Moya's in starburst, and it's a rough ride. Crichton asks what's up with that, and Pilot tells him that it's an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of Moya being weakened from her pregnancy. Zhaan pipes up that her sensors are compromised as well, and that basically none of her systems are running anywhere close to peak efficiency. Pilot testily snits that he's compensating for the sensors, but Moya's child has first call on her resources. Too bad she doesn't know what a load of trouble her kid's going to turn out to be right from the start. Most parents at least get two years. Zhaan snits to Crichton that she now understands why the Peacekeepers tried to prevent the pregnancy, and she's certainly selective enough about when she turns on the Delvian empathy, if the way she murdered her lover wasn't enough of an indication. They come out of starburst, but their relief is extremely short-lived, as they immediately see a small ship on a collision course with them. After a cute shot of Rygel getting pitched about in his pajamas, Pilot unsuccessfully tries to evade it, and it hits Moya at a rather hard clip. Pilot reports that Moya is undamaged, but the other ship has lost "propulsor control," so he's deploying the docking web. Zhaan and Crichton both think that perhaps that's not the wisest idea, but Pilot feels that the collision was his and Moya's fault, so he brooks no dissent. Crichton runs off to "rally the troops"...
...and, presumably some short time later, a long- and white-haired figure enters from the hangar. Apparently the use of "troops" to describe the welcome wagon was completely apropos, as Aeryn and D'Argo both have their large weapons leveled straight at the guy. The guy...tells...the crew...that...he...is...un...armed. Sorry, it's just that the guy speaks really, really slowly. And I guess I shouldn't make fun, just in case he's had some brain trauma that's causing him to talk this way, but really, what are the chances of that? Anyway, Zhaan rushes up and says that the dude's ship is armed with a powerful energy weapon, but he counters -- slowly -- that it's powered down as a sign of their peaceful intentions. He asks if it's okay if his two shipmates join him, and when Aeryn assents, he calls them. However, Rygel has just appeared on the scene, and when he hears the guy's voice, he looks up with an expression so fearful you'd think all of his wives had come to give him a piece of their minds en masse. We flash back to Rygel's memories of Durka, and realize that, underneath the eye patch and long hair, that's who's standing before us now. Rygel hisses that he can't be alive, as we flash back to the vision of "Durka's" ("SPOILER!") corpse, and then Rygel Thronesleds forward and hocks a huge loogie right in Durka's face. Well, at least the eye patch is being put to good use. Despite the fact that they're still leveling their enormous boom sticks at Durka, his shipmates think that Rygel is being rude, so he tries to convince them of Durka's identity, but Aeryn dismissively says that Durka died over a hundred cycles earlier. However, Durka owns up to who he is, prompting the opening credits to roll. He's going to have a lot to answer for once they're done, but at least now he's got a few moments to wipe the slime off his face.
But apparently, he moves as slowly as he speaks, as the goo from Rygel's mouth is still oozing down his face when we return. Rygel, however, can move surprisingly quickly when he wants to, as he launches himself at Durka and tries to sink his teeth into Durka's neck. Crichton's too quick for Rygel, though, and drags him back. Aeryn asks how it's possible that he's Durka, as even if he'd escaped the Zelbinion, he would have died of old age over fifty cycles earlier. This is the cue for a vaguely unsettling voice to cut in that Durka was "saved." Not from split ends, he wasn't. A middle-aged blue-skinned (or so it seems on the screen, anyway) male slides into the frame and introduces himself as "Salis," of the Nebari, and over Rygel's struggles and protests calmly asserts that Durka poses no danger. The Moya crew is still skeptical, but Salis says that the Nebari spent over a hundred cycles making sure Durka would be "incapable of evil," and if his lilting, deceptively authoritative manner of speaking wasn't already giving you the creepy-crawlies, the possibilities accompanying that statement sure should. I love this storyline, though -- it's been done to death in other science fiction, yes, but the moral ambiguity, eye-of-the-beholder stuff is almost always a winner, and it's even more so given how it relates to many of the Moya crew. Rygel, needless to say, is unconvinced by Salis's words, but Crichton eventually puts him down, and he Thronesleds away. Salis says that Rygel will soon understand that he's wrong. Brrrr. Crichton says it may take some doing. "Being tortured has that effect." Crichton will be even better able to attest to that soon, if a certain villain with a similarly deceptively creepy manner of speaking has anything to say about it. Salis counters that Crichton should know, as a Sebacean, but Crichton corrects him that he's human. Aeryn, for her part, doesn't pipe up that she's a Sebacean, and she really must sense how oddly tense the situation is if she's willing for one second to have Salis believe that she's from that backwater planet "Erp." Meanwhile, Salis replies, "Human. I'm not familiar with your species," in a voice that suggests he'd love to have Crichton pinned to an index card. Which is one of the few ways I wouldn't want to see him. Salis informs them that they're scheduled to rendezvous with another of their ships, but in the meantime, they'll "require" quarters and food. Durka asks if the ship has any containment facilities, which seems like an odd question at first, but I guess there's no way he would have known that Moya was once commandeered by the Peacekeepers. Anyway, the point is that they're transporting "a very dangerous criminal"...
