Daughter of the Regiment

by Ann Brill White

Aeryn is captured by Crais, but finds some unlikely allies on her old ship.

Daughter of the Regiment

- For Bear

Here comes the storm, in the form of a girl... - Hole, "Heaven Tonight"

"This is not a good day," Aeryn Sun muttered as she strolled though the spare parts section of a market on whichever backwater planet they had managed to land on this time. Every market in every planet looked the same, and they all had the same pitiful excuses for spare parts. The twin suns were beating relentless heat down onto the open-air market, and she was beginning to feel uncomfortably warm, even though she was dressed for the heat. She mentally cursed D'Argo for going into a rage and destroying yet another one of Moya's vital components. The damn Luxan should be doing this, not her. But Zhaan had convinced him to stay on the ship this time. They didn't need any trouble, and trouble followed D'Argo like night followed day. Well, on most planets that is. Aeryn didn't think that this accursed rock had any nightfall.

"Hello, pretty lady," the ratty-looking, green-skinned humanoid that was presumably the owner of this stall grinned at her. He (she presumed it was a he) had three teeth in his wide mouth, and a patch over one of his four eyes. Aeryn sighed, smiled wanly and nodded in return. "You look for something in particular?"

"Yes, I am. Do you have a coupler for a plasma conduit?" she replied and looked over Greenie's merchandise.

"Strange request," he nodded. "Not out here. Got it in back. You come with."

Aeryn sensed trouble. She reached below her jacket and let Greenie see a flash of her weapon. "I don't think so. Bring it out here," she ordered. Greenie nodded and shuffled back into his hut. Aeryn looked around, then activated her communications device. "Zhaan, are you there?" she asked.

"Here, Aeryn," the voice of the Delvian woman answered. "How are you doing?"

"Well, I've got someone here who says that he has the part we need. Have you and Chiana found anything edible over in the food market?"

Zhaan's sigh was audible through the comm badge. "She's interested more in whatever valuables she can steal. I have to keep a close watch on her to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. She's worse than D'Argo."

"Why don't you send her over here? Maybe she can work her charms on this parts salesman?" Aeryn smirked. She was so glad that Zhaan had taken Chiana under her wing, because nobody else had any patience for the girl. Although, she had to admit that the brat was finally beginning to make herself useful - especially when it came time to charm the scum of the galaxy out of their wares.

"Good idea. Chiana?" Zhaan contacted the girl. "Aeryn needs your assistance. Can you go over to the parts market and help her?"

"Whatever," the teenager answered. "Where are ya, Aeryn?"

"Third row on the right as you enter the market. The very last stall on the left side. Look for an antenna with some kind of flag on it," she looked up to describe the faded blue flag fluttering in a breeze that didn't reach ground level. "The owner's a real charmer."

"Be right there." To Aeryn's misfortune, Greenie emerged from the hut with a metallic object in his hands.

"This what you want?" Greenie asked and held it out for inspection. It was, as she suspected, the wrong part.

"No, no, no! I meant a coupler, not a spanner!"

"So sorry. You come help look?"

She levelled her gaze at him. "Why do you want me to come back there? What are you hiding?" She brushed her sidearm with her hand, just to make sure it was handy.

Greenie moved closer to her, and beckoned her to come close. She leaned in reluctantly. "Guns," he whispered in a breath that smelled of stale beer and fish. "Peekay guns," he grinned.

"You have Peacekeeper weapons? How did you know that I was interested in them?" she asked breathlessly.

"You Peekay. I know Peekays when see 'em."

"I see," she muttered, then glanced back the alley. Chiana was slowly making her way down the row towards her position. She also noticed one of the other merchants looking towards them. She cocked her head toward Greenie and he nodded imperceptibly.

"Yes, pretty lady. I look for coupler." Greenie shuffled back to his hut.

As soon as he disappeared, Chiana sauntered up to her with practiced casualness. "Who's the cutie?" the teenager asked. Aeryn shot the girl a nasty look.

"I don't know, but he's got Peacekeeper weapons." Chiana arched an eyebrow. "I don't trust him, but we need his merchandise. I need you to watch my back. If anything happens, call Zhaan immediately. Don't attract attention to yourself. Can you handle that?"

"Yeah, whatever," The girl gave Aeryn a smirk and shrugged. It wasn't clear whether she was confident that she could do the job - or that she didn't care.

"Good, now get out of here until I come out with the merchandise." Chiana moved off slowly, picking up a beat-up piece of equipment here and there to feign interest. Most of the equipment would probably end up in the bag that the girl carried -without being paid for.

Greenie poked his head out of his hut and waved her over toward his position. Aeryn cast a quick glance in Chiana's direction and walked toward the hut. As she reached the doorway, she took her sidearm out of its holster and made sure the safety was off. Her sense of danger was telling her to get out of there, but she swallowed and stepped forward into the darkness.

"Verra good, pretty Peekay lady," Greenie came up beside her. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a wreckage of a junk shop, with metal pieces scattered in piles over every available surface. A winding path led from the door to a back room, where the alien presumably slept. "You come in back, see guns," he ordered.

"Aeryn made sure that Greenie saw her own weapon. "I don't think so. You bring them out here."

"You no trust me?" he asked, with hurt in his three good eyes.

"No," she answered honestly. It was probably the first time that anything honest had been said in that hut in a long time.

"Too many to bring out," he replied. "Come see. I no hurt you." He pushed her toward the back. Aeryn tripped over a pile of junk as she walked through the hut. Greenie jumped nimbly over the junk to open the door.

What was inside was quite more than she had expected. The green alien had at least twenty pulse-rifles, several smaller handguns, and even a pulse cannon in pieces on the floor. She looked over the booty and smiled inwardly. "Where did you get all of these?" she asked as she holstered her firearm and hefted a pulse-rifle.

"From da Peekays," Greenie answered and beamed.

"The Peacekeepers sold you these?" She asked, amazed. Usually this kind of arsenal was never traded to outsiders.

"Ya, ya. Dey give us lots of guns."

Aeryn was skeptical. "In return for what?"

"For rounding up suspicious individuals - like you," a new voice answered from behind her. Aeryn whirled around, but it was too late. Another alien, a reptiloid with bluish-green scales, popped up from outside the broken, grimy windows and aimed a weapon at her. A second reptiloid of the same species stepped into the doorway to the front room. Aeryn swung the rifle that she was holding at the being in the doorway and fired. Nothing happened. She threw it at Greenie and grabbed her handgun. Greenie staggered backward from the weight of the rifle. Aeryn started firing at the man in the doorway. She felt an electrical charge hit her shoulder from behind. As she fell forward, she realized that the one in the window had found its mark. She hit her head on the pulse cannon casing as she landed, seeing stars. She looked up as a pair of scaly legs in leather boots towered over her. "I wonder what a Peacekeeper is doing so far away from her territory, out of uniform, and looking for spare parts?" the being laughed, as his underling cuffed her hands behind her. She struggled against the cuffs and tried to roll over to get him off of her. "I'm sure that others will be interested in the answer, too."

"Go to whatever your species calls the underworld," Aeryn spat. She felt something metallic against the back of her neck, then a bolt of energy coursed through her body. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was the sound of three aliens laughing at her.

***

Chiana was flirting shamelessly with the owner of the stall that was across the alley from the shop that Aeryn went into. He was a disgusting, smelly, porcine alien with all of his eyes on her ample cleavage. But, he had the part that she thought that Aeryn was looking for, so Chiana was putting up with his crude advances. Maybe she could distract him long enough so that she wouldn't have to pay for it. That would take Miss Superior-attitude down a peg or two, Chiana thought. Just as the piggy shopkeeper was leaning in for a better look at her merchandise, Chiana heard gunfire from the opposite shop. She spun around, causing Piggy to get a good look at the front of his table. "What was that?" she asked him.

"Oh, that's Shpxvat. He sidelines in gunrunning, among other things. Very unsavory character. He's got these two buddies, Crennedians, that go after suspicious-looking people in hopes that there's a bounty on them. Even if there isn't, the victims disappear anyway."

"And what's in it for you?" Chiana asked.

"The piece of dren undercuts my business by ten percent!" Piggy complained. "I'm a legitimate businessman just trying to earn a living..."

"I'm sure you are," Chiana smiled. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his fat cheek. "Thanks for the information." She turned and ran toward the other shop while activating her communication badge. "Aeryn! Aeryn! Are you there?" There was no response. "Zhaan! There's a problem! Aeryn's in trouble!"

"Where?" Zhaan's voice came over the comm.

"At the shop where you sent me to!" She reached the shop and hit her knees. She crawled around to the back and peered into the window. A reptiloid alien had Aeryn's inert body slung over his shoulder, while a second was paying the green-skinned alien that ran the shop. The two reptiloids moved to the front room, and Chiana crawled back around to follow them. They left the hut, went around the left - fortunately away from Chiana's position - and headed away behind several other shops. Inside, she heard the sound of Greenie taking a bottle of something down from a shelf. She sprinted across his yard and spotted Zhaan running toward her.

"Which way did they go?" the priestess asked breathlessly.

"I lost them!" Chiana replied, panicking. "They went to the left and slipped into the shadows."

"Show me," Zhaan ordered. Chiana ran in the direction that she thought the two aliens went, with Zhaan on her heels. After weaving through several different stalls, they came to a clearing. The two women looked up in time to see a ship lifting off into the sky.

Zhaan hit her badge. "Pilot! There's a ship taking off right now. Can you track it?"

