Disclaimer: I don't own Farscape or any of the characters. I'm only
borrowing them!
Retrieval
Chapter 1
As D'Argo entered command, John Crichton sat with his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hands, staring out at space. D'Argo could see his friend had his "pensive" look on. "I've come to relieve you my friend"
"If only you could D, if only you could" replied Crichton morosely
"Sorry John, you've lost me. Not a novel experience, I'll admit, but becoming rarer of late." D'Argo smiled and tried to lighten John's mood without much success.
"Relieve me of this heavy weight round my heart called My Hopeless Love for One Who Cannot Bring Herself to Return the Favour!"
"Ah" said D'Argo, beginning to understand. "How was your watch with Aeryn?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Long periods of silence interspersed with me talking to myself just to see if I could get any reply"
"Look on the bright side, John, at least she now is able to stay in the same room with you, even if there isn't much in the way of conversation"
"Yeah, and she did actually say something to me today. Pilot picked up this spatial anomaly a couple of arns ago so I suggested that I go look at it in my module, to which the charming Miss Sun replied "that bucket of dren couldn't make it there in one piece, I'll go in my Prowler" and stormed out"
"Hmm. What kind of spatial anomaly?" said D'Argo with interest. "Didn't you think to wake anyone else before taking action?"
"It was just a big cloud thing that Pilot couldn't see through, so Aeryn's checking out whether there is anyone we don't particularly want to meet hanging around the other side. It was no big deal, we're probably just being over cautious after that bounty hunter we ran into on Veldus 9. Thought you could probably do with the shut eye"
At that moment the comms began to crackle. "Crichton, Crichton, can you hear me?"
"Receiving you loud and clear Aeryn"
"I've reached the cloud thing. The sensors still can't penetrate even at this close distance. I'm going to have a look at the other side. There's a small moon, nothing much; sensors don't pick up any life forms. Picking up something else though..oh, frell" with this last exclamation Aeryn broke off
"Aeryn, damnit what is it?"
"Marauder.they're jamming trans....immo.pulse...must be...retriev.. squa..." and with that the comms went dead.
"Hot holy frelling damn, blast and dren"
"You can say that again John!"
Chapter 2
Everyone was gathered in command to discuss the latest crisis. Crichton was standing slightly back against the wall in the shadows. "Well, yes it is very unfortunate that Aeryn has apparently been captured by the Peacekeepers, but there's no reason for us all to be captured. I say that we starburst out of here immediately" Rygel, selfish as ever.
"But what if she hasn't been captured and just can't communicate with us? We owe it to her to at least go and look" said Chiana, betraying how much she had changed from the brat who had first come aboard Moya.
"And walk right into a Peacekeeper trap? You may think I'm only saying this for my own good but Aeryn wouldn't want that" replied Rygel pompously
"People, people" said D'Argo, "John and I will go take a look behind this cloud thing in Lo'la with the stealth mode fully activated. If the worse comes to the worse we'll just blow them to bits before they blow us to bits"
On Lo'la
"I'm sure she's OK, John"
"You don't really believe that, D'Argo and neither do I. If she has been taken by the Peacekeepers, they're either gonna use her as bait to capture me or she was their target and they've probably already killed her"
"If she was the target then I don't think they would kill her, John. Retrieval squads work to orders. They retrieve their prey and return them to their masters. I would imagine that the Peacekeepers would dearly like to capture a renegade like Aeryn and use her as an example to any dissenters in the ranks"
"Somehow that doesn't fill me with comfort. Now lets have a look at this cloud. Hmm, just like the one the Cylons used to hide their attack force behind."
"The Cylons? I don't remember us coming across any species with that name"
"God, D'Argo, you did drink a lot of raslak on that trip" John replied with the ghost of a grin. D'Argo brought the ship through the cloud. They saw the moon that Aeryn had described and nothing else. Just open, empty space.
