TITLE: A New Era by EdenAdvance
DISCLAIMER: Farscape doesn't belong to me, nor will it ever belong to me. All other characters do belong to me, except a couple a names, they were snurched from an atlas.
SUMMARY: Desperately needing supplies, Aeryn, John and Chiana travel to a planet ruled by Peacekeepers. Once they've arrived, nothing is as it seems.
SPOILERS: A little bit for NERVE and A BUG'S LIFE (nice order...) but nothing big.
GENRE: Action/Adventures
RATING: PG-13, nothing higher.
FEETBACK: Yay! I adore feedback... cookies for those who send their comments, so I can write more. Cookies for all those who write fic in return. Flames will be used to make BBQ-Keedva
NOTES: It was hard for me to fit a good title to the story, so it might seem a bit weird in the beginning. For the title, I thank StarWars, for some reason. I was planning on naming it 'Shadows of the Empire' after the SW book, but it just didn't fit with this. Then I read some backside cover of a SW book and it hit me. Here ends the little side note.
A New Era
Copyright 2000/2001
"I just think it's worth the risk." John spoke as he pursued Aeryn through one of Moya's corridors. When she rounded another corner, John sighed. "Aeryn!" He called after her, "Would you just listen to me for once?" Not expecting a reply, he stalked around the corner, only to walk right into Aeryn.
"Alright John, tell me why we should risk capture. Going down there is a danger to all of us and I think I'm speaking for all of us when I'm saying that I'd rather not get captured yet." She spoke, seemingly undisturbed by Crichtons close proximity. Inwardly, she was feeling something entirely different. If her feet would cooperate, she'd be in her quarters right now, away from Crichton.
"I know it's risky going down to the commerce planet, but Zhaan said it herself: we need provisions. We can't possibly ration even more until we're out of this sector. Besides, it's not just the food; we need something to drink as well; and what about Moya's maintenance? We need spare parts to get us out of this sector." John said, unconsciously moving a step backwards when he saw her glare directed at him. "Come on, even D'Argo and Rygel think it's worth the risk."
Aeryn sighed. Sometimes it seemed as if Crichton had forgotten all about Crais and Scorpius. "This isn't just any commerce planet. The Peacekeepers run the entire planet, there are countless military bases located on Xi'an and not to mention wanted beacons. What makes you think that we can get the parts we need unnoticed?" Aeryn retorted.
"Simple. We go in as Peacekeepers." Was John's reply as he turned around to make his way back to Command, where the others were waiting for them to return after Aeryn had stormed out of Command when John made his suggestion to visit Xi'an. Aeryn simply rolled her eyes and followed him.
"This just has to go wrong..." she muttered under her breath.
********
"We're approaching the planet's surface." Pilot announced from his den.
Zhaan looked at Crichton. "Are you sure you're willing to go through with the plan, John? The last time you posed as a Peacekeeper, we were nearly discovered." She spoke.
"And got us nearly killed." Rygel continued, but was silenced quickly by an angry glared and growl from D'Argo.
"I know, I know. But I have faith in this plan, and this time it's just Aeryn, Chiana and me going down there. They might be searching for two Sebaceans, a Luxan, a Delvian and an Hynerian, but not for a Nebari. Besides, this is a backwater planet, right? How big is the chance that they've even heard of the escape? The name 'Crais' might mean nothing to those soldiers down there." John said, looking at the rest of the group.
They had agreed to take Chiana with them, in order for their cover story to work. They were posing as two Peacekeeper officers and a server coming to the planet for provisions.
"What if Chiana gets into trouble, John. Have you thought of that? We can't afford it to have Chiana expose us." Aeryn spoke from the corner of Command she had been waiting in. The plan wasn't what troubled her; the planet was the problem. Xi'an might've been one of the many planets ruled by the Peacekeepers, but it was one of the most important planets to the Peacekeeper High Command. With so many bases on the planet surface, and a military spaceport, Xi'an served as one of the four planets serving as the head of the Peacekeepers. With its position at the edge of the Uncharted Territories, it also served as the frontier between Peacekeeper regulated space and uncharted space. Whatever happened there, would happen to the entire Peacekeeper corps.
"Who says I'll get into trouble? Like Crichton isn't capable of getting into trouble." Chiana piped in, angry to be accused of a troublemaker again.
