"These stories are dedicated to memory of Benjamin Thomas W. 
and to anyone who has had to deal with the loss of a child."

Part II
 To the Grave

"Now!"
"Jack Crichton… Give the bomb to Pilot and get to the… Transport Pod. You have done what was…

"Arcanum, can you starburst?" Jack didn't like the way he sounded.

"I will try…But I…I am unsure…"

"More reason for me to stay." He looked at Cela who had a pained expression on her face.

"They are docking, Jack. Seven troop ships." The pilot said, giving Jack the same sad look.

"What about the transport pod?"

Pilot scanned the hangar. "They are headed here and seemed to ignore it."

"Excellent!"Jack picked up the bomb from the pouch and turned to the doors, waiting for their arrival. The doors to the control node exploded inward as PK Troops poured through the jagged rupture and surrounded Jack and the pilots. They parted to allow Fleet Commander Dalthena Mace to enter.

"So we meet again, Captain Delin." She smiled slightly. "Controlling a Daedalus species Biomechanoid is quite astounding."

Jack became his Peacekeeper alter ego. "You should have contacted me, Fleet Captain Mace." He bowed slightly, keeping eye contact with her. "We might have made a deal." He paced slowly in front of the main viewer. He looked at Pilot and then at Cela as he paced. He tried to keep them calm with a smile. The three of them knew this was it. The only things that mattered now were detonating the bomb and the escape of Ulric and Enra.

"You, Captain Delin, are in no position to make deals, I'm afraid." A sick smile filled her face. "I am disappointed Jass. I thought you would share your secrets with me." She moved in front of him. With Crais out of the way we could have helped each other." The smile drained from her face. " You don't want to share." She moved closer. "Then…I…Take…" She laughed as she pulled her pulse rifle from its holster.

Jack held the cylinder in front of him. "You want it? Here it is." He smiled at her. "In this cylinder is the key."

She looked at Jack for a long time, she knew better than to trust him. She slowly approached him, her gun drawn in front of her. She took the cylinder from his hand. She stepped back and smiled at Jack. She became the specter of death. "Good-bye, Captain Delin!"

Jack spun around on his heels. "Pilot, now!" The pilot's claws flew across the controls. He collapsed the membrane that protected the hangar from the vacuum of space and the troops that had remained in the hangar were blown into the vacuum of space. With the hangar cleared of solders, the transport pod fired from Arcanum's mouth. The huge Biomechanoid turned into the Command Carrier. It collided with it. They were all thrown to the floor by the impact. It was a glancing blow that damaged the port jump field motivator of the carrier.

Mace screamed "NO!" as she fell to the floor. She had not expected Delin to be so foolish. As she got up she felt the lightheadedness of Starburst. Arcanum Starburst blindly and came to rest four light cycles on the far side of the Drathor Prime system.

Jack got to his feet quickly. He checked the main viewer. The projection showed their relative location. It had worked-they were far enough away. A huge grin filled Jack's face. "Thank you Arcanum! Pilot you were..."

"That was frelling stupid," Mace screamed as she fired her gun. The first shot struck Delin in the back, the second shot hit the pilot in the upper chest. The final two energy pulses impacted the central viewer.

