Title: Unexpected confrontations (2)
Author: Sabine.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: I've seen everything up to "Die me Dichotomy". This story does not have spoilers for the final four episodes of season 2. If it does…well then you are allowed to hit me with a wet noodle or a trout.g
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Farscape characters. All Farscape characters, names and situations are trademarks of Jim Henson Company, Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia, And the Scifi channel © 1999 & 2000.
***
What exactly happened in part 1?
Not a lot happened. g I just wrote it to set up the plot for the rest of the story. Oh yeah…and there were a couple of John & Aeryn shippy moments in it. Seriously though…what exactly happened in part one is: John took Ben down to a commerce planet to surprise Aeryn, who was there bartering for goods along with Zhaan, D'Argo and Jothee. Something they didn't know was that someone was keeping a close eye on them. That about sums it up.bg
***
Moya:
He heard voices arguing with each other. They were not loud enough for him to hear what they were exactly saying, but loud enough to wake him form his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes. Even though the biggest part of the room was covered in darkness, a ray of faint light shone through the door and fell on upon the foot of his bed. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple of times before his eyes had adapted to the lack of light.
He sat up straight in bed and let his eyes wander around the room and until his gaze finally settled on an object laying on the floor, which was being illuminated by the ray of light. The red and black colours told him everything he needed to know. It was his favourite toy; the prowler. He couldn't remember how he had gotten back on Moya. The last thing he was able to remember was that his mother was holding him in her arms.
Ben quietly slipped out of his bed and sneaked towards the door. He might be on Moya right now, but in his fantasy he was on a planet hunting down evil Peacekeepers. His room transformed in a jungle-covered world, filled with all sorts of creatures, friendly or otherwise. Ben walked down a small path through the large trees. With every step he took the surroundings cleared a bit and the path continued its way. He suddenly stopped as he heard two voices arguing with one another. Ben stealthily moved in the direction of the voices. Standing in the shadow of a large tree he saw the two figures, to whom the voices belonged. They were his parents.
He quickly snapped out of his fantasy world and remained totally still. Ben was standing in the door opening of his room, but his parents had not noticed him. Judging by their gestures and the tones of their voices, something was up. His mother seemed really upset with his father, his father was trying his best to explain something to her and it resulted in making her even more upset.
"Aeryn…honey…" John pleaded with his wife, desperately trying to get her to listen to him.
"No, John." Was the simple reply she gave him, warning him not to push it. She was on the verge of taking off.
John grabbed Aeryn by the arm, preventing her to walk away." Please, you need to understand…" "Understand what John? That you thought I was going to get myself killed on that frelling commerce planet," she sneered. The anger flared up inside of her. How could he how thought such a thing? She was more than capable in handling herself in a tough situation.
" Aeryn…I…I was worried. Can you honestly blame me for that? Especially after what happened several weeks ago. I almost lost you back then and the thought of it happening again made me terrified. I was afraid of losing you, Aeryn. When Ben said that he missed you, I saw an opportunity opening up right in front of me and I seized it."
"You still shouldn't have been worried about me, John," she spoke softly, but stern.
" Yeah… I know, but I couldn't help it, honey. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you. Hell…I'd be lost without you. You are my sun and my moon. You mean everything to me."
"John…. I…" Aeryn whispered, slowly losing her composure. Damn him…she could never stay angry with him for long. He had changed her life the moment he had ended up in this end of the galaxy. She been attracted to him from the very first moment she had seen him in that cell on Moya eight cycles ago. He had never seized to amaze her in those eight years and he had thought her many things that had been unknown to her as a Peacekeeper. Thanks to him she had managed become more. She wondered what Velorek would have said if he had known where she would be now. Velorek would have been very proud of her. Proud of the person she had finally become.
" Aeryn…" John returned as he leaned in closer. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could he placed his finger on her lips. It trailed upwards playing with a lock of black hair. Their eyes locked; mesmerized by the ones they were staring at. Their heads moved closer until their lips touched. John moved away from her mouth and trailed kisses all over her jaw line, slowly moving towards her neck. A moan escaped from her mouth.
" John. Ben…he's…."
" Ben's asleep in his room. Don't worry," John tried to reassure her as continued kissing her.
" No…no. He's…not," Aeryn countered somewhat surprised.
***
The Centre Chamber:
" Come on dad…why the hezmana not?"
" It's not the right time, Jothee," D'Argo replied as he sat down at the table. "Yeah…which is exactly why we should do it," Jothee pleaded, leaning on the chair opposite to his father. Sometimes his dad could be such a drag. He couldn't understand why his father could ever be satisfied with being a farmer. What he wanted to do was precisely what they needed...a chance to relax a bit. Jothee looked around the chamber and at that exact moment Chiana, Rygel, Stark and Zhaan walked through the entrance of the centre chamber.
