"Deus ex Machina" Farscape Fanfic (Part 7)
Title: Deus ex Machina
Genre: Farscape; J/A; romance/action
Rating: PG or PG 13 at most for violence and some suggestive situations; mild swearing.
Disclaimer: Please see Part 1
Author's Notes: See Part 1
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Trapped in a cell on Moya, John saw what had to be one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen, one of the most beautiful 'human' women. His surprise couldn't have been more profound.
"Officer Aeryn Sun, Special Peacekeeper Commando, Ikarion Company, Pleisar Regiment. Identify yourself…”
The memory swirled and shifted as the probe dissected his thoughts...
"You can be more…”
John was hunched over now, bringing his head to his upraised knees as the probe tenaciously latched onto his thoughts...
Aeryn sat on the small bed in the nondescript hotel room, the bottle of beer held loose in her hand. She turned her head to look over to where John stood by the window, watching the rain and drinking his own bottle of dark beer.
"Sorry."
"What for?" Aeryn asked quietly.
"Everything. What's happened here...getting you stuck on Moya. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be the happy little Peacekeeper dominating the lesser races."
"Hmmm...I've got a lot to blame you for, Crichton," she replied dryly.
"Look at that," John said, his voice low and deep.
"What?”
"That's it, Earth, minus the sunshine," John answered, almost unable to understand it all.
"You know, you were right, it's actually very beautiful."
John watched the summer rain a moment longer before he moved to sit next to Aeryn on the bed, his shoulder touching hers. Then, because he had to know, "Were you scared to join me when I left Moya?"
"Yes."
So simple an answer, but John thought he understood what a tremendous amount of courage and trust it took for Aeryn to say it. He closed his eyes and let himself simply feel the warmth of Aeryn's shoulder against his.
"I won't be recaptured, Crichton, they will have to kill me if they come to take me tomorrow."
"I know," John said softly, feeling an ache at the thought that she had come here for him.
Slowly and carefully, John turned his head toward Aeryn. He looked at her for a moment, taking everything in; her ocean blue eyes, her soft warm skin, her dark hair held back in its practical pony tail. John closed his eyes and rested his forehead on her shoulder. Then, before he could stop himself with all the reasons why he shouldn't be doing this, he kissed her shoulder softly.
Almost surprised at Aeryn's soft sigh, he lifted his head to look at her as she continued to look forward. He touched his forehead to her cheek, waiting.
Finally, Aeryn slowly turned to look at John, her eyes meeting his. Then, almost hesitantly, they met in a soft kiss. It was brief, and when they parted, they took a moment to look into each other's eyes before moving to kiss once more. The kiss deepened and gently, they moved to lay back on the bed...
John came back to himself and the present. He was rocking slightly and longed to hold his head against the deep pressure in his skull. It felt like someone had reached inside his mind and was now beginning to squeeze. Worse still, through the pressure, John was also being bombarded by a thousand feelings and sensations brought on by the memories that the probe was accessing. He moaned, the sound coming up from deep in his chest.
"It's found something," Officer Jadasa said calmly, reaching for a scanner from her belt to confirm her assessment. "It's near what we need. If you don't try to fight it, we should be done soon. Besides, fighting the mind probe will do no good, we will still get the information that we require."
"I should go report to the captain," she said as she rose and headed out the pod door in search of Captain Neracc.
John took little note though, as another memory flash absorbed all his thought...
John held Winona in a level two handed grip, waiting. Then, from the shadows in the Maintenance Bay, a slim figure approached in an aching, slow fashion. John considered the figure and lowered his arms a fraction. He tilted his head to the side, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Aeryn?" John asked softly, almost a whisper
Aeryn stepped into the light. She was dressed unusually, in a black shiny suit very much like one of Scorpius' coolant suits. Her hair was longer than John remembered, loose and dark about her shoulders. She held her arms and hands flat to her sides. When she saw John, she began to cry quietly, the tears running unheeded down her face.
For the moment, John could simply stare. He still held Winona in his loose two handed grip, aimed in Aeryn's direction.
"You've come back," he said quietly, half question, half statement of wonder.
Hesitantly, gently, Aeryn nodded. Through her tears, she smiled softly.
John slowly lowered his pulse pistol to his side and for a moment, they simply looked at each other. Aeryn held her soft smile, seeming to be seeking reassurance of his welcome, his love. Slowly, John allowed himself to loose his tension. Quietly, he returned Aeryn's smile as he said gently, "Everything's going to be all right."
Then suddenly, Aeryn was crying fresh tears and a small whimper fell from her lips. She closed her eyes and shook her head in denial.
"Everything," he began, stepping forward.
Aeryn practically sobbed as she wavered on her feet.
