An Obsession Begins

Upon emerging from a space wormhole, John Crichton finds himself and his ship in the middle of a space battle. On a collision course with a Peacekeeper Prowler, Crichton struggles to avoid the oncoming craft, but scrapes the ship, sending it crashing into a nearby asteroid.

The pilot of the destroyed Prowler was Tauvo Crais, the younger brother of Captain Bialar Crais, Captain of a Peacekeeper Command Carrier. Upon viewing a recon satellite playback of the incident, Captain Crais blames Crichton and vows to avenge his brother's death.

Despite Crichton's insistence that the crash was an accident, Crais is unwilling to forgive and forget, and relentlessly pursues Crichton.

Prepare For Starburst

Moya, a Leviathan (a race of bio-mechanoid living ships), has no organic weaponry but is capable of one defensive maneuver -- StarBurst. StarBurst is the seam between space-time dimensions. Moya's power cells allow her to access this rift between time and space and ride the energy stream until pushed out at random.

While StarBurst is an excellent means of escape, its one drawback is a total lack of control over navigation or speed. When Moya StarBursts, she never knows where she will emerge at the other end.

When Moya was enslaved for duty as a prisoner transport vessel, the Peacekeeper control collar restrained her and made it impossible for her to perform the StarBurst maneuver. Once free of the control collar, Moya was again able to StarBurst. The process, however, depletes a Leviathan's energy reserves, so Moya requires recovery time between StarBursts.

Pilot In Control

Pilots are merged with Leviathans at a young age and they soon form a symbiotic bond. Although Moya can, to some degree, be controlled manually by her passengers, only Pilot can monitor and regulate her higher functions (with the help of a fleet of small DRD service darters).

Pilot's tendrils reach throughout the ship, allowing him to sense the status of all of Moya's systems -- including navigation, life support and propulsion -- and to make all necessary adjustments.

Pilot's race demonstrates incredible regenerative and recuperative powers, as witnessed in the episode, "DNA Mad Scientist." When Pilot unwillingly gives up one of his four arms so Moya's passengers can obtain star charts of their respective home worlds, he is able to eventually regenerate a new one.

Sharing Moya's Pain

As a ninth level Delvian priest, Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan has the ability to share the pain of other living beings.

This particular gift is first witnessed when Zhaan helps Moya bear the intense pain inflicted when Rygel must remove a Peacekeeper tracking device embedded in Moya's neural nexus..without anesthetic.

Another of Zhaan's special talents is "spirit painting," the ability to discern and artistically depict a being's inner spirit and soul.

Marauder In Pursuit

John Crichton examines a holographic display of a Peacekeeper ship in search of Moya.

The vessel is a Peacekeeper Marauder and carries a standard complement of five highly trained PK Commandos. The top speed of the Marauder is Hetch Seven, a speed we know Moya is capable of besting (judging from Crichton's non-scientific evaluation of the Marauder: "The things a Hyundai!")

According to Aeryn, who was awaiting transfer to a Marauder Commando Team when she was brought on board Moya, Marauders follow a strict search scheme, a crosshatch star pattern that efficiently traps their prey.

The Qualta Unsheathed

D'Argo's Qualta Blade is more than meets the eye. We learn in the episode, "Throne for a Loss," that his sword can be converted into a Pulse Rifle, not unlike Aeryn's PK weapon.

Although D'Argo is a master of the Qualta, he is a formidable foe even without weaponry at hand. With training, Luxans serpent-like tongues can be developed into powerful weapons. Using the element of surprise to his advantage, D'Argo can swiftly extend his tongue and thrust it at attackers. Its power well under D'Argo's control, a blow from his tongue could render an enemy unconscious -- or even dead.

D'Argo has only seen two battle campaigns, but you wouldn't know it from the way he wields his Qualta Blade -- and his deadly tongue.

Aeryn Sun

Officer Aeryn Sun, Special Peacekeeper Commando, Icarion Company, Pleisar Regiment, is a strong and well-trained PK officer.

However, Aeryn shares a weakness with all her Sebacean comrades -- a sensitivity to warm climates. Sebaceans are cold-blooded creatures and as such are susceptible to Heat Delirium. As their cells overheat, they suffer short-term memory lapses, followed by a loss of motor functions, then a disruption of long-term memory. Victims of Heat Delirium don't die, but experience a dreadful state of living death.

In The Spirit of Rygel the First

Rygel XVI, exiled Dominar to over six hundred billion Hynerian subjects, has at least two special talents. One is a natural gift for diplomacy (often spurred by self-serving motivations). The other is his ability to eat an enormous amount of food, which can result in a gaseous helium by-product.

In the episode, "Exodus from Genesis," Rygel rises to the occasion and successfully negotiates with Monarch, the leader of the Drak insect species that was overtaken Moya.

Where is Home?

John Crichton and Aeryn Sun survey the Uncharted Territories. The Peacekeepers have no jurisdiction here, but that will no stop Captain Crais from pursuing them.

Both are unable to return to their homes -- Crichton can't find his, and Aeryn has been labeled Irreversibly Contaminated and thus is forever exiled from hers.

The only home they can know for now is Moya.