Plan B

[Atana]

This is another answer to AerynCrichton's "Kill furlow" fic challenge

Part I

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The nightmare always began the same way.  Moya was dying. 

Thick dark sludge oozed from the walls like blood, slicking the floor and making it difficult to walk let alone run.  Drexim steamed into the air, obscuring vision and elevating the senses to panic- like proportions.  Heavy acrid smoke burned the lungs and stung the eyes and the pulsing whine of engines, like tortured screams assaulted the ears.  And always, always, the terror loomed closer, promising destruction with every passing microt.

She was alone; the others were dead, though she didn’t know why.  They had died horribly, though she didn’t know how.  She never saw them, she simply... felt their loss, or rather the empty pain inside that told her that they were gone.  She had failed them, as she had failed everything, her calling, her mother, her lovers and now.... this.

She ran, but she didn’t know where.  There was nothing left to do, no one left to save, no one left to comfort.... or comfort her.  And yet... she still tried.  Pounded uselessly at conduits that would not open, typed helplessly at panels that refused to yield answers searched endlessly for connections long since burned to ash.  Because she had to do something.  Because this was all she had left.  Because she needed them to know, even though they were gone that she hadn’t abandoned them in the end. 

And still the nameless terror loomed closer.

She made it stumbling up to command.  The viewscreen was cracked but she could still see it.  The thing was familiar, but she couldn’t say what it was.  It pulsed and twirled and beckoned and she knew she couldn’t stop it.  It was bigger than Moya, bigger than everything and it was coming... just for her.  And she knew when it caught her she would not go where the others had gone.  Where... he had gone.  Peace, was meant for innocent souls.  She would be cast ... alone.. into the void to spin, endlessly, endlessly endlessly...

“Aeryn?”

She sat up with a gasp. 

“Aeryn?”

She rubbed at her sweaty face with shaking hands.

“AERYN?”

She tried to calm her ragged breathing.

“AERYN ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

The concern in his voice got her moving, if she didn’t respond he would come down here and he couldn’t see her like this.  No one could see her like this.

“Yes.... I’m fine.  What is it you need?”

There was a pause.  He didn’t believe her she was sure of it.  But she also knew he would do nothing further, her tone had seen to that.

“Ummm,” his voice was subdued now, and she twinged a bit at the ill-concealed hurt within.  She shouldn’t take it out on him; the dreams were not his fault.

“I’m sorry... John... you just startled me out of a sound sleep.  What is it you need really?”

She heard him sigh.  “Look, it would be easier if I just showed you, can you come up here for a bit?” 

“Where are you?”

“Center chamber.”

“Alright.”
 

[Atana]

John watched her come into the room.  She looked like she always did.... smooth.  He almost smiled at the analogy, would she consider it a complement?  “Hello darling how do I look?  Well baby you look.... smooth?”  But he couldn’t think of anything else that fit.  Her hair was smoothed back into a perfect braid, never mind that it was the middle of the night.  Her clothing was smooth without a wrinkle in it and her expression was.... smooth as well.  Calmer than neutral, more expressionless than blank.  Indifference would have been a step up, God he must be pathetic if he didn’t even rate that.

“Thank you” he said for lack of anything better to say.

She raised an eyebrow slightly; “You may not, if you don’t tell me in three microts why you dragged me up here in the middle of the sleep cycle.”

He relaxed a bit.  She’d been doing that recently, allowing a hint of, dare he say humor, to show through the facade, if facade was the right word.  Facade suggested that there was something within that was hidden and for all he knew when the other him died her soul had gone with him leaving only the shell. 

“Be smart, give her time.”  Easy words, hard edict.  And all from a man who hadn’t had to deal with the consequences of his actions.  No, he had played the hero and died, leaving him to pick up the pieces and deal with the mess. 

“Well?” 

John bit at his lip and pulled himself out of his reverie with no small amount of guilt.  He’d been doing it again, that self-pitying thing he hated so much.  He knew all the reasons, the wherefore’s, the why’s.  Had bounced the situation around in his head a million times.  There was nothing that he could have done differently, no one thing he could have changed, no scenario that didn’t end up with them all being in the same frelling place they were now.  He’d been... closer when they chose shirts, half a metra closer, and like a back up date for the prom he’d missed the dance and been left out in the cold.  And yet because he was a half metra closer he was here with her now. The Fates it seemed were not without a sick sense of humor.  When he died he fully expected to find them laughing at him.

“Ah... yeah.  Come over here and look at this.”  He waited until she sat down next to him at the table and then moved the pilla meat sandwich and felip necter bottles out of the way so she could properly see the schematics.

She regarded the diagram intently for a microt and then frowned.  “What is it?”

“Well, according to Chiana and Jool its a.... Para-transmitil-de-geeeum thingy”

She stared at him, “That can’t be right.”

“No its not, I’m saying it wrong but that doesn’t change what it does, which would be to exponentially increase the Farscape engines capability to both handle and produce speed.

“And the benefit of that would be?”


John looked away from her and down at his bare feet on the floor.  “Well,” he said carefully, “Linfer said that in order for her to semi-successfully transverse the wormhole like she did a great deal of speed was needed, and that was a naturally occurring wormhole.  And in the one that my... in the one that... happened on Dambada when.... the Scaren Dreadnought was destroyed, Crais mentioned that a great deal of speed had to be used to ah... make that wormhole as well.  So since both wormholes seemed to need the same denominator to harness them...”

“I get the picture John,” Aeryn cut him off curtly.  “If you think this will help you in some way then by all means you should obtain it.”

John knew without looking back at her that he’d communicated this badly.  Knew that her mouth would show just the tiniest bit of tensing at the corners, that her eyes would have narrowed just the slightest bit, that in just a microt she would excuse herself and take her leave and it would again be one step forward and two steps back.   “What the frell” he thought and gambled.

“I don’t think you get the picture at all and not every damn thing has to do with me, or him, or the fact that one of us died.”

He tensed but to his surprise she didn’t hit him, or get up or for that matter do anything at all.

Emboldened, he continued.  “I know how much you are hurting, have... been hurting since ... well I know anyway.  You’ve told me, we’ve had that conversation.  I know my place in your life and what my boundaries are.  I’m not ...expecting anything from you in that way.   But you said that we could work together, that you believed me when I said that Scorpius having wormhole technology was a dangerous thing. That no matter what it cost us we had to stop him.  Now if you meant that, then I need you to HELP me.  And that means telling me what you really think about things, whether its a good idea or not, telling me what you FEEL about stuff, fake it if you have to but tell me SOMETHING.”

She just stared at him.

“Oh forget it,” he said frustrated and defeated, “Sorry I woke you at all.”

“If Scorpius having wormhole technology is, as we know it is, a very dangerous thing,” she said in a voice that let him know he had once again, jumped the gun. “Then why would you actively be seeking a component that, if it works, would aid him in his attempt?”

“Because, it’s Scorpius having wormhole technology that’s a bad thing Aeryn.  Not the technology itself.  And we need it, ... I need it.  I still have a home out there that needs protecting, people I ... love that still live there.  And there is a war brewing between your people and the Scarens.   I’ve been told they outnumber you at least 10 to one.  Now, much as I have no love for Peacekeepers, you’ve told me what the Scarens are capable of and if “the free universe” for lack of a better word is to stand a chance against them then Scorpius is right about one thing.  We need a pretty good one up, and unfortunately it seems it’s the stuff that’s locked in my head.”

He paused and looked at her composed face, saw something swim for a microt behind her gray eyes, and felt the anger seep out of him in a rush.  He was just so tired.

“As bad as my life is Aeryn, I don’t want to die.  I want to live.  And I’m going to do everything I can to keep living, for your sake, as much as mine.  I know what losing him cost you.”

“How could you know?”  Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Look at me.”

She turned her head to the window.

“LOOK at me.”

She obeyed.