"Is gonna be," John tried to complete the reassurance as he continued to make his way to where Aeryn wavered.
She reached for him. Then suddenly, she was collapsing to the floor and John ran forward to catch her. Together, they sank to floor. Aeryn dropped back, laying in John's lap, shuddering and gasping in terror, sadness, and pain. He pressed his lips to her forehead in an effort to comfort her.
"Baby, you're burnin' up," John whispered, his voice rich with concern.
He cradled her gently in his arms, his fingers stroking her face as she closed her eyes.
"I've... I've got heat delirium," Aeryn gasped.
John pressed his lips to her forehead kissing her, not wanting to believe, terrified of loosing her before even getting her back.
Aeryn's eyes opened, seeking his.
"You have to promise me something," she said quietly.
"Promise you what?"
"You have to promise that you will not kill him," she said, her voice low and intense, willing him to understand.
"Won't kill who?" John asked with a voice full of confusion and suspicion.
"He found me... he saved my life," Aeryn explained, trying to prepare John.
"Who... saved your life? Who?"
Before Aeryn could answer, the elegant voice of Scorpius filled the chamber, "I did…”
John returned back to the present, the emotional pain of the remembrance filling him, causing him to gasp. Scorpius' voice echoed in the ear of his memory.
"No," he gasped before the probe relentlessly dug through his thoughts...
Noranti looked over the pale white wall of the building that the Interions were excavating. With a rapid hand, she plucked a small one legged insect from the wall. Without any qualms, she squeezed the insect's thorax until its insides were pushed out, sticky and blue.
"Laka. It's all over this planet. Squeeze the juzemize out of it and stick it up your nose! You'll get a jolt-- wham! And for five hundred microts nothing bothers you. No thinking of Aeryn, nothing."
"Get that thing away from me," John said in disgust.
"Okay, away; away…”
John came back again, panting now, struggling as he felt the mind probe working inside his thoughts, his skull.
"No, no, no..." he gasped like a prayer to keep the darkness back..
Scorpius began to laugh inside his head.
"No, no, no," he panted. Then, desperately, like a man drowning, he reached for the thought of Aeryn.
"Aeryn, Aeryn, Aeryn," he chanted like a mantra; a spell against all the dark monsters.
Captain Neracc entered the pod followed by Officer Jadasa. He walked over to where John was rocking as he chanted Aeryn's name.
Crouching down to look John in the face, Captain Neracc asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Officer Jadasa came over to where the captain crouched by their prisoner. She crouched down to Crichton's level as well. Then, carefully, she took out a scanner and read John's wild blue eyes. He didn't respond to the red light as Alicianth ran the scanner over his pupils.
"I believe that the mind probe has found the key to the wormhole knowledge in Crichton's mind," she said.
"Grayza wants him alive and unbroken," Captain Neracc said, the warning clear in his voice.
"There should still be enough left for her to break, even if something goes wrong with the probe," Officer Jadasa replied coldly.
"Should, is not an acceptable answer Officer."
Officer Jadasa rose. "The probe is working. I see no reason why it should not continue to work. And, as you specified, it should neither effect his higher brain functions, nor kill him."
Before Captain Neracc could say anything further, three commandos came running into the transport pod. He rose. "Report?"
"Scarrans," the commando reported simply, her voice grim. "They've taken base camp. Larvan and Vash are dead," she said, referring to the two commandos sent to report back to the Command Carrier. "The Scarrans ambushed us, Avandar is dead and they're right behind us. They're surrounding this pod."
"Did our soldiers report to the Command Carrier?" Captain Neracc asked even as he ordered his remaining team into position.
"Unknown, Sir."
"Move him to the back, guard him and Officer Sun," Captain Neracc ordered Officer Jadasa, indicating where Crichton still sat bound on the floor.
Officer Jadasa moved quickly to respond to the order. Deftly, she released Crichton's bonds around his feet so that he could walk. Then she ordered him to stand up and walk to the back of the pod. He stumbled once or twice, shaken by the effects of the probe burning through his mind. When he did so, Officer Jadasa roughly hauled him up, or shoved him forward. Finally in position in the back of the pod, she told him to sit and bound his feet once more before turning to face the pod door, her pulse rifle held at the ready.
John had his attention fixed on the door when he heard a soft moan from beside him. He turned his head to see Aeryn finally regaining consciousness, struggling out of the fog of whatever drug they had dosed her with. He could feel her shifting against him where she sat pressed up next to his side.
"Aeryn?" John whispered, almost desperate to hear her voice; to know if she was okay.
Aeryn turned her head to him. She pushed herself up straighter using her feet. "John?"
"We've got a problem," he whispered low, trying to not speak so loudly that Officer Jadasa would hear them.
