Title: Home and the Second Wave Part 2
Author: Meridian
Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to say I own these characters (hell, as much as I'd like to just own Ben Browder and Sebastian Spence), I don't. They belong, I suppose, to the Sci-Fi Channel or whoever sells them the episodes. Whatever, they sure as hell don't belong to me, nor do I have express written or oral permission to use them. Um, not suing me would be greatly appreciated, as I am not making any money from this story, nor do I have much to begin with…thanks so much.
Spoilers: Oh boy, spoilers! Well, none really for the First Wave portion of this story, just you have to know the basic characters there…Farscape Spoilers? Let's see…Nerve, The Hidden Memory, and Bone to Be Wild…that should cover most of it, save for vague and infrequent references to past eps…
Note: This is a crossover, so knowing both shows would greatly aid in your understanding of events. It's not necessary, but it helps. Thanks to my story consultant Michelle (what would I do without her?) who proved that you don't have to watch either show to follow and yes, even like the story.
Formatting Notes:
[[…..]] Indicate memory
Italics…thoughts
********* Indicate change of scene
------------- Same setting, only separate from the action taking place previously
HOME AND THE SECOND WAVE
Part 2
Salem, Massachusetts
May 12
Closing time was usually Lita's least favorite part of the day. Work was not a chore for her, and she had never been able to fall asleep until well after two o'clock anyway.
Tonight was different. Lita actually closed early, pushing customers out the door with little or no explanation for why she was closing at midnight after two generations of her family's policy of a one am curfew. Over her shoulder she saw Parker offering their guest a seat on the barstool. It took some cajoling to finally coax her to sit. Lita listened to Parker trying to assure her it was perfectly safe, that he had no intention of harming her or detaining her if she wanted to leave.
Lita locked up and quickly returned to the counter.
"It's okay, hon. I'm in a habit of helping people. Just tell me what's wrong." Their guest, Aeryn, Cade reminded himself, shook her head and continued to scrawl out scraggly letters after the short message that had been written on the paper when she arrived.
"My friend is hurt." To Cade, it seemed more like she was tracing the sentence above than she was consciously concentrating on her words. The writing was all the same, though from the sprawled style, he knew that she had difficulty writing. She seems rather…tough…too strong not to know how to write. That thought made no sense, but the feeling that she was more intelligent than this exercise in futility would depict stuck with him.
"We understand that, Aeryn is it?" Aeryn nodded resolutely. "We need to know what's wrong with him. You said he is in shock?" She nodded more slowly, indicating to both Lita and Cade that she was not entirely sure about this fact. "Okay, well, tell me, your friend, is he unconscious?" Aeryn nodded then shook her head. "Okay, so at times he is?" A nod.
"Is he unresponsive?" Cade chimed in, suddenly interested. And the missing hero will be delivered by the wings of angels to a town of witches for salvation. The quatrain stuck out in his head. This added to this woman's inability to speak stood out as too notable to be coincidental. He almost missed her affirmative response to his question. "Like a coma?" No response. "You don't know?" A nod.
"Sounds like shock to me, Parker." Cade looked at Lita with marked surprise. She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Mom's a doctor." Aeryn sat straighter at the mention of doctor. Noticing this, Lita nodded. "If I ask nicely, she may be able to help you." Aeryn picked up the pen on the counter and wrote carefully, THANK YOU. Lita smiled. "We can swing by Mom's place first and take her to see your friend, okay?" Aeryn nodded, visibly excited. Cade cleared his throat, attracting Lita's attention. "One second, Aeryn. We'll be right back." Aeryn nodded, stood, and walked over to the door, apparently standing guard. Cade watched her hand tense automatically into a fist.
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"Are you sure this is a good idea, Lita. Now, granted, I'm not one to talk, but are you sure it's a good idea to help a complete stranger? What if she's a…" Cade hesitated. He was about to say 'criminal' but stopped himself. How hypocritical it would be to criticize her for that. Was he not a wanted criminal? Did it matter that his were extenuating circumstances? No, he admitted. "What if she's dangerous?"