" Maybe I should ask them what they think, dad?"
" Think about what, Joth?" Chiana asked curiously.
" Well…dad seems to believe that it's a bad idea to start with, but I believe we can definitely use it," Jothee cryptically spoke with a big grin. He knew he could easily convince Chiana, but the others…they would cost some work for him to convince them. " What the yotz are you talking about boy?" Rygel demanded from his royal throne sled, hovering above the Sebacean-Luxan hybrid.
" How would you guys feel about throwing a party?"
" A party?" Zhaan and Stark asked in unison, as Chiana and Rygel remained quiet. Jothee turned to look at his father, slowly starting to doubt the success rate he had calculated for the party. D'Argo shook his head. " You should have listened to me, son. I could have told you that they do not want a party. It was a nice idea, but…"
" Well, I sure do want a party. It would liven this joint up a bit," Chiana interrupted D'Argo, walking towards Jothee in an attempt to support him. " Hmmm…a party. That would be the perfect event to taste those Hynerian marjoles I have saved for a special occasion. Yes…yes…a grand party is just what I need, " Rygel spoke, ranting to himself.
" I agree with Chiana and Rygel. Perhaps a party is exactly what we need," Zhaan joined, looking at Stark and Jothee. " It seems young Jothee here had the right idea. Why did you believe it was what we needed?" Stark smiled.
Jothee shrugged. " The last time we got together and had a party was at Ben's birthday, which was about 4 monens ago. In the light of recent events I thought this would be a good time to throw another party. So that we can forget what has happened during the last couple of monens, just relax and unwind for a while."
" So I guess that this means we'll have a party tonight?" D'Argo sighed.
***
The Peacekeeper Vessel:
" Commander, Sir. You wanted to see me?"
" Yes, lieutenant Kygil. I indeed wanted to see you or else I would not have send for you."
" Sorry Sir. How may I be off assistance, Commander?"
"Oh that's very simple…" the commander spoke as he searched the Lieutenant's eyes. He was afraid of him, which was exactly what he wanted. Without that he would be able to ensure their loyalty. He'd rather have a bunch of loyal soldiers being afraid of what he could do to them if they failed, than a bunch of insubordinate idiots.
" There's only * one * thing I want from you, Lieutenant. It's a very simple thing, but it would please me greatly."
"Sir?"
He saw a puzzled look appearing on the young Lieutenant's face. " Don't worry, Kygil. I want to know where the Leviathan is heading. I expect a detailed report from you within a half an arn."
" Why Sir? I thought Creyl was responsible for that, since you ordered him to do that."
A creepy smile appeared on the Commander's face. " I found his lacking and that is all you need to know, Lieutenant. Do you have a problem with your assignment, Kygil?"
" No, Sir. I do not."
" Then do as you have been ordered or you can join Creyl…wherever he might be right about now," The Commander threatened with a growl. He watched the Lieutenant salute and quickly leave his quarters. Yes…he definitely enjoyed his job. It was where he had been born and bred for.
***
Moya:
" What?!?" John exclaimed surprised, stopping with what he was doing. " What do you mean, Aeryn?" " He's standing right there," she whispered as she started to blush, embarrassingly nodding in the direction of their son's bedroom door. John and Aeryn quickly distanced themselves from each other, trying to straighten their clothes.
" Hey sport…I…um…we thought you were still asleep. Why aren't you sleeping?" John managed to bring out, running his hands through his hair. He was feeling a little more than embarrassed right about now and he knew that Aeryn was feeling the exact same way.
" I was. You woke me." Ben's blue eyes looked at his parents as he bit his lip. " Why were you fighting?" John watched Aeryn walk over to their son and kneel down in front of him. She ran her hand through his black hair and gave a kiss on his forehead. " We weren't fighting…honey. We just had a little disagreement, that's all…" Aeryn spoke, pulling her son into a hug. " Was it about daddy being afraid to lose you after you got so sick?"
" Yes. It was about that, Ben." She smiled as her son's eyes gazed into hers. Aeryn saw his expression turn serious. "Daddy means well, mommy. He loves you." " I know, honey. I know he does," she softly replied, picking him up. Aeryn walked back towards her husband, carrying her son in her arms.
"John, could you stay with Ben for a while?"
" Sure, sunshine. Why?"