"She's gone" John stated forlornly
Back on Moya no one quite knew what to do. D'Argo entered John's quarters to find him strapping on Winona and packing a bag. "John, where the frell do you think you're going"
"I have to go after her D. Even if we're not, not, you know, on the best of terms at the moment. I got her mixed up with all this dren to start with. You know that if they take her to Grayza or High command or whoever ordered her capture she will be summarily tried and executed. I can't let that happen without at least attempting to rescue her"
"What if it's not any of them? What if Scorpius is still alive and using Aeryn to get you? You'll either get yourself killed or let them get the wormhole knowledge and you know Aeryn wouldn't want either to happen"
"Well she's not here to stop me. I have to take the risk. When we get back I promise I'll buy a pipe and some slippers and put my feet up somewhere safe for the rest of my life. Thanks for the concern my friend, but you know I have to do this and I have to do it by myself 'cos, if she is with them the only way I'm gonna have a chance of getting her out is with the famous Crichton Peacekeeper impression again." D'Argo shook his head
"you really think that one will still work? It was pretty frelling awful before you were top of the Peacekeeper's most wanted list. Sonmeone's bound to recognise you"
"Na, luck of the Crichtons! Think about it D. If it is me they're after then it won't matter if they recognise me; I can just trade myself for Aeryn. If it wasn't me, they're hardly gonna expect the infamous John Crichton to come walking in to free a ship mate; remember, these guys aren't exactly in touch with their emotional sides"
"Don't tell me that your plan is to just walk in to wherever they've got Aeryn, even Peacekeeper High command, and walk out with her? That stinks as a plan, even one of yours"
"Well it's only at the bare bones stage at the moment; I'll put on the flesh as I go along"
"That Diagnosan must have taken away more of your brain than we thought!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence D." With a smile John grasped his friend's shoulder briefly and ran towards Pilot's den.
"Hey, Pilot, I need any data you have on inhabited planets in this area and directions to Peacekeeper space"
"Of course, Commander. Then it's true, you think that Aeryn has been captured by the Peacekeepers?"
"Well we can keep hoping that it's something different and I'm gonna start with the local planets but I want those charts just in case. Do you think it's safe for Moya to hang around in this part of space for a while?"
"We have sufficient supplies for about a monen, as long as dominar Rygel doesn't have one of his eating binges. I suggest that we return to the Gastran system. If we detect any danger Moya can hide in the asteroid field there.
"OK, good idea, Pilot. If I'm not back in 20 solar days or if any Peacekeepers or other nasties turn up get the hell out of there. I'll find you again somehow"
"Good luck, Commander. I hope you are able to retrieve Officer Sun. I'm very fond of her you know"
"So am I pilot, so am I" replied John, stroking the huge creature's smooth head.
Chapter 3
John sat at the only bar in what he knew Aeryn would describe as "a waste hole of a planet" and nursed his drink. "God, if I knew when new year's was I would make a resolution to quit this stuff" he thought, "it's under an arn since D'Argo dropped me off and I'm already in a bar. But remember Johnny boy, best place to get information is from the drunk and disorderly". He decided to start with the barman, who looked a bit shifty but vaguely intelligent
"Anywhere on this planet I can get some transport?"
"Depends where you want to go"
"I don't want to hire it, I want to buy it. I need a ship"
"Best to try Dravel's down at the space port"
Entering Dravel's somewhat dingy establishment, John's heart skipped a beat. Parked amongst the various other vehicles and bits of space craft was a Peacekeeper Prowler. John wandered over to the office area as a rather interesting individual came out. He had a very large head and short, stumpy limbs. His body appeared to be covered in thick, scaly skin like a crocodile's.
"Good day to you sir, Uta Dravel's the name, can I be of assistance in the purchase of one of our fine vehicles?"
"Hell" thought John, "it's the unchartered's version of a used car salesman!"
"May be. I'm looking for something small and reasonably fast" said John, knowing that the little greaseball would show him the Prowler. It was the only thing in the yard that was whole and met that description.