“I want you to remember, no check that.  I NEED you to remember.  You lost something because you loved him and he died.  I lost something because I loved you and he lived.  In my book that makes us pretty much even.”

She stood up,  “I stand corrected... on all accounts.” She said, “Meet me on Command in the morning and we’ll go over how best to find this Para whatever thingy of yours.”   

He let out a sigh.  He supposed it was something, what he wasn’t sure, but something nonetheless. 

“O.K.”

“And John?”

“Yeah?”

She reached out and smoothed the short hairs back from his forehead where they stuck to his sweat-dampened brow, then trailed her hand lightly down the side of his cheek.  He instinctively leaned his head into it, his throat making an involuntary hum at the contact.

“Get some sleep, you look.... tired.”  She said.  And left the room. 



“I’m telling you that’s all he said,” Chiana said with a small amount of petulance in her voice.  “If you’re interested meet him at the restaurant on Timeri St. On Nisox Prime in... well it would be one solar day now.  He’ll let you know IF he has the component and how much his seller wants for it if he does.”

“And why do we have to go to Nisox?” asked Aeryn, “Why can’t he just come here to Moya or meet us down on Essox Prime since we are in orbit?”

“Oh and like we REALLY, were gonna get that detailed” Said Jool as she rolled her eyes at Aeryn’s apparent lack of bargaining skills.  “If we let him know we really CARED about the frelling piece he would have jacked up the price SOOO high we never would have been able to afford it.  And if we surprised him and DID, we’d have every thief and racketeer in the 9 planets system on our rears for moens to come.”

“No, just be glad I recognized the stupid thing, and that I knew what it can do.  Chiana and I did our part, now you go do the rest.”  And with that Jool wandered over to the display console nearest Crais, hopped up on it and crossed her legs thereby giving him a considerable and carefully planned view of her right upper thigh.

Ah, I think Jooluska is right," Crais said tearing his eyes away from Jool's leg long enough to address Crichton and Aeryn.  "This Mannix, whomever he is specified that he needed to meet directly with the buyer, and since Chiana has already stated to him that it was you, then I agree, it would be best for you to handle it.  I will accompany you if you like."

"Gee Crais that's nice of you" began John

"But it's totally unnecessary, because I'm going to go" interrupted D’Argo.

"And why exactly is it that every time Crichton decides he has to go somewhere YOU are automatically going with him?" cut in Rygel

"Because I'm his friend." Glowered D’Argo.

"Well so am I."  Rygel actually sounded insulted.

“O.K. well... then... I'm bigger."

"So what, I'm smarter. And you can’t bargain worth a..."

John shook his head, eased off of Command and headed down the corridor towards his quarters. 

He heard footsteps behind him and jumped a bit as Aeryn fell into step beside him. 

"I can't believe I'm saying this,” she began awkwardly, “ but I actually missed that."

He stared at her incredulous.  "Rygel and D’Argo arguing?  You're right, I can't believe you're saying it either."

Her face took on a pained look.  “Mmmh, if you'd had to spend half a cycle listening to Rygel and Stark go at it you wouldn't say that."

He shrugged absently.  "Maybe not."

"Well I don't see the point of wasting any more time.  Go pack your things and I'll meet you in transport bay 6 in say.... half an ahrn."

John hesitated. “Are you sure about this?”  He asked. 

"You were right last night, with what you said about me helping.  I’m willing to do that if you still want me to. “  She paused to consider his reaction and when he gave her none continued.  “Besides this, for all its import to you, is a side trip.  We still have a plan to implement if we are going to stop Scorpius and the quicker we get finished with this the less likely we are to cause any delays in that area."

John nodded.  "The plan, yeah, right, fine.  I'll go pack and meet you in half an ahrn."

"O.K."

[Atana]

I am going to kill that little Nabari trelk the microt I get back on Moya." Aeryn said between clenched teeth.

"Yeah well get in line behind half of the rest of the known universe."  Deadpanned John. "Besides, I wouldn’t complain to loudly. This is the first time we've been anywhere" he paused and downed another of the shot glasses in front of him. "At least it's the first time I've been anywhere with you” He amended, “Where the fact that we wear leather doesn't brand us as Peacekeeper or make us stick out like a sore thumb."

Aeryn had to agree he was right. They didn't stick out. In fact in some respects they were woefully under dressed. The "restaurant" Chiana's contact had requested they meet at was, in actuality, more like a club.
And no ordinary club at that. A frelling strange one full of all species and genders wearing the oddest and most uncomfortable attire she had ever seen. Feathers, whips, chains and metal studs seemed to adorn everyone everywhere. Multiple piercings abounded and people were drinking, smoking and in some cases openly frelling in every available surface in the place.

She looked over at John who was in the process of downing yet another shot. She had to admit; in spite of herself she was beginning to worry about him. He'd been drinking since they'd arrived yesterday afternoon. Not to heavily, but with a steady rhythm she'd never seen before. His face was gaunt, he hadn't eaten much,  (not that she'd eaten much either) but she'd still noticed that his clothes were hanging a little looser on his frame. And then there were his eyes. They were dull, restless and puffy from lack of sleep.

The dreams had awakened her twice on the overnight trip here from Moya. Both times she'd found him at the controls, once writing in his journal and the other time staring at the stars, his thumb running over his lower lip in that way it did when he was nervous or scared. Each time he'd professed he was all right and would go get some sleep in a few microts, both times he'd lied.

She reached over and pushed the next shot glass away with one finger. "Haven't you had enough of those already?"

He blinked at her. "No."

"It won't do us any good if you're to drunk to pull this off John."

He smiled thinly. "I'm nowhere near that drunk. I hung out with D’Argo a lot while you were gone. He made it a personal crusade of his to get me drunk at least once a weaken. Said it made me easier to deal with. In any case I've built up quite a tolerance.   I won’t be three sheets to the wind for oh, another three or for bottles yet.”  He retrieved the shot glass she’d pushed away and downed it in one gulp.  “Speaking of which, where’s that waitress it’s time for another round.”

Aeryn found herself getting a bit annoyed with his flippant attitude. "We need to be in complete control of our senses here John.”

“I am in control of my senses.”

“Which one?  The one that let’s you know where the bathroom is?” her annoyance was quickly changing to anger.

John ignored her tone and spun her stool around to face the front of the room.

"The one that tells me that Mistress Vivica over there has been watching us for waaay to long."

"Who?"

"The dominatrix behind the bar."

Aeryn scanned the bar staff quickly. "The redhead?" she said finally spotting a scantily dressed girl in a black leather bustier and fishnet stockings, wearing dark lipstick, eye makeup and a long high set ponytail.

"The very one.  She's been finding some excuse to either look or walk over this way every 500 microts or so. I've got plenty of booze, and you've been nursing that thing," he pointed to her lone bottle of fellip nectar, "for at least an ahrn, so she can't be waiting to hit us up for drinks. Couple that with the fact that this Mannix hasn't showed yet and I'll bet she's fronting for him."

Aeyn sized her up again.  “It’s possible she's been sent to watch us for him but if that's the case why hasn't she approached us yet?"

John shrugged. "My guess is if she doesn’t like the look of us he doesn’t take the meeting. We must not have passed the test."

Aeryn got up. "Well let’s go see if we can’t make her reconsider."

The two of them made their way through the wildly gyrating crowd and pushed up close to the bar.

“Hey!”  John hollered trying desperately to make himself heard above the loud screeching noise that evidently passed for music in the place.

The redhead ignored him.

“Hey!” He tried again.

Still nothing.

Aeryn sighed, five microts were up and as far as she was concerned the time for civilized talk was over. She leaned over the bar grabbed the end of the girls long red ponytail and tugged. Hard.

“HEY!!!”  The girl finally responded with a mixture of anger and pain.

Aeryn was unmoved by her reaction. “NOW THAT WE'VE GOT YOUR ATTENTION” she enunciated slowly and loudly to compensate for the music. “WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE MANNIX IS.”

The girl stared at Aeryn for a microt and then hauled off and slapped her full across the face.