"Of course she's dangerous. What woman comes into a bar and asks for medical assistance at this hour? And duh, I'm not blind. I can see she's ripped. No one in that good a shape would go running around like that unless she were a bit shady." Cade felt relieved. How could he have assumed she would not have noticed that?
"On the other hand, what kind of traveler without a steady job walks around with a cell phone?" Cade smiled, not bothering to cover himself.
"Very perceptive."
"If you're some runaway, Parker, that's your business. Helping people doesn't have to be a conditional thing. You help if you can. This lady needs help, and she isn't here to cause trouble. I respect that. I'm a barkeep. People who don't cause trouble are my favorite people. If she goes out and murders someone, I'll kick myself for it, but if she doesn't mess with me, I have no problem with her."
"Patriot, hmm?"
"Born and raised, Parker. Let's see if we can't help this Aeryn gal out. Then, if things don't look right, we tattle to the sheriff. Sound kosher to you?" Cade nodded and motioned for her to go back without him. "Why?"
"I have to make a phone call."
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29 Arns Ago
"Officer Sun?"
"Yes, Pilot?"
"Moya is reporting an unusual anomaly only five hundred metres from us."
"What kind of anomaly, Pilot?" Zhaan chimed in from Aeryn's side on the terrace.
"It appears to be a wormhole." Both women froze. Aeryn felt a surge of hope. Please, please, please. If there is justice, let this be what I think it is. She calmed herself to a small fury of excited questions.
"When did this anomaly appear, Pilot? Is it maintaining itself? For how long? Are there any other ships in the immediate area? Can you see where it leads to?" Zhaan placed a hand on her arm.
"Pilot, please, could you tell us more?" Zhaan's graceful calm was Aeryn's envy. Pilot read the sensors and began his report.
"It appears to have been opened by another vessel which is currently in a static position near it." A short silence. "It is not a Peacekeeper vessel. The technology is Gua, if I'm not mistaken." Aeryn shuddered.
"What is it, Aeryn?"
"The Gua make Peacekeepers look nice, Zhaan." She spat out the words as if they were poisonous to her mouth. Perhaps that was an exaggeration. In truth, the Gua were merely the one species worthy and capable of posing a serious threat to Peacekeeper dominance. They were warriors, techs, civilians, just as Sebaceans were, but the whole race was dedicated to conquering new planets once its own was worn out to a bare husk, incapable of supporting life.
"They want domination, nothing more. And they will exterminate an entire race to have it." Only a strange look from Zhaan told Aeryn she had spoken aloud. Chiana came in just then, curious as ever.
"What's happening?" Zhaan explained while Aeryn remained focused on the view of the wormhole.
"Pilot, can you tell where the wormhole opens to?" Pilot responded with something noncommittal while he checked his readouts.
"The Gua are broadcasting their location to a home base of sorts. It appears to open on a nine-planet, one-sun solar system." At this point, Aeryn's heart was in her throat. Pilot continued to scan while Aeryn, and Zhaan and Chiana too, held her breath.
"The third planet, Pilot. Can you scan information on that planet?"
"Yes. It appears to be the destination for this vessel. A water planet with only one-third land coverage. One moon. The message calls this planet 'Earth.' " Aeryn was halfway to her prowler before she knew she had left the terrace. Chiana had run after her, as had Zhaan, though the latter's robes had held her up a bit.
"Aeryn, wait! I want to come too!" Chiana placed a hand on Aeryn's arm. Zhaan arrived and placed her hands on them both as an unmistakable gesture for them to slow down and think.
"Aeryn, if these Gua are as awful as you say, you cannot hope to attack them or steal their wormhole alone. Your vehicle is not prepared to withstand an attack from such a large vessel should they decide you are enemy."
"They'd never catch me."
"Officer Sun?" Aeryn looked up at Pilot's call.
"Yes, Pilot?"
"Moya has told me you have her permission to take K'ren through the wormhole if you have need of him." Aeryn's mind buzzed with this news. Take the baby? Chiana whooped happily.
