"It must have been an accident," she
says.
One of the Plokavians screeches for
Aeryn to repeat her story - "without the lies!" Aeryn reluctantly
complies, prompting the
first in a series of flashbacks.
A red light on the bulldrenn detector
Aboard Moya, Chiana
is outraged to find Rygel
rooting through the galley for food instead of trying to negotiate with
the Plokavians. He tells her they are refusing to talk.
As they try to decide what to do next,
Moya lurches into motion. She has decided to try to follow Talyn's trail.
After being returned to the others,
Aeryn tells them about her interrogation. As Crichton loudly proclaims
how worried he was, she gives him a sotto voce summary of what she told
the Plokavians.
Before they can spread the story to
the others, though, Zhaan is called to the interrogation.
Talyn Debating Society
Zhaan tells
the Plokavians her
version of what happened when Crais asked for their help with Talyn's
"malfunctioning circuitry." The events are the same, but everyone is so
much more reasonable.
Zhaan is returned
to the others, and Stark is called in for interrogation. His
version makes Crais the villain.
Stark shows his caring side
Stark's story is wildly different from
Zhaan and Aeryn's, and the Plokavians demand to know why. He tells them
that they are protecting Talyn by covering up Crais' attack, but that he
cares more about them than what happens to Talyn.
Elsewhere, Moya has been searching
for Talyn for three hours. Chiana wants to break off the search and return
to the others, but Pilot
Stark is returned to the others. The
Plokavians inform them that their testimonies do not correspond - and that
they'll all be executed if they don't stop lying.
Enraged, D'Argo attacks Stark, knocking
off the Banik's mask. Underneath, Stark's face is bubbling.
Stark naked
Stark's mask almost falls off the side
of the platform, but Zhaan rescues it and puts it back on her. He explains
that the mask helps him keep the energy part of his body contained.
D'Argo is
called to his interrogation. His
version of events makes himself into a conquering hero, and Stark into
a coward.
I sense a little bias here
The Plokavians ask D'Argo why he is
speaking against Stark. He tells them that the others should not be responsible
for what Stark did.
On the platform, Stark worries that
D'Argo's testimony will get him executed. He tells Zhaan that he's sure
he didn't fire the cannon.
Chiana visits Pilot in his den. She
apologizes for yelling at him, and Pilot agrees that the chances of finding
Talyn are miniscule.
Moya feels responsible for Talyn's
destruction of the Plokavian ship, but Pilot convinces her to abandon the
search.
D'Argo returns. Crichton is called
to give testimony.
He sticks with Aeryn's story that there
must have been a malfunction. The Plokavians replay D'Argo's testimony
that Stark was at the weapons console, and he suggests that D'Argo is confused
- Stark wouldn't know where to find the console.
The Plokavians also confront him with
Aeryn and Zhaan's statements about who was near the weapons console, all
of which are different. They're outraged - this kind of variance would
never happen among their people.
"Well," Crichton tells them, "the rest
of the universe doesn't work that way."
"You're all lying," the Plokavians
conclude. "Further testimony is a waste of time - the executions will begin
immediately."
Crichton sings like a bird
The Plokavians then offer Crichton
a "deal": if he gives up the guilty part, they'll spare everyone else.
"There's nothing new in the universe," mutters Crichton, telling them he's
seen good cop/bad cop acts before.
"Yes, we are lying," he tells them.
They've been trying to cover up for each other.
Crichton
promises to give them the straight story. He doesn't know what happened
- and probably never will - but he'll tell them what
he saw.
Do Plokavians give you a last cigarette?
Stark wonders aloud how the Plokavians
will execute him. Aeryn tells him they mentioned a technique called "dispersal"
to her.
That gives him a little bit of hope.
Because much of his body is made of energy, there's a remote chance he
could survive dispersal.
He warms to the possibility, but then
admits that he doesn't really believe in it. "But even a remote possibility
. . ." he points out.
Crichton returns. The Plokavians announce
their conclusion.
"Your lack of candor gives us no choice
but to have you all put to death," they say.
Stark suddenly asserts that he fired
upon the Plokavian ship. The others try to stop him, but the Plokavians
knock them down with an energy field.
Stark removes his mask, hands it to
Zhaan, and steps into the cage on the platform. No energy radiates from
his face.
He tells the others, "Your acceptance
- your friendship - has meant a lot to me." Then the Plokavians blast him
out of existence.
A look in the mirror
The Plokavians depart, and the pod
returns to Moya.
"I misjudged Stark," D'Argo comments.
"He shouldn't have died for his crime."
Crichton and Aeryn are certain Stark
committed no crime. When the weapons control was shut down, Talyn regained
control of his weapons and - having noticed that it was carrying the forbidden
cargo of the novotrim weapon -- destroyed the ship.
Later, D'Argo wonders why Stark came
to tell him about his son -- and why D'Argo himself has become so distrustful
other people.
He asks Chiana, "What does it say about
what I've become?"
Crichton has questions of his own:
why didn't Aeryn try to blame the attack on Crais? Aeryn tells him she
was simply protecting Talyn.
"Do you think it's possible that Stark
survived?" she asks Crichton.
"Since I got here I've seen a lot of
impossible things," Crichton replies. He knows Zhaan said she thought it
was possible, but Crichton doesn't think the Delvian really believes it.
In her cabin, Zhaan examines Stark's
mask. She kisses it, and tears run down her face.
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