John moved with swiftness that both surprised Aeryn and made her realize she’d woefully underestimated his capacity to hold liquor. Before she could even move a dench in response to the insult of being slapped by the obnoxious little trelk he’d pulled her back against him, effectively restraining her with one arm and pulled Winona and had her placed in front of the girl’s nose with the other.

“You REALLY don't want to do anything like that again.”   He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

She barmaid stared at him archly.

“Why not? Are you going to shoot me if I do?”

“No,” John replied. “Much worse, I’ll let her go.”

“Well why don’t you then,” She looked Aeryn up and down dismissively, I’m not supposed to be SCARED of this flat-butted little trelk am I?”

John tisked, “ I warned you.”

Aeryn felt the pressure on her arms and chest dissipate as John released her. The girl was to busy glowering at him to notice her moving and the resulting fight was brief and disappointingly easy. A few microts later she had the girl by the throat with her torso laid out across the bar and her feet dangling a few denches off of the ground.

John calmly invited all the surrounding patrons to go back to whatever they were doing and not pay attention to anything they may see or hear that might seem a bit ...harsh. From the blank stares they received back Aeryn concluded that either this sort of thing happened all the time, or everyone was to drunk or drugged to care WHAT they were doing. She let up slightly on the gasping girl’s throat and nodded at John to begin the interrogation.


He reached over, grabbed a bottle of Raslic, poured himself another shot, downed it and then leaned in close over the girls upturned head.

"Well now that the cat fights over, would you care to answer our questions or do I let my partner here start indulging some of her more... deviant fantasies?”

The girl attempted to spit on him.

John sighed, “Darlin?”  He said to Aeryn, “Haven’t you just been DYING to show me what a paphoral nerve ACTUALLY looks like? My species doesn’t have them you know and I’ve always been curious.”

Aeryn played along; “Well we can’t have you thirsting for knowledge now can we? Just get me a knife and I’ll be happy to show you.”

“With pleasure” John reached underneath his coat and around his back and pulled out a rather large knife with a serrated edge. It was 6 denches long, at least two wide, tempered of a metal she didn’t recognize and had a custom made handle. “Here you go,” he said reversing the blade and handing it to her.

Aeryn felt her eyes widening a bit as she stared at it.  “When the frell had he started carrying that?”  she wondered as she took the heavy metal in hand. She placed the tip of it against the girls exposed side and had to jerk back quickly when the light pressure was enough to draw blood.

“Wherever did you get this? She asked with genuine professional admiration,  “Good balance, nice heft, and the keenest edge I’ve ever seen. I’d rather like to have one of these.”

“Impressive isn’t it?”  John replied. “You ought to see how nicely it doubles as a digging tool. Why don’t you bring the tip up here closer to that pretty violet eyeball of hers and I’ll show you.”

Aeryn had barely moved the knife when the girl gave out a grunt. “O.K.” she panted. “No need to get ... personal. Let me up and I’ll take you to Mannix.”

Aeryn complied and the girl stood there a microt dry retching and grasping at her sore throat. She seemed embarrassed and somewhat frightened by the ease with which Aeryn had taken her. She straightened her clothes and gestured for them to follow her behind the bar and down a rather dank hall that smelled of urine and several illegal substances.

After a few microts they reached a green colored door and the girl reached out her hand to knock on it. Aeryn moved quickly, catching the girl around her waist and placing the knife against her side again.

“No advance notice,” she said flatly. “Just key in the code and let us in.”  The girl hesitated a bit and Aeryn was forced to prompt her a bit further.

The resulting warm trickle of blood was enough to stop any further resistance and she keyed in a code. The door opened and they found themselves in what to John looked like a honeymoon suite at a cheap Vegas
hotel.

Lurid red curtains seemed to drape the entire room. All of the furniture was painted red and black, and a huge round bed complete with red covers and black pillows dominated the center of the room. In it were lounging a very large bald Sebecean man and two women in various states of undress. The man looked up and his expression let them know he was exceedingly displeased at the untimely interruption of his afternoon’s entertainment.

He did not however seem, surprised or frightened by their presence.

“Deneta my love,” he drawled to the woman on his left, a brunette of a race neither Aeryn nor John recognized. “Run and get me something to put on will you dear? It seems our company has arrived a tad early.”

The girl nodded and got up heedless of her own nudity and fetched a red dressing gown from the wall. The man put it on and then got up and dismissed both girls who disappeared out of another red door in the back of the room.

“Epoch Mannix at your service,” he said with a slight bow of his head.  “Sorry for the ... disarray, but Tertia was supposed to keep you occupied for another half ahrn.”

“Well we’d already been waiting half an ahrn,” Aeryn said, “and your little flunky here wasn’t very convincing.”

“I know,” Mannix replied his voice soundly immensely disappointed, “I’m going to have to do something about that” And with that he reached out and slapped the girl who had brought them from the bar with such force she was torn out of Aeryn’s restraining arm and landed flat on her back.

To Aeryn’s surprise John neither objected nor interfered.  “Look,” he said. “Discipline your staff on your own time, we have business to discuss.”

Mannix looked at John with something approaching respect in his eyes.

“Very true. Tertia, get up and go pet, Daddy will deal with you later.”  He then indicated a small desk and chairs to his left and they all sat down.

Mannix began digging round in some paperwork and Aeryn took the opportunity to size him up. He was tall; nearly D’Argo’s height, and well muscled. He moved with a litheness that was uncommon for a man with his frame and she wondered if he had spent some time in a military somewhere. But it was his
eyes that really captured her attention. They were multifaceted like jewels and swirled with a variety of colors.

He looked up and caught Aeryn’s stare “Surgical implants,” he explained. “They give me panoramic vision, night vision, infrared and internal. I can look at your pretty skin or your delicate bones should I choose and if I really wanted to I could see just what you had for breakfast.”

“Got some other enhancements too. One of which is aurials. I could hear the pair of you coming 3 metras off.”

“That’s some pretty extensive hardware for a smuggler.”  Aeryn commented. 

“I prefer the term entrapaneur pet,” he replied,  “And I didn’t have to pay” He opened up the dressing gown to show an elaborate tattoo etched into his left shoulder  “Got my toys the same place you got your fighting skills.”

Aeryn regarded the tattoo. “Wolfstar regiment” she said. “How’d you get here then? You lot are supposed to be in until you buy it.”

“That’s just it.  Anything can be bought for the right price pet, anything at all”

“Wolfstar” Aeryn said for John’s benefit, "is where they send all of the worst Peacekeeper misfits. The ones who turn out to be psychopaths or sexual deviants, or tick off a senior member of high command. They’re fitted out with special equipment and sent on increasingly dangerous missions until one day their luck runs out and they don’t come back at all.”

“I’d say our friend here made some contacts while he was slithering around in the filth, he let some assassination assignments go and they repaid the favor. It’s not unheard of but very hard to pull off.”

Mannix grinned, “which just goes to show you how valuable I am. Now getting down to business. I overheard your little Nabari friend talking in that Bazaar a few days ago about how you were looking to increase the speed of your prowler.”  He nodded at John who didn’t correct the mistake. “Well
I’ve come across a little something that will make you faster than anything in the nine systems area including a PK command carrier.”

“We know all that,” John said,  “So lets just get to it and start talking price.”

“That’s a dangerous place to start.”

“No it’s not,” John countered.  “When price is no option.”

Mannix multi colored eyes swirled even faster. “Well then I guess this will be a shorter meeting than I thought. Let me contact my seller and see what I can do. They’re hard up for currency and have a few ... unsavory types looking for information they don’t exactly want to give up so I think I can do you a
good deal. Give me two solar days to set things up, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Two solar days?” asked Aeryn skeptically.

Mannix shrugged, “The sellers a bit.... cagey, and off planet at the moment. Tell you what, I'll set you up in a hotel, my treat till they come.  That alright with you?”