"Then I can come!" Zhaan bowed her head, shaking it slightly. "What?"
"Chiana, what would you do on Earth? Only Aeryn could possibly go safely." An idea sprang into Aeryn's mind. It could work, she mused. Zhaan, noticing Aeryn's sudden pensiveness, inquired about what she was thinking.
"We can all go. Zhaan, John may need your help. You are the only one with extensive medical knowledge. I don't want to set foot on that planet without your skills." Zhaan nodded, not raising the question Aeryn went ahead and answered next. "You can stay hidden in K'ren, I'll do the searching." Chiana pouted. "Chiana, I may need your skills as a thief…should all else go wrong." Chiana smiled.
"Yes!" She squealed and bounded off toward where K'ren would be connected to Moya.
"Pilot? Can you contact D'Argo? Tell him to bring John to the access hatch."
"Yes, Officer Sun." Zhaan, for the first time in a weeken, looked relieved. The two women turned to follow Chiana. She and D'Argo were there before Aeryn and Zhaan. D'Argo appeared somewhat indignant about being left behind, an event of which, no doubt, Chiana had informed him. He began to protest as Aeryn approached, but she cut him off with a chopping motion.
"No, D'Argo. It will be difficult enough to disguise Zhaan and Chiana. I cannot help but think it would be impossible to disguise you. Thank you for helping us this far." Aeryn moved forward to take Crichton from him. The Luxan refused and ended up carrying him all the way into K'ren. Aeryn walked back to the hatch with him.
"Be careful." Aeryn accepted this with a grave nod. The hatch was sealed and K'ren moved away from his mother. Pilot wished them success. Aeryn swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. They might need the help.
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Salem, Massachusetts
May 13 (1 am)
"Mom?" Mrs. Silvia Duncan answered the door in her robe. She saw Lita and brightened, beating the sleep down.
"Lita? Baby, what are you doing here at this hour? Oh, you have friends? Please, come in," Silvia backed up to allow them inside. Lita shook her head.
"Mom, this is Jack and Aeryn." Cade nodded his head; Aeryn just stared. Lita smiled, reassuring her mother somewhat. "Jack works with me at the bar now." Silvia nodded, smiling, extending her hand. Cade shook it. Lita waved at Aeryn. "Aeryn's the one who really could use your help, Mom." Aeryn stiffened at her name, startling Silvia somewhat.
"My help? Lita, what are you saying?"
"Aeryn has a friend in need of a doctor. She says she can't take him to a hospital. What d'ya say?" Cade and Aeryn each held their breath. Cade recognized Aeryn's sudden fear as the first emotion she had allowed to cross her face without censure. Silvia regarded Aeryn with skepticism, but, like her daughter, she was always ready to help.
"Just let me get dressed, Lita." Lita smiled and ushered her friends back toward her car. As Cade passed Aeryn, he could have sworn he heard her mutter something. It was too low to be sure it was not just a grunt or trill of happiness, but whatever it had been, it was not a human language he recognized. Even if it had been just a noise, it sounded off.
An alien then? He had called Eddie from the bar to tell him he suspected as much but could not be sure. Eddie, as always, was flippant but concerned enough to tell him to watch his back. Thanks, Eddie. Every time you say that, something tries to kill me. He kept his guard up even though Aeryn did not appear to be threatening or making any threatening motions. It was just the way she seemed to be built for a fight. There was not a single woman, save for one notable Gua, whom he had ever met who exuded the aura of violence, strength, and skill like Aeryn did.
Lita trusted her enough not to cause trouble. In Cade's cynical mind, that was a foolish, ideological response, one that was only going to weaken the human cause in the end. Beyond that, he could not find fault with her. Lita was on guard too, he supposed. Only she had no idea what the truth could be.
