We open on a shot of Moya, and see a transport whipping out from her toward -- Talyn! Who's the cutest widdle baby Leviathan in da Uncharted Territories? Who is? You are! Wooja wooja. Er, sorry, I'll stop doing that now.
As a jacketed Aeryn steps aboard Talyn, Crais portentously says, "The invitation was for all of you." Aeryn says the others are waiting on the transport. Dramatic zoom on Crais, who is staring out through the viewports with his back to us in his best Captain Nemo impression. "Prudent," he says, and orders Talyn to scan Aeryn for weapons. Crazy stupid awesome guns with attached axe-blades swish out of the walls as Aeryn is scanned. She's unarmed, so Crais finally turns to face her. I guess if she'd had weapons, he didn't want to watch Talyn slice and dice her. Aeryn notes that Crais is armed, and asks why they should trust him. Crais gives Aeryn a smirk and then tells Talyn that he's engaging "privacy mode and full manual overrides." The axe-guns pop back into the walls. Crais reaches back, pops off the transponder that connects him to Talyn, and offers it to Aeryn. Does this mean they're engaged?
On Moya, Rygel peers at the viewscreen and asks if Talyn has grown since they last saw him. Chiana notes, "His, um, cannon sure looks bigger." Rygel is combing his whiskers with some kind of giant toothbrush. Aw. Pilot says that Moya is pleased that Talyn is doing so well.
Crichton steps aboard Talyn, and holds his jacket open to show that he's unarmed. Everyone has such pretty coats. D'Argo and Zhaan follow, along with Stark, who Crais greets as, "Banik slave." Heh. Zhaan grumpily corrects Crais, "A Banik, yes, but no longer a slave." And then there's a little bit of exposition about Stark, but even the actors seem bored with it, so let's move on. Crais announces, "Despite my best efforts, Talyn is becoming more aggressive, more destructive. You must help me disarm him."
Moya. Rygel is now brushing his eyebrows. I love the feline pleasure he seems to take in grooming himself. Chiana and Rygel wonder what's happening aboard Talyn. Then Pilot announces that another ship is approaching. Sure enough, a third ship swoops toward them. Pilot identifies it as a Plokavian ship, and Rygel asks if that's good or bad. "Bad, very bad," Pilot says. Chiana nervously asks, "What's Talyn doing?"
Talyn's cannon extends itself, and, er....it's Chiana's fault for making it sound dirty, damn it. Talyn fires at the Plokavian ship, which explodes. Cool!
Chiana and Rygel look terrified. Pilot reports that yet another Plokavian ship is approaching. Rygel asks, "How soon can we Starburst?" Off of Chiana's look, he says, "I'm just asking!" Pilot says that Talyn has cut off communication with Moya. Then Crichton calls in and says that they're headed back. As the transport pod heads back, Talyn Starbursts away. Pilot warns Crichton that another Plokavian ship is closing in on them.
It's doing a lot more than that, in fact. We see the transport against the stars for a moment, and then this giant ship passes above it, filling the frame from top to bottom, in a way that's reminiscent of the opening of a certain retarded children's movie. And it just keeps going on and on, like the fans of a certain retarded children's movie. Then goofy robot arms snake out, grab the transport, and haul it inside. Inside the transport, sparks fly and then everyone aboard is jolted and collapses.
Back on Moya, Pilot calls to Crichton, and gets no reply. Chiana and Rygel look terrified. Even more.
Credits. Random plug: Rex Libris. Because there aren't enough comics about heroic librarians. The first storyline just wrapped up, but you can check out a sample here.
Crichton wakes up...somewhere. Zhaan and Stark are also awake, and Stark reports that D'Argo's still unconscious, but unhurt. Crichton asks after Aeryn. Zhaan fretfully says that Aeryn was missing when they woke up. Crichton calls, "Aeryn?" We finally go to a wide shot and see that Crichton, Zhaan, Stark, and D'Argo are sitting on what looks like a giant metal frisbee floating in darkness. Zhaan says that their comms aren't working, and Stark explains that they were hit with a dampening net: "It's the only Plokavian weapon that isn't lethal." Crichton decides to try shouting Aeryn's name. Remarkably, that doesn't accomplish anything. He looks over the frisbee's edge and wonders, "How far down does that go?" He spits, and waits a moment before nervously announcing, "That's a long way down. Either that or they got deep shag carpet." He's got very sensitive ears. Or very loud spittle. Suddenly D'Argo wakes up and immediately grabs Stark by the neck, growling, "This is all your fault!" Crichton hisses at D'Argo to knock it off, and D'Argo reluctantly releases a gasping Stark. D'Argo looks around and asks where Aeryn is. Crichton says, "Good question," and D'Argo sighs, "Bad answer."