Aeryn raised one eyebrow.
"More than this," John said, shifting his bound feet. "Scarrans," he whispered grimly.
"Frell," Aeryn mouthed.
They both turned their attention to the door when they heard the sounds of weapons fire. Suddenly, a loud blast deafened them as a concussive grenade went off near the door of the transport pod. Weapons fire filled the air as the Peacekeepers returned the Scarran attack.
"Get down," Officer Jadasa ordered as she went forward to join the other commandos.
John and Aeryn could hear the weapons fire coming closer. Suddenly, two warrior Scarrans fell heavily through the door as they tried to charge the pod and were taken down by the Peacekeepers' rifles. A third quickly followed and the commandos began to use the fallen Scarrans as a shield so they could moved forward to better position themselves for countering the attacking force.
Captain Neracc was the first Peacekeeper to go down, taking a shot from a Scarran rifle and falling away from the dead Scarrans that he had been using as a shield. The rest of the commandos continued to fight, but when another of their number fell, the Scarrans were given the opportunity to charge as three Peacekeepers tried to hold off six Scarrans.
Once the remaining Peacekeeper commandos were eliminated, the warrior Scarrans moved to eliminate Aeryn and John as well, seeing nothing more than two more Sebaceans. John moved to cover Aeryn with his own body, shielding her from the Scarrens before she could protest or attempt to fight.
"Stop!" Gaio ordered fiercely as she strode into the transport pod.
The warrior Scarrans stepped back as the female Scarran stepped forward.
"This is the human that War Minister Akhna wants, Crichton."
"What about the Peacekeeper female?"
"Bring her with us," Gaio ordered, and strode out of the transport pod.
Roughly, the Scarran warrior removed their bonds, and using his rifle as a prod, shoved them to their feet. "Move," he hissed, pushing them forward.
Without warning, John groaned and dropped to his knees as the probe found another memory to lead it to the wormhole information...
"My ineptitude? You mean my improvisation. The kind that keeps bailing your… sorry," John began to say from where he sat behind Aeryn in his stationary module in Moya's Hanger Bay.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but what is that smell?" John said, distracted by the pleasant scent.
Carefully, he leaned forward to inhale the soft scent of Aeryn's hair.
"What?" Aeryn asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
"It's your hair," John answered softly. "It smells."
Intoxicated by the scent and the softness, John pressed his face gently to her hair. His warm breath tickled Aeryn's ear as he took in the nearness of her.
"Zhaan gave me something," Aeryn answered, clearly trying to not sound as distracted as he suspected she was.
"All right. It smells good. I like it," John replied, his voice deep and low.
"Well, it's not for you to like," she replied in a light teasing voice.
"Oh. Then what's it for?"
"For me to like."
"You don't like that I like it?" John asked as he nuzzled very lightly at her neck before Aeryn twisted to look at him.
"Personal indulgences can fracture a small crew."
"I would never tell them...that you scented your hair," John replied playfully, his voice showing how very much he desired Aeryn at the moment.
Aeryn smiled brightly and they met to kiss softly. When Aeryn pulled back to met his eyes, John saw the desire he felt, reflected back at him through her eyes. After a heated moment, they both moved forward to kiss once more. This time, it was passionate and they wrapped their arms around each other, attempting to get closer in the cramped confines of the module.
Abruptly, Aeryn broke the kiss, viciously punching the buttons to open up the module and climbing out rapidly.
"No!" Aeryn said fiercely...
John came back from the memory flash to find himself down on his knees in Moya's transport pod. Aeryn was kneeling next to him.
"John, what's wrong?" Aeryn asked quietly next to him, her voice showing her concern.
Behind them, the Scarran hissed and roughly hauled Aeryn up. "I said move," he growled.
Another Scarran turned and hauled an unresisting Crichton up as well. John panted as he recovered, and Aeryn was looking at him with a great deal of worry. Both Scarrans shoved their captives forward and out of the pod, casually disregarding the dead bodies of the Peacekeepers under their feet.
Once they were outside, Iajo spoke to the two warriors in Scarran phrases that the translator microbes couldn't translate. The two guards shoved Aeryn and John forward until they stood in front of Iajo.
"John Crichton," he growled. Without warning, he directed a heat probe at the human, driving him to his knees. "Tell me what you know about wormholes," Iajo hissed.
John felt as if his skull was going to explode as the Peacekeeper mind probe reacted to the heat probe of the Scarran...
John was standing next to one of the cyro-pods being stored in Moya's cargo bay. Aeryn entered slowly and the door closed behind her. Quietly, she moved to stand before the other cryo-pod, matching John's stance.
Finished making your rounds?"