"I have it," Pilot affirmed from her comm badge.

"Track it! Aeryn is on that ship!"

Crichton's voice cut in over Pilot's. "What the hell is going on down there?"

"Aeryn's been kidnapped," Chiana replied. "These two lizardy guys got her. They're bounty-hunters."

"Oh, that's just great," he said, then uttered a Human curse that rhymed with "muck".

Zhaan grasped Chiana's arm. "Let's get back to the transport pod. D'Argo and Crichton are in a better position to track her now." Chiana nodded dejectedly, and let Zhaan lead her to the pod. Zhaan's piloting skills were nowhere near Aeryn's, but she did manage to get them back to Moya in record time.

***

John Crichton met Zhaan and Chiana at the docking bay. In the few minutes since the two women had reported Aeryn missing, his heart was in his mouth. He tried to tell himself that he'd be concerned if any of them had been kidnapped - well, except for Rygel. However, his heart told him otherwise. As the women stepped out of the transport, he grabbed Chiana's upper arms. The girl looked startled. "What the hell happened down there?"

"I... I was supposed to watch her back," Chiana stuttered, obviously scared. "She went into this shop, and that's when I heard shots."

"Dammit! What was so important that she went somewhere alone?" he asked, practically shaking the answer out of Chiana.

The girl looked over at Zhaan. "She mentioned something about weapons," Chiana confessed. "Peacekeeper weapons. She didn't trust the guy, but she was set on getting them."

John felt the anger coming like a cold wave in his gut. She'd been set up, he was sure of it. He pushed Chiana away hard, turned, and punched the wall in frustration. Moya shuddered in return. Then he felt a hand on his arm, and a cooling, calm wave passed over him. He took two deep breaths, then put his hand over Zhaan's. "Thanks," he whispered. He felt much calmer, and was able to focus on the task at hand.

"Crichton," Pilot's voice came over the comm unit, "I am tracking the ship that Officer Sun is on. And also, please remember that Moya is in an advance stage of pregnancy. She cannot take much pounding from inside or outside."

"Sorry, Pilot," he apologized sheepishly and patted the place that he'd punched a moment before. "Come on, you two. Tell me what happened on the way up."

"It wasn't my fault!" Chiana defended herself as she ran along behind Crichton and Zhaan.

"You're right, it wasn't," Zhaan agreed. "You did exactly what Aeryn asked you to. Now, what happened?"

The girl looked from Zhaan to Crichton, then back to Zhaan. Crichton couldn't blame her for being a little afraid of him right now. "She said that the guy had Peacekeeper weapons. She went in. I was talking to his neighbor when I heard gunfire. The guy said that the other guy did some gunrunning, and his two buddies were bounty hunters. They rounded up suspicious people and turned them over to whoever was looking for them," she hesitated, "or not. Sometimes the people just disappear."

That sick feeling was beginning to creep into John's gut again, but he had control of it this time. "Did you get a good look at 'em?"

"They were two lizardy guys," Chiana replied, "Reptiloids. The guy said that they were, um, Crennedians."

Crichton looked at Zhaan for an explanation. She shrugged. "She was kidnapped by a couple of hockey players?" he muttered.

The three of them arrived in Moya's command center, where D'Argo and Pilot were monitoring the Crennedian ship. Rygel was there also, doing what he did best - making a nuisance of himself. He was hovering over D'Argo's shoulder intently watching the viewscreen.

"So, the Peacekeeper bitch is gone," Rygel observed drily. "Good riddance, I say."

Crichton spun the Hynerian's chair around to face him. He was so angry that he was shaking. "Don't push it, Sparky," he warned.

Rygel, however, had no intentions of quitting. "Just as well. That's one less mouth to feed," he snorted.

That comment pushed John over the edge. He threw Rygel and his throne like John Elway throwing a hail-Mary pass. The Hynerian screamed as he ricocheted off of the wall, did several loop-the-loops, and came to rest at D'Argo's feet. The big Luxan looked down, then over at Crichton, who was still fuming. "Nice throw," D'Argo observed.

"I told him not to push it," Crichton explained. He joined D'Argo at the sensor array, giving Rygel one last kick. "What do we have?"

"One ship, three life-forms, multiple weapons platforms. It just sent a wide-band burst signal announcing that they had a rogue Peacekeeper on board," D'Argo answered tersely.

"Have they spotted us?" Zhaan asked.

"Unlikely."

"I am keeping Moya far enough out of what I believe their sensor range is," Pilot added.

"Okay, that's good," John said. Something occurred to him in that moment. "Okay, I've got a plan."

"Goddess save us. Not again," Zhaan sighed.

Crichton shot her a look, then turned back to D'Argo. "This worked in a movie once. But, you don't look much like Han Solo. More like Chewbacca." D'Argo growled at him menacingly. John gave him a puzzled look.

"You just insulted his manhood," Zhaan explained.

"Sorry, big fella," Crichton apologized. "Now get over it, and let's go. We're wasting time." D'Argo nodded, and the two men left the command center.

***

The heat was the first thing that told Aeryn that she was conscious. The heavy, humid air surrounded her like wet blanket. She coughed to try to clear the congestion in her lungs. The next thing she noticed was that her hands were cuffed behind her, and her shoulders were aching. She was laying on her side on a hard surface. She tried to move her legs, but her ankles were also bound. Definitely not good, she thought. The third thing she noticed was the sound of engines and the throb of a starship in motion. Then footsteps approached her. She opened her eyes. What she saw was the last thing that she had seen before she blacked out - the green, scaly reptiloid face of one of the bounty hunters that had captured her.

The reptiloid grimaced at her. "Good, you're awake," it said. "You will have to forgive the stun gun that we used on you. Your species has a history of being violent when cornered."

"I suppose you and your friend are quite proud of yourselves for taking down a Peacekeeper," she spat.

"You're not the worst merchandise we've procured," Snake-boy replied nonchalantly. "Is there anything I can get you? We try to keep our merchandise in good order."

"You can turn down the heat," Aeryn ordered.

"I will see what I can do," he nodded. "We are cold-blooded. We tend to keep our vessel at the atmospheric conditions that we are used to. However, not all beings are comfortable with our heat and humidity levels."

"Thank you. And can you please untie me?"

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I can't do that. However, I will see about getting you some food and water." The reptiloid left the small room that she was in, closing and locking the door behind him. Aeryn swung her legs over the edge of the platform she was lying on, and maneuvered into a sitting position. At least it eased the pressure on her right shoulder, which was throbbing. It was probably where they had stunned her. Next, she took stock of her surroundings. There wasn't much to speak of. She was in a small, windowless room with a door, and what looked like a latrine on same side as the door. By the sound of the humming engines, she assumed that she was at least one level above the stellar drives. A small air vent - too small for her to fit into - was mounted high on the wall to her left. As she looked at it, she felt a cool draft of air touch her face. At least they had turned down the heat!

The door unlocked and opened, and the hunter that had spoken to her before returned with food cubes and a cup of water. "I have lowered the temperature in this room by five degrees. Will that be sufficient?"

"It'll do," she nodded. "Thanks. Sebaceans don't tolerate heat very well."

"I've also brought you some water. Here, drink," he said as he pulled a tube from his pants pocket and placed one end in the cup. He held the other end to her lips. She sucked on it. Fortunately, it really was water. It didn't taste drugged, not that it mattered. He held up a food cube, and she bit into it, then took a swallow of water to wash it down. "I naturally have a few questions for you. First, what is your name and rank?"

Aeryn thought quickly. "Release me, and I'll tell you who I am," she bargained.

The alien thought for a moment. "Very well. But you must promise not to try to escape. After all, there is nowhere for you to go."

Aeryn nodded, and he released the cuffs around her wrists and ankles. I could take him, she thought. But he may be right. I don't know how many more there are out there. She stretched her aching shoulders, then rubbed her wrists. "You really don't know who I am?" she asked.

"No. We saw you in the market and marked you for a Peacekeeper," her captor answered.

"I'm Lieutenant Hassan, assigned to Intelligence Operations. I was investigating rumors of illegal Peacekeeper weapons being sold from a source on that planet. Congratulations. You just screwed up our whole covert operation," she said, then angrily picked up another food cube and bit into it.

The alien looked a little sheepish. "I see," he squirmed. "Well, we'll find out soon enough. We're rendezvousing with a Peacekeeper ship in a few hours. I'm sure that they'll clear everything up."

Aeryn looked up from the food cubes. "A ship? Which one?" she asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that they're meeting up with us in a few hours."

She sighed in frustration. "Get out of here," she snapped.

"I'll have to restrain you again," he told her.

"Not if you want to clean up a puddle on the floor," she shot back. The lizard-man held up his hands and assented. He left the room, locking the door behind him. Aeryn gave him an evil look as the door shut. She used the toilet quickly. Then, she moved to the center of the small cell and began her exercise routine. The exercises, which Crichton referred to as "tai chi", got the blood flowing in her cramped limbs, and focused her mind to plan her escape attempt.

***

John Crichton was back in a Peacekeeper uniform, and he was damned uncomfortable in it. He and D'Argo were cramped into the cockpit of Aeryn's Prowler. Fortunately, her none-too-patient flying lessons had paid off. John actually felt comfortable enough to fly the ship himself. As long as he didn't run into anything other than empty space, that is. Besides, D'Argo was looking over his shoulder acting like the backseat driver from hell.