...and we see said criminal being marched along with her hands cuffed behind her back. And I could drag out the suspense a bit more, but I have a strong feeling this recap's going to be long enough as it is, and an even stronger feeling that there's no one reading this who doesn't know that the prisoner is Chiana. She's wearing an electronic collar, and if it weren't for the lights blinking on it, anyone who's remotely familiar with her personality could be forgiven for thinking she's just accessorizing. Durka marches Chiana past D'Argo and then Crichton, the latter of whom she gives a look that's both pleading and lustful. Which is a good introduction, because Chiana always has some game going on beneath the surface. (I'll get this out of the way now -- I love her. I expected to hate her -- the idea of the sexpot alien just seems so tired -- but I love how simultaneously ruthless, selfish, loyal, and just plain fucked up she is, and I also love the introduction of a character who is not trying to get home. She adds a dimension that makes the show more interesting, in my opinion. Hey, didn't I just complain that the recap was going to be long?) Durka puts Chiana in one of the cells, and the observers gather at the door as it closes and Chiana sinks to her knees. Crichton asks what Chiana's crime is, but Durka tells him that it's none of his concern, and asks about their quarters. D'Argo says they're ready, and normally it wouldn't be a tough guess to figure out which of Aeryn and Zhaan got stuck with doing the turndown service. However, given Aeryn's upcoming "Durka, EEEEE!" attitude, the answer might not be as obvious as it seems.
Anyway, Durka says he'll oversee the repairs to his ship, and as they walk off, D'Argo tells him that the DRDs have completed their damage assessment. I wonder if the DRDs jack up their prices like most mechanics do. I can only imagine they could make up a lot of repairs that a spaceship would need, particularly on this show where shit -- er, "dren" gets made up quite a bit. Once they're gone, Salis pointedly asks Crichton if he's ever been stung by [some sort of plant that I wouldn't even dare try to spell]. Crichton: "Not yet." Hee. Salis warns that those plants also present an "intriguing exterior." Chiana chooses that moment to sidle forward and beg Crichton to help her. "They won't tell you what I've done because they're embarrassed. You wouldn't consider it a crime." Well, she sized him up pretty quickly. Salis warns Chiana that she should really be shutting up now, but she pleads for amnesty. Crichton slowly and uncomfortably tells her they're not a diplomatic ship, and I need to take a break, because the thought of this crew being some sort of government representatives is enough to make me laugh until I cry, and vice versa. Chiana asks then that he use moral authority, another giggle-worthy irony, and goes on that what they're going to do to her is cruel by anyone's definition. Salis chooses that moment to give credence to her point by pressing two implants in his temple, which activates the collar, causing Chiana intense pain that makes her writhe on the floor in the unfun way. After a few seconds, Crichton pulls Salis's hand away and asks what the hell he's doing. Salis calmly says that her behavior was inappropriate, and if he shocks Chiana every time such behavior surfaces, I'm surprised she hasn't turned into Ellen Burstyn at the end of Requiem For A Dream by now. Crichton says he doesn't care what she did, causing Salis to add another layer of menace to his voice as he points out that Crichton's crew crippled his ship and disrupted their plans. "Are you now the arbiter of our justice system as well?" Crichton warily considers this.
