Wormhole Destinations:

Nocturnal Visitation

By: Phi Phi "Le Trelk"

Disclaimer:
All original characters are property of Henson and Company.

Rating:
PG

Feedback: I’m thankful for any and always appreciated.

Summary:
This part actually takes place before John joins the Space Program at IASA. But it also picks up after 'A changing of the Laws' in the form of a dream remembered. All I can say is please enjoy it.

~~

Earth 1996

John sat staring at the canal's constant ripples. This was always his favorite spot where he could think and the good Lord knew he needed to think. "I can't believe that she's leaving me to advance her career. I thought she loved me!" John tossed a rock across the glassy surface of the Canal, watching it skip it's way to the other side. He'd been ready to propose, and before he could get the words out, she'd burst his happiness bubble.


"Baby? Alex what's wrong?"

"I'm taking the Stanford job."

"Stanford? You know there are other medical research programs."

"Not with full grant scholarships."

"Well...I've got a shot at the Space program here."

"I know, we talked about this John, taking a break."

"It's not a break Alex if you're all the way across the continent."

"I know, it may not seem like it now but I'll always be there for you."

"I know. If we're meant to be together, we'll be together."

"I love you John."

"I love you too."


John shook his head to clear the memory. "Damn! I finally find the perfect girl, decide to brave the matrimonial noose and what does she do? She chooses career over happily ever after." John swallowed the last of his beer. "Maybe I should just go to California with her. I can always reapply to the Space Program later." John crushed the empty can and tossed it into the back seat of his T-Bird. "Or maybe I'm just doomed to be a confirmed bachelor. That might not be too bad." John shook his head dejectedly, jumped behind the wheel and sped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


John woke suddenly. Why? He would never be able to say. There was no sound or scent that gave her presence away. He simply opened his eyes and there she stood at the foot of his bed. " What the..." John jumped from his bed landing feet first. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" he couldn't help staring, she was simply beautiful; almost angelic.

She smiled softly, tilting her head sideways, regarding him a moment before speaking. "My name is Eilan." Her eyes roamed up and down his underwear-clad body, taking in every inch, including the provocative bulge between his legs. " It would seem that the humans have more in common with Sebaceans then I thought."

John glanced down at his semi-erect state and made a mad grab for the jeans he'd slung across the bedroom chair. Hopping up and down trying to get his legs in the right opening he growled at her. "So now I know who you are, what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Well, I came to see you and since you were here, I came here.' She pointed at the floor.

"Okay ya know what? You can go back to DK and tell him I'm not biting!" John flung his hand towards the door and moved toward the sliding doors that opened onto his bedroom's private deck.

Eilan glanced at the door behind her before disappearing. She reappeared onto the deck, meeting John as he stepped out into the humid Florida night. "What the...? Wrong door! I meant that door! How did..." he pointed to the bedroom door, stopping mid sentence. "How the hell did you get out here before me?"

Eilan smiled again. "You are definitely a tiresome species. I traveled out here, the same way you did."

"Nope..nope, nope. I didn't see and you were all the way over by the door."

Rolling her eyes and sighing impatiently, she answered. "I simply moved faster than you. The details are unimportant. I was not sent by this DK whatever that is. I was sent..."

"He is...whoever he is." John was still trying to make sense of her little disappearing and reappearing act. "DK is my best friend and if you don't know him then you really shouldn't be here." He paused, sizing her up. "So I tell ya what, you leave now and I won't call the cops."

Eilan shook her head and muttered to herself.  "Shuulass semsa rushim sowuhs..."

"Excuse me? Are you talking to me?" John leaned forward, trying to catch a snippet of what she was saying.

"No, I...never mind." Eilan pointed upwards at the stars, visible in the night's sky. "Your dreams are to travel among the stars, to break founded laws of astrophysics and prove your own stellar theories; are they not?"

John stared at Eilan, trying to decide if he should run. "Yeah, that's about right."

"Then why are you willing to give it up, in order to go chasing after that woman?" Eilan questioned.

"Wait...excuse me? I am not chasing after that wom...after Alex, her name is Alex. And I was thinking of following her. I can reapply to the Space Program later..Wait why am I telling you any of this?" John shook his head wildly. "No..no..nope! How'd you know about that anyway? I haven't told anyone yet. Hell I just barely thought of it myself."

"You can't apply later! Your time is now!" Eilan ignored John's question completely.

"You're right my time is now. If I don't wanna spend the rest of my days as a bachelor, I go out and grab the girl of my dreams and run to the altar."

"She is not for you...and." She stared for a moment before continuing. "If I may be so blunt?"

