2.20 - With Friends Like These...
(Liars, Guns and Money: Part 2)

Scorpius captures Jothee before Moya and her crew can arrive and offers to trade him for John. While part of the crew searches for mercenaries to attack the Shadow Depository the rest are horrified to learn that the money they have stolen is really a colony of metal eating parasites which are now destroying Moya.

Every time I think that there's more to you than a pair of pushed up loomers in a corset you disappoint me! - Dominar Rygel XVI
Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment. - Chiana

Forever the optimist. - Aeryn Sun
Yeah, it's a common human trait... in humans with a death wish. - John Crichton

There are vast areas of your brain that are filled with nothing but... gibberish. - Scorpius
That would be high school. - John Crichton

What the frell? It's gone! - Dominar Rygel XVI
Someone's beaten us to it! - Chiana
But who? Crichton's too... honorable. - Dominar Rygel XVI
Aeryn's too dull. - Chiana
D'Argo's too... - Dominar Rygel XVI
Say it. - Chiana
Simple? - Dominar Rygel XVI
Well, yeah. But, he's not a thief. - Chiana
Someone is. We've been robbed. - Dominar Rygel XVI

It's easier to reform when you're rich. - Bekhesh

You win. - John Crichton
As if there was ever any doubt. - Scorpius

Chiana and Rygel are together somewhere on Moya and getting drunk. Both are upset that they have so much money but won't be able to keep any of it. Chiana thinks they may be able to keep some for themselves but Rygel isn't so sure.

Elsewhere, D'Argo is talking with Aeryn. He is upset that he sent his son away to be safe but he wound up a slave. Aeryn points out that if he had not then his son would have been killed. D'Argo is still upset that he was not there for his son while he was growing up.

Pilot interrupts them to say that they are within range of the slave auction. D'Argo goes to Command to contact the slavers.

There, he does so only to find out that the lot of slaves containing his son has already been sold. When he asks who bought the lot of slaves they receive a recorded message from Scorpius. Scorpius tells them that he has D'Argo's son and will kill him unless they turn John over to him.

John is stunned and asks how Scorpius knew about D'Argo's son and the auction. Stark says that the information was only stored in his data console but admits that Scorpius did try to trace it during the break-in of the Depository. He thought he had blocked the trace. He also says that all of the other slaves in the lot were Baniks; his species.

D'Argo becomes enraged and rips a console out of the deck and throws it across Command. He tells John that it is his fault. John is stunned and asks why. D'Argo responds that if he had supported him from the beginning then they would have gotten the money and been gone before Scorpius arrived. He stalks from the room, roughly shoving John aside as he does.
He pauses at the door. "I can't lose Jothee, not again." he says to John, angrily. "Not like this."
D'Argo leaves. John looks stunned.

Back in his quarters, D'Argo "sees" his son standing before him. His vision of his son accuses him of failing him again and tells him that he knows what he has to do. D'Argo says he can't and his son says he has to decide who means the most to him.

Chiana arrives, interrupting his inner conflict. She says she heard what happened and knows how D'Argo feels. D'Argo says there is more she does not know; for a moment he was ready to take John by force and deliver him to Scorpius. Chiana is stunned that he would do that to his friend but D'Argo points out that his son is his family and all he has left of his wife.

Meanwhile, back at the Shadow Depository, Scorpius, Natira and their assistants are discussing the slave auction. They have been forced to buy the entire lot of 10,000 slaves in order to get D'Argo's son. One of Natira's assistants suggests selling the other slaves to cover their losses. Scorpius asks if any of the other slaves are a "Stykera"; he needs to replace the one who escaped from his Gammak Base. Apparently none of them are.

Still angry, Scorpius tells Braca to send a Marauder to get D'Argo's son. He then tells the others that he doesn't care about the other slaves and that they can do whatever they want with them.

Back on Moya, Pilot is having a DRD show Aeryn evidence of "metal fatigue" that Moya has started to experience. She finds a hole in the deck but cannot determine what is causing it.

John arrives and tells her that D'Argo is angry and blames him for losing his son. But he also says that because of the neural clone he knows a bit of how Scorpius thinks and knows that Scorpius will be taking D'Argo's son to the Depository. He also says he has a plan. Aeryn seems dubious of this but follows him off.

After they leave, one of the metallic spiders enters the hole in the deck and begins to secrete more acid.