Aeryn turns out to be sitting in one of La-Z-Boy's new line of interrogation recliners. It's got built in reading lamps on the headrest! And another one which rises out of the footrest. Hm, maybe that's a little heatlamp in case your feet get cold. Sweet. At the moment all of the lamps are aimed directly at her face, the better to reveal her irritated expression. She grumps, "I have told you, no one is responsible." From the darkness we hear a Plokavian grumble, "Someone is! You destroyed a Plokavian vessel." A second, female Plokavian asks if Talyn fired by himself. Aeryn explains that Talyn's manual overrides were engaged, so he couldn't have fired on his own. It's going to be pretty annoying to keep typing "the male Plokavian" and "the female Plokavian" for the whole recap, so I'm going to call them Steve and Eydie. Steve asks if Crais fired the cannon, but Aeryn says he wasn't near the weapons console. We finally see that the recliner is sitting on a pole, which is standing in a large pool of liquid. The size, and for that matter the depth, of the pool is unclear since everything's shrouded in darkness. I would characterize Plokavian decorating as "aqua-goth." Though the chair is reminiscent of the end of the first Aeon Flux short, when Aeon goes to foot-fetishist's heaven. Anyway, Eydie thinks that Aeryn's protecting Crais. Aeryn says, "If I wanted to lie, it would be easy to blame it on Crais, wouldn't it? After all, he and Talyn fled, did they not?" Eydie sneers, "You don't want to see either of them dispersed!" Aeryn agrees with that, and repeats that the whole thing was an accident. We see someone move toward the chair -- it's hard to see much in the low light, but there's a tall, robed figure holding two very tall walking sticks. Oh my God, they've been captured by stiltwalkers. The horror! Aeryn looks at her interrogator, and Eydie asks, "Do I offend your senses?" Aeryn looks away and says, "No." Eydie shrieks that maybe Aeryn's the one who fired the cannon. Aeryn sighs that she's telling the truth. Steve and Eydie order her to take it from the top.
Flashback to Talyn, as D'Argo, Stark, and Zhaan step aboard. Blah blah, "Banik slave," blah blah, disarming Talyn. This time, we see more of the conversation. Crais says he wants to replace Talyn's cannon with a dampening net to "incapacitate hostile vessels." Zhaan asks where he's going to get a dampening net. In space. At this hour. Crais explains that they're going to meet with a Plokavian arms dealer. Stark is mildly shocked. The gag becomes clearer later, but in Aeryn's version of events, everyone is being very, very calm about everything. Well, almost everyone, as we're about to see. Stark explains to a curious Zhaan that the Plokavians build dangerous weapons. Crais assures them that he's just getting the dampening net. D'Argo interrupts, "Peacekeeper lies!" He shouts that Crais is planning to upgrade Talyn's weaponry. Crichton thinks that D'Argo has a point, but then Crais agrees to let them supervise the installation. Zhaan's agreeable, but Crichton asks what they'll do if Talyn objects to the change. Aeryn says that she can talk him into it. D'Argo dramatically exclaims, "I will not be a party to this!" Crichton's on D'Argo's side, and asks, "What do we know about these Plakavoids?" Aeryn corrects him, "It's 'Plokavians,' John," and notes that they don't need to know anything else. Zhaan says she may need to meditate about this to decide what she thinks. Aeryn doesn't quite roll her eyes as D'Argo snaps, "Enough thinking! If we really want to help Talyn, then we should kill Crais!" Crichton calls, "I am up with that!" Heh. Aeryn herds D'Argo to the other end of the cabin, and Crais points out that Talyn will be even more destructive without his "guidance." "You mean, your control!" D'Argo bellows. Crais argues, "I can only control him to a point. I can't even convince him to use his weapons as a last resort." Aeryn holds up the transponder and offers to talk to Talyn herself. They continue to debate whether or not to trust Crais, and Crais mentions that he's only used Talyn's weapons in self-defense. Zhaan, still waffling, mentions what happened with the Halosians. Crais says that the Halosians attacked, and he was barely able to keep Talyn from destroying them. To sum up Aeryn's story: Stark was silent, Zhaan was useless, Crichton was surly, and D'Argo was homicidal. So far, it sounds pretty plausible.
