plateau, on the ocean side of the ancient temple. Sunbaked and bright. John and Tarnat walk into shot around the large stone statue. Sans pulse pistol, John has the carver strapped to his right arm; his hand rests on Tarnat's shoulder, but given the proximity of the carver, I'm sure it's not a 'buddy' thing.
John stops, looking around, squinting in the bright light. Tarnat continues walking.
Cut to long on the plateau, lovely four-shot; pillar, statue, Tarnat and John. Pillar and Tarnat in FG.
He raises his right arm, pointing at a spot near Tarnat.
He crosses the intervening space, fiddling with the controls of the carver-- pointing it in Tarnat's general direction.
Engaging a control, he points the device at the ground near his feet, a wavering golden beam is emitted, striking the ground, which steams as though being burned away.
Under the beam of the carver, the ground is eaten away, revealing a small pyramid shaped object. John crouches, pulling the object from the ground.
Close on the object as he turns the small golden pyramid, etched in strange symbols on each of its four sides, in his hands. Examining it closely.
He stands, handing the object to Tarnat as he runs back to the top of the plateau, looking back and forth along the coastline from that vantage point.
Tarnat examines the object, flipping it from one side to the next.
He rushes back down the few layers of the plateau, taking the object from Tarnak.
At John's urging, they head back the way they came.
Inside his ship, D'Argo powers up systems while comming Chiana.
Wild blare of alarms in the cockpit.
D'Argo snarls and makes to move out.
Nice hero shot for D'Argo, stepping down from his ship, wind whipping tentacles, Qualta Blade at the ready-- as seen in promos for S4.
Long on a tunnel, John and Tarnat enter from a doorless doorway, walking rapidly to camera. John still holds the small triangular object in hand.
[ walkin' and talkin' so it must be exposition. And another tee-hee moment, 'cause now the carver is strapped to his left arm-- the tiny pyramid in his right hand-- but I'll give 'em that. He could have unstrapped it from his right arm to put it on his left arm-- yeah, that could'a happened. ]
Cut to Chi, stepping into the tunnel, hands primly behind her back.
John hauls Tarnat to a stop, and he's so wrapped in the moment, he didn't notice the dark figures seen through the open doorway behind him as he passed it and stopped just beyond it.
Finally turning his head, John sees them as one steps out of the doorway, placing a firm hand on John's arm. John releases his hold on Tarnat, raising both hands, a gesture of surrender.
Cut back to Chi, the PK behind her has received no instructions regarding her care and feeding and so takes her to the ground with a rifle butt to her back.
Cut to Tarnat's frightened expression. John stands against the tunnel wall, a pulse rifle at his head.
Tarnat turns to flee, but there are PK's in the tunnel behind him, he stops and turns. A PK steps out of the room behind John and his captor, and blows Tarnat away with a pulse rifle shot to the midsection. Tarnat flops to the ground.
Qualta Blade upraised, D'Argo cautiously creeps from the mouth of one of the many tunnels which branch out from the open air circle of the atrium, the overgrowth of greenery above his head, festive in the bright light. He quietly comms for Chiana.
Shot pans right and slightly up to show familiar red boots perched on the edge of the rim of the atrium, body extended outward, defying gravity.
Cut to long and angle down. She stands on the top of the open wall, blythly defying gravity, her pulse pistol aimed directly down on D'Argo's head. His features twist in mild anger at having the drop gotten on him.
[ this must be why the disney-loli hairdo-- so her hair doesn't hang into her face and spoil her aim ]
Long on a tunnel well lit by the large fixture at the far end. PK's and their prisoners enter from an adjoining tunnel on the near end. John is flung to the ground by the Peacekeeper propelling him ahead of the group that follows with Chiana, hands cuffed behind her back.
John collects himself on the ground, turning to sit with his back braced against the wall as the PK holding Chiana enters the tunnel and backs slightly toward the far end before forcing her to her knees. Some forward thinking PK has divested him of the carver and so it is now on neither arm.
Grayza enters the tunnel from a junction at the far end and John turns his head briefly to watch her slow approach, turning away with a sigh as she and her escort of two pass Chiana and stop. Grayza's focus is entirely on John, sitting silent on the floor.
Grayza lifts her hand, a silent command, and Chi's guard slams his rifle butt into the girl's back, driving her forward. She rests there, forehead pressed to the floor while Grayza speaks, uninterrupted.
John turns an incredulous look on her.
