The Straight Dope: Braca

[Ouroboros]

Ok returning from a brief hiatus while I painted my house the straight dope is back and sure to be as exciting as ever (and free of high jackings under penalty of death:D). This week's exciting subject is none other than the not so often talked about Captain Miklo Braca.

Now there seem to be several schools of thought on just exactly what makes this guy tick.

Some people think he's some sort of sinister genius tricking and weaving his way through the PK ranks to one day become top dog.

Others think that'll probably end up happening but will be due only to the man's obscenely good luck and not any particular use of cunning on his part.

Others still think he's a little weasel without any real redeeming qualities other than his miraculous survival despite his stupidity.

And what's the deal with him and Scorpy

Don't go there girlfriend!

What in the flying blue hell was that!?

Ok anyway getting back to the point. What did Braca really think of Scorpy? What brought him around from his earlier decision to sell him out to Grayza in wwl? What prompted him to sell him out in the first place? Did Braca decide to turn his coat again because he felt genuine remorse for his earlier actions or simply because he'd come to regard Scorpy as the lesser of two evils and wanted a way away from Grayza for himself. If he did just re-align with Scorpius for their mutual best interests does Scorpy see this? Is he willing to accept it on that level or does Braca in fact have the hybrid in the dark emotionally? Was Braca manipulating Scorpy into thinking he was his friend and ally, not only now but before, when all he really ever saw him as was a means to his own advancement? A means that could be abandoned when it became too troublesome or a better offer (Grayza) went on the table.

What is the straight dope on this shifty little fellow.

[faustus]

lackey turned into a serious contender of basturd of the universe

[Darth Buddha]

He's learned from some of the best.

Scorpy, who is probably the militarily and scientifically most skilled.

Grayza who is probably the most politically skilled.

Of course, neither of them can be considered strictly sane, so poor Miklo is due for some sort of major psychological rift at any moment!

[scaperbuddy]

I think Braca is always thinking of number one which is himself. he is very ambitious and wants to advance through the ranks. I think he believes that Scorpy is the lesser of the two evils but ultimately will do what will get him rank.

He has went behind Graza's back to help Scorpy so he is very sneaky.

[Darth Buddha]

You know, I don't know how he has managed to be duplicitious (which he MUST be with either Grayza or with Scorpy).

Either he can resist the heppel gland, or he can alter his energy signature so Scorpy cannot tell when he lies.

I find both premises difficult to substantiate.

[scaperbuddy]

You think he can resist the heppel gland. Sometimes he looked to be giving in pretty good or he has the hots for Graza! As for lying to Scorpy hmm.

[Boron]

I think that survival is the first thing on his mind. Climbing the ladder is running a close second. He is undoubtably intelligent and sneaky enough to both survive and advance.
Had I been Scorpius, I would have made him a prison bitch in the peacekeeper brig for a while. That'll take him down a notch!!!

[scaperbuddy]

Braca did help Scorpy escape though.

[Boron]

Thinking about it a little, I think there may be a little compassion, or maybe a sense of justice in Braca. Maybe that's why he helped Scorpius. There has been some speculation of a relationship of some kind between them, (gag!!) Braca would be another character that would have been interesting to watch develop. When they crapped out on the series, a lot of things like that were left in the wind. That's what got all of us upset, and rightfully so, I might add.

[scaperbuddy]

I don't think there was any personal relationship between them two. I just saw Braca a someone who was loyal and wanted to advance himself in the PK ranks. I don't think he ever felt loyal to Graza just a little whipped though.

[Boron]

Grayza could have whipped any male with that hepple gland. I thought when I first saw Grayza that she may have been a Nebari/Sebacean hybrid. I think someone told me how that couldn't be, tho. Can't remember what they said.

[Antrobus]

I think at first Braca was a little taken aback with Scorpy's praise. If you recall the first few eps he was in he always looks a little baffled when Scorpy praises him.

However, he quickly caught on to the fact that he was on the 'A" list with Scorpy and went out of his way to please him. He obviously had desires to move up the PK chain of command. Which is exacly what happened.

