All Fall Down
Part 4
Aeryn was so used to hum of their great ship Moya as she traveled through space that the silence was deafening. It pressed against her ears, making her feel as if the walls were closing in. The endless darkness did not help either. Even Aeryn's keen eyes could barely penetrate it, although Dorjan's scarred face and twisted smile were clearly visible in her mind's eye. She could feel his fingers gripping her wrists, holding them down against the floor and his body pressing against hers. It made her feel sick to her stomach just thinking about it, though she was not a hundred percent sure that wasn't because of her pregnancy.
It had been fifteen solar days since she had seen him in person. He would often watch on the vid screen during meals and comment disdainfully on the ever growing bulge of her stomach. However, she never knew when. Footsteps that would stop outside her door could sometimes be heard in the passage, but no one ever entered. Each time her heart stopped; maybe this time. The constant anxiety of not knowing when Dorjan would appear next was beginning to take its toll.
Aeryn was exhausted, something she also attributed to her pregnancy, but was unable to sleep for fear he would return and catch her off guard. She would just doze on the cot, but that usually left her feeling even more tired than before.
She ached to have John beside her. She kept waiting for him to throw open the door and take her away from this prison through another one of his crazy plans. Every frelling thing would go wrong and more lives would be lost, but they would make it back to Moya.
She longed to have him nearby to help her through her pregnancy. His limited knowledge was still ten times greater than what she knew. They didn't teach about pregnancy during Peacekeeper training. If you discovered you were with child you were either given reproductive leave until the baby was born or more often the baby was transferred to a surrogate mother.
The few basic facts she did know she had only heard in passing. For example, she knew a Sebacean pregnancy was three monens long. But most of all, she wished could share the experience of being pregnant with John. It was his child, and she knew he would have loved every microt of it. She longed to tell him what she was feeling because in her long arns of solitude she had begun to realize how much she wanted this baby, how much she needed it.
The tiny shred of hope she had left rested with Tahirah and her resistance movement. If they decided that it was not worth the risk to help Aeryn escape, she knew neither her nor her baby would survive for very long.
And that thought frightened her beyond anything that she had ever experienced. She didn't care what Dorjan did to her, but the idea of her tiny, helpless child being poked and prodded for wormhole technology was too much. John had sacrificed his life to keep that knowledge out of enemy hands and here she was preparing to hand them the key. Even though she realized there was nothing she could do, deep down she couldn't help feeling she had betrayed John.
She stopped and gave herself a firm mental shaking; it was not good to dwell. She attempted to force herself to think about something else, but failed miserably.
The subtle clinking of metal against metal caught her attention and totally distracted her. The noise stopped outside her cell. Aeryn held her breath, though she knew who it would be. Sure enough, the door opened and Dorjan slipped in to the room. The sudden amount of light that flooded the cell when the door opened briefly blinded Aeryn so that he was nothing more than a silhouette.
He stood over Aeryn, evidently believing she was asleep. She could not make out his face, but knew there was a look of unreserved loathing upon it. She could image his lips curling into a sneer as he fought the impulse to slaughter her in her sleep. Two of his fundamental principles as a Peacekeeper coming into conflict: obey orders and keep the bloodlines pure.
At length he turned away. His desire to obey was apparently stronger than that of the one to kill, though his lust for blood was barely suppressed. She heard rattling as he fastened two chains to the wall. He then returned to the side of Aeryn's cot.
With a lightning-fast movement, Dorjan seized her upper arm and used brute strength to drag her out of bed. She gritted her teeth as his fingers dug into her flesh.
"I am not a happy person when I don't get what I want, you traitorous bitch." His fingers tightened and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. "If it ever happens again, you'll be to one who pays! I'll kill you and the parasite inside you! I don't care about orders!"
He roughly secured her wrists in the chains suspended from the wall. Aeryn didn't protest. Dorjan was already on the brink of losing control, and she did not want to push him.
His booted foot violently lashed out and connected with her shin. She cried out as the pain spread up her leg. The wild look in his eyes intensified. "Just be thankful it wasn't your stomach."
He spat on the floor and left, slamming the door behind him.
The chain clinked together slightly as Aeryn shifted from one throbbing foot to the other. Her head ached for lack of sleep. Her shoulders were stiff from being held above her head for so long. Her wrists were raw and cut from placing all of her weight on the chains in an attempt to give relief to her feet.
She was not aware of how long she had been standing here. Microts seemed like arns, solar days dragged on forever and there was no end in sight. For every meal a nurse would come and wordlessly feed her foul-tasting food, but that nurse was never Tahirah and Dorjan never watched. It was as if they had forgotten about her, just left her here to rot.
Aeryn's knee buckled and she hung limply, supported by the chains. She could feel a warm drop of blood rolling down her one of her arms, but did not have the energy to even lift her head to look.
Slowly, her body numbed and she was able to doze.
Aeryn forced her eyes open. She could once again hear voices outside her cell. Everything felt as if it were moving in slow motion, the words seemed to take forever to reach her ears.
"You can't do this, sir!" said Tahirah in an exasperated tone.
"I'll do whatever the frell I want to do," relied Dorjan, scathingly.
"No, sir, you can't. As a Med Tech, I can override any command, if I feel it would place a patient in harm's way."
