FARSCAPE

"...Different Destinations"

Written by,
Steve Worland



This transcript provided by: Farscape Ally!
Suggestions for corrections/revisions gratefully accepted.

Special thanks to $al-Man and that uncanny ability to spot our truly idiotic mistakes.


Starring:
Ben Browder
Claudia Black
Anthony Simcoe
Gigi Edgley
Paul Goddard
Lani Tupu
Wayne Pygram
Commander John Crichton
Officer Aeryn Sun
Ka D'Argo
Chiana
Stark
Captain Bialar Crais
Scorpius
Guest Starring:
Tammy McIntosh
Dan Spielman
Lucy Bell
Marshall Napier
Terry Serio
Basia A'Hern
Alan Cinis
Anne-Marie Kreller
Jool
Subofficer Dacon
Nurse Kelsa
General Grynes
Colonel Lennok
Cyntrina
Commander Tarn
Nurse Obvious


Writer: Steve Worland

Who also wrote:

Well, nothing else 'Farscape'. Welcome Steve!



Director: Peter Andrikidis

Who also directed:

(1:13) "The Flax".




Created by: Rockne S. O'Bannon
CONSULTING PRODUCER: Sue Milliken
CO-PRODUCER: Andrew Prowse
LINE PRODUCER: Lesley Parker
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Richard Manning
PRODUCED BY: Anthony Winley
WRITTEN BY: Steve Worland
DIRECTED BY: Peter Andrikidis
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: David Kemper
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Juliet Blake
Robert Halmi, Jr.
Brian Henson
EXECUTIVE CONSULTANT: Rockne S. O'Bannon
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Russell Bacon
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Tim Ferrier
MUSIC BY: Guy Gross
EDITOR: Neil Thumpston
COSTUME DESIGNER: Terry Ryan
SECOND UNIT DOP: Danny Batterham
STORY EDITOR: Lily Taylor
SCRIPT EDITOR: Matt Ford
PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE: Robert I. Wozniak
CREATURE SHOP CREATIVE SUPERVISOR: Dave Elsey
VISUAL EFFECTS: ANIMAL LOGIC





COLD OPEN





PLANET SIDE

Gorgeous CGI of an alien planetscape. The remnants of an ancient building graces the plateau of but one of a number of rocky spires in the shot. The building is settled against the cliff face of another rocky spire. The Terrain is daunting, surely only goats and aircraft could even reach it.



CRICHTON: [O.V.] Check this out. This memorial rocks... they've designed these goggles so that you can look back into the past at the old monastery. Come on... check it out.
D'Argo follows Crichton across a courtyard. They walk in front of a large structure sitting atop a pedestal. Crichton wears an odd 'gizmo' on his head. ( Looks like a 'welder's helmet' with a zoom lens attached to the right front of the eye sheild )



D'ARGO: John, what are you talking about? There is nothing here.

CRICHTON: You have to put the goggles on. Come on, take a look.

D'ARGO: Put the goggles on. Do you want me to look?

CRICHTON: Yes... through the goggles.
D'Argo holds his 'goggles' in front of his face, his head being too big to accomodate wearing as Crichton wears his. An opening shimmers on the structure on the pedestal, and D'Argo takes a look into the past.



D'ARGO: [O.V.] ( whispering ) "Oh, my"

CRICHTON: [O.V.] Pretty cool, huh?

D'ARGO: [O.V.] Incredible.

CRICHTON: [O.V.] This sucker is a tear in time. It links to the past. It looks back to the actual moment when the event occurred. Now, check it out. This is the nurses surrendering to the Venik Horde.

D'ARGO: Can they see us?

CRICHTON: I hope not.

CRICHTON: [O.V.] Keep watching. You'll see the final attack on the Monastery. This thing flicks back and forth between the attack and the truce.
Crichton lifts his goggles and moves away as D'Argo continues watching history unfold. Above him Aeryn and Jool cross the walkway fronting the parapet wall of the monastery, they take the steps down to the courtyard, bickering the entire time.



AERYN: This recording device is accurate. I learned about this Jocation Memorial.

JOOL: Well. Need I say more? If you learned about it in Military School, it's certain to be farko.

AERYN: Five hundred cycles ago, thirty Peacekeepers lost their lives defending this monastery, and Subofficer Dacon is one of our greatest heroes.
Stepping into the courtyard, D'Argo stands in the wide space that Jool and Aeryn have taken between each other.



JOOL: Propaganda for morons.

AERYN: I don't believe...!

D'ARGO: Ah, ladies... some decorum please. This is a 'peace memorial'. Let's not kill one another.

AERYN: You're wrong you know.

JOOL: Bullfrell.

AERYN: You're wrong!

JOOL: Bullfrell!

AERYN: You're wrong, if you'd only... Subofficer Dacon stood right up there! The device says, right up there! Guts pouring out everywhere, bleeding, and yet he still managed to initiate the peace process to save the nurses. Unable to take, what must be to her, the worst kind of hypocrisy, Jool closes the distance between herself and Aeryn.



JOOL: Bullfrell! Peacekeepers have always been a manifest military contagion that has raped and pillaged. They haven't died for any nurses! That's just a silly little story to help naive children sleep at night.

AERYN: Do you know what would help me sleep better at night?

D'ARGO: Stop it.

AERYN: Do you want to hear...
D'Argo pushes between the two women, trying to breakup the caterwauling, they all shout at the same time! Crichton watches, safely out of it, from the other side of the memorial.



D'ARGO: Stop this. Girls... stop this...

AERYN: I'm going to take this thing and shove it so far down your throat!

D'ARGO: Stopstopstopstopstopstop! Stop it! Okay? Stop. Good. Rygel. Can we get out of here yet?


INTERCUT

MOYA

Chiana walks down a corridor, giving her status report to D'Argo.



CHIANA: D'Argo. It's Chi. No, no, no. We-we can't leave yet. Pilot still needs another arn to fix the condensers. I'll let you know when he's done.
Outside Zhaan's quarters, Chiana hears a slight noise before she enters.



RYGEL: Oh.

CHIANA: What are you doing in Zhaan's quarters?

RYGEL: You know why I'm here. Same reason as you.

CHIANA: And why am I here?

RYGEL: To steal whatever's left.

CHIANA: Yeah. That's right.

RYGEL: Well, we're sensible you and me. Leaving this to rot won't bring Zhaan back.
Struggling to restrain tears, Chiana gives up on any pretense of why she's really there.



CHIANA: No. You can have whatever you find. I don't want it.

RYGEL: No. Neither do I.
Rygel gives up that same pretense. Throwing a small melted bottle to the floor where it shatters.



INTERCUT

PLANETSIDE, The Memorial

Crichton walks over to where Stark sits, wilted in new duds, at the base of the stairs.



CRICHTON: Stark. Let me show you something.

STARK: Zhaan bought these. Bought them for me.

CRICHTON: I know, and you look great. You look like... Astroboy. Come on, let me show you.

STARK: But her voice is gone. It's gone now.

CRICHTON: Come with me.
Crichton holds his hands outstretched and Stark takes it, letting Crichton pull him to his feet.



CRICHTON: Come on.
Putting one arm around Stark's shoulders, Crichton walks him to the memorial.



CRICHTON: With these, you can see 500 cycles into the past, as it's happening... back to the moment... when the nurses here were saved.
Crichton fixes the goggles on Stark's head, best as he can with the mask and all.