"You mean you've been considering my delicate sensibilities all this time?" John shrugged. "Go on."

Eilan ignored his comment. "She seems to want out of your relationship."

John upset about the revelation regarding his relationship, began to yell. "No not out... she said break! She thinks that we should take a break!"

Having made her point she moved on to her true reason for coming. "Tell me John Crichton do you believe in destiny?" Eilan asked. She moved surreptitiously, until she stood directly in front of John.

"Destiny, yeah...no ...you know what? Why are you still here? I thought I asked you to leave."

John reached for Eilan's arm. But Eilan seemed to be expecting this move and countered it just as quickly, grabbing John's forearm. She knew she was about to take a chance, but she was running out of options and her time in this realm was limited. Maintaining her grip on John's arm, she began pooling the energy that surrounded them, until a pathway opened before her. Within in seconds John and Eilan had moved into a different realm.

 John stared around in wonder. "What the hell? What is this, some sort of ship? Are those stars?"

"Yes John this is a ship. Her name is Moya, she's a biomechanoid, a leviathan, a living ship..." John's laughed interrupted Eilan's words.

John paused for a moment, staring at Eilan as though she'd just grown two heads. Then he smiled and snapped his fingers loudly. "Riiiggghhhttt! Uh huh...a living ship. Those are stars, sure. I get it now. I'm dreaming...man am I dreaming.  What are you like some sort of nocturnal messenger or something?"

Eilan stared at John trying to understand his reasoning, but in the end, sighing heavily she realized that at this point in his life, John Crichton simply could not physically conceive of the unknown; only in theory, so she would allow him to view this encounter as a dream, until the information was needed it would remain hidden in his subconscious.  "Yes something like that. Do you enjoy watching the stars? Have you never wondered about your path, your destiny or even your purpose in life?"

John was still in awe, the stars were so clear...so close. He stared around at this ship. He knew he'd never seen anything like it before. Still engrossed he answered off handedly. "I have always dreamed of traveling among the stars, Space travel." He turned to face her. "As for purpose...sometimes I wonder if there is such a thing. Or is it something they make up and use to torture college students, who haven't declared a major yet."

"And destiny?"

"Destiny? Destiny is what you make of it." John shrugged.

"Correct John Crichton. Destiny is what you make of it, or rather your choices decide the outcome. Your purpose is decided before your birth. You may not know what your purpose in life is until it is time to complete it, or until you are told what that purpose is. Combined your purpose with the path you take and it will lead you unerringly to your destiny."

"So basically they are all the same thing."

No. Purpose: an end to be attained. Path:  a way of life, conduct or individual thought.  Destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end."

"Yeah...yeah...yeah. I get it Merriam-Webster. So why not relate your definitions to my life, please." John threw his hands up in annoyance.

Eilan growled softly. "Please stop being deliberately obtuse." She rolled her eyes and continued. If he wanted to be a pain in the eema than she'd speak to him like one. "Let's see if I can over simplify this for you." She raised an eyebrow waiting for his reply. When he gestured for her to continue, she did. "Fine. Your purpose is your reason for living, the reason you were created.  Your path is the journey or road you take to accomplish your purpose. Your Destiny, like your purpose was predetermined long before your birth and is the outcome of all.  It is only your path that can be inadvertently changed, damaged or corrected. Now does that help you any? Hm?"

John's expression told Eilan, just what he thought of her little lesson. "Fine, now I get it. So Alex's path?"

"Is not yours." Eilan shot back. "Are you listening to me?"

"Then what is it?"

"Her path is the Medical Program at Stanford. Yours is the Space Program at IASA." Eilan studied John's expression for a moment. She almost felt sorry for him, but she knew where and with whom his destiny laid. "Your paths crossed once and I'm sorry but they will not cross again. I'm sorry but you and she do not share the same destiny. There is no changing that."

"Great..fine! She and I don't have a future." John would settle that later. Right now he needed information. "So what's so wonderful about my destiny ...path... purpose... chi...ki...ying... hell my yang, WHATEVER! What's so great about it?" John shouted, his arms now gesturing wildly.

Eilan's voice calmed. "John Crichton the path that you choose this moment will lead you to your destiny and fulfill the destiny of millions of others. You are the answer!"

"Answer? Answer to what?" John's frowned deepened. Man was head pounding.

"Time, Peace, harmony and ideological understanding." Eilan supplied smoothly.

"John clicked his tongue against his teeth and rolled his eyes sideways then heavenward before returning his gaze back to Eilan. "Still out to lunch here. You're going to have to expound on that one just a bit more for me." Once he finished he simply stared at her, waiting.

Eilan sighed heavily. Why had she volunteered to make this journey? "By joining the Space Program, you will be given a chance to prove your theory."

