Part X
John was shaken awake by a blurred figure. As the doziness was removed form his body, the features of the person sharpened and John saw that it was in fact Aeryn, seemingly fully recovered from her illness. What a great sight to wake up to, a beautiful woman smiling down at him. She helped him to his feet without needing to be asked.
"Zhaan told me about test you asked her to perform. Are you suspicious of Enustas?" she asked him.
"Well, yeah; aren't you?" he laughed, as if it the answer was obvious.
"Of course, but I haven't been around to see why you are suspicious of her."
"Right." He looked around; there was only Zhaan in the room, still working at her desk. "I'm suspicious because she's making all the guys on Moya act very strangely."
"Including you?"
"At first, but whatever effect she had on me seems to have disappeared. Anyway, from what I've heard from the others, we all see her differently. You and the other women see her as some elderly, crippled lady in need of aid. I see her as an attractive human. D'Argo apparently sees her as a Luxan, Rygel thinks she's Hynerian, and Pilot thinks she's…a Pilot."
Aeryn gave him a look which made him believe he belonged in a mental asylum.
"It's crazy I know, but…"
"It may not be as crazy as you think John," Zhaan told him.
John turned and went over to her desk, followed by Aeryn. "Why? What have you found?"
"Well, from looking at her DNA, I can see that she is not Human, nor is she Hynerian, Luxan, or a Pilot. To be honest, I am unsure of what species she belongs to."
John and Aeryn gawked at her expectantly.
"What I have found out is that she secretes a hormone."
"A hormone! What kind?" John persisted.
"A pheromone to be exact, and it is extremely potent. So potent in fact that it may cause you to see her as a person you find very attractive. I can tell you with confidence that she is actually an old woman, as we females are unaffected by the pheromones given off by another female."
"And this would also explain why all the others are acting paranoid. Why they think that all the other males are trying to get with Enustas."
"Yes, almost certainly John."
"And you can get all this from a bit of saliva?" said Aeryn.
"You'd be surprised how much we Delvians can learn about a person, from so small a sample."
John, with his hands on the edge of the table, bent at the waist so that his back was parallel with the floor. He breathed out and thought hard about their next move. "We need to get her off before we end up killing each other." He stood up straight again and tapped him communications device. "Chiana? You there?"
A moment's silence before a voice came through the speaker. "Yeah, I'm here, but she isn't. I can't find her."
"Have you checked everywhere?"
"Yes, I have!"
John took another moment to think. He had seen her with Pilot and he had seen her with D'Argo; he had not yet seen her with Rygel, not that he really wanted to. "Check in with Rygel, he might know where she is?"
"Okay, keep in touch." The comm. went dead.
"Zhaan. Is there any way you can create some kind of immunisation against these pheromones?"
"Quite possibly John, but it will take time," she told him reassuringly.
"Okay, good." He turned to Aeryn. "Aeryn, I want you to check in on Pilot."
"Where are you going?" she asked
"To find D'Argo; to see what he's up to."