The console beeps, and Crais announces that the Plokavians have arrived. A hologram of the Plokavian ship appears on a terminal, and Aeryn looks it over while Crais tells the Plokavians that they're early. He explains that he's engaged manual override and "privacy mode," so that Talyn can't listen in on their conversation. Aeryn notices that the Plokavians are heavily armed, and Stark moves toward the console as he suggests raising the defense screen. Aeryn pulls his hand back and says that Plokavians may take that as a sign of bad faith. Stark argues that Talyn can't defend himself. Meanwhile, Crais says that he wants to discuss the terms of the exchange. Then: zap, boom. The Plokavian ship explodes, and Crais shouts, "Who fired that shot?" Aeryn insists, "Nobody, our proximity sensors were switched off." Crais says he'll have to ask Talyn what happened. Crichton quickly says, "Turn off the privacy mode, we'll tell him ourselves." He tells Aeryn not to give the transponder back to Crais. Crais evilly sneers, "I have another!" Crichton shouts,"You frelled us!" as Crais pops the spare into his spine-socket. The axe-guns pop out of the wall and everyone moves for the door as Aeryn gasps, "He's taking over Talyn again!" Crais shouts at them to leave, and Crichton drags a struggling Aeryn toward the hatch. Aeryn voiceovers, "I would have tried to remove Crais's transponder, and forced him to stay, but the others wouldn't risk it."
Interrogation chamber. Eydie sneers that the cannon just went off all by itself, then. Steve notes, "You understand we might find that difficult to accept." Aeryn says it's the truth.
Moya. Chiana marches down a corridor and finally discovers Rygel sniffing around in the galley. She asks why he's not in Command. "Why aren't you?" would be my response, but Rygel explains, "There's no food on the Command!" Chiana says that Rygel's supposed to be negotiating with the Plokavians for the return of the others. Rygel says that the Plokavians didn't even respond. Then there's a jolt, and Chiana asks Pilot if the ship is moving. Pilot says that Moya wants to go looking for Talyn. Chiana gasps, "What about Crichton and the others?" Yeah, "the others." Like old whatzisname, your boyfriend, D'Argo. Sheesh. Pilot says, "Our absence will not change their situation." He says that if they find Talyn, maybe they can get him to help rescue the others.
Plokavian brig. Crichton is sprawled out on the frisbee so he can examine the underside. He announces that there's nothing to hold on to. Zhaan asks where they would go even if they got off the frisbee. Crichton says, "Sooner or later, one of us is going to have to find a bathroom." D'Argo laughs heartily, and then stops with a sigh and says, "I really wish you hadn't said that." Heh. There's a metallic noise, and suddenly the center of the frisbee pops up. Good thing nobody was standing there at the time. It turns out to be a little caged elevator, with Aeryn inside. She explains that the Plokavians questioned her, and will talk to all of them. She advises, "Don't lie to them, lying will get us all executed." D'Argo asks what she told them, and Aeryn firmly says, "The truth." Everyone looks around for a second, and then Crichton suddenly sweeps Aeryn into a hug as he exclaims, "Oh God, I missed you so much!" He whispers, "Play along," into her ear as he embraces her. I bet he tries that again when they're back on Moya. Steve bellows Zhaan's name, and she nervously enters the elevator. Meanwhile, Aeryn loudly and insincerely declares, "I missed you too, John. Hold me." Crichton quietly asks Aeryn if the Plokavians are listening to them, and she says that she assumes so. She adds, "I told them no one was responsible for firing Talyn's weapons -- that he must have malfunctioned." Crichton says that it isn't much of a story. "Only one I had," Aeryn shrugs. He suggests telling the others, which is when the elevator, and Zhaan, sink out of sight. D'oh.