Cut to Zhaan disbelievingly asking Salis, "The Nebari practice mind control?" I don't know what her equivalent of a ton is, but I think it's safe to say that if you measure it in bricks, that's what this revelation is going to go over like. Salis explains that they eliminated the thought patterns that caused Durka to behave "inappropriately" by a process of neural realignment so intricate that each subject must be placed in cryogenic stasis for nearly a hundred cycles. You're welcome to hash this out in the forums, but discussing the ethics of this procedure could take a hundred cycles on its own, so I'll limit myself to saying that it sounds fairly inefficient. D'Argo is there as well, and he asks if it's still the real Durka, by which I expect he's asking if the guy still has all of Durka's memories, and is told the answer is yes. Zhaan emotionally asks what each subject feels during the treatment, which is an odd question considering she was just told it's done with the subject in stasis, but Salis gets at her meaning and tells her that Durka appreciates what they did for him. "Ask him if you don't believe me." Well, maybe he appreciates it, and maybe he thinks toeing the party line is preferable to spending another hundred years on ice. Not that the two are mutually exclusive. Zhaan sniffs that she might just ask Durka at that, and leaves. Salis volunteers that if it had been possible, they would have saved everyone on board the Zelbinion, but "they refused to surrender." D'Argo disbelievingly asks how many warships it took to defeat the Peacekeeper command carrier, but Salis explains his people have no warships. "One of our standard host vessels engaged the Zelbinion." He lets D'Argo process that for a moment, and then adds, "Much like the one coming for us." D'Argo, I'd suggest you keep your thought patterns in line.
In his quarters, Rygel brandishes a small knife for a moment, and then Aeryn walks in and pointedly asks what he's up to. Rygel: "Nothing. I'm just sitting here reflecting on my fond memories of Durka and the Zelbinion." Heh. Aeryn firmly instructs him to leave the visitors alone, and not to go off on "some childish vendetta." Even given that it's Rygel who's concerned, that seems like an awfully skewed way of looking at the situation, but Aeryn goes on that she was taught a great deal about "Captain Durka's distinguished career." Looks like mind control doesn't always require the time and effort that the Nebari put into it. Rygel as much as says this, and asks what she thought when they found the Zelbinion and learned that Durka had taken his own life, implying that such cowardice is unbecoming to a Peacekeeper, particularly one regarded as so legendary. Aeryn, in turn, points out that that's irrelevant, as the fact that Durka's alive means that Rygel was obviously mistaken, but Rygel says that Durka chose to end his "distinguished career" by faking his own death to save himself while his crew died. Aeryn says Rygel doesn't know what happened, and smoothly plucks the knife from where Rygel hid it in his tunic or robes or whatever. She'll need it to slice her way out through the issues that have suddenly filled up the room. Which she does...
...and then she's telling Durka, who's in the middle of his repairs, that she studied all his achievements at Peacekeeper training, and recounts a couple of them with that "Durka, EEEEE!" voice and expression to which I alluded earlier. At least her smile muscles finally have something to do. But not for very long, as Durka informs her that Rygel's speculation about how he survived was correct, and if they ever make a gag version of this episode, this will be the chance for the Foley guys to match up their loudest glass breaking with the expression on Aeryn's face as she asks, "You deserted your ship?" Durka replies that he's done far worse in his time. Like breaking poor Aeryn's heart, here.
Crichton taps on Chiana's cell door with a tray of food cubes. She's grateful, and as she takes a few bites made a lot more awkward by that fact that her hands are still shackled, she explains that she doesn't respect authority, and she left the "half-dead sanctimoniousness of her planet the first chance [she] got." In addition, she stole food when she was hungry and defended herself when necessary. Chiana's starting to sound like the Jean Valjean of her world here, and I have to admit that this isn't the first thing that's made me think that Farscape was ripe for a musical episode. Crichton asks if she ever killed anyone, to which she answers negatively, and says that she's regarded as so dangerous because on her planet, "you conform," and you don't do the things she did. Crichton has the good grace not to lick his lips here. Chiana emotionally adds that now she'll be undergoing the same treatment as Durka -- "mental cleansing into an obedient zombie." Crichton is surprised that they'll inflict that punishment on their own kind, but Chiana echoes what Salis told Zhaan and D'Argo when she says they think they're doing their victims a favor. She starts to freak out, banging her body against the door as she says she'd rather die than undergo the treatment. Crichton rushes in and holds Chiana, and she begs him not to let them take her. After a moment, he asks if she's all right, and she smiles. That doesn't seem incongruous, given that she's in Crichton's arms, but she does look a bit shiftier than perhaps is necessary.
Crichton is asking Durka whether the mental cleansing is like brainwashing. I do have to point out that perhaps asking the guy whose thought patterns were custom made to the Nebari's liking isn't likely to be the most objective witness in the galaxy, but I guess Crichton's options on the interviewing front are severely limited. Durka says it's more like a correction -- somewhat like the difference between a knife attack and life-saving surgery. And speaking of saving lives, Crichton saves his own and Durka's by noticing the explosive charge that's rolled into the room and tackling Durka, thereby throwing himself out of the way as well. Pilot informs Zhaan of the explosion, and she in turn frantically calls for help. Aeryn instructs her to stay put, and asks for D'Argo to meet her in the maintenance bay...
