How to Save a Life
(Back to the past)

The Prowler is uncomfortable at best, too cramped for three fully grown people. The small craft is only meant for two and Aeryn can feel frustration getting the best of her even though they haven't yet landed on the planet. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to rein in her rising anger.

After a minor squabble with John over who was going to control the craft, she sits in the pilot seat, her son and her husband crammed in behind her. This was definitely not the most passenger friendly way to get to the destination, but after much deliberation with Jothee they had decided that the Prowler would provide much better cover in Peacekeeper space not to mention the fact that it was the only craft that they could use to fly a stealth trajectory. The Transport Pod was definitely not the best option.

She slips back into the mode of pilot as if it were something she still did every day. The controls and gear shifts are fluid in her hands and the lights and control signals on the panel come together like the pages of a book that she's read many times before. It all feels right. It feels natural.

John sits silently behind her, his warm breath on her neck a pleasant comfort. Her son on the other hand is sitting behind his father; their long legs tangled uncomfortably, and is quiet for a different reason. If she had to guess, she would say he is about 80 percent determination at this point, and 20 percent nerves. He worries the tip of his thumb with his teeth, a nervous habit he'd picked up as a boy. She had yet to figure out a way to break him of it, but her instincts told her she needed to. Any physical reaction that could easily give sign of inner emotions needs to be snuffed out before it gets him in trouble.

"D'Argo, stop biting at your thumbs," she commands coolly. She's all business now.

"Sorry Mom," he replies quickly pulling his thumb away from his mouth and shoving his hand into his pocket.

Space is unusually dark around this planet, and the temperature rises as they come close to breaching the atmosphere. Aeryn adjusts the temperature controls in the cockpit for more stability and shifts the Prowler as they begin their descent, picking up speed as they break atmosphere. Her fingers tighten around the yoke as she steers through the turbulence, remaining calm even as the ship vibrates around her. All she can see is fire and all she can feel is heat. Before it can really start to get to her, affecting her vision and motor skills and her very ability to function, they are in the upper atmosphere of the planet. She brings down the drive and adjusts some of the inner atmospheric controls of the ship, slowly easing it down through the gently lightening sky.

They make their way though clouds and water droplets, winds and cross breeze. Across a sky of deep blues, purples, and oranges that reminds her so much of John's Earth.

The same thoughts must be going through his mind as well.

She quickly glances back to see him glancing longingly in the direction of the small planet. It is less green than Earth. There is less water. But she can still see in his eyes that he is noting the resemblance, and she reaches her hand back to gently rub his knee.

"I verified the coordinates; we should be coming in directly over the area of Jothee's camp site." John rattles authoritatively. "If I'm on target we shouldn't have to hike too far to get to home base."

"Try to make contact with him, make sure that the comms are scrambled before you do," Aeryn says, still focusing on landing the ship.

"Jothee, ten four buddy. It's Crichton, you out there?" His family is so used to his "earth" speak that they don't even flinch when he says something they don't understand any more.

Silence, they're met with silence and the crackling of lost communications.

"Shit," John exclaims.

"Give it a bit Dad. We've just made it through the upper atmosphere of the planet, the comms could be slowed due to interference," D' mumbles behind them, thumb back in his mouth, muffling his speech.

"Stop biting D'Argo," Aeryn chides again before shifting her attention. "He's right, wait a microt and see if he answers."

They sit through several microts of silence, traveling across the bright blue and hazy yellow of the sky, land drawing closer, when suddenly the stillness is broken by Jothee's deep voice.

"Crichton, right on time, two arns late. Why am I not surprised?" He asks. They had developed a close friendship with Jothee after the war, taken him into their family in a way, much the same way it always was with his father, Chiana, and Rygel. He didn't stay with them long after the end of the war, but he was in and out quite frequently and they usually knew where he would be and what he was involved in. It didn't fill the void left in John's heart after the loss of D'Argo, she knew this, but it was a new friendship that they had both embraced in a different way.

"Fashionably late; gotta keep up appearances J. We ran into a little inter-atmospheric disturbance, nothing major, but it did slow us up a bit. If I'm right, or even close to right, we should be just about on top of you all," John replies, peering out the windows of the Prowler.

"We see you up there on the beacon, just bring her down straight and you shouldn't be but a few hundred henta's away from our base camp. Now, get your eema's down here so we can get moving," Jothee says, the combination of his deep voice and good humor more reminiscent of his father with each passing cycle.

"You heard the man," John gruffs with a mock authoritative tone to Aeryn. Something she's in no mind set for. She quickly gives him a sharp look to make her somber mood clear.

They settle back into silence in the crowded Prowler as she slowly brings it to land on a rare, relatively flat surface in the midst of a sea of rocky terrain.

