All Fall Down

Part 3

Aeryn spent the next several arns slipping in and out of consciousness. Everything felt like a dream, so it didn't really matter if she was awake or not. After two or three arns she had regained full use of her limbs, but felt too weak to sit up, so she continued to lie on her cot.

She was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. When she thought Crais had killed her mother, she had said that all her connections to the Peacekeepers had been severed. It now felt like all her connections to this world had been severed. There was no reason to keep fighting any more. The soldier that had begun to consume her way of life once again was at a loss for what to do. Leaving her with only raw emotions she was not prepared to deal with.

She didn't even attempt to stop the flow of tears, just allowed them to come. She cried for the hundreds of people she'd killed, she cried for the loss her John, but mostly she cried for her unborn child. The tiny being held in stasis inside her was something to fight for and she had been ready to give up. To desert her baby because life had dealt her a bad hand.

"Is this who I've become?" she asked herself. "No," she thought fiercely, "I am stronger than this and I will not stop fighting. I am not dead yet."

Aeryn placed a hand of her stomach as if in apology. "I will never abandon you," she whispered into the darkness.

If there was even the smallest chance that the father was John Crichton, she would fight to return to him. Something suddenly clicked; her John, the other John…it didn't make a difference. It was still John Crichton, the only man she loved this completely and who loved her beyond hope. His death would always be painful, but she knew she had just taken her first steps towards healing. That thought was the only light on a horizon that had never looked darker.

There were footsteps outside her door. She was instantly alert. With her limited strength she climbed off the cot and hid in the shadows beside the door. It opened and one of the nurses from before entered holding a tray of food cubes. Aeryn grabbed her around the neck. "Make a sound and I end it now."

"I'm the only one who can help you," she said in a slightly choked voice. "Let me go."

Aeryn released her and collapsed on to the cot, utterly spent.

"I see you're feeling better," the nurse said wryly, rubbing her neck.

Aeryn didn't answer.

"I've brought you something to eat."

Aeryn took the tray the nurse held out to her, but didn't touch anything.

The nurse sighed. "You need to eat. You need to recover your strength."

"Not until you answer my questions. First, who are you?"

She sighed again. "My superiors are not going to like this, but since the surveillance has been disabled for the next couple hundred microts they will never know. I am Tahirah and I am part of a resistance movement. I can't tell you anymore than that."

"Second, why am I here?"

"You were John Crichton's lover. Most people who know of John Crichton know of his former Peacekeeper companion. The profile you provided at the hotel showed who you were and the flagged the interest in you. The desk clerk immediately notified the Peacekeepers for a fat pay off. They were going to use you as bait, but then they discovered you were with child."

"What do you know about my child?" she said through clenched teeth.

"I know the stasis has been released, that the child is John Crichton's and that they are planning to use the child's DNA to gain access to the wormhole technology. "

Aeryn's pulse quickened. She felt light-headed and the room started to spin.

Vaguely, she heard Tahirah saying something and felt her hands helping her to lie back on the cot.

"Whoa, you just take it easy."

Aeryn closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. "I'm okay. I'm okay," she repeated as she sat back up. "Just a little…shocked." Then she abruptly looked straight into Tahirah's eyes. "So it's real? I am going to have a baby."

Tahirah nodded.

Aeryn could feel the burning sensation behind her eyes that she had come to know so well over the last few monens. She buried her face in her hands. The sobs were silent.

There was a hand on her shoulder, "There, there," Tahirah soothed. "Everything is going to be alright."

Aeryn glanced up, eyes suddenly dry. "Everything is not going to be all right. I'm a prisoner. No one knows I'm here, no one, because I ran away. Ran from everything I ever treasured because I was afraid. But if I am pregnant with John Crichton's child, then they will never get the wormhole technology because I would rather die than let them touch our baby."

The last words were said with such defiance that Tahirah was stunned. She gazed at Aeryn, battle-hardened soldier and soon-to-be mother, and realized she would fight for her child as fiercely as in any war campaign. "I won't let anything happen to it," she finally said.

Aeryn raised her eyebrows. "How am I suppose to believe you?"

"For the sake of your child, you must."

Aeryn leaned back against the wall and picked up a food cube. The nurse smiled, "That's better. I've got to leave, but I will try to come back in a few arns."

Aeryn nodded and Tahirah left. She finished her food cubes and lay back down. She was exhausted even from that small exertion. As she fell back to sleep her instincts told her not to trust Tahirah completely.

Aeryn woke to the sounds of voices outside her cell. One was deep and male and the other appeared to be Tahirah's.

"She's not ready! She's still too weak and the child is too young."

