Rating: PG-13
Category: Crossover, Misc.
Spoilers: up through Dog with 2 Bones, some for Halo
Summary: Remember that cliffhanger, at the end of DW2B? Remember being unable to comprehend how Kemper was going to get John out of that fix? Well this is one of my ideas, some people say crossovers are cheating, but hey, it works.
Disclaimer: I own very little in this world, certainly not any Farscape or Halo related trademarks, so obviously this story is purely for entertainment purposes and no profit is being made by anyone.
Archiving: Just let me know if you do, IBgrad@netscape.net
Feedback: Please, especially concerning the Master Chief and Cortana.
Thanks to OCDchild for being such a great beta.

Note: This story was largely inspired by an idea I had for a Leviathan piloted by an AI construct instead of a flesh and blood Pilot, the only problem was setting the story up. When Halo came out, I found not only an awesome game, but also the answer to my plot setup problems. So, technically this is a crossover, though given the simplicity of the plot for Halo, it is more like an extended allusion than a full-blown crossover. Just so you know, my desire to see an AI doing Pilot's job stems from my admiration for his character, not dissatisfaction with it.

Master Chief's Log, May 25, 2552 AD

The Battle of Halo is finally over. When we first discovered it Captain Keyes thought the ringworld that the Covenant call Halo might be the key to stopping the Covenant and saving Earth. Instead it introduced two new threats to Earth's existence, the Plague and Halo itself. In order to stop the Plague from spreading and the Monitor from using Halo's weaponry to eradicate all sentient life in this part of the universe, it was necessary to destroy Halo. Only Cortana and myself survived.

The Captain's attempt to lose the Covenant by having Cortana initiate a blind jump at least succeeded in leading the Covenant away from Earth, but now we are stranded in a small ship without jump capabilities in a distant, uncharted region of space. I am hesitant to attempt communication with Earth in case any Covenant forces remain in the area. Lacking other options I have decided to enter cryo-sleep and have Cortana pilot us toward the nearest star while monitoring communications frequencies. Our only hope is to contact someone who can help us, and that better be soon, or it will be too late for Earth.
End Entry

The Master Chief shook his head wearily. He supposed he should take some satisfaction from taking part in the first successful engagement of the war with the Covenant. Of course if this was a victory, it was most certainly a pyrrhic one. The Pillar of Autumn destroyed; her crew dead or wishing they were; the strange ringworld obliterated, but the Covenant had run. They had turned tail and ordered a full-scale evacuation of Halo. This was due not to his prowess as a guerrilla, even though he was good, but to the Covenant's own stupidity. They had broken into what the Monitor referred to as "restricted areas" and released the Plague. The Master Chief could hardly blame them for retreating though. The size and relentless nature of the Plague's onslaught had been incredible, and he could only hope that the destruction of Halo would be sufficient to destroy the Plague as well. If he had had the resources the Chief might have stuck around and scanned the debris to make sure, but all he had was a single spacefighter, his Mjolnir armor, and Cortana.

The Master Chief set the fighter for autopilot and activated the cryo-sleep sequence. Even as he did so, he was struck by the futility of even trying. In all the time that humanity had searched the stars for signs of intelligent life they had found nothing, up until the day the Covenant had begun their savage assault. On Halo they had found new evidence of extra-terrestrial intelligent life, but this too had been hostile. Yet, he was a Spartan II commando, and as long as he drew breath, he would never cease to serve and protect Earth. As his body fully entered cryo-sleep, his last thought was that this time, the third time, really would be "the charm."

With the Chief sleeping, Cortana had little to do but stare out into space alone, watching, waiting, and hoping. She double-checked the sensor settings. She had little doubt that the Master Chief had set them correctly, but there was nothing else to do. Not that she could suffer from boredom, which would be an inefficient characteristic to include in an AI construct designed for a warship. Carelessness instilled by boredom could cost lives. All that remained for Cortana to do was to monitor the sensor readouts until something happened. By reducing energy consumption as much as possible, she estimated that the fighter's reactors could continue to sustain both her and the Master Chief for about 30 years. While that was certainly a long time by some standards, 30 years was insignificant when attempting interstellar travel at sub-light speeds. Then, after only 6 weeks in this pattern, long-range scanners picked up a spatial anomaly. Cortana was a little more than surprised. Intrigue led her to scan more aggressively but the anomaly was already gone. Then, much closer, she picked up something else, some kind of small craft with a stealth technology that had eluded the passive scanners. She paused and rechecked her data. The craft, whatever it was, was moving significantly faster than the speed of light, and that was definitely not Covenant technology. By Cortana's estimates, the craft would be out of communication range within five minutes, and it took seven to reactivate the Chief. "Well, I guess I just got appointed to first contact duty," she said to herself, simultaneously commencing the wake-up sequence on the Chief and an open hail on all frequencies.

"UNSC spacefighter to alien vessel. We have been separated from our main force and require assistance. Please respond." At first the vessel did not respond. Cortana decided it might be necessary to sound a little more desperate. "UNSC spacefighter to alien ship. We have limited resources and no way to contact or return home to Earth. Please can you help us?" The craft did not alter course or speed and moments later was beyond communications range. "I guess I woke the Chief for nothing," she thought grimly as the reactivation sequence completed. Wordlessly, Cortana uploaded the recent information to the Chief's neural interface.