STARK: Ah... I don't want to. No, no.

CRICHTON: No, it's okay. It's a moment of peace. It's the very thing Zhaan treasured most.
Crichton flips the goggles down in front of Stark's face.



CRICHTON: Can you see it?

STARK: I can see... I can see so much... so much death!
Stark begins to howl in agony, the past unfolding before him is a battle... people screaming as they are killed.



D'ARGO: Get that mask off of him!

AERYN: What are you doing to him?!

CRICHTON: Stark?!
Crichton makes a grab for the goggles, but as his hand hits the lens a bright light erupts from behind the mask. Blinding in it's intensity, the light spreads over the immediate area. In the pandemonium, Jool's shrieking joins Starks screams.



CRICHTON: I can't see!

AERYN: Shut up, would you?

D'ARGO: I can't see.

CRICHTON: Stark, are you all right?!

D'ARGO: Stark!
Starks howls cease as he passes out, the light winks out as he falls forward and rolls onto his back. D'Argo crouches beside him, pulling the goggles from his masked face.



D'ARGO: He's breathing.

AERYN: What happened?

JOOL: Oh.... Where the frell are we?
They all notice their 'new' surroundings. Gone is the memorial, replaced by an ancient statue. The cultivated landscaping simply gone, the blue flags which marked the periphery of the courtyard replaced by torches. Daylight turned to night.



CRICHTON: The old monastery.

AERYN: How can that be? We're not wearing the goggles.

JOOL: This is outstanding. This is the finest simulation I've ever seen. It's... so real! It's so...

MALE VOICE: Incoming! Get down!
Looking up at the shout of alarm, they see dozens of firey arrows raining down from over the parapet walls.



MALE VOICE: Get down!
They all seek cover as best they can as the arrows hit home in the walls and on the ground around them. A single arrow finding a better mark, striking Jool in the arm, passing halfway through. She shrieks in agony.



CRICHTON: D'Argo, Jool's hit!

D'ARGO: Jool!
D'Argo runs to her side as she stands frozen, shrieking in pain.



D'ARGO: Jool!
Jool continues shrieking as D'Argo pulls her away just as a spear strikes the ground where she had been standing. An explosive charge ignites from the spearhead, filling the courtyard with fire and smoke.


END COLD OPEN










ROLL OPENING CREDITS

My name is John Crichton... I'm lost... an astronaut... shot through a wormhole.... In some distant part of the universe.... I'm trying to stay alive... Aboard this ship-- this living ship... of escaped prisoners-- my friends. If you can hear me... beware... if I make it back... will they follow? If I open the door... are you ready? Earth is unprepared, helpless... for the nightmares I've seen. Or should I stay, protect my home, not show them you exist. But then you'll never know the wonders I've seen.








ACT I



THE MONTASTERY COURTYARD, The Past

The missle attack continues around them. Aeryn and Crichton have pistols drawn, but no enemy to shoot at.



AERYN: Right, move now.
Crichton ducks for better cover, as Aeryn moves to D'Argo and Jool, helping him move her to shelter. They pass Crichton who drags an unconcious Stark along the ground by one arm.



AERYN: Come on, in.

JOOL: Don't touch me!

AERYN: Move it.

D'ARGO: If you don't move, you'll die.

AERYN: Move it.
They all reach meager shelter by the inner wall as the missle attack continues. Women garbed in black and white run in the opposite direction, buckets in hand to put out the fires.



JOOL: Oh, I thought we were at a peace memorial.

JOOL: I got shot at a peace memorial!

AERYN: Shut up.
Aeryn sits Jool down and snaps off the tip of the arrow.



JOOL: What are you doing?!
Aeryn grabs the other end of the arrow and pulls the shaft from Jool's arm. Jool thanks her by shrieking in her ear.



AERYN: Stop screaming.
Aeryn clocks her one in the jaw, effectively stopping the screaming herself.



CRICHTON: Nice hit.
Aeryn shakes her hand. Jool has a hard jaw it seems.



CRICHTON: All right, no weapons. Let's figure out what's going on here.

AERYN: I know exactly what's going on. Someone is trying to kill us.

CRICHTON: No, Aeryn, I think Stark's mask might have pulled us sometime into the past.

AERYN: I kind of figured that one out.

D'ARGO: John's right. If we change anything here, change the past-- The future might not happen as it's meant to.

CRICHTON: And we won't get back.

AERYN: So we don't get back. But I'm not dying just so that things don't change.

TARN: Don't move!
Their discussion is interrupted by the Peacekeeper force. Caught off-guard, both Crichton and Aeryn pull pistols again. Recovering soonest, Crichton reholsters.



CRICHTON: Whoa, whoa! No weapons! No, no, don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot.
Aeryn reholsters her weapon, mimicking Crichton's-- arms outstretched, palms out; 'don't shoot', gesture.



AERYN: Reinforcements.

TARN: You received our distress call?

AERYN: Yes, we did. Are you Subofficer Dacon?

TARN: No, Commanding Officer Tarn.

AERYN: Officer Sun, Subofficer Crichton--
( Okay, and yes, he does shoot her a bit of a 'look' there. )
AERYN: Luxan is a mercenary.

TARN: How did you get inside.

AERYN: We rappelled down the cliff face. Only five of us made it... but the Banik--
They're interrupted by a young man, looking no more than a promising 20 or so.



DACON: Five?! But we asked for hundreds of soldiers. The Veniks, there are thousands in the valley!

TARN: Dacon, shut up, and get back up on the wall.

DACON: Yes, sir.

D'ARGO: That is Subofficer Dacon?

TARN: Nurse! ... Are there more reinforcements on the cliff?

AERYN: ( simultaneous with Crichton ) No.

CRICHTON: ( simultaneous with Aeryn ) Yes.

CRICHTON: Maybe.

TARN: All right, now they're jamming all pulse weapons, so grab a spear and keep the bastards from getting in.
VENIK ONSLAUGHT

The Venik attack is preceded with the sounding of a distant horn. Crichton and Aeryn grab weapons from the stockpile at a near wall just as the Venik's start pouring over the wall. Chaos ensues!

Crichton spares a moment to watch D'Argo, using his Blade as a club, beating back a couple of the invaders.




D'ARGO: Hah!

CRICHTON: Hey, try not to kill anybody!

D'ARGO: I'm not gonna kill anyone... Oh... I-I might kill this guy...
Up on the wall with Officer Dacon, Aeryn lends assistance as Dacon is attacked by a Venik soldier.



AERYN: Dacon!
Crichton and D'Argo continue defending against the encroaching soldiers on the floor of the 'memorial'. Crichton gets in too good of a hit on the throat of one of the Veniks.



CRICHTON: Oh! Sorry, don't die, don't die!
The heated battle continues as Commander Tarn is struck from the wall by a fatal blow.



DACON: Officer Tarn!


INTERCUT

MOYA, Command Chiana strolls into Command. She checks readings on a couple of different consoles.



CHIANA: What's the matter, Pilot? Why'd you comm?

PILOT: Have you heard from Crichton at the memorial?

CHIANA: Yeah, D'Argo comm'd about an arn ago. He said Jool and Aeryn were 'trelk-fighting'. That seemed normal. Why? What's the matter?

PILOT: Nothing. Just, when we arrived, the automated orbit instructions were broadcast in Jocation.

CHIANA: Yeah, well, it's their memorial.

PILOT: But now, Moya received a request to lift orbit. This time the broadcast was in basic Venik vernacular.