...into which we see Rygel Thronesled to survey the scene. Durka isn't moving, but Crichton is clearly alive, if dazed. To Rygel's small (heh) credit, he looks chagrined that Crichton was present for the explosion, but his countenance changes to imply that he's willing to live with the collateral damage. Pretty expressive for a puppet. He moves in close to Durka, but, unfortunately for him, Durka's not only alive but hella pissed, as he grabs Rygel by the throat with a savage expression on his face. Unlucky for Rygel that Durka finally decided to do something at normal rather than vaguely "special" speed.
After the break, Rygel's still getting the stuffing choked out of him, but then Durka releases his grip and seems to lose consciousness. However, Crichton takes up where Durka left off, going him one better by grabbing Rygel out of his Thronesled and throwing him to the floor. D'Argo and Aeryn arrive as Crichton threatens to throw Rygel off the ship. Rygel tries to convince Crichton that he saw the evil in Durka's face, but Durka unsteadily gets to his feet and says that since his presence is so painful for Rygel, he'll confine himself to areas outside Rygel's sight. D'Argo: "No. We'll lock Rygel up first." Aw, come on, D'Argo. What did Chiana ever do to you?
As DRDs scurry this way and that, D'Argo amusingly has Rygel tucked under his arm as Rygel berates him, saying he's trying to save them from "that maniac." D'Argo, practically enough, informs Rygel that a ship of the class that destroyed the Zelbinion is on its way, and as such, perhaps doing things likely to antagonize the Nebari isn't the hottest idea at the moment. Chiana hears this conversation, and then Salis appears and informs her of the explosion. He checks her cuffs, as his first thought was that she was behind it, but they're secure. He still has to singsong (brrrr) that he can't believe a word she says, and then adds that she should remain calm, as they'll be home soon. If her remaining calm is that important, telling her she'll be home soon seems somewhat counterproductive. Chiana tries to soften Salis up, and we learn two things. One is that Nebari of Chiana's age are expected to fit in and not have thoughts of traveling or doing fun things. The other is that Salis responds to sexual overtures with electric shocks, so female Nebari should take that under advisement for the ten minutes that Salis has to live (SPOILER!). Of course, Chiana did ask Salis if he wanted to run his hands around "again," so perhaps the appropriateness of his behavior hasn't always been completely beyond reproach, not that that's likely to come as a huge surprise.
Sometime later, D'Argo is opening a large case which contains several explosive ingredients. He tells Crichton, "Fortunately, the ignorant Hynerian got all the proportions wrong." As if Rygel weren't sensitive enough about his proportions. He goes on that if Rygel had gotten the explosives right, Crichton would be in a million of the prettiest little pieces you've ever seen. Yes, I'm paraphrasing a little bit.
Pilot informs Zhaan that the explosion caused no damage to Moya. Salis butts in and asks what happens if he tries again, but is told that that won't happen, as he's locked in his quarters and under restraint. Salis "suggests" that Zhaan turn Rygel over to him when his ship arrives, a request she flatly denies. Salis says that Rygel has serious flaws in his character that must be corrected. When he puts it that way, he's starting to make some sense. Zhaan does agree with him somewhat when she says that "even Rygel, with his many faults, does not deserve that." Salis opines that Zhaan could use an adjustment herself, causing her to step forward with a "just give me an excuse, you slow-talking freak" look on her face. Instead of being cowed, however, Salis notes, "My point exactly," before self-satisfying his way out of there.
Chiana's freed her hands, and is working on the collar with some tool she probably ganked from Crichton when she was all woe-is-me with him earlier. She succeeds in releasing it.
Rygel's asleep in his quarters, hands tied in front of him. His door opens, waking him up, and he loudly complains that he's in no mood for visitors. Chiana appears out of nowhere and shoves a pillow over his mouth. Considering that she hasn't even met Rygel before, you have to admire her instincts. She suggests they deal, as Rygel wants to get untied so he can kill Durka, and she wants to get off Moya. Rygel seems terrifiedly amenable, so Chiana makes to take the pillow away. "You scream, I push this cushion down in your colon." The cushion seriously is hoping that Rygel doesn't scream. When Chiana's released him and he's caught his breath, he asks her to untie him, saying that he can tell her how to get to the transport hangar and what codes will open the door. Chiana finds that insufficient, as she's quite the expert on cracking codes, so Rygel offers to create a diversion to facilitate her escape. Chiana agrees to that plan, and as she starts to untie Rygel's hands, she apologizes for calling him a toad. Rygel says he makes allowances for stress on the ship. Chiana chuckles: "This isn't stress, old man. Stress is if you don't come through for me." Rygel looks like he's having Chiana-related performance anxiety, and if that's Chiana's typical motivational speech, I highly doubt he's anywhere near the first. However, despite Chiana's menace, as soon as Rygel's hands are free he hits his comm and yells that Chiana's escaped and is in his quarters. This is the only part of the episode that rings false for me, as (a) at least from my point of view, Chiana's deal looked both reasonable and attractive as far as Rygel was concerned, and, far more importantly, (b) Rygel had no idea that Chiana wouldn't kill him for his betrayal. That would have been just as quick as what she ended up doing to him, no?