Interrogation chamber. Zhaan stammers that Crais asked for their help. Cue the flashback. Stark, dampening net, fishcakes. This time, when the Plokavians are mentioned, Zhaan doesn't ask who they are. Instead, she helpfully tells Stark, "Oh, I've heard of them. Quite far advanced technologically. Strong believers in truth and justice." I love the idea that she's working flattery into her testimony. And this time, it's Crichton who immediately objects because he doesn't trust Crais. Crais tells Crichton that he can supervise the installation of the dampening net. Zhaan points out that Crais will need their help to get Talyn to go along with this. Crichton, startled, says, "I hadn't thought about that. Talyn might not want to give up his cannon, right?" Aeryn grumpily tells Crichton that Peacekeepers never give up their weapons. She goes on to say, "But it's in his best interest, so we should let Crais do it." Crichton quickly agrees. Heh, Zhaan thinks he's whipped. Stark and Zhaan also support the plan.
Eydie interrupts, "You're saying that nobody had a problem with Crais's plan?" Zhaan admits that right about then, D'Argo got pissy. She says, "He's a Luxan and Luxans are subject to fits of hyper-rage. Well, and he lost his son, you know. That made him edgy." Edgy is one word for it.
Flashback. D'Argo shouts, "I will not be a party to this!" Crichton calmly asks what the problem is, and D'Argo says that Crais going to get dangerous weapons installed on Talyn. Crichton wavers, and admits that D'Argo has a point. Wow, she thinks Crichton's whipped in several ways. Stark seems to support Crais's plan. Once again, Crais says that Talyn would be more destructive without his guidance. This time it's Crichton who asks, "Don't you mean, your control?" Crais says that he can't always control Talyn. Aeryn fondles the neural link and says she'll teach Talyn to behave. Oh my. Self-defense, Halosians, and cue the Plokavians. So, according to Zhaan, Stark was agreeable, Aeryn was militaristic, Crichton was dopey, and D'Argo was surly.
Crais greets the Plokavians, saying they're right on time, Stark and Zhaan move to look at the hologram of the ship while Aeryn lurks behind them. Stark says it's a lovely ship, and Zhaan agrees. She's really not very subtle at all. Something beeps and flashes, and Aeryn says, "Weapons console malfunction. " The cannon rises up out of Talyn. Crichton moves toward the console, saying that they have to disarm it. Aeryn waves him away, snapping, "You might set it off!"
Zap, boom. Rubble flies toward Talyn, shaking it. Crais exclaims, "The Plokavians will have great difficulty believing that was an accident. We'd better go!" It's quite a long, articulate exclamation, really. Zhaan's a terrible liar. Zhaan says that they should wait to explain in case "the authorities" turn up. Crais vetoes that, and pulls out his spare transponder. "Leave now, or I'll force you!" he shouts, as he pops it in. Zhaan helpfully tells Stark, "He has another transponder." Ha! Even in her own version of events, she offers redundant exposition. The guns pop out of the walls, and Aeryn and Crichton cower hilariously. Crais orders them to go, and Crichton and Aeryn skedaddle. Crichton has the most amusing terrified expression, while Zhaan looks completely calm. Heh. She voiceovers, "There was nothing we could do, so we boarded the transport pod to return to Moya."
Interrogation room. Wow, the footrest-lamp is really quite Freudian, isn't it? Zhaan finishes her story and asks, "Any more questions?" as she looks around. The room is silent. I think Steve and Eydie went out for coffee about half an hour ago.
Brig. Everyone's staring into the blackness. Crichton says, "This is the weirdest hoosegow I've ever been in." Then he says, "Slammer, clink, jail, prison." Is he having a Howard Hughes moment or something? Aeryn asks how many prisons he's been in, and Crichton replies, "Just what are you implying?" You're the one making the implication, actually. The elevator pops up out of the frisbee again, and Crichton asks Zhaan how it went. She says, "I told them what I saw. I hope they believe me." Steve calls for Stark, who steps into the elevator. D'Argo glares at Stark as he descends.