“It’ll have to be,” John grudgingly agreed.

Mannix stood up, snapped his fingers and two new redheaded women came into the room. They too were dressed in leather, but unlike the others were very heavily armed.

“Take these two over to Vanyak’s and see they get a room and meal credits. Oh, and before I forget” he turned to address Aeryn. “If you’re ever looking for work, let me know. I love how you handled Tertia. She was supposed to be one of my best.”

[Atana]

“He’s changed,” she thought as she took another glance over at the window seat.  “He wasn’t like this before.”

Aeryn sat watching John from the bed where she was presently cleaning her pulse pistol for the 3rd time in two days.  He sat, writing in that frelling notebook of his on the window seat of the hotel room.  He’d flopped himself down in that seat almost immediately after they’d checked in and he rarely left it.  He slept there when he bothered to sleep and he ate there when he bothered to eat, which was usually only when she’d bring him something back from one of her forays into the town.  And even then he’d shovel it down as quickly as possible and get back to either working in his notebook or staring out of the window.  She’d even tried bringing some Torellian Stank fish back yesterday to see if the awful tasting delicacy would garner some sort of reaction.  But he’d merely thanked her, taken a log swig of Felip nectar and consumed the thing in three bites. 

In the two days they’d been waiting for Mannix to contact them they’d spoken very little.  What conversation there was had been stilted and kept to general topics such as the time or the weather or whether or not the part they were seeking would deliver the extra speed that it promised.  Other than that they mostly just sat, she on the bed and he in his window working on whatever would make the time seem less tedious.

Aeryn sighed and reached into her flight bag for another Chakan oil cartridge. Silence she was used to, she’d spent enough time in her quarters of late to come to appreciate the peace solitude could bring.  But silence from Crichton was another thing all together.  It disconcerted her though she couldn’t exactly say why.

She snuck another look at him when she got up to get a fresh towel to dry the firing chamber.  There he sat, shirtless, barefoot and working his way through a bottle of Hilsip Spirits.  The amber colored liquid had become a new favorite; he said it reminded him of something called “Scotch.”  If she wasn’t mistaken this was his second round of intoxicants today, the first having been just before lunch when he’d downed three Felip nectars in the time it had taken her to run down to the hotel dining hall for some food. 

“What are you working on?” she asked mostly just to hear herself talk.

“Plan.”

“Scorpius plan?”

“Yup.” 

“And how’s it coming?”

“It’s Scorpius and a Command Carrier full of PK’s Aeryn, how do you think it’s coming?”

“That’s not reassuring”

“Yeah well, not much is these days, but don’t worry if it all goes pear shaped there’s always plan B.”

“You’ve got a contingency worked out?”

“Nope, that’s the beauty of Plan B.  You never work it out before hand; it just comes to you out of nowhere. It’s your Hail Mary Pass, your Kamikaze effort, you don’t try it till there’s no hope left and then you just go with it and see what happens.”

“Doesn’t sound very efficient.”

“Yeah well, it’s saved my butt on more than one occasion.”  He grabbed the liquor bottle and poured himself another drink.

“Go easy on that,” she said in spite of herself.  “Hilsip’s pretty heady stuff.”

“So I’ve noticed,” he replied without looking at her.

She tried again.  “Drink that to quickly and it will make you very sick.”

He glanced up and gave her a humorless smile. “Then I’ll be sure to drink it slow.”

“The speed of your consumption wasn’t my point John, we need to be focused here and...”

“Don’t worry about my focus Aeryn,” he said in a voice sharp enough to make her jump slightly.  “I won’t frell up the mission by falling down drunk so you don’t have to worry.”

Aeryn got up and went into the bathroom.  She paced for a bit and then splashed some water on her face.
 It was strange how quickly one fell back into old habits, she thought to herself as she dried off with a towel. And this habit in particular was ingrained so deeply that she knew it was useless to try and fight it off.  She went back into the bedroom.

“But I am worried.”

“What?”  He looked back up, confused.

“I am worried about you.”

He put down the notebook.  “Look Aeryn if this is about the booze...I,”

“It is about the booze,” she interrupted.  “It’s about the booze and the not eating and the sleepless nights and the frelling silence.”

“The silence?”

“Yes, what did you think I didn’t notice?” 

He stared at her for a microt his thumb running over his lower lip and then his eyes blazed with anger.

“O.K.”  He said, “I guess we were due for this at some point or another.  NO Aeryn I didn’t think you noticed.  I wasn’t expecting you to notice and I’m frankly surprised that you did.”

She sat back down surprised at the outburst.

“Why?”

“Why, Why?”  He began to laugh.  “Because you have made it perfectly clear that we are nothing but co workers, shipmates, co conspirators in a common goal.  Because I know when you look at my face you don’t see ME, you see HIM, because I’m reminded of that every time I look at you and it HURTS Aeryn.  It hurts that you mourn him; it hurts that you can’t love me.  It hurts that I’ve been frelled so much since I’ve been here and the one thing, the ONE thing that I had, the ONE thing that made it all make some sort of sense, the one thing that MATTERED was taken away because I was standing a damn dench to close!!”

Aeryn felt her heart catch.  She didn’t know what to say.  She wasn’t sure there was anything to say.  So she didn’t say anything, and the silence stretched between them like an unbreachable wall.

“I’m sorry.”

She looked up at the barely whispered words and found him staring at her his face pale and his lips pressed into a thin hard line.

“Me to,” she replied fighting back the tears.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Yes I do.  I have a lot to be sorry for.”

“Aeryn.”

“No let me finish.  I don’t want you to think I didn’t think about you, I did.  And I knew what it would do to you if I...”

 She broke off briefly as the tears began to seep out of the corners of her eyes.

“And I felt bad, and I .... resisted doing anything about our... unique situation for a long time.  But you have to understand.  He was right there with me all the time, and he was the same man you are, and I loved him the same, and when Talyn almost took him away from me...”

 She rubbed her hands over her face as the tears began in earnest.  “What was I supposed to do John can you tell me that?  Just what was I supposed to do?” 

“I don’t know. Just what you did I suppose. You chose and I lost.”

She nodded, “Yes John, I chose.  But he’s dead so I guess I lost too.” 

John got up crossed the room and sat down next to her on the bed.   “Why did you come back?” he asked without looking at her.  “Why didn’t you just... find someplace else.  I mean isn’t that what you would have done if he’d lived?  If I’d never found out Scorpius was still alive?  You would have gone off with him and left me there wouldn’t you?”

Aeryn looked down and saw his hands clutched into white knuckled fists on his knees.  For some strange reason she wanted to pick one up and hold it, but that would have been silly so she didn’t. 

“Yes I would have.  It would have been the only option and you know it.”

“So why not go anyway?  Spare us both... this.”  He gestured to encompass the entire felled up situation and everything that had resulted from it.

“Because when he died... coming back was the only option.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked over at him at last.  “I’m not human John, I don’t have an Earth to go to... not any more.  And I didn’t have a place waiting and people who love me longing for my return.  Moya is the first home I’ve ever had and coming back to her, even though I knew it meant seeing you again, was the only thing I knew to do and I...” she trailed off unsure how to continue. 

John got up and went back to the window seat.  He reached out for the bottle of Hilsip Spirits again and started to pour himself another drink. 

“Please don’t.”  Aeryn begged. She got up and took the bottle away from him.

“I told you not to worry”

“And I told you that I was worried.  Look this isn’t good for you.   And it isn’t good for me.  And I don’t know what the answer is, but I know THIS,” she threw the bottle against the wall hard enough to break it.  “Isn’t it.”

John looked at the liquid draining down the wall and the shards of broken glass and closed his eyes in defeat.

“O.K.” he said.  “Why don’t we just let this go for now.  We’ve got too much to do and there’s too much at stake for us to try to deal with all of this right now.  Mannix should be contacting us tomorrow.  We’ll pick up the part, if he’s got it and go back to Moya.  Some walls you can push through Aeryn.  And some walls you can’t.  Lets just stand down for awhile and let this one be.”