John's head snapped up in surprise. "What do you know about my theory?" Besides his partner and best buddy DK, John hadn't discussed his project with anyone, not even Jack.

"I know quite a bit." She watched him closely as she spoke, almost hypnotically. "Is it possible to overcome atmospheric friction and exponentially increase speed, using your planet's natural gravitational force. You even have credible specs for the Module you wish to use to prove this theory. Correct?"

"Yeah, something like that." He didn't know what else to say. How in the hell did she know all of this? Dream! Right, it was all a dream. The more he tried to convince himself that it was all a dream, the more unlikely it seemed to be.

"Wormholes! Do you know what a wormhole is?" Her words were beginning to have an affect. Good!

"Wormhole? Yeah, it's like an expressway through Space." John grinned sheepishly; he sobered quickly at Eilan's annoyed expression. "Alright...alright! Wormhole an anomaly...ahh... a hypothetical structure of space-time envisioned as a long thin tunnel connecting points that are separated in space and time. Ha! Merriam-Webster eat your heart out. Ya see I gots me some learnin smarts! "

"Glad to hear it. Proving your theory will create one." She could see that her words had captured his full attention. "Ahh, so now you pay attention, Good! You'll need to from here on out. Your theory, your module and you are the catalyst for Space travel."

"Great! Wormholes, Space travel and Living ships...oh my! Wormholes, Space travel and Living ships...oh my!" He did a quick little heel to toe soft shoe then settled back down.

Eilan shook her head; this human was definitely challenged in all ways. Glancing at his lower body she grinned slightly, in all ways except one." Yes all three exist. Your theory is a sound one. You can exponentially increase your speed, but doing so causes ripples in the frame of time. These ripples ultimately create a pathway through time; a wormhole. This can be created and you will create it."

John watched as a small swirl of liquid blue appeared in the center of her upraised palm. He watched it undulate and spiral. Reaching out with a single finger, John dabbed at the apparition. "What the hell?"

"This is a wormhole." Eilan smiled at John. He was as astounded as a child given a toy that had surpassed his wildest dreams.

John glanced from Eilan's hand to her face than back to the wormhole. "How is..are you doing this? Why are you telling me...showing me...this?" John knew in that instant that this was not a dream. He was being visited by another life form but why?

Eilan smiled inwardly, she wouldn't bother to tell him she could read his mind just yet. "How is unimportant. I tell you because there will come a time when you will need to access all of the information I give you this night."

"Alright, I may not understand just yet, but I'm listening."  John's voice had lost a bit of its jovial quality.

"Good! You need to." Eilan responded just as gravely. "By choosing your correct path, you will be the first to embark upon wormhole travel. The wormhole that you create will propel you far from everything that is familiar to you."

"Can I take my cell phone?" John chuckled. One glance told him that Eilan did not appreciate his wit in the least.

Eilan cut her eyes swiftly in his direction. "It's good that you have such a distinctively annoying sense of humor; you'll need it. Your emergence from the opposite end of the wormhole will alert others to the existence of your race, your home world and your wormhole knowledge."

"Who..what others?"

"Other species such as the Peacekeepers, the Scarrans..." her voice trailed off under the volume of John's exclamation.

"Who or what the hell are Peacekeepers and Scarabs?"

"Scarrans." Eilan corrected, smiling humorlessly. "The Peacekeepers are of the Sebacean race and the Scarrans are...well they are simply put...Scarrans. They exist on the opposite end of the universe."

"Excuse me?"

Eilan stared at John incredulously. "What? Did you honestly believe that you humans were the only beings in creation?"

John shook his head violently. "No! We dream of making contact with aliens from other worlds."

"First we are not aliens. Every species...race has a name. Be it Sebacean, Scarran, Luxan, Nebari or even Human. We all have titles, names and careers. The human race is no better than any other race. You are however quite simple minded. You seem unable to think outside of your own realm. But that will change soon." She stalled John's interruption with one raised hand. "Second, the human race is not ready to make contact with any other species outside of this planet."

"We've come a long way. We are most definitely ready to welcome alie...uhh...other races...species with open arms..."

"Right, you'd welcome them right into a glass cage or on to an examining table."

"I hate to sound like a broken record but...excuse me...you make us sound like a bunch of animals!" John yelled.

Eilan's simmering anger, boiled over completely, her eyes became a low glowing gold. Her voice suddenly cold as it was sharp. "Enough! You can't even keep peace amongst yourselves. The human race as a whole is NOT ready to make contact. You still separate yourselves over things as trivial as color, religion, and creed. Do you realize, John Crichton that if another race such as the Scarrans were to view you, it would be as the human race.  Whether they attack or offer friendship it would be to your world...Earth not to your country or any particular subspecies within. Earth!"