"Well I think I have just the thing for you. Just in and I must say a superb buy. Ex-Peacekeeper surplus but that shouldn't bother a gentleman like you" he said looking up and down John's leather clad appearance. "You're not attached to the Peacekeepers are you?" he added somewhat anxiously
"And if I was?" threatened John
"I bought that Prowler fair and square off a Peacekeeper captain no less"
"Relax, buddy. I'm not with the Peacekeeper fraud squad, but I will take a look at that Prowler"
As they walked across to the ship Dravel kept up the salesman's patter. "I think you'll find she's a beauty sir. Seen some action mind you, but that just adds to the kudos, don't it? I've only had her in two solar days. You're the first person to view her but I've had some very interested nibbles from a big dealer on Hestaf 6 who's coming to see her in a few arns"
John climbed into the Prowler. There was nothing inside to identify it but he knew it was Aeryn's. He had recognised the big gouge along the side that it had gotten during that encounter with the bounty hunter. He sat in the pilot's seat and while pretending to look at the controls, felt all around the compartment. Just by the seat his fingers brushed against something. He brought them up for a closer look; drying blood.
Jumping down next to the salesman he said "there's blood on the floor and it's not that old. Where exactly did you get this ship from?"
"I told you, I bought it from a Peacekeeper captain 2 days ago. Anything that happened before then is none of my business"
John put his arm around the man in friendly but compelling fashion. "Well buddy, I'm very interested in the Prowler but you're going to have to tell me everything about the encounter with the Peacekeepers first. You got anything to drink in that shack of yours because we may be sometime?"
Two arns later Crichton flew the Prowler off the planet having learned more than he'd hoped for when he landed. Dravel hadn't seen Aeryn but the peacekeepers he described were definitely special ops. They had arrived in a Marauder with the Prowler in tow. There wasn't room for it on board and they didn't want it to slow them down so they had sold it. Dravel had also heard them talking about High command. John was pretty convinced that they were taking Aeryn back to stand trial
Chapter 4
John was getting closer and closer to Peacekeeper territory but funnily enough the closer he got, the safer he felt. No one had seen him here, no one expected to see him here. It was hardly likely that the Peacekeeper's public enemy number one would walk into their back yard. The irony of it just made him laugh.
The trail of the special ops crew and their Marauder was now pretty cold, but he had picked up enough information along the way to convince him that the retrieval squad was heading back to Peacekeeper territory. All that remained was to come up with a reasonable plan. Part one was to be well armed! He entered the building he had been told belonged to the local arms dealer. It looked like a laundry. The person behind the desk smiled at him welcomingly.
"Are you here to deposit or collect, sir?"
"Neither" replied Crichton "Yeldo recommended this place to me"
"Ah" said the man, still smiling broadly "through the back sir and ring the bell"
John did as the man told him. A door slid open revealing a room containing just two of the biggest aliens John had ever seen. They made D'Argo seem small. "Up against the wall and spread'em" growled the one on the left
"Oh my God, I've walked into Kojak," thought John.
After a brisk search during which they removed Winona, gave her a good look then put her back, John was shown into the inner sanctum. In contrast to his guards, the alien presiding over it was tiny and looked a bit like Rygel only red.
"What do you want?"
"Not too sure, mind if I look around and see what take's my fancy?"
"Be my guest"
John cast his eyes over the piles of weapons, from small pistols to large cannon like things. He decided to get a couple of large guns and a small rocket launcher. He also got some charges and a few grenades just in case - you never knew when they might come in handy.
"Planning a small war are we?"
"Something like that. More of a smash and grab job."
He was just haggling with the red toad when his eye was caught by something. It looked like two pairs of occulars. "What's that?"
"Oh a very interesting thing. I acquired it from a particularly sadistic but highly successful gentleman in the torture business"
"His name wasn't Scorpius was it?" enquired John under his breath. The toad ignored him and carried on
"Apparently it allows you to control someone's mind. You attach this sensor to the back of their neck, put this on, and voila, you can control their movements, speech, everything, even access their thoughts and memories"
"That could definitely come in handy. I can think of a few people I'd like to control right over a very large cliff. OK, so how much if I throw that in as well?"
After concluding their business Critchton had one last thought. "You know anyone who does great fake ids?" The alien just smiled at him. "I thought you would".