CHIANA: Yeah, but didn't the Veniks abandon the planet like, 400 cycles ago?

PILOT: That's what I thought.

CHIANA: Well, comm Crichton and D'Argo. I'll poke around in some frequencies and see what I can find.


INTERCUT

PLANETSIDE

Aftermath of battle. Dacon and a group of nurses bury the dead. D'Argo watches briefly before joining Aeryn and Crichton who are in close and quiet discussion, as she consults the small electronic 'tourist pamphlet'.



FEMALE VOICE: Do you all know the sacrifice you have made...?

CRICHTON: So what does that recording device say. Did we miss anything?

AERYN: I don't know. It says here that the Veniks attacked, and all but one of the Peacekeepers were killed. And that happened.

D'ARGO: The one you saved-- was he supposed to die?

AERYN: Dacon? No, he dies when he gets up there near dawn, and sends back the cease-fire initiative to the Veniks.

D'ARGO: So, Dacon's supposed to be some kind of hero?

AERYN: So I was taught...
Aeryn activates the electronic pamphlet again, a small oval screen displays the image of the Venik General (Looks kinda like a big 'ol humanoid lion)



AERYN: ... anyway... according to this, the leader of the Venik Horde, General Grynes, has just witnessed how this battle went-- ascertained there are only women and children remaining, and is out there now-- convincing the other generals to offer a cease-fire.

CRICHTON: So, it's possible the time tear is still around here. We find it, and let's get out.

D'ARGO: I'll get Jool and Stark and find the tear. Don't-- frell things up when I'm gone.
D'Argo snorts and departs on his mission.



AERYN: You know, if we did change things, it is possible that we could improve the future.

CRICHTON: With our record? You think that's gonna happen?

AERYN: I guess not... I discovered something, by the way. I don't know about yours...
Aeryn unholsters her pulse pisol. Switching it on, she displays the butt... four small red lights cycle and the weapon hums in two part harmony.



AERYN: ... but my pulse pistol is operational.
Crichton checks his weapon, it makes the same harmony as Aeryn's



CRICHTON: Yeah, mine too.

AERYN: Their plasma frequencies must only work against primitive rechargers.

CRICHTON: What about D'Argo's Qualta rifle?

AERYN: It's as old as most of the weapons around here, I doubt it'll fire.
Dacon approaches, asking Crichton's assistance.



DACON: This one's still alive... can you help me get him to the lock room?

CRICHTON: Yeah, no problem, Opie.
Crichton follows Dacon, holding Aeyrn by the arm.



CRICHTON: I just hope this... was supposed to happen.
Releasing Aeryn's arm, Crichton steps to the side of the Venik on the ground, his attention back on task.



CRICHTON: So... you guys got any beer around here?
Crichton kneels down by the wounded Venik, pulling the face guard off the alien, getting his UT and Star Trek nomenclature slightly confused.



CRICHTON: Beer... it's, ah... like Fellip Nectar. Fellip's a creature on Tarsus Six.

The sight that greets Crichton as the mask is removed gives him pause. He recognizes the alien beneath the mask from Aeryn's 'video pamphlet'. Their captive is the Venik general. General Grynes.


INTERCUT

A nurse and a young girl are attending to Jool's injury... she's bitchin' the entire time. Stark is sitting in the background, concious again but his head is hanging.



JOOL: Ow.. that hurt!
Jool eyes the bandage the nurse wraps around her injury.



JOOL: Is that sterile? Oh, god, I'll probably get Epcus.
The young girl hands a small cup of green fluid to the nurse who offers it to Jool.



NURSE (Kelsa): Here, drink this.

JOOL: Why?

KELSA: It will dull the pain.

JOOL: Oh, thank Blesma.

And oh-my-god, this is SO precious... apparently Jool's race drinks by absorbing moisture in tiny droplets. hehe. She brings the cup to her lips, but rather than just, you know, sipping politely, she 'blows bubbles into the surface of the liquid. This action is accompanied by a high pitched humming noise! LOL! It's like having a three year old at the table! hehe



JOOL: Ah. At least maybe now I won't die of shock. The bitch just shoved the arrow through, she...
Jool's head rolls back, her eyes almost rolling back into her head, she's feeling the effects of the pain dulling fluid.



JOOL: Oh, hello... Heska.

KELSA: Do you feel this?

JOOL: Nothing... Oh, look!
Jool bashes on her bandaged arm.



JOOL: This is great! I've got to get some of this to bring home! What is it?

Jool takes the cup again and 'drinks', gurgling and humming away. hehe



KELSA: One part water, nine parts Fellip urine.
For all the gurgling she shows she can get a lot into her mouth as she gags and spews it out!


JOOL: You made me drink piss?
For as deeply offended and shocked as she must be, the big 'ol Fellip urine induced grin on her face, kind of takes the sting out. D'Argo, having arrived earlier, is crouched by Stark's side. Witnessing the 'spit-take' incident, and ever the diplomat, he makes to drag them both away.



D'ARGO: Okay, okay, Jool. Let's get out of here... away from the children. ( to Stark ) You can come with me, too.
D'Argo, hauling on Jool's arm, and takes one of Stark's arms as well, pulling him to his feet. Jool takes the moment to blow a nicely executed razzberry.



INTERCUT

Aeryn climbs the steps to the top of the wall. Dacon's on watch, rapping on something with the stock of his pulse rifle.



DACON: In here, it's about all this thing's good for.
Dacon abruptly smashes himself in the hand with his improvised hammer



DACON: Oh! Bashama Frelling....! Oh... sorry for cursing.

AERYN: No-- you okay? -- Dacon, have you been a soldier long?

DACON: Were you talking to Officer Tarn?

AERYN: No, It's just that I ... once heard you killed a dozen Veniks when they breached the sack wall.

DACON: Me?

AERYN: Mm. -- Did you not also save the nurses convoy?

DACON: No. Officer Tarn did all that. He was a very noble man. He always gave credit away. He, ahh..
Unmindful of possible danger, Dacon moves into line of sight inside one of the pulse rifle ports at the top of the wall.



AERYN: Dacon... get down.
Aeryn grabs him and urges him down.



AERYN: This...
Aeryn pulls the round 'Peacekeeper' emblem from the front of Dacon's uniform.



AERYN: ... the snipers might see it.

DACON: Who am I kidding? I'm not a soldier. I was attached to this unit as Comm Supervisor, and Sustenance Preparer.

AERYN: You were the cook?

DACON: Yeah. And with everyone getting killed, I was terrified I was going to be ranking officer. I'm so glad you turned up.

AERYN: Um, no... uh... Dacon. You know the engagement better than I do. You have to be the one...

DACON: I'm a cook. You gotta take over.


INTERCUT

Choosing to consult with the captive, yet mindful of the nurses passing nearby, Crichton hunkers down in front of him, back braced against a wall.



CRICHTON: You're General Grynes, right? Believe it or not, you don't all look alike to us. You're a man of compassion... aren't you? The Battle of Madizak-- you offered a truce when you could have forced victory.

GRYNES: How do you know that?

CRICHTON: Read about you. Studied you... at ah... school.


INTERCUT

In search of the time tear, Stark wears the goggles again, surveying the area. D'Argo stands close behind him.



D'ARGO: Can you see the tear?

STARK: ... moving... moving... ah, above us... above us...
Jool staggers in front of Stark, pointing at a torch burning nearby.