Coming to the End

Jack felt the blow of the pulse rifle, but it did not hurt. He felt no pain, only the numbing as it spread through his body and he fell to his knees. He looked down at his hand, covered in blood. He choked out a small laughed. This was the first time he had seen blood and not gotten sick. He looked up at Cela. She was speaking to him, but he could not hear what she was saying. He fell forward on to the warm floor of Arcanum. How fitting to be shot in the back by a Peacekeeper. "I'm sorry Arcanum!" The room dissolved. He was swept through events of his life. He saw his father when he was young bring him on his first airplane ride. He found himself pulling back as he landed his fighter for the first time on an aircraft carrier. He then found himself walking on a beach with Carol. He got down on one knee and proceeded to drop the engagement ring in the sand. He cut the umbilical cord of his newborn son, John. He saw John take his first steps. He found himself walking on the moon. He found himself in the arms of John and Carol after returning from the moon. He saw John standing next to Carol as she took her last breath. He felt part of himself die with her that day in the hospital. He watched John graduate from college. He said good-bye to John before the test flight of Farscape 1. He stood in the control room alone as they announced that Farscape 1 was missing. He saw Ulric for the first time as he emerged from the shadows in the Marauder. He walked though the halls of Lursa. Enra looked at him and smiled. She had given him the image of his family he had forgotten. He saw Ulric and Enra sitting close together in the galley. He smiled as Lursa approached him. "Thank you! Jack Crichton, you have saved us." The little girl dissolved into smoke. He was with John reunited on Moya. "I love you dad…" Those words echoed though his soul. He felt a warm feeling rise in him. "Good bye John!" He was tired and it was time to sleep. Jack Crichton was gone.

Cela rose as if giving her a better target. She was not shivering from fear, she was convulsing from anger. She said in a defiant tone, "You hold the key in your hand. Find out for yourself… Peacekeeper!" Then the pilot smiled the most baleful smile.

She smiled back at the creature and slowly turned to her troops. "Get Out! Back to the Ships! I will be there shortly." She wanted to hold the secret of the Progenitors key alone. She looked down at Delin's body and found a wave of regret capturing her. She had acted hastily in dispatching him. It had not been the first time. It would not be the last. She had to break her stare of his body. "What did I do?" She said under her breath.

She looked up at the pilot, who just looked at her with that evil smile that burned into her soul. She raised the cylinder in her hands. "With this you are no longer needed, Pilot." She looked at the small stasis generator on the top and with one finger she deactivated the field motivator. The catalyst descended into the cylinder. There was not time to react. Arcanum was gone, enveloped in the energy sphere. It expanded quickly to engulf the entire system. The remnant of humanity was gone. The sphere collapsed on itself and space time filled the void. There would be no threat to the Biomechanoids like it again. Jack Crichton had saved them. Some day the galaxy would reap the rewards of his actions.

Crais Returns
Enra woke in time to witness the explosion. She knew when Jack died, but she could not explain exactly how. She felt so alone. The man who had saved her from the Peacekeepers was gone. Behind them, space was consumed by an expanding sphere of dancing blue-black energy. They headed, at maximum acceleration, away from the area that had once held the system that produced the Biomechanoid race. She wept silently until sleep finally found her.

They had been in the transport for nearly forty arns when Enra felt a change in the pod. It became sluggish in response to her commands. It was degrading. The transport pods cannot survive with out their host-Arcanum. She looked back at Ulric who was still unconscious. He had lost a lot of blood. She had used up the last PK Sinthblood arns ago. The command carrier closed on them. She shut down the engines and went back to Ulric. She wanted to be with him when they died. The carrier matched the transport's speed. It locked on the little Biomechanoid and pulled the tiny ship into its hold. Enra pulled the pulse rifle from its holster and pointed it at the hatch. The hatch opened. No one entered, but a calm voice called in from the hangar. She knew the voice all to well.

"Hello, Enra, that uniform suits you." Crais walked slowly into the transport pod, his hands raised.

"What the frell!" She looked at him with disbelief. "What are you waiting for?" she snapped!

"I am waiting for you to put that gun down." He was cool and calm. She had not seen him like that since Tauvo's death. She started to squeeze the trigger.

"I wouldn't, Enra, I am the only one who can save him." He looked at Ulric.

"Why?" She knew better than to trust him.

"Regardless of what you think of me, he is the closest thing I have to family." A pained smile came over his face.

"Now play nice and you might get out of this alive!" He moved slowly to the side of the pod, picked up her blast helmet and held it out for her. "Here, put this on." He looked back at the opening. "Quickly."

Her mind spun out of control. How could she? She didn't want Ulric to die; if there was even a chance, this was it! She lowered her gun and walked towards Crais, snatching her helmet from his grasp. He motioned her out onto the docking bay where a squadron waited for them. Crais shot her a look she could not place. He motioned for one of the guards.

