It was supposed to be a quick stop at a commerce planet for supplies but the crew of Talon knew that things never quite worked out that easily. When the trades made for their food and supplies went well, John started to worry.
"Things are going just as you planned. I thought you'd be happy," Aeryn teased as they walked out with several bags in hand.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm glad there wasn't any trouble but that's what worries me. Nothing ever goes like I plan it," he tried not to worry too much.
Aeryn laughed. "Well, we have some extra time. Maybe we should round up the others and get out of here before anything does happen," she suggested.
"Good luck getting Rigel out of here," John scoffed.
"Well, then why don't we enjoy ourselves while we still can?" she proposed with a sly grin.
After dropping off their bags, they went to the club for a few drinks under the guise of checking on the others. Everything seemed fine so they retreated to the transport to relax and congratulate themselves.
However, shortly after they left, a woman approached Rigel with an opportunity to make a buck at their expense.
"Can I help you?" he asked the violet woman when she approached and nearly set her drink down across the table from his.
"How much for the banik?" she asked seriously, taking a moment to glance over at the half-masked man conversing with an obviously more serious dark-haired man.
"What makes you think he's mine to sell?" Rigel countered.
"I had a hunch and even if he's not yours, I get the feeling you know who I should talk to," she presumed haughtily.
"Have a seat," he motioned.
"So, how much?" she questioned again.
"I like a woman who gets to the point," Rigel nodded. "But that really depends on how long you want him for."
She gave a suspicious sideways glance at the hynerian as she pulled a gem from her purse and set it between them.
"A small gem," he noted arrogantly. "I doubt you could get much more than an arn for that."
To his surprise, she actually smiled at that as she pulled another gem from her purse.
"Oh, that one's a little larger," he taunted. "I suppose I could go most of an evening without him for that."
She reached into her bag again but this time, kept her hand inside, toying with the different valuables contained within. "He must be a very good servant," she noted, "or you're trying to rip me off."
"He's one of the best servants I've ever had," he lied. "And if I was going to rip you off, I'd've accepted your second offer because most baniks aren't worth half that."
She nodded and pulled three golden squares from her purse, setting them with the two gems.
Rigel nodded and smirked at his scheme. "You can have him all night for that but I'm leaving first thing in the morning so I'll want him back by then."
"How much would I have to pay for you to give him up entirely?" she finally asked.
He pondered for a moment whether he could get away with that, but quickly realized that wasn't a viable option. "He's not for sale," he regretfully informed.
She frowned deeply. "Fine," she closed her purse. "I'll take him for the night then and send him back first thing in the morning."
"What might I ask do you need him for?" Rigel finally questioned as he gathered his goods. The only reason he cared was so that he could make up an excuse for his behavior later if he needed to.
"I like his demeanor," she informed carefully. "I wanted to speak with him but I know that it would be rude to detain your servant without compensating you for it."
Rigel nodded at her sense of etiquette and rolled the small gem back to her. With that, she stood and left, going to the bar for a refill before venturing over to Stark. When she did, she didn't immediately acknowledge the banik. "Good evening," she greeted with a greedy smile.
"Oh, good evening," Crais replied, more than a little surprised that she'd stopped to talk to him. It was uncommon that women went out of their way to speak to him and even rarer that the woman be beautiful.
"May I sit with you?" she immediately requested.
"Of course," he nodded. He wasn't exactly sure about having company in general but she had taken him by surprise and didn't think she deserved a rude response.
She surprised him again when she did take her seat because she situated herself closer to Stark.
"You don't have a drink," she noted, finally looking at the masked man.
"I don't generally drink," he replied carefully.
"If I ordered a round, would you oblige me?" she questioned mischievously.
Stark stammered for a moment before Crais replied for them. "We would be much obliged." Her offer made him wonder what she was up to but she didn't appear to have nefarious motives so he decided to indulge her.
The banik couldn't manage a refute before the drinks were ordered.
"So…" she leaned a little closer to the man in the mask. "What brings you to this world?"
"Uh… we-uh," Stark continued to stammer. "We're drifters," he finally managed. "And you?"
"I'm a trader," she replied confidently.
"Perhaps you have some things we could use," Crais proposed, figuring that was the reason for her presence.
"Perhaps, but I am finished doing business for the night," she dismissed.
"T-Then why are you talking to us and buying us drinks?" Stark suddenly asked what both of the men were thinking.
They thought she should have been put off by that but apparently that was not the case. "I am here for you," she replied evenly, placing a sure hand on his thigh.