"I don't care!" the other said. "We need the information now!"

"There is nothing you can gain from interrogating her. She knows nothing of wormholes."

The door opened with a bang. A figure was silhouetted in the doorway. Light spilled in from the hall and Aeryn blinked in the bright light. A male Sebacean stepped into the cell. He was tall and would have been handsome if not for a huge scar that ran all the way down his face.

"Get up, bitch," he hissed.

Aeryn stumbled to her feet and leaned against the wall for support.

"I am Captain Dorjan, Chief interrogator of the Station. I'm going to give it to you straight." He slammed his fists into the wall next to her head. She was trembling with the effort to remain erect, too exhausted to even flinch.

"I don't think you're worthy enough to lick the dren off my boots. You're scum and you defile the name of Peacekeeper. You and your friends murdered hundreds of innocent people when you destroyed the Gammak base and the Command Carrier. You abandoned your own people and deserted everything you were bred to be. The creature you carry is an abomination and it deserves to be killed, as do you. The bloodlines must be kept pure. Luckily for you, High Command needs the information that thing can give them and the microt it is born they will have it. For now, it is your only protection. If I had it my way, you would already be on your knees begging me to end your life. But I'll get to have my fun soon enough. I'm a very patient man."

She swallowed and he laughed. It was mirthless laughter that chilled Aeryn to the bone.

He roughly pushed her back onto the cot, "Welcome to motherhood, Officer Sun. It's going to be hezmana."

Then he was gone, leaving Aeryn petrified to her very core. Slowly, she pulled the blanket up to her chin. "John, I've been such a fool," she thought. "I never should have frelling left."

Aeryn spent the rest of sleep cycle tossing and turning in the small cot until the lights abruptly came on. At almost the same instance a flap at the bottom of the door opened and a tray slid through. She gingerly got up and reached for the food.

She caught a whiff and she felt like she was going to be sick. It looked and smelled as if the contents of the bowl had already been digested. It was brown and lumpy and the small amount of food that was in her stomach churned. She threw up.

Wiping her lips on the back of her hand, she lay back down on the cot. The gritty texture in her mouth was making the so-called food even less appealing.

"You really must eat your meal to keep your strength up," a voice said mockingly. "It's not very appetizing, but it will fill your nutritional needs. And the abomination's, as well."

Aeryn looked around to see that a vid screen had activated next to the door. Dorjan's face grinned evilly back at her. Listlessly, Aeryn picked up the bowl again. She held her breath so she couldn't smell it.

"Every last drop," Dorjan said with great pleasure. "You won't be given more till it's gone."

Each bite was more disgusting than the last. It took all of Aeryn's willpower not to vomit again. She would not give Dorjan the enjoyment. The only good thing was that it was more of a soup, so she didn't have to chew much. It seemed to take forever, but the bowl was finally emptied. She placed it on the floor with a triumphant glance at the vid screen.

"Not so fast." The smug look on his face could not mean anything good. "I said every last drop. Lick it clean."

She closed her eyes for a microt, then bent back down and retrieved the bowl. As quickly as she could, she wiped every last bit of the foul food from the bowl. She could feel his eyes boring into her. It was the most humiliating thing she had ever had to do.

"This is just a taste of what it to come." He laughed at his own joke as the vid screen clicked off.

This became a ritual for every meal for the next weeken, until one morning the tray slid under the door with a plate of food cubes on it. She had never been so happy to see food cubes in her life. After the dren they had been giving her, they were the most appetizing things she had ever laid eyes on. She savored each bite.

Before she had finished the entire plate the door opened and Dorjan entered, accompanied by Tahirah. His eyes grew wide with anger when he caught sight of the food cubes.

"Who gave you permission to eat?" he snarled.

Aeryn was too afraid to answer.

He repeated the question, "Who gave you permission to eat?"

"No one," she said, carefully not looking at Tahirah, who she suspected had taken mercy on her.

His lip curled into a sneer. "From now on, you do nothing without my permission. You don't eat, sleep, or even breath until I say you can." He turned to Tahirah. "Check her."

The nurse hurried forward and began a thorough examination. Aeryn caught Tahirah's eye and without words pleaded for help to escape. With a tiny nod, she answered. A wave of relief washed over Aeryn, but she tried not to show it.

Very aware of Dorjan standing impatiently behind her, Tahirah finished the rest of her inspection without making further eye contact with Aeryn. "Healthy," she said when she had completed the task. "However, she is still rather weak. If you would allow her to do a few simple exercises—"

"Absolutely not," snapped Dorjan. "Leave us."