Interrogation room. Stark explains that he didn't believe Crais's story about the dampening net. Steve asks why. Stark says, "He's an ex-Peacekeeper Captain who abandoned his own people and abducted Talyn. He's completely power-mad." He adds that Crichton didn't trust Crais, either.
Flashback. We skip the preliminaries this time, and go straight to Crichton saying, "You expect us to help you?" Stark's version is particularly funny because everyone's acting like they're on quaaludes. Or like they're in a Sergio Leone movie. But I repeat myself. Even when they're arguing, they speak calmly. Crais says that Talyn won't let him make the modifications. Aeryn sniffs, "Good for Talyn." Zhaan sneers that Crais doesn't seem to have complete control of Talyn, and D'Argo purrs, "John, give me the word and I'll break his neck." Crais says that Talyn chose him to be Captain, and Aeryn suggests that they might override that decision, and holds up the transponder. This time, when Crais says that he's only used the ship's weapons in self-defense, Zhaan says, "As you did with the Halosians," like she's disagreeing. Crichton says that they won't help him. Crais doesn't raise his voice a bit when he says, "You'll regret this." Hee. The console beeps, and Crais goes to chat with the Plokavians without mentioning if they're early or on time or what. Instead, he mellowly declares that the deal is off. The Plokavian growls, "I cannot permit that. The contract stands." Crais marches over to the weapons console and slams his palm onto a button. Boom. So, according to Stark, nobody liked Crais's plan, and the Plokavians were jerks.
Steve interrupts, "That's not what the others told us," and asks if they're all protecting Crais. Stark says no, they're protecting Talyn. "They know you'd have to destroy Talyn to bring Crais to justice."
Moya. Chiana tells Pilot that the search for Talyn is a waste of time, and they're just going to get lost. Pilot snaps, "I'm doing as Moya wishes! Do not question us!" He vanishes from the clamshell while Rygel teases Chiana about her diplomatic skills.
Brig. D'Argo paces around on the frisbee until Crichton advises him to watch his step. D'Argo threatens to toss Crichton into the void. Jeez. Crichton says, "Just trying to cheer you up." The elevator pops up, returning Stark to the frisbee, and Eydie announces, "Your testimonies do not correspond! Unless we hear the truth, you will all be executed!" As soon as Stark steps out of the elevator, D'Argo grabs him and shouts, "What did you say to them?" Stark struggles to get away, and D'Argo punches him, knocking his mask off. Even though it's buckled around his neck. That's some punch. Stark moans, "My mask..." while his face spews glowy blobs at everyone. Fade out.
After the nonexistent commercials, Stark keeps wailing "My maaaaask!" and I get the giggles. The mask goes sliding over the edge of the frisbee. Zhaan manages to catch it before it's gone, and puts it back over Stark's glowy face. I'm sorry, but that was a pretty lame excuse for an act-break cliffhanger. Once he's calmed down, Stark explains, "My mask keeps my energies in check." Okay. Aeryn drily says, "D'Argo, that didn't help." Heh. The Plokavians announce that it's D'Argo's turn. D'Argo steps into the elevator and declares, "I'll tell them what I really saw."
We cut straight to the flashback. I have to say that, even while I'm whining to myself about how I have to recap the same scene five times with slight variations, I do appreciate how in each version, it's more abbreviated. And at least the variations keep me from feeling like I'm reliving "The Longest Day." So, Stark gasps, "Plokavians? Are you fahrbot?" D'Argo asks who they are, and Stark raves, "They're barbarians, murderers, builders of horrific weapons! Shatter grenades, Novatron gases, seismic disruptors. They're frelling savages who deal in death!"
Steve repeats, "Savages?" In the interrogation room, D'Argo says that's what Stark called them. He adds that just then Aeryn started defending Crais. Nice segue!
