Summary:
After the episode Fractures. Stark finds an oracle on the death planet from The Choice and returns to Moya where Naj Gil the Scarren from Fractures is now a crew member. Things on Moya get kind of out of hand when Stark's oracle talisman gets snurched ... or err, procured, maybe borrowed ...

By
ChianaGray
1/29/02
 
 
"Zhaan! Zhaan!" Stark cried out franticly, coming to his knees in front of the oracle of two black dragons grasping on to a massive orb. It was a giant chamber of marbled walls and floor, the only place left for him on this planet of the dead to try to link with some source to the sound of her voice. "Zhaan! Please hear me! Come to me!"

He threw out his arms as swirls of light began to turn within the great sphere, the side of his face seemed to glow that much more brightly as he cried out in his desperation. Her image seemed to appear within, standing as if in coils of wind, light and fire. The image stepped forward, becoming clearer as she reached the limit of the sphere.

"Eta Nia Mya Kosaaaa ..." her voice whispered around him as Zhaan lifted her eyes up from beneath her brow and reached out, touching the confine of the sphere. "Gailynn ... Gailynn ..."

"Speak to me!" Stark cried as he tried to dare closer. "Zhaan!"

"Speak to you," Zhaan whispered almost angrily as she glared out to the room beyond her. "Stark ... how dare they ... how dare they!"

"Yes!" Stark scowled angrily as he came to the edge of the sphere at her feet. "Tell me what it is Zhaan ... I will do anything for you, anything!"

"We must help John." She reached down to Stark, her hand coming through the sphere, touching his face. He gasped at the touch, trembling as he closed his eye. "Before it comes to happen. Stark ... you must ... stop ..."

"No!" Stark shouted as she faded away, her touch gone as he threw his hands to the sphere. "Stop what Zhaan? Don't go now, not now!"

"I'm sorry," a man approached, bowing his head as he folded his hands together. "If it is of any comfort your link was unusually strong with the oracle."

"But she's gone," Stark muttered sullenly as he stood. "She wants me to do something, something important. You must leave me. I must commune with this oracle again."

"This may assist you," the man said as he took a small sphere out of one of the dragons mouth and held it out to Stark. "A link to the oracle. In this way you may go where ever you wish, and still find the contact to what you desired most."

"For a price!" Stark snarled as he pointed at him. "No! I warned you already Rogiran. I'm not here for you to attempt some pathetic scam to prey upon the anguishes of loss! My mission is a true one, Zhaan is trying to tell me something!"

"I have not asked you for anything have I?" Rogiran asked as he cupped the small sphere into both hands. "The way the oracle works is very simple Stark, you as a Stakiran should understand any intentions I uphold to it as its keeper. I only offer this oracle eye so you may take it where you wish. When your vision is complete, it will return here of its own accord. No price Stark. Only to complete the one need that drove you to the oracle. If it was a scam you desire, I warn you, then you should forget this place and take comfort in the charlatans in the citadel."

"I will be back if you have lied to me." Stark warned darkly.

The man bowed to him as he held the sphere out to him again. "It is very clear you must leave to complete the vision this Zhaan wanted you to see, it will be only, as it is. If it takes your life time before you understand so this oracle eye may return, so be it. Return before then if you wish Stark, but if you do so with this eye, you will become a keeper here as well."

"Is that your trap?" Stark gaped at him. "I come back with this, I am imprisoned here forever? I think you just want to be sure I never return!"

"And what have I to gain?"

"I don't know," Stark eyed him suspiciously as he took the sphere.

****************************

Chiana cut her eyes to Naj Gil as she came to the console across from him in the command center. "Are you sure you're reading that right?"

"More than sure," he rasped. "Pilot can confirm."

"Naj Gil is correct," Pilot said as he came into view on the clamshell. "The object we were nearing disappeared twenty-five microts before there was a reading of an unusual flux of energy in docking bay one."

"Told you," D'argo smiled to Chiana as he turned from the Scarren. "And you thought Naj Gil was trying to give us misleading information to what end?"

"He's Scarren okay?" Chiana rolled her eyes as she looked away. "Boy I really enjoy the idea of this guy wanting to find his way back home is all."

"Not possible for me," Naj Gil said as he looked to her. "Without having my heat pulse ability the Scarren's will eliminate me for being weak."

"So what about staying," Chiana muttered beneath her breath at the console as she rested her hands on either side of it.

"It's me, it's me!" Stark called out as he came sliding into the command center. "Crichton! Where is he?"

"He's on Talyn with Aeyrn and Crais," D'argo stated as he turned to Stark. "They're going to try to stop Scorpius. How the frell did you get here?"

"No time, no time!" Stark waved at him as he stepped up to the console Chiana was at. He gaped at Naj Gil for a moment and then waved his hand at him as he turned his attention to the console. "No time! Pilot, you must take me to Talyn immediately. We must join him, now!"

"I will do nothing of the sort," Pilot defended through the clamshell.

"We chose not to follow," D'argo stated as he motioned Chiana to step away and came along side Stark. "Stark, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like!" Stark shouted as he pulled the consoles top away. "I'm going to make you. I will explain later after I have spoken to Crichton first!"

D'argo nudged his head. His tongue lashed out, striking Stark in the neck. He growled, flaring his nostrils as Stark collapsed to the floor. "I think NOT."