<><><>

Aeryn had been running for only six arns now, but it seemed like forever. Every fiber of her being screamed that she should go back, be with the man who was so much like the one she had given herself to, the one she loved, whose child she carried. She would not though. She was afraid, and she had been forced to admit that to herself. Aeryn could not bear to be around the other John, could not bear to risk losing him again, and could not bear to have her child constantly reminding them of her loss. Suddenly her communications display came to life, informing her of an attempt to contact her. Aeryn accepted the message, but listened only halfheartedly: it was a distress call. A closer look at her short-range scanners revealed that there was a small ship nearby. A more intensive scan confirmed to the ex-Peacekeeper pilot that it was an alien craft of unknown configuration, and though armed, its weapons were powered down. Not ready to face anyone, Aeryn disregarded the message. Her resolve weakened when the message decidedly changed tone and became more desperate, but continued on her course none-the-less. A hundred microts later it hit her. Disbelief and shock ran through her mind as she replayed the communication. It couldn't be, but it was. The vessel said it was from "Earth." Then again, it could be another trick, she thought. With this she smiled, that was something John would have said. Remembering John had been a mistake though. Once started, Aeryn remembered her parting words, "We are in the hands of fate now John." "Well" she sighed, resigned, "if this is not fate, I have no idea what is."

She punched a sequence of commands into the prowler's console and began to loop back around to intercept the unknown craft. It was then that she noticed that the ship possessed no hetch drive. Well, if this was a trick it was a good one. It was hard to believe that any ship this far out in space would be traveling around without one. Unless, whoever it was had been brought here by the same wormhole phenomenon that had brought John to her four cycles ago. Stop thinking about John, she berated herself. She needed to remain focused in case this really was another trap. Once back within communication range, Aeryn contacted the vessel. "Prowler to unidentified vessel, did you say you were from Earth?"

A male voice, distinct from the female voice that had spoken earlier, responded. "This is the Master Chief, sole survivor of the battle of Halo. All I understood of your last statement was the word Earth, my homeworld. Do you know of it?"

Aeryn groaned in disgust, frell those humans and their lack of translator microbes. Well, that settled it, fate had certainly intervened she had to go back and get John now. Hopefully Moya had not traveled too far from where she last saw her. Knowing that whomever was aboard the craft would be unable to understand her, she did not bother trying to talk but started repeatedly transmitting her last known coordinates for Crichton and Moya. After a few moments, the response came. "If you want us to proceed to those coordinates, just lead the way. But you are much faster, I will meet you there."

"Well," Aeryn thought, "at least this one is a little more intelligent than John was when he first arrived." Without waiting for any further response, she accelerated back towards the man she loved, and hated.

<><><><>

John screamed in pain. Scorpius had found him again and had him once again strapped into the Aurora chair. The pretense of information gathering was gone. Scorpius' desire for revenge had driven him beyond even his normal level of cruelty. He was no longer pretending to gather information, but merely trying to cause John as much pain as possible.

As he let out another scream, John struggled vainly at his bonds, only to discover that he was not bound, but rather confined in a small space. Confused, he tried to calm down and determine what was going on. Then, as the remnants of his dream fell away, he remembered. Moya had been pulled into a wormhole, leaving him stranded in space. Again. This time though, he had almost no fuel and there were no inhabitable systems within his range. John had decided to stay where he was and await the arrival of someone, anyone, no matter how small the chances of that happening were.

He shivered involuntarily. It was cold in his module. He had dialed down life support settings in an attempt to conserve power. Even with that, John estimated he only had a weeken, give or take a day. But he refused to give up. Maybe Moya would come back. Maybe another Leviathan on its way to or from the Sacred Space would have pity on him and pick him up. Maybe Aeryn would relent and come back for him. Remembering Aeryn, John spoke out loud, "Oh Aeryn, why didn't you tell me?"

Harvey decided to answer in her absence. "I should think that would be obvious, John. She was afraid you would try and make her stay."

"I was beginning to wonder when you would show up. Frelling fantastic! I get to spend my last week alive with my very own giant invisible rabbit for company."

"What is this? The great John Crichton giving up? How out of character!" Harvey responded.

"Can it Harv. It's not like I have any options. Almost no fuel. Nowhere near inhabited space. Limited communications capacity," John said. "Face it, the only ships out here are wild leviathans, and if our most recent encounter is any indication, they are not going to put down the welcome mat for the first place winner in the Peacekeeper look-a-like contest of the Uncharted Territories. "

"We do have a weeken, John. There is no reason to give up just yet. Afterall, that signal coming in now could very well be our salvation." Harvey drew John's attention to a blinking light on his communications panel.

"John, this is Aeryn. What happened to Moya?"

His heart swelled. Relief and joy flowed over John in a wave when he realized who had come to rescue him.

"Aeryn, what happened? Why did you come back?" He decided not to tell her that he knew she was pregnant, that could wait, but he resolved not to wait too long. Keeping secrets from her could only make things worse.

Aeryn hesitated. "Fate, perhaps. I will explain more later. Now, where is Moya?" She asked more insistently, and with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm not sure. About 200 microts after you left, a wormhole opened up right on top of her, and she was pulled in."