"Mm-hmm," Aeryn answered, pausing before she continued quietly, "I shouldn't be here."
"This is exactly where you should be,” John replied, with his heart in his voice.
"I love you," he said, his voice full of emotion.
"I love you, too," Aeryn replied, her voice also thick with the depth of her feelings.
John moved to where Aeryn stood. Gently, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Irresistibly, the kiss became passionate and they lost themselves in the caress, each other, and the moment. They sank to their knees still kissing...
'Tell me," Iajo growled, intensifying the heat probe...
Aeryn was holding a small crystal vial with amber liquid before her. Carefully she walked to where John knelt in his module, watching her advance. She kept her eyes locked with him and came to stand next to the Farscape1. Quietly, Aeryn held the tiny vial out to John, keeping it well within his reach.
After several heartbeats, John took the vial from her hand. Carefully he removed the stopper and touched it to his tongue. Then he dipped the stopper into the vial and held it out to Aeryn, his hand steady. His eyes remained locked with hers as she opened her mouth slightly. Delicately, John touched the stopper to Aeryn's tongue then replaced it in the vial.
Eyes still locked with Aeryn, John leaned forward and down to reach her uplifted face. He touched his tongue to hers and when they parted, they continued to keep eye contact for several heartbeats.
Gently John leaned forward to met Aeryn's upturned face once more. The kiss was warm, lingering, and very, very sweet. When they broke the kiss, Aeryn turned and slowly walked away. John folded his arms on the edge of the module and lifted a thumb to stroke his smiling lower lip as he thought about how sweet the kiss had been...
John came back into awareness hearing the sound of the female Scarran's growl and Aeryn's sound of pain. Through the blur of the heat probe, John saw Gaio hit Aeryn with the back of her hand, preventing the Sebacean from reaching John.
"Aeryn," he gasped.
Just as John felt like he was about to pass out, Iajo broke off the heat probe. "You will tell us what we want to know, John Crichton."
He turned to Daska, "Bring him."
Daska stepped forward, and with a small growl, lifted Crichton up onto his feet. Half supporting him, the Scarran scout followed where Iajo and Gaio lead. Another Scarran picked up, and did the same with Aeryn. No one stopped them as they made their way back to the Scarran's base camp and their small ship waiting there.
John heard the warrior Scarran holding Aeryn say something dark and ugly that the translator microbes could not translate. Then he heard Aeryn make a small sound of pain.
"Enough." John twisted, dislocating his shoulder and slipping from Daska's grasp. Quicker than the scout could move to stop him, John grabbed the pulse pistol from Daska's belt and shot at the Scarran holding Aeryn. It only stunned him, but it was enough to make him release the ex-peacekeeper. John and Aeryn ran into the marketplace.
“After them!" Gaio ordered and the Scarrans moved to tear through the marketplace seeking the human and the Sebacean.
Aeryn and John quickly attempted to loose themselves in the crowded passages through the stalls. The people were panicking, so John and Aeryn could easily blend in with the terrified mob. Though the Scarrans chased them relentlessly, John and Aeryn managed to stay a step ahead. Suddenly, Aeryn pulled John through a dark hole into an abandoned building. The Scarrans passed them by as they tore through the marketplace.
John winced as he slid down a dusty wall in the abandoned shop. The room that Aeryn and he had hidden themselves in was crowded with broken shelves and shattered crockery, with the smell of rotten food covering it all. It was dark and dusty with disuse.
Aeryn checked out the small hole that they had entered by. When she was certain that the Scarrans were well away, she returned to John. She crouched down by him.
"Let me check your arm," she said.
Gently she felt over it as John hissed in pain. "You've dislocated it. I'll have to shift it back into place. Are you ready?"
John nodded and Aeryn pulled on his arm firmly, a sharp tug to pop the shoulder back into place. John bit back a sound of pain.
"Well, Sundance," John began, wincing slightly as he rotated his relocated shoulder. "How do we get passed the Scarrans, to our pod, and back to Moya?"
"I think it's your turn for making the plan."
"Me? I had the last one, remember? Frightened little Miss Spider away," he replied, flipping around the old nursery rhyme.
Aeryn gave John a lopsided smile that he returned, then winced as the pressure began to build in his skull.
"John, what's wrong?"
"The Peacekeepers did something to me; put something in my head, some kind of mind probe. It's frelling with my mind; my memories. They said they wanted the wormhole equations stuck in here," he said, tapping his temple.
"I keep having these memory flashes as this thing keeps digging through my head. I can feel one coming on now."
"Like... like the neural clone?" Aeryn asked, trying to hide her concern by keeping her voice as neutral as possible.
"No... no, not really," John began before he gasped and grabbed at his temples, pressing his hands tight to his head...