JOOL: I can see it too, look... it's yellow and...
D'Argo pushes her away.



D'ARGO: Shut up, Jool. Where is it?

STARK: It's coming... it's coming... it's here... now!
Stark points in front of himself, indicating the area of the tear.



D'ARGO: Okay, you go through it. I'll go get the others.

JOOL: I'm not going!
No mood for nonsense, D'Argo shoves Jool bodily toward the area of the tear... and misses! She impacts with the wall and slides to the ground.



D'ARGO: Well, that was obviously wrong.

JOOL: What are you doing?! There is nothing there!
D'Argo picks her up off the ground and steps back with her a few paces until he's standing next to Stark again.



D'ARGO: Now tell me, where is it exactly?

STARK: It's here... here.

D'ARGO: Okay.
Jool shrieks as D'Argo hurls her at the wall again. She passes through in a flash of light, landing face down in a pool of muddy water on the other side. Sitting up quickly she flops down in the muddy water, flinging muddy hair from her face, spitting mad!



JOOL: Mud! You threw me in mud!
On the other side of the time tear...



D'ARGO: I'll go get Crichton and Aeryn. I'll be thirty microts! Can you hold?

STARK: Yes, yes.
D'Argo runs off, leaving Stark holding the location of the time tear.



THE MONASTERY, The Present

Jool sits in the mud, still sputtering and complaining.



JOOL: Bastards. They shoot me. They punch me. They make me drink piss!
Looking around, Jool finally sees some of what we've already seen. Her surroundings are 'not' the same. Instead of a pristinely kept memorial, the area is in ruins. A fallen statue marks the location of the central memorial, of which there is no sign. Rather than blue banners marking the periphery of the monastery, red flags adorn those same places.



JOOL: Oh, my Blesma! Stark, it's not the same here! It's not the same here, Stark!
THE MONASTERY, The Past



STARK: It's the light. It's the light... that's what's wrong. Millions... billions... dead! On her side of the time tear Jool screams and thrashes around in the water, while Stark loses it on the others side, anguished moans giving way to screams.

Screaming, Stark tears the goggles from his face, the time tear contracts and disappears.




END ACT I










ACT II



THE MONASTERY, The Past

D'Argo has the goggles on Stark again. Crichton and Aeryn stand nearby.



D'ARGO: Now focus, Stykeran. Where is the tear?

Stark makes a dismissive gesture and tries to turn again, but D'Argo pulls him back.



D'ARGO: Uh, uh, uh, uh... specifically.
Stark pulls the goggles off, shoving them into D'Argo hands, and turns to leave again.



STARK: Find it yourself, you find it yourself.
D'Argo yanks him back by the collar.



D'ARGO: You will listen to me! Tell me where the tear is, or I will use your face to create a new one!

CRICHTON: Stark, what's the problem? Jool went through, then we go through and everything's made right again.

STARK: That's the lie... that's the lie... that's what's wrong... it's the lie...

D'ARGO: Oh, great, yeah, we have to put up with this dren again.

STARK: When the foul woman pierced the membrane back to our time... death...

CRICHTON: Jool's dead?

STARK: Others... thousands, millions, billions, trillions...

D'ARGO: Yes, yes, all right, very many. We get the idea.

STARK: Not when we came through.

AERYN: The people you're sensing weren't dead before?
Stark nods emphatically.



CRICHTON: Oh, yeah. We did it being here. We changed the future.

AERYN: We don't know that, John.

CRICHTON: Well, look at him. He knows it.
Stark continues to nod emphatically.



D'ARGO: Can't we just go through and sort this all out later?

STARK: We must do it here, now... as Zhaan always said: "Do right by the wrong... Goddess helps us all along."
( Another Patented Priceless Moment [PPM]:) As Stark relates his little 'poem', he makes a gesture 'round his face. Starting with fingertips pressed together above the crown of his head, he draws his slightly cupped palms down the sides of his face until the heels of his palms touch briefly below his chin. My god, the guy is NUTS! hehe

D'Argo 'stares' at him. Speechless.



AERYN: Feeling left out, D'Argo? We're the only ones who don't have voices in our heads.

CRICHTON: Wha-what are we gonna do if someone wants to know where Jool is?

D'ARGO: Ah, look. Do you think anyone here cares about Jool? Just tell them that she's dead!

CRICHTON: Fine... Stick with Stark. I got an idea. It'll set the timeline right, and get us a cease-fire.
Crichton walks away, Aeryn chasing after.



AERYN: Won't work.

CRICHTON: Yes it will.

AERYN: No, it won't.

CRICHTON: You don't even know what it is.

AERYN: Yes, I do.

CRICHTON: No, you don't.

AERYN: Oh, yes I do.

CRICHTON: Oh, and what is you're plan? You, you, you're gonna, you're gonna use pelse pistols, kill all the Veniks you can?!
( Okay, write it down to slightly heated tempers, but... it's "pulse" pistols, John. hehe )



AERYN: Actually, yes. When they attack again... I'll show you my way to get a cease-fire.
Aeryn stalks away. With a weary mutter, Crichton turns away too, heading in a different direction.



CRICHTON: ( wearily ) God.


INTERCUT

INT. MOYA, Command

Chiana brushes heaps of hair from a control console.



CHIANA: You... are gonna have to stay out of this room if you can't stop shedding.

JOOL: Without renewal, there's stagnation.
Out of the forward portal is a lovely CGI of the ringed planet.



CHIANA: Yeah, well I feel the same way about men, but I don't leave them lying around.

JOOL: Can't you ever play nice? I got shot with an epcus infected arrow you monochromatic little bitch.

PILOT: Chiana, I... believe Jool may not have overstated the situation. Much to... my surprise.

CHIANA: These broadcast frequencies are... are static. What happened to them?

JOOL: Well, I kept trying to tell you.

PILOT: Apparently, devastated by conflict, the planet is still inhabited, but by a bare fraction of the population from just a few arns ago.

JOOL: You don't like me, fine. But don't treat me like I'm non-existent. Somehow we went back in time and the others are still there and if you knew anything about linear continuity, you'd realize what they're doing back there now is affecting things on that planet.

PILOT: What minimal data stores I can access, indicate a vicious war claimed millions of lives around 500 cycles ago.

CHIANA: But that's not what happened when we got here. They made peace.


INTERCUT

PLANET SIDE

Nighttime. Gorgeous CGI of a darkened cloud filled sky. A single moon hangs low. Gorgeous! The Horde makes 'hordelike' noises with drums and voices, while the nurses and 'Peacekeeper' forces shelter behind the parapets of the Monastery.

Aeryn joins Dacon on the steps at the base of the wall. They are both armed with the coolest version of a crossbow I've yet seen. Strapped to the forearm, the bolts are loaded in a cylinder, which, It'd be my guess, 'rotates' a fresh bolt to firing position as each is fired. Looks to hold about five or six bolts. Tough to tell, but likely six, taken 'in context'.



AERYN: Dacon... slowly take your finger off the trigger... and point the weapon away from both of us.

DACON: Those recruitment holochips never said anything about this.

AERYN: About what? Fighting with primitive weapons?

DACON: Dying. Knowing you're going to die. Having time to think about it.

AERYN: Well, as a soldier, you don't think about it.

DACON: I'm a cook. I like to think about food. -- Why did you join up?

AERYN: I didn't.

DACON: You were born into service?

AERYN: Aboard a command carrier.

DACON: No wonder you're fearless.

AERYN: No. It's easy to be fearless around here. This is what Peacekeepers are meant to do, help the defenseless. You'll be fine.


INTERCUT



CRICHTON: Why is this cloister so important?

GRYNES: Your superiors sent you into battle without an understanding of the antecedents? You really are barbarians.

CRICHTON: No, we're Peacekeepers. Barbarians butcher children.

GRYNES: Yes, the Horde is bloodthirsty, and almost impossible to control. I am trying not to be a barbarian, and I've never harmed a child in my life.

CRICHTON: Why is your army here?

GRYNES: ( sighs ) My soldiers used to share the waters of the Kritland River with the cities on the plateau. Now our supply has dried... and we're dying.

CRICHTON: So, this is about water?

GRYNES: Inside this mountain is the source of the river. If we don't gain access to it, the... Horde will attack the cities... and millions will die.

CRICHTON: But you... you want to offer a cease-fire.

GRYNES: How do you know this?

CRICHTON: Doesn't matter. We accept your offer.

GRYNES: But the Horde will not offer it while opposing soldiers are still here.

CRICHTON: We won't be here. By the time you and your soldiers arrive, we'll be gone.

GRYNES: And why would you do this?

CRICHTON: Same reason you'll offer amnesty. We're not barbarians. You give me your word... you won't harm the women and children... and I'll get you out of here.


INTERCUT



D'ARGO: There seems to be too many nurses here and not enough fighters.

KELSA: We were on a healing caravan when the Horde began the conflict. This detachment of Peacekeepers found us... brought us here for our protection.

D'ARGO: Are the Peacekeepers contracted to defend your world?

KELSA: ( nodding ) They uphold all that's good. It's ironic, we might have been safer if they'd never found us. -- Do you know... what the Horde does to children? If they overrun us... and I'm too weak, or ... unable... I'd rather my girl were at peace, than in their hands. Please... I depend on you.


INTERCUT



GIRL: Why were you crying?

STARK: Because of all the pain. What's your name?

CYNTRINA: Cyntrina. My father's dead... and I never cried.
Stark brushes her forehead with gentle hands then takes her in his arms, holding her gently. A single tear slides from his eye.



INTERCUT

Crichton leads General Grynes, in nurse drag, up the steps to the parapet wall.



GRYNES: This is humilitating.

CRICHTON: Yeah, bonnets are always a risk, but it's the little touches that put you over the wall. I'm not gonna get screwed here, am I?

GRYNES: Just don't be here when we arrive. All of your soldiers must be gone.

CRICHTON: That's the plan. -- Ground looks soft on the other side. All you gotta do is... drop down, hit the embankment and roll.

GRYNES: Thank you.

CRICHTON: Yeah. -- Hey, General. Got a good feelin' about this. I think history is gonna remember you as a maker of great peace--
The sound of a bolt firing and Grynes scream cuts off Crichton's high hopes for a good outcome.



GRYNES: Aah!!

CRICHTON: No!
Crichton reaches out for him as Grynes falls from the top of the wall, mortally wounded. He wheels about, seeking out the source of the weapons fire.



CRICHTON: No, no, no, no, no!

KELSA: Stand fast, traitor!
Kelsa stands facing him, enraged she aims the bolt weapon at him.



CRICHTON: No, no, no, no, no! You did not just do that! You did not! Please! Tell me you did not just do that!


END ACT II










ACT III



THE MONASTERY

Crichton sit's in the 'lap' of the large stone 'aztecian' lookin' statue. His wrists are shackled to the 'arms' of the statue. He's decidedly calm given that Kelsa, Dacon, and a few other nurses aim their weapons at him and the others. Forces are divided as they try to figure out what just happened.



KELSA: I ask again. Are you part of this deception?

D'ARGO: No. Crichton's actions are his alone.

AERYN: He told us nothing.

CRICHTON: Hey, folks. I'm not the enemy here.

NURSE OBVIOUS: We should kill him!
Stark flings himself in front of Crichton on his knees, hands upraised.



STARK: No, too much killing! No more killing. Stop killing... stop...
Aeryn and D'Argo drag Stark away.



STARK: ... it's worse, not better. It's more dead!

KELSA: What's he talking about?

AERYN: Ah... nothing, just what will happen to us if we don't pull ourselves together.

CRICHTON: That guy you shot, he was their general. He wanted to offer you a cease-fire.

KELSA: I don't believe you.

AERYN: Why didnt you tell us anything?

CRICHTON: There wasn't time.

AERYN: Oh, like frell there wasn't. And since when do you make decisions for me?

CRICHTON: Aeryn-- we get him back to his lines and this war's over... you know that.

KELSA: Liar, he's a liar!
Kelsa is quite close to putting one right through Crichton's skull. But this time it's Cyntrina who flings her body between Crichton and certain death.



CYNTRINA: No! Don't kill anyone else, mother.

CRICHTON: The Venik leaders want to offer you peace. They're desperate for an excuse to offer you peace. Give them a sign, and I promise, they won't hurt you.
The Venik leaders beat Crichton to the whole 'sign' thing, as a flaming 'torch' strikes the ground in their midst. A holo message recorded by the Venik leader, Colonel Lennok, plays out in the flames.



LENNOK: Jocation civilians, and Peacekeeper Militia... hear me. You will never know how close to salvation you came. How near lasting peace you brushed. The death of our general in battle we understand and accept. But to disgrace him in your female's cloth?! You have the night's stars to make peace with your dieties. On the dawn your severed heads will be nailed to the walls you defend.


INTERCUT

Interlude in the monastery.

As D'Argo decends the stairs from the parapet, oddly; 'Home on the Range' is played on harmonica in the background. D'Argo passes Kelsa holding her daughter Cyntrina in her arms, stroking her hair. A short distance away Stark sits hunkered close to the ground, the goggles over his face once more, futilely scanning the area. A bit further off, Aeryn and Dacon share a repast, two comrades in arms.

And further on, Crichton sits in the arms of the statue, his wrists still manacled to either side, his eyes distant. Surely this little erp ditty must be originating inside his head. And of course it is.

Propped in John's lap, a pair of red cowboy boots casually crossed at the ankle. The feet belong to his partner in mind; Scorpius. The harmonica being played, sweetly, by the same. The final notes played; Scorpy relaxes and sighs, feet still propped in John's lap.
( omg, I can't believe this! Can anyone believe this!? And as a capper? On the soles of the boots are scrawled a name: "ANDY" ... complete with backward "N" ... Toy Story -- 1995 --- LOL!)



SCORPIUS: Ah, John... if this situation hadn't reminded you of all those old westerns you watched as a youth... I never would have heard that.

CRICHTON: Are you through?

SCORPIUS: Quite. The interlude however, allowed me to ponder the question you ah... summoned me here to answer.

CRICHTON: And...

SCORPIUS: All modern research... points to the elasticity of time, rather than a brittle framework.

CRICHTON: Can it be corrected?

SCORPIUS: Hmm. If nudged closely enough to course... events have a way of restructuring themselves. If the participants are the same, the venue's the same, the motivation's the same, then well... the outcome is likely to be the same.

CRICHTON: So we have to find a way to kick-start this thing.

SCORPIUS: And soon. When the Horde attacks at dawn... events will vector further away... from the reality you and I both know.

CRICHTON: Suggestions?