"A wormhole. I knew your research would only lead to trouble, Crichton."

"Aeryn, I had nothing to do with it. I was sitting out here in my pod after I followed you out. Pilot was just about to pick me up, John began.

Aeryn interrupted, "Yes, fine. We have another problem now. The other human should be here soon, and now we have no place to meet, and no translator microbes."

John spoke excitedly, "You found another human? Here in the Uncharted Territories? Where? How…"

"Well, he claimed to be human, but the technology of his vessel, while still primitive, was beyond the level of your module, though it still had no hetch drive." Aeryn said, hesitation clear in her voice, "and John, I could be wrong, but I think Earth, if he really is from there, is at war."

"Different groups on Earth are always at war with each other, usually they are small conflicts, inconsequential by Peacekeeper standards." John said, not sure whom he was trying to reassure.

"Perhaps, but the way he talked it seemed a bit more important than that. ,." Aeryn responded.

"Well, we will not get any answers just sitting around here. Where is he?"

"At your module's slower speed it will probably take about 10 hours for us to reach him." Aeryn replied.

"Well, then we should get moving. I've already been sitting in here for half a day, and as much as I love my module, it is starting to feel a little cramped." As Prowler and pod started on the return vector John spoke again. "Aeryn, there is something we need to talk about."

"Yes?" Aeryn replied expectantly.

"Remember that old woman? How she was messing with my mind? Well, she told me that you were pregnant." Silence.

"Is that true?"

Still silence.

Then, a small sob. Her voice thick with emotion, Aeryn choked "Yes, frell you Crichton. And frell that old woman too. I am pregnant."

"Why didn't you tell me?" John asked, still hesitant.

"I knew you would try and make me stay if I did, and I was not ready for that."

"But you are now?" He asked, both hope and fear strong in his voice.

"When I left you, 12 arns ago, I told you we were in the hands of fate."

"Yes," John said, not sure what to expect, but nearly overcome with emotion. Aeryn had come back to him!

"Well I am now the last best hope of the only humans in the Uncharted Territories. I think fate is being pretty frelling clear for once."

John smiled. "Aeryn. I…" he trailed off, concerned that maybe she was not ready for more just yet. "Tell me more about this human you encountered."

With this, John and Aeryn spent the next few arns talking. First the conversation focused mainly on the supposed human that they were to meet, but Aeryn did not have much information. Most of what she was able to tell John only confused him more. Inevitably, the conversation shifted to talk of pregnancy. John told Aeryn everything that he knew about human pregnancies. Aeryn shared her limited knowledge of Sebacean pregnancies.

Eventually, a tired, hungry and thirsty John told Aeryn he had to rest; she agreed. The next portion of their trip was spent in silence, not an awkward, strained silence, but a comforting silence filled with trust, camaraderie, and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more. John had a feeling that they had made a great deal of progress in the last few arns, and not just through space. With those pleasant thoughts in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

Several arns later he awakened to the sound of Aeryn's voice. "John. John, the other should be in communication range soon."

The voice of Master Chief cut in, "Hello? UNSC spacefighter here. Please acknowledge. Hello? Is something wrong? This is not the rendezvous point you gave me earlier."

John responded, "He is definitely speaking English Aeryn, but I do not recognize the accent." Then he directed his attention towards the newcomer. "Yes there is a problem. Our main ship has disappeared into a wormhole."

"Well that explains the bizarre readings Cortana pickup up just before she detected your friend in the black ship. How is it that you know English? … I have you on visual… is this some kind of twisted joke? Who are you and what are you doing in a craft bearing IASA markings? IASA was disbanded hundreds of years ago."

John had to pause to try and digest what he was hearing. IASA disbanded several hundred years ago, how was that possible? Frelling wormholes, he must have been sent forward in time, as well as halfway across the universe. Aeryn cut through his indecision though and said, "I am only detecting one life-form aboard that ship."

John put aside his own confusion about the time difference and asked Aeryn's question, "My friend, Aeryn, wants to know about this Cortana you refer to. We thought there was only one onboard your vessel."

The Master Chief was silent for a moment. "Damn, I should not have mentioned her." He thought quickly then said, "Cortana is not a person. She is just the AI that was running the ship while I was in cryo-sleep." Cortana protested at being referred to as "just an AI," but the Chief motioned for her to stay quiet. Protecting Cortana was the only mission objective he had not totally failed in achieving, and he was not about to jeopardize that by revealing the magnitude of intelligence to a pair of unknowns. "By the way John, I notice you can understand this, Aeryn, yet, you are not speaking the same language. How is that?"

"Aeryn and I both have translator microbes, symbiotic bacteria that colonize the base of the brain and can translate most languages instantly. They work mighty fine, but they do stumble with units of time, swear words, and my personal favorite, cultural references." John grinned, "So, save yourself some confusion, and use cycles, monens, weekens, arns, and microts, instead of years, months, weeks, hours, and seconds. And, the 'Who's on first?' routine? Don't bother. You'll only get stares and glares." Listening in her prowler, Aeryn grinned and cocked her head with eyebrows raised on that one.

