Moya, Above the Water Planet

[stykera]

While those not permanently bonded to Moya had been on the planet rescuing Eidelons and killing Scarrans and having babies, Pilot had had the DRDs hard at work on the schematics Crichton had given to him earlier. The same schematics he had point-blank refused to fabricate. He had been unwilling to even consider helping to create the wormhole weapon, and Moya had agreed. They wanted no part of the horrific destruction they knew would come from such a thing. But something, namely Aeryn, had changed their minds and while the others were planetside Pilot had directed the DRDs to produce the machine Crichton would need for his weapon. Crichton was stunned when he saw it. Scorpius, rather predictably, was thrilled.

Soon enough it became all too clear that the weapon was the only chance of stopping the war. Crichton didn't want to do it, that much was clear to anyone witnessing his reactions. But he was trapped. Threats weren't working. The Eidelons couldn't achieve anything when the Scarrans and Peacekeepers were too busy exploding each others ships to even consider peace.

Crichton made Scorpius beg him to do it. And then, it started. At first there was just a brilliant blue circle seen against the blackness of space. Then it doubled in size, changing to an angry red-orange color. And then it did so again. Stark watched, silently, holding on to a piece of the machinery as if to keep himself standing.

An attempt to contact the Scarrans only led them to increase their firepower and commence reverse thrust. The Peacekeepers simply ignored the communication and maintained their fire while beginning a steady retreat. Except retreating from the ever-expanding wormhole was not possible. Not even for Moya.

The wormhole continued expanding and glowing an angry red. The center was black, everything in it already consumed. Those onboard Moya watched in horror as first the ships nearest to it were destroyed and then the planet below them. Stark shuddered. The amount of death here was staggering. Muoma, standing beside him, looked ready to faint as she watched her world reduced to scattered chunks of rock. He reached out to steady her. At least that gave him something to do, something else to focus on besides the feel of death now permeating this section of space.

The Scarran and Peacekeeper guns fell silent in the face of what appeared to be their imminent destruction.

"What have you done?" Rygel demanded.

Crichton's scathing reply silenced all of them. Stark watched, growing ever more concerned. Crichton apologized to Aeryn, then turned his attention to the Scarran emperor and Peacekeeper commandant. Neither leader believed Crichton would go through with it. It was, after all, madness to unleash this sort of destruction on the universe.

"Wormhole weapons do not make peace," Crichton said softly, despairingly. "Wormhole weapons don't even make war. They make total destruction. Annihilation. Armageddon. People make peace."

"Can you stop it?" Chiana asked.

"I don't know, Pip. Maybe it eats the whole galaxy. Monumental black hole. Giant, swirling headstone marking the spot where we all used to live and play and slaughter the innocent."

Still the warring factions didn't believe Crichton would allow the destruction to continue. But he pressed on, his voice louder and more determined. "All or nothing," he said. "Wormhole doubles two more times, Moya goes first. Twenty seconds later, you join us. Either way, this war is over. Peace!"

Grayza broke first, agreeing to try for peace for the sake of their children. Stark was quite terrified at this point. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to hear and feel the deaths of everyone else as he went either. But at least if he died now, he would die free. It was a tiny comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. Still. He hoped for peace and a long and boring life after this. Zhaan would have liked that. Peace and a long life.

"May the spirit of peace descend on Staleek," Stark said. He was addressing Zhaan's goddess, mimicking movements he had seen her perform a number of times. It seemed only appropriate. If he were to die now, calling on Her might help him find his way on the other side. And if he lived, well, a well-timed prayer certainly couldn't hurt. And perhaps Zhaan was guiding him even know. "May the spirit of peace descend on Staleek."

Chiana grabbed at one of his hands. "Say some for me," she requested. "I don't know any." Stark turned towards her, closing his fingers around hers. He would pray for all of them now. And later, if the universe and Crichton's wormhole allowed it, he would pray again. Extra for Chiana because he knew all too well the sort of pain she was in now.

The wormhole's edges were nearly touching both Staleek's and Grayza's ships.

"Peace. Agreed," Staleek said through clenched teeth over the comms.

Crichton was already moving towards the machine, hoping he could shut down what he'd started. "The Eidelons participate? A real peace?"

"Agreed," Staleek repeated.

"Stop this thing," Grayza said, not quite pleading.

Crichton did stop it, mere moments before the wormhole would have destroyed them all. He let out one long scream of pain then collapsed, facedown, beneath the machine.

Everyone froze, aside from Aeryn who hurried to his side, calling his name. His eyes were open but he wasn't responding and with the baby still cradled in her arms she was unable to lift him or even turn him. "Somebody help me!"

Stark and Chiana moved first, hurrying to Aeryn's side. "He's not dead," Stark murmured to Aeryn, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Trust me. None of us are dead. We're all staying firmly on this side." He wasn't so sure of that last part, but how could he be? Carefully he turned Crichton over and lifted him with Chiana's help. The three of them settled Crichton in his quarters.

Soon, the representatives of the no longer warring factions, watched over by the Eidelons and guided by Scorpius, signed the peace accords. Whether this hard won peace would last remained to be seen.

Crichton woke, eventually, from the strange coma he was in. The baby was named for a fallen friend and somehow, life continued on Moya.


Stark had had enough of all this and wanting nothing more than some peace, felt he could not stay. He made his goodbyes, murmured as many blessings as he knew over tiny D'Argo Sun Crichton, and took a transport pod, hoping to go back to another home. He would have stayed for Chiana's sake, but she didn't want his assistance or interference in her grief and he knew he wouldn't be of much assistance in any rebuilding efforts that might occur. Instead he would try to get back to the island. He had missed Fandom ever since he left, and now seemed a perfect time to return. He felt like he needed to be back there, for some reason, moreso than he had in quite a long time.

[So, that's PK Wars except for Stark's final scene because, I'm sorry, being forced to take someone's soul and knowledge into your head against your will and then watching the universe nearly destroyed does NOT EQUAL finding your own inner peace. Plus, think of all the glowy icons no longer usable if Stark stops glowing as he seems to at the end. Makes no sense to me, so I skip it.]