It's All About Marbles by laceym
Chapter 1
John stared at the wrench in his hand. It was a wrench as far as he was concerned but it did look different from the wrenches he knew. He was particularly interested in the term the others used for it; it could wrap itself around a nut and pull. He rested his against the module. He needed to fix it because he was damned sure that he was not going to fly Aeryn's prowler any more. She nearly put a hole through a wall in the past hour because he had reset some of the controls in order for him to handle it better. She was in the rear seat of the prowler and had spent the time screaming at him.
He looked up and saw the D.R.D. he called Blue watching him in the corner. John chuckled.
"It's all right," he waved to the D.R.D. "Come and see what the stupid human is up to."
"Commander?" Pilot's voice sounded over the communications system.
John pivoted on his heel and looked at the viewer. "Yes Pilot?"
"Is everything all right with you and Officer Sun?" Pilot asked.
"Don't worry too much about it Pilot," John assured him. "It's just the no adjusting her stuff thing."
"You are still working on your vessel," Pilot observed.
"Yes," John nodded. "The integration of parts from Moya is going slow."
"Perhaps some of the D.R.D.s can assist you in this Commander," Pilot suggested.
"No," John smiled. "I want to work on it myself."
"Ah," Pilot intoned.
John stared at Pilot for a moment. He maneuvered the ship and was in touch with everything but there were times when his knowledge of the beings on board was too uncanny.
"It's a human thing," John stood and walked to the workstation.
"Undoubtedly Commander," Pilot nodded. "When you have a moment Ka D'Argo requests your presence in command."
John's eyebrow shot up. "D'Argo requests my presence?"
"Yes," Pilot confirmed.
"Are you sure he requested my presence Pilot?" John struggled to keep his grin hidden.
"Well," Pilot replied.
"I'll be there is a few microts," John nodded.
The viewer turned off and John placed the wrench on the table. He chuckled, as he knew that D'Argo certainly didn't request his presence in any manner that could be mistaken for politeness. He sighed and walked to the door of the Maintenance Bay.
John took his time along the corridor and found Rygel poised in mid – air. John frowned at him and wondered what had Sparky done now.
"Sparky?" John called.
"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Rygel demanded.
"It's easier," John snapped.
"I didn't do it," Rygel stated.
"Didn't do what?" John narrowed his eyes.
"Whatever it is I didn't do it," Rygel insisted. "And I would appreciate it if you would convince D'Argo and Aeryn of that fact."
John stared at Rygel for a moment and hung his head. He needed to find some aspirin for they were going to drive him even more nuts than he already was.
John entered the command area cautiously. He knew that Aeryn was probably still pissed at him and now he was certain that D'Argo had joined her. It amazed and amused him how similar they two of them were at times, the Luxan and the Peacekeeper. He noted that Zhaan wasn't present nor was Chiana.
"You called for me?" John spoke from behind D'Argo.
"You certainly took your time getting here," D'Argo fired.
"I just got your message," John shrugged. "Rygel is denying that he has done anything by the way."
Aeryn glared at him.
"At some point you're going to get serious wrinkles, Aeryn," John told her.
She turned her back to him and continued to stare at the console in front of her.
D'Argo sighed. "She has told me Crichton what you did."
"I'm sure she has," John nodded. "But that isn't why you called me here."
"No," D'Argo confirmed. "We've spotted a ship on the sensors."
"Is it friendly?" John asked.
"We don't know," Aeryn replied.
"Of course," John exhaled. "And knowing our luck they'll be some new people who want us dead."
"Only if we're extremely lucky," Aeryn agreed.
"So, we go with the standard Luxan greeting?" John asked.
D'Argo stared at him for a moment. He shook his head. "No, we're going with the Peacekeeper greeting."
"Oh, because that one works so well for us doesn't it," John groaned.
"I told you," Aeryn scoffed.
"We have no other choice," D'Argo concluded. "We have to find food."
"All right," John joined in. "We do this."
"Good," Aeryn nodded.
"Maybe we should get Zhaan to say a prayer," John murmured.
D'Argo scowled at him but John had already turned away.
He walked to the console nearest D'Argo and activated the link to Pilot.
"I assume you were listening," John said.
"They had already apprised me of the plan Commander," Pilot assured him.
John remained silent as he looked at the distance to the ship.
"You know, we could always starburst and take our chances elsewhere," John suggested.
D'Argo and Aeryn glared at him. John raised his hands in defeat and returned to the console. The ship came into view. He studied the ship carefully. It appeared to be listing to one side. He had spent enough time in space to now recognize the look of an abandoned ship. D'Argo's stance was still. John knew that stance, he was preparing for a fight and so was Aeryn. The doors opened and Zhaan entered the room.
"John," she called.
John spun around and faced her. "What's the matter?"
She jerked her head toward the corridor and he followed her out of the command room. He stopped in front of her.
"What's wrong?" he repeated.
"Rygel is more anxious than normal," she stared at him. Her blue skin glistened in the light of the corridor.
"He spoke to me earlier," John nodded. "He seems to think that D'Argo and Aeryn are going to blame him for something."
"Yes," Zhann agreed.
"Which usually means that Sparky has done something that we've not yet discovered and we're all going to kill him," John guessed.
"That's what concerns me," Zhaan sighed. "Shall we say anything to those two?"
"No," John shook his head. "Unless and until it's absolutely necessary we should try to sort it out."
"I'm going to enlist Chiana," Zhaan murmured.
John frowned at her. Zhaan caught his puzzled expression and smiled. "She is just as devious as Rygel is at times, which means…" she shrugged.
"If anyone can figure out what he's done, it will be her," John finished.
"Exactly," Zhaan nodded. "You better return."
John left her in the corridor and returned to command.