Flashback. Aeryn says that Crais is just getting a dampening net. D'Argo, who apparently thinks he's super-calm, suggests that Crais is after other weapons. Crichton says, "You know what I think? I think you are right!" and points at D'Argo. Crichton and Aeryn strike a pose to D'Argo, like he's the hero and they're his sidekicks. Aw, I like D'Argo's reality. Crais shiftily offers to let them supervise the installation. Stark, the yappy puppy in this scenario, insists that they should leave. Crais smarmily says he needs their help, but D'Argo declares, "We will not be a party to this." In the background, Stark continues to freak out about the Plokavians. Crais says the modification will help Talyn. D'Argo, still icebox-cool, says, "I think I know how to help Talyn. Why don't we break Crais' neck?" Crichton says, "I am down with that!" At least D'Argo gets the slang right. Zhaan says that violence won't solve anything, and D'Argo's expression suggests that he's pretty sure violence solves everything. Crais says that Talyn would be more destructive without his guidance. "You mean, your control," D'Argo sniffs. Aeryn says she could help Crais deal with Talyn but D'Argo firmly declares that Crais "wants to keep Talyn's powers for his own selfish purposes. "Yeah!" Crichton says. Tee hee. Crais says he's only used Talyn's weapons in self-defense, and Zhaan mentions the Halosians (supportively, this time). The console beeps, and Crais says that the Plokavians have arrived. So, according to D'Argo, he was the coolest, and everyone else was considerably less cool than he was. Especially Stark, who was a blithering idiot.
Stark waves his arms around and wails, "Tell them you've changed your mind. Don't deal with them!" Everyone ignores him. D'Argo and Zhaan go to eye the hologram of the ship while Crais tells the Plokavians that they're early. Zhaan points out that the Plokavian ship is carrying Novatron gas. D'Argo knowingly says, "Eats you alive from the inside out." Stark insists, "We can't let Crais get near these monsters. We have to strike first!" Suddenly Stark slams his hand into the weapons console. Crais looks quite startled as the Plokavian ship goes kaboom. And! This time the explosion is extra-awesome, because if you go through it in slow motion, you can watch a little Plokavian body go flying out of the wreckage and slam into Talyn's viewports. Whee! As the ship is rocked by the explosion, Stark screams like a girl. Crais shouts, "What have you done?" D'Argo tells Crais to give it up, and Crichton chirps, "Stark frelled you!" Aeryn holds up the transponder and chuckles, "You're not getting this back, either." D'Argo announces that Crais has a spare, and then Crais is popping it into his spine. Axe-guns swoosh out. Crais orders them to go.
Steve confirms that Stark fired the cannon. D'Argo says, "Yes, but I will never mourn the death of someone who deals in Novatron gas." Eydie asks why he's turning Stark in, then. D'Argo says that the rest of them shouldn't be held responsible for what Stark did.
Brig. Stark mopes that D'Argo's going to get him killed. Zhaan says, "But you didn't fire the cannon." Stark agrees.
Moya. Chiana enters Pilot's chamber and apologizes for yelling at him. She asks what the chances are that they'll find Talyn. "Miniscule," Pilot concedes. He explains that Moya feels guilty. "Talyn's her son, Chiana. She feels responsible for what he does." Chiana rather cleverly asks if Moya feels any responsibility toward the people she's abandoned. After pondering that for a moment, Pilot says that he won't force Moya to turn back, but he will ask her. Chiana asks what will happen if the others escape in the transport and don't find Moya waiting for them. Pilot says, "Moya understands your concern. [beat] And she agrees with it." Chiana seems to be surprised that she actually won an argument as the rest of the world is. Pilot says he's plotting a course back to where they were.
Brig. D'Argo returns in the elevator. Steve calls for Crichton. As Crichton descends, Aeryn twitches one eyebrow, which is a pretty emotional farewell for her. Stark and Zhaan look at each other sadly. D'Argo stares off into the blackness.