SCORPIUS: No. Not this time, John. There's been so much change, what with you here, Grynes dead... I don't want the consequences of catastrophic failure resting on my head.

CRICHTON: I'm in... a hell of a slump here. Everything I do just makes things worse.

SCORPIUS: Well then... do better.
Scorpy recrosses his feet, settles back. Bringing the harmonica to his lips, he plays the final notes again. ( And I just have to add here... Crichton is 'filthy' again! LOL! ... Making this the fourth episode in a row that the guy just can't stay out of the dirt! Ahhh. Verrrry nice. :-)

As the last note fades, Aeryn joins Crichton at the statue, sitting beside him.


AERYN: We can record a message over the one sent by Colonel Lennok. And I have convinced Dacon into offering a complete and total surrender. It's the only way to save the nurses.

CRICHTON: Maybe... you want to better the odds?

AERYN: How?

CRICHTON: Scroll through that digipamphlet you got at the peace memorial...
Aeryn starts shaking her head in the negative...



CRICHTON: ... look for anything that may be out of synch, that we can fix...

AERYN: No... hmm-mm

CRICHTON: What?!

AERYN: Oh, what? You think I'm stupid-- that I don't know what you're saying?

CRICHTON: Hmm.
Crichton's expression is hardnened, trying to get an agreement here is taking a toll on his patience... and hers.


AERYN: Subofficer Dacon does not have to die.

CRICHTON: He's Davey Crockett at the Alamo. He stands on the wall and he takes one for the home team... I've thought about this. It's the only thing I could come up with to fix the timeline.

AERYN: Oh, you and your stupid timeline.

CRICHTON: What, you think I want to do it? Think it's my first option?! Read the history, it's in your pocket... if Grynes lives-- he's a hero who averts a war. Dead-- he's just another guy in the Laura Ashley Spring Collection. It's you and me now. We've gotta do something.

AERYN: He's not a soldier.

CRICHTON: I know that. But the way history unfolds, that doesn't stop him from taking an arrow.
Aeryn's gaze keeps shifting to Dacon.



AERYN: So... Dacon dies. What about us? We're soldiers...

CRICHTON: We go back through the time tear.

AERYN: The tear? Stark says it's completely disappeared, what if it doesn't re-show?

CRICHTON: Then we die half an arn after Dacon. Aeryn, either way... he dies. And the nurses-- that's what we have to play for now.


INTERCUT

Stark sits at the grave site. Kelsa approaches, crouching beside him.



KELSA: You deal with the dead?

STARK: Someone must.

KELSA: Death is when my expertise ends.

STARK: When you shot the general... how did you feel?

KELSA: I felt hatred... fear.

STARK: Fear is good... keep that. But travel light. Forget hate.

KELSA: If we die... will I be with my daughter... after?
Stark looks hesitant, uncertain, or perhaps just not wishing to say.



STARK: Different beliefs... different destinations. I cannot tell before the end. Should the worst befall, you will not be alone.


INTERCUT

D'Argo walks under shelter, after a cup of water from a large bucket, but the young girl, Cyntrina looking at him from a short distance away, gives him pause. His fatherly instincts kick in.



D'ARGO: Hello.

CYNTRINA: You're scary looking.

D'ARGO: You should have seen my father.

CYNTRINA: My father wasn't scary. My mother says, when loved ones die, we must remember them forever.

D'ARGO: Well, your mother is right.

CYNTRINA: Do you think, when I'm dead, someone will remember me?
D'Argo approaches the young girl, crouching down before her.



D'ARGO: You know what? I know a secret... that will guarantee it. Make your mark.
D'Argo unsheathes his small knife, handing it to the girl.



D'ARGO: Carve it into the stone. That way, in the future, anyone that reads it will think of Cyntrina.
Cyntrina scrapes the tip of the blade over the rough stone wall, concentrating on her task.

Sitting shackled to the statue in the center of the Courtyard, Crichton's gaze shifts from watching Cyntrina to Aeryn and Dacon as they cross the courtyard in front of him.



DACON: I've offered unconditional surrender, just like you said to. And I've also sworn that killing their general was a tragic mistake. But... as ranking officer, are you sure you shouldn't be the one on the message?

AERYN: As part of special commando force, I'm not officially here.

DACON: So, if they knew your unit was present, it would escalate the conflict.

AERYN: Mm-hmm.
Aeryn tries to take the spear with the recorded message from Dacon.



DACON: What are you doing?

AERYN: I-I'm... delivering the message.

DACON: There? You should shoot from down here.

AERYN: Ah, no... we only get one chance, I can't have it go wrong, and it needs to land right near their camps.

DACON: You can't expose yourself to their fire. Let me do it.

AERYN: I appreciate the gesture, but a soldier should do it.

DACON: Better if a cook does it.

AERYN: I don't want you to get hurt.

DACON: Well, better me than you.
Aeryn relents, knowing it's he who must do it. Dacon takes the spear and climbs the stairs to the walkway at the parapet wall. Exercising all due caution, he ducks under the first of the rifle ports, rising only when he's sheltered behind the wall again. Setting the spear butt first on the ground, he makes a few final adjustments. Aeryn watches him carefully the entire time, Crichton watches Aeryn watching him. ( Okay and this is just god-awful painful folks!)



AERYN: Subofficer Dacon? You are a soldier. A brave hero.

DACON: No... heroes always get killed. I'll be fine.
Dacon steps in front of the rifle port and launches the spear with a hefty throw. Before he can take a breath a bolt is buried in his chest. He staggers back a step, spews a gout of blood from his mouth and flops onto his back, his body rolls off the walkway and falls to the courtyard below. A woman screams and Aeryn runs to his side, checking for signs of life... there are none. Her eyes rise to meet Crichton's.



INTERCUT

MOYA

Chiana runs into command, Jool practically on her heels, collides with her, when Chiana stops at the nearest console.



CHIANA: How is that possible? How is that possible?!

PILOT: I... don't know, Chiana. But the planet is now lifeless. Moya's senses detect no microbial chemistry.
Ext. CGI through the forward portal. The planet is a burned and lifeless husk. Brilliant work!



RYGEL: What? Nothing?

JOOL: ( whispering ) Curse me-- it looks radiated.

PILOT: The crater pattern indicates, in all probability, the destruction by military conflict.

RYGEL: But that can't be!


END ACT III










ACT IV



THE MONASTERY

Stark, wearing the goggles again, tries to find the time tear, as prompted by D'Argo and Aeryn.



STARK: It's not there!

D'ARGO: It was above us!

STARK: It's not there... it's gone, it's gone.
Stark pulls the goggles off.



AERYN: How? We did everything right. We set the timeline back on track. How can it be gone?

STARK: It's not my fault...
Aeryn bolts, leaving Stark and D'Argo.



STARK: It's no one's fault... ( muttering ) I didn't mean...
The missle attack is renewed. The nurses scream and run for cover. Aeryn angrily confronts Crichton while arrows rain down across the courtyard..



AERYN: It didn't work. Dacon's dead, and the tear didn't reappear.

CRICHTON: Aeryn, untie me.

AERYN: You know, the device said that he died when he sent the cease-fire, and then the Veniks offered peace. Does that sound like peace to you?

CRICHTON: Untie me.
Aeryn and Crichton argue bitterly, both shouting, while the Venik Horde brings down the thunder and the lightening.



AERYN: I listened to you, I let a man die, and we changed nothing... nothing!

CRICHTON: He was supposed to die! That's what happened in history!