The ship hums down, as the top hatch pops open and Aeryn's breath catches in her throat as her body attempts to adjust to the heavy humidity hanging in the air. It is thick with heat and moister, something they weren't expecting. They were going to have to move a lot faster than they had originally planned. She tries to fill her lungs with a good breath, but the thickness makes it hard. It isn't overwhelmingly hot, not the point of danger, but if they don't move fast, and make sure she has plenty of liquid, it could get very bad, very quickly.

"Why isn't this…air bothering you?" Aeryn stutters to John, annoyed with her "apparent" weakness when he doesn't appear to be showing any.

"I was raised in Florida baby; we grow humidity like it's going out of style." He says, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, shoving her short comings back in her face.

"I've been to your home and it was nothing like this." She grits angrily.

"True, but you haven't been to Orlando in the summer." John hoists up some of his gear and slings it over his shoulder.

All she can muster in response to his goading and senseless talk is a glare as she picks up her sack and her canteen heading off in the opposite direction towards the location of Jothee's communication.

She can hear the ruffling and clanking of guns behind her as John and D'Argo pick up what's remaining of their provisions and follow her path. The hatch of the Prowler whirs shut behind them and they head over the rocky crevice and into the unfamiliar land that stretches before them for as far as they can see. Rocks and strange plants paint the landscape with an eerie look; their unusual shapes and long shadows casting strange visions on the dusty ground. The sky is a yellowish blue at its height and dark around the horizon with stars shining brightly and dotting the harsh blue with pin pricks of light. The planet is quiet; the only sounds they can make out are their own footfalls as their boots crunch against the dry ground.

John pulls out his small tracking unit and checks the status of their location, making sure they're on the right path. He stops, hoisting the strap of his bag further up on his shoulder and breathing deeply. Aeryn senses that he has stopped moving behind her and turns to catch his eye with a questioning look. Why the frell are they stopping? She pulls out her canteen, already desperate for the feel of cool water touching her tongue, her throat.

This is not a good sign, not at all.

- -

"Camp should be just a hop, skip, and a jump to the north." John states pointing towards a small hill.

D' sits down roughly on a small rock, trying to catch a deep breath that won't cause him to sputter and choke.

"This air is frelling horrible." He remarks. "Remind me never to go to your home planet Dad."

"Hey, it's not always like this. Besides, you get used to it D'. Just give it a little time and you won't even notice the difference." John replies looking down at the monitor of the palm sized tracking unit.

Just as he turns slightly to start walking in the direction of the camp, a little creature scurries out in front of him. He jumps back, a natural reaction to an unnatural being.

"Oh holy mother of Jesus!" John exclaims as he stumbles backwards tripping over a rock and landing on his back side hard. "Shit, that hurt."

He stands quickly, rubbing his ass.

"Hey little guy, you scared me." John leans down to observe the creature that has put a scuff on his shiny exterior of bravery. It's covered in a grayish fur, with large ears and large, wide eyes. It seems cute to him, like a little chinchilla, but before he knows it the creature is all sharp teeth and large claws, quickly aiming its small body for his knee. It suddenly flies back following a sharp burst of light and hits the ground, its insides smoking, and now conveniently located on the outside.

"What the hell was that?" He asks breathlessly, looking back at Aeryn as she holsters her pistol.

Saving your ass, as always.

"Perhaps we shouldn't get so friendly with the locals hmm?" She scolds with a sharp look. He hears his son chuckle under his breath.

"Hey, I didn't see you coming to the rescue there big man," John asserts, looking back down at the smoking carcass. "Guess the little fur ball didn't like my new cologne."

Before they can make another move, they hear heavy footfalls approaching from the opposite direction. He sees Aeryn grab the back of D's shirt and drag him behind a rocky outpost with her pistol ready. John pulls out Winona and hunkers behind a large boulder. Damn if this wasn't his luck. Almost get eaten by a little gremlin and now they've alerted what is most likely the big momma, extra large gremlin to come and give them a swift ass kicking and enjoy them for supper. His finger is poised on the trigger, and he feels a drop of nervous sweat trickle down his forehead.

He suddenly sees Aeryn come out from behind the encasement and he gives her a look, attempting to get her attention, questioning her actions.

Is the heat getting to her?

"Jothee, it is so frelling good to see you." John hears his wife say, relief in her voice for the first time since they had made land fall.

"We heard a pulse blast, you okay?" Jothee questions as John holsters Winona and climbs out from behind his hiding spot attempting to catch his breath and calm his nerves.

"We're fine. John was just getting re-acquainted with easy ways to get attacked on an unfamiliar planet. He's very good at that." Aeryn laughs gingerly.

"J! Are we ever glad to see you?" John exclaims, relief just as evident in his voice.

"John, it's good to see you again my friend, and under these circumstances hopefully it will be a good visit."

John reaches out to grab Jothee's extended hand and pulls him into a hug, an earth greeting that had been passed off to his friends and family. Jothee is accompanied by several other large Luxan officers; facial tattoo's making their rankings clear. They're all dressed for combat.

