A human’s got his pride, be it man or woman...

D’Argo

"That is something I’d like to know myself!” I put in. Frankly, I actually have a feeling that John here is not actually warning us against taking these three human woman aboard but I fail to exactly understand just what Crichton meant. "John, would you please explain whatever exactly you’re saying--without the pop culture ‘Crichtonism’ this time, please?”

That last draws a few snickers from several in the room and an annoyed look from Crichton. Indeed, the last causes Crichton to glare a little at me before sighing and muttering something about sarcasm, sharp tongues, and out unexpected guest Rei Quatermain.

. . .

Those three odd pale skinned women may be a mystery here, helpful though they’ve proven to be to us thus far. However, say what you will and whatever we shall discover of them I cannot say that the one known as "Rei” does NOT have a way with words (albeit somewhat sarcastic at times)...

Crichtonisms. Heh, that is the perfect term for the way Crichton talks sometimes. Gods only know that once should NOT judge a whole species by the example of just one, but up until this point I was beginning to really believe that all humans were fahrbot, plain and simple.

Oh, there was that time we visited that false Earth, but that had been only a deception brought about by those Ancients who’d based it all on Crichton’s memories and impressions of his world. Hardly a good baseline to judge humans off of, I fear.

. . .

At least I hope not... They way they treated us while acting had been most . . . Rude. Xenophobic even.... I do hope that Crichton’s impression of some of his fellow human beings (as seen through the mockup the Ancients made) isn’t an accurate one.

Then again, Rei had mentioned something about other Earths (alter-Earth) being more grown up (including her’s now that SEELE wasn’t mucking things up) than that.

Had kinda been tight lipped about John’s Earth...

Hmprh, we’ll "cross that bridge when we get to it”. Not getting anywhere with this useless speculation right now.

http: //farscape. Wikia .com /wiki /A_ Human _Reaction

"Okaaay,” Crichton says, interrupting my train of thought and looking around the room. "Plain and simple? Fine!

"It’s not that I am against them joining up here with us! Nope, not that at all! I’m just saying that you all might want to kinda walk softly on a few things with them...

Crichton then proceeds to relate what had happened between the young newcomers in general (Rei in particular) and Aeryn Sun when they first met. Now, while Aeryn had not actually voiced a negative opinion about what at first had sounded like empty bragging on Rei’s part about being "Humanity’s shield and sword”, something in her eyes and face must have done the voicing for her.

All that aside, what John’s getting at here is that Rei’s pride as a warrior got pricked here by our resident former PK’s arrogance. Something that I as a Luxan warrior can relate to here, really. Almost all Peace Keepers have an elitist, superior attitude. Looking down upon everyone else as inferior to them. And not shy in showing it, let me add.

Oh, Aeryn Sun’s gotten better at it. No longer so high and mighty as she’d been when we’d first taken her in, but still that arrogance can come out from time to time...

That would so very much explain the dressing down that Rei kind of game Aeryn a bit ago...

Something like that. Sometimes the ways of non-Luxans confuses me to this day, especially the ways of Sebacians. Even though I had married one long ago and had a son by her...

Aeryn still sometimes confuses me, though we’ve lived together on Moya for quiet a bit now... I mean I could tell that Rei was a blooded warrior. Her and her sisters. How come Aeryn thought that Rei had been boasting empty boast, especially when anyone with half a brain could have seen it was only half prideful. Half ironic chagrin.

. . .

Somewhere along the way after that trauma that bastard Gendo had inflicted upon her, she’d begun to come alive again. Re-invested. See herself perhaps more than a mere tool, to be used and disposed of at a whim. Still less than a person, she had begun to see herself as . . .important. Less than "human”, she still was important. Was one of the few (even if only parly human) who could pilot a monstrosity capable of defending humanity from a threat nothing else on her world could stop.

Myself? I’d be VERY proud of being in such a position. I’d do it and be proud to have the ability to defend Luxans from such a threat if it had been ME.

And more than a bit betrayed when it turned out that the thing I’d taken pride in turned out to be a lie like it eventually turned out to be for Rei. Something like THAT would have caused me to go out in hyper rage (http:// farscape. wikia. com/ wiki/ Luxan) and rip out certain people’s guts and strangle them with their entrails! Rei instead of that just played some part in bringing events about that prevented her "true” purpose from being fulfilled (thwarting SEELE and Gendo Akari in the process).

Fine and well but . . .

No. However, Crichton’s point includes this but MORE than just this. Not only does Rei (and her sisters to some lesser extent which I’m not sure of at this moment) still have some pride in what she’d done as a warrior, but Crichton’s also pointing out something else. It took a LOT of resources, ingenuity, and out and out genius to bring about something like an EVA using a technology base that was only slightly more advanced than Crichton’s pathetic world’s level.

. . .

Which . . .kind of goes hand in hand with what I now realize is something of a pet peeve of Crichton’s with US. Yes, Crichton’s world may be pathetic when compared to the technology level I and the others have at our fingertips every and each day out here in the Uncharted and such. Just look at the pathetic mess that is Crichton‘s pod: Farscape 1.