Tahirah hesitated only briefly before walking through the door.

As soon as the door had closed, Dorjan turned his full attention to Aeryn. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from inside his jacket. "Get up, traitor," he commanded.

She stood. He forcibly pulled her arms behind her back and painfully put the cuffs around her wrists. He opened the door and shoved her through. She stumbled and he made no effort to stop her fall. She fell forward and landed hard on the floor. The taste of blood filled her month.

Dorjan smiled. "Oops. How clumsy of you."

Aeryn struggled to stand while resisting the urge to spit the blood in his face. Once back on her feet, they moved on. They turned down a passage and stopped at the door at the end. Dorjan entered a code and the door swung opened.

Inside was a small room that was empty except for a showerhead and a shelving unit filled with folded towels and uniforms the same color as the nurse's.

The snap of the door's lock echoed around the room, sealing Aeryn's fate. Dorjan walked over to a set of controls. With a loud rush of water the shower burst into life. He made a few adjustments and tested the water with his hand. When he seemed satisfied, Dorjan pushed Aeryn under the water without allowing her to remove her clothes or the handcuffs.

The ice-cold water pelted against her body. She could hear nothing but the rush of water. She tried to breath, but it filled her mouth. For the second time, she was drowning in icy water. Once again she could feel the harness straps pressing against her, holding her to her death. Then it was over.

All was silent and Aeryn opened her eyes. She was kneeling on the floor, her face denches away from it with no memory of ever falling. Her soaking clothes were plastered to her skin and her wet hair cascaded in front of her face, creating a dark curtain.

Dorjan's boot appeared in her field of vision, and he slid a dagger from within it. He squatted down, twirling the blade between his fingers. "I could slit your throat. I could watch the blood pour from your body. I would do it slowly so you could sense your life slipping away." His voice was calm and he sounded almost bored. "Your life and the life of that abomination are in my hands. You need to understand this."

He stroked her cheek with dull side of the blade. Slowly, he moved the knife down her neck until it rested above her collarbone.

"Look at me," he commanded.

She didn't dare. He forced her head up with the edge of the dagger. "Look at me," he said again, more dangerously.

Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his. A twisted smile spread across his scarred face. Aeryn didn't so much as breathe.

Without warning, he stood, grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. He finally released the handcuffs. "Take off your clothes."

It was an order she couldn't risk ignoring.

Having been raised on a Command Carrier where you shared showers and changing quarters, Aeryn was usually not shy about undressing in front of others. Somehow, though, doing so in front of Dorjan was different. His eyes searched out every spot of exposed skin as she removed her pants and then her shirt.

He began to circle her like a beast circles its prey. He started moving closer with every rotation. She closed her eyes so she would not have to see his deformed face. He finally stopped behind her. He pressed his body against hers, buried his nose in her wet hair. "There are no cameras in here," he whispered. "No one will ever know what I do to you in here."

He forced her to cold, wet floor and climbed on top of her. Just then there was a loud knock at the door. Dorjan let out a roar of frustration. The knock came again. He got up and Aeryn started to scramble away. "Stay there," he growled.

He went over to the door and wrenched it open. "What the frell do want?!" he yelled.

Tahirah's startled faced appeared in the gap. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt. There is a transmission from Commander Faxon. He said it was urgent."

Dorjan's eyes grew wide. "Take the traitor back to her cell," he called over his shoulder as he hurried from the room.

The microt the door was closed, she rushed over and knelt by Aeryn, who was huddled against the wall. "Did he have time to do anything to you?" she asked anxiously.

Aeryn shook her head, her eyes still squeezed shut. She could still see Dorjan's scarred face looming above her.

"Thank goodness," she said, letting out a sigh.

"How did you know?"

"Everybody knows what he does with the female prisoners in here." She shivered. "Commander Faxon is my cell leader, and the only officer Dorjan has to answer to. I got him to call as soon as I could."

"Thank you."

Tahirah said gently, "Let's get you back to your cell."

She got up and held out a hand to Aeryn. She gratefully took it and rose shakily to her feet. Tahirah walked over to the shelving unit and handed Aeryn a towel and a uniform.

Not that it made much of a difference now, but Aeryn turned away as she dried herself and dressed. They walked in silence back to the cell. Just before Tahirah shut the door, she whispered to Aeryn, "I'll do my best to keep him from taking you back there. My superiors have made it very clear, though; they will help you, but under no circumstances should I blow my cover."

Aeryn sank to the cot. She had been so focused on getting out of there, she had never thought about the possibility of Dorjan taking her back to finish the job. She didn't sleep that night, but lay awake for arns with her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach.