One of them -- a Peacekeeper Prowler, through Crichton doesn't know this yet -- strikes him a glancing blow. Both ships spin out of control, and the Prowler collides with an asteroid and explodes.

Crichton's ship is seized by an invisible force. As it pulls him towards a gigantic ship, Crichton can only stare and mutter, "That's big. That's really big."

Farscape One comes to rest in a large landing bay. As Crichton looks around, a tiny robot -- we'll learn it's called a DRD -- peers into the canopy, and something catches fire in the cabin.

The next thing Crichton knows, he's being marched through the hall by two small but annoyed robots armed with welding lasers.

It takes a moment for them to notice Crichton, who tries to open the conversation with a "Hi" and a friendly wave. The Luxan grabs Crichton by the throat and says something incomprehensible and threatening.

As Crichton dangles in D'argo's grip, a DRD injects something in his foot. A few seconds later, everything D'argo and Zhaan say seems to be in English.

The aliens have never seen anything like Crichton's ship before, and have brought him aboard to find out what it is. They want to know if Crichton knows some way for them to escape.

He doesn't, and D'argo tosses him aside. The Luxan then returns to his previous task -- ripping circuits from the control panels until something called a "control collar" is removed and the ship can maneuver freely.

Meanwhile, the fighters outside are continuing to attack the nearly helpless ship. As Zhaan mutters a prayer, the large control collar attached to the hull finally separates from the ship.

D'argo orders a fourth alien -- Pilot, a spiderlike being communicating with the others from elsewhere in the ship -- to begin the ship's one defense maneuver: escape via "starburst," a form of interstellar travel.

As the ship begins its escape, the fighters terminate their attack, veering away except for one determined Prowler pilot. A bright web of energy builds up around the ship, and it vanishes through a portal of space.

Add one obsessive villain, then stir

A second large ship is cruising through space, and its captain -- a trim, cruel-looking man named Crais -- has just entered its bridge. His first officer reports that the transport has escaped, apparently due to a prison break organized by the Hynerian.

The first officer also tells Crais there are casualties, which doesn't bother him until he learns his brother is dead. Crais' brother flew the Prowler that collided with Crichton's ship.

As Crais orders an enhanced image of the ship that killed his brother, his first officer tells him that a Prowler pilot followed the transport through its starburst.

The transport -- a living starship known as a Leviathan and named Moya -- returns to normal space, and Pilot reports the pursuing Prowler. D'argo orders that it be captured and brought aboard as Crichton's ship was.

When Zhaan asks Pilot where the ship is, he's forced to admit that neither he nor Moya knows.

Rygel sneezes, covering Crichton with dark, gooey alien mucus. Crichton loses his remaining self-control, but D'argo knocks him out from behind with a single flick of a very long tongue.

In a quiet moment, D'argo and Zhaan exchange stories. The Delvian says she was imprisoned for being an anarchist, while the Luxan claims he killed his commanding officer.

Crichton's day fails to improve

Crichton wakes up hoping the last few hours have been a dream. It's not -- he's in a cell, robots are watching him, and he's naked.

As he finds his clothes, Crichton sees Rygel working with some controls outside the cell. Rygel explains that they removed his clothes to examine him, and that the reason he understands them is due to an injection of translator microbes.

Crichton protests his imprisonment, but Rygel tells him that "we can no more trust you than that." "That" is the Prowler pilot slumped against a wall of the cell.

The pilot regains consciousness and removes her helmet to reveal a beautiful dark-haired woman. Crichton introduces himself and she promptly beats him up, knocking him to the ground and demanding his rank and regiment.

Crichton tries to explain that he's a scientist, not a soldier.

Outside their cell, Rygel opens some storage compartments. Zhaan and D'argo arrive to reclaim their possessions, and Zhaan tells Crichton that they now know he's not a Peacekeeper because he has some decidedly unfamiliar bacteria in his body.

Announcing it's time to eat, the former prisoners open up the cell. When Crichton wonders what's on the menu, D'argo gives him a feral growl.

On the Peacekeeper carrier, Crais swears to make whoever killed his brother pay. After examining an enhanced image of Crichton in the cabin of Farscape One, he orders his lieutenant to separate his ship from the Fleet so that he can search for Crichton and the escaped prisoners.

As he and Aeryn are led through the ship's corridors, Crichton's sense of wonder takes over and he can't help but be amazed by the ship and aliens he's encountered.