The Master Chief was relieved. He had managed to deflect their interest away from Cortana. "Translator microbes, huh? How would I go about getting some of these?"

"Well, with Moya gone, that is a little hard to say. Even without microbes though, it would be nice if we could all talk face to face instead of ship to ship." John replied.

The Master Chief paused for a moment, then responded. "I agree. While my ship is designed for only a one man crew, as yours appear to be as well, it has room to carry a squad of soldiers when necessary. I suggest we meet aboard my spacefighter to work out a plan. Would it be possible for you to dock or do an EVA and come aboard?"

John said to Aeryn. "Well, what do you think? Aeryn?"

"I am not sure if we should trust him yet. Ask him if he has some way to confirm his story."

John relayed the message and the Master Chief almost had to laugh at the absurdity of it, but he restrained his desire to do so. He thought. "I think the best I can offer is for John to come aboard. John, you can then re-establish contact with Aeryn while I show you footage of the battle of Halo. Meanwhile Aeryn can wait with her weapons powered up, if anything goes wrong, she can open fire. I know that still leaves you exposed but I cannot think of anything else."

"Well Aeryn," John said, "what do you think?"

"No frelling way," she replied, "I did not come back just to lose you again."

John decided not to push the point, "Sorry Chief, that is not acceptable…" he paused, "umm, Chief are you EVA capable?"

"Yes," the Master Chief responded, "but that solves nothing. Neither of your crafts is large enough to accommodate the three of us, which still leaves me alone with one of you."

"Not quite," John replied. "I do not plan on you entering either of our ships. Just you leaving yours, then I can board and check out your story. When I give the word, Aeryn will come aboard as well, then you can reenter. What do you think?"

"Still not good enough John," Aeryn responded.

"Last on board my own ship? This is ridiculous, but I guess I do not have much choice. I am up for it if Aeryn is." The Master Chief responded, not understanding Aeryn's response.

"Come on Aeryn," John pleaded, his fatigue evident in his voice.

Not in much of a position to be picky, for John's health was paramount, Aeryn agreed. John needed food and soon. His module contained neither the supplies nor equipment to sustain him for long periods of time. "Very well."

Half an arn later, all three were aboard the Master Chief's spacefighter. John was not sure what amazed him most. The battle of Halo, the realization that over 500 years had passed since he left Earth, or the impressive piece of Earth technology that confronted him now. Once again it was Aeryn who cut through his hesitation, demanding answers to why this thing that claimed to be human was packed into such bizarre battle armor.

The Master Chief explained Spartan II protocols. He spoke of infants that were genetically screened and the most promising were trained from birth to be soldiers. Once they reached adulthood they were cyberneticly joined to the most advanced combat gear known to man, Mjolnir armor. The Spartan II commandos did not even have names, but they were the greatest fighting force mankind had ever created. The Master Chief could tell that the alien woman was impressed with the technology but he detected an almost pained expression when he described his upbringing. He let it slide though, since there were more important matters at hand.

The trio discussed their options as far as reaching some inhabited planet. Option after option was rejected. Then, John struck gold. "The communications panel in my module has been heavily modified with Moya's components. If we can use one or both of your communications systems to boost the signal we might be able to contact and convince a wild leviathan to help us out."

"That is a long shot, but I don't think the Chief will fit into my prowler. I guess it is our best chance. Besides, a Leviathan would have translator microbes, which would finally allow me to communicate with the Chief directly." Aeryn said.

"Well Aeryn is in. How about you Chief? You up for some zero-g modifications to your little fighter here?" John asked.

The Master Chief responded, "Your space. And you seem to know what you are doing. Ok, let's do it." Then, he hesitated before saying, "John, while we are making these modifications could you please tell me more about who you are, how you got out here, and what the heck a Leviathan is."

John laughed, "Sorry man, guess I forgot my manners. Name is John Crichton, IASA researcher and test pilot. I was participating in an IASA experiment when I got shot through a wormhole and ended up all the way out here. I made a lot of friends right off the bat, including the Radiant Aeryn Sun here, and the Leviathan ship Moya. Now, Let's get started on what kind of modifications we need to make, and I can tell you more about life out here in the Uncharted Territories while we work."

<><><><>

The modifications had taken about four arns to complete. Now all 3 ships were wired together and broadcasting what John hoped was a Leviathan distress signal. The Master Chief and Cortana, who had not yet revealed her presence, were still trying to digest the information Crichton had given them during the work. Wormholes, Peacekeepers, vast empires, thousands, maybe even millions of different races of aliens, living ships, with a limited jump capability called Starburst, but it was better than any other local technology, and Earth, a half a millennium older than when Crichton left it. John was also deep in thought, digesting the information, which the Master Chief had provided to him. An alliance of alien races, with superior numbers and technology, was bent on destroying humanity and Earth, An Earth that was half a millennium older than when he had left it.

Aeryn watched John, and the other human, the one with no name, only a rank. The story of his life had sent shivers through her. He had been raised like a Peacekeeper. No family, no life of his own, only some lofty ideals, and promises from his superiors that his death would have meaning. Yet, there was a difference, she reminded herself. The culture and values that this man's comrades had died to protect was real, and if John was any indication she felt certain that the promises made to the Spartans were not as empty as the ones made to her and her former comrades.