"The tralk in that cell is not a 'patient'," he sneered. "It's a prisoner."
"I know that, sir. I just wish to remind you that her child can give High Command the information it needs to defeat the Scarrans and possibly eliminate that threat once and for all. It may also help prevent any other species from threatening Peacekeepers ever again. But treating Officer Sun the way you have been is putting her under a great deal of stress, which in turn puts stress on the baby. Everything that happens to her will affect the child. Since there are no records of human offspring, hybrid or otherwise, we have no way of knowing what to expect. Extra precautions must be taken to ensure the health and safety of the child because of this. The methods you usually utilize to get information might kill the child and I'm sure if that happens High Command will have you executed. She has also been deemed irreversibly contaminated, as will you if you have too much contact."
There was a long pause. Tahirah had skillfully made it beneficial for Dorjan to treat Aeryn with consideration. Aeryn was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she was able to accomplish the task. But that did not help to ease her anxiety. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest she was sure they would be able to hear it.
Finally Dorjan spoke, "Alright, you make a compelling point. I will bear that in mind next time."
He tried to make it sound as if he about he cared about what happened to the baby, but she knew nothing could be farther from the truth. His only concern was for his own neck; however, that worked to her advantage.
"I want a full medical exam. Leave nothing out of the report."
"Yes, sir,"
Tahirah waited until Dorjan's footsteps had died away before opening the door. She had a huge grin on her face. It took most of her remaining strength, but Aeryn was able find her footing. Tahirah reached up, removed one of the chains and gradually lowered her arm.
She let out a sigh of relief and began to slowly rotate her shoulder. As the stiffness began wear off, Tahirah moved to the other arm. Once both restraints were released, she helped Aeryn stumble to the cot. She sat down next to her and began to gently bandage the lacerations on her wrists. The disinfectant stung a little, but compared to everything Aeryn had been through in her life it wasn't even enough for her to notice.
"How long?" she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.
"Eight solar days," responded Tahirah in a disgusted tone. "I have never met a man more ignorant of anything concerning women than Captain Dorjan. You could ask any male in the universe and he would tell you that to make a pregnant woman stand for eight solar days is a bad thing." She let out an exasperated sigh and went ranting on, but Aeryn wasn't really listening.
Once Tahirah had finally finished, she pulled a syringe from within a pocket.
"What's that?" Aeryn demanded.
"A very mild sedative, so you can get some real sleep. It won't hurt the baby."
"No," she said firmly, although the idea of sleep was very, very tempting. "If he comes back I will be totally vulnerable."
"You do not have any choice, Officer Sun. Sleep is necessary for you and your child to remain healthy. It will only last four or five arns and I'll stay with him until you wake up. He won't be able to anything without me being aware of it."
Finally, Aeryn nodded. Tahirah gave her the injection and had she drifted off to sleep before she left the cell.
The faint cries of a baby echoed through Moya's passages as Aeryn wandered through them. She needed to get to that baby. But everything was different, none of the hallways led where they used to and she could not find anyone to ask for directions. No matter where she went, the wails never became louder or softer. She turned yet another unfamiliar corner and nearly tripped over Rygel sleeping soundly in the middle of the floor.
"Rygel, wake up!" she called.
He did not stir. She bent down and nudged the small figure. Again, he did not stir. She tried for a second time and then a third to rouse the little Hynerian, but nothing worked. She felt sure he would know where the baby was, if he would just wake up. The howls of the child grew more frantic and Aeryn returned to her search, leaving Rygel behind.
She jogged through the strange corridors, desperate to find the child. She finally found Chiana and D'Argo. They were curled in each other arms, sleeping peacefully on a bed in an empty cell. They looked so content, she did not wish to disturb them, so she moved on.
She had not taken ten steps when she changed her mind; she would wake them anyway. They would understand. She turned around to discover the cell had vanished. There was nothing but a bare space of wall.
She turned back around, heart racing. Her mouth was dry and her palms sweaty; she knew she was dreaming, but just like the other members of Moya's crew, could not awaken.
The baby's bawling was intensifying by the microt until it suddenly stopped. A panic rose in her chest and she took off, running blindly through the maze of passages. She needed to find the baby, it was in danger, it needed to be protected.
Without warning, she crashed into someone standing the center of the hall. She bounced backwards and slid across the floor. The person reached down to help her up and she realized who it was. "John," she said in surprise.
He gave no sign of recognition as he pulled her to feet. He then just turned away. "John, I need your help. I need to find the baby. Do you know where it is?"
He didn't even look at her. "John, please!" she begged.
He only shook his head slightly. Tears filled Aeryn's eyes, "John, look at me! I'm sorry!"
Still shaking his head, he lifted his arm to point. She followed his gaze and…
Aeryn woke and got violently sick over the edge of the bed. Her stomach heaved as the contents were emptied. She retched again and again, even when there was nothing left. She lay back on cot, panting and shaking. She was covered in a cold sweat, but felt as if she was on fire. The cell swam in and out of focus in front of her. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears.
The door swung open and in stepped Tahirah, "Officer Sun, time to wake. I can't wait any longer—" She stopped mid-sentence. "Officer Sun?!" she cried.