For some reason his words although true made her feel immeasurably sad.  As if she were losing something again though she couldn’t say what. 

“O.K.” she agreed, “But do me one favor. “I’m going out to get some food.  When I get back here you eat it and then get some sleep.  Here, on the bed”.

“No it’s O.K.,” he tired to wave her off as she grabbed his pillow and covers and deposited them on the bed.  "You DON’T want to sleep on the window seat Aeryn believe me.”

“I never said I was going to sleep there.”

 Aeryn retorted as she got up and headed for the door.  “Stop being a dranit, we’ve shared quarters before.”

[Atana]

She woke up kissing him.  She didn’t know how, or why, she only knew that when the dream shredded away into the blessed light of consciousness her mouth was on his and she was kissing him.  She jerked back briefly, but then instinct kicked in and she responded hard enough to leave them both gasping and slightly sore a few microts later.

They lay there side-by-side, forehead-to-forehead his breath warm against her lips and his body as ready as hers.  His eyes were closed, and he did not speak. 

“This is wrong,” the part of Aeryn’s brain that still functioned cautioned her.  “There was to much time, to much hurt between them for this to be anything other than a huge mistake.”

His eyes opened and she saw her own confusion and doubt mirrored back at her along with something else something more... primal.  Desire yes there was desire there as well.  She felt its pull on her, remembered what his body could do, how it could make her feel and she groaned with the effort to keep her thoughts straight.  She leaned in closer, ran her tongue along his lower lip, felt him nip hers lightly in return.  Then the familiar pressure of his fingers gripping her hip, pulling her close telling her, showing her how much she was needed, how badly she was wanted and Oh dear God she remembered this so well.

“No you don’t” her mind said.  “Different man, wrong touch no matter the similarity.  Stop this or it will destroy you both.”

But she didn’t stop it, she couldn’t.  Because...THIS... was always there between them.  It had been between them since the beginning.  It had still been there when she’d walked off Talyn.  Like some chain left dangling that had been locked around her again.   And that’s why she had fled him so quickly after disembarking from the transport pod.  Because it hurt so bad knowing that her lover was dead, her John was gone, her whole life had been reduced to nothing and yet when she’d seen him her heart had broken all over again.  And not because he was some copy, some replica of what she had lost, but because she knew, even then, that she could love him if she let herself, would love him if she weren’t careful.  That all that was lost could be hers again.  And could be taken away again and that if it was it would kill her.

And she’d thought that severing the connection was the answer, pushing him away, leaving him out that was the kinder thing to do.  But the harder she pushed, the closer he felt, and the harder he pushed the closer she wanted to be and always between them was THIS.... and it wouldn’t leave them alone.

And so she gave up, because she wanted him now, because they had to start somewhere and because wasn’t it fire, wasn’t it heat that burned all things clean?  And this heat she knew, this fire she could handle and it was easier than the questions and the doubts and the lies, and if they died tomorrow or when Scorpius found them, then at least she would have the taste of him fresh on her and he would know, that they started together she’d see through to the end.

She slid on top of his body and reached for his belt, heard him gasp at the sensation and then his hands at her waist forcing her back.

“Aeryn, no.  Stop.  We can’t.”  His voice was flat and obstinate. It brokered no argument.

Which was just fine with her, she was in no mood to argue.

She pushed past his hands; he was no match for her.  She knew what to do, how to work him.  For such a complex man in this he was remarkably easy.  Touch here, press there, and yet ... he... persisted, finally catching her hands in his own and pulling her flat against his chest.

“Please” his voice cracking with emotion and control pushed well past the breaking point, “Don’t ... do ... this.. Don’t ... let ... us...do something...we’ll both... regret.”

She lay there a microt feeling his heart race under her cheek, and for the second time in so many monens she knew she had a choice to make.  The first had been to let go, to keep living, move on.  But she’d had help with that one, Xhalax had decided for her. This one she’d have to make alone and the consequences might very well destroy everything.

She chose. 

“Look at me.” She panted.

He loosened his grip on her wrists.

“LOOK at me.”  She insisted pushing herself up so she could see his face.

He did.

“I’m not asleep and you are not dreaming, and if we do this we will do it together.  I know who I am, and I know who you are and you’re right, we might regret it and it might ruin everything.”

“Then why...” he grated.

“Because it might NOT,” she practically sobbed.  “And because we have to start somewhere, we can’t go back, and we can’t ...stand still and that’s what we’re doing and it’s tearing us apart.”

“But we don’t fix it this way, Aeryn.  We don’t fix it this way.”

She buried her head in the side of his neck.  Drank in that smell that was.... Crichton.  She nodded, “Not all of it, not the deep parts, but maybe some John, maybe some.”

She felt him relax under her, his body overloaded and his mind in turmoil.  “What do you want from me?”  He whispered.

“I want you to choose?”

“Choose what”

“Whether we stop this.   Pretend... I never woke up.  Go back to.... acting as we were....”

“Or?”

She moved against him until the friction made him groan.

“We go with plan B and see what happens.”

He stared at her, his blue eyes filled with indecision and pain.

And then chose Plan B

[Atana]

He’d been lying on his back with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling for at least an ahrn.  And she hadn’t moved a dench in all that time.  Hadn’t spoken hadn’t done anything. 

He wasn’t used to this… distance with a woman especially after, especially with her.   

He sighed; he really had nothing to go on.  Perhaps this was normal, how would he know?  But he knew it didn’t feel right.  And if it didn’t feel right then it must be wrong and if it was wrong then he had no one to blame but himself.  He’d known the risks; she’d laid them out.  And he’d made the choice anyway. 

“Just go to sleep Crichton” he chastised himself, but knew that he wouldn’t.  The silence was killing him.

“Aeryn?”  He whispered.

“Um-hum?”

He flipped on his side to look at her back, her black hair a sharp contrast to the cream of her skin and the white of the bed sheets. Her breathing was measured and slow and one hand was supporting the pillow underneath her head.

“Are you asleep?” 

To his surprise he heard a soft snort of laughter.

“Some things never change.” She said softly.

“What?” 

She flipped over to face him.   “Nothing, its just no matter how long I know you I will never understand humans and their propensity for stating the obvious.  If I was asleep John, I wouldn’t have answered you.”

“Hey I only meant…” He began and was cut off by her fingertips lightly pressing against his lips. 

“I know what you meant… Now what did you want?”

John found himself balking.  Now that she was actually looking at him, listening to him he found himself speechless.  Unable to come up with anything coherent to say.

“I um, I just wondered if... I mean are you... are we…?”

Her fingers cut him off again.

“Don’t”.  She said shaking her head slightly.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t analyze it like it was one of your frelling experiments. It wasn’t that.”

“Then what was it?”

Aeryn took her fingertips from his lips and put them to her own. 

“We were there for each other when we needed it,” she said after a moment’s contemplation.  “Lets leave it at that.”

He considered her words for a microt and found to his surprise that it was a concept he could live with. 

“O.K.” he said simply.

Aeryn propped her head up on her hand and regarded him closely.  “Alright, now it’s my turn to ask a question.”

“Ask away.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

He sighed.  “I don’t know.  My brain just… won’t shut down I guess.”

“How long has this been a problem?”

“I don’t know… a while.”

“Have you seen Jool about it?” 

“Yeah, she’s poked and prodded and given me more foul tasting concoctions than I ever want to remember.” 

“And nothing helped?”

“No, not as yet anyway.”

John looked over at her and saw genuine concern reflected in her face. 

“Look.  You have to realize that we didn’t have a retrieval squad on our butts.  So when you guys left on Talyn I was left with a lot of time on my hands and… waay too much to think about.  So in order to keep busy and … not think so much.. , I worked.  A lot.  But work it seems gave me even more time to think, which made me work even harder and…so on and so on and so on.” 

“I see.”

“Do you really?”  He snapped and was immediately sorry.