Interrogation chamber. Eydie shrilly asks who fired the cannon. Crichton says, "Nobody did. Must have been a malfunction." Suddenly an image D'Argo's face is projected onto Crichton's, which is an effect that's equal parts neat and disorienting. But now we know what the foot-lamp does. I wait for the Plokavians to say, "Whoops, sorry, we've got the projector facing the wrong way, just a sec," but that doesn't happen. Anyway, Crichton hears D'Argo say, "Stark was at the weapons console. He was frantic. Before I could stop him, he fired the cannon." Eydie asks if D'Argo was lying. Crichton offers, "He was confused." He goes on to say that Stark's never been on Talyn before, and wouldn't know where the weapons console was. There's a click, and now Aeryn's face is projected onto Crichton. Aeryn says, "Stark offered to raise Talyn's defense screen. He started towards the weapons console, but I stopped him before he could touch anything." Crichton says that it all fits together: D'Argo saw Stark near the console, so he assumed that Stark is the one who fired. Another click, and Zhaan's face is projected. She says that nobody was near the weapons console. "When it malfunctioned, Crichton started toward it, but Aeryn told him not to touch it." Eydie says that Crichton was the closest one to the console. Crichton sighs that everyone's stories are different because nobody sees things the same way. "We do!" Eydie objects. Crichton asks, "Ten Plakavoids see a fender bender and you get ten identical reports?" "Yes," says Steve. Crichton insists that most people will have inconsistent stories. Stark's face is projected, and we hear him saying, "Then Crais got angry and marched over to the weapons console and pressed a control. That's when the cannon fired." Crichton explains that Stark hates Peacekeepers, and doesn't mind using Crais as a scapegoat. "Stop!" Steve roars. An overhead light comes on as Eydie declares that everyone is lying. They begin wading out toward the chair. This time, because of the overhead light, we get to see their faces. Remember that part of Robocop when Paul McCrane is doused in toxic waste and gets all melty? They look like that. It's gross, but also kind of a letdown after all the mystery. Eydie says, "The executions will begin immediately!" Crichton looks... well, kind of bored, honestly. I think it's hard for him to take death-threats seriously at this point.
In another cliffhanger cop-out, it turns out that the Plokavians were bluffing. Steve asks Crichton to tell them who did it. Eydie adds, "Otherwise, we will commence the executions with you! For real! We totally mean it this time and aren't just trying to scare you! Probably!" Crichton sighs, "It's the same everywhere: good cop, bad cop." He says that they don't want the truth; they want a scapegoat. Steve insists that they want justice. Crichton pffts, "Then listen up. Yes. We. Are. Lying. You say we're going to be executed at dawn. Is it some big surprise that we'd cover for one another?" He says that he's going to tell them the truth: he doesn't know what happened. Steve looks a little abashed, in addition to looking melted. Crichton then offers to tell them the truth about what he saw. "No coverings, no editorials, no axes to grind." He says they've got it right, up until Crais mentioned "the Plakavoids."
Flashback. Stark gasps, "The Plakavoids? Are you fahrbot?" Hee. Everyone calls them Plakavoids in Crichton's version. The dumb jokes are the best jokes. Zhaan asks who the Plakavoids are, and Stark describes them as, "a dangerous race who build horrific weapons." Crais wants a dampening net; D'Argo thinks otherwise; they can supervise. Crais mentions that Talyn "won't part with his cannon willingly." Crichton asks, "Can you blame him for that?" D'Argo says that they won't be a party to this, and Stark adds that the Plakavoids are evil. Crais says that this will help Talyn and D'Argo suggests that breaking Crais's neck might help Talyn even more. Crais mentions the guidance he provides, and this time it's Zhaan who says, "You mean, your control." Aeryn fondles the transponder as she suggests that she might have better luck as Talyn's captain. Crais says, "Doubtful. He trusts me." Crichton sighs, "Then he's the only one around here who does." Crais says he's only used the weapons in self-defense, and Zhaan mentions the Halosians. Crichton's not convinced. There's a beep, and Crais says, "The Plackavoidian vessel's here!" Ha! Stark grumbles about dealing with the Plakavoids. While D'Argo goes to look at the hologram, Crichton asks, "Assuming we want to neuter Talyn, are these really the people we want to be in business with?" Crais says there aren't any other options, and then tells the Plakavoids that they're early. Stark begins edging up toward the console while Crais explains that Talyn can't eavesdrop. Crichton suddenly asks Stark what he's doing, and Stark declares, "We have to strike first!" He turns back to the console and Crichton rushes over. They conveniently block our view of the console as they fumble with each other, and then it's Stark who gasps, "What have you done?" right before he slaps the button. Zap, boom. Plakacorpse!