I think his loyalties have always been with Scorpy. I think the bit in WWL was not Braca under the influence of Grayza, but rather Braca doing what needed to be done to appease her and and follow some sort of agenda of Scorpy's.
I think he always planned for her downfall.

As for the heppel gland, we never saw Grayza use it on him other than to get him to do her bidding. I don't recall that she ever used it to try and get information from him.

Obviously a cunning fellow! The only one who seems to get on his nerves is John. Started way back in the LATP eps.

As for any other type of relationship with Scorpy - hey, they're aliens. Who knows what they might or might not do! Too often we place our earth based conceptions of behaviour on imagined alien species.

[scaperbuddy]

The only relationship I saw Braca had with Scorpy was with leader and loyal subordinate. I didn't see any sexual thing there. But it loked like Braca would have had a sexual fling with Graza if possible. He seemed hot for her.

[Frunium Slip]

Ooh Ouroboros' favorite Peacekeeper...

My take on Braca's loyalties...

He is loyal to no one in particular, primarily because he already has a loyalty, the Peacekeepers, everything else comes secondary. I believe Grayza pinned him right, the epitome of a Peacekeeper, the ideal if you were. Primarily because he displays loyalty to the High Command, or their immediate emissary. When Crais went rogue, Lt. Braca turned on him the first opportunity that presented itself, the Gammak base, where the ranking PK emissary, Scorpius took over. When Scorpius pursued Crichton, and High Command became concerned enough to send Grayza, who immediately found Scorpius wanting, he obeyed the highest ranking officer present, Grayza, the thing the PKs would have trained him to do.

When Grayza wanted to attack the Scarran Katrazi Base, Braca relieved her of command, as she was disobeying the PK High Command order, of being a dignitary, under a flag of truce, Braca was not about to start a Scarran war without High Command approval, no way, it would have been foriegn to him. Plus, he appeared astute enough to see she was debilitated by stress, and that military reason had abandoned her. He saw nothing but destruction of the Command Carrier, of which as Captain he was responsible for, a possible losing war against the Scarrans, which the PKs would have started, and for what? Grayza's ego? No, Braca appears to have looked out for High Commands best interest, not going off half cocked on a Scarran Base, no matter the tatical advantages presented, the glory that might be his along with Grayza, a battle does not a war make, and without High Command's order, or carrying out their strategical directives, he was not about to commit the entire Sebacean Race to a war which up to now, appeared they had no chance of winning.

If Braca was pursuing advancement for himself only, he would not have allowed Scorpius back on the Command Carrier, as Braca was Captain, the crew would have obeyed him, with or without Scorpius, if he was for advancement only it is a peculiar way to go about it. But if one looks at the future of the Sebacean Race, and the Peacekeepers in particular, then Scorpius would present a potentially useful tool against the Scarrans.

It would have been interesting to see Braca's reaction to Crais' disobedience to PK High Command, I think he would have had him arrested on the spot, there would not be the personal loyalty to the commander that Lt. Teague showed, to her unfortunate demise.

So did his loyalty change? Only if one looks at particular commanders, but overall, Braca displayed loyalty to the High Command, and their authorized representative, unless said representative sought their own goals, away from High Command directives, then Braca's true loyalty shows, always to the High Command, regional commander be damned...

of course, I could be wrong...

[Jeff O'Connor]

I agree almost 100% with you there, Frun. I can add my perspective only in a couple of places, like in saying that Braca is truly most interested in ensuring Peacekeeper survival during trying times. He has great respect for Scorpius in some ways but that's not the full extent of it, no. When Grayza used the heppel gland on him, my idea as to how and why he said he didn't care that Scorpius was stripped of command and whatnot is that at the time he didn't see Scorpius as a possibility for ensuring Sebacean survival, whereas Grayza may have been. Nevertheless, if Braca was Scorpius' spy even then, it could still be said that he resisted the heppel gland because her question was whether he was bothered by the situation. Even as Scorpius' spy, given Braca's innate desire to protect both himself and the Peacekeeper way of life, and nothing else, from my perspective it seems entirely reasonable for him to be able to say it didn't really bother him that this, this, this... this other person besides himself was in danger. And this other person wasn't the entirety of the Sebacean race, either, so it didn't matter all that much.