Aeryn yells that Rygel better not be lying, and Crichton runs off as D'Argo says he'll keep watch over the Nebari ship. Durka informs Salis that Chiana has escaped, and he's all, "Find her." I can see why he's in charge.
Crichton and Aeryn reach Rygel's quarters and hear muffled Rygel-like sounds. They find Rygel in some cubbyhole with a bag over his head, and when they take it off, he tells them that Chiana's headed to try to steal a transport. Crichton informs Zhaan, who's up in Command, of the situation, and she orders Pilot to get the DRDs searching. Aeryn and Crichton leave Rygel, whose hands are re-tied, where he is, much to his chagrin.
Aeryn checks Chiana's cell, but all that's left is her cloak and the collar. Salis tries to activate the collar with his implants, but obviously fails. The Xylophone Of Maybe I Shouldn't Have Been So Trigger-Happy plays. We get shots of the DRDs, Zhaan, Crichton, Durka, and Salis all in different parts of the ship. I'd be tempted to make a Clue-esque guess about the upcoming murder if I hadn't seen the episode already.
Aeryn's taken pity on Rygel and is attempting to free his hands when Durka startles her. He tells her he can't find Chiana, and asks if anyone's guarding Command. Aeryn warily asks if she's capable of taking over the ship, and is told she's capable of just about anything.
Pilot urgently tells Crichton that there's movement on his tier, and if Crichton weren't the star of the show, I'd be really afraid of him undergoing the fate of the Tom Skerritt character in Alien. However, when he goes to investigate, he finds Salis lying dead in a pool of blood with one of his collars lying to him. Oh, Salis -- bleeding all over someone else's ship just seems so...inappropriate.
When we return, Zhaan has joined Crichton corpse-side. Crichton notes that the likely murderer is Chiana, and Zhaan says she's not surprised, given what Salis had in store for her. Zhaan's tone is neither condoning nor condemning, and I like her a lot more when she acknowledges moral ambiguity than when she's preaching. Or worse, chanting. Zhaan echoes D'Argo's pragmatism from earlier when she points out that the big question is how the Nebari will react to Salis's death. Crichton gets up off his ass to resume the search.
Aeryn, pulse rifle drawn, warily enters Command with Rygel in tow. Pilot informs her that the DRDs have reported no trace of Chiana. D'Argo bellows that if she sees Chiana, she should shoot to kill, and Aeryn separates her weapon into two, one for each hand, and responds, "If you insist." Hee. Hearing movement behind her, she whirls, but it's Durka, so she holds her fire. She's going to have reason to regret having such finely honed reflexes soon enough. Durka...asks...if...Salis...is...dead. Aeryn says yes, and expresses her sympathy. Durka falls to his knees and begins to snivel, and the eye patch is coming in handy again, as its presence means that crocodile tears dripping from only one eye will be sufficient. Also, Rygel's ears amusingly call bullshit by pricking up at that moment. Aeryn holsters one of her guns and walks up to Durka, who immediately grabs her other gun away, throwing her aside in the process, and then kicks Rygel in the face. I'm not rooting for Durka here or anything, but I have to note that that must have been pretty satisfying. Aeryn does manage to avoid being shot, but the element of surprise has her half a step slow through the ensuing fight, and soon Durka boots her into unconsciousness.
Cut to Durka ripping out some of Moya's command cables, the first effect of which is to kill the comm system. As Durka continues to rip and hack with a knife, Pilot screechily asks what he thinks he's doing. Durka responds by firing a no-look shot into the Clamshell Cam. Hee. His comic timing is certainly better when he doesn't have to talk. Pilot frantically tries to get anyone on the comm system, to no avail. Crichton opines into the silence, "Not good."