He was beginning to get those rattlers in his gut again. Real bad, this time. Part of it was concern for Aeryn. On a strictly rational level, he knew that she could take care of herself. She was trained from a young age for a situation like this. Heck, she'd done well enough on her own many times before. However, these aliens that had her were real professional bounty hunters, not like those two bloodsniffing boneheads on the desert planet. It had only taken two of them to take her down. And that was what scared him.

"Crichton," D'Argo got his attention, "We've got trouble." He pointed out the long-range sensor readout.

"I see it. What's that?"

"Our bounty hunters have company. A large Peacekeeper ship. Very large."

"A command carrier?" The rattlers in his stomach were doing tap-dancing.

"Check the IFF," he pointed out a small screen on the right of the control panel. He didn't want to look, but he did. Sure enough, it was Crais's ship. He looked up at D'Argo and nodded slowly. The Luxan exhaled slowly, sharing his frustration.

"Do you think they've spotted us?" Crichton asked.

"We'd have heard something from them by now if they had. Maybe they're too concerned with the bounty hunters to worry about us. It's a good thing that Aeryn rigged this ship up run in stealth mode," he observed.

John barely heard him. He was trying to think of an alternate plan. The problem was that the gnawing in his stomach was getting in the way. There was only one way he could think of to rescue Aeryn. Even though he didn't want to think about it, it would have to do. "Okay, keep an eye on them, and wait until after they make the transfer. Then we'll contact Crais."

D'Argo put his hand on John's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking. There has to be another way. Sacrificing yourself to save her is unacceptable. She wouldn't want you to do that."

"Okay, then what's your plan?" John shot back. "Going in and killing everyone isn't going to work either."

"The same thing we used on the other Peacekeepers," he replied. "First, we've got to fix the IFF to read normally."

John followed his line of thinking. "I'm on it," he said, then opened the panel underneath the controls.

***

Aeryn was in the fourth repetition of her exercises when the door to her cell opened. The reptilioid alien stepped into the room. Aeryn didn't hesitate. She grabbed his arm, spun him around and slammed his face into the wall before he got a chance to take a second step. "You and I are going to walk out of here together, if you want to continue breathing." To make her point, she pulled his arm up behind him and pressured his windpipe with her other arm.

"Oh, you're good," he replied with admiration. "But don't think we haven't had this happen before." Aeryn felt the barrel of a pulse rifle against her neck.

"I strongly suggest you release my partner, before I scatter your pretty brains all over this cell. See, he'd have to clean it up, and he gets really upset when he has to do that," the other Crennedian ordered. Aeryn knew when she was beat. She grudgingly released her hostage. The other alien kept his rifle at her neck until her former hostage cuffed her hands in front of her. "Good girl," the one with the rifle smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back up to the cockpit. We're ready to dock with a Peacekeeper ship. As soon as we turn you over, we get our money and get out of here." He gave the rifle to his companion, then walked down the hall.

"It's been a pleasure," she snarled behind him. She backed up, and sat down on the shelf that served as a bed. She stared daggers at her alien guard, who kept the rifle trained on her the whole time. The sudden jolt of the ship told her that they had docked with a larger vessel.

"Come on," her captor ordered. She stood up. He shoved her roughly out of the cell, then prodded her to the right with his rifle.

"All right, I'm going," she snapped. She walked forward slowly. The alien prodded her again, and she quickened her pace slightly. Why hurry the inevitable? She thought.

Her other captor was talking to someone whose voice she couldn't make out. "She claims to be a Lieutenant Hassan, on a covert mission to investigate weapons smuggling. We don't care who she is. You can sort it all out for yourselves," the Crennedian pilot was saying to his counterpart. Aeryn and her captor reached the airlock, and he shoved her around the corner. She came face-to-face with Captain Bialar Crais ­ the very last person that she wanted to see.

Crais looked at her and grinned evilly. He turned back toward the pilot Crennedian and laughed heartily. "My friend, you netted a more valuable prize than you could have ever dreamed of," Crais motioned, and a female guard stepped forward carrying six more pulse-rifles. She recognized the guard as a member of the Pleisars ­ her former unit, the Ikerian brigade. Then, Crais stepped forward and grabbed her face. "Welcome back, Officer Sun," he sneered, then released her roughly. "I'm so happy to see you back where you belong. Commander Tal," he ordered. "Take our guest to the brig. I'll join you after I've concluded my business with these two gentlemen." Aeryn's former commanding officer stepped forward and saluted. The helmet obscured his eyes, naturally, but Tal's body language bristled with contempt. He nodded, and the other Pleisar moved to her other side. They each grasped an arm and escorted her down the hall to the brig. To Aeryn's surprise, she felt an almost friendly squeeze on her upper arm from the woman. She looked to her left, but the woman's eyes were straight ahead. As they rounded the corner, she thought she heard shots coming from the airlock.

Aeryn and her two escorts reached the brig without a single word passing between them. They were all rigid professionalism. She wouldn't have expected anything less from Commander Tal. She was once Tal's second-in-command, but that was a lifetime ago. The guard on duty saluted smartly Tal as they entered. Tal took her arm and escorted her into a tiny cell with no features except a small toilet in the back right corner. Peacekeeper jails weren't known for their accomodations. "Dismissed," he ordered the other Pleisar, who turned on her heel and departed. Tal nodded, and the guard raised the force field on a cell. "Take a break," he ordered the guard.

"But, Sir..." the guard began.

"I said, take a break," Tal repeated menacingly. "I was her commanding officer. She won't hurt me." The guard gave Aeryn a warning look, assented, and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Tal removed his helmet. He hadn't changed a bit. His close-cropped hair was still curly, and there was a bit more gray in it. He still had the scar on his cheek from a long-ago battle. Aeryn gazed at him coolly, not betraying the fact that she loved him like a father. To her utter shock, his ice-blue eyes twinkled, and he smiled at her! "At ease, Officer Sun," he ordered, then released her handcuffs.

Aeryn stepped back, stunned. "Sir... I don't understand," she stammered. "Why are you treating me like this?"

"With the respect that my Second deserves?" he asked. "Because, no matter what has happened, you'll always be a member of the Pleisars, Sun. You didn't deserve your punishment. You did exactly what you were trained to do."

"Thank you, sir. But I still don't understand why you're telling me this."

"I just want to tell you to hang in there. We're going to get you out of here. The less you know, the better off you'll be. Trust me. Just remember, you have more friends on this ship than you think you do." They both heard the door open. Tal hurriedly put his helmet back on, as the guard returned followed by Crais. Tal clenched his fingers into a fist ­ a signal from their unit ­ then he looked down at her in feigned contempt. "You disgust me, you filthy traitor," he snarled. "Guard! Let me out of here. The stench of outworlder pollution in this cell is overwhelming." Aeryn tried her best to look hurt as the guard let down the force field. Tal stormed out, then turned to Crais as the field went back up. "The bitch wouldn't tell me anything about the Leviathan's location. So much for loyalty. Maybe you can get results from her. I give up."

"Thank you, Commander," Crais replied. "Dismissed." Tal saluted crisply, then left the room. Crais strode over to her cell, and paced before it like a predator contemplating its prey. "Guard, let me in," he ordered. The shield dropped long enough for Crais to enter. Aeryn regarded him with contempt. "I guess it's true, you can't go home again," he grinned. "Officer Sun, you know what I want. So, tell me where Crichton is and I'll let you live."

"Frell off, Crais," she spat. "I don't take orders from you any more."

He laughed, and moved closer to her. Aeryn stiffened and took one step back ­ trying to keep him as far from her as possible. "Oh, my. We seemed to have developed even more of an attitude since we left, haven't we? Living with lower life-forms hasn't been good for you, my dear. Now, tell me where the man that killed my brother is and I'll commute your death sentence." Crais took another step forward. Aeryn stepped back directly into the wall.

"You are so mistaken," she snapped back. "Crichton didn't kill your brother. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Face it. Nauvo was a lousy pilot."

She was rewarded with a hard punch in the face. "No one insults the memory of my brother!" Crais declared ominously. He seized her upper arms and looked down into her face. "You're sleeping with him, aren't you?" he accused her. "You're having sex with the bastard that killed my brother!"

Aeryn tried to struggle free, but Crais had her. "Don't be ridiculous!" she replied indignantly. However, she couldn't suppress the brief flash of a memory ­ a warm night on what they thought was Crichton's home planet, and his gentle lovemaking.

The memory must have shown in her face, because Crais exploded. "You are sleeping with him! Not only are you a traitor, you're murderer's whore!" he spat, and slammed her head and shoulders into the wall so hard that she saw stars. "This is good, though," he whispered as he squeezed her throat in his hand. "This is very good. He took someone that I cared about. Now it's payback time." He moved in and kissed her roughly, his tongue forcing her lips apart.

She turned her head to the side and brought her knee up into his groin. "Have you gone completely insane?" she spat. Crais released her to protect his delicate areas. She crouched down into a fighting stance, and aimed a kick at the same place. He was ready for her this time. He caught her foot, pulled her off balance, and she landed on her back on the floor of her cell. She tried to roll away, but Crais was on top of her in an instant. He pinned her up against the wall with her right arm trapped underneath her. He held her left arm up, while his other hand reached under her shirt to paw at her breasts. He kissed her again, then forced her legs apart with his.

"Captain Crais," a voice over the intercom interrupted him. He mercifully stopped to listen. "You are needed on the bridge immediately." Crais rolled off of her and stood up. Aeryn was shaking and nauseous.