Equally, with spoiler space despite obviously most things free reign here...













...his appearance as fighting alongside John Crichton in the upcoming miniseries doesn't startle me at all. I've sort've been waiting for it, in fact. The only enemies I wouldn't like to see John fighting with would be the Peacekeeper High Command and Scarran Hierarchy themselves; that wouldn't make all that much sense to me. Even then, the High Command scenario wouldn't be... impossible. Either way, I sort've foresaw this and I'm probably not the only one. With all the comical clashes these two have had, it only seemed natural that this would eventually happen. And why not? Braca wants whatever it takes to save the Peacekeepers -- according to Frun's and my theory on him, anyway. So seeing John Crichton as the capability to do so, it'd be foolish of him not to help. Besides, that innocent smirk when caught helping Scorpie and John in "Hot to Katratzi" is still timeless on my face. I'd like to see him do that smirk when he saves John from being shot dead, once or twice, too.

[Antrobus]

I don't recall that she ever used it to try and get information from him.

I was a little off on that comment being reminded in Frunium Slip's thread that grayza did ask Braca questions while he was under the influence of the Heppel gland. As I recall though they weren't tactical questions but rather questions that required an opinion/feeling as an answer.

Anyway, I still think he's loyal to Scorpy through and through!
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In BT when he brings Scorpy back on board I got the sense from both of them that it was a case of "mission accomplished". I don't think Braca was too happy to see Sikozu however. It seemed like a case of Scorpy throwing a curve ball. I don't think Braca likes things to deviate from plan. It's during deviations from plans when he's shown himself at his most vulnerable - from LATP through BHTB, where Braca comes across as a very weak character when he thinks that Aeryn is going to free him from the Scarrens.

Trying to figure Braca out is difficult because Farscape has never really allowed us to see anything from his viewpoint. We know very little about him. Has he ever said anything that wasn't PK related? No one has ever really had a conversation with him. So we know really nothing about what makes the character "tick". We've not been allowed to see through his eyes or glimpse into his mind.

Ultimate Peacekeeper - maybe, but hasn't been fully tested yet

Scorpy loyalist - most definately! If Scorpy said "jump", Braca would say "how high?"

[Ouroboros]

Either he can resist the heppel gland, or he can alter his energy signature so Scorpy cannot tell when he lies.

Well you know I've always thought of Scorpy's truth sense as a hit and miss type of thing. In other words there can be certain indicators that a person might be lying, similar to those picked up on by a polygraph machine, but it's still up to Scorpy to notice and properly interpret those indicators. Braca could then conceivibly get one or two by Scorpy just by being a very skilled liar.

The Heppel oil however is harder to explain. The Heppel oil seems to rob a subject completely of their free will so I don't know how he'd lie through that. I'd say the best explanation would be that following the interrogation in WWL Grayza simply did not feel the need to Heppel him again. Braca was able to go about his business with Scorpius without arousing enough suspicion from her to merit her taking another run at him. Grayza was also quite busy at the time with her Scarran treaty and everything so it's likely her divided attention contributed to this. She simply was not looking at him anymore.

You think he can resist the heppel gland. Sometimes he looked to be giving in pretty good or he has the hots for Graza! As for lying to Scorpy hmm.

Everyone has the hots for Grayza, some just admit it more freely than others.

Braca did help Scorpy escape though.

See that's the key question. Assuming Grayza hadn't put his balls through the wringer time and time again would he still have have felt compelled to help Scorpius at all? What if Grayza had been very nice to him, even allowing him to pilot her command carrier around in the mall parking lot on Sundays. If he had been treated better would he have turned back to Scorpy or did he only turn back to Scorpy because he realised he had it even worse under Grayza?