And that's an accurate assessment, as in Command, we pan across a tableau of Aeryn, lying unconscious on the floor with her hands tied behind her back; Rygel, lying unconscious on a table with his hands tied in front; and, to him, an array of nasty-looking torture devices. Should he get out of this, I can only imagine that Rygel's first purchase will be The Anarchist's Cookbook. Durka moves close to Rygel, brandishing the knife, but then, after a long moment, starts cutting off his own hair. It's a good thing he doesn't have a Fu Manchu, because that would just be a lot more work. Also, I saw that coming, but it was still funny. See my point about Durka's comic timing above.
Sometime later, the haircut is finished and the eye patch has been ditched, so Durka's all ready to wake Rygel up. As Rygel cowers in fear, Durka explains that the explosion undid the Nebari mental cleansing. "Isn't that the most superb irony?" Well, just the fact that it actually is irony is a good fucking start. Aeryn comes to, and Durka tells her how great it is to be back to his old self, as when he was cleansed, he actually felt ashamed of what he'd done. Aeryn says she takes it that Durka killed Salis, which he neither confirms nor denies. What he does do is to menace Rygel with the knife. He only cuts off his comm device, though, and uses it grandly to pronounce to the crew that he's the new commander of Moya. Zhaan stops in her tracks when she hears his voice, and amusingly, the DRD alongside her does as well. Durka goes on that he's holding Aeryn and Rygel hostage, and the rest of them should leave the ship immediately. Aeryn activates her comm with her mouth and yells to Crichton that Durka murdered Salis before Durka smacks her in the face with his (possession being at least nine-tenths of the law out here and all) gun. It seems like Aeryn's only logical intention in conveying this information is to spur him to get Chiana to help them rather than mistrusting her. D'Argo and Crichton get frustrated with their inability to communicate, and run off.
Zhaan has managed to make it to Pilot's chamber. He tells her that he's trying to override Durka's control, but Durka keeps anticipating his moves and heading him off. Zhaan has nothing to add, so we move on to...
...Crichton and D'Argo almost literally running into each other. D'Argo growlingly asks if Crichton heard Durka's ultimatum. Crichton: "Yeah. Nebari mental cleansing doesn't get the tough stains out." Hee. Crichton does better when he lays off the Southernisms. D'Argo says it's imperative that they regain command. Upon being asked if he's got a plan, D'Argo dismissively growls, "Have I got a plan." That's a...yes, then.
Seems so, as D'Argo opens the door to some sort of shaft. He tells Crichton that it leads directly to Command, and crawls in as he instructs Crichton to keep looking for Chiana. Crichton suggests he not fall out of the ship again, referring to the soon-to-be-recapped "They've Got A Secret," as I'm sure you're all well aware.
Unfortunately, Durka is similarly well aware of D'Argo's approach. He pushes some buttons, the door to the shaft closes, and then two walls drop down in succession, the first of which causes D'Argo to lose his Qualta blade, and the second of which prevents him from reaching it. A little convenient, perhaps, but okay. D'Argo yells for Crichton, when it seems like Chiana would be more of a help in this particular situation.
Durka tells Aeryn that she's witnessing a legend in action. Aeryn spits that he's a disgrace rather than a legend. Durka pointedly asks her why it is that she's not a Peacekeeper any more, and given how obviously that question cuts Aeryn to the core, the knife is his hand kind of seems like overkill. Durka then attempts starburst, but fails of course, due to Moya's pregnancy. Durka: "Score one up for the underdogs!" Durka, you're a pretty good villain, but letting you recap won't fit in with the limitations of my schedule. Those limitations being "my lifespan."
Pilot unnecessarily exposits why the starburst failed, and Zhaan nervously speculates that Durka will find out about the pregnancy soon enough.
Over the comm, Durka threatens to kill one of the hostages if starburst isn't reactivated. It's too bad the comm is disabled in the other direction, because I would have loved to see if everyone could have resisted the temptation to ask, "Which one?" Crichton seems to sense someone nearby, and indeed, we finally see Chiana moving about. Crichton moves down a corridor, and the camera goes all three-quarter speed as the creepy xylophone starts up again. He goes through a door into what looks like a cargo hold, although it's pretty hard to tell one room from another around here. Crichton seems to know Chiana's in there, because he calls to her, saying Durka's "gone Hannibal Lecter on us." Chiana: "I don't know what that means." And now you've officially met John Crichton. She chucklingly asks why he's bothering her, anyway. He says he's just there to talk, which doesn't really answer the question, but is as strange a spot as any to cut out of the scene...
...and to Command, where Durka has decided that he's waited long enough. He menaces Aeryn with some nasty-looking device as he announces to the crew that he's leaving the channel open for motivational purposes. Aeryn bravely, but not entirely convincingly, says torturing her won't help him, but he counters that she should know how good he is at getting results. He gets all class lecturer-y as he asks Rygel if he knows what Sebaceans dislike more than anything else, and Rygel, having seen "Exodus From Genesis," answers, "Heat." Durka clarifies that he meant intense heat, which clues us as to what exactly it is that the nasty-looking device in his hand does. Aeryn's face now betrays her abject fear as we head into another break.
Durka's approaching Aeryn with the heater. He's gut-wrenchingly heading straight for the face when Rygel cuts in that he's pathetic. This is unexpected, and given that this is a show that can make you care about Muppets, that's saying a lot. Rygel digs deeper, saying that Durka's all hot (sorry) over the chance to maim and kill a woman who can't even defend herself. "Pathetic." He's not wrong. Durka says that he was going to save Rygel as a bargaining tool, which shows just how right Rygel is, and also perhaps that Durka's brain understandably isn't all it used to be. Durka asks if he thinks his shipmates would care if he burned Rygel's face right off. Rygel calmly says he's welcome to find out, "because the all-powerful Durka is a failure." We see quick shots of everyone on the ship listening as Rygel continues, "You tortured me without mercy, but you never broke me! You only made me stronger, and even if you kill me, I'll be laughing at you, because the last thing I'll think of is you on Nebari Prime for another hundred cycles, being ground back down into nothing!" I guess it makes sense that Rygel would be an expert in making people feel two feet tall. Rygel drops the bomb that Moya can't starburst because she's pregnant, and Aeryn invites him to check the nutrient flow and power levels to confirm that Rygel's telling the truth. Rygel intones that there's nothing Durka can do to get starburst back, but Durka demurs. Uh oh.
Chiana jumps down from her hiding place, and she's brandishing a large staff...well, it really looks more like an oar, if you want to know the truth. She instructs Crichton to turn around, which he sort of does, but when Chiana swings at him, he whirls back, grabs her weapon, and throws her to the ground. Crichton gets on top of her, which doesn't seem all that likely to calm her down. She deftly (and also both scarily and awesomely) immediately switches gears, though, apologizing and saying she's not used to trusting anyone. Crichton suggests she start, and they have an unnecessary discussion about the mental cleansing, followed by a too-long speculation from Chiana that she'd be better off teaming up with Durka. When Crichton suggests that Durka can shut off life support everywhere except Command, though, that gets Chiana's attention. She does point out that when the Nebari find out what happened to Salis, they're going to want to cleanse everyone on Moya. Given that, from their point of view, Rygel was the one that set the events leading to Salis's death in motion, that does seem all too likely, and Crichton agrees, moreover suggesting that that makes him and Chiana natural allies. Chiana asks what his plan is, and is frustrated when Crichton's expression seems to suggest he hasn't got one. Not so, though -- "I got a plan. You're just not gonna like it." I don't know, Crichton -- I get the feeling there aren't too many things for which Chiana isn't game. He taps her on the nose and says, "Bait," and Chiana smiles big. See?
And just like that, Durka's roaming the corridors with both of Aeryn's guns when he runs into Chiana. She tells him Moya's pregnant, but if they kill the baby, they'll be able to starburst. He tells her to cough up some new information if she values her life, so she tells him that he's headed in the wrong direction, as the ship reconfigured the data to send him into a trap. Durka asks why he should believe her, and she points out that they both want the same thing.
Crichton's waiting around a corner in the cargo hold when the door opens and Durka shoves Chiana inside. She tries to lure him in, but he smells a rat and shoots at Chiana, who tries to dive out of the way but takes it in the arm. I read somewhere that this shot was originally intended to kill Chiana, but when the writers realized they had a great character on their hands, they reconsidered. So I guess Chiana's not only the Jean Valjean of Farscape but the Xena as well, which only further strengthens my contention that they really should have done a musical episode at some point. (Don't email me to ask me what the hell I'm talking about, because I have no idea.) Anyway, Crichton rushes out and closes the door. Durka heads back the way he came, Crichton tends to Chiana, and they snark at each other about the failure of the plan. Crichton wants to see the wound, but Chiana, in obvious pain, points out that Durka's trying to kill them all, so the priority should be to stop him...