“Yes,” she said firmly, “I do.”

John cleared his throat.  “There was also this other thing.  Moya passed through this energy cluster once.  Brought some diseased critter on board who could jump in and out of us like something out of the Exorcist.  But I guess Linda Blair I’m not because every time that thing jumped into me, it made me bleed like a stuck pig.  I’d wake up with these huge puddles of blood by my body and not a scratch on me.  Jool said it was because I’m inferior but I don’t know.  It freaked me out though, and I haven’t slept real soundly since.  In any case between the two I soon found myself … spinning.”

“Spinning?”

“Yeah, like a ship with no rudder.  My balance was gone,” He stared at her, “so I drifted.”

She blanched a bit and John sensed he’d made her uncomfortable in some way so he changed the subject.

“How about you?  What’s up with the nightmares?”

Her head snapped up again.  “How did you know they were nightmares?”

“Aeryn come on,” he said, “you had me pretty scared there for a few microts.  You were shaking and moaning and then you started to I don’t know make this sort of high pitched keening noise, and I tried to wake you up but you wouldn’t no matter how hard I shook you or called your name.  Then your eyes opened up, but I could tell you couldn’t see me and so I grabbed your face to try to get you to focus and then…”

Aeryn’s face turned red as the import of his words sunk in. 

“So how long have you been having them?” he prompted in an attempt to take the heat off.

She suddenly turned serious.  “They started when I got back from Valdon, just after … John died.”

John flinched; it was weird to hear his name spoken of in the past tense when he was lying right here.

“What happens in them?”

She shrugged, “ Nothing really, Moya’s dying, everybody else is dead and something is coming to get me.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, I just know that if it does get me then I don’t know… I’m lost.”

“Sounds pretty scary.”

“It is.” 

John propped his head up on one arm and thought for a microt and then grimaced a bit.

“We are one sorry pair aren’t we?”

Aeryn frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“Both of us subconsciously trying to control a bunch of stuff we had no control over and that ended up hurting us in the end.”

A brief look of pain crossed her face.  “I suppose you’re right. So what do we do about that?”

Now it was his turn to shrug, “I don’t know?  Let it go?”

She shook her head, “It’s not that simple John.”

He slid down further beneath the covers.  “No it’s not.  But I’ll make you a deal, good only for one night.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll get some sleep, if you stop having nightmares.”

Aeryn stared at him for a long moment and then rolled over and fit herself against his body. 

“For one night,” she said.  “I think I can do that.”

John hesitated for a microt and then allowed his arm to drape across her stomach snuggling her to him, and nestled his chin in her hair.

“For one night,” he whispered back.  “So can I."

[Atana]

“He’s late,” Aeryn snapped, “It’s never good when they’re late.”

“Patience Aeryn,” Began John.

“Can be a virtue yes…” she interrupted, “ but not when dealing with ex Peacekeepers and NEVER when dealing with money.  That’s one of the few things Rygel taught me that’s actually held true.” 

“Yeah, mebbe,” countered John doing his best to inject soothing tones into his voice, “ but in this instance we have no choice so just settle down.”

Aeryn clacked her tongue in annoyance but stopped fidgeting.  They had been standing at the bar of the small restaurant Mannix had instructed they meet at for more than an ahrn. 
She was actually beginning to get worried.  Mannix was a man of business, he knew time was money and lateness wasted time.  The fact that he was late for the conclusion of such a lucrative deal could only mean….

“Look,” John nudged her, “There he is I think.”

She shot a glance towards the door and sure enough the ex Peacekeeper’s tall frame was gliding towards him.  Two of his regulation red headed bodyguards were close by and Aeryn could see with some surprise that one of them was a Nabari. 

“Greetings children,” He said when he reached them, “Sorry about the time.”

“I’m sorry too,” said Aeryn, “Because whatever price you’ve set is going to be reduced by 500 Brandars as compensation for our inconvenience.”

Mannix smiled, “I don’t think my seller would like that.”

“They don’t have to like it,” countered Aeryn, “as it isn’t going to be coming out of their share it's going to be coming out of your commission.”

“I don’t think I like that,” Mannix returned.

John slid in between the two of them before the conversation to escalate to a level he couldn’t control.

“Let’s not stand here discussing this now, children,” he said with a definite shot of sarcasm in the big smuggler's direction. “Why don’t we go sit down somewhere comfortable and have a drink and talk about whether there’s even a deal to haggle over.”

Aeryn backed down, more in deference to the feel of John’s fingers digging into her arm than anything else and Mannix gestured to a small booth at the back of the restaurant they should proceed to.  Once there he told the two redheads to watch the room and engaged the privacy screen.

“Geez man,” said John once they were seated.  “You got VIP suites in EVERY eatery on this planet?”

“Planet no, this city yes.  Now tell me what you’re drinking and I’ll tell you what I’ve worked out.”

“Pernath juice,” John said after cutting a quick look at Aeryn.

“The same for me,” she replied.

Mannix ordered their drinks and then leaned back in his chair.

“I’ve set a price, its steep but not beyond what you can handle I think. But there are some other considerations that the seller wants met in order to close the deal.”

“What considerations?”  Asked Aeryn her hand instinctively straying towards the holster of her pulse pistol.”

“Ohhhh, now don’t get nervous miss fussy britches,” Mannix cooed his multi colored eyes swirling with amusement.  “It ain’t for you to worry about anyway as the first consideration is they want a meeting with your partner here... alone.” 

“Unacceptable,” Aeryn snapped.

“What for?”  Asked John.

“I’m not paid to ask questions of that kind” Mannix responded.  “But if it’s a meeting they want, it’s a meeting I suggest you take because there’s no deal without it.”

“Well then I guess there’s no deal…” began Aeryn

“I’ll go.”

Aeryn turned and glared at him, “ You’re not going off on your own.” She said flatly.

John looked at Mannix.  “Can you give us a second here?”

He nodded and left the booth.

John re engaged the privacy screen.

“I’m taking the meeting Aeryn.  He’s made it clear we don’t get the part without it.”

Aeryn felt her stomach drop.  “You can’t be serious, how do you know it's not a trap?  He could have made another deal, he could have done anything.”

“Hold up now,” John said gently.  “I didn’t say I was going into it blind.  We’ll make some demands of our own.  Private room in a public venue, one way in, one way out, no weapons of any kind and it doesn’t last more than 500 microts.  O.K?”

Aeryn was a bit taken aback, she wasn’t used to John thinking in such a linear fashion.

“I still don’t like it,” she said at last.  “It’s risky and I can’t…”

John grabbed her arm and pulled them both to their feet.  “You can’t what?” he said into her ear, “Protect me?  Aeryn I know you have my back in this.  I know you always do but you have to realize that you’ve been gone awhile and … I’ve fended for myself just fine.  I know what I’m doing here and I need you to trust me.  Can you do that?  Can you trust me?”

She stared at him, then pushed the fear back and nodded.  “Yes.”

He gave her hand a squeeze.  “Good, and don’t worry.  If it all goes pear shaped then you can always “Plan B ‘em.”

“Which in this instance would be.”

“You come running in shoot up the place and rescue my butt like always.”

Aeryn felt her face break into a smile in spite of herself.  “I’ll go get Mannix.”


To their surprise he gave them no argument, just asked for some time to make the arrangements.    After an ahrn yet another redheaded guard, this one a Vorcarian female came to get them.  Aeryn realized then that all the women Mannix hired had their hair dyed to meet his little fetish.  She hoped he paid them well for the humiliation.

The Vorcairan lead them to a small building on the outskirts of town.  Weapons were checked, people were screened and John entered the small room alone.  Aeryn watched from the outside as someone completely enshrouded in black clothing was escorted to the door.  She couldn’t see anything of the person at all, couldn’t tell their species or their gender.  All she could make out was that they were relatively short and enormously fat. 

“Who is it?”  She snapped at Mannix.