Cortana watched them all, from inside the Master Chief's visor. This was incredible. She had been designed with the protection of humanity as her foremost goal, but ever since the Covenant invaders arrived, her projections had always ended in her failing to successfully carry out her primary directive. To merely accept this would have been despair, or as close to it as she was going to get, but she persisted, in "hoping" so with each new piece of data, each new possibility, she would redesign her projections, attempt to seek out a path whereby humanity could be preserved. It had seemed at first that Halo was that crucial piece of data, but when Halo had turned out to be a dead end, she continued on. Incapable of boredom, Cortana continued to work and rework her projections. As long as one human survived, she would never accept that she could not successfully accomplish her directive. There was yet a chance that the program would not end in a fatal error. Perhaps out here, in these Uncharted Territories, as John Crichton called them, they could find an ally, or a weapon that would allow them to defeat the Covenant. Just then one of her subroutines signaled its completion, a question on a different topic had developed. She relayed it to the Master Chief. "These living ships, these Leviathans, how intelligent are they?" the Master Chief asked.

"They can think, and feel. They care for their passengers' well being, and that of their offspring. They are sentient, if that is what you want to know." John responded, not quite sure of the point of the question.

"So they pilot themselves then, no captain or crew needed?" He asked. John smiled, seeing the Chief's point, "Sorry Chief, I forgot to mention the Pilots to you."

"Pilots?" the Master Chief asked, confused.

"Pilots are a very special race that is capable of forming a symbiotic mental and physical bond with a Leviathan.The Pilot serves as a go between for the Leviathan and any passengers it may carry."

"Will the wild Leviathan you are hoping to attract have one of these Pilots?" asked the Master Chief.

"Dren. Uhh, good question. Aeryn, what do you think?" John said.

"Most wild Leviathans do not have Pilots. From what I remember, the Peacekeepers had a deal with the Pilot homeworld. We "protected them from outside aggressors" and they provided us with a small number of Pilots each cycle for any Leviathans we captured." She paused, not sure if she should continue then, "Velorek went outside the regular channels to procure our Pilot, because he was planning to kill his predecessor. If the Pilots had found out about that, it could have lead to open revolt."

John nodded in understanding then turned back to the Master Chief, "Aeryn says it is unlikely that a wild Leviathan would have a Pilot. Which could be a major problem. Frell, how are we supposed to get a Leviathan to help us if we cannot communicate with it?"

"We may have to use our other plan and have me transport the two of you to the nearest commerce planet aboard my prowler, tight fit for the Chief notwithstanding." Aeryn replied.

"No," said John, "remember, plan B's are for pansies. I am sure we can find a way to make this work."

Just then the proximity sensors onboard the Chief's fighter starting pinging. He checked the monitors and punched a few buttons, bringing a picture of Leviathan onscreen. Aeryn and John looked it over, and then at each other. She could tell he was thinking the same thing. He noticed her expression, too. He spoke to the Master Chief, "Odd, that is a baby Leviathan."

"A baby? Just how big do these things get?" the Master Chief asked, slightly shocked at just how large this thing might grow to be, "and, can it help us?"

"It might be able to ," John replied, "but considering its youth makes it even less likely that it has a Pilot. Besides, something must be wrong. A Leviathan that young should still be with its mother."

"Well sitting here gawking at it is not going to accomplish anything. Let's go check it out." Responded the Master Chief.

"Assuming it lets us on board at all. Remember we have been broadcasting a fake Leviathan distress signal." Aeryn pointed out. "It may not respond well to being tricked."

"What?" the Master Chief responded.

"Aeryn thinks the Leviathan may be upset about us using a fake distress signal to lure it here." John answered

"Well I guess we better go find out." The Master Chief said and hit the button that released the communications links between the three ships and started to pilot his fighter towards the Leviathan.

"Keep you weapons powered down. Let's try not to spook it. If it is going to let us in, it should catch us in a docking web in about 30 microts." John said.

"Docking web?"

"Kind of like a tractor beam. Star trek?" John replied, "It will grab the ship and guide it to the hangar floor for a controlled landing."

The Master Chief nodded his understanding. 20 microts later he released the controls and nodded at John again. The docking web had them.

"Well at least that was a good sign. The Leviathan appeared to be friendly. Either that or it was going to lure them onboard where it could more effectively attack them," Aeryn thought. She regretted not waiting outside in her prowler to forestall just such an eventuality. It was too late now, she decided. Besides, she was not going to leave John, not again.

Within a hundred microts they heard a thud that indicated they had touched down on the hangar floor. The Master Chief looked at them and said, "Sensors indicate breathable atmosphere."

"Well, let's go meet the welcome wagon." John said and headed towards the exit hatch. The other two followed his lead. Outside, John was stunned by what he saw. Nothing. The hangar was almost empty of anything except the Master Chief's fighter. This really was a young Leviathan. Even on a wild leviathan this space should have been utilized for some kind of storage, or at least fitted with shelves and docking points. This Leviathan though, was almost totally bare, and not even a DRD around. He looked over at Aeryn and could tell she must be thinking the same thing. "So where do we go first, the Pilot's chamber or Command?" He asked.

Aeryn took a moment then said, "Command. If this Leviathan had a Pilot, he would have contacted us by now."