I don't think there was any personal relationship between them two. I just saw Braca a someone who was loyal and wanted to advance himself in the PK ranks. I don't think he ever felt loyal to Graza just a little whipped though.

I don't think there was any personal relationship either. I'm of the opinion that Braca brown nosed Scorpy basically for his own benefit. I'm sure he didn't hate the guy but he didn't genuinely like him either just like the toadies at the office wouldn't be playing golf with the big man if he wasn't their boss. This much is evident to me by how fast he kicked Scorpy to the curb when Grayza came along. He tried to brown nose Grayza to but she didn't buy into it like Scorpius and treated him like her bitch anyway.

I kind of felt sorry for Scorpius since I think he pretty much got duped by Braca for two years. Scorpius leads a very lonely life where he'd probably be more in want of human companionship so I can see how he'd be drawn in by this. This unadmitted need for affection is probably his greatest weakness I think. He doesn't really think he's better than those around him either and even suffers moments of shame at his Scarran heritage. Grayza however is the complete opposite. She doesn't seem to care about personal company or friendship from behind her sheild of inflated self worth and personal arrogance. She would not only refuse to "buddy up" with Braca but would probably find the suggestion that he could exist in an equal relationship, even an informal off the clock one with her, subconciously insulting.

It also goes without saying that as a master of manipulation through false affection herself she probably found his heavy handed attempts at brown nosing her even more profoundly insulting.

However, he quickly caught on to the fact that he was on the 'A" list with Scorpy and went out of his way to please him. He obviously had desires to move up the PK chain of command. Which is exacly what happened.

This raises and interesting question. through all his years With Scorpy he never got a formal promotion. He played nice with Scorpy but was never rewarded in any tangible way. The minute he screws scorpy over however he gets catapulted up two whole ranks into a postion where he could command his own ship. Later he screws over Grayza and goes ahead again, stealing her command (though PKW rumors leave some doubt as to how long he will keep it).

What has this taught him? I'd say he pretty much accepts the fact that if you want to really get ahead you don't do it honestly you just look for openings to screw people for your own benefit. He worked honestly since childhood and never got past lieutenant. The minute he starts sticking knives in backs however he gets his own ship inside of a year.

This is why I tell people he's still just a Junior officer wearing a captain's hat. Everything he's got now he's stolen or had handed to him for nothing.

As for the heppel gland, we never saw Grayza use it on him other than to get him to do her bidding. I don't recall that she ever used it to try and get information from him.

She used it to test if he was a sleeper for Scorpius in WWL part 1. She never followed up on it after that though or asked him again after she started abusing him and that was a mistake that clearly cost her.

As for any other type of relationship with Scorpy - hey, they're aliens. Who knows what they might or might not do! Too often we place our earth based conceptions of behaviour on imagined alien species.

Braca is disgusted by hybrids as we see in LGM when he thinks Scorpy's out of earshot, though that would put a rather disgusting spin on his "this is for all the times I had to say yes" line in WWL.

The only relationship I saw Braca had with Scorpy was with leader and loyal subordinate. I didn't see any sexual thing there. But it loked like Braca would have had a sexual fling with Graza if possible. He seemed hot for her.

You know I kind of got that to. He's definately got some sort of fascination with her. I think on some level he really was packing some serious blue ones for her. Even in scenes when he hasn't been subjected to the oil you can sometimes see it. He's got that whole nervous schoolboy "oh my god is she going to touch my weenie" thing going on, and you know he's hopeing the answer is yes. I bet he probably wishes he could have remembered it when it finally happened though.:rollin:

When Grayza wanted to attack the Scarran Katrazi Base, Braca relieved her of command, as she was disobeying the PK High Command order, of being a dignitary, under a flag of truce, Braca was not about to start a Scarran war without High Command approval, no way, it would have been foriegn to him. [quote]

This is indicative of the "junior officer in the captains hat" syndrome I described earlier. Sometimes you have to act NOW in a war if you're going to make it count. You can't always call the general to ask if it's ok. Katratzi was such a time. Braca didn't like Grayza taking initiative because it was against the book though any seasoned officer in Grayza's exact situation probably would have attacked that base as well. It was foreign to him, you're right on that. He's used to carrying out orders, not inventing a course of action for himself or others to follow.