Interrogation room. Crichton concludes, "And then Crais forced us off the ship." Eydie asks if Stark did hit the weapons console. Crichton says during their fumbling, he shut the console down. "He did not fire the weapon. Nobody did. And that's how I saw it. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Oh, honey, I wish you hadn't said that, considering I've got "A Clockwork Nebari" coming up .
On the frisbee, Stark moans that he's going to be executed, and wonders how they'll do it. "Pulse fire? Strangulation? Maybe even Novatron gas." Aeryn, who hasn't learned anything about how to be comforting, says the Plokavians mentioned "dispersal" to her. Stark turns to her, startled, and says that he might be able to survive dispersal. Oh. Well, isn't that convenient? Zhaan points out that Maldis survived after being dispersed. So apparently dispersal isn't dangerous to incredibly annoying characters. Figures. Stark gasps, "Maybe I can return to this realm someday." There's a happy pause, and then he looks at a skeptical Aeryn and adds, "No. I don't believe it either." Ha! He does say that it's at least a chance. And then the elevator pops up as Crichton returns.
Steve and Eydie are revealed, standing on another frisbee. Eydie shrieks, "Your lack of candor gives us no choice but to have you all put to death." As everyone starts bitching, she says they'll start with Aeryn. Stark stands up and declares, "I cannot let the others die on my behalf. I have to tell the truth. I fired on the Plokavian ship and destroyed it." Crichton tries to stop him, but they're all immediately zapped so that everyone besides Stark falls down, frozen. Steve admits that Stark was their prime suspect. Stark unbuckles his mask and removes it. His formerly-glowy blob is all dark and mopey. It's a mood blob! Stark puts the mask into Zhaan's hand and steps into the elevator. Then he speechifies, "I thank you all for the great risks you took to save a mere Banik slave. Your acceptance, your friendship, has meant a lot to me." Except for D'Argo, of course. They blink in acknowledgment, since that's all they can do. Then a light blazes down from the top of the elevator, and Stark screams in pain. And then his body is gone, and a lot of glowy confetti is blown out of the elevator.
As the transport pod zips toward Moya, Pilot reports that they're ready to Starburst as soon as everyone's aboard. D'Argo mopes that he misjudged Stark. "He shouldn't have died for his crime." Zhaan silently clutches Stark's mask to her chest as Crichton says that Stark didn't do anything. D'Argo says he saw Stark fire, and Zhaan admits that she saw the same thing. Crichton explains that he'd shut down the weapons console before Stark hit the button. Aeryn asks, "Did you know what else would happen when you neutralized the controls?" Crichton stares at her for a moment before saying, "I knew that shutting down the weapons console would kill the manual override, yeah." Zhaan helps us out, explaining that Crichton returned weapons control to Talyn. D'Argo asks why Talyn opened fire. Turns out that Pilot's been listening in, since he explains: "When Talyn scanned the arms dealer's cargo, he asked Moya what it was. She realized it was Novatron gas, one of the six forbidden cargoes no Leviathan may carry." Pilot says that Talyn attacked because he was trying to protect Moya.
Moya. D'Argo sits in his cell, the photo of Jothee to him. Chiana wanders in and looks at the picture before insisting, "You'll find him." D'Argo sighs that he only knows how to find Jothee because of Stark. He sighs, "I've become so distrustful of people, even when they're trying to help me. What does that say about what I've become?"
Er, the galley? I think. Crichton asks Aeryn why she didn't place the blame on Crais. Aeryn scoffs, "What if they believed me? They probably would have gone after Crais and they would have had to kill Talyn to get to him." Crichton asks if she was just protecting Talyn. She says yes, but Crichton looks unconvinced. Aeryn has a question, too: "Do you think it's possible that Stark survived?" Crichton thinks for a second, and then says he's seen a lot of impossible things since arriving on Moya. So, that's a "no," then. Aeryn says that Zhaan thinks it's possible. Crichton sighs, "She says she does. But I don't think she believes it." And then, as usual, they stare at each other.
Zhaan sits in her cell, stroking Stark's mask. She kisses it, and allows a tear to drip down her face, much to the consternation of the makeup people. "Now I'm going to have to do all the exposition by myself," she sobs.