...and we see Crichton heading after Durka with Chiana's oar-like weapon in his hands. Crichton catches up with Durka, who's not in the birthing chamber but the transport hangar. He shoots at Crichton a couple times, and then gets into the Nebari ship and powers it up. Crichton yells that he won't get far without his propulsion system, which is sitting in pieces in the maintenance bay, but Durka declares his intention to fire the ship's weapons into Moya's midsection, killing the baby and thereby restoring starburst. I don't really see how giving Moya a gaping gut wound is going to immediately restore her back to her full capacity, which I guess must mean that I'm not psychotic. That's surprising. Crichton rushes to open Rygel's case of explosives as he urgently instructs Pilot to regain control in order to open the outer doors. Pilot succeeds in regaining some amount of control as Durka powers up his ship's weapons. Just then, though, Crichton pulls out an explosive and holds it up like he's a contestant on Bowling For Dollars. (And if that reference means anything to you, you can email me.) Anyway, Crichton rolls the charge into the hangar and yells to Pilot to shut the doors. The charge explodes, and Pilot happily tells us that the outer doors are opening. Durka impotently flails about inside the ship as the vacuum from the doors opening sucks a DRD into the hangar. Those things really need to start a union, because I'm not seeing that they get a whole lot of benefits around here. Pilot succeeds in getting the inside doors to start closing, but by that time Crichton is already being pulled toward them. He manages to avoid being pulled completely in by holding Chiana's oar horizontally, which has the virtue of being longer than the width of the space between the doors. Zhaan frantically tells Pilot to stop the doors from shutting, and I know she's afraid that Crichton's going to get crushed, but still, remind me never to go on a road trip with her in the back seat. Crichton, using the oar, pulls himself back into the bay, which is completely preposterous, but I appreciate anything that really causes him to use his muscles. Eventually, of course, Crichton pulls himself to safety, and Durka's ship gets sucked out of Moya. Over the comm, Durka threatens to hunt Crichton down and kill him, to which Crichton merely laughs and responds, "Get in line." Hee. He adds that Durka should give the Nebari his regards, and we get a very cool shot of Durka yelling Crichton's name as he hurtles off helplessly into the far regions of space. Since he seems so much to get off on irony, he'd probably appreciate it if he ended up on Earth.
Denouement. Rygel asks Aeryn if Moya is mad at him for throwing the bomb. Aeryn pointedly says that Moya understands, and Rygel tries to answer the obvious implication by pointing out that Crichton threw a bomb too. Aeryn in turn points out that Crichton's bomb caused Moya to expel Durka's ship, and I might point out that the difference is sort of like the one between a knife attack and life-saving surgery. Of course, if I did, I'd do so about a hundred times faster than Durka. Aeryn exposits that Moya is still in a lot of pain from the damage she took protecting her child, and then returns Rygel's knife by plunging it into the food cubes he's eating. She starts in on a more conciliatory tack, but Rygel snaps, "Don't you dare thank me for saving your life!" Well, I guess that's my cue to shut up. Aeryn says she wasn't going to, and Rygel's all, "Why not?" Hee. Aeryn astutely points out that with all the heavy baggage between him and Durka, she doesn't think she entered into the interaction at all. She does add, though, that she thinks Rygel handled himself well, an assessment with which Rygel agrees, not that he's not entitled to that. When Rygel brags that he beat Durka at his own game, however, Aeryn smirks and leans in: "You just compared yourself to a Peacekeeper." Rygel considers that, and the moments when the characters on Moya realize, deep down, just how similar they all are are really the ones to savor.
Crichton amusedly walks in on Zhaan's attempts to treat a fussy Chiana's wound. Crichton asks how the patient is, and Zhaan sniffs that she's a brat. Crichton playfully asks if they should kick her off the ship. Zhaan: "Ask me tomorrow." Hee. She leaves, and Crichton more seriously tells Chiana that Moya is gathering her strength for starburst, so they should be safe from the Nebari. I'm kind of curious how the Nebari are so effective in battle, since they seem to get to their destination at about the same relative speed as Durka talks. Chiana's relieved, but Crichton tells her they have rules on the ship. Chiana smiles: "Yeah? Well, when I see any of you following them, so will I." I now see that, among her many traits that were regarded as liabilities on her homeworld, we can now add perceptiveness. Crichton says he's easy, and I think even this far out in the galaxy, you'd have to search long and hard to find anyone who thinks that's bad news. His point is, though, that the others on the ship won't be so forgiving. Chiana says maybe she'll just get off at the planet, and Crichton tells her she's welcome to do whatever she wants, but asks her where she was when Salis was killed. Chiana smiles, but once Crichton's gone, her expression grows serious as she considers what she did. And that's a pretty solid way to introduce a new character.