[quote]Plus, he appeared astute enough to see she was debilitated by stress, and that military reason had abandoned her.

He got nervous, her call was perfectly logical given the circumstances. You can debate tactical merit all you want but the point is her actions were not entirely without tactical merit thus there was no grounds for Braca to defy her orders simply becasue he disagreed with the course of action outlined. Chain of command 101. The only grounds he had were that the orders may have been technically "illegal" or contrary to standing orders from high command. These orders would have been issued before the situation drastically changed in WSS2 however. It's also worth noting that he didn't relieve her due to executing an illegal order, he did it on the basis of incapacitated judgement in multiple encounters under stress which was bullshit but convincing enough given that the bridge crew would not have known the details of the political situation like he did.

He saw nothing but destruction of the Command Carrier, of which as Captain he was responsible for, a possible losing war against the Scarrans, which the PKs would have started, and for what? Grayza's ego?

He didn't look beyond the immediate or to the greater good of his race/the war effort. His ship may well have been destroyed but the war was practically imminent after WSS part2 (thanks to JC's big mouth) so why not get in a nice ripe first strike like what the Katratzi one would have been.

Braca appears to have looked out for High Commands best interest, not going off half cocked on a Scarran Base, no matter the tatical advantages presented, the glory that might be his along with Grayza, a battle does not a war make, and without High Command's order, or carrying out their strategical directives, he was not about to commit the entire Sebacean Race to a war which up to now, appeared they had no chance of winning.

The importence of following the letter of the rulebook pales in comaprison to the importence of acting before the enemy can act on the newly gained knowledge that your wormhole weapons were a big fat bluff. The only thing I can say Grayza screwed up on was that she did not attempt to get word back to high command that the cat was out of the bag. Of course given the situation it is possible that this would not have been possible. They were deep in Scarran space and may have been out of comm range and any unauthorised craft launching from the CC would certainly not have been tolerated.(though with the Scarrans you never know:rolleyes: )

It's also worth noting that newly surfacing evidence from the mini points to a Grayza that is a lot higher in the PK military power structure than I had originally thought. Think nearly Eisenhower style higher. It's entirely possible that she had all the authority she needed to make the wide reaching strategic call at Katratzi.

If Braca was pursuing advancement for himself only, he would not have allowed Scorpius back on the Command Carrier, as Braca was Captain, the crew would have obeyed him, with or without Scorpius, if he was for advancement only it is a peculiar way to go about it. But if one looks at the future of the Sebacean Race, and the Peacekeepers in particular, then Scorpius would present a potentially useful tool against the Scarrans.

Braca probably felt some limited remourse toward Scorpius but the question is whether he would have bothered with it had his deal with Grayza gone more smoothly for him. I still say no. If he'd had a smoother ride with Grayza he would have swallowed all the bad feelings and polished his new Captain's stripes.

It would have been interesting to see Braca's reaction to Crais' disobedience to PK High Command, I think he would have had him arrested on the spot, there would not be the personal loyalty to the commander that Lt. Teague showed, to her unfortunate demise.

If he'd tried with Crais what he pulled on Grayza I honestly believe Crais would have personally shot him dead on the spot with his own sidearm. Grayza called for the officer of the deck to do it, adding an extra point of failure, Crais was more of a hands on kind of guy. If he hadn't had a gun at the time he would have pulled it off the officer of the deck and then shot Braca..... of course while yelling about it.:D

So did his loyalty change? Only if one looks at particular commanders, but overall, Braca displayed loyalty to the High Command, and their authorized representative, unless said representative sought their own goals, away from High Command directives, then Braca's true loyalty shows, always to the High Command, regional commander be damned...

I actually agree with this part, his largest loyalty would be toward high command for the simple reason that it's the biggest arse around for him to stick his nose in.