" I have an appointment with Zhaan," Aeryn noticed the worried expression on John's face. She hadn't been feeling well and thought it might have something to do with injuries she had received several weekens ago. It had taken a while before she had finally decided to go to Zhaan." I'm sure it's nothing, John. Zhaan just wanted to do a check-up to be sure," she reassured her husband as he took Ben over from her. Aeryn passionately kissed John and swiftly headed in the direction of the door. Before she left their quarters she stopped and turned to look at her son and husband. She smiled and continued on her way.
"Well…champ. It looks like it's just the two of us now. How would you like to help your old man out and help him fix his ship?" John put his son back on the ground and ruffled his hair. Ben looked up at his dad and grinned. " I'll take that as a yes. Come on, let's get you dressed, sport."
***
The Cargo Bay:
" Where the frell did that green slug say he put that stuff?!" Jothee yelled irritated as he threw a couple of boxes to the side. "It is not here. His royal lowness probably forgot to mention that he had already snurched the damn stuff."
" Calm down Joth. I know a couple of his hiding places and I'm sure we'll be able to find it and 'procure' it for ourselves. We'll deal with Ryg later. Let's just get the things we needed and managed to get our hands on to the centre chamber. Gimme that list will ya?" Chiana spoke, grabbing the list from his hands.
" Hey!" Jothee protested as the Nebari starting to check things on the list. "Hmmm…we got that…that…definitely got that…and last but certainly not least…we got that as well." Chiana looked at Jothee and continued. " It seems that we've got everything we need except for…"
" Except that which Rygel snurched from our supplies," he finished for her, his fingers trailing down the list and stopping at the missing provision. "Luckily for us I'm a talented burglar. He won't even notice that we took it from his stash. If Rygel doesn't even remember taking it from us, it must not be that important to him," Chiana said with a twinkle in her eye. " Well…it's either that or it just temporarily slipped his mind, because it was too preoccupied with preparing a feast worthy of his Royal Highness," Jothee concluded, a big grin forming on his face.
"I just know I'm going to enjoy this party of yours, Jothee."
"That was the whole idea, Chiana. Come let's go and find the Dominar's stashes before he finds out what we're gonna do to it. Who knows what the little slug has been hiding in there and how valuable it might be to the rest of us?"
***
The Medical Facility:
Aeryn quietly stood in the door opening and observed her friend as she was experimenting with some sort of potion. She hadn't exactly entered the room without making any kind of noise, but the Delvian had been too caught up with what she was doing, to have heard Aeryn's footsteps. It was still not too late to turn back. On the other hand if John found out that she hadn't gone to Zhaan, he would nag about it and be even more concerned when there probably wasn't even a reason to be concerned to start with.
"Zhaan?"
The Delvian priestess looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Aeryn, do come in."
" Thank you," Aeryn spoke, returning the smile. She made her way over to Zhaan, who had ceased experimenting with the potion, but not before having a look at the read-out on the console. " Come my dear, have seat. Tell me what has been troubling you? You said something about not feeling well," Zhaan inquired as she patted on one of the beds.
" Yes…" Aeryn answered, sitting down on the bed Zhaan had patted on. " I have not been feeling well lately. I thought it might have something to do the injuries I sustained on the supply run a couple of weekens ago. It just as well might be nothing, but... " " That's why you asked for a check-up. Just to be sure and to find out what's causing your illness," Zhaan concluded for Aeryn. Aeryn nodded gratefully. " I did not want to bother John with it. He's worried enough now…even without knowing that I am not feeling well."
"I can imagine that. The wounds you sustained from the last barter trip almost caused you to die. It's no wonder that John is trying to protect you…he is simply afraid of losing you. I gather that it is also the reason why he went down to the planet."
" Yes. I had though as much when he came down to the planet, but I waited until we had returned to Moya before confronting him with my suspicions and it ended up in argument," Aeryn spoke as she rubbed her temples. Zhaan shot her a concerned look. " It's just a headache, Zhaan. It will not kill me."
"Is it one of the things that have been bothering you, Aeryn? The headaches?"
" Among other things, Zhaan…"
" I am going to run several test on you, Aeryn. It's nothing to be alarmed about. They are merely standard tests through which I hope to single out what is causing everything. In the meantime feel free to tell me more about the symptoms…"
***
The Peacekeeper Vessel:
" Sir?"
" Yes Lieutenant?"
" The report you requested," Lieutenant Jytas Kygil spoke as he handed his commanding officer the report of the current whereabouts of the Leviathan. He prayed that the report was to the Commander's satisfaction, because failure cost more than one could want it to. Jytas had no doubt that Creyl was either dead or currently being tortured. He had never met such a madman and tried his best to keep on his good side.