John looked away, realizing that she was right. "Yeah...you're right."

"Do not become half-hearted John Crichton. There are those within your race that are open minded enough to make the change. They may even be able to lead your planet in the right direction. I believe that you call them visionaries. You are such a one John Crichton. That is why I have sought you out. Your visions of Space travel are the beginning etches toward Galactic Harmony. It's your purpose."

"Right here we go with that whole purpose thing again. So what if I choose not to follow the path that you've mapped out here?"

"You have no choice and I didn't map out your path or purpose. They were decided cycles...centuries ago, as was my own. No matter what you choose to do. Your outcome will be the same."

"Hmmm....ours is not to question why..."

"What?"

"Nothing, just talking to myself. So if the end is the same, why must the means be mapped?" John asked. His mind far from settled.

"Because quite frankly, we don't have time for you to run off after a relationship that will not last."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?!!!...ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN...." John shouted.

Eilan returned John's shout. "BECAUSE I KNOW. THERE WILL BE NO YOU AND ALEX!" She calmed and lowered her voice. "You belong to another, just as she most certainly belongs to you. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will begin your true journey."

John stared into Eilan's eyes, reading the truth stamped there. "Fine. Can we please move on? You were talking about my purpose in life."

Eilan was more than willing to move on. "Fine. All humans hold the rudiments of wormhole technology locked within their mind. But it is only a very minute portion of your race who actually have the ability to tap into that knowledge." Eilan knew that he was not completely ready to hear any of this, but they were all running out of time and they could no longer afford John the luxury of ignorance. He and his chosen mate needed to begin their journeys now in order to intersect at the right moment. They would only be given two chances, one here on Earth within this dimension and another chance in an unfamiliar environment. "Your success in your next endeavor will lead you toward the bonds of peace."

"Peace with these other races?" John muttered trying to recall the names correctly. "These Peacekeeper and Scarabs...?" he asked, while his mind rejected the end of his and Alex's relationship, his heart knew that Eilan was right. Why hadn't he felt it before? Huh...he had.

"Scarrans...they are called Scarrans. The Peacekeepers and Scarrans are what your people would call...umm...bullies and conquers. Neither race is particularly friendly, but they were once part of the peace treaty that existed over twelve thousand cycles...years ago." Eilan waved her hand and the wormhole was replaced by a strange temple-like building.

"What is that, some sort of temple?" John moved closer to the hologram. The architectural design of the building was simply amazing.

Eilan nodded. "Yes it is the lost Temple of Arnessk. It was in this very temple that the threads of Intergalactic peace were sewn. Several races stood in the hall of this temple and pledge to uphold peace in the name of each and every deity that governed their spiritual beliefs and worlds."  

John noticed the smile but moved on. "Who were they? These races involved in the initial pact?"

"Several races actually. To name a few, there were the Sebaceans, the Interions, the Scarrans, the Ancients, the Luxans, the Ilanics the Nebari and the Shul'ri. There were at least a thousand different races that represented tens of thousands of lesser races. The Arnesskan Mystics presided over the pact." Eilan's hologram changed again.

John stared at the image of a gathering. "Is this the meeting/"

"Yes, these are the representatives."

A golden tile shaped like a pyramid, caught John's eye. "What is that?"

Eilan glanced at the object. "It's the elemental key."

"What?"

"A key...the answers to the elements of History, Space, Warfare and Time. " With another wave of her hand the tile grew larger. Making the symbols that cover each side visible to John's naked eye.

John studied each symbol carefully. "These are not elemental symbols." He pointed to one side. "This is an Egyptian symbol. The others, I don't recognize."

Eilan chuckled softly, shaking her head. "You wouldn't.. Each symbol represents a race. That race represents the element for which it was created." She pointed to each symbol and gave John the answers he needed. "This symbol represents the Sebaceans. The Sebaceans represent the element of Safety and Protection. They are human-like in appearance and quite intelligent when it comes to protection and the technology necessary to maintain it. Warfare however is now their chosen way of life. This symbol represents the Interions; another human-like race also highly intelligent.. This race was given the element of History. They are the record keepers, their DNA embedded task leads them to find and restore hidden artifacts and historical writings.  This is the symbol for the Shul'ri. They represent the element of space and the laws that govern it. They were given the rudiment knowledge of interstellar space travel."

"The Shul'ri? You mean Egyptians...humans? Wait are you saying humans exist on your side of the universe?" John couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Eilan shook her head. "No, not any more. The Shul'ri were removed from my space to protect them and the knowledge that they carried."