"Oh, well, my dear," he smirked. "Duty calls. Let me give you something to tide you over until I can come back." He kicked her right in the stomach. Aeryn doubled over in blinding pain as her breath went out of her lungs, and heard her ribs crack.

She heard the force field go down, and called after him. "Crais! If you think you've broken me, you're wrong! I've survived more than you could ever dream of."

He gave a short bark of laughter. "We'll see about that. Guard," he ordered as the force field went back up. "Increase the temperature in Officer Sun's cell by thirty degrees." With that, he spun on his heel and walked out.

Aeryn dragged herself over to the small toilet and bent over it. She retched up blood and the food cubes that she had eaten. Then, as her cell rapidly warmed to an intolerable temperature, she crawled back to the opposite corner and curled her knees up to her chin. She hoped that Commander Tal came back for her soon - before she bled to death internally, became a living corpse, or Crais came back to finish what he'd started.

***

Crichton gave D'Argo one final look before he engaged the IFF on the Prowler. "I hope this works," he muttered.

"It will work," the Luxan replied with confidence. "We were able to fool them before."

"That wasn't someone that had it in for me," he reminded him.

D'Argo put his hand on Crichton's shoulder. "It will work," he emphasized. "If not, we will go in and kill everyone." Crichton looked up, and realized that D'Argo was teasing him. The warrior's attention moved to sensor section of the control panel. "Something's happening," he said. "The Crennedian ship has undocked from the larger vessel."

"So they must have transferred Aeryn," he guessed.

"However, it is not moving. In fact, it is not reading any lifesigns. There were three before they docked."

"Crais probably covered his tracks. Or else the two bounty hunters got greedy. Either way, they're dead now." A very unsettling thought occurred to him. "Do you think that Aeryn..."

"I doubt it. She's too valuable to Crais for him to kill, and the bounty hunters would have gotten a better price for live merchandise."

"So he's baiting a trap, and we're heading right into it."

"That is correct," D'Argo replied. "Are we ready?"

"As we'll ever be. Switching over..." he reached under the console and pulled a wire, "now. It's showtime." He stood up and pressed the communications panel. "This is Captain Larraq aboard Prowler XV-419. I am transporting one prisoner that is known to be violent. My ship is badly damaged. I am requesting assistance from any Peacekeeper vessel in the vicinity."

"Affirmative, XV-419. This is the the command carrier Ikatha. We are located at vector three five eight mark seven from your position. Do you have visual communications?" a voice came over the comm signal.

"Negative, Ikatha." Crichton replied. "My communications have been badly damaged, as well as automatic guidance and landing systems. I am requesting assistance with my violent prisoner as well." Crichton looked at D'Argo, who made himself look more menacing than usual. He closed the comm link and muttered, "good. With luck, they'll let us in without knowing it's us." D'Argo cocked his head quizzically. "Well, you know what I mean."

A different voice came over the loudspeaker. "Captain Larraq, this is Captain Crais. What is the identity of this violent prisoner that you are holding?"

Crichton and D'Argo exchanged looks. He just hoped that his accent would fake out Crais. "I couldn't get much out of him other than growling, Captain. However, he does match the description of a Luxan named Ka D'Argo that went missing a few months ago. I believe you had filed the report, Captain."

Nothing happened for a beat, then Crais answered. "That is affirmative. We recently picked up another individual that is a known accomplice of this Luxan. We will be bringing you aboard momentarily." The Prowler shuddered as Crais' ship caught them in a tractor net and began to bring them in.

"I appreciate the help, Captain," Crichton replied, then cut the channel. He and D'Argo both let out their breaths in relief. "Now, for part two." Crichton nervously picked up the handcuffs. "D'Argo, I want you to know how much I appreciate this. I know it isn't easy for you to be back in handcuffs."

D'Argo nodded. "I wouldn't do it for just anyone," the warrior explained. "Aeryn is one of us, for better or worse. I owe her my life. Besides, if it gives me a chance to kill Crais, so much the better," he grinned.

"I know what you mean, big guy," John laughed. D'Argo's cuffed his own hands behind his back. "I... I owe her my life, too." They felt a thud as the ship landed on the deck of Crais's ship. Crichton put on Aeryn's flight helmet. "Let's rock and roll." The rattlers in his stomach had started up a conga line. The umbilical attached to Aeryn's Prowler, and it was the cockpit was raised to deck level. The clamshell hatch opened, and they found them staring directly up at Crais. Crichton's heart immediately fell into his gut. Four guards were standing behind Crais, wearing the same crest that he'd seen on Aeryn's uniform and carrying pulse-rifles. He jumped out of the cockpit, and three of the four guards wrestled D'Argo out of the back seat. Crichton saluted crisply, and D'Argo growled. "Well, well, well," Crais sneered. "This has been quite a day for us, Commander Tal," he spoke to the leader of the guards. "First we get our errant Officer Sun back, now we have our missing Luxan. We need only three more to complete a matched set. Or..." he looked closer at Crichton. "Is it only two more? Remove your helmet, Captain," he ordered. Crichton hesitated, but he had no other options. D'Argo was unarmed, and he didn't think he could pull his weapon fast enough. So, he did as Crais ordered. "I knew that was you, John Crichton!" Crais laughed. It wasn't the sound that a sane man would make. "I figured that once I dangled the bait, you'd take it. I do have to admire your cleverness, though. You almost had me fooled. Almost."

"Fine, Crais. You have me. I'm offering you my life for Aeryn Sun's," Crichton dropped the helmet and held up his hands. The helmet made a loud clattering sound as it hit the deck. "Guarantee her and D'Argo safe passage through this sector, and you can do whatever you want to me."

"Crichton!" D'Argo exclaimed.

"Shut up, D'Argo," John shot back.

Crais gave both of them a withering look. "Oh, how disgustingly noble," he sneered. "No deals, Crichton. You're forgetting that the Luxan is an escaped prisoner, and that Aeryn Sun is a traitor." He snapped his fingers, and a guard stepped forward. The guard pulled Crichton's hands behind him and cuffed him like D'Argo. Crais stepped forward gave Crichton a hard right hook to the jaw. "I'm going to enjoy this. Tal!" he motioned to the man behind him.

"Yes, Sir!" the man stepped forward as Crichton struggled to regain his balance.

"Take these two to the brig. Put this one," he indicated Crichton, "in the cell directly opposite of Sun's. I want him to watch her die, the way I had to watch my brother die." Tal nodded once, but swallowed as if he wanted to say something. Probably just Crais' flunky, Crichton thought as he was led away by Tal and another guard. D'Argo was behind him, flanked by two other guards.

From the corner of his eye, Crichton thought he saw a fifth Peacekeeper - one with bright blonde hair beneath a cap - shadowing a few meters behind them. But then again, there were a lot of Peacekeepers that suddenly had to be out in the hallways between the hangar and the brig. We're on display like Crais' trophies, he thought. He's a sick piece of work.

The six of them reached the brig and entered. Crichton wondered if their footpad had followed them this far. The door opened to show a control station monitoring four cells, one of which was lit and had some kind of force field in front of it. Commander Tal shoved him forward into the room, and the others did the same for D'Argo.

The guard looked up. "Commander?" he asked.

"Two more prisoners for you. Crais wants this one in the cell opposite hers," he nodded toward the lit cell. Crichton's breath caught as he tried to spot Aeryn. Tal turned and addressed the members of his unit. "Dismissed," he said, then whispered something that sounded like "phoenix." The three of them saluted and left the room quickly. "You first," Tal told D'Argo. He grabbed the Luxan's arm. D'Argo growled. The door to the brig opened, and a female voice called out, "hold on, Commander. That control board needs maintence." Every eye in the room turned toward the newcomer - who was no other than Gilina!

"This is not a good time, Technician!" the guard challenged her.

"Well, I'm sorry, sir, but we're getting some fluctuating readings down in the control center. I don't think you'd want to take a chance of that getting out while you're alone, would you?" she asked as she nodded toward D'Argo, who growled again at the guard.

"How long is this going to take?" the guard asked. Tal left D'Argo's side and moved to look over Gilina's shoulder.

"Oh, it shouldn't take too long," she smiled prettily. Tal did something to the back of the guard's neck, causing him to collapse forward onto the control panels. Gilina's demeanor became all business as she shoved the guard aside and brought on the lights in two other cells. Tal grabbed the guard and threw him into the cell that was supposed to be Crichton's. On the way back, he unlocked D'Argo and Crichton and handed the guard's weapon to Crichton.

"Commander Braydon Tal. I'm Officer Sun's CO," the man introduced himself.

"Commander!" Gilina called out, "there's a problem. Sun's cell is reading at twenty-five degrees above optimum temperature!"

"Get that cell open, now!" Crichton ordered and ran toward Aeryn's cell. Gilina lowered the force field, and John was hit by a wave of heat, like walking out into a hot summer day from air conditioning. Aeryn was crumpled in the back corner of the cell. He fell to his knees and bent over her. She was covered in bruises, her shirt was pulled up, and there was a trickle of blood coming out of her mouth. "Oh God, Aeryn," he breathed. He checked her pulse. It was slow and thready. Her breathing was shallow and labored.

Her eyelids fluttered open when she felt his hand. "Crichton? Great, I'm hallucinating," she muttered. She focused on something behind him. "D'Argo? Now I know I'm hallucinating."

"No, we're real. We're going to get you out of here," John answered, but she had faded out again. D'Argo bent over, picked her up like she was a child, and carried her out of the cell. Crichton followed, and found himself in Gilina's embrace.