. . .

Uh, forget I just said that. Crichton’s words . . .kinda were meant mostly for Rei, but a bit for himself as well. He’s . . .okay with the teasing, mostly but it annoys and angers him a bit that HIS brainchild . . .the Farscape module is a joke to us.

It IS a joke by Uncharted standards but . . .not by Earth standards. Hm, what would it look like to Luxans during our time when we’d been stuck to one planet, using only fossil fuels and such?

I . . .don’t know. Not so funny now that I think about it really.... And didn’t in all our looking over Rei’s ship (a human built craft) didn’t seem . . .a bit advanced in a few details compared to the Uncharted? Uh, better lay off the jokes because I have a bad feeling . . .while Crichton’s people (his Earth) may be primitive by my standards I might be soon eating my words if I assume all human beings we’re going to be meeting sooner or later . . .are like that.

. . .

But that aside, John’s main point here is that the imprinting (or whatever) of that OTHER woman’s memories and whatever (that Yui Akari woman) upon Rei seems to have . . .left some kind of mark. He says that there is an air of acedamia to the woman. A woman of many degrees in learning as a sceintist. She’s casual about it but I seen how some of the others around here with degrees can be pewter goddesses which you don’t want to cross or make angry.

Best way to anger one is to belittle their field, their learning . . .their life’s work...

Okay, wasn’t like I was going to joke about or belittle those EVA creature/weapons. Those thigns sound frelling scary! Might be difficult (or impossible) to remake them in THIS reality, but still . . .getting them made was an accomplishment worthy of some kind of awe, right?

Why would something like EVA frighten someone the likes of me, a blooded warrior who’s seen . . .several battle campaigns? Why frighten? Well, it’s not like I haven’t seen things and creatures with similar abilities. I know that the Peace Keepers modified Moya’s (our living spaceship, a Leviathan) into a gunship. Something that shouldn’t have been done. And in the end the side effects that poor Talyon (Moya’s offspring) suffered from those modifications were what played in part the situation that killed him. So a bio-mechanical weapon of destruction isn’t outside of my experience. I myself helped install an energy barrier taken from a derelict Peace Keeper carrier on Moya so I’ve seen "energy shields” in action.

The frightening thing about EVA (EVA 01 in particular) is seeing (or hearing) of such in one (relatively) small package. And I must be truthful when I say that the demonic appearance took me a bit aback!!

. . .

EVA was made to look like a demon to defend humanity against creatures attributed to entities human’s usually associated with divine grace and goodness. That irony, outsider that I may be, didn’t fail to be grasped by me.

Whoever did that must have been both brilliant (if a bit twisted).

. . .

Truth be told I heard rumors while in the Luxan armed forces about secret projects tyring to come up with a similar tool of war. Something LIKE an EVA for use in ground assaults but having little to no luck. From the look of it a lot of the others home-worlds have tried (and failed as well). That is why only one or two of hadn’t dismissed Rei out of hand.

To imagine that . . .well, never mind

"Okay Crichton I can see that point,” Chiana puts in, frowning a little bit. "One of them, anyway. What’s tha other one, old man?”

"I believe that despite me and my sister’s serene and sweat demeanor,” Rei interrupts, coming into our room without invitation. "He fears that what brought about the 180 degree turn my and my sister’s personalities did....might have left us more than a bit unstable.”

180 degree turn? I thought that John said that it had been a 360 degree turn...then again 360 would just put you right back where you started. Just one more question I have to ask John about in his phrasing.

"Bingo!” Crichton mutters, shaking his head slightly.

. . .

Okay, what in the FRELL does that dog have anything to do with this?! Crichton told me one time about a creature named a dog and sometimes they’re named strange names, like that....

Lilith and her sisters share meaningful glance with each other at John’s pronouncement. Valid concern, that. Hell, with everything they’d gone through that was a VERY valid concern.

"But don’t worry about use blowing fuses about any jokes about EVA,” Lilith smiles. "That part of our lives is over and done with, thank GOD! And it isn‘t like we can‘t take a joke or three about our Earth‘s level of technology . . .all considered.”

"And we tolerate Crichton and everyone knows he’s unstable!” Chiana puts in helpfully.

"And let’s not mention Stark, eh?” Rei says softly, causing her sisters to chuckle softly while the others laugh at Crichton’s expense.

Yeah, Crichton just can’t get no respect...

Then the smiles vanish and frowns appear as the reason why they’d interrupted things steps forward. .Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu (called Sikozu for short), is looking at one of the trio’s . . .more useful tools. Or something like that. More in a bit...

"And you’d all be damn fools to sneer at the tech level they usually have access to,” Sikozu says, shaking the tricorder in her hands. "But I guess they haven’t told you about their ‘Auntie’ Inquirer and ‘Uncle’ Elrondir. The fun I and they had back on ‘my’ version of that dying Leviathan we met upon...”

1. It rapidly became apparent that THIS Sikozu isn’t "their’s”. That and "their” Sikozu . . .met a rather lethal end...

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