And Then, Some Time Earlier...

Moya and I are extremely worried. It is our job, our responsibility to keep the members of our crew safe, and now we seem to be losing them, one by one. Commander Crichton and Chiana are down on the surface of the moon, and I do not think the odds of them returning are good. Officer Sun is lying near death; hooking her up to Moya's filtration system to attempt to remove the toxins building up in her bloodstream appears to be helping, but it can only delay the inevitable for so long. Pa'u Zhaan has suddenly and inexplicably left Moya in a transport pod, an act which seems little short of suicidal in our current circumstances. It is all I have been able to do to talk Ka D'Argo out of chasing after her and leaving Moya and I alone with the unconscious Aeryn and the supremely un-useful Hynerian, Rygel.

And on top of it all, I can feel Moya's time nearing. Changes are happening in her massive body, I can feel them through our symbiotic connection. The baby will be arriving soon, and until it does, I do not think we will be able to Starburst away from this incredibly dangerous spot. Yet another worry.

I am making a largely unsuccessful attempt to soothe Moya's fear, when suddenly, this... object... appears from nowhere in my den. It's some sort of blue box, with strange symbols visible on it and a flashing light on top. I'm afraid that I merely gape at it for several moments, taken too utterly by surprise to do much of anything else.

A figure steps out of it. He's not dressed like a Peacekeeper -- indeed, he's not dressed like anyone I've ever seen before -- but he does nevertheless appear to be Sebacean. I try to control my panic, but I fear it comes through in my words.

"Who are you? What are you doing here!?"

"Calm down, old chap," says the man with what I assume is intended to be a soothing gesture. "It's all right."

I am reaching for the comms, anyway, to summon D'Argo and his qualta blade to my assistance, but suddenly another figure appears from the box.

"Commander Crichton! You are alive!"

"Yup!" he says, smiling at me. "I'm kinda surprised about that, too."

"But how--"

"Sorry, Pilot, no time. I gotta get this to Aeryn." He holds up an injector device.

"The tissue sample!" I say, relief replacing some of my fear and confusion. "You were able to obtain it! But how did--"

He's already gone though.

More people are pouring out of the box, despite the fact that it is clearly too small to hold them all. "Chiana! Zhaan? But how did-- Gilina?!" Renewed confusion renders me silent, and all I can do is blink at them dazedly.

Then another sensation claims my attention. A contraction ripples through Moya's body, like nothing I've ever felt from her before. Some indication must show on my face, because Zhaan approaches me, concern written across her own. "Pilot? Is something wrong?"

1. "The baby!" I gasp. "I think it's coming!"

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