TBC
Genre: Farscape; J/A; romance/action
Rating: PG or PG 13 at most for violence and some suggestive situations; mild swearing.
Disclaimer: Please see Part 1
Author's Notes: See Part 1
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Trapped in a cell on Moya, John saw what had to be one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen, one of the most beautiful 'human' women. His surprise couldn't have been more profound.
"Officer Aeryn Sun, Special Peacekeeper Commando, Ikarion Company, Pleisar Regiment. Identify yourself…”
The memory swirled and shifted as the probe dissected his thoughts...
"You can be more…”
John was hunched over now, bringing his head to his upraised knees as the probe tenaciously latched onto his thoughts...
Aeryn sat on the small bed in the nondescript hotel room, the bottle of beer held loose in her hand. She turned her head to look over to where John stood by the window, watching the rain and drinking his own bottle of dark beer.
"Sorry."
"What for?" Aeryn asked quietly.
"Everything. What's happened here...getting you stuck on Moya. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be the happy little Peacekeeper dominating the lesser races."
"Hmmm...I've got a lot to blame you for, Crichton," she replied dryly.
"Look at that," John said, his voice low and deep.
"What?”
"That's it, Earth, minus the sunshine," John answered, almost unable to understand it all.
"You know, you were right, it's actually very beautiful."
John watched the summer rain a moment longer before he moved to sit next to Aeryn on the bed, his shoulder touching hers. Then, because he had to know, "Were you scared to join me when I left Moya?"
"Yes."
So simple an answer, but John thought he understood what a tremendous amount of courage and trust it took for Aeryn to say it. He closed his eyes and let himself simply feel the warmth of Aeryn's shoulder against his.
"I won't be recaptured, Crichton, they will have to kill me if they come to take me tomorrow."
"I know," John said softly, feeling an ache at the thought that she had come here for him.
Slowly and carefully, John turned his head toward Aeryn. He looked at her for a moment, taking everything in; her ocean blue eyes, her soft warm skin, her dark hair held back in its practical pony tail. John closed his eyes and rested his forehead on her shoulder. Then, before he could stop himself with all the reasons why he shouldn't be doing this, he kissed her shoulder softly.
Almost surprised at Aeryn's soft sigh, he lifted his head to look at her as she continued to look forward. He touched his forehead to her cheek, waiting.
Finally, Aeryn slowly turned to look at John, her eyes meeting his. Then, almost hesitantly, they met in a soft kiss. It was brief, and when they parted, they took a moment to look into each other's eyes before moving to kiss once more. The kiss deepened and gently, they moved to lay back on the bed...
John came back to himself and the present. He was rocking slightly and longed to hold his head against the deep pressure in his skull. It felt like someone had reached inside his mind and was now beginning to squeeze. Worse still, through the pressure, John was also being bombarded by a thousand feelings and sensations brought on by the memories that the probe was accessing. He moaned, the sound coming up from deep in his chest.
"It's found something," Officer Jadasa said calmly, reaching for a scanner from her belt to confirm her assessment. "It's near what we need. If you don't try to fight it, we should be done soon. Besides, fighting the mind probe will do no good, we will still get the information that we require."
"I should go report to the captain," she said as she rose and headed out the pod door in search of Captain Neracc.
John took little note though, as another memory flash absorbed all his thought...
John held Winona in a level two handed grip, waiting. Then, from the shadows in the Maintenance Bay, a slim figure approached in an aching, slow fashion. John considered the figure and lowered his arms a fraction. He tilted his head to the side, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Aeryn?" John asked softly, almost a whisper
Aeryn stepped into the light. She was dressed unusually, in a black shiny suit very much like one of Scorpius' coolant suits. Her hair was longer than John remembered, loose and dark about her shoulders. She held her arms and hands flat to her sides. When she saw John, she began to cry quietly, the tears running unheeded down her face.
For the moment, John could simply stare. He still held Winona in his loose two handed grip, aimed in Aeryn's direction.
"You've come back," he said quietly, half question, half statement of wonder.
Hesitantly, gently, Aeryn nodded. Through her tears, she smiled softly.
John slowly lowered his pulse pistol to his side and for a moment, they simply looked at each other. Aeryn held her soft smile, seeming to be seeking reassurance of his welcome, his love. Slowly, John allowed himself to loose his tension. Quietly, he returned Aeryn's smile as he said gently, "Everything's going to be all right."
Then suddenly, Aeryn was crying fresh tears and a small whimper fell from her lips. She closed her eyes and shook her head in denial.
"Everything," he began, stepping forward.
Aeryn practically sobbed as she wavered on her feet.