Later, everyone is gathered on Command while John explains his plan. He says they need more firepower to storm the Depository than they have so they need to get help. He says they need a Vorcarian Blood Tracker so that they can find D'Argo's son no matter where he is hidden in the Depository, a Sheyang since they can produce a flame that can melt through metal, a Tavlek (which he continues to call a "Tavloid") for their Gauntlet weapons and the Zenetan pirates for their Flax net. He says they will use the money they had planned to buy the slaves with to hire the beings he mentioned as mercenaries, use them to attack the Depository and rescue D'Argo's son.

(Note: As John mentions each species we see a brief scene from the earlier episode in which they first appeared.)

Stark suddenly starts screaming, calling John's name and saying that all of "them" are dead. They eventually get him to calm down enough to find out that all of the Banik slaves have apparently just been killed. D'Argo is concerned since his son was with the other slaves but John is able to convince him that Scorpius would not have killed him. He then says that they can rescue D'Argo's son but that they have to start immediately.

Shortly thereafter, we see a transport pod, Aeryn's prowler and the Farscape 1 all leaving Moya and flying off in different directions. Over the comms, John tells Zhaan that if he is not back in two days to tell Scorpius where he went and that he will trade D'Argo's son for that information.

John then "sees" Scorpius sitting in the back of his module. The Scorpius he sees is surprised; John was not supposed to be able to contact the neural clone that way. John says that he now knows what Scorpius is thinking and that he will use that knowledge to defeat him. The Scorpius clone seems unimpressed.

Back in the Depository, Braca reports to Scorpius and says that the Marauder with D'Argo's son is on its way. Scorpius still seems less than happy but tells Braca to bring D'Argo's son to him as soon as he arrives. Braca and Natira's assistant leave.

Natira tries to calm Scorpius down and asks why John is so important to him. He tells her it is because John destroyed his Gammak Base but she responds that he would never direct his revenge at anyone other than a Scarran. Scorpius admits that she knows him too well and the two kiss

Meanwhile, on Moya, Chiana enters the cargo bay carrying a blowtorch. She is inspecting the containers when Rygel arrives. They both accuse the other of planning on stealing the money but then agree that they will take a little bit and split it between the two of them.

Chiana opens the container and finds it empty and with a hole in the bottom.

"What the frell?" says Rygel in surprise. "It's gone!"
"Someone's beaten us to it!" responds Chiana.
"But, who?" asks Rygel. He starts listing possibilities. "Crichton's too honorable."
"Aeryn's too dull." adds Chiana
"D'Argo's too..." Rygel begins then stops.
"Say it." she tells him.
Rygel pauses a moment. "Simple?" he says, finally.
"Well, yeah." Chiana agrees. "But he's not a thief."
"Someone is." Rygel points out. "We've been robbed!"

There is a sudden sound of tearing metal and Chiana falls with a scream through the deck. She finds herself on the level below, surrounded by the metallic spiders. She activates the blowtorch and they flee. Rygel looks down on her through the hole and asks what the creatures were.
"Our money's alive!" says Chiana in shock.
"You realize what this means?" asks Rygel.
"They're eating the ship!" Chiana yells at him.
"Yes." Rygel says sadly. "But we're poor."

Elsewhere, the Farscape 1 arrives at a planet. On the surface a cloaked figure enters a ruin and, placing a prayer mat on the ground, begins to chant. John comes up behind the figure and knocks him out, revealing the figure to be the Tavlek, Bekhesh. John attempts to remove the Gauntlet from Bekhesh and discovers that he is not wearing it.

Later, Bekhesh is conscious again and John is asking about the Gauntlet. Bekhesh says that recently they captured a priest. They eventually killed him but Bekhesh kept his book and started reading it. He has now decided to devote his life to peace and to repent of his earlier actions. He removed his Gauntlet since it was an instrument of violence and will not tell John where it is for the same reason.

Back on Moya, Zhaan is examining a piece of decking which has been melted. Rygel is concerned that they are in danger of a hull breach and Pilot reports that the creatures are attacking Moya's sense filaments and that she is in pain. He also says that he has tried to flush the creatures into space but that they are too firmly attached to Moya and seem to be unaffected by the vacuum. Zhaan says she cannot do anything without one of the creatures to examine.

Chiana is stalking one of the creatures with a large gun. She shoots a blob of viscous fluid at it but misses.