Retrieval
Chapter 1
As D'Argo entered command, John Crichton sat with his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hands, staring out at space. D'Argo could see his friend had his "pensive" look on. "I've come to relieve you my friend"
"If only you could D, if only you could" replied Crichton morosely
"Sorry John, you've lost me. Not a novel experience, I'll admit, but becoming rarer of late." D'Argo smiled and tried to lighten John's mood without much success.
"Relieve me of this heavy weight round my heart called My Hopeless Love for One Who Cannot Bring Herself to Return the Favour!"
"Ah" said D'Argo, beginning to understand. "How was your watch with Aeryn?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Long periods of silence interspersed with me talking to myself just to see if I could get any reply"
"Look on the bright side, John, at least she now is able to stay in the same room with you, even if there isn't much in the way of conversation"
"Yeah, and she did actually say something to me today. Pilot picked up this spatial anomaly a couple of arns ago so I suggested that I go look at it in my module, to which the charming Miss Sun replied "that bucket of dren couldn't make it there in one piece, I'll go in my Prowler" and stormed out"
"Hmm. What kind of spatial anomaly?" said D'Argo with interest. "Didn't you think to wake anyone else before taking action?"
"It was just a big cloud thing that Pilot couldn't see through, so Aeryn's checking out whether there is anyone we don't particularly want to meet hanging around the other side. It was no big deal, we're probably just being over cautious after that bounty hunter we ran into on Veldus 9. Thought you could probably do with the shut eye"
At that moment the comms began to crackle. "Crichton, Crichton, can you hear me?"
"Receiving you loud and clear Aeryn"
"I've reached the cloud thing. The sensors still can't penetrate even at this close distance. I'm going to have a look at the other side. There's a small moon, nothing much; sensors don't pick up any life forms. Picking up something else though..oh, frell" with this last exclamation Aeryn broke off
"Aeryn, damnit what is it?"
"Marauder.they're jamming trans....immo.pulse...must be...retriev.. squa..." and with that the comms went dead.
"Hot holy frelling damn, blast and dren"
"You can say that again John!"
Chapter 2
Everyone was gathered in command to discuss the latest crisis. Crichton was standing slightly back against the wall in the shadows. "Well, yes it is very unfortunate that Aeryn has apparently been captured by the Peacekeepers, but there's no reason for us all to be captured. I say that we starburst out of here immediately" Rygel, selfish as ever.
"But what if she hasn't been captured and just can't communicate with us? We owe it to her to at least go and look" said Chiana, betraying how much she had changed from the brat who had first come aboard Moya.
"And walk right into a Peacekeeper trap? You may think I'm only saying this for my own good but Aeryn wouldn't want that" replied Rygel pompously
"People, people" said D'Argo, "John and I will go take a look behind this cloud thing in Lo'la with the stealth mode fully activated. If the worse comes to the worse we'll just blow them to bits before they blow us to bits"
On Lo'la
"I'm sure she's OK, John"
"You don't really believe that, D'Argo and neither do I. If she has been taken by the Peacekeepers, they're either gonna use her as bait to capture me or she was their target and they've probably already killed her"
"If she was the target then I don't think they would kill her, John. Retrieval squads work to orders. They retrieve their prey and return them to their masters. I would imagine that the Peacekeepers would dearly like to capture a renegade like Aeryn and use her as an example to any dissenters in the ranks"
"Somehow that doesn't fill me with comfort. Now lets have a look at this cloud. Hmm, just like the one the Cylons used to hide their attack force behind."
"The Cylons? I don't remember us coming across any species with that name"
"God, D'Argo, you did drink a lot of raslak on that trip" John replied with the ghost of a grin. D'Argo brought the ship through the cloud. They saw the moon that Aeryn had described and nothing else. Just open, empty space.