Braca steps into the tunnel, Scorpius crawls on hands and knees behind him, a long chain secured around his neck leashes him to Braca. John can barely force a glance in that direction. Scorpy drools on the floor while Grayza reassures John.
Chi's recovered and is taking this in as well. A brief reaction shot from John that looks vaguely like gorge rising.
John's grinding his teeth now, it's hard to tell what he's finding harder to deal with.
Scorpius isn't responding to Grayza, just struggling to breathe and not drool too much. She runs out of patience and kicks him. He falls to the floor. At the sound John can't help but risk a quick direct look. He does not look happy. Scorpius quickly struggles back up, cowering back a bit.
John looks away again, on edge but quiet; internal struggle going on. Grayza looks over, evaluating his response. She puts a hand on Braca's shoulder and lifts the sole of her boot toward Scorpius. Balancing there unsteadily while Braca cuffs the recalcitrant Scorpius forward. Scorpy scuttles forward under the blows raining down on his head, and extending his tongue, laps enthusiastically at the sole of her boot. [ and I just gotta titter at that every single time. ]
John peers over from the corner of his eye, disgust warring with other emotions before looking away again.
Grayza lowers her foot and steps closer still, Braca dragging Scorpius behind her on his leash.
John risks another quick look as Scorpius tries for enough control for a plea.
Looking away again, a disgusted smile tinged just slightly with Crichton patented hysteria.
Grayza turns a look on Braca, who hauls Scorpius away. She crouches beside him, closer yet. He looks, briefly, into her eyes before turning away.
Her fingers stroke across her bared flesh, ending on the inside curve of her breast.
She reaches out with that same hand, and John flinches away slightly.
Her hand drifts closer and he stops trying to draw away, sitting utterly still as her fingers drift just below his face, her thumb slightly stroking his chin. She extends her fingers, holding out her hand, and John turns toward her, looking down as her fingers rise, nearly brushing his lips before his gaze, now intense, locks with hers.
A sudden explosion of movement and his hand locks around the back of her neck, holding her at arms length. The PK's start forward, pulse rifles up.
Grayza, her eyes still locked on John's, raises a hand, holding the PK's back.
Close on John, massively struggling with an inner compulsion; his features tense, twisting in anger. His eyes blazing with what looks to be anger or hate. He rocks minutely forward and back, being drawn forward into her while pulling back with all of his strength.
He's in a losing battle and he drifts closer yet while still struggling to break away. Behind them, Chi tries to see beyond Grayza's back, pulling against her captor.
Giving up in the last small distance, his eyes close as he's drawn to her, his lips sealed on hers, and they kiss, long, lingering, and deeply.
Grayza places a free hand on his chest, pressing him back slightly as she disengages from his lips. Close on his fogged expression as she pulls away.
His hand slides from her neck to her shoulder as she pulls slowly away, and his body relaxes slightly forward, drained of energy.
As she stands his hand trails down her bare flesh, from throat to waist before dropping to her leg. She walks away, giving a final command to her soldiers, and his hand falls away entirely, almost tipping him forward at the loss of support.
Grayza exits and Chi's guard hurls her to the floor again. Close on John, trying to reorient himself, his hand rubbing restlessly against his nose and lips, shaking his head as the fog lifts.
Fade to Black.
Close on the somnolent face of the aged Pilot. Silence broken as Rygel's tiny paw reaches up and slaps the massive face.
Panting with the effort, Rygel hovers higher and sinks his teeth into Pilot's upper lip, she moans in pain but the ploy works.
Pilot starts 'chanting' unintelligibly again.
Her eyes close and she drifts off again, chanting weakly.
The chained Scorpius kneels in the FG as Braca circles him, heading toward Commandant Grayza, standing in the BG beside an open doorway, hand propped against the doorframe. On a wall nearby is one of the Interion magnetics sensors.
She nods to the magnetics sensor, now humming blithly in the BG.
Braca examines it closely. The tiny light is still blue but it buzzes loudly.
In the FG, Scorpius looks a bit... 'healtier'. Behind Grayza a PK Soldier appears, handing over one of those cool yellow rods.
Braca smiles, accepting the rod. His expression a bit more grim as he moves to Scorpius, still having a bit of difficulty on the floor, and engages the cooling chamber.
Scorpius's hand shoots out, gripping Braca's face in one hand, fingers digging into his jaw.
Braca grins, plucking out the yellow rod from within the open chamber. Brandishing the rod before placing it in the chamber.
Scorpius spits on his former toady before whipping his head about and sinking his teeth into Braca's wrist.