Stark gasped and stood up, knocking his chair down behind him.
She giggled lightly. "I didn't think you would be so timid," she teased, standing to wrap her arm around his waist.
The banik man stood staring downward, dumbfounded by the woman's behavior.
"I should let you two be," Crais chidingly conceded as he took his leave. He was disgusted with himself because he realized that part of him wanted female company.
"W-Wait! Crais!" Stark called but was ignored.
The woman tried to sit down again but Stark resisted. "If you won't sit with me, would you mind dancing with me?" she proposed.
He continued to hesitate but allowed her to lead him to the dance floor where he feebly tried to keep up with her. Though, she didn't seem to mind that he was a horrible dancer.
When Crais retreated from his table, he found his way over to Rigel, who was sitting off to one side of the room with a devious grin on his face.
"What's that self-satisfied smirk for?" he half-teased as he sat down.
Rigel snickered and decided to let Crais in on his exchange. "You see that woman dancing with Stark?" he asked knowingly.
"Yes, she asked me if she could sit down and then completely ignored me," he complained.
The hynerian laughed. "That's because she wasn't interested in you."
"Obviously," the former captain grumbled.
"She thinks Stark is my servant," he giddily elaborated.
Crais thought about that for a moment and was less offended by her behavior because of it. "So?"
"She paid me to spend the night with him!" he laughed heartily.
"She what?" Crais gasped. "You did what? He's not your servant," he asserted.
"Believe me. I know that but I couldn't resist. She just wants'em for the night and she paid me well for'im," he bragged.
"But if Stark finds out, he'll kill you!" Not to mention be incredibly embarrassed, he added mentally but not verbally because he didn't like showing that kind of concern for the erratic man.
"Who cares if he finds out? I've already been paid," he chided.
"She's gunna care when she finds out she just paid some slug for a free man," Crais argued.
"That's why I was just on my way out," he informed haughtily as he floated away.
That left Crais torn between telling Stark about the deception and seeing what would happen if he found out on his own. Just in case such an event would cause a scene, he stayed to observe the pair until they left a few minutes later. Then, he sighed and went back to Talon.
"You don't seem comfortable dancing," the woman pointed out. "Why don't we go for a walk instead?"
Relieved that he wouldn't experience further rhythmic embarrassment, he agreed. They walked closely in silence until he couldn't take it anymore. "Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely flattered but I'm baffled as to why you're so interested in me," he finally said.
She gave him an appraising look. "You seem like a very gentle creature. Those are hard to find in this part of the universe."
"Oh…" was all he could manage to reply.
"I only hope that you don't find me too revolting," she looked up at him shyly.
"Oh, no, of course not," he replied, shocked that she could be so self deprecating after being so confident before. "You're very lovely."
She blushed at the compliment. "Well, as I'm sure you know, some of us choose who we are with while others are thrust upon us," she lewdly reasoned, making him blush even harder than she was.
Seeing that she had stolen his words, she reached up and started kissing him. After a moment, he gave in and started to kiss back.
They retreated to her ship a short while later where they made love and fell asleep without incident.
The following morning, Stark awoke to the smell of sweet tea brewing. He smiled before opening his eye.
"Sleep well?" she asked knowingly.
He blushed. "Yeah, thanks."
"I wish I could keep you," she cooed as she served him.
He laughed a little at the notion but didn't argue.
When he went to leave she gave him another kiss and let him go. He was surprised by how disappointed she seemed.
He was about half way back to the transport when he put his hands in his pockets. To his surprise, there seemed to be something in one of them. There was a small gem and a little piece of paper with some kind of alien script on it. He had a feeling it was from her and once he was back on Talon, he asked started asking around for someone who could read it for him.
When he went to ask Aeryn, John was with her but he didn't think twice before intruding on their conversation.
"Aeryn?" Stark began eagerly.
"What is it?" she tried not to snap.
"Can you read this?" he handed her the paper.
"What makes you think I can read alien scribbles?" she scoffed because she was busy making repairs but when she realized that she'd just been thinking about taking a break, she took the opportunity.
"I heard that peacekeepers are taught to read many languages," he confessed meekly but when she didn't hand the paper back, he grew hopeful again.
Because he was right, she read over the script a couple of times before turning back to the banik. "Where did you get this?"
"It was in my pocket," he answered and when he realized that wasn't quite enough information, he continued. "The woman I was with last night, I think she put it in there."
"You were with a woman last night?" John chided. "Good for you buddy," he patted the other man on the back.