"There's no time for happy reunions, Gilina. We need to get these three out of here, before Crais comes back. Somewhere close," he ordered. Gilina released him.

"My quarters are in this section, Sir," she replied. "Room 25A. We'll meet you there in ten minutes." Tal nodded, then left the room. Gilina timed out thirty seconds, then waved to John and D'Argo. "Let's go. One of ours is on monitoring duty upstairs. I've programmed the control board to read three life forms - one Luxan. That won't stop them for long, though."

The three of them - with Aeryn over D'Argo's shoulder - crept down along the side of the corridor. Crichton started when he saw two guards appear at the end of the corridor. He raised the weapon, but Gilina stopped him. "No! They're from Tal's unit. They're covering us," she waved. The guards acted casual as the watched the three of them progress down the hall. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached Gilina's quarters. Crichton breathed a sigh of relief as Gilina locked the door behind them, but his relief was short-lived. D'Argo was holding Aeryn, and her face was pasty gray.

"We need to get her cooled down, fast," Gilina ordered. "In the bathroom." she nodded. D'Argo carried her into the small room, and Gilina quickly stripped Aeryn down to her underwear. The Luxan put her in the shower, and Gilina turned on the cold water full-blast. "Stay with her," she ordered.

"Gilina," Tal's voice came over her commlink, "they've discovered the escape. They're doing a security sweep. We'll try to cover you, but I can't guarantee it."

"I'm on it," she responded, then looked at John. "Take off your clothes."

"What?" he asked, incredulous.

"I said, take off your clothes and get into bed," she ordered. He did what she asked. She crossed the room and unbuttoned her tunic at the same time. "D'Argo!" she stuck her head into the bathroom, "turn the water off and keep quiet! There's a security sweep!" D'Argo said something in return, and turned off the water. Gilina closed the door to the bathroom, stripped down and pulled Crichton into bed. She kissed him passionately, and his body responded in kind. She climbed on top of him and arranged the pillows to hide his face. Just then, the chime rang on her door. "Go away! I'm busy!" she yelled out.

"Security check!" someone ordered from the other side, then overrode her lock. They opened the door to see Gilina naked and appearing to be having sex with someone. She shrieked in surprise, and pulled the covers over both of them. "I...I'm sorry to disturb you," the guard stammered. "There's been a breakout in the brig. The prisoners may be on this level."

Gilina stuck her head out from beneath the sheet. "We've been a little busy, Officer, but I can assure you that nobody has asked to join us," she said testily.

"I'm sorry, Technician," the guard stammered and backed out.

"And thank you so much for ruining the mood, you piece of dren!" she yelled out behind him. The door shut, and she planted a deep kiss on Crichton's lips. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Wha.... wha..." he stammered. His body and brain were giving him conflicting messages.

She got off of him, and began pulling on her clothes. "It was the only thing that I could think of to avoid having them search the room," she told him. "You can get up now."

"Uh... it doesn't quite work like that," he told her. He got out of bed, with his erection proudly betraying his attraction to Gilina.

"Crichton!" another woman's voice barked from across the room. He looked over to see Aeryn wearing Gilina's robe and leaning against D'Argo in the door to the bathroom. "You bastard!" She gave him a scathing look, then doubled over pain and started coughing.

John blushed crimson. "Aeryn, I can explain!" He started to cross the room, but she went back into the bathroom and slammed the door on him and D'Argo. He could hear her coughing through the door. "Well, Princess Leia wasn't exactly appreciative either," he muttered.

D'Argo gave him, or rather his rapidly-deflating male organ, a wry look. "And you called me chewbacca earlier. You have no room to talk."

"Don't you start with me," John warned. He pulled up his pants to avoid any more snide comments from D'Argo, and to avoid looking more like an idiot than he already was.

Crichton was spared any further embarrassment by the door chime ringing. He froze. Gilina moved toward the door with a gun in her hand. D'Argo took the opposite side of the door. The chime rang two long times, then three short bursts. Gilina lowered her weapon and said, "come in!" The door opened, and Tal stepped through, followed by a woman wearing the same uniform and carrying a black canvas duffel bag. She was about Aeryn's age and smaller, with short, coppery red hair and green eyes. She would have been marching in the New York St. Patrick's Day parade if she'd been on Earth. But here, she marched into Gilina's room with the same take-charge attitude that he'd seen Aeryn take on so many times.

The newcomer dropped the duffel, turned to Gilina and asked, "where is she? When Commander Tal told me she was here, I couldn't stay away." Gilina nodded toward the bathroom. She walked across the room and right into Crichton. "So, you're the infamous John Crichton that Crais has been going on about. You don't look like a killer," she observed drily.

"And you are?" he asked the impertinent redhead.

Tal answered for her. "Officer Daya Jaad. She's our field medic, and Sun's closest friend. Jaad, this is Crichton and D'Argo."

"Nice to meet you. Now get out of my way," Daya ordered. Crichton backed down and stepped away from the door. She knocked and said, "Aeryn, it's Daya. Let me in." The door opened slowly, and Aeryn walked out shakily. Daya pulled her into a sisterly embrace. Aeryn winced in pain at the contact. Her friend stopped, looked her over once, and frowned. "Gilina," she asked, "bring my bag and come into the bathroom with us." The blonde woman followed her instructions. Daya steered Aeryn back into the bathroom and glared at Crichton. "You, stay out," she snapped. Crichton held up his hands in surrender as the door shut behind the three women.

"She's Aeryn's friend? I could have never guessed," he commented. "Just like Thelma and Louise. Now, will someone please tell us what's going on around here?"

Tal motioned for him and D'Argo to sit. Crichton sat on the bed, but D'Argo remained standing by the door. Tal sat in a comfortable-looking chair in the corner of the room. "It all began when Crais' brother was killed. He was in my unit. I watched the same tape as Crais did, but with the eyes of someone with years of experience as a pilot. I realized something - young Nauvo made a costly error. He was overcorrecting from that mistake when he caught the edge of your craft. Nauvo had more ambition than brains, and his skills as a pilot suffered."

"So, Crais is blaming me, when his brother was the one that screwed up?" Crichton asked.

"Essentially. Then, when I heard that he had sentenced Sun - my Second - to death because she spoke up, that was the final straw. Our whole brigade decided that we would no longer actively follow Crais. It was the beginnings of a mutiny."

"I did not think that Peacekeepers were capable of mutiny," D'Argo commented.

Tal smiled wanly. "I know that from your side it doesn't appear that we have ethics, but we do. At least towards our own kind." D'Argo grunted, and Tal continued. "I was relieved when Sun got away with you. I tried my best to stall Crais. By the way, that was an incredible piece of flying that your Leviathan did that day."

"It was my idea, but Aeryn did all of the hard work," John confessed.

"I suspected as much," Tal smiled like a father who was proud of his daughter. In fact, Tal reminded John a lot of his own father. "Anyway, when Gilina was rescued from the Zelbinion, she approached Jaad and told her that she'd seen Aeryn alive and well aboard the Leviathan. She also told us that you were not to blame for what happened, and that your heart was in the right place. As Crais became more obsessed with capturing you, more crew members joined our mutiny."

"But why not just leave me and D'Argo in the brig, so you could all go home?"

"Because it would reward his obsession, at least in the eyes of the High Command. No, to discredit Crais, we must prove that he sacrificed lives for his personal revenge," Tal confessed.

"Makes sense," Crichton agreed.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Daya helped Aeryn walk out slowly, still wearing Gilina's robe. She was still shaky, but she wasn't nearly as pale as before. Gilina was following them, carrying Daya's duffel. Crichton jumped up and helped Aeryn to the bed. Daya turned around and spoke to Tal. "I did what I could, but we should really get her to the infirmary. She's got cracked ribs, internal injuries, and a concussion. Her core temperature is still much too high, which is what really concerns me. We taped her ribs and gave her painkillers, but she's still going to be out of action for a while."

Crichton ducked into the bathroom, found a washcloth that wasn't bloody, and ran cold water over it enough to wet it. He folded it, and gently placed it on Aeryn's burning forehead. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. Daya, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, gave him a warning look. John wasn't going to play the redhead's dominance game this time. He sat down on the bed next to Aeryn and took her hand. "Those bounty hunters must've been pretty tough to do this to you," he observed.

Aeryn turned her head away from him, toward the wall that Gilina was leaning against. Tal started to say something, but thought better of it. "It wasn't the bounty hunters," Aeryn confessed quietly. "They just stunned me. Crais did this," she paused for a beat, then pulled her hand away from his. "He tried to rape me. When he was called away, he ordered the guard to raise the temperature in the cell."

John felt a kick in his gut almost as bad as the one that Aeryn must have taken. A wave of anger washed over him, followed by a wave of guilt. He didn't know what to do. He took her hand again, and held it tight. His other hand involuntarily clenched into a fist. "Oh, God. I'm sorry, Aeryn. I didn't know," he whispered.

The rest of the room sat in stunned silence. Gilina stood frozen, her blue eyes wide with shock. Tal was looking at the floor, his face full of guilt and regret. D'Argo, naturally, broke the silence by saying, "I swear, I will kill him now!"

"Not if I get there first," Daya hissed. "I swear, I'll cut it off and shove it down his throat for what he did to you!" She stood up and started to pull her weapon.

"And blow our whole operation?" Tal stood up and challenged her.

"He dishonored my blood-sister!" she spat. "He deserves to die!"

"Excuse me, but don't I get some kind of say in this?" Aeryn snapped at them.