"This is Lieutenant Enra Talis of Drathor Division, NewTech. Please escort her to my quarters. Her commander is in the pod and has been injured from the event. Move him to my quarters as well. Tell the doctor not to allow anything to happen to them." He left without looking back.

The six guards escorted them to Crais's quarters. Seeing them with out the haze of the control bracelet made her realize how big his quarters were. Ulric remained unchanged. He was so pale, Enra mused, he could pass as a Vladic. They were alone. She was about to remove her helmet when a PK Med Tech walked in.

He's Gone
"Hello, Enra, welcome back!" The middle aged man smiled at her. "You can take that silly thing off." He walked past her to Ulric. It was Devon Traf, Crais's personal doctor.

He scanned Ulric with a wrist mediScan. "Hello, how did this happen? He looked at the readings. "This is not the first time?" He turned, finally, and looked at her. "Your friend is suffering from multiple brain hemorrhages and I can tell this is not the first time, either. I see the clumsy repairs of an AutoDoc." He sighed. "Useless machines! Please wait here, it should take no more then an arn." He pulled the portabed through the adjoining room to Crais's own medical theater. Enra followed. She would not leave him alone. She stayed at the rear of the operating chamber. She saw the machine, under Traf's control, perform the delicate operation. When he finished he returned Ulric to Crais's quarters. He turned and left, not saying anything to Enra. She sat next to Ulric and saw that his color had returned. Traf came back in with a small box. "Here, Enra, a gift from Captain Crais." He handed her the box.

She looked at him suspiciously. She had flashes of her life before. I will not go though that again. She opened the box, expecting to see a control bracelet. No, they were Optec's. She looked up at the doctor. Vladec's in the past would always wear them when they were off world. It helped them pass as Sebaceans. "Why…what is all this Traf?"

He smiled at her. "The little breakdown you gave him allowed me to treat his condition." He took a slow deep breath. "He was able to take back his command from Mace but she escaped with a number of supporters. By now the High Command knows he's a renegade. You see, my dear Enra, we are on the run as well." He looked deep into her eyes. "Remember that!" He looked at Ulric. "Do you know how much Ulric means to Crais?"

"Yes, actually, I do." She looked at Traf for a long time. "You have no idea how much it hurt Ulric to do that to Crais." Ulric would never admit it, but she knew it was true. "You haven't answered the question Traf. Why?"

The pain in his eyes said it all. "He has not given up on finding Crichton. He wants information to help in his search."

They were interrupted by Ulric's dry voice. "What the frell!" He struggled to get up from the bed. Enra grabbed him and tried to keep him on the bed. He looked around. "Where are we? What happened, Enra? Where's Jack…Jass?" His mind cleared. "Traf, no don't tell me were on…" He looked back at Enra he was stunned by her expression.

" Captain Crais has supplied fresh clothing you will find it in the recycler room on your right. I'll give you some time alone. Oh and you know better then try to leave." Traf grinned, bowed slightly and left.

"Ulric…he's…he's gone!" Tears filled her eyes. She had pushed all that back after their capture, but this simple question brought all that stored emotion forward.

His voice dropped to a whisper. "No!" He stood from the bed and walked past her. He turned back to face her. "No! Enra, no!" She fell into his arms. He stood there numb. He held her for a long time. "How...?"

Enra collected herself. She could not look up at him, but kept her view fixed on the floor and turned away from him. She told of the attack on Arcanum. "Jack knocked me out once we got you into the transport pod."

"Mars ah…Drathor Prime? What about the bomb?" He felt, deep in his stomach, the first quivering of sadness.

She finally looked at Ulric. "Shortly after I woke I saw it Uli…it was like looking at the Gods themselves. The beautiful blue sphere expanded and collapsed-it was amazing. Its all gone…" She fell back into uncontrolled sobbing.

He smiled. "Enra, he did it! He saved them! That frelling Human saved them all!" His own eyes became glossy with tears. The pain and sorrow filled him and the raw emotions erupted in him. They overpowered him; he had never felt anything like this before.