 "So people from Earth or other humans have traveled through the wormhole before; visited this ...this lost Temple of Arnessk to sign some sort of peace treaty?" This story was getting out of hand.

Eilan's eye twitched impatiently. "No the Shul'ri did not travel from here to Arnessk."

"Then how...?" John started to question but was cut off by Eilan's answer.

"The human race did not begin here on this planet." Eilan gestured to their surroundings. "Not in this space...this system. Your origins began in my system."

"Then how did we get here?" John copied her gesture.

Eilan sighed measuring the amount of information she should tell him. " We brought you here. Of course there weren't this many of you."

"Why? Why here?" John couldn't help himself. He was being drawn in. So far everything she'd said, while seeming kind of far-fetched it was plausible.

"Of all the elemental races, the Shul'ri were special. They were created with minimal telepathic abilities and almost no protective devices to speak of. That the Shul'ri were endowed with the elements of Space travel was a surprise, as they could not protect the knowledge or themselves. The Mystics decided that the Shul'ri should be removed for their own protection and to protect the knowledge. Sending them away ensured that no other race would give into the desire to conquer them. Five hundred cycles...years after the Treaty was signed, certain races became...more violent. The Mystics of Arnessk realized that these races wanted the knowledge that the Shul'ri possessed, so they charged my race with the task of removing them from our Space." She flipped the tile over and pointed to the last symbol. "The Temprias; their element, Time travel and manipulation."

John's lower jaw dropped. "Time travel, Time travel and manipulation? Wha...what exactly does the manipulation part mean? I pretty much got the time travel part, but I'm a little iffy on the manipulation part. So please fill me in." John crossed his arms and waited.

"The Temprias hold the knowledge of time travel. By manipulation, I mean we have the ability to slow the channel of time around us enough to cover vast distances in an extremely short period of time. Once time has shifted we create a halo path through its continuum and travel that path stream. That is how the Shul'ri were brought here."

"Halo path? There's a new term." John mumbled to himself.

"It's a dimensional intersecting pathway that allows us to travel, very fast and very far."

"Like a wormhole?" John inserted.

"No a wormhole bridges Space-time. A Halo path freezes time, splicing it at the exact same moment. The splice itself forms a path, through which we travel.

"Okay, so that is how you got here tonight...it is tonight right?"

"Uhhh....hmmm technically no it's not really evening, but your people will never know the difference. Oh and yes, that is how I traveled here."

John shook his head, eyes closed. "Huh...you know what? I don't even want to know. I thought you said that we...my people were part of the Peace Treaty." The hologram disappeared.

"You were, but enemies of peace do not respect treaties. Your race was the only elemental race that needed protection. Sabotage became the way of our enemies and other weaker species fell prey. Your race was removed before they could be destroyed. We found a system that had two viable planets that were capable of sustaining life indefinitely. The Shul'ri chose this planet and here is where they have been ever since." She finished, waiting again for his response.

"What's to keep these enemies of peace from paying Earth a visit?"

"Two reasons, one is quite simply; they are not capable of wormhole travel. The Shul'ri are the only race capable of such travel, which is why your race was brought here. No other race save the Temprias and the Ancients were capable of such long distance travel."

"The second reason?" John asked, holding his breath knowing the answer before it came.

"The original number of enemies has now become larger and now threaten the existence of all surviving lesser species. For a while they no longer believed that the Shul'ri actually existed...fables." Eilan moved further away from John, staring up at the stars she continued. "My race along with the Ancients allowed them to continue to believe this, for as long as they did the Shul'ri were safe. Unfortunately artifacts from your past existence are now appearing regularly, causing certain races to question whether the Shul'ri are truly extinct or if the fables were based on truth"

"What about the Mystics?"

Eilan shook her head. "Not long after the Shul'ri were removed from our Space the Mystics of Arnessk simply vanished. It was assumed that enemies of the pact conspired against them. We don't know where they went. What we do know is that the conspirators launched three Darnaz probes. Once activated, these probes form a magnetic shield know as the Darnaz Triangle it foils the natural seasons and the summers become magnetic. They resemble what you would call radiation. The environment on Arnessk is only capable of sustaining life for a few weeks within a given cycle... it is for all intents and purposes a dead planet. We believe that the Mystics may have fallen prey to the probes." Eilan paused. "The disappearance of the Shul'ri ignited the tension and the disappearance of the Mystics crushed the peace. The Treaty is no more."

John nodded. "So with the discovery of these artifacts, our existence is becoming more and more plausible." It wasn't spoken as a question, more a concentrated fact.