Rygel watched the three of them as they brought Stark to a cell and closed him in. He let out a small gasp, nearly dropping what he had been munching on as he saw several small precious stones slip to the floor from some pouch on the Banik.

"Chiana," D'argo called as he began to walk away with Naj Gil. "You take first watch on Stark."

"No way!" She balked at him as she turned from the cell, ignoring Rygel as he moved closer, blinking at the shiny sparks that came off the fine blue stones in the light. "He's in a cell, let him baby-sit himself!"

"Chiana ..."

"You always think you can give me orders," Chiana stated heatedly as she flicked her hand at him. "Ever since Naj Gil became your over grown side kick you've been giving everyone orders like you run this ship and you don't even know if the Scarren is on anyone's side but his own. This isn't a warrior battle cruiser for you bunch of boys to jerk your mivonks around, and I'm not your tralk!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" D'argo raised his hands. "Chiana, all I said was watch the frelling Banik! What in hezmana are you going on about?"

"You and Naj Gil telling Pilot to make scan sweeps for PeaceKeeper's," Chiana tocked her head as she narrowed her eyes. "You and Naj Gil going to the last planet for supplies without even thinking maybe me, Jool and Rygel might need a break."

"I told you it was too dangerous with Moya following so closely behind Talyn incase they may need us before they get too far into PeaceKeeper territory."

"I can take care of myself," Chiana gazed up to him wide eyed as she curved her head to one side. "You don't believe that by now D'argo, you just keep on. When it gets to it, don't waste your time looking for me to protect from a frelling commerce planet."

"Chiana wait," D'argo sighed heavily as she began to storm away. He followed. "Listen to me ..."

"No!" Chiana protested as she kept going. "You wanna talk to me, put the right person in the frelling cell first!"

"Oh and who would that be, myself?"

"Well, let me think about that one for a while ... Yeah!"

"So who put a frelling Tesok burr down your pants all of the sudden? Every time you get frelling mad it's my fault!"

"That's usually Jool's department but in this case - I'll make an acceptation!"

Rygel smiled as he reached into a pouch at Stark's belt and pulled out a small, dark red sphere that seemed to swirl within itself. "Yotza!"

 
******************************

"Ahhhh," Rygel sighed contentedly in his quarters. He chuckled as he lay in his bed, resting with the sphere in his hands on his chest. "Yes, yes! More to the right, oh! Down a little ... perfect!"

"What's this!" Chiana chirped up as she slipped into his quarters and snatched the sphere out of his hands.

"Why you little vixen!" Rygel gasped. "Give that back to me, I found it first!"

"In Stark's belongings maybe?" Chiana smiled as she flipped the sphere into the air and caught it. "I saw you slipping into his cell. Now that you've had your fun I think I'll just see that it gets back to him."

"How dare you!" Rygel boasted as his brows raised. "The very suggestion coming from you makes me want to puke!"

"Well, it was obviously doing something for you," she cooed as she sat down on the side of his bed and gazed into its dark swirls in awe of it. "What would it do for me?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "But I have never known so much luxury in all my life, even when I held my throne! You should be shot for interrupting such a divine pleasure! It's obviously some kind of granter of fantasy, hardly a prize for a slave!"

"He must've found it on that death planet," Chiana wondered as she held it up against the light. "He'll be looking for this, kinda hard to not miss it."

"Go on, go on," Rygel grumbled as he planted his head back into his pillows. "Have your fun, I'm going to lie here and reminisce on the Chiana who wouldn't dare pinch something so wonderful back into the pocket of a mad man!"

Chiana chuckled as she snatched his ear-brow, whispering seductively into his ear. "Well, if he misses it I'll just send him along your way to finish that fantasy massage you were having with his stuff."

"Yotz!" He cried out as he tried to grab his ear-brow from her. "And then I tell him you have it! So where does that leave the both of us?"

"Half," she whispered into his ear as she pulled away.

"Yes, yes of course!" He grumbled as he sat up again. "But why should you keep it?"

"I want to see if it works like you said," Chiana stated and then looked to him with a wry smile. "If it tells me mine then maybe ... it will tell us what Naj Gil really wants. Then we'll know if he still works for the Scarren's."

"Oh that thought is entirely evil," Rygel commented and the burst into laughter.

**********************************

Jool walked into the docking bay, stopping short as she saw Stark run up to D'argoes ship and open the hatch.

"Stark!" She called out. "What are you doing?"

"I must get to Talyn immediately!" He shouted desperatley. "This is the fastest ship!

"Don't go in that!" She gasped.

"And why not?" He turned, glaring into her as he held on to the rag around his head. "This is of a far more grave importance than you could possibly understand!"

"Because ..." she paused, glancing over the docking bay as she tried to think of something. "Because ..."

Stark gave her no more time to answer as he stepped into the Luxan fighter and shut the hatch behind him.

"Pilot!" Jool commed. "Stark is trying to take D'argoes ship out of here!"

"What!?" Pilot's voice came back in shock as the fighter powered up and then lifted. It began to swerve through the docking bay, coming out backwards and then back into the docking bay in wing over wing rolls before planting hard to the ground.

"Pilot," Jool commed wide eyed as she turned for the doors into the cargo bay. "Whatever happens next? I was never in here!"