Just to add one last point of clarification on the whole Scorpius spy situation. It's made plainly obvious in Promises that Scorpy's spy is the male fighter pilot Rinlo. I like to think that it was through some accidental contact with Rinlo that Braca learned Scorpius was still alive after WWL. In other words Braca caught Rinlo in the act of talking to Scorpy but rather than turn him in to Grayza, decided he wanted "in".

Wow I think that was my longest post ever.

[scaperbuddy]

Good debate Antrobus. I can't think of anything to add. I'm speechless. Odd for me.

[Boron]

Sit back and take a breath, Antrobus. Good write.

[CaptBraca]

"When your back's to the wall,
and your luck is your all,
then side with whoever you may."

It's saved my life on several occasions.

[Antrobus]

What has this taught him? I'd say he pretty much accepts the fact that if you want to really get ahead you don't do it honestly you just look for openings to screw people for your own benefit. He worked honestly since childhood and never got past lieutenant. The minute he starts sticking knives in backs however he gets his own ship inside of a year.

Odd isn't it that that's pretty much how corporate America works today!

[Jeff O'Connor]

"When your back's to the wall,
and your luck is your all,
then side with whoever you may."

It's saved my life on several occasions.

My god, we have a guest speaker, everyone... it's Captain Braca! :rollin:

[faustus]

Hi Mr Braca. please don't hurt me

[labingi]

I think this straight dope idea is great! And I love Braca, so I’ll put in my two cents.

I agree with a lot of what’s been said here. I agree that Braca is in many ways the quintessential Peacekeeper: dedicated, duty-oriented, competent, unemotional, ambitious. I agree that Braca is good at “playing the game” to get ahead. I think this general characterization is sufficient for the Braca we first meet, the one who worked under Crais. (And I suspect he disliked Crais because Crais failed to live up to a lot of those Peacekeeperly virtues but instead was emotional, vengeful, willing to disobey orders, etc.)

But I think that as with most everyone in Farscape, Braca evolves over the series.

I think he develops a profound loyalty for Scorpius that is initially based on several things:

1) Braca sees Scorpius as a better PK than Crais.
2) Scorpius is quick to praise and otherwise validate Braca.
3) Scorpius is someone who seems genuinely able to aid to PKs against the Scarrans.

But while this “loyalty” begins as a reasoned decision to show dedication to a good commander who supports what Braca finds important (be that saving the PKs or advancing his career), I think this loyalty does become personal. Braca comes to care about Scorpius, though, being a PK, he wouldn’t express it in those terms.

Here’s some evidence:
“Incubator”:
Braca practically reads Scorpius’ mind in judging what Scorpius would want to be done while he is unconscious. That shows deep, personal understanding of a kind that usually (not always) suggests real emotional affinity.

Lines like “He survived; he always survives” (not sure that’s exact) show real admiration. (He says that when he thinks Scorpius is unconscious, so it’s not likely to be just flattery.)

How about that smile when Scorpius tells Braca that his performance has been exemplary (my favorite Braca moment of the series)? The guy is basking in praise from someone he truly respects. That reaction is not just a bid to get ahead. The proper PK way to respond to such a compliment, I’d think, would be to take it absolutely straight-faced. The way Braca bows his head a little seems to indicate that he’s embarrassed by his own emotionality.
***

Season 4:
Braca is Scorpius’ spy. There’s a certain amount of fan-wanking that needs to be done to explain how this can be so. (Ex. He’s S’s spy, but he thinks S is dead?) Nonetheless, I think we can take this as canon, since Scorpius says that Braca is his spy in “Kansas.”

As some in this thread have pointed out, PK practices would dictate that when Scorpius falls out of power, Braca is supposed to give his loyalty to Grayza. The fact that he does not (but stays Scorpius’ spy) means that this “quintessential PK” is now engaging in literally treasonous behavior, which I don’t doubt would be summarily punishable by death.

I see two big reasons for Braca’s being willing to risk this:
1) Saving the Sebacean people from the Scarrans. (In “Kansas,” Scorpius and Braca do talk in terms of all Sebaceans, not just PKs.)