"Is gonna be," John tried to complete the reassurance as he continued to make his way to where Aeryn wavered.
She reached for him. Then suddenly, she was collapsing to the floor and John ran forward to catch her. Together, they sank to floor. Aeryn dropped back, laying in John's lap, shuddering and gasping in terror, sadness, and pain. He pressed his lips to her forehead in an effort to comfort her.
"Baby, you're burnin' up," John whispered, his voice rich with concern.
He cradled her gently in his arms, his fingers stroking her face as she closed her eyes.
"I've... I've got heat delirium," Aeryn gasped.
John pressed his lips to her forehead kissing her, not wanting to believe, terrified of loosing her before even getting her back.
Aeryn's eyes opened, seeking his.
"You have to promise me something," she said quietly.
"Promise you what?"
"You have to promise that you will not kill him," she said, her voice low and intense, willing him to understand.
"Won't kill who?" John asked with a voice full of confusion and suspicion.
"He found me... he saved my life," Aeryn explained, trying to prepare John.
"Who... saved your life? Who?"
Before Aeryn could answer, the elegant voice of Scorpius filled the chamber, "I did…”
John returned back to the present, the emotional pain of the remembrance filling him, causing him to gasp. Scorpius' voice echoed in the ear of his memory.
"No," he gasped before the probe relentlessly dug through his thoughts...
Noranti looked over the pale white wall of the building that the Interions were excavating. With a rapid hand, she plucked a small one legged insect from the wall. Without any qualms, she squeezed the insect's thorax until its insides were pushed out, sticky and blue.
"Laka. It's all over this planet. Squeeze the juzemize out of it and stick it up your nose! You'll get a jolt-- wham! And for five hundred microts nothing bothers you. No thinking of Aeryn, nothing."
"Get that thing away from me," John said in disgust.
"Okay, away; away…”
John came back again, panting now, struggling as he felt the mind probe working inside his thoughts, his skull.
"No, no, no..." he gasped like a prayer to keep the darkness back..
Scorpius began to laugh inside his head.
"No, no, no," he panted. Then, desperately, like a man drowning, he reached for the thought of Aeryn.
"Aeryn, Aeryn, Aeryn," he chanted like a mantra; a spell against all the dark monsters.
Captain Neracc entered the pod followed by Officer Jadasa. He walked over to where John was rocking as he chanted Aeryn's name.
Crouching down to look John in the face, Captain Neracc asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Officer Jadasa came over to where the captain crouched by their prisoner. She crouched down to Crichton's level as well. Then, carefully, she took out a scanner and read John's wild blue eyes. He didn't respond to the red light as Alicianth ran the scanner over his pupils.
"I believe that the mind probe has found the key to the wormhole knowledge in Crichton's mind," she said.
"Grayza wants him alive and unbroken," Captain Neracc said, the warning clear in his voice.
"There should still be enough left for her to break, even if something goes wrong with the probe," Officer Jadasa replied coldly.
"Should, is not an acceptable answer Officer."
Officer Jadasa rose. "The probe is working. I see no reason why it should not continue to work. And, as you specified, it should neither effect his higher brain functions, nor kill him."
Before Captain Neracc could say anything further, three commandos came running into the transport pod. He rose. "Report?"
"Scarrans," the commando reported simply, her voice grim. "They've taken base camp. Larvan and Vash are dead," she said, referring to the two commandos sent to report back to the Command Carrier. "The Scarrans ambushed us, Avandar is dead and they're right behind us. They're surrounding this pod."
"Did our soldiers report to the Command Carrier?" Captain Neracc asked even as he ordered his remaining team into position.
"Unknown, Sir."
"Move him to the back, guard him and Officer Sun," Captain Neracc ordered Officer Jadasa, indicating where Crichton still sat bound on the floor.
Officer Jadasa moved quickly to respond to the order. Deftly, she released Crichton's bonds around his feet so that he could walk. Then she ordered him to stand up and walk to the back of the pod. He stumbled once or twice, shaken by the effects of the probe burning through his mind. When he did so, Officer Jadasa roughly hauled him up, or shoved him forward. Finally in position in the back of the pod, she told him to sit and bound his feet once more before turning to face the pod door, her pulse rifle held at the ready.
John had his attention fixed on the door when he heard a soft moan from beside him. He turned his head to see Aeryn finally regaining consciousness, struggling out of the fog of whatever drug they had dosed her with. He could feel her shifting against him where she sat pressed up next to his side.
"Aeryn?" John whispered, almost desperate to hear her voice; to know if she was okay.
Aeryn turned her head to him. She pushed herself up straighter using her feet. "John?"
"We've got a problem," he whispered low, trying to not speak so loudly that Officer Jadasa would hear them.