“Never you mind that,” he drawled back at her lazily.  As you can see they cleared the weapons scan, both yours AND mine.  And if they’re clean then they can’t hurt that man of yours and that’s all you need to worry about.  Now be a pet and sit down, your pacing is giving me a headache.”

Aeryn resisted the urge to punch him and sat down.  After all there was nothing more she could do at the moment and John was right, she had to trust him to take care of himself.

Inside the room John watched as the small huge figure walked into the room.

“O.K.” he said figuring that introductions in this type of situation were probably a moot point. “What is it you want?”

The figure unwrapped the gauze like black cloth covering its head. 

“Hey there Johnny, it’s good to see ya again.”  Said Furlow.



“You have GOT TO BE FRELLING KIDDING ME!!!”  John Chrichton thought somewhat irrationally as he stared at the very large and unwelcome sight standing before him.  The fates were more than laughing at him; they were having a frelling par-tay at his expense.  He tried to think of something suitably smart to say but all that would come to mind were bad cliches, so he settled on misquoting Casablanca.

“Of all the Felip joints in all the galaxy you had to end up in this one didn’t ‘cha Furlow.”


“Not by chance Johnny boy.  Not by chance.  Though I have to admit you’re a hard man to find.”  Furlow continued to unwrap herself from the all-encompassing black clothing that sort of resembled a modified Sari. 

John began to think very fast.  This was most definitely an awkward situation to say the least.  As far as he knew Furlow knew nothing about the twinning a fact that he desperately wanted to keep from her.  And as far as Aeryn knew their seller was just some anonymous alien, a fallacy he desperately wanted to KEEP her believing.  There was no telling what Aeryn would do if she found out that the backstabbing trelk was here, and from the dead look in her eyes whenever someone accidentally mentioned her name, John knew he didn’t want to find out.  But dispensing disinformation to BOTH women was NOT going to be easy and John sent up a hurried prayer that the situation didn’t get anymore FUBAR’ed than it already was.

He leaned back against a wall.  “So you’ve been looking for me?  I’m disappointed Furlow, I thought that your animalistic sense of self-preservation would have served you better than that. “

The fat mechanic merely smiled.  “It’s served me just fine, or I wouldn’t be here.  What with the mess you left me in with the Scarens. “  She tisked, “It’s amazing how fussy they get when you send 80,000 of their people blazing into a collapsing wormhole.  You owe me for that one now its time you paid up.” 

“Not my debt to pay,” he mused harshly to himself,  “and the debtor is dead.”  He almost laughed at the thought, sick though it was and wondered what had become of his sense of compassion.

“So you’ve come to collect.  And I don’t have to ask what.” He tapped his forehead with one finger, “We both know the answer to that.  So tell me Furlow, who’s frelling that beautiful mind of yours and what are they paying for the privilege?”

She laughed, “You always did have a way with words.  It’s part of makes ya so interesting.  But don’t turn this on me.  It’s you who came to collect or you wouldn’t be here.  Oh and by the way, are you still frelling that skinny PK tramp?”
 
John took a deep breath, trying desperately to hold in the anger.  “Hold up, slow down.  Do you really have the part Furlow or are you screwing me again?  And what I’m doing with Aeryn is none of your business.”

Furlow began to pace, “Touchy, touchy” she chided, “tension you know, it’s not good for the old brain cells.  Of course I have the part.  I wouldn’t need you if I didn’t.  I always had the hardware Johnny it was the details that bogged me down.   I can’t frelling make the thing work properly, it dies out on me after 30 microts and you need at least twice that length burn if you’re gonna create anything stable.   I coulda figured it out myself but then thought why bother when you knew it all already.  My.... employers are anxious for results and they punish harshly if they don’t get them.  I figured you beat the odds when the stories started coming down about that Dreadnought you toasted and I convinced them if we dangled enough bait in enough places you’d finally track US down.  They were most anxious to comply especially when they found out who you were.”

John felt the anger turn to fear.  “When who found out who I was Furlow?”

Furlow’s smile turned evil.  “I think you’ll be pleased John.  It’s an old friend of yours.  Scorpius sends his regards.”

John didn’t think, he just moved, fast toward the door but it was to late.  The door burst open and Aeryn came crashing through, her pulse pistol in one hand, Winona in the other.  She tossed him the gun and then whirled around to face the door again.

“It’s a trap,” John said.

“Always with you the obvious.” Aeryn retorted coldly.  “Now I need you to follow my le...” she trailed off as she saw Furlow her face a conflicting shift of emotions that finally settled on hatred.

“Aeryn,” John said trying to talk to her and not take his aim off of the commotion that seemed to be brewing outside the door. 

“Aeryn PLEASE.” 

Her eyes shifted back to him at last. 

“We have to get out of here,” John said, holding her gaze, “She’s our only bargaining tool.  She’s no use to us dead.”

Aeryn’s breathing was heavy and John could see the pulse pistol shake in her hands as she fought for control. 

“No John.” She said her voice unsteady. 

“Aeryn I...”

 Aeryn whirled around behind him, catching his throat with her arm and putting her pulse pistol to his head.  “She’s not our bargaining tool” she whispered into his ear, “You are.”

Four PK’s came through the door just then.  The leader held up his hand when he saw Aeryn and John. 

“I’d put that down if I were you.”  He said.  “You’re hopelessly outnumbered here.”

“One step further,” Aeryn said calmly “and I’ll blow your precious wormhole technology to bits.”

“Don’t listen to her.” Said Furlow.  “I know these two.  They’re as entwined as a pair of Filcha snakes.  She'll never hurt him.”

“Oh really?”  Aeryn said without looking at Furlow.  With lightening quickness she moved the pulse pistol shot John in the leg and then returned the muzzle to his head. 

“You’ve been out of the loop Furlow, the Crichton you saw on Dambada is dead.  This is just a clone, he means nothing to me and even if he did don’t think I wouldn’t kill him to keep him from the likes of Scorpius. “

Furlow took a step closer to Aeryn and her smile faded as she saw Aeryn’s finger twitch on the trigger.  She immediately backed up.

“I don’t believe you.” She said though her tone was uncertain.

John began to laugh maniacally as struggled to keep his feet and his consciousness, the blood streaming out of his leg making balance difficult.   

“Oh, you crazy bitch,” he said not really sure if he was referring to Furlow of Aeryn, “She’s telling the truth and believe me, this is one hand you DON’T want to bet on”

Aeryn spoke directly to the PK commando this time.  “ You’re going to let us out of here.” She said her voice pure steel.  “Because you are not stupid and you are not going to lose your career over the likes of her,” she indicated Furlow with a twitch of her head.   “I can shoot him faster than you can shoot me and YES I know what Scorpius will do to you if you come back without him but THINK what he will do to you if you bring him back dead.” 

The commando blanched, evidently knowing full well what Scorpius would do to him.

“You won’t get 10 metra’s,” he said bleakly.

“Well let’s just see.” 

Aeryn began to drag a John stumbling and cursing toward the door.  It took another shot in the leg to get all the commando’s to move but soon they were out in the busy street again.  Aeryn kicked shut the door and blasted the lock, then put her weight under John’s arm and helped him upright.

“Come on” she urged, “They’ll be through that in a microt.”

“You shot me,” he said as they shuffled down the street.

“It was necessary, now shut up and move.” 

“I can’t move cause you shot me”.  John’s head was getting fuzzy.

“Come on, Come on” he heard Aeryn’s voice from a great distance away.  “Don’t pass out yet, just a few metra’s more.”

John felt himself flung forward with great force and realized with blurring eyesight they must be in some kind of ally.  He felt Aeryn pulling at his leg and let out a scream of pain as he felt something tighten around the wound.  The pain cleared his head though and he looked up at her weakly.

“How..?”

“It was to easy,... they agreed to quick.  I promised Mannix...money.  Be glad he’s greedy.”  She paused as a ruckus went past them in the street.