2) Personal loyalty to Scorpius: Braca believes that Scorpius is the one who can help the Sebaceans. He believes Scorpius is the one to follow, even when doing so does not further his career but might ruin it.

Now, I’m not saying Braca’s a saint. He takes no great risks that I see to bring Grayza down, except maybe at the last moment in “La Bomba.” And I think he always retains a vested interest in pursuing his career.

A couple of side points:
The Heppel oil. Yes, I believe Braca lied to Grayza when she was using it on him. I think this is plausible. For one thing, Braca has great emotional control; this is one of his signature characteristics. For another, it seems to me that Heppel oil functions by making someone very aroused but not necessarily driving him completely out of his mind. John still has the presence of mind to take the lakka while under Grayza’s influence. And Grayza doesn’t go after Braca very hard. She doesn’t even kiss him.

Is there a sexual thing between Scorpius and Braca? I think there’s a sexual valence to their relationship, but I actually don’t think it’s based on sexual attraction. What I mean is, I agree that Braca, like many a PK, is turned off by hybridity and I don’t really see signs that Scorpius is that interested in him either. But the show itself does keep throwing funny scenes at us, like Braca staring down at Scorpius and Sikozu in “Bad Timing.” This, presumably, means *something*. What I interpret it as meaning is that Braca is personally invested in and intrigued by Scorpius. He’s drawn to him, not really sexually, but it sometimes gets expressed as a sort of voyeuristic fascination, probably because there is no other acceptable PK way to express it. Poor Braca.

[jerseygirl]

The Heppel oil seems to rob a subject completely of their free will so I don't know how he'd lie through that.

Yeah...I've always maintained that a woman can get a guy to do basically anything if she puts her mind to it. Grayza's just an extreme (and totally creepy) example of that. As for Braca, call me weird, but I think he's kind of cute in a skeevy, toady sort of way. Never mind that he hops the fence every now and then. But nevertheless, I think he'll always be Scorpy's girl, at least in his own mind. I'm dying to see how he handles Sikozu in the mini. I sure hope they don't drop that thread. How his ambition figures into this, I'm not sure. But I also have this gut feeling that deep down inside, he's got a kernel of decency and that if it comes to it, he'll do the right thing.

To me, one of the running themes in Farscape is the theme of redemption. Pretty much every character has has the opportunity at least once to redeem themselves. I betcha Braca gets the chance, too.

[Ouroboros]

I think this straight dope idea is great! And I love Braca, so I?ll put in my two cents.

Thanks, we've already done two others, Zhaan and Sikozu, if you look back a page or two you can probably find them if you're interested.

Braca is Scorpius? spy. There?s a certain amount of fan-wanking that needs to be done to explain how this can be so. (Ex. He?s S?s spy, but he thinks S is dead?) Nonetheless, I think we can take this as canon, since Scorpius says that Braca is his spy in ?Kansas.?

I've actually worked to rationalize this without any fanwank required. Rinlo (the first spy from Promises) in some way got Braca involved with his spying for Scorpius scheme. Here's the key point though. At the time Braca didn't know it was actually Scorpius he was spying for. He was simply told or lead to believe that his "employer" was a political opponent of Grayza's who wanted to see her brought down and would reward him for his assitence in doing so. Since Braca had no love for Grayza at this point and is always looking for a chance to get ahead he jumped at this chance to do what he always does. Get involved in the scam to screw over Grayza and get rewarded again by political enemy X. It wasn't until Kansas when he first got to actually meet his mysterious master that he found out it was Scorpius.

This theory takes all the evidence into account and explains why Braca was shocked and initially fearful to see Scorpius in Kansas. He was expecting someone but he had no idea it was going to be Scorpy since he still thought Scorpy was dead. It also fits well with Braca's character and previously observed actions. It requires no superhuman effort on anyone's part either. It just requires a little clever deception on the part of Scorpy, who when making contact with people on Gryza CC would probably want to keep concealed the fact he was still alive anyway, just incase his contact decided to rat out the offer to the commandant rather than accept it.