"Pip, you won't get into trouble, because then it would mean that you, me and Aeryn will probably get thrown in prison. We would rot there, until we die. Do you want that?" John shot back, staring at the young Nebari.
"We've reached the coordinates." Pilot interrupted, silencing the entire argument. "Scanners indicate the Peacekeepers aren't aware of our presence... yet." He added, before disappearing.
John sighed, while looking over at each of his friends' faces. "We'll contact you in three arns, agreed?" He said, before grabbing his jacket and heading to the hallway. Zhaan nodded to Aeryn, who then followed John, dragging Chiana with her to the transport pod.
John stood waiting for Aeryn at the entrance of the transport pod. He smiled at her when she glared at him as she passed him on her way in. When Chiana reached John, he grabbed her arm.
"Chi, since Aeryn is in a pissed mood already, you'd do real good if you managed to stay out of trouble. The less attention we attract, the better. Deal?" He said, watching her face.
Chiana smiled. "Who says anything about getting into trouble?" she purred. "I wasn't planning on spending the rest of my life in a dark cell on that planet. It rains too much, so I've heard." she finished and entered the transport pod.
*******
"Unidentified vessel, you're approaching Peacekeeper checkpoint decca. Please identify yourself." The automated voice of the base computer commanded.
"Ready?" John asked Aeryn, looking at her.
"Are you ready, you mean." She shot back.
"Peacekeeper checkpoint decca, this is Captain Larraq. Requesting permission to land on the planet surface." John replied.
When it took the computer a few microts to reply, John got nervous. "Do you think they know Captain Larraq is supposed to be on a deep space mission?" He asked Aeryn.
"Communications isn't always excellent within the corps. If they ask about your mission, say it's classified, or that we need refueling. They don't need to know that Larraq completed his mission." Aeryn replied, while she piloted the pod closer to the planet.
"Come on, come on..." John muttered underneath his breath. "Just let us in.."
"Captain Larraq, you're cleared to land at the designated coordinates." Came the reply. John let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He looked over at Aeryn.
"They're transmitting a set of coordinates." She said without taking her eyes off the controls. "We should land within ten minutes." She added.
"Good. The sooner we land, the faster we're back on Moya and away from the Peacekeepers again." John said as he watched the planet grow bigger and bigger, until could make out different buildings.
As soon as Aeryn had landed the pod and was standing outside, she felt uneasy. It was as if she didn't belong here at all. John, noticing her uneasiness, moved to stand closer to her, when he saw a squad of Peacekeepers approach them. He noticed they were all armed; their pulse-rifles nearly aimed at him and the others.
When they slowed to a stop, John held Larraqs ident chip up for them to see. One of the soldiers took a few steps forward, reached for the ident chip and handed it over to another soldier, who took it with him, presumably for identification.
"I assure you, I am who I say I am." John spoke, his Peacekeeper accent evident.
If they had heard them, they didn't respond to him. They merely stood there, staring ahead. John glanced sideways at Aeryn, who was staring back at the group of soldiers, keeping her pulse rifle close, in case of trouble. He looked behind him for Chiana, but she hadn't followed him outside.
'Good,' he thought, 'they haven't seen her yet. So far, they have no reason to be suspicious of us.'
He was pulled from his thoughts when the soldier returned with his ident chip.
"All is in order, Captain. May I ask how long you will remain on the planet?" he asked as he presented the chip.
John pocketed the chip. "Not for long. We're here for some much needed supplies and some time for ourselves." He replied.
The Peacekeeper nodded. "I will bother you no longer." Then, he turned on his heel and marched back the way he came from, followed by the rest of his squad.
"Chiana, you can come out now." John called, after he couldn't see the Peacekeepers any longer.
"They're gone?" They could hear her voice from inside the pod. When Crichton turned around, she was stepping out of the pod.
"I thought you had no problems with the Peacekeepers?" John asked her when she was standing with to them.
"I'm not wanted by them, trust me. I just don't like them. They think the entire universe belongs to them." She replied.
"Kinda like the Nebari, huh?" John said and stepped forward. "I suggest we find what we came for quickly, before they found out I'm nothing like our dear captain Larraq."
Chiana took on last look at the giant city walls in front of her, before following Aeryn and John, silently wishing she'd never asked to come along on this trip.
TBC
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