"Can you read it?" Stark ignored the taunt.
"I think so. It says…something about a small or little something extra for you because the hynerian isn't likely to share," she answered. "Do you know what that means?"
Stark was obviously confused. "The hynerian? Rigel? What's he got to do with-?" he babbled.
"So-ah, what was the something extra?" John pressed and earned an elbow in the side for it.
Guiltily, Stark removed the small, violet gem from his pocket.
"Did you two have a trade agreement or something? The only adorian I saw at the bar last night was a trader, right?" Aeryn proposed.
"Yes trader. No trade," Stark shook his head.
"Then you might want to talk to Rigel," she suggested, pushing the paper back into his hand.
Because John already had a bad feeling about the planet they were on, he decided to follow Stark.
"Why are you following me?" Stark nearly snapped.
"I wanna know what's goin' on," he shrugged. "Rigel's kind of a tricky bastard."
"You think he tricked that woman somehow?" Stark theorized.
"I wouldn't put it past him," the human shrugged again. "Does that woman have a name?" he pried.
"Probably," the banik answered carefully.
"Oh, I see, you don't wanna tell me," he teased.
Stark laughed. "We never exchanged names."
That made John smile. "Good for you, Astro," he patted the other man on the back.
The banik was about to mutter a thanks when he realized they were at Rigel's quarters.
"Ah, Stark," Rigel greeted. "Have fun last night?"
"What do you know about last night?" Stark countered.
The hynerian chuckled.
"What's the deal, Sparky?" John questioned harshly.
"What deal?" Rigel asked distractedly.
"I know you had something to do with that woman I was with last night," the banik informed carefully.
"Oh? I might have…encouraged her interest in you, if that's what you mean," he dawled.
"Encouraged her enough to give him presents?" John pressed.
"Presents?" Rigel suddenly perked up. "What kind of presents?"
Stark pulled the stone from his pocket again and Rigel's expression gave away his guilt.
"Ah-ha-ha!" he laughed. "She tipped you!" He nearly fell out of his throne with laughter.
The masked man put the pieces together but he didn't let himself believe it until he heard John groan with disgust. "You sleezy, slimy little slug! I'll kill you!" His rage flared and he knocked the hynerian off his thrown. Once the smaller creature was prone, he leapt upon him and proceeded to strangle him.
It took John a moment to react and pull the banik off their least favorite shipmate. "Look, Stark, you have every right to be pissed but killing Rigel, unfortunately, isn't going to solve anything," he coaxed.
"It will make me feel better," he argued fitfully.
"Right now, maybe, but you know it won't last," the human reasoned.
The appeal to his better nature, reeled Stark in a bit. "Where's the money?" he asked suddenly.
"What does it matter? It sounds like you both had a good time," Rigel taunted but once he realized that John wasn't likely to defend him as readily a second time, he made his way back into his thrown and motioned over to one of his small tables, "Over there."
Stark turned and eyed the objects in question. "Which part?" he pressed.
"That's all of it. I was just figuring out what to do with it when you two barged in here," he indignantly replied.
"All of this?" the banik questioned.
Rigel laughed again. "You're lucky I didn't sell you to her. That's what she really wanted and she would have paid well for you!"
"I am not your slave!" Stark raged and attacked the hynerian again.
John waited until Rigel was unconscious before pulling Stark off him this time. Then, they gathered up his loot and carried him to the med bay where they dumped him before going to the bridge. Stark wasn't really thinking when he followed John, other than that he wanted to be near someone who was on his side.
"Crais, we gotta turn around," John informed when the captain came into view.
"What for?" he asked suspiciously.
"Wait!" Stark interrupted. "Why go back?"
"What do you mean? Don't you want to set things straight?" John asked incredulously.
Stark blushed deeply.
"Set what straight?" Crais pressed.
John took a moment to explain the situation as delicately as he could.
"So, why are we going back?" Crais asked again.
"We don't need to," Stark hastily assured.
"Come on. Don't be like that," John chided.
"Criton, if Stark doesn't think we should go back, then we should probably just let it be. If she catches up with us, we'll deal with her then."
The human gave his banik shipmate one last long look where in Stark started stuttering.
Frustrated at his inability to speak, he snatched the bag of money from John. "Don't go back," he finally managed before storming out.
Once he was gone, Crais felt the need to mock him for the misunderstanding. "At least he enjoyed himself. He should just be glad for that."
John just shook his head in exasperation and stormed out.