My dinner with aliens

As they eat, Pilot explains that the damage caused while D'argo tried to rip out the control collar circuits has erased Moya's map information. However, they're now near a commerce planet where they might get directions.

Rygel is thrilled -- he has necessary luxuries to buy. D'argo's ready to jettison Rygel out an air lock, while Zhaan wants to know if there are Peacekeepers in the system to worry about.

The discussion is interrupted when Rygel farts and fills the room with helium. Aeryn tries to palm a fork, but is spotted by D'argo, who recovers it after a brief struggle.

On the commerce planet, Rygel bargains with a gigantic spider-like creature. Aboard Moya, Aeryn tries to escape while Crichton tries to figure out how he got here.

When she complains about his not helping her, he quietly produces a fork that he successfully hid at dinner. A few minutes later, they're in the landing bay, and after one look at the "cutting-edge technology" of Farscape One, Aeryn decides they'll escape in her Prowler.

As they leave, they send a signal to Crais' carrier.

On the planet, Crichton is amazed to find himself in an alien city. Meanwhile, D'argo has learned of the escape, and warns Rygel and Zhaan.

That's "Earth", not "Urp," Aeryn

Aeryn and Crais spot the transport pod from Moya lifting off. Aeryn wants to recapture them, but they are surprised by D'argo, who is in turn ambushed by Crais' soldiers.

Crais confronts Crichton about the death of his brother, and announces his intention to dissect the human and find out what's different about him.

Crichton tries to explain that the collision was an accident. When Aeryn sticks up for him -- albeit by claiming he's not brave or intelligent enough to have attacked a Prowler -- Crais pronounces her "irreversibly contaminated" by contact with an unknown species and orders her arrest.

While searching Crichton, a Peacekeeper soldier comes across the good luck charm from Crichton's father. Crichton explains that it's a puzzle toy, then grabs the guard's pistol while he tries to figure it out.

After a brief scuffle, Crichton gets the upper hand and his gun trained on the guards. They give him a key to the handcuffs, and both D'argo and Aeryn demand to be unlocked first.

Crichton tells D'argo to unlock him, then proposes a deal -- he'll free the Luxan if D'argo will take both him and Aeryn back to the ship. Aeryn initially refuses, claiming that being a Peacekeeper is all she is, but Crichton tells her, "You can be more."

The Prowler returns to Moya, and the fugitives decide to strike out for the Uncharted Territories. Crais' cruiser is closing on them fast, though, and Moya needs more time to recharge before she can starburst out of the system.

Moya needs more speed to escape, and Crichton thinks he knows where he can get it. Frantically scribbling equations on the floor, he tells the others to turn back towards the planet.

A new complication ensues -- the Leviathan needs to hit the atmosphere at a particular angle and Pilot has more than he can handle just keeping the ship moving. Someone has to fly the ship manually.

D'argo's not trained to do it. Aeryn refuses at first, but when Zhaan points out the alternative is death D'argo snarls and hauls the Peacekeeper to the controls.
When Pilot expresses reservations with switching over to manual, the entire crew shouts -- momentarily united -- "Do it!" He complies, and Moya turns, dives, skids across the atmosphere, and pulls away from Crais' ship.

"She's off our scanners, sir," Crais' lieutenant reports. "We've lost her."

As Crichton gathers his gear from Farscape One, D'argo sharpens his sword and Zhaan prays.

A few minutes later, D'argo ambushes Crichton in the corridor, telling him he has a good warrior's instinct, and "we need that." He warns Crichton not to threaten his freedom, though.

Overhearing, Aeryn tells Crichton Luxans are brutal and uncivilized, but the human has developed much the same opinion of Peacekeepers. Aeryn also has a warning for Crichton: the Uncharted Territories may be out of Peacekeeper jurisdiction, but that's not likely to stop Crais from hunting the man who killed his brother.

"If you want to live," she tells Crichton, "choose your alliances carefully."

Crichton spots the DRD he injured on his arrival, and convinces it to come near him. As he repairs the little robot's broken eyestalk, he records a note to his father.

He has to pause a moment to keep Rygel from swiping his gear -- the Hynerian is dissuaded, but not before asking if Crichton is a sound sleeper -- then tells his father about the "weird, amazing, psychotic life" he's found among the stars.

"You know those rattlers we were talking about?" he concludes. "Well, I got them now."