Braca's mouth contorts in silent agony, but Scorpius releases his grip, eyes locked on his former flunky. Braca pauses a moment, then engages the chamber and it cycles closed. Kicking Scorpius against the wall, he rebounds against it before falling to the floor, twitching heavily.
Long on the creature from the black lagoon swimming through the greenish water in the subterranean chamber. Surfacing, he makes his way to a large tile in the floor, lifting it and propping it against the wall.
He lifts one of the odd shaped 'probes' from the hole beneath the tile, examining it briefly before putting it back. When he stands we see the wall painted with symbols that Crichton noted earlier.
In another area of what was once a temple, Chiana, Jool and the old woman are now being held behind the ornate bars of an alcove; a makeshift holding cell. PK Essentials. Plenty of light within the barred alcove, the remainder of the space is cloaked in darkness.
Shot is long across the space moving toward the alcove, the light from above as if open to the sky. Chiana stands near the bars with the old woman. A PK Soldier stands at guard to one side, another across the open space in the darkness.
Cut to two shot on Chi and the old woman at the bars.
The old woman turns and wanders away to stand against the far wall of the open alcove.
Cut to wide on the alcove, Chi still standing against the bars, the old woman facing the wall a few steps away. Jool sits on a block in the corner, her back resting against the wall.
Chi crosses the space to sit beside Jool, and the shot is 'all' foreground through the lovely spokes of the bars.
Annoyed, Chi stands and returns to stand by the bars.
She moves to the end of the bars, hailing the PK Soldier.
PK soldier 1 turns his helmeted head, looking across the room; Chi's head turns to follow his gaze. Pan to the far side; PK Soldier 2 stands in darkness, nodding slightly.
Close on Grayza's fingers, stroking through beads of perspiration on her chest. [ okay, this isn't sexy, is it? ] Cut to med, two-shot, Grayza lifts her hand to John's lips. Cut to close on John, reacting to whatever it is in the lovely Commandant's biochemistry; he starts slightly, eyes rolling up as he sinks slowly to a seated position against an outcropping. Grayza leans across him, pressing close as she places a large pulse pistol on the rock shelf beside him. His hand immediately reaches for it but can't quite close on the weapon, instead his hand drifts back toward the woman in front of him.
Shot pans up from his hand to his face, straining against compulsion, he turns a slightly unfocused gaze in her direction. Cut to long and angle down on the pair, the ocean crashing against the rocks below them. Grayza reaches out, stroking his face, his lips. [ yike ] She curls around him, nuzzling his neck and he shudders, eyes closing.
She raises her head, looking up and sees Braca with chained Scorpius in tow peer over the top of the ledge. Grayza smiles slightly before turning back to John.
Yikes, looking slightly upward as she leans over him, his eyes are locked on hers.
Cut to close on the old woman, sitting somewhere outside, trees surrounding her.
Cut back to close on John, Grazya curling around him again, lips seeking his throat. He shudders again, eyes rolling up until the irises disappear.
No nodding or anything, but he drags her forward onto his lap, one hand pressed against her back. She's sitting astride him now, one hand stroking the back of his head, down his neck, and he's shivering, a fire burning.
Grayza takes his head in her hands, fingers slipping across his temples and into his hair; she tips his head slightly while he waits, mouth slightly open.
Cut to long on the ocean, the waves bursting against the rocky shore.
Cut to long, angle slightly down on them as John falls slowly backward against the rock shelf, taking her with him. Their arms pressing bodies close as the ocean rages and the pulse pistol sits within easy reach, forgotten.
Cut to close on the old woman.
Fade to black.
[ geez, get the woman a name already. ]
Okay, back at the overlook vista, large stone statue perched on the shelf behind where Crichton huddles on the edge furthest from the drop. Knees drawn up under crossed arms, his head lowered to his forearms. Kinda whipped. The old woman approaches and stands nearby, speaking softly.
John speaks to her without looking.
She moves to sit beside him. Cut to close on them, John is rocking himself slightly, a comforting gesture.
Again, he speaks without looking up, her whispered answer is more to herself than to him.
They sit silently for a bit, the wind whipping at her hair. She glances as him, still huddled and rocking on the edge.
She glances at him again, but he's unmoving, his gaze fixed on some point far away.
Cripes, and she blows more of the white powder in his face. John gasps and staggers to his feet.
Flash cut to earlier vision of the exterior temple proper, many red garbed priest standing about. John leaning against the bloodstained altar.
Flash cut to closeup on John, still and eyes open.