It's also possible Rinlo did not know it was Scorpius he was spying for and was drawn in by a similar "help me screw over Grayza and I'll take you to high places" routine.

The Heppel oil. Yes, I believe Braca lied to Grayza when she was using it on him. I think this is plausible. For one thing, Braca has great emotional control; this is one of his signature characteristics. For another, it seems to me that Heppel oil functions by making someone very aroused but not necessarily driving him completely out of his mind. John still has the presence of mind to take the lakka while under Grayza?s influence. And Grayza doesn?t go after Braca very hard. She doesn?t even kiss him.

The problem with this however is that Grayza assumed it would be an effective interrogation tool. Since no one is likely to know more about the capabilities of her Heppel oil than her it stands to reason that her using it to interrogate Braca was done with the knowledge that deception would not be possible. If the oil were not a proven effective means of interrogation for her she would have simply pluged him into the aurora chair to test his loyalty.

An argument could also be made that season 4 John Crichton had a much stronger will than Braca and he folded up like a paper airplane on his first whiff of the stuff.

[labingi]

Ouroboros, I like your explanation of Braca as the spy. Have you written a fic about it? It would make a good one.

[Ouroboros]

I am in the process of writing a fic that would have incorperated that theory but it's sort of on the backbruner right now.

[Vinona]

only thing we got to see from braca is that he is horny on Grayza + he is a spy for leather face...
and an exellent spy to, but about the heppel gland, i thought Grayza would figure out that Braca was a spy since she used it on him several times.....
or not?!





I was a little off on that comment being reminded in Frunium Slip's thread that grayza did ask Braca questions while he was under the influence of the Heppel gland. As I recall though they weren't tactical questions but rather questions that required an opinion/feeling as an answer.

Anyway, I still think he's loyal to Scorpy through and through!
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In BT when he brings Scorpy back on board I got the sense from both of them that it was a case of "mission accomplished". I don't think Braca was too happy to see Sikozu however. It seemed like a case of Scorpy throwing a curve ball. I don't think Braca likes things to deviate from plan. It's during deviations from plans when he's shown himself at his most vulnerable - from LATP through BHTB, where Braca comes across as a very weak character when he thinks that Aeryn is going to free him from the Scarrens.

Trying to figure Braca out is difficult because Farscape has never really allowed us to see anything from his viewpoint. We know very little about him. Has he ever said anything that wasn't PK related? No one has ever really had a conversation with him. So we know really nothing about what makes the character "tick". We've not been allowed to see through his eyes or glimpse into his mind.

Ultimate Peacekeeper - maybe, but hasn't been fully tested yet

Scorpy loyalist - most definately! If Scorpy said "jump", Braca would say "how high?"

[Dangermousie]

I do think that Braca is by far the better PK then any of his three superiors.

Crais? Well, I don't even need to argue much. Even before he was ousted, he went AWOL, disobeyed a direct order from the High Command and killed a fellow PK to prevent himself from having to return back to duty.

Scorpy is on nobody's side but his own. He is helping the PKs because he hates the Scarrans and PK is his best bet for wreaking vengeance. He is very unhappy with the idea of peace with the Scarrans not just because he thinks they'll lie, but because he wants them exterminated, dominated etc. If High Command did something seriously against his revenge scheme, he'd turn on them in a second.

Grayza strikes me a someone who is interested in power for power's sake. She also seems to fall apart under pressure and can let feelings like revenge get the better of her (her desire for revenge for her being left tied up, and earlier for Crichton pointing a gun at her is a large reason why she pursues Crichton. Unlike Scorpy who only wants him for usefulness reasons). Her biggest flaw is the belief that she is always perfectly right and perfectly on top. She is too arrogant, and her disdain for others leads her into trouble (as in Crichton and the lakka, as with Scorpy, etc).

As to Braca? PK High Command would love to have officers just like that. He is a Yes Man and not brilliant enough (or maybe too rigid, he seems to live by the rule book) to be at the very top of the food chain (as with all their flaws Grayza and Scorpy are), but he makes an ideal loyal subordinate.