Rygel attacks Stark, saying that it is Stark's fault since he picked the container to steal. Stark counters that Rygel was the one actually in the vault. Zhaan breaks the fight up.

Chiana finally captures one of the creatures by shooting it a point-blank range.

By this time Aeryn has located a Sheyang vessel. She hails it but receives no response. She then goes on board and finds that the ship is badly damaged and has been abandoned by all of its crew except for the captain, Teurac. She explains their plan but says that she doesn't think he can help them. He responds by breathing a fireball past her. She seems unimpressed.

On another planet, two Vorcarian Blood Trackers are fleeing down a trail. They stop when they come upon D'Argo, who shoots the two Peacekeepers who were chasing them.

The Vorcarian's are Rorg and Rorf. Rorf tells him that they had been hired by the Peacekeepers to track down deserters but had abandoned the job when they discovered Rorg was pregnant. The Peacekeepers were after them because they had kept half the money.

D'Argo explains their plan but Rorf says they cannot help. He is interrupted by Rorg who says that D'Argo saved their lives and so they will help D'Argo save his son. Besides, she adds, they need the money. She says she will hide in the hills to give birth while Rorf goes with D'Argo. He reluctantly agrees.

John is still trying to convince Bekhesh to help them. Bekhesh is still chanting. John tell him he will start suffering withdrawal from the Gauntlet soon.

Back at the Depository, D'Argo's son Jothee arrives and is met by Braca and one of Natira's assistants. Braca notes that Jothee is half Luxan and half Sebacean and comments that despite the efforts of Peacekeeper command that more half-breeds like him are born every cycle. Scorpius arrives and asks Braca if he has something against half-breeds, to Braca's discomfort.

Jothee asks what Scorpius is and is told that he is half Sebacean and half Scarran; that a Scarran raped his mother. Jothee is then asked if a Luxan raped his mother. Jothee says no but that his mother was killed by a Sebacean. Scorpius finds it amusing that Jothee hates both Luxans and Sebaceans and tells Jothee to hope that his father still loves him.

On Moya, Zhaan is testing the creature that Chiana caught. Since the creatures fled from Chiana's blowtorch she is trying to kill it using heat. She is eventually able to do so but the heat required is higher than Moya is capable of producing.

They are interrupted by a communication from Scorpius. Scorpius demands to speak with John and D'Argo. Zhaan says they cannot trust him to honor any bargain since he has tried to sabotage their ship. Scorpius seems confused and asks what they mean.

Before she can reply Stark steps in front of her and lets Scorpius see him. He tells Scorpius that since he killed all of the Banik slaves he will never let him have John. He then tells Scorpius to go ahead and kill Jothee since he means nothing to him. He then removes his mask and the light shining from his face disrupts the communication.

Zhaan and Chiana are angry with Stark and say he has condemned Jothee to death. Stark says that he knows Scorpius better and that Scorpius will not harm Jothee since he believes Stark to be insane. He says that he interrupted them because if Scorpius knew they were in trouble he would attack. The other are unconvinced and Chiana tells him that if Jothee dies then she will save D'Argo the trouble and kill Stark herself.

The argument is interrupted by a temporary power loss. Pilot tells them that the creatures are now attacking Moya's power cells and that if they do not find a way to stop them then Moya could die.

In the Depository, Scorpius and Natira are... recreating; Scorpius' cooling rod chamber popping open and emitting smoke at the climatic moment. As Natira moves to replace his cooling rod he asks her what was in the containers that were meant for him. She admits that the containers held "Karack Metalites" which look like borinium ingots in their dormant phase but are really metal eating parasites.

Scorpius asks her if she had intended for the metalites to destroy his ship, killing him. She admits that she had, saying that he would not have respected her otherwise. He does not seem very surprised or angered by this revelation.

Instead, he asks her how long it will take the metalites to destroy a Leviathan. She says that Moya will be dead in about eight days.

Still on the planet, John is still attempting to get Bekhesh to tell him where the Gauntlet is. Bekhesh is apparently suffering from withdrawal but still refuses to tell him. However he glances at the spot where the Gauntlet is hidden and John finds and retrieves it.

Bekhesh immediately demands the Gauntlet but John reminds him that he has used a Gauntlet himself before and so doesn't need Bekhesh. Bekhesh says that he has increased the dosage on the Gauntlet and that it will kill John if he tries to use it. He tells John he will come with him.
"What about your great reformation?" asks John.
Bekhesh shrugs. "It's easier to reform when you're rich."