Why?
They knew better to talk openly because they were being watched. Ulric kept looking around the room expecting to see Jack standing there. With that thought the pain returned. They washed and got changed Ulric started to understand Jack hatered to wearing the Peacekeeper uniform. He looked at Enra who was wearing an Attendants uniform. He could tell by her expression she was not amused. " OK, Bialar, we're ready for you."

Enra smiled at him. She was about to speak when the door on the far wall opened. Captain Bialar Crais walked in, followed by two Delvian attendants.

"I'm glad to see that Traf didn't frell up, the bumbling old fool." He smiled. "It's good to see you, Uli." His voice trailed off slightly and he took a deep breath. "So, you are filled with questions. Please sit and make yourseves comfortable." He looked at them with that same strange expression Enra had seen when they arrived, but she could not place it.

Ulric stood defiantly. "What do you want with us Bialar?" He could not help but noticed what a mess Crais looked. In all his dealings with him he had never known Crais to look like this.

"I want you to make your self at home, Ulric. You are going to be here for quite some time." He smiled and sat down in his chair. "Who is Jass Delin and how does he fit in with John Crichton?" He raised his hand and one of the Delvians approached with a tray of drinks.

Ulric stood in front of Crais. "Was!" he said quietly.

"What!" Crais looked at the stone faced Ulric.

"You asked who is Jass Delin. I am correcting you." He kept his stare on Crais. "If I tell you who he was, will you let us go?"

Ulric watched as Crais mulled the prospects over in his mind. That strange expression came across his face again.

"I'll do better then that, Uli, I will give you one of my remaining supply ships. I know you have a fondness for them."

The thought of commanding another Leviathan was sour in his stomach. "No, a well stocked Marauder is all that we need."

"It's a deal. You can leave whenever you wish." He raised his glass.

"Jass Delin was on a quest, Bialar. Like you, he lost some one very close. Like you, he became damaged by that loss. But unlike you, his quest changed him, helped him, and in the end he found who he was looking for."

"Who Ulric! Who was he looking for?" Crais put his drink down and stood.

"Don't, Ulric You can't tell him!"

"Its ok, Enra." He looked deep into Crais's eyes. "He…" Ulric stopped as the doors to Crais's quarters opened.

The first officer burst in. "Excuse me, sir, we have received a coded signal for you. It's marked Decca one, sir!"

Crais looked at Ulric." We will continue this shortly." He stood and left them.

Enra moved next to Ulric. "You are a fool, Uli, you can't tell him about Jass."

"What can he do with that information, Enra? He can't use it against us."

"What about Crichton?" She whispered. "Don't you see if you tell him, he could use that information against him" She grabbed his arms. "Are you that blind to what Crais can do?"

He turned from her. She was right. How close he had come to giving Crais information he could use against John. "I am a frelling fool Enra! I was only thinking of us. I am sorry!"

Compassion
Arns passed. Enra fell asleep on Ulric's lap on the couch. Ulric thought of his lost friend. He felt strange, different. He smiled I have been irreversibly contaminated by a human. He was no longer a Peacekeeper, he had known this for a while. But for the first time he felt comfort in this realization. Jack had given him a gift that he would have for the rest of his life.

Crais entered quickly. "Uli, you have again brought me luck." He smiled ear to ear. "I received a message that a research base has captured Crichton. As I said, I will have my vengeance. Tauvo will finally be at peace. Both of you come with me." He headed out the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Shhh, Ulric, you will see." Crais shot them a smile. They took a transport to a hangar bay. Crais jumped down off the transport and turned to face them. He stood in front of a Marauder. "She is yours. Its the latest model. She can displace Hetch ten fully loaded and trust me she is fully loaded." His smile widened. "All that you might need to start a new life a…family. " He smiled at them. "Ulric it's all yours." He moveds closer. "Just answer my question." The smile on his face started to fade. . "Who was Jass Delin and what did he have to do with Crichton?"