“That’ll be them,” Aeryn continued.  “I’ve got to lead them away.  Mannix will meet me with help, but I’ve got to hurry, they’ll start doubling back soon.”

“Aeryn...” he tried to interrupt her.

“No John, There’s no time.  Just do as I say.  Tighten the tourniquet, wait 500 microts, and then head for the transport pod.  I’ll meet you there.”

John struggled to keep his thoughts clear through the pain.  “Aeryn ... Furlow she does have the part and she knows where Scorpy is and how far he’s gotten, if we could take her alive?”  He looked up at her knowing it was too much to hope for but still feeling compelled to try. 

He felt her bloodstained fingers against his lips silencing him.

“Remember when you asked me to back you for this meeting?” she said quietly, “Remember you said you knew what you were doing and I had to trust you?”

He nodded.

“Well I need you to do the same John.  I need you to trust me to do what’s best here.”

“What’s best for whom Aeryn?” he asked tasting his own blood as he spoke through her fingers.  “You or me?”

She took her hand away and rocked back on her heels, looked ...conflicted for a microt and then answered.

“For both of us.”

John closed his eyes for a microt and then looked back at her and nodded.  “500 microts” he said.

“Thank you, “ She leaned forward pressed her lips against his hair and with a flash of black, she was gone.

[Atana]

“I can’t believe you shot him!!!”  Fumed Chiana as she frantically helped Jool pull the gurney down the hall.

“I had no other choice.”  Aeryn retorted flatly.

“But you shot him TWICE in the SAME SPOT, he’ll never walk again!” Chiana shoved Aeryn violently to the side with one hand as she scrambled to round a corner.

“That’s IF he even lives,” chimed in Jool, “I’ve never SEEN so much blood, I think you hit an artery.”   Jool palmed the door to the med lab open and gestured for Chiana to guide the gurney under some machinery.  “If you wanted to kill him Aeryn, there were kinder ways to do it.”

Aeryn reached out, grabbed the Interon by the neck and backed her up against a wall.

“He’s not going to die.” She said coldly.

Jool’s eyes widened at the dead look in Aeryn’s eyes.  “I can’t guarantee that!”  she squealed.

“Yes you can,” replied Aeryn, “You will do the expected and then the impossible and then the unthinkable but he will not die.  Not this time.”

Chiana came over and grabbed Aeryn gently by the arm, “Aeryn let go,” she said softly, “she can’t work if you’re holding her like that, come on.”

Aeryn blinked and abruptly let go of Jool’s neck.  She took one last look at John lying there on the gurney and then turned on her heel and quickly left the room.

Chiana made as if to follow her but Jool held her back.

“Let her go, I need your help here.”

Chiana nodded. “Just tell me what to do.”

[Atana]

Three ahrns later, Aeryn looked down at John, his face reposed and almost childlike in sleep, breathing measured and even with the only sign of the inward turmoil of his brain the constant fluttering of his eyes behind the closed lids.  She reached out and smoothed his forehead above the left eye where there was no scar.  Such chaos in a being bred for peace, it wasn't fair. 


Jool had said it would be ahrns before he came to, the surgery had been extensive and it would take a long time before the pain meds started to wear off.  But she'd stayed here anyway.  The human had surprised her before with his strange constitution and she wanted to be there when he woke. 


Aeryn took John’s hand, leaned back and closed her eyes. She remembered him moving against and above her, the play of hard muscle beneath soft skin as her hands traversed his back.  The desperate sound of his voice in her ear, her name a litany just before he...

She shook her head; it would do no good to think of that now.  It changed nothing.  Things were... how they were and there was no going back.  As for what the future brought, well that depended on choices yet to be made, deals yet to be brokered.  Best not to think too far out, that's how mistakes got made.

"Choice," she thought ruefully, "what a two faced trelk she was.  Always giving and taking away at the same time.  A consequence for everything and for every consequence another choice.  She longed for the days when she was a soldier.  No choices then only rules and obedience.”

She thought about the choice she’d made a few ahrns earlier in the Torellian transport pod where she’d finally tracked down Furlow as she tried to escape from the planet.  The two faced trelk had tried threatening first, and then reasoning and bargaining when Aeryn had told her that she’d paid Mannix a great deal of money to have the retrieval squad killed.  She’d resorted to begging when it became clear that there was no one to save her and Aeryn had almost given in when she’d gone on about how much John needed her and the technology she possessed.  Their final exchange still rang in her brain.

“But he NEEDS me,” Furlow had said as she’d dispassionately taken aim.

“I know.”

“HE’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU.” She’d screamed trying to press her fat frame into the wall.

Aeryn had hesitated a microt.  And then the words of the Scorpius clone had rung in her head.  “Next time shoot quicker.”

“I know that too.”  She’d said.  And fired.

She’d left the Torrelian some currency and a note apologizing for the mess and made her way back to the Transport Pod.  John had made it there but he was in shock and seizing and if Moya hadn’t disobeyed their wishes and come looking for them a solar day early he may not have made it back alive at all.

Aeryn sighed.  She knew she had made the right decision.  She could not risk Furlow getting away from them again.  She knew too much and that made her dangerous.  But the fact that John lived meant there was as yet no consequence for her actions.  She wondered idly how fate would repay her this time.

“Unngh,” 

She was pulled from her reverie by the sound of his groan.  She looked down to see him looking at her a half smile trying to mask the pain in his eyes.

“How are you feeling? She asked

The smile turned into a grimaced, “You shot me in the leg... twice.  How do you think I’m feeling?”

“Well at least you’re alive.”

John tightened his hand where their fingers were joined.  “Thanks to you.”

 “No actually thanks to Jool and Chiana.  They did a remarkable job, say you shouldn’t even limp.”

“I’ll have to thank them then.  But it was still you that got me out.  Saving my butt as always.” 

Now it was her turn to smile.  “I’m beginning to see the benefits of Plan B.” 

His face turned serious, “About Plan B Aeryn,” he paused.

She caught his meaning immediately, “You want to know about Furlow”

“Yes.”

Aeryn looked away out the window, “She didn’t have the part on her John I’m sorry.”

“O.K.” his voice was neutral, measured.  “And what about her.”

She paused for a microt.  “I did what I thought was best.”

He was silent awhile.  “Alright.” He said at last.

She looked at him, surprised at the capitulation.  “Don’t you want to know what I...”

“No,” he interrupted her.  “You said I should trust you, to make the best decision for both of us.  I do.”

Aeryn felt her breath rush out slowly.  “Thank you.”

They sat there quietly for awhile and then Aeryn spoke again.  There was something else on her mind that had been bothering her.

“John?”

“Yes.”

“About, ... the other night.”

“Yes?”

 “I meant what I said, about us being there for each other but...”

“But what?”

Aeryn felt him pull his hand away from hers but she grabbed it back pressed on anyway

“I also think you were right.  There are some walls you just can’t push through.”

He was silent for a long time and when he did speak she could hear the frustration in his voice. “So that was our one night on the other side of the wall?”

She looked at him and flinched when she saw the anger in his eyes.

“For now.” She agreed.

“O.K.” he said flatly, “if that’s what you want.  You’d better go now, I need to get some sleep.”

Aeryn got up and walked towards the door, she paused when she got there and looked back at him again.

“John” she said softly.

He didn’t respond.

“John.... don’t” she said with tears in her voice.

He still said nothing.

“Given time,” she pressed on. “Some walls come down on their own.  Especially when their foundations are weak.”

“And if they don’t come down Aeryn” he whispered turning to look at her at last, “What then?”

There was silence for a microt and then her face broke into a hint of a smile.

“Well then,” she said.  “There’s always Plan B.”

[Atana]

Oh, I really liked this one, Atana.  When things look hopeless,
there's always Plan B.  Beautifully executed dialog between J&A. 
Thanks for sharing.

I forgot how much I love this one!  I mean, I kinda remembered it, but I completely forgot how beautifully told this story is.  Gorgeous!

hugs!