"Now that the peace is no more, the stronger races have evolved in different ways. Some brutal, while others are more militant."

"Scarrans and Peacekeepers again, right?" John was starting to put the pieces together.

Eilan smiled. "Yes. The Scarrans became almost brutish in their desire to conquer. The Sebacean race developed a sect known as the Peacekeepers. Originally they were design to keep the peace but they now seek to control through military occupations."

"Hmm...sounds like a few countries here!"

"They are not the only races in that section of space, who want to conquer by force."

John cocked his head to the side, tapped his lower lip with the pad of his thumb and leveled his sparkling blues on Eilan. "So with all of these violent races lurking out there you want me to travel through the wormhole?" John gestured wildly. "You came here to make sure that I chose the Space Program over Alex." He folded his arms behind his neck then stretched them high above his head before allowing them to drop to his sides. "So I roll with the program, get to prove my theory, pilot my own module and in the process, create a wormhole. NOT to mention, I manage to start a war all by my lonesome. Yeah, my life should be pretty complete after that." John rolled his eyes.

"Yes to all except war. You can not start what has been brewing for centuries. You will however be the final link, to both war and peace."

"ALL RIGHT that's it! Lady or whatever the hell you are. You have got to be the most confusing individual out there!" John lowered his voice and wiggled his fingers at Eilan.  So instead of saying 'Go West Young John', why not say John don't go into the light!" Sobering suddenly, he asked. "Why in the hell do you want me over there if it will kick off bloody war?"

"Because it is the correct path. In order for your destiny and the destiny of all those individuals whose paths cross yours, to play out correctly, you must journey through the wormhole. From the moment you exit the wormhole into my Space, your accomplishment will confirm all beliefs. You and your planet will become a desired commodity. Not for who you are but for what you know. To their knowledge you will be the first being to ever navigate Space in such a fashion, a technology that would make you a very powerful race and your conquers unstoppable."

"Again I ask, why should I choose a path that will put my people in danger?"

"I just told you why!"

"Not good enough! You tell me why...why I should risk man's existence, just to prove a theory!" John jabbed his finger in Eilan's direction.

"Because, John Crichton if you don't, your world will not be prepared." Eilan answered quietly, knowing what his next question would be.

"Prepared? For what?" John frowned.

"Eilan spoke one word into the stillness. "Invasion."

John paled at the sound of that one word. "God."

Eilan pressed home. She couldn't afford to sop now. "Without the knowledge that your travels and experience in Space will bring, your race will be unprepared for a full invasion. And it will come! The knowledge of Wormhole travel may not exist as such in my Space, but as is the way of evolution, it will! Once you travel through your wormhole and back, your experiences and encounters will prepare Earth...warn them. The last thing you want John Crichton is for a race such as the Scarrans or even the Peacekeepers to land on your world, unrepentantly. Most of you would not survive and those of you that do, would be no better than slaves."

John's mind was at war with his emotions. If he believed that what she said was true, then he would in reality be his world's last hope. He now understood what he was meant to do and why he'd dream of the stars as a child. But how did he accomplish this feat of Galactic Harmony without landing in harm's way or getting himself killed? The answers would come from this being standing here in front of him. "Once I go through the wormhole, what then? What can I do?  I'll be alone."

"There will be others, they will help you and rely on you, just as you will them. You will be given the opportunity to travel the path that will lead directly to your fulfilled destiny. Your path will intertwine with the path of several others, offering you different choices towards fulfillment. Choose wisely but remember all choices are not correct, stay your course and you will succeed. There will come a time when your dimensional path will splice itself, do not worry! Your line is the only line that will support such a paradox and only that one time. Your knowledge will be needed in more than one place and splicing is the only way to accomplish it. When the time of splicing is over only one of you will remain, the knowledge and experiences of both, culminating into one. After sometime, you will not remember ever being spliced. "

John closed his eyes for second. "God this heavy." John held his hands out, mimicking a balancing scale. "I can stay here, ditch the Space Program, shack up with Alex, maybe get married, hatch a few kids and have a somewhat happily normal life. Or I could create a wormhole, slide through, hit a few nerves, cause a war, run home and bring the bad guys with me." He moved his hands up and down as though weighing his options. "Nawww, I don't think I'll make such a great hero. You should try Buck Rogers,. I hear he's looking for some viable employment.  I'm not good alone or with folks I don't know. I'm a buddy kinda guy."

"I never said you be alone. As I've told you there will be others. But there will be one in particular that you will meet. Her dimensional path and all of her secondary realities coexist within your time continuum. In my Space." Eilan stared directly into John's eyes, wondering if he would get what she was trying to tell him. "And in yours."

John's voice was barely a whisper. "What?"