"She's gone" John stated forlornly
Back on Moya no one quite knew what to do. D'Argo entered John's quarters to find him strapping on Winona and packing a bag. "John, where the frell do you think you're going"
"I have to go after her D. Even if we're not, not, you know, on the best of terms at the moment. I got her mixed up with all this dren to start with. You know that if they take her to Grayza or High command or whoever ordered her capture she will be summarily tried and executed. I can't let that happen without at least attempting to rescue her"
"What if it's not any of them? What if Scorpius is still alive and using Aeryn to get you? You'll either get yourself killed or let them get the wormhole knowledge and you know Aeryn wouldn't want either to happen"
"Well she's not here to stop me. I have to take the risk. When we get back I promise I'll buy a pipe and some slippers and put my feet up somewhere safe for the rest of my life. Thanks for the concern my friend, but you know I have to do this and I have to do it by myself 'cos, if she is with them the only way I'm gonna have a chance of getting her out is with the famous Crichton Peacekeeper impression again." D'Argo shook his head
"you really think that one will still work? It was pretty frelling awful before you were top of the Peacekeeper's most wanted list. Sonmeone's bound to recognise you"
"Na, luck of the Crichtons! Think about it D. If it is me they're after then it won't matter if they recognise me; I can just trade myself for Aeryn. If it wasn't me, they're hardly gonna expect the infamous John Crichton to come walking in to free a ship mate; remember, these guys aren't exactly in touch with their emotional sides"
"Don't tell me that your plan is to just walk in to wherever they've got Aeryn, even Peacekeeper High command, and walk out with her? That stinks as a plan, even one of yours"
"Well it's only at the bare bones stage at the moment; I'll put on the flesh as I go along"
"That Diagnosan must have taken away more of your brain than we thought!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence D." With a smile John grasped his friend's shoulder briefly and ran towards Pilot's den.
"Hey, Pilot, I need any data you have on inhabited planets in this area and directions to Peacekeeper space"
"Of course, Commander. Then it's true, you think that Aeryn has been captured by the Peacekeepers?"
"Well we can keep hoping that it's something different and I'm gonna start with the local planets but I want those charts just in case. Do you think it's safe for Moya to hang around in this part of space for a while?"
"We have sufficient supplies for about a monen, as long as dominar Rygel doesn't have one of his eating binges. I suggest that we return to the Gastran system. If we detect any danger Moya can hide in the asteroid field there.
"OK, good idea, Pilot. If I'm not back in 20 solar days or if any Peacekeepers or other nasties turn up get the hell out of there. I'll find you again somehow"
"Good luck, Commander. I hope you are able to retrieve Officer Sun. I'm very fond of her you know"
"So am I pilot, so am I" replied John, stroking the huge creature's smooth head.
Chapter 3
John sat at the only bar in what he knew Aeryn would describe as "a waste hole of a planet" and nursed his drink. "God, if I knew when new year's was I would make a resolution to quit this stuff" he thought, "it's under an arn since D'Argo dropped me off and I'm already in a bar. But remember Johnny boy, best place to get information is from the drunk and disorderly". He decided to start with the barman, who looked a bit shifty but vaguely intelligent
"Anywhere on this planet I can get some transport?"
"Depends where you want to go"
"I don't want to hire it, I want to buy it. I need a ship"
"Best to try Dravel's down at the space port"
Entering Dravel's somewhat dingy establishment, John's heart skipped a beat. Parked amongst the various other vehicles and bits of space craft was a Peacekeeper Prowler. John wandered over to the office area as a rather interesting individual came out. He had a very large head and short, stumpy limbs. His body appeared to be covered in thick, scaly skin like a crocodile's.
"Good day to you sir, Uta Dravel's the name, can I be of assistance in the purchase of one of our fine vehicles?"
"Hell" thought John, "it's the unchartered's version of a used car salesman!"
"May be. I'm looking for something small and reasonably fast" said John, knowing that the little greaseball would show him the Prowler. It was the only thing in the yard that was whole and met that description.