Aeryn raised one eyebrow.
"More than this," John said, shifting his bound feet. "Scarrans," he whispered grimly.
"Frell," Aeryn mouthed.
They both turned their attention to the door when they heard the sounds of weapons fire. Suddenly, a loud blast deafened them as a concussive grenade went off near the door of the transport pod. Weapons fire filled the air as the Peacekeepers returned the Scarran attack.
"Get down," Officer Jadasa ordered as she went forward to join the other commandos.
John and Aeryn could hear the weapons fire coming closer. Suddenly, two warrior Scarrans fell heavily through the door as they tried to charge the pod and were taken down by the Peacekeepers' rifles. A third quickly followed and the commandos began to use the fallen Scarrans as a shield so they could moved forward to better position themselves for countering the attacking force.
Captain Neracc was the first Peacekeeper to go down, taking a shot from a Scarran rifle and falling away from the dead Scarrans that he had been using as a shield. The rest of the commandos continued to fight, but when another of their number fell, the Scarrans were given the opportunity to charge as three Peacekeepers tried to hold off six Scarrans.
Once the remaining Peacekeeper commandos were eliminated, the warrior Scarrans moved to eliminate Aeryn and John as well, seeing nothing more than two more Sebaceans. John moved to cover Aeryn with his own body, shielding her from the Scarrens before she could protest or attempt to fight.
"Stop!" Gaio ordered fiercely as she strode into the transport pod.
The warrior Scarrans stepped back as the female Scarran stepped forward.
"This is the human that War Minister Akhna wants, Crichton."
"What about the Peacekeeper female?"
"Bring her with us," Gaio ordered, and strode out of the transport pod.
Roughly, the Scarran warrior removed their bonds, and using his rifle as a prod, shoved them to their feet. "Move," he hissed, pushing them forward.
Without warning, John groaned and dropped to his knees as the probe found another memory to lead it to the wormhole information...
"My ineptitude? You mean my improvisation. The kind that keeps bailing your… sorry," John began to say from where he sat behind Aeryn in his stationary module in Moya's Hanger Bay.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but what is that smell?" John said, distracted by the pleasant scent.
Carefully, he leaned forward to inhale the soft scent of Aeryn's hair.
"What?" Aeryn asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.
"It's your hair," John answered softly. "It smells."
Intoxicated by the scent and the softness, John pressed his face gently to her hair. His warm breath tickled Aeryn's ear as he took in the nearness of her.
"Zhaan gave me something," Aeryn answered, clearly trying to not sound as distracted as he suspected she was.
"All right. It smells good. I like it," John replied, his voice deep and low.
"Well, it's not for you to like," she replied in a light teasing voice.
"Oh. Then what's it for?"
"For me to like."
"You don't like that I like it?" John asked as he nuzzled very lightly at her neck before Aeryn twisted to look at him.
"Personal indulgences can fracture a small crew."
"I would never tell them...that you scented your hair," John replied playfully, his voice showing how very much he desired Aeryn at the moment.
Aeryn smiled brightly and they met to kiss softly. When Aeryn pulled back to met his eyes, John saw the desire he felt, reflected back at him through her eyes. After a heated moment, they both moved forward to kiss once more. This time, it was passionate and they wrapped their arms around each other, attempting to get closer in the cramped confines of the module.
Abruptly, Aeryn broke the kiss, viciously punching the buttons to open up the module and climbing out rapidly.
"No!" Aeryn said fiercely...
John came back from the memory flash to find himself down on his knees in Moya's transport pod. Aeryn was kneeling next to him.
"John, what's wrong?" Aeryn asked quietly next to him, her voice showing her concern.
Behind them, the Scarran hissed and roughly hauled Aeryn up. "I said move," he growled.
Another Scarran turned and hauled an unresisting Crichton up as well. John panted as he recovered, and Aeryn was looking at him with a great deal of worry. Both Scarrans shoved their captives forward and out of the pod, casually disregarding the dead bodies of the Peacekeepers under their feet.
Once they were outside, Iajo spoke to the two warriors in Scarran phrases that the translator microbes couldn't translate. The two guards shoved Aeryn and John forward until they stood in front of Iajo.
"John Crichton," he growled. Without warning, he directed a heat probe at the human, driving him to his knees. "Tell me what you know about wormholes," Iajo hissed.
John felt as if his skull was going to explode as the Peacekeeper mind probe reacted to the heat probe of the Scarran...
John was standing next to one of the cyro-pods being stored in Moya's cargo bay. Aeryn entered slowly and the door closed behind her. Quietly, she moved to stand before the other cryo-pod, matching John's stance.
Finished making your rounds?"
"Mm-hmm," Aeryn answered, pausing before she continued quietly, "I shouldn't be here."