Eilan nodded. "She is special, to both you and the key to peace. She is also the second reason you must join the Space Program."

"Oh I see. I can't have Alex but there is a homely cousin just waiting for me to sweep her off her feet." John threw his hands up. "Right, you know what I'm not buying. Galactic Harmony...ya almost had me. DK is good he loves messin with my head! You go back to him and tell him that the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem!"

Eilan reached over and placed her hand lightly behind John's ear. "I don't have time for this human! See your destiny for yourself!"

John realized almost immediately that she'd somehow paralyzed him. "What the..." Flashes of bright light, then shots...scenes streaked through his mind. His mother's funeral...the Space Program...his module in full scale...a wormhole...an alien with tentacles...a blue woman...a talking catfish like slug...a giant crustation...a large ship...a beautiful dark haired human woman... another human...a guy with a ponytail...Earth...a dark room...a bed...him...her ...together...a gray girl...him...tentacles...trapped in space...another woman...a wedding...him...the dark haired woman...a kiss...a funeral for the dark haired woman...a chair...some sort of alien in leather...or was it rubber...another ship...human male with a ponytail....hmmm cute...another ship...another him...the dark haired woman again...ALIVE!...a bed...him...her...together...him...flashes...death...him alone...an old woman with three eyes...a baby...Earth...dad...DK...a red haired, yellow eyed female...the creepy leather clad guy...another wormhole...him...the dark haired woman...a boat...a ring...a kiss.

John jumped back, snatching his head away. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!!" he stared at Eilan wild eyed.

"That, John Crichton was your life."

The memories were gone now, all but one. "Who was she?"

"Your destiny. Her path is mark as surely as yours." Eilan supplied.

"She looked human." His gaze pleaded with Eilan for an answer he could accept. "Is she"

"It's not that simple I'm afraid. You see John there are different paths and realities for every signature...every being. Her path is not as straight as yours, her experiences while intersecting yours has a purpose all its own."

"Hmmm...We...we seemed to be close. Why can't I remember? I just saw it!"

"You remember her because certain strands of your DNA mirror hers. From the moment you see her, your path will be set. Remain steady John Crichton. Your world...the Shul'ri and your mate rely on your perseverance, your strength, your knowledge and your love." Eilan turned and walked into John's bedroom.

John followed. His legs gave way, his head ached and his shoulders began to sag under what was now the weight of his world. Looking up at Eilan with a glassy eyed stare, he whispered hoarsely. "How do I succeed? If I fail, they could all die. Man my head hurts!"

"You will succeed because you have no choice. Smile John Crichton, you will not be alone." Eilan bent and placed a kiss on John's forehead. "Sleep John Crichton. Your path begins and your destiny awaits."

In seconds John was unconscious and alone.



1998

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA...


"Dad do we really need to meet this guy?" John moaned. He'd planned to go out with DK and a couple of girls from the visiting IASA team.

"John, he's a good friend of mine and I haven't seen him since you were about eight years old. He wants to meet my son the soon to be famous Commander John R. Crichton Jr." Kernel Jack Crichton slapped his son on the back.

John snorted. "Don't you mean infamous?"

"No famous. Son Andrew is an Admiral in the Royal Australian Air Force, but he's also involved heavily in Sydney's Space program. You could learn a lot from him." Jack's expression turned serious. "He could help with the Farscape project."

John stopped suddenly. "Dad! You did not mention that to him, did you?"

"No son I didn't. I'll leave that up to you. If you choose to broach the subject I'm with you." Jack smiled, halting next to his son.

John stared into Jack's face before walking on. "And if I don't?"

"I'll support you either way. I love you son."

"I love you too dad." John noticed two people sitting at a large shaded table by the docks. One he recognized from his dad's pictures. "Hey isn't that your guy?"

"Yes it is, come on." Jack rushed over to the table. He grasped the now standing man in a tight embrace. "How have you been Andrew? It's been forever and a day since we talked."

"Ahhh Jack you old dog, you haven't changed a bit! And it's been forever, three weeks and two days!" Andrews's strong deep voice reflected years of commanding troops. "I'm doing good and you?"

"Fine! I can't believe it. I didn't think we'd ever get to see each other again!" Jack turned to his son. "John I want you to meet my good friend Admiral Andrew L. Sun. Andrew this is my son John."

"Good to meet you son. I've been reading a lot about you. You're definitely making a name for yourself. Just like your father here!" Andrew turned to the table and introduced the second person at the table. "Jack, John, this is my daughter Dr. Aeryn Sun, also a Captain in the Royal Air force." The Admiral smiled at his daughter, pride etched in every line of his face.