AERYN: Then why isn't the tear back?!

CRICHTON: I don't know! Untie me.

AERYN: Can we use our weapons now, or are you still afraid to change things?

CRICHTON: Yes, we can use the weapons. Untie me.
Aeryn finally moves to release Crichton, but she's interrupted by Kelsa.



KELSA: Don't touch him!

AERYN: Crichton is a soldier, he can help us fight.

KELSA: He's a traitor. He tried to free that dog, Grynes.

CRICHTON: Grynes would have brokered a peace.

KELSA: You think they're coming to offer peace?!

AERYN: We need him to defend the monastery.

KELSA: I won't warn you again, if you try to release him and I'll kill you.

AERYN: And if the Horde gets in here, they're going to slaughter every single one of us! He can help us.

KELSA: How can he help?
Aeryn unholsters her weapon in an impressive speed draw and unleashes a shot over Kelsa's shoulder.



AERYN: He has a weapon like mine. Now, if you're going to shoot do it now.

KELSA: Your pulse weapons are functional? Why haven't you used them?!
Aeryn releases the shackles from Crichton's wrists and ankles, taking the time to shoot him a patented 'look'.



AERYN: Well, there's a good question. Are you ready to get a cease-fire my way?

CRICHTON: Killing Dacon should have fixed the timeline.

AERYN: Well, it didn't. Are you ready?

CRICHTON: Yes.
An explosion rocks the monastery. The sealed entry gate blows inward. Crichton, Aeryn and Kelsa seek shelter behind the statue in the central courtyard as the Horde breaks through the weakened doorway.

Crichton and Aeryn unleash a hail of pulse pistol fire against the Veniks breaching the gate.



AERYN: Move! Get to the walkway!

CRICHTON: Two guns, Aeryn. We only have two guns!

AERYN: Well, make it look like more.

CRICHTON: How?

AERYN: Well, keep firing... running backwards and forwards... and pretend you're an army!

CRICHTON: Oh, yeah! That's gonna work!

AERYN: Just do it! Now!
Crichton bolts from behind the statue, shouting and firing at the Veniks as they pour through the gateway. Charging up the stairs to the walkway below the parapet, he dodges a parade of nurses as they run down the stairs.



CRICHTON: Excuse me. Ladies... guy with a gun, comin' through!


INTERCUT

MOYA, Command



PILOT: Chiana, look out the forward portal.

CHIANA: Not now, Pilot.

PILOT: Look out the portal.
The view from the forward portal is decidedly different. The starfield is the same, the planet's moon and rings are still present, but nothing remains of the planet save a diffuse cloud of gaseous vapor.



RYGEL: Gone... the planet, it's gone.

JOOL: It can't be gone. I was just there two arns ago. I got shot. I drank piss.

CHIANA: Keep the comms open. I'm going down to look for them.
Chiana bolts for the door, but Jool cuts her off, standing in her path.



JOOL: There's nothing there, it's all gone. Where are you going to look?

CHIANA: Hey, how's that arm going? Has the piss worn off?

JOOL: Yes. Actually it's quite sore. Thanks for asking.
Jool holds her arm out solicitously, showing Chiana her injury. Chiana slams a closed fist down on the wrapped wound. Jool shrieks!



CHIANA: And stop screaming. It is very, very irritating, and I don't want you melting anything.
Chiana runs out. We get a nice closeup of Jool's tonsils as she continues shrieking.



INTERCUT

THE MONASTERY

In the courtyard, Aeryn defends the entry, dropping every Venik soldier who breaches the gate. Well, almost every one. The few who slip through are fought off by the nurses and D'Argo.

Reaching the walkway at the top of the stairs, Crichton drops the Veniks' who have breached the parapet wall by ladder.

In the courtyard, Cyntrina dashes between the combatants, trying to reach her mother, who's fighting off the invaders, badly, with a big ass club.




CYNTRINA: Mother!

KELSA: Stay put, Cyntrina!
One of the horde grabs up the young girl.



D'ARGO: Leave her alone!
D'Argo bashes the guy over the head with his qualta blade. Kelsa gathers her daughter in her arms. Another Venik, preparing to take both their heads off with one blow, is taken out from behind by an extremely well placed shot.

D'Argo looks up in shock and sees that it's John, shooting from the walkway across the courtyard. ( Is he thinking "When did John get to be such a good shot?" ... that's what I'm thinking. )

Crichton, turns back to the rifle port, picking off another Venik who's managed to reach the top of the parapet wall. Running from one rifle port to the next, he continues picking off the invaders as they reach the top of the ladders.



D'ARGO: What are you doing?

CRICHTON: ( breathless ) I'm makin' like an army!
D'Argo takes out two opposing forces with the butt of his qualta blade, slamming it into the faces of the Veniks who attempt to flank him on either side. He doesn't see those approaching from behind... but Crichton does.



CRICHTON: D'Argo!
D'Argo looks up to see Crichton aiming at him... and ducks!



D'ARGO: Whoa!
The pulse blast cuts directly over D'Argo's head as he's crouched on the ground, expertly taking out BOTH of the Veniks attacking from D'Argo's rear.



CRICHTON: Tony Montana!
Crichton returns to picking off the invaders on the parapet wall. Aeryn and D'Argo are equally merciless in taking out the Veniks invading through the main gate. The body count rises with each passing second.



D'ARGO: Get to the bedchamber!
Kelsa and Cyntrina, cowering together near D'Argo, stand and scurry away through the thinning mass of invading Horde. D'Argo retrieves one of the bolt firing weapons from the ground, and we get to see it in action and he uses it to take out a few more of the Horde. Aeryn continues, relentlessly pouring pulse fire into the invaders. At the top of the wall, Crichton is also relentless, picking off Veniks one after another, it's a duck shoot, but he's tiring.



CRICHTON: ( panting ) I'm gonna have a heart attack.
A Venik disarms Aeryn with a well placed blow, her pistol flies from her hand. She picks up a spear and brains the guy with it.

Another of the Veniks' picks up her pulse pistol, but just as a gorilla might, he 'mishandles' it, and blows himself away, the pistol discharging in his face!

Continuing to fight, hand to hand, primitive weapons only, D'Argo and Aeryn are making a fairly good showing of it, considering the odds. Crichton continues dropping the Horde who dare to attempt entry. Turning to move to another rifle port, he looks down, seeing Aeryn taking out another opponent with a spear/club/whatever, it's hard to see cause the damn thing is moving so fast! Crichton sees another enemy approach her from behind, and knows she'll be too slow. Firing from the parapet wall, he takes the guy out, not more than a foot away from her. She rises from a crouch, looking up at Crichton with D'Argo's same look of moments before.
( "How'd he get to be such a good shot?" or maybe it's "Good god, he nearly fried me!" hehe).

Crichton turns from the wall, running down the steps to stand beside Aeryn, as she stands beside D'Argo, all three of them facing the final onslaught. Aeryn, retrieving her weapon from the dirt, they unleash a withering hail of pulse pistol fire... D'Argo lends assistance with the Jocation crossbow.

More than a dozen of the Horde fall in this final onslaught. A horn sounds and the Veniks turn, running back through the gateway.




NURSE OBVIOUS: The Veniks are retreating!
Crichton, Aeryn and D'Argo allow the remaining invaders to retreat. Slowly lowering weapons, Crichton assesses the damage, the bodies stacked in the monastery entrance. His face is a hard mask of anger and disgust. Aeryn glances toward him, then back to the bodies.