"This is exactly where you should be,” John replied, with his heart in his voice.
"I love you," he said, his voice full of emotion.
"I love you, too," Aeryn replied, her voice also thick with the depth of her feelings.
John moved to where Aeryn stood. Gently, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Irresistibly, the kiss became passionate and they lost themselves in the caress, each other, and the moment. They sank to their knees still kissing...
'Tell me," Iajo growled, intensifying the heat probe...
Aeryn was holding a small crystal vial with amber liquid before her. Carefully she walked to where John knelt in his module, watching her advance. She kept her eyes locked with him and came to stand next to the Farscape1. Quietly, Aeryn held the tiny vial out to John, keeping it well within his reach.
After several heartbeats, John took the vial from her hand. Carefully he removed the stopper and touched it to his tongue. Then he dipped the stopper into the vial and held it out to Aeryn, his hand steady. His eyes remained locked with hers as she opened her mouth slightly. Delicately, John touched the stopper to Aeryn's tongue then replaced it in the vial.
Eyes still locked with Aeryn, John leaned forward and down to reach her uplifted face. He touched his tongue to hers and when they parted, they continued to keep eye contact for several heartbeats.
Gently John leaned forward to met Aeryn's upturned face once more. The kiss was warm, lingering, and very, very sweet. When they broke the kiss, Aeryn turned and slowly walked away. John folded his arms on the edge of the module and lifted a thumb to stroke his smiling lower lip as he thought about how sweet the kiss had been...
John came back into awareness hearing the sound of the female Scarran's growl and Aeryn's sound of pain. Through the blur of the heat probe, John saw Gaio hit Aeryn with the back of her hand, preventing the Sebacean from reaching John.
"Aeryn," he gasped.
Just as John felt like he was about to pass out, Iajo broke off the heat probe. "You will tell us what we want to know, John Crichton."
He turned to Daska, "Bring him."
Daska stepped forward, and with a small growl, lifted Crichton up onto his feet. Half supporting him, the Scarran scout followed where Iajo and Gaio lead. Another Scarran picked up, and did the same with Aeryn. No one stopped them as they made their way back to the Scarran's base camp and their small ship waiting there.
John heard the warrior Scarran holding Aeryn say something dark and ugly that the translator microbes could not translate. Then he heard Aeryn make a small sound of pain.
"Enough." John twisted, dislocating his shoulder and slipping from Daska's grasp. Quicker than the scout could move to stop him, John grabbed the pulse pistol from Daska's belt and shot at the Scarran holding Aeryn. It only stunned him, but it was enough to make him release the ex-peacekeeper. John and Aeryn ran into the marketplace.
“After them!" Gaio ordered and the Scarrans moved to tear through the marketplace seeking the human and the Sebacean.
Aeryn and John quickly attempted to loose themselves in the crowded passages through the stalls. The people were panicking, so John and Aeryn could easily blend in with the terrified mob. Though the Scarrans chased them relentlessly, John and Aeryn managed to stay a step ahead. Suddenly, Aeryn pulled John through a dark hole into an abandoned building. The Scarrans passed them by as they tore through the marketplace.
John winced as he slid down a dusty wall in the abandoned shop. The room that Aeryn and he had hidden themselves in was crowded with broken shelves and shattered crockery, with the smell of rotten food covering it all. It was dark and dusty with disuse.
Aeryn checked out the small hole that they had entered by. When she was certain that the Scarrans were well away, she returned to John. She crouched down by him.
"Let me check your arm," she said.
Gently she felt over it as John hissed in pain. "You've dislocated it. I'll have to shift it back into place. Are you ready?"
John nodded and Aeryn pulled on his arm firmly, a sharp tug to pop the shoulder back into place. John bit back a sound of pain.
"Well, Sundance," John began, wincing slightly as he rotated his relocated shoulder. "How do we get passed the Scarrans, to our pod, and back to Moya?"
"I think it's your turn for making the plan."
"Me? I had the last one, remember? Frightened little Miss Spider away," he replied, flipping around the old nursery rhyme.
Aeryn gave John a lopsided smile that he returned, then winced as the pressure began to build in his skull.
"John, what's wrong?"
"The Peacekeepers did something to me; put something in my head, some kind of mind probe. It's frelling with my mind; my memories. They said they wanted the wormhole equations stuck in here," he said, tapping his temple.
"I keep having these memory flashes as this thing keeps digging through my head. I can feel one coming on now."
"Like... like the neural clone?" Aeryn asked, trying to hide her concern by keeping her voice as neutral as possible.
"No... no, not really," John began before he gasped and grabbed at his temples, pressing his hands tight to his head...
TBC