Jack laughed aloud. "Amazing! A scientist and a Captain. That's no easy feat, young lady. But I can see you were more than up to the task!" Jack turned his smiling gaze once more to Andrew. "You've done good Andrew."

John's breath left his body immediately. She was beautiful, easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. She was everything a man could ask for, tall, slim, and shapely were needed. She stood and held her hand out, using the other to push her sunglasses up onto her forehead, using them to hold her glorious mane of raven tresses back away from her expressive face.  "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about both of you from my father." Her voice was like a siren's call and he would have gladly walked to his death had she commanded it. He notices her eyes and in that moment his fate was sealed.

"Uuuhh...Yeah! I'm John, but you know that. Hey dad why don't you and Admiral Sun catch up. If it's okay with you sir I would like to invite your daughter for a walk." Though John turned his gaze on the Admiral, it was clear his mind was still on the Admiral's daughter.

Andrew tightened his lips to keep from smiling but one glance at Jack and the attempt was lost. Jack was just as amused by his son's reaction. "I think that's a wonderful idea. Aeryn why don't you show him the new Marine exhibit."

Aeryn smiled, her eyes never leaving John's face. He was so handsome, she was simply star struck. Those beautiful blue eye and that smile; he could entice angels with that smile, not to mention that ass...hmmm nice. She'd show him anything, anywhere, anytime he wanted. "Umm, okay...the...uh...uh...exhibit, that's right! The exhibit is further down the bay." She pointed in the general direction.

John held out the crook of his arm. "Shall we?"

Aeryn placed her hand through the offered arm. "Yes we shall."

Jack had an idea and a conspiratorial wink at Andrew enlightened the man. "Hey son why don't you use our car and Andrew and I will use his. We'll probably go and have a few drinks...unless you two want to come?"

John and Aeryn glanced at each other and both spoke in unison.

"No that's alright, we'll be fine.'

"No we'll manage."

Andrew kissed his daughter lightly on the cheek. Jack reached over and gave her a hug. "Be safe you two."

"We will dad." John called as they separated.

"Bye dad! See you later. I love you." Aeryn waved.

Andrew watched the two. "That's an extraordinary boy you've got there, Jack. Heading up the Farscape project won't be easy. But he's definitely up to the task. He's just like you"

Jack nodded. "He's his own man and more. Speaking of extraordinary, Doctor and a Captain, she's amazing Andy...simply amazing. She's what twenty-five?" he noticed the gleam of pride in his friend's eye and knew it mirrored his own. "As intelligent as John is he had us scared. He lost focus for a second, but he found his way back and I couldn't be prouder."

Andrew glanced at his friend. "So what do you say to a little wager."

"What kind of wager?" Jack's interest was peaked.

"I say that in the near future your extraordinary son and my amazing daughter will marry and give us magnificent grandchildren." Andrew laughed.

"No way! I'm not taking that bet. I know love at first sight when I see it!" The two walked towards the other end of the bay, laughing, reminiscing of old times and planning for the future.



2003

TORMENTED SPACE


"Aeryn? I love beyond all hope. I can't imagine my life without you in it. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

.........................................


"Now by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present for the first time, Mr. And Mrs. John Robert Crichton Jr."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

..................


"Aeryn and I have a special announcement to make and we couldn't figure out a better way to announce it then at a family barbeque. Drums please!

"In seven months time there will be an addition to the Crichton-Sun tribe. We're having a baby."

........................................

"Wake now John Crichton!" Eilan tapped John's temple.

John sat straight up, his dream ending suddenly. No! They were memories! "What the..." His eyes lit upon Eilan, knowledge suddenly dawning on him. "I remember you...you were there before I joined the space program. Because of you I did join the Space Program" John stared around, wildly.  "Why didn't I remember any of this before?"

"Because you were needed here in this dimension." Eilan waited patiently, she didn't have long to wait.

"Aeryn! I met her two years later! I remember everything! She's my wife...I remembered...we're having a baby...but that was Earth!"

"Yes John Crichton she is, and if you wish to save her, you must begin your journey now! You now have all the knowledge, rules and signatures you need. It's time to go." Eilan pointed behind John's head. He turned and gasped at the dimensional gate that Aeryn had told him about.

"She's on Earth!" John whispered.

"Yes! And her time line must be corrected immediately. " She watched John grab his jacket and Winona. Walking him to the gate, she smiled. "Good luck to both of you!" She vanished as quickly as she'd appeared.

"We'll need it!" John stepped through the gate, remembering words but unable to place them.

'I have a job to do and I am not afraid to do it."

"Wait for me Aeryn!"

The gate closed, shrouding the room in darkness.