Flash cut to John standing at the clifftop, arm extended to the sky, palm flat and facing perpendicular to his body, thumb inward, as though drawing a line from the sky.
Cut to subterranean chamber, John places his hand flat on the hand symbol painted on the wall.
Flash cut to closeup on John, cut to close on the old woman, blowing white powder outward.
Flash cut to close on John, standing on the cliff's edge, he looks upward as a burst of light spreads outward. Cut to close on red garbed priest, holding a long wicked looking knife upraised. Cut to close on John's hands, holding the small golden pyramid tile. Cut to long on John, standing at the cliff's edge, the probes hit ground and the halo of energy flares outward.
Flash cut to close on John. Cut to close on the old woman blowing the powder outward.
Flash cut to long across the temple proper. Many red garbed priest stand about, three clustering around the bloodstained altar; the now unmoving goat lying before them. In the far background, John's black garbed form. The priests, all, turn slowly toward him.
Cut to close on John, backing away slightly.
Cut to long across the temple proper, all the priests moving to intercept him as he backs away; the bloodstained altar now vacant; no sacrifice other than John, still slowly backing away in the distance.
Cut to close on John, still backing slowly away as a red garbed priest slowly approaches him.
Cut to Braca, stepping out of the undergrowth, onto an open path; looking around.
Cut to close on John, he staggers backward.
Cut to Braca, heading to camera on the trail, a PK Soldier following him. Shortly he starts to run.
Cut to long on cliff top; John backing slowly from two red garbed priests; the old woman huddles on the ground, what she must do she cannot watch; looking away as she instructs him.
Quick cut and the red garbed priests disappear, but John continues backing as though they are there. Which, of course, they are; in his own mind.
Cut to Braca, still jogging along the trail, the armed soldier close behind; he's keeping an eye out, searching as he runs.
Cut to close on the old woman, looking utterly miserable.
Cut to long across the cliff top, John, now very near the edge, struggles with the two red garbed priests. He pushes them away--
Quick cut and John staggers forward, pushing away unseen priests.
John turns, bolting away, heading toward the cliff edge.
Cut to long and down on John at the cliff's edge; the ocean crashing against the rocks far below. He wheels about at the edge, facing the two red garbed priests again, the old woman still cowers on the ground.
The scene quick cuts a couple more times, the red garbed priests appearing and disappearing as John seeks out an avenue of escape.
Cut to reverse shot, angle up, on the trio at the cliff's edge. John standing at the edge, the two red robed priests facing him, both the image of the old woman.
Cut to close on the old woman's aggrieved expression, her gaze sliding reluctantly to the man standing on the edge of the cliff. Braca runs into shot behind her, drawing to a stop.
Cut to what Braca can see... John standing alone near the edge of the cliff, slightly wavering.
Cut to reverse shot, slightly angle up. The double image of the old woman in the red robes of the priests, raise their hands, blowing the white powder outward. Close on John has he staggers anew, arms flailing to protect, or to block what he sees.
And we get a lovely series of rapid flash cuts--
Close on the red cowled old woman; cut to close on John, head falling back as his eyes roll up; cut to long and up on John, standing at the cliff's edge, arm outstretched to the sky, palm flat and facing outward as he touches the sky; Cut to John in the subterranean chamber, placing his palm flat against the hand-like rune painted on the wall; obligatory closeup on John's eye, rolling about, seeking focus; cut to long on the cliff top, John stands on the edge as the Darnak probes strike the surface and energy flares outward; eyeball closeup again; cut to close on the red robed and masked priest, knife upraised; cut to close on John's hands, holding the golden pyramid shaped tile; cut to close on John, near unconscious, the ocean beckoning far below as he leans precariously backward before recovering slightly.
Cut to long and angle up on the red robed old woman duo, standing before John, palms raised before their lips. John turns to flee.
Cut to long across the cliff top, no sign of the red robed figures, just John fleeing to the cliff's edge and the old woman nearly prostrate on the ground, watching.
Cut to Braca and PK Soldier as they run toward John.
Cut to John, long and angle down as he hits the edge and leaps out over nothing-- hurtling downward.
Cut to Braca arriving at the cliff edge, looking down as John falls.
Cut to long on John, falling into frame, arms and legs flailing. He hits the ocean, the rocks nearshore in close proximity, attendant splash, and he disappears beneath the surface.
Cut to close on the old woman.
Cut to close on Braca, an 'ah, hell, I'm screwed' look on his face, before turning back to the now empty sky, empty waters.
Cut to close on the old woman.
Fade to Black.