holli

Recently on Buffistas, someone said that Farscape ficwriters have a unique challenge, because whatever hell they put the characters through will probably not be half as bad as the hell they go through on the show. And I said that the real challenge would probably be to write a plausible, lasting happy ending. And then a plot bunny escaped from the hutch and took up permanent residence in my brain.

So now I'm writing it. A happy ending, and what comes after-- how a happy ending's not enough for those who didn't help make it. It's gonna be epic, and long as hell, and I don't know how it's gonna turn out. Right now I only have snippets, all out of order, but I'm gonna write this damn thing.

I wake up in a strange med bay, and nearly give the tech leaning over me a stroke.

"Gaah!" He leaps backward, and stumbles over his own feet. I sit up and lean forward, giving him an amused look.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

He stands, salvages what dignity he can. He's kinda cute, in an overly-regimented sort of way. "It's all right. Now, I'm to ask you some questions..." It's obvious he's got a script to follow, orders to say certain things, but I'm out of patience.

"That's fine, but I have some of my own. Where am I, and who the frell are you? I arrived, and the convoy was gone, and there was this big frelling battle-- who was fighting who? The Assembly hasn't had reports of unrest in this part of space for cycles-- that's why Dad agreed to send me in the first place--"

He looks confused. "Well, I'm Med Trainee Karda, and you're on a Vigilante-class cruiser, but as to the rest I don't have the first idea what you're talking about. I've never heard of any assembly, and we've been fighting over this territory for monens."

Goddess, they've even kept the old rank designations. I know they're supposed to be backward out here, but it's like he thinks he's a real Peacekeeper. "Who were you fighting?"

"The Scarrans, of course. Who else would we be fighting, in this part of space?"

I gape at him. He doesn't seem to realize that what he's said makes absofrellinglutely no sense at all. He's farboht if he expacts me to believe it, but he's looking at me like I'm the farboht one for being so surprised.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I have orders to bring you to the ranking officer on duty as soon as you're fit to go. No one tells the likes of me anything, of course, but I think you've caused something of an uproar."

Now I'm even more confused. "Why? This visit's been planned for months, and it's been even more high-profile since I signed on to lead the delegation."

"What delegation?"

"From the Assembly! Look, don't you know who I am?"

"No. Never seen you before in my life. Should I have?"

"Unless you've been living under a rock a million metras past the edges of Known Space, yes! I'm Lyn Crichton! This visit was top story on every news net from here to Katratze!"

He just stares, uncomprehending, and I get a sinking feeling that I am not where I'm supposed to be.