Sharini grabbed her weapons, and a few changes of clothing, and strode out of her cottage, and trotted down to where one Prowler waited to pick her up.
"Hold on, dirtsider." The pilot got a growl from Sharini for his insult.
"Call me that again, and you'll be seeing the dirt up close and personal. Permanently."
On the command carrier, John was staring at Aeryn while they waited for the prowler to come up. "What?"
"I didn't come after you. This was my assignment, to find you, and bring you back to High Command. They want to meet you." She was turned away from John, her bearing stiff.
John shook his head, pinching the brow of his nose between his thumb and fore-finger. "Wait a minute... What you're saying is that you wouldn't have come looking for me if you weren't told to?"
"No, I wouldn't have, John."
A very small boy came running into the hanger in front of a man with Commander's rank markings, and wrapped his arms around Aeryn's knees. The man held the hand of a girl of about the same age as the boy, and another boy, older, followed.
"Mommy!" His blue eyes stared at Crighton around his mother, wide in wonder. "Is that Kite-ton?" He mispronounced John's last name badly.
"Yes, Talyn, that's John." Aeryn unwrapped the boy's arms, her voice unexpectedly warm.
John looked at the other man, who carefully extricated his hand from the girls, and approached.
"Commander Velorek." He held out his hand, watching John's face for a reaction.
John took his hand, and shook it. "Commander John Crighton."
"Crigh-ton!" Sharini's strident voice shattered the silence that stretched out after the two men met, and heightened the tension in the room. She looked down at the man from her slightly greater height, her contempt for Peacekeepers very evident. "I am Sharini, daughter of Sokya, Lady of the Solan River Valley."
"Commander Velorek." He turned away, waving Crighton to follow him, Aeryn falling in beside him, and the pilot who'd brought up Sharini, as well as the trio of children bringing up the rear.
"Catain Zaran." The woman behind the desk looked up.
"Sit down, Crighton." She looked over to Velorek. "Thank you, Commander Velorek. You are dismissed." She turned her attention back to Crighton after the man had left. "Well. I never thought I'd meet the infamous, or is it famous John Crighton. Would you like a drink?" She had pulled out a decanter of a deep, ruby red liquid.
"No, thank you." John leaned back in the chair. "So what do the Peacekeepers want from little old me?"
"High Command only left me with orders to bring you back. They gave me no reason why." She replaced the decanter. "I was hoping, perhaps you could shed some light on this matter."
Choice #2 and #3 - How does John react to Aeryn's rejection? Does he continue to persue her, or does he let Sharini comfort him....? Does Sharini have a problem with letting him out of her sight because she feels obligated to protect him, or because she is falling in love, and doesn't care to admit it?