Back on Moya, Zhaan has come up with a plan and is explaining it to Pilot. They will flood the infected areas of Moya with a flammable vapor. When it has completely spread through the areas, they will ignite it. The resulting flame will destroy all of the creatures. Pilot is dubious, saying that the infected area is now almost a ninth of Moya but says that he and Moya will go along with Zhaan. The vapor is released and Zhaan says she will continue to try to find another solution while it spreads.

Rygel, meanwhile, has left Moya in another transport pod to contact the Zenetans. He reaches the rendezvous point only to find that Kcrackic is no longer in command of the pirates. Instead, they are now led by his old nemesis Durka! Durka deploys the Flax and Rygel's transport pod is trapped.

Later, Durka and his assistant, Zelkin, are aboard the pod. Rygel explains their plan but Durka seems uninterested. Instead, he informs Rygel that he plans to torture him again.

Surprisingly, Rygel seems unaffected by this threat. The reason is revealed a moment later when he produces a power cable from under his robes and shoves it into Durka's chest. Durka is electrocuted and falls to the deck.

Rygel laughs but his amusement is cut short when he hears Zelkin's weapon charge up. He turns to him.
"I liked your proposal." says Zelkin.
Both Rygel and Zelkin laugh.

Zhaan is still frantically trying to find another way to destroy the creatures but Pilot says that they are about to destroy Moya's propulsion systems and that they have no more time. Everyone goes to Pilot's Den. Zhaan says that she will attempt to take Pilot's and Moya's pain and gives the word for Pilot to ignite the vapor. He does and flames roll through Moya's corridors. Both Pilot and Zhaan scream.

John is returning to Moya with Bekhesh when he sees the fire. Worried, he attempts to raise someone on the comms. Finally, Stark responds and says that everything is all right.

"There are flames on Moya!" John shouts. "That is not 'all right'."

Chiana is in Pilot's Den where both Zhaan and Pilot are experiencing spasms of pain. Tears rolling down her face, she takes one of Pilot's claws while telling John that they started the fire on purpose. John is confused but she tells him she will explain when he lands.
"Chiana, just tell me." says John. "Is everybody okay over there?"
Chiana nods weakly. "Yeah. I think so. Everyone but Moya."

Later, John and Aeryn are walking through a blackened, destroyed corridor. Aeryn is saying that Moya is in so much pain that she cannot Starburst and that Pilot is not sure she will be able to heal. They look briefly in on Zhaan, sitting alone in her destroyed quarters, before moving on.

Aeryn says that the mercenaries they have hired will not help them without payment and that Scorpius will probably kill Jothee.
John stops with his back to her. "No he won't." he says, quietly.

On Command, the mercenaries are not getting along. Rorf and Bekhesh seem to be about to get into a fight, calling each other criminals. Chiana points out that everyone on the ship is a criminal and that they are being paid to work together.

"That's right." says Rygel, floating into the room. "And this is what we do to people who don't." He tosses the head of Durka onto the deck in front of them.
"Good work, Rygel." says Chiana.
"You're professionals." says Rygel as Zelkin, weapon ready, steps up beside him. "Start acting like it."

Elsewhere, Aeryn and D'Argo are walking towards the landing bay. Apparently John has wandered off again and D'Argo is angry. He demands that John be confined to quarters. Aeryn admits that John has been acting strangely lately and reluctantly agrees.

They arrive in the landing bay where a transport pod has just arrived. Someone leaves the pod but instead of John it is Jothee. D'Argo ecstatically hugs Jothee and tears roll down his face as he sees his son for the first time in years. Aeryn smiles happily at the reunion.

D'Argo asks Jothee how he managed to get away from Scorpius.
"He let me go." is Jothee's reply.
There is a brief moment of silence.
"He what?" asks D'Argo, finally.
A look of horror comes across Aeryn's face. "Why?" she asks, already knowing the answer.
After another moment, realization hits D'Argo.
"Oh no!" he says in shock.

In the Depository, John stands alone in a room. Scorpius walks up behind him.
"Hello, John." he says by way of greeting.
John glances at Scorpius, then away.
"You want the wormhole technology." he says. "I want your implant out of my head. So, finally, the rift between us is not so great. You do what you gotta do."
He turns to face Scorpius. "You win."
Scorpius places his hands on John's shoulders. John flinches and Scorpius, pleased, inhales deeply.
"As if there was ever any doubt." he says.