John looked at the Master Chief, "OK, command it is. Officer Sun, would you care to lead the way?" He said with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

She smiled, "Why thank you Commander Crichton. I would be delighted to." And with that the trio headed off in search of the young Leviathan's command center.

Once they arrived in Command the group looked around. The main viewscreen was operational, showing John's module and Aeryn's prowler still floating in space. The clamshell was in place, but there was no holo of a Pilot to greet them. Only two consoles were fully formed, though the nubs of several others could be seen around the room. The room itself was also substantially smaller than Moya's Command. Of course all this was to be expected. John, turned to Aeryn, "Hey could you go check the Pilot's chamber just to be sure while I see if I can do anything with these consoles."

Aeryn nodded her agreement and took off at a run, as John began to look over the controls. Life support, shuttle-bay doors, communications, navigation, propulsion, and a few others he was not sure about. All the indicators looked good so he decided to experiment. He flipped a switch that should have caused the lights to dim, and dim they did. He smiled and flipped them back up. "What are you doing?" the Master Chief asked.

"Just trying to see what I have to work with. Now to check the propulsion system." John replied as he grabbed a lever and started to pull it back. At first the Leviathan started to move forward, but then it stopped, shook violently, and settled back into position. John frowned, "Well that's not good." he said, "It will not let me steer."

"So now what?" The Master Chief asked.

<><><>

"Okay Chief, enough secrecy.They cannot communicate with this Leviathan. If anybody has a chance, it is me. So, come clean." Cortana said to the Master Chief.

"Not yet," he told her, "at least wait until Aeryn gets back. The ship may have a Pilot after all." The Master Chief responded firmly.

<><><>

Just then Aeryn ran in, slightly out of breath. "I checked the Pilot's chamber. This Leviathan definitely has no Pilot. The chamber is not even fully formed yet. And what the frell was all that shaking?"

"Sorry about that Aeryn," John replied, "I wanted to see if it would let me steer, but it had other ideas." Then he turned to the Master Chief, "Aeryn says no Pilot."

"Well this was a colossal waste of time," Aeryn replied.

Reluctantly John nodded his head in agreement, "I have to agree with Aeryn. This ship will not let us steer and it cannot communicate. It can be of no help to us. We had best try something else."

"Wait," the Master Chief said, pausing as if coming to a decision. "Does this ship have some kind of computer? Something we could interface with, that might allow us to communicate with the Leviathan?"

"It does have a computer of sorts," John said, "but a Leviathan is very different from a mechanical space ship. It is a lot more like a horse, or other domesticated animal, in that it actually has its own thoughts, desires, and emotions, as opposed to just a bunch of pre-programmed control procedures. Do not the analogy fool you though, Leviathans are every bit as intelligent as we are, they just have a little trouble communicating."

"Even so, I think if we can find a way to interface with the computer, and upload my AI, Cortana, she might be able to communicate with the Leviathan." The Master Chief came clean. "The last time I mentioned Cortana I deliberately downplayed her capabilities. Cortana is more than just an AI program. She is a fully sentient, highly intelligent, and extremely adaptable AI construct. Before the battle of Halo, Cortana was in charge of the day-today operations of the Pillar of Autumn. Once the Pillar of Autumn was destroyed she was indispensable to me in helping me survive the guerrilla war that I waged across the ringworld's surface. I believe that if we can upload her into the Leviathan's systems, she should be able to establish communications with it."

John and Aeryn just stared at him, a look of surprise on their faces at this new piece of information. He spoke quickly before they had time to react, "I am sorry I misled you, but protecting Cortana is the only mission objective from the battle that I was able to successfully accomplish. Even if there were not strict protocols regarding revealing information about an AI construct, the week I spent on Halo was the worst of my life. I saw dozens of fellow soldiers die trying to make sure I would survive to complete the mission, and tens of thousands of others died across Halo before the battle ended. Then, as if that were not enough, that infernal Plague reanimated their bodies. I was forced to kill the men who a short time before had died to insure mine and Cortana's safety." The Master Chief trailed off, grief was evident in his voice. He had not meant to be so open, but the emotions he had held in check for so long, just seemed to wash over him for a time. He quickly regained his composure and became all soldier again, and stared back at his tenuous allies hopefully. Aeryn again shivered at how much like a Peacekeeper he was. He buried his emotions under his training and shut them out by focusing on the mission, but not quite she reminded herself. No peacekeeper would ever become as emotional about his mission objectives as the Master Chief was about protecting Cortana, and she was not even alive. Aeryn was forced to smile. Once again a human had helped to show her the depths of the corruption that made a mockery of the high ideals that the Peacekeepers claimed to stand for. She turned to John, "I think we can trust him, John."

John paused for a moment to digest what Aeryn had just said. For last 15 microts he had been waiting for her to launch into a tirade about treachery and keeping secrets. He wondered what it was that suddenly moved her to be so forgiving. For now though he just nodded in agreement, deciding to trust her on it, and said to the Chief, "Okay, I think that might work, but from now on no more secrets." Then he turned to Aeryn and noted her nod of agreement. The Master Chief's relief was evident, "Great, now how do I interface with the computer?"

"You?" Asked John, "I thought you were going to upload this Cortana."