Crichton had enough. "Everybody calm down," he ordered. "You too, D'Argo. Take a moment to think here." He stared at D'Argo, who finally relaxed. "Our first priority is to get off this ship. Nobody's going to kill anybody if we can help it. Commander Tal's right - we can't afford to expose this whole operation by getting angry. That gives Crais the advantage, not us."

Tal agreed. "Sun, I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm partially responsible, because I left you alone with Crais. However, we need to find a way to get you three away safely. Gilina," he turned to the technician, "make sure that Prowler is fueled and repaired. Also, make sure that only our people have access to it."

"Sweep it for any tracking devices, too," Crichton added. "I saw that in the same movie."

Gilina smiled. "Yes, sir!"

"Jaad, did you bring those extra uniforms?" Tal asked.

"In the bag, sir," she responded.

"Good. Sun, can you walk? We'll need you on your feet for this," Tal asked her gently.

She looked up at him with a look of relief. "Of course, sir," she grinned. "It takes a lot more than this to kill a Pleisar. Especially this one."

"I expected nothing less," he smiled with pride. "You and Crichton get into these uniforms. Gilina, go," he ordered. She complied. "Now, here's what we're going to do..."

***

It was strange to be back in her old uniform after all this time. Comfortable, but still strange. Aeryn had to admit that she was feeling better, probably due to the shot of painkillers that Daya had given her earlier. She was able to maintain her balance enough to get through some semblance of her exercise routine without too much pain. Well, except for when she moved her torso. By focusing on her exercises, she mostly able to block out the trauma of the last few arrins. The shadows still lurked in the back of her mind. But, she was a soldier and she had a job to do. Her top priority was getting herself and her companions off the ship without being killed. That is if Daya didn't kill them first, by the sound of it.

"What, do you have dren for brains, Crichton?" Daya bitched in the background. "Aeryn! Your choice of crewmates leaves a lot to be desired! At least the Luxan is a warrior. This - what did you call him, Human? - is a total waste of a good uniform!"

"Just shut up and show me how to fasten it, Red," Crichton snapped back. "Just my luck, I wind up with the Peacekeeper version of Lucy Ricardo."

"Who?" Daya asked.

"Just ignore him," D'Argo advised. "We try to."

"Oh, you're a big help, D'Argo," John grumbled. "I never did like redheads. Aeryn!" he called out, "help me out here, will ya?"

She rolled her eyes and stiffly moved out of position. "Fine. If it will stop you both from arguing," she narrowed her eyes at Daya. Then, she grabbed Crichton by the collar and fastened the complicated straps on his Pleisar uniform. "There, now you look like one of us. Make sure that you act like it, too."

"I won't embarrass you in front of your friends," he retorted.

At least John was back to his familiar sarcastic banter. It was what she could deal with right now. His concern - and the pained, guilty look she saw in his eyes - were other things that were best dealt with later. After what Crais had done, she wasn't sure that she could handle dealing with them right now. "See that you don't, or else we're all dead."

"Officer Jaad," Tal's voice came over the field mic, "are you ready?"

Daya looked over them. Aeryn gave her a thumbs-up. Crichton cuffed D'Argo's hands in front of him, then gave a thumbs-up as well. D'Argo tested the cuffs, and held up the thumbs on both of his hands. "We're ready here," she replied.

"Affirmative. We are good to go," Tal said. "Meet you at Hangar Eight for prisoner transfer in fifteen minutes. Tal out."

Daya took great pleasure in putting Crichton's half-helmet on and pounding it into position. I really must speak with her about stopping these silly dominance games, Aeryn thought. It's getting old fast. Aeryn fastened her own helmet with practiced skill, and double-checked John's while Daya put on hers. "If we don't make it through," she told him quietly, "I want to thank you for coming after me. It means a lot." The helmets obscured their eyes, but he impulsively touched his helmet to hers..

"Can I get you two a room?" Daya snapped. Aeryn and John both jumped to attention. Daya peeked out the door. "All clear. Let's lock and load," she ordered. Aeryn hefted her pulse-rifle, made a quick adjustment to the way Crichton was holding his, and fell in behind Daya and D'Argo as they left Gilina's room and marched down the hall. They went out the opposite way from where the brig had been, hoping to attract the least amount of attention. Daya went around the corner first, made sure that it was clear, then waved the other three forward. They circled around the opposite way, through the living quarters. As they made a right turn, Aeryn suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. She reached out, and Crichton caught her. "Daya, stop," she whispered. Crichton pulled her over to the side of the hall, into the shadows. Daya and D'Argo hovered nervously around them.

"Hang on, Aeryn," John whispered to her and put his arm around her. "Fight it." She nodded, then started to cough. The hallway was swimming. She focused on John's face, since it was the closest thing to her.

"Here," Daya went into her breast pocket and pulled out a syringe and took the cap off. Aeryn felt a sting as her friend stuck the needle into her neck. The painkiller started working immediately. Her vision began to clear and so did her head. She stood up straight. John released her, and she nodded her thanks. "Aeryn, that's the last one I have," Daya whispered. "Can you make it to the hangar? I'll go back to my quarters and get more."

"We'll take care of her," John said. D'Argo nodded in agreement. "Get what you need."

Daya hesitated and looked at her friend. "We have no choice," she replied. "I'll get them there. Go, Daya." The redhead gave her one last look, clenched her hand into a fist and held it up in a salute, and went back down the hall the way they'd come. Aeryn sadly watched her go. I can't believe she's risking her career for me, she thought. Then again, I'd do it for her.

"Are you all right?" D'Argo asked.

"I think so," she answered. "We'd better get going, before someone notices we're here." She stood up and grabbed D'Argo's arm as if she was leading him. It provided a good cover for her to steady herself. Crichton took his position on D'Argo's other side. They walked down the hall three-abreast. They soon reached the end of the hall, and came to a T intersection with a major corridor. Unlike the residential hallways, this one was bustling with activity. Aeryn pulled D'Argo to the right, towards the hangar, and Crichton followed suit. People cast quick looks at them, but hurried away as they saw the murderous look on D'Argo's face. Unfortunately, one of them - a lower-ranking command officer - was more adventurous. He strode over to the three of them and confronted them.

"What are you doing with that piece of Luxan dren?" the officer asked. D'Argo growled at him, but the man was pompous enough to be unfazed. Thankfully, Aeryn didn't recognize him.

"Prisoner transfer, Sir," she informed him. "He's being shipped back home."

"Under whose orders?" The officer was skeptical.

"Under direct orders from Commander Tal. Shall I summon him, so you can take it up with him personally?"

The officer hesitated for a moment. "No, Officer. I don't believe that's necessary. Carry on. And, be careful with that thing. I hear that they're berserkers."

"Yes, sir. Thank you for the warning, sir," she replied as the officer moved off.

D'Argo snarled after him, just for effect. "I should kill him where he stands," he grumbled.

"Relax, big fella," Crichton whispered.

"Shut up, Luxan," Aeryn ordered and pulled on D'Argo's arm. This was getting out of hand. "No talking!" The three of them got a few more looks as they marched down the hall, but nobody dared to challenge D'Argo - or Aeryn - again.

They reached the hangar level without any further incident, although the hair on the back of Aeryn's neck were starting to stand up. She sensed trouble ahead. She looked over at Crichton for confirmation. Under the helmet, his face was a mask of Peacekeeper professionalism, just like she'd taught him. She felt a small flare of pride - and something else that she didn't want to acknowledge right then. "Hangar eight is on the left," she told them. "We're almost there."

"But not quite," a man's voice answered her, and Crais stepped out of the shadows. He was alone. Aeryn's stomach twisted into a knot as he smiled at her. She momentarily flashed back to him on top of her in the cell. She fought to keep the wave of nausea from overwhelming her. "You didn't wait for me to come back, my dear. I'm crushed. We were having such a good time, too." She clutched D'Argo's arm to keep her balance as Crais stepped toward her.

Crichton removed his helmet and interposed himself between her and Crais. "Oh, you're a real tough guy," the Human whispered dangerously. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic, I find out that you forced yourself on an injured woman. Do you know what happens to rapists on my planet, Crais? They get castrated."

"Which I will take great pleasure in doing personally," D'Argo added menacingly.

"Oh, it was nothing personal," Crais smiled, unfazed. "You took someone I loved, I took someone you love."

"Don't let him get to you, John. That's what he wants," Aeryn hissed. Crais grinned at her, and she started shaking.

"Oh, she told me that I was the best she'd ever had. That your species is somewhat lacking in certain areas," Crais continued.

"I did not!" Aeryn gasped, humiliated. "John, you have to believe me! He's insane!"

Crichton just laughed and shook his head. Crais was caught off-guard momentarily. "Was that before or after you tried to fry her brain? Oh, by the way, I owe you something from before." He pulled back his hand and punched Crais in the jaw. The Captain staggered back a step, then lunged at Crichton with a commando knife in his hand. Crichton pulled his own knife, which was considerably smaller, and got down into a crouch.

"This ends right here," Crais threatened. "First I kill you, then the Luxan. Then, I take your whore for my own pleasure before she's executed as a traitor." He lunged. Crichton danced out of the way and sliced wickedly at his attacker. Crais dodged the attack easily. John may have been quick, but she knew that he lacked the killer instinct that made Crais deadly.

D'Argo was fighting the iron grip that she had on his arm, trying to get into the fight. She straighted up, and shook her head no. "Let me go, Aeryn! I've sworn to kill him!"