Bekhesh, the Tavleks and their Gauntlet weapons appeared in Throne for a Loss.

The crew met Teurac and the Sheyang and John learned of their fire-breathing ability in PK Tech Girl.

The Vorcarian Blood Trackers, Rorf and Rorg, were first encountered in =Til the Blood Runs Clear (where they captured D'Argo and tortured him).

The Zenetan Pirates and their Flax net were encountered in The Flax.

We first learned of Rygel's old nemesis Durka in PK Tech Girl and he appeared in Durka Returns.

We learned that D'Argo's wife was a Sebacean and that she was killed by her Peacekeeper brother in They've Got a Secret. This is also where we first learn that Peacekeepers consider the result of mixed-breed unions to be "evil" and where we first learn of Jothee.

Stark was Scorpius' prisoner in Nerve and The Hidden Memory. John was also a prisoner during this time period and it was then that Scorpius learned of the wormhole information in his mind and when he implanted the neural chip and neural clone of himself.

The wormhole information was apparently implanted in John's mind by the Ancients during their study of him in A Human Reaction but we did not see this occur and John himself was not aware of it at the time.

Why were all of the Banik slaves killed? Natira's assistant comments that they can sell them to recover some of their money but the next thing we hear is that they have been killed. Did they decide it wasn't worth the effort?

What will Scorpius do with John?

Is Durka really dead this time?

In a trilogy, the middle part is almost always the darkest and almost always ends on a down note. For example, The Empire Strikes Back, the middle of the original Star Wars trilogy, is generally considered the darkest of the three.

With Friends Like These... is the middle third of the Liars, Guns and Money trilogy. It is a darker episode and Farscape is always most at home in the dark.

Things do not start off well. Moya arrives at the slave auction only to find that the lot containing D'Argo's son has already been sold. To Scorpius. And Scorpius is willing to trade Jothee for John.

D'Argo immediately blames John for this turn of events. He does calm down a bit later and admits to Chiana that he almost turned John over to Scorpius. He is obviously torn between his son and John but it appears that, despite the current strain on their friendship, he still counts John as his friend.

John comes up with a plan. They will hire mercenaries to attack the Depository and rescue Jothee. Apparently everyone goes along with this since we see no discussion on it, just everyone leaving to search for mercenaries.

This is an interesting part of the episode; it is almost like a Farscape reunion. Almost all of the surviving opponents from first season are back. Bekesh from Throne for a Loss, Teurac from PK Tech Girl, Rorf and Rorg from Til the Blood Runs Clear, the Zenetan Pirates from The Flax and Durka from PK Tech Girl and Durka Returns. The only one missing is Maldis (and he's already put in a return appearance this season).

Of course, while most of the crew is off recruiting help, those still on Moya discover they have problems of their own. Their "money" has turned out to be Karack Metalites which are destroying Moya.

(What the hezmana are these things anyway? They must be some sort of artificially created life form; it's hard to believe that something would evolve naturally to look like a form of currency in its dormant phase. We'll ignore the question of how a metal eating parasite is supposed to destroy a Leviathan which seems to be primarily organic. I guess that's the "mechanoid" part of "bio-mechanoid".)

Anyway, after much debate it is decided that the only way to get rid of the parasites is to burn them out; a solution which results in damage to over a ninth of Moya. This is an extreme step but there seems to be no other choice. Moya is now badly damaged and, according to Pilot, may not be able to recover.

Now, with no money, there is no way to pay the mercenaries so the plan to rescue Jothee has failed before it even begins. Seeing no other way out, John turns himself in to Scorpius. Again, an extreme step but again there seems to be no other choice. It is unclear if he does this because he is slowly succumbing to the neural chip and realizes that he doesn't have much time left or if he is trying to make amends to D'Argo for not supporting him in the inital plan. Either way, John is now in the position he has been trying to avoid for the past cycle; in the hands of Scorpius.

And, so, things are looking pretty bleak for our crew. John is in the hands of Scorpius, Moya is critically injured and there are a number of mercenaries on board who are probably not going to be happy to learn that they won't be getting paid after all. Our heroes have been in some bad positions before, but things have gotten pretty dark and it will be interesting to see how they get out of this one.