The Master Chief smiled ruefully, "No more secrets," he said under his breath, and then continued aloud to Aeryn and Crichton. "Sandwiched deep within the layers of my armor is a crystalline network with the data storage and processing power necessary to sustain an AI construct. It is often said that the ability to carry an AI construct is the most dangerous weapon in my arsenal. After the battle of Halo, where Cortana's abilities and ideas saved my life on many occasions, I whole-heartedly agree."

John nodded, thinking fast, "Well I do not think you will be able to create a stable connection directly from your suit to the main computer. We'll have to go scavenge some parts from your fighter and my module, jury-rig something with modified parts from my module and some from your fighter to effectively create a bridge from bio-mechanoid to primitive human, to advanced human, and finally to Spartan II technology."

"That just might work," the Master Chief agreed, "but the first thing we need to do is get your module and Aeryn's prowler, on board, in case this little guy gets bored of floating dead in space." The others nodded their agreement and they set off towards the hangar bay to get to work.

When they were landing Aeryn's prowler and John's module, John was again struck by how small the Leviathan was. The hangars on Moya had been massive, bringing the Farscape I in had been like being the first person to arrive at a shopping mall parking lot. There was so much space to choose from. However, this little leviathan was so small, Aeryn and John's ships made a tight fit in the bay on one side of the ship, while the Chief's fighter was so bulky that there was no room for another ship in the bay where he was docked. Once the ships were all aboard they scavenged the components and tools that they thought they might need and headed up to command to get to work.

It only took about an arn to rig up the bridging device and then they were all set to begin. "Wait," the Master Chief said, "Cortana wants to know how she is supposed to communicate with us once she is inside the computer."

"How are you communicating now?" asked John.

"The hardware she resides on feeds directly into my neural interface, so we essentially have a mind-link, but I cannot stay wired to this console forever." The Master Chief answered.

"Clamshells." Aeryn said.

"Huh," responded Crichton, blankly, then realization dawned and he turned to the Master Chief, "once she gets inside, tell her to try and interface with the clamshells." Then noting the Master Chief's blank expression, he continued, gesturing towards the device attached to one of the consoles, "That is a holographic imager. On Moya Pilot used it to communicate with people since he was unable to leave his chamber. On occasion he also put other images on it so I know it can be done. Cortana just has to find the right subsystem."

"Okay," the Master Chief responded, and jacked himself into the Leviathan's command console. For a moment there was silence, then he frowned. "Cortana says there is something in the computer that is resisting her intrusion."

"That would be the Leviathan. Remember it is conscious, much like we are." Aeryn said.

"Aeryn says that is probably the Leviathan's consciousness she is encountering." John repeated.

The Master Chief nodded and was silent for several minutes more. Suddenly the clamshell flickered to life. The image of a slim, but shapely, woman, about 6 inches tall appeared on the clamshell. "Hello, Officer Sun. Commander Crichton. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Cortana. My apologies for the earlier deception, but the Master Chief has not made it this far by taking chances."

"It is alright," said Aeryn, "we understand."

"Aeryn says she does not mind," John repeated, concealing his bewilderment, still not able to fathom why Aeryn had been so uncharacteristically forgiving about the deception.

"So have you been able to establish communication with the Leviathan?" he asked.

"I have managed to figure out a few of the subsystems, mostly by trial and error, but I still cannot communicate with the Leviathan. I think it is starting to resent my intrusion," Cortana replied.

"I was afraid of that," Aeryn replied, "No matter how smart of an AI she is, Cortana does not have translator microbes, and she is not communicating with the Leviathan through the Pilots console, the way a Pilot is supposed to."

"If I had some kind of way to create at least the basis for a common understanding, I believe my translation protocols could successfully allow me to communicate with the Leviathan." Cortana suggested.

They all paused for a moment. John spoke first, "What if we feed all the data from our ship's computers into the Leviathan, maybe by processing that data it can get a better idea of who we are, and that might allow it to communicate with us."

"That just might work," Aeryn said.

The Master Chief paused, "It had not come up or I would have mentioned it, but as part of the means by which Cortana achieves sentience she has a massive quantity of data concerning human civilization and culture. In fact that data is one of the main reasons why not allowing her to be captured was so important, whoever found her would have a roadmap straight to earth."

John nodded, realizing that the Chief might just be a greater link to Earth than he had first imagined. "Okay you and Cortana share the information in her data stores, while Aeryn and I got get the data cores from our ships to add to the mix." With that he and Aeryn headed out the door towards the hangar where their ships were located. Cortana looked at the Master Chief, and began excitedly, "This technology really is astonishing. The whole ship is alive…" she trailed off when she saw the Master Chief's expression, "Right, decompressing the database, what information should I feed it first?"

"Show it the events leading to our arrival here, starting with when the Captain told you to attempt to throw off our pursuers with the blind jump." The Master Chief answered. After a few moments, Cortana smiled, "It no longer appears to be resisting my presence. I think this might work." Just then Aeryn and John returned carrying two odd crystalline objects, which they placed in data ports next to the one the Master Chief had been wired into. "Cortana says she thinks this may be working," the Chief relayed. Just then, the main viewscreen stopped projecting empty space and instead showed an image of fully-grown Leviathan. "Is that what this thing will look like fully-grown?" he asked. When Aeryn nodded her assent, he said, "My god that is huge."