" Hmmm…" the commander said as he read the data. The lieutenant had been very thorough in his report and actually gave him more information than he needed. " Well done, Lieutenant Kygil. You made your commanding officer very proud. Make no mistake though if I find you lacking you will wish never to have boarded this vessel."
" Yes Sir. I will do my best not to let that happen, Sir." Jytas sighed relieved. He really didn't want to think what would have happened to him if the report hadn't satisfactory. Commander Holm Tulor was known for his cruelty and he seemed to hold a personal grudge against the traitor Aeryn Sun, although it was unknown to him as what the reason for it was.
" Kygil?"
"What is it, Sir?"
" Alert the men that we are going to board the Leviathan in a quarter of an arn. I want them to be ready as soon as possible and tell the helm to increase speed to hatch 6. I want to get this over with. I want to see the traitors face as she realizes I am going to kill her."
" Aye, Sir." Jytas quickly saluted and exited Commander Tulor's quarter's, beating a hasty retreat.
" Oh yes, Aeryn Sun. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this moment. To think it was only a coincidence that I found you on that forsaken planet. I do not think High Command will mind that I am tracking you down and that I will bring you down to justice instead of that Scarran jackal of a L'gyur. There is no way for you to escape your past now, traitor. You will get what you deserve by defying all that is Peacekeeper and breaking the oaths you made," he laughed insanely, clasping his hands.
***
Moya:
" Ben, pass me that red thing over there," John asked sitting in the cockpit of the Farscape1. He was pulling some wires, which were dangling underneath the dashboard. "This one?" Ben picked up a tool from the box and held it up so John could see it. " Yeah that's the one, sport. Could you bring it to me? But be careful though," John grinned as he got up and leaned over the edge of the cockpit. Ben ran towards him and climbed up the small ladder, handing the tool over to his father. He watched intrigued as his father attempted to fix the wiring and followed John's every move.
" You shouldn't do that, daddy," Ben warned his father. John shook his head and chuckled." I know what I'm doing, son."
Right after saying that, John got an electric shock from one of the wires. " Frell!" he shouted frustrated, before returning to what he was doing. " Sorry, Ben. It seems like you were right after all. Guess I'll have to try a different approach…"he spoke as he carefully grabbed the wires and with the help of the tool Ben had gave him, he managed devise the correct way of joining the wires without getting another electric shock.
"Is it fixed yet, daddy?"
" Yeah, we are finished here for today. You know what, Ben? Let's go and find your mommy. She's got to be finished with that check-up by now." John climbed out of the Farscape 1 as Ben jumped down the ladder. He quickly grabbed John's hand and looked up at his father. "Do you think mommy's hurt again?"
"No, of course not Ben. Your mother is feeling fine. She just wanted to be sure that she wasn't sick, so that's why she went to see Zhaan," John smiled, trying to reassure his son, just as Aeryn had tried to reassure him.
As Ben and John were about to leave the bay to search for Aeryn, Moya suddenly rocked and caused them to fall on the floor. "What the ?!?"John exclaimed surprised as he helped Ben get back on his feet. " Pilot? What the hell is going on? Pilot??"
" Commander. It seems that an unknown force has boarded us. They are scattered all over Moya. Two of them are heading in your direction. I…what are you doing here??" Pilot's comm transmission went dead. John's mind started to reel. Two intruders were heading in their direction and he had no idea what had happened to Aeryn and the others. The only thing he did know was that they had gotten their hands on Pilot and that he and Ben were in danger.
John quickly picked up his son and ran towards the nearest access shaft. He opened the hatch and helped Ben to crawl in it. After that he joined his son and swiftly sealed the access again.
"Ben, I need you to listen to me…"
" Yes daddy," a little voice answered. Ben looked at his dad with a pair of big blue eyes. He was scared and didn't know what to do, but he tried to be brave in spite of that. " A couple of bad men have boarded Moya and two of them are nearby. They will undoubtedly search the bay in a couple of microts, searching for people. I need you to be absolutely quiet, no matter what happens. I want you to stay here. Can you do that for me?"
Ben nodded. " That's my boy. I knew I could count on you," John whispered as he hugged his son tightly. He heard the footsteps coming nearer and held his breath. Through the small openings of the access shaft he could see two Sebaceans enter the bay.
" There's no one here, Sir." John heard one of them speak into his comm. It didn't take long before another voice responded to the Peacekeeper.
" No matter…I have already got what I came for. I couldn't care less about the others. I only care about the traitor. Oh yes…Aeryn Sun is going to regret the day she was born."
TBC…