Ulric looked at Enra then back to Crais. "He was…he was in search of the Progenitors Key. He found it, but it cost him his life and the Drathor Prime system. As far as this Crichton being, I have no idea."

Crais looked at Ulric for a long time, then stepped to the side to allow them to pass.

Ulric grabbed Enra's hand and proceeded to the ramp of the marauder. Crais spoke as they passed. "You know more then you are telling me, Ulric." They stopped walking. Crais cleared his throat. "You have always known more then you were willing to tell me."

Ulric looked at Crais. "Bialar, it's over it's time to let it go." He saw that expression again on Crais's face. It hit Ulric like lightening what it was. It was a look of compassion. Ulric had to break his stare at Crais or chance the full confession of what he knew. Ulric slowly faced forward and proceeded to walk past Crais. They did not look back, they did not say good-bye, they just slowly walked up the ramp of the marauder.

He sealed the hatch and prepared for launch. Enra looked at Ulric. "You realize they are going to blow us out of the sky once we leave the ship."

He could not look at her. "Have a little faith, Enra." He exhaled deeply. "Aren't you the one who always says I am the pessimist?" He finished preflight. "Bialar will not fire on us!" I hope.

Crais walked back to the transport. He did not look back at the Marauder as it raised from the docking platform. He arrived in the Command Hub. "Lieutenant, lock frag cannons on that transport."

"Tracking locked, Sir."

Crais stood in the center of the Command hub and watched as the Marauder slowly moved away. He had made choices in his life that he would always regret. He was not going to make another one today. "Stand down frag cannons." Good-bye, Uli, my friend. Captain Crais moved to the front of the command hub. "How soon until we reach the Gammak Base?"

"Four arns, Sir!"

"Increase speed to Hetch twelve! Send a coded Decca one message to Scorpius that we are on our way." A small grin grew on his face. I am coming, John Crichton. You will not get away this time.

Flight of the Marauder.
Ulric kept his eyes on the proximity meter. He exhaled as they slipped out of the range of the frag cannons. Thank you, Bialar. This is the second time you have saved my life. "I told you, Enra, sometimes you need a little faith." He smiled.

"I have never heard that much dren come from one Peacekeeper."

He raised from his acceleration chair." I am no longer a Peacekeeper, Enra." He slowly placed his hand on her stomach. " I will not have my child see me that way. "

She placed her hand on his cheek. "I know he will see what I see in you."

"He! He is a…he's a he…he a male?"

"Yes. You are going to have a son, Ulric Selton." She smiled.

A parent's discovery.
Ulric sat on the shoreline of the Inland Sea. He had walked down the beaten path from their home. They had lived here for more then three cycles. Dasival Jack Selton was born in space on board a Peacekeeper Marauder just weekens before they found this world. Ulric watched as his son, now more then three, chased the sand lizards that darted back and forth in the waves lapping the beach. Ulric smiled as the little two legged lizards ran away from Jack. The little boy's laughter filled the air. Enra scooped him up and brought him back up under the solar shell. They ate their midday meal and relaxed.

Ulric closed his eyes and listened. He could hear their songs deep and moving.Ulric would often get lost in the Biomechanoids songs. He was distracted from them as he noticed his son sing a similar tune. Ulric opened his eyes and looked at Jack. He picked up his young son. Ulric looked deep into his son's green eyes. "Jack, can you hear their songs?"

"Ya, we sing, daddy." He smiled at his father and started singing again.

"What!" An amazed look came over Ulric's face as the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end.

Enra moved closer. "What are you talking about, Uli?"

"Jack can hear them, Enra." A smile filled Ulric's face. "Jack can hear the songs of the Biomechanoids." Ulric closed his eyes and listened again. He could hear their songs, but he could hear more. Ulric heard the song of his son among them. He opened his eyes. " Enra, Jack can communicate with them." Ulric pulled his son to his chest and hugged him tightly.

A tear ran down Ulric's face. Was this a gift or a curse? Only time would tell.

Fin

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