"That must be this Leviathan's mother," Aeryn said, surreptitiously placing a hand to her own belly.

From the corner of his eye, John noticed Aeryn's stance and smiled quietly to himself. John nodded, and relayed the information to the Chief. It then became evident that the picture on screen was no picture, but a recording, as a squad of prowlers suddenly swooped in on the Leviathan. The image panned to show that the mother and her child had been surrounded by Peacekeepers. Suddenly the mother accelerated into the largest ship in the encircling ring. A marauder fired an immobilizer pulse but it was too late. The vessel the mother leviathan had targeted was rammed; going at least hetch two, and explosions began to ripple through both ships. A stricken look appeared on Aeryn's face as she realized that the mother had sacrificed herself to break the encirclement so that her baby could escape. The screen crackled blue for a microt, and when it cleared, only empty space was onscreen. The baby turned and started off at a high speed.

John half smiled, "You've seen one Leviathan, you've seen 'em all," he said. When both the Master Chief and Aeryn gave him a questioning look, he explained, "The baby is going back to the scene of the attack. Our Leviathan, Moya, once pulled a similar maneuver after being forced to leave others behind and flee a confrontation" Aeryn nodded her agreement, and the Master Chief nodded to indicate understanding, even though it was obvious he was still a little confused.

As the drama onscreen unfolded, the young Leviathan retrieved as much of his mother's remains as it could gather and took them to the Sacred Space. After it had dropped them it just kind of hung in space for a while. Then the screen changed to show, a Leviathan getting rammed by another Leviathan. "Hey I bet that is Moya." John said. The viewscreen played out the events of the deadly run-in with the rogue Leviathan, from the initial attack to D'Argo's complete obliteration of the creature. It even picked up most of the sound from Moya's comms, providing an impromptu narration of the battle, which John obligingly translated for the Master Chief. The footage continued as it showed Aeryn leaving in her prowler, and for a microt an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. It soon passed though as they stared in amazement as Moya was sucked into a wormhole and disappeared.

"So this little guy has been following us the whole time?" John asked, amazement still evident in his voice.

Just then Cortana cut in, "Okay I think we have established a basic level of communication. Evidently the Leviathan is pretty upset about losing his mother. He wants to help us because he knows John and Aeryn have killed Peacekeepers before."

John sighed, "Our reputation precedes us, yet again. Okay, see if this guy has any translator microbes that we can administer to the Master Chief here, and start scanning your star-charts. Look for the nearest commerce planet. We are going to need supplies. Plus, with the sensor data this guy collected and the right equipment we might be able to figure out where Moya ended up."

Cortana did nothing. Then the Master Chief spoke, "I hate to sound like an opportunistic power monger, but Cortana is military. She is only accustomed to taking orders from me. Yet, I believe that if you phrase your desires in the form of a request that you should get better results."

John nodded, "That makes sense. I may have been a little out-of-line as well. I am just used to talking to Pilot like that is all." Then he turned to Cortana, "Cortana, could you please ask the Leviathan if it has any translator microbes for the Chief. Also we should head for the nearest commerce planet. We are going to need supplies, food if nothing else. Oh and by the way, could you ask the little guy if he has a name? Come to think of it, we do not even know if it is a boy or a girl."

Cortana replied, "Our host says that his mother was killed before she could name him. However, he wishes to choose a name for himself. He wishes to be known as Talyn II." Aeryn made a sharp intake of breath and John frowned slightly. Once again the Master Chief felt out of the loop.

John filled him in, "Moya's offspring was named Talyn. He was the result of a Peacekeeper genetic experiment that caused him to possess armament, which no Leviathan ever has before. Talyn died destroying a Peacekeeper Command Carrier."

When John had finished, Cortana spoke. "I think I found the translator microbes. Talyn II is sending some kind of drone to command with them right now."

"DRD," John said, with a hint of amusement in his voice, "I wonder where he got that from so early in his life."

"He says that it was a gift from his mother, and to please be careful not to damage it, as he only has the one." Cortana answered.

Just then the little yellow drone zipped into the room, went straight up to the Master Chief then paused. "Talyn II says he cannot inject the Master Chief through his armor. You are going to have to pick him up and let him stick you in the neck." Cortana explained. The Master Chief did as she suggested, his battle-hardened features not registering even a hint of pain when injected. He carefully put the little DRD down and turned to Aeryn expectantly.

"Any luck on finding a commerce planet yet Cortana?" Aeryn asked.

Amazement registered in the Chief's eyes as he said, "Hey I really can understand you. Incredible."

Cortana on the other hand paused for a moment, then said, "unlike the Chief I do not have microbes, but between my own translating capabilities, Talyn II and the information from your prowler's computer I am beginning to develop an understanding of your language." Then she paused for a moment then said, "If my understanding of Talyn II's optimal speed is correct, there is a commerce planet that we can reach in a few days."

End of Part I, more to come. :)
IBgrad

Keeper of Chiana's gray traveling cloak

"I don't want to kill him, I just want revenge." -D'Argo

Remember to feed the fic-writer: IBgrad@netscape.net