Aeryn pulled off her own helmet, released his cuffs, then looked up at him. "D'Argo, don't. He's mine. If something happens, get John out of here," she ordered, then pulled her own knife. "Crais!" she called out. He tore his attention away from Crichton and turned toward her. "I'm nobody's whore," she lunged at him with a practiced, lethal blow. He blocked her attack, but her blade cut through the sleeve of his tunic to his opposite arm, drawing blood.

"Bitch!" Crais snarled and sliced wildly at her. The blade cut through her midsection. Her jacket was sliced open, but the bandages on her ribs held. She bent her knees in a crouch, and he did the same. She ignored the beginnings of dizziness that had been brought on by the exertion and forced herself to concentrate on Crais. He lunged toward her, slashing upward with his longer knife. In a move that Tal had taught her, she led with her opposite side and used his momentum against him to send him sprawling across the deck toward Crichton.

John was ready. Crais tried to grab him, but he danced away. As he did, he gave Crais a shove back toward Aeryn. "You really shouldn't have pissed her off," he smirked.

Crais's momentum spun him directly at Aeryn, who delivered a hard kick directly to his groin. The Captain doubled over, dropped his knife, and howled in pain. He dropped to his knees. Aeryn sheathed her knife, put both hands together and brought them down hard on the back of his neck. Crais sprawled on the deck, unconscious. "Don't mess with a Pleisar," she said as he fell.

They heard footsteps running down the hall. She looked up and saw Daya running toward them with a rucksack over her shoulder. Her friend stopped short when she saw her commanding officer sprawled on the deck. Then, she looked up at Aeryn. "Trouble?" she asked.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Aeryn replied innocently. Just then, the dizziness hit her like a wall, and her knees buckled. She fell into Daya's arms. D'Argo was there, followed by Crichton a second later. She felt D'Argo pull her off of Daya and she leaned against his shoulder.

"Watch what I'm doing," Daya said to Crichton, then stuck a needle into her neck.

The dizziness subsided again, and she felt like she was able to breathe. "I do believe you're enjoying that, Daya," she observed drily.

Crichton and D'Argo laughed. "Thelma and Louise," the Human chuckled.

All three of them looked at him. "Who are you talking about?" Daya asked as she helped Aeryn up. She continued to lean on D'Argo and Crichton, but she was able to walk.

"It was a movie. Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon? Never mind," Crichton explained as Daya punched in a security code to open the hangar.

The door opened, and they entered. The Prowler was sitting on the deck, the only thing illuminated. Gilina looked up from tuning one of the engines. She grabbed a technician, told him what she was doing, then jumped down to join them. "What happened?" she asked, her concern directed toward Crichton.

Aeryn felt a flare of jealousy. "Crais decided to pick a fight by himself," she informed the technician. "We've got to get away before he comes to. Is everything ready?"

"Not quite," Tal's voice came from out of the shadows. "The rest of the brigade wanted to come, but it would have drawn attention. So, they told me to let you know. We took up a collection for you and your companions. There's five hundred credits in hard currency here. It's not much, it's all that we have." He handed a small box to her.

Aeryn felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She turned to her companions, and saw only D'Argo. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Crichton kissing Gilina. "I don't know what to say," she stammered. "Thank you, sir," she said, wiping her eyes. "There's so much that we've learned that I need to tell you. Bigger things than just some fugitives on a rogue Leviathan."

"I've included a non-Peacekeeper encryption code in the box. Send a burst transmission with the information once you get to safety," he instructed. Crichton came up to them with Gilina tagging along behind. Tal turned his attention to him and D'Argo. "John Crichton. Ka D'Argo. Take care of her, or I will hunt you down and kill you," he smiled. He reached out and clasped D'Argo's forearm with his own, then did the same to Crichton. "You're a good man, John Crichton. You're a credit to that uniform."

"Coming from you, that's quite a complement, Commander," he replied. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of her." He grinned over at Aeryn, who was on the verge of tears.

Tal then turned to her. "I've got to go. Crais will be looking for me. We'll make sure you get away safely. You know our frequency - monitor it. Take care, Sun. You'll always be a Pleisar. Don't ever forget that." He saluted her smartly, then walked away.

Aeryn stared after him with a profound sense of loss. Daya enfolded her into a gentle, sisterly embrace. "At least this time we get to say goodbye," the redhead said. "I'll miss you, blood-sister," she whispered, then handed her the rucksack. "Here, take it. I've given you all of the medical supplies I have. I've loaded six syringes for you - that should get you back to the Leviathan. I also managed to save your belongings after you left. They're in the bag, too."

She stuffed the small box into the rucksack. "Thank you, Daya," she sniffed.

"Hey, none of that. No crying. Remember what we said - we'll always be together, no matter what," Daya said and held her. She was prevented from saying anything further by an alarm claxon sounding. "Dren!" she swore. "We've wasted too much time. Get out of here!"

Gilina shouted over the alarm, "I boosted engine power to above the recommended max. You'll need all the power you can get with three of you in there." Aeryn nodded her thanks.

The three of them scrambled to the Prowler as Daya left the hangar. Gilina stayed behind to make sure they got away. Aeryn, naturally, tossed the bag into the back and jumped into the forward seat. "You shouldn't be flying," D'Argo informed her.

"Do you want to get out of here alive?" She shot back. "I'm the best chance we have, even with a concussion. Get in."

D'Argo hesitated. "She's right, big guy," Crichton said. "Strap yourself in. This flight's gonna suck, and we're not serving peanuts." The Luxan assented. He climbed into the seat behind her, forcing Crichton to crowd into the rear compartment.

Aeryn closed the hatch and went through her pre-flight check as the Prowler powered up. She pulled the wires on the IFF, then tuned the radio to the Ikarian brigade frequency. Gilina opened the hangar doors, and Aeryn punched the launch sequence. The G-force was enough to start the back of her head pounding, but they were away from the carrier and into open space. "D'Argo, Crichton, I need you to watch the side views for me. I need to concentrate on the controls," she ordered. What she didn't tell her two friends was that turning her head was causing her to get dizzy. She just concentrated on keeping her eyes straight ahead. She heard explosions coming from the ship that was rapidly falling behind them. "What's happening?" she asked.

"They're not pursuing," D'Argo told her. "Gilina and her friends must have disabled the main engines!"

"Yes!" Cricton cheered, then added, "watch out for fighters."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Aeryn snapped.

"Ikarian brigade, launch all Prowlers," Tal's voice came over the radio in response. Fifteen fighters shot out of the command carrier's side and formed flight wings. Aeryn knew their patterns better than she knew the back of her hand. The first group of fighters swooped down on her. "Spion group, this is Spion leader," Daya's voice came over the channel. "Target their weapons and propulsion systems. Captain wants them alive."

"Affirmative, Spion leader," a wingman responded. Aeryn waggled the Prowler in thanks.

"Message received," Daya coded.

"Hold on back there," Aeryn said, then pulled the Prowler into a steep climb. The G-forces caused her to see flashing lights behind her eyes, but it had faked out their "pursuers."

But not for long. "Target is pulling up," a male voice said over the radio. "I'm on it."

"D'Argo, I'm going to need weapons," Aeryn asked.

"You're going to fire on them?" Crichton gulped. "They're trying to help us!"

"Of couse! We're just not going to hit anything. Right, D'Argo?"

"Not today, anyway," the Luxan sounded disappointed. Aeryn took her foot off the pedal and kicked out at him. Unfortunately, her kick landed on Crichton's leg. He winced, but didn't say anything. "Weapons are armed," D'Argo informed her.

"Try not to hit anyone." She pitched the craft to the right as D'Argo unleashed a burst of deadly fire. It harmlessly went between two Prowlers.

"She's firing on us, sir!" someone yelled over the radio.

"Stay with her," Tal advised. He was most likely on the bridge with Crais, so he couldn't say anything unusual.

The Prowler that was on their tail laid down a firestorm. Aeryn juked to left and accelerated. "D'Argo!" she yelled out. He returned fire and hit the wing of their pursuer.

"I'm hit!" the male pilot called out. "Not bad. The traitor took my wing cannon out."

"Return to the ship, Spion Six. All others, continue pursuit. We're bringing the frag cannons on-line," Tal warned.

"Frag cannons, sir?" Daya asked with horror in her voice.

"Affirmative, Spion Leader. Prepare to fall back on my signal."

"Frelling dren!" Aeryn swore, and pushed the small ship even harder.

"I thought these frag cannons had a short range," Crichton asked.

"They do. That's why I'm accelerating. For ship this size, they don't need to be accurate. The concussion wave alone will rip us apart. It's a major safety violation to use them when fighters are in the open. Our best hope is to get out of range, or get behind something that will break the wave around us, like an asteroid." She was starting to get sick again. The heavy G-forces were taking their toll on her. "Crichton! Another injection." He pulled a syringe out of Daya's pack and handed it to D'Argo. The Luxan stuck it in her neck with surprising skill.

"How long can you go on taking those painkillers before you wear out?" Crichton asked.

"As long as it takes," she answered. It was already taking effect. Her head was clearing, but she knew that John was right. The painkillers were a short-term solution, designed to keep a soldier with minor injuries going. They weren't meant to help someone withstand the fluctuating gravity of a Prowler dogfight, but they'd have to do.

"They're heading on a flat-out run to vector eight six point seven," another woman pilot said. "I'm pursuing."

"Right behind you, Spion Three," Daya acknowledged. "Wait for your shot. I don't want them to fire up those cannons."

"Affirmative, Leader. Are they trying to get us all killed?"