"Well I think I have just the thing for you. Just in and I must say a superb buy. Ex-Peacekeeper surplus but that shouldn't bother a gentleman like you" he said looking up and down John's leather clad appearance. "You're not attached to the Peacekeepers are you?" he added somewhat anxiously
"And if I was?" threatened John
"I bought that Prowler fair and square off a Peacekeeper captain no less"
"Relax, buddy. I'm not with the Peacekeeper fraud squad, but I will take a look at that Prowler"
As they walked across to the ship Dravel kept up the salesman's patter. "I think you'll find she's a beauty sir. Seen some action mind you, but that just adds to the kudos, don't it? I've only had her in two solar days. You're the first person to view her but I've had some very interested nibbles from a big dealer on Hestaf 6 who's coming to see her in a few arns"
John climbed into the Prowler. There was nothing inside to identify it but he knew it was Aeryn's. He had recognised the big gouge along the side that it had gotten during that encounter with the bounty hunter. He sat in the pilot's seat and while pretending to look at the controls, felt all around the compartment. Just by the seat his fingers brushed against something. He brought them up for a closer look; drying blood.
Jumping down next to the salesman he said "there's blood on the floor and it's not that old. Where exactly did you get this ship from?"
"I told you, I bought it from a Peacekeeper captain 2 days ago. Anything that happened before then is none of my business"
John put his arm around the man in friendly but compelling fashion. "Well buddy, I'm very interested in the Prowler but you're going to have to tell me everything about the encounter with the Peacekeepers first. You got anything to drink in that shack of yours because we may be sometime?"
Two arns later Crichton flew the Prowler off the planet having learned more than he'd hoped for when he landed. Dravel hadn't seen Aeryn but the peacekeepers he described were definitely special ops. They had arrived in a Marauder with the Prowler in tow. There wasn't room for it on board and they didn't want it to slow them down so they had sold it. Dravel had also heard them talking about High command. John was pretty convinced that they were taking Aeryn back to stand trial
Chapter 4
John was getting closer and closer to Peacekeeper territory but funnily enough the closer he got, the safer he felt. No one had seen him here, no one expected to see him here. It was hardly likely that the Peacekeeper's public enemy number one would walk into their back yard. The irony of it just made him laugh.
The trail of the special ops crew and their Marauder was now pretty cold, but he had picked up enough information along the way to convince him that the retrieval squad was heading back to Peacekeeper territory. All that remained was to come up with a reasonable plan. Part one was to be well armed! He entered the building he had been told belonged to the local arms dealer. It looked like a laundry. The person behind the desk smiled at him welcomingly.
"Are you here to deposit or collect, sir?"
"Neither" replied Crichton "Yeldo recommended this place to me"
"Ah" said the man, still smiling broadly "through the back sir and ring the bell"
John did as the man told him. A door slid open revealing a room containing just two of the biggest aliens John had ever seen. They made D'Argo seem small. "Up against the wall and spread'em" growled the one on the left
"Oh my God, I've walked into Kojak," thought John.
After a brisk search during which they removed Winona, gave her a good look then put her back, John was shown into the inner sanctum. In contrast to his guards, the alien presiding over it was tiny and looked a bit like Rygel only red.
"What do you want?"
"Not too sure, mind if I look around and see what take's my fancy?"
"Be my guest"
John cast his eyes over the piles of weapons, from small pistols to large cannon like things. He decided to get a couple of large guns and a small rocket launcher. He also got some charges and a few grenades just in case - you never knew when they might come in handy.
"Planning a small war are we?"
"Something like that. More of a smash and grab job."
He was just haggling with the red toad when his eye was caught by something. It looked like two pairs of occulars. "What's that?"
"Oh a very interesting thing. I acquired it from a particularly sadistic but highly successful gentleman in the torture business"
"His name wasn't Scorpius was it?" enquired John under his breath. The toad ignored him and carried on
"Apparently it allows you to control someone's mind. You attach this sensor to the back of their neck, put this on, and voila, you can control their movements, speech, everything, even access their thoughts and memories"
"That could definitely come in handy. I can think of a few people I'd like to control right over a very large cliff. OK, so how much if I throw that in as well?"
After concluding their business Critchton had one last thought. "You know anyone who does great fake ids?" The alien just smiled at him. "I thought you would".