INTERCUT

EXT. SPACE

(Gorgeous CGI Alert [GCGIA]:) Chiana pilots the transport pod, past the planet's rings and toward the gaseous cloud. The Pod wobbles a bit in transit, the trip ain't smooth.



CHIANA: [O.V.] What's going on, Pilot? I'm getting the dren kicked out of me!

PILOT: Moya's registering some kind of massive gamma disturbance where the planet used to be.

CHIANA: Can you see anything?

PILOT: Nothing.

CHIANA: I can't control this.

INTERCUT

THE MONASTERY

Still watching the wall with goggles on, Stark detects the time tear as it reappears and then enlarges.



STARK: Ah.... it's back. It's back. No death, no death.
Stark runs quickly to D'Argo, Crichton and Aeryn, pulling the goggles from his head.



STARK: It's back, it's back. It's back... no death... come on. Now, quick.

AERYN: Let's go.
Crichton hesitates, looking back to Kelsa, her daughter and the other nurses.



AERYN: It'll be safer if we just go now, don't tell her anything.

CRICHTON: I'll just be thirty microts.

AERYN: Crichton.

CRICHTON: I won't tell her anything.
Crichton leaves, heading toward Kelsa. Aeryn heads in another direction, and D'Argo has his own goodbyes to say.



CYNTRINA: Are you leaving?

D'ARGO: Ah, we'll be leaving soon, yes.

CYNTRINA: Will I ever see you again?

D'ARGO: How long do your people live?

CYNTRINA: My mother says I'll live for 700 cycles.

D'ARGO: Well, maybe I'll see you again when you grow up.
Crichton sits beside a very frightened Kelsa.



CRICHTON: We have to go.

KELSA: If you're not here, the Veniks' will murder us.

CRICHTON: No, no. If there's no soldiers here, they'll offer a cease-fire.

KELSA: How do you know that?

CRICHTON: I just... do.

KELSA: Veniks' are predators. They kill. That's what they do... they don't have cease-fires. Please... at least... leave your weapons, then--

CRICHTON: No. I-I can't. I'm sorry. You're gonna be safe. I promise.


INTERCUT

Stark stands in front of the wall, goggles showing him the illuminated time tear. His soft moan quietly buildling as Crichton arrives at a run.



D'ARGO: Where's Aeryn?

CRICHTON: She should be here, she left ahead of me.
Crichton turns, running back the way he came.



CRICHTON: Aeryn!


INTERCUT

Aeryn sits by Dacon's body. Goodbyes of her own needing to be said. Gently, she places his Peacekeeper emblem back on his uniform.



CRICHTON: ( Distant ) Aeryn!
She stands, looking down on the young man. A Peacekeeper hero.



CRICHTON: ( distant ) Aeryn!


INTERCUT

Crichton runs back to the wall, followed by Aeryn, pulling to a stop she collides with him slightly, breathlessly whispering an apology.



AERYN: Sorry.

D'ARGO: Okay. Let's get the frell out of here!
Stark's quiet moans escalate to a howling scream as his energies build, spreading into the immediate area and blinding his three companions, again.



END ACT IV










EPILOGUE



PLANETSIDE

Ext. CGI, same as in the beginning. The monastery, a monument to time again... all seems returned to normal.



CHIANA: [O.V.] On Moya, we registered every change as it happened.
Chiana and Aeryn pass under an arch, entering the Monastery courtyard.



CHIANA: First... there were, there were millions dead. And then the planet disappeared, and then it came back. I almost crashed the pod trying to get it in here.

AERYN: And... nothing changed on Moya?

CHIANA: No. Only the planet was affected by what you did. Everything's the same... except, uh.
They walk into the central courtyard, and indeed everything seems returned to normal. The monument is in it's place, the blue banners line the periphery. Crichton is also at the periphery of the courtyard, crouched down, his back against a pillar.



CHIANA: So, is there any chance you can go back?

AERYN: No. The ah, tear is no longer stable. Stark tried, but he can't get us back through.
Sitting on the base of the pillar, one leg tucked under, elbow resting on upraised knee, Crichton watches a slow trickle of soft earth fall from his closed hand to the ground. A pair of the memorial's goggles rests on the ground just beside him.



CHIANA: Does Crichton know that?

AERYN: Yes, he does.

CHIANA: So, who's gonna get him back on Moya?

AERYN: I will.

CHIANA: Okay.

AERYN: Thank you.
Aeryn's takes a step toward the memorial. Her approach activates a new holo-display. The images are those of the nurses, with Kelsa and her daughter at the forefront. A memorial indeed. The holo-display fades and Aeryn crosses the courtyard, crouching beside Crichton.



AERYN: Hi.

CRICHTON: I screwed up.

AERYN: You... We. Did what we could.

CRICHTON: Why would they do that? What's the point?

AERYN: There probably was no point.
Crichton looks down at the goggles on the ground beside him as the final events of the attack on the monastery are replayed. The 'new' final events.



LENNOK: [O.V.] Tell me, where are the soldiers who were here?

KELSA: [O.V.] I-I know nothing. They left. They-they just left. I don't know where they are.

VENIK SOLDIER: [O.V.] They're not here.


INTERCUT

THE MONASTERY, The Past

Kelsa clutches her daughter to her, the rest of the nurses cowering behind her as Lennok and the Horde advance on them.



LENNOK: No one could have gotten past my forces. Tell me where they are, I can't control the horde, unless...

KELSA: Crichton... said that-that they planned to escape from the cliffs, but...

LENNOK: Too many Veniks' have died here! The bloodlust is on them, I need to give the Horde something. Where are the pulse weapons they fired on us?

KELSA: They took them... please, please. I don't know where they've gone, I don't know!
The Venik Horde presses toward the small group of nurses, Lennok barely able to hold them back by standing between them.



LENNOK: I can't stop the Horde unless you tell me where this 'Crichton' is.

KELSA: I don't know, I don't know! ( screaming ) Crichton!

LENNOK: No! Not yet!

KELSA: ( screaming ) Crichton!
Lennok, no longer able to hold the Veniks' back, they surge forward, firing their weapons. The nurses' scream as they are slaughtered by the Venik Horde. Kelsa has time to scream Crichton's name one last time before she is killed.



INTERCUT

THE MONASTERY, The Present

As the sounds of screaming build, Crichton grabs the goggles and hurls them across the courtyard, they smash against the steps. Devastation in his eyes for a microt, but no tears, then his mask slips back in place.

Reaching out, he puts one arm loosely around Aeryn's shoulders and pulls her head to his chest. She weeps not as well, but she does not mask the devastation in her eyes.




INTERCUT

Against the wall of the Monastery, D'Argo pulls away a growth of tall vines.

Behind the vines, carved into the wall, he finds what he seeks. The mark placed there by Cyntrina, 500 cycles ago. He sighs quietly... thinking of her, as he promised someone would.






FADE TO BLACK












ROLL ENDING CREDITS










For your amusement & total body immersion:
Check Out the Following Reviews, Episode Synopsis & "CIL", for:
"...Different Destinations"
at the scifi.com "Farscape" Bulletin Board

News from SACC :"Different Destinations"
:Captain Hornblower Reviews, "Different Destinations"
DD and s3: Incoherent Brit Ramblings :: RydraWong :: 4/19/2001
Bama's Observations :"Different Destinations" :: 4/19/2001





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