"Belay that talk, Spion Three," Daya warned and fired shots that went wide to the left of Aeryn's Prowler.

"D'Argo, warn them off," Aeryn ordered. The Luxan shot off another round. The person that Daya was flying behind juked the wrong way, and was hit. The Prowler spun out of control with the wing smoking. Aeryn felt sick. "I told you to be careful!"

"I was! The fighter moved into my line of fire!" D'Argo replied. "I am sorry, Aeryn."

"This is Spion Three. I'm hit, but I've regained control. Pulling back."

"This is Spion Leader," Daya said from the radio. Aeryn breathed a sigh of relief. "We have two casualties. Request permission to break off attack."

"Affirmative, Spion Leader," Tal replied. "Move out of range."

"Keep an eye on that carrier!" Aeryn ordered.

"All Prowlers brace for impact!" Tal called out. A burst of light shot out of the front of the carrier and streaked toward them. Aeryn slammed the stick backwards, pulling them into a steep dive. It was a desperate move, but she knew that it wouldn't work.

As the cannon bolt approached them, another Prowler streaked across the sky directly in its path. Aeryn heard Daya's voice yell, "Go, Aeryn!", then her Prowler exploded in a fiery ball!

"DAYA!!!!" Aeryn screamed in denial. "No!" She felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest. "No..." she said again.

"Commander, we just lost Spion Leader," a male voice came over the radio.

There was a pause. They could hear Tal going ballistic at Crais on the bridge, and Crais responding. Then Tal's voice came over the radio. "All fighters break off the attack and return to the hangar. Let them go."

"Over my dead body," Aeryn muttered. She pulled the Prowler into a steep bank and turned it around to face the carrier.

"Aeryn! What the hell are you doing!" Crichton yelled out.

"They killed Daya! They're going to pay, all of them!"

"No!" D'Argo ordered. "I will not allow this. Turn around, now!"

"Aeryn," Crichton reached out and touched her leg. "She gave her life so that we could get away. I suggest we get the hell out of here before Crais changes his mind."

D'Argo concurred. "When warriors sacrifice themselves for their comrades, their last wishes must be honored." His words managed to sink through the blinding pain and grief. She banked again, turned back away from the ship, and punched the accelerator. Then, overwhelmed with shock, she slumped over the controls in shock.

"Unstrap her," Crichton told D'Argo. She felt him unbelting her, but she didn't care. "Aeryn, let D'Argo take over. We're safe now." She numbly slid out of her seat and onto the floor. Crichton took hold of her leg and pulled her under the co-pilot's control panel to the rear compartment. He managed to maneuver her into his arms. She leaned against him, needing the contact of another person. She felt like she was falling into a dark pit of grief. She vaguely felt Crichton stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth. She wanted to stay with him, but the pull down into the pit was too strong. She surrendered, and plunged down into a universe of black, where there was no more pain.

***

Commander Braydon Tal stood at the door to the Captain's quarters. He took a deep breath, and pressed the chime. A voice from within told him to come in. The door slid open, and he walked in. Crais was stripped to the waist. He had a long cut on his left arm that looked suspiciously like a knife wound. "Looks nasty, Bialar. What happened?"

"Nothing," Crais deflected. "Braydon, I wanted to talk to you in private about your outburst today."

Tal stiffened. "I regret my actions today, sir. However, in the face of the loss of one of my pilots, I believe you can understand that I was justified."

Crais stood and paced. "I hate to do this, Braydon, but I will have to file a report documenting your blatant insubordination. You undermined my authority and allowed three fugitives to go free."

Tal narrowed his eyes. "And my report will reflect that the Captain overrode a Level One safety protocol, putting the lives of everyone out there in jeopardy. Violation of this safety protocol needlessly cost the life of one of my best soldiers. I'm sure that Peacekeeper High Command will be very interested in reading this report."

The two men regarded each other. "I see," Crais said. "Well, I see that we have a stalemate. Very well, Braydon. No report will be filed on this incident."

"Thank you, sir," Tal nodded, and relaxed. "Likewise."

"There is, however, the matter of Officer Daya Jaad to contend with," Crais started. Tal stiffened again. "Aeryn Sun and her companions had to have had an accomplice on board in order to make their escape. There are too many inconsistencies to allow for anything else. I've been examining Jaad's service record. It states that she attended the Academy with Officer Sun, and they remained close until Sun's defection. It is entirely possible that she was Sun's accomplice, whether by choice or by coercion."

"Officer Jaad was a highly decorated member of the Ikerian Brigade," Tal snapped. "She was a fine officer. I'm sure that whatever she did, she did out of loyalty. I will not sully her service record with these unfounded allegations of collaborating with fugitives."

Crais was fuming. "I'm ordering you to look into this matter, Braydon. She was one of your own, and she was disloyal!"

"No," Tal told him flatly. "Since Jaad is not here to answer these charges for herself due to an unfortunate friendly-fire accident involving a frag cannon, I refuse to conduct a witch-hunt."

"So it comes back to blackmail," Crais surrendered. "Very well, Braydon. But bear in mind, I will be watching your pilots from here on in. If I see anything other than strict, by-the-book discipline, I will put you and your unit on report. Dismissed." He waved him away.

"Yes, Sir!" Tal saluted smartly and walked out the door. Once he got down the corridor to his own quarters, he let out a sigh of relief. He sat on his bed, and pulled out a a small black box from underneath it. The box was engraved with the words "Daya Jaad" and her serial number. Tal opened the box, removed a small crystal, and activated it. Up came a holographic image of two young female cadets - one raven-haired and the other with coppery hair - with their arms around each other and mugging for the camera. Tal stared at the image for a few moments, then turned it off and replaced it in the box. Then, he reached up and placed the box on a shelf next to his personal medals. "Always a Pleisar," he muttered, then saluted the box.

***

Several parsecs away, Aeryn Sun stared at the same picture in her quarters back on Moya. She wasn't quite sure how she'd gotten there. The time following the explosion of her blood-sister's Prowler was still hazy. She'd woken up on Moya, with Zhaan hovering over her. The first thing that she had asked for was Daya's rucksack. Zhaan had already placed the valuable medical supplies in her pharmacoepia. What was left were some clothes and a black metal box with her name engraved on it - a display box for her medals. Tucked inside was a crystal with her copy of their graduation holo.

She couldn't hear her, but Aeryn knew that Zhaan was still in the room. She wished that the Delvian would leave her alone to grieve in peace. She was grateful for the help that Zhaan had given her, but she just wanted to be left alone. As she heard the door open, she hoped that Zhaan had gotten the hint and was leaving. Then, she heard a heavier set of footsteps, and knew that there was no such luck at being left alone.

"How's she doing?" Crichton asked Zhaan quietly.

The Delvian sighed. "Physically, better. Her internal injuries are healing, and the cranial swelling is subsiding. Psychologically, well..." she hesitated. "Sometimes I wish our pain-reduction techniques could apply to emotional wounds as well as physical." Something non-verbal must have passed between them, because she heard the door activate and the rustle of Zhaan's robes as she left the room.

John stared down at her and smiled gently. "Is this seat taken?" Without waiting for her to respond, he moved her medal box aside and sat next to her. "I wanted to let you know that I sent off an encrypted message to Commander Tal earlier." She nodded, wishing that he would go away. Knowing Crichton, there would be no such luck. He looked at her untouched dinner that was sitting on her bedside table. "Rygel wanted to know if you were going to eat that."

She looked up at him and smirked. "It's nice to know that some things haven't changed," she replied drolly.

"Ah... I knew that would get a reaction." He grinned, then looked at the holo. "You were just kids," he observed.

"Our graduation from the Academy. The night before this was taken, Daya and I cut our hands, mingled our blood, and promised to be friends forever. We call it blood-siblings. I still have the scar, right here," she pointed it out on her right hand. Then, she turned off the holo and put it back in the box.

"D.K. and I did the same thing in Boy Scout camp. Only we pricked our fingers." He put his arm around her shoulders. Aeryn flinched involuntarily, and Crichton backed off. He got that guilty look on his face again. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," he reassured her. He put his arm around her shoulders again, and she relaxed into him. "It helps to talk about it."

She hesitated, then pushed forward bravely. "I don't know what hurts more, the fact that Daya's dead, or that I'm alive. Crais has taken everything from me - my rank, my home, my best friend, and even my self-respect. All I ever was is gone. It's in a million pieces, just like Daya is. The only thing left are these worthless medals."

John took her carefully into his arms and held her. "No, never," he whispered. "He may have hurt your body, but he didn't touch your soul. That's where your memories of her are. Daya was a lot like you - beautiful, brave, strong, and loyal. As long as you keep her memory alive, she's not really gone. You survived, and that's more proof of your courage than any medal." His lips brushed her forehead, and she felt strangely comforted by the gesture. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. "I'm just glad that you're back with your family, where you belong," he said, his voice shaking.

He let her go, and she curled back into his protective embrace again. "You're right, you know," she said eventually.

"So, you finally admit it," he teased. She could feel, more than hear, his laughter.

"Oh, stop it," Aeryn snapped. "You're right about one thing, anyway."

"What's that?"

"You all are my family. Commander Tal knew it, and Daya knew it, too. They were the closest thing I'd had to a family, until now. I was looking for something that I'd lost, but it was right here in front of me the whole time."

He kissed the top of her head again. "Welcome home, Aeryn," he whispered. She didn't answer, but took comfort in being surrounded by his embrace and being among true friends.

--- FINIS ---