D'Argo comes sauntering out of his hiding place to greet his friend. "Jothee, it's been a long time."

"Too long little man; who is not so little any more I see," Jothee greets with a smile as he shakes their son's hand, looking him up and down.

"Less than twenty henta's away from camp and I see your dad here is already causing trouble?"

"My one true talent in life," John replies good naturedly. He walks up behind Aeryn and pulls her to his side.

"And Aeryn, three little ones later, still as beautiful as ever," Jothee charms and she smiles tightly in return. She's ready to get down to business, ready to get their daughter back.

"Layin' it on a little thick there 'eh buddy?" John jokes.

"What can I say? You're a lucky man my friend." Jothee laughs. "You all could probably use some food, a little water, and then we can talk about how we want to handle the situation." Jothee says, guiding them steadily towards the camp, glancing back in their direction quickly. "It is so good to see you."

- -

The small crew walks the short distance over several rocky areas before the Luxan camp site comes into view. They have set up several tents that run the length of a small stream, the only water Aeryn can see. Three more Luxan soldiers sit around a small fire, cooking something in a kettle of some sort. One of the soldiers is looking over a tactical map, planning moves and evaluating procedure.

They gather around the cooking fire and Aeryn can smell whatever it is that they're preparing. Her stomach informs her that she's hungrier than she had realized with a muffled growl. John hasn't let go of her hand as their son trails behind them, and she doesn't mind; doesn't really want him to. Jothee introduces his comrades as Tellan, Sash, Bruye, H'tna, and Myann. H'tna and Myann had been stranded on the planet after a short recon mission, prisoners of war, and now that the small unit had found them the only reason they were still planet side was because Jothee refused to leave without offering their services however they could be used. The gesture isn't lost on Aeryn as she realizes how much Jothee is really like his father.

D'Argo falls into easy conversation with H'tna on flight theory and universal quantum physics, something he wants to study during the year to come. H'tna is obviously very familiar with flight theory and navigation and he quickly shuffles D' over to explain some of the more complicated controls of their larger vessel. Aeryn settles her gear as far from the small, hot fire as possible as she glances over at her son, his easy manner of conversing with strangers once again making it clearly evident that his way with people quite obviously came from his father. She wanders over to look down at the map set on a flat stone and she quietly studies the distance between this camp and the PK training area. They aren't far, roughly 100 metra's or so, but they are well hidden and have the element of surprise on their side.

"The way we figure it," Jothee starts scooping out some of the stew for her and John, who has wandered to her side, and handing it to them as he continues. "Our best bet is going to be heading into the camp after nightfall."

Aeryn nods. "Yes, that will definitely be our best chance. If this is a regular planet side training regimen then the cadets will be sent to bunk soon after nightfall, with several guards on patrol."

"Early to bed, early to rise. The early bird gets the worm. Catch 'em like a dear in the headlights…" John says between bites.

"Did you bring an extra translator for his nonsense?" Jothee asks Aeryn. "I still don't frelling understand half of what comes out of his mouth."

"Neither do I." She replies with a smirk "Just nod and smile, best way to handle him."

John picks up the map, studying it intently, his mind elsewhere. "You're not coming in with us J." It's a statement, not open to debate.

"What are you talking about? You can't go in alone," Jothee interjects.

"Nope, no way buddy. I've dragged way too many people into unnecessary danger over my time out here, and I'm not doing it anymore. We'll be better off with less people. We'll have the element of surprise, less noise, less to alarm the Peacekeeper bastards with." John rambles, determined to get his point across. "Aeryn and I will go in, you and D' stay on the perimeter and watch our backs. We'll grab the kidlet and meet up with you as soon as we can. Then we're all getting the hell off this planet ASAP."

"He's right," Aeryn agrees. "The smaller of a group we go in with, the better our chances are of getting out."

"You would know better than anyone." Jothee finally relents with a sigh. "We'll have your back, but we'll stay out of sight. I'd say we have about 2 arns or so before nightfall here. Enough time for some food and a little rest, some time to look over the map and topography a little more, and then we'll head out. It's a bit of a walk to the training camp, but it shouldn't take us more than an arn or so." He continues, standing to check the old Qualta Blade he still carries, a piece of his father that he's never relinquished. It clicks loudly as he checks the oil cartridge.

Aeryn takes one more bite of food. It's all she can handle before tension causes her stomach to tighten up. She takes a deep breath of miserably thick air; all she can think about now is getting her daughter and getting them the hezmana off of this planet and back to the general safety of Moya. She looks at John, his thumb resting on his lip, and she knows that his feelings mirror her own. His hand slides under her hair and gently down her back, and comes to rest at her side. He pulls her inconspicuously closer to him with a small kiss on the side of her head and a whispered "Almost there," in her ear. It's a simple mark of reassurance, a voiced sign that he is by her side. They are almost there and one way or another, on this night, they will bring this ordeal to an end.