And the missing hero will be delivered by the wings of angels to a town of witches for salvation. Aeryn was rather attractive, in a most unconventional way. If Cade had had to have guessed, he would have pictured her as someone whose only problem was that she was too tough. Tough enough to be respected and admired, but too tough to accept the praise or even love of another. That struck him as sad, and it required real effort to stop those feelings of sympathy. He kicked himself hard off that track, reminding himself that she set off alarms, that she could be a Gua or any enemy. Keeping her at a distance would be best for them all if she became dangerous.
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28 Arns Ago
"Attention incoming Peacekeeper vessel!" Aeryn walked over to the communications array. "You are hereby warned not to approach the wormhole. You will receive only one warning."
"Identify yourself." Aeryn commanded across the link, using all the arrogance she possessed. Such a little revival of her former position of power was comforting.
"This is a civilian freighter. Name and rank, Peacekeeper?" Aeryn paused, unsure whether to lie or tell them the truth. If they thought she was a Peacekeeper, they might not destroy the ship out of fear of retribution. On the other hand, if they believed she was trying to interfere or even steal their technology…
"This is not a Peacekeeper vessel."
"Explain." Aeryn snarled, angry. He dared to question? Despite admitting her lack of rank, Aeryn preserved her haughty pride.
"We are travelers, nothing more. We are interested in using your wormhole." There was silence. Chiana watched Aeryn, tense and alert in her seat. Zhaan closed her eyes in prayer.
"You will maintain your distance." They were not conceding anything, most likely because they still suspected K'ren. He bore the Peacekeeper colors, and Aeryn could tell that caused the Gua captain or whomever she had been speaking to a great deal of consternation.
"K'ren?" The ship responded with beeps and a flashing of lights. Aeryn smiled despite herself. The little ship had a bond with her, almost equal to that held to its mother. "Can you get us through that wormhole?" A beep, rather like a low susurration, was apparently an affirmative answer as they began to pick up speed. "Be careful, they will try to stop you." Another cheeky, cheery beep. They shot out towards the wormhole only to be greeted by fire from the Gua vessel and muttered curses and warnings to turn around that came through communications.
"You will turn around! We will destroy you if you do not leave this area at once!" K'ren cut off communications on his own. Zhaan actually laughed.
"He certainly has a will of his own. It is fortunate the baby took such a shine to you, Aeryn." Aeryn nodded, barely concentrating on Zhaan's words. Her eyes were fixed on the window as they entered the wormhole.
"K'ren?" A whistling noise. "Fire on them before we're too far into the wormhole." Zhaan stood, about to make a protest but was stopped with a look from Aeryn. "No, Zhaan. We cannot have them coming after us." Zhaan acquiesced, though she was far from accepting this. The baby fired as asked, his readings indicating the shots had done considerable damage.
Once through the wormhole, they faced a new problem: how to avoid detection? Aeryn searched for some sort of cloaking unit. Frelling Peacekeepers…they would deck out K'ren with everything but a cloak. Aeryn whispered the curse aloud, to which K'ren responded. No sooner had she uttered the command than K'ren was complying cheerfully.
"Zhaan, take over for now." Aeryn about-faced without another word. None was necessary. Chiana and Zhaan both knew where she was headed.
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There was no reason to be here, none that of which Aeryn could think, and yet she was here anyway. His condition had not changed too much, at least not in physical terms. He was awake, for the most part, but as cognizant of her presence as the humans on his world were of them. Does he even see me? She could not even answer her own question.
His eyes stared straight past her, the rest of his body as limp against the bench as the gaze in his eyes was vacant. Although he looked oblivious, his whole body lurched away from her light touch on his shoulder.
"Crichton, it's alright, it's me." Instinctively, he curled up tighter but allowed Aeryn to sit beside him. Just talk…he'll listen. It will be good for him. Aeryn swallowed over her rising panic. Crichton's condition made her afraid, afraid for him more than anything else, but fear had a way of controlling her once it took root.
"We did it, Cri…John. We've found Earth. As soon as we find a safe place to hide K'ren, we can take one of his miniature pods down to the planet. We'll find you a doctor, I promise." Aeryn sighed, feeling that same pain, a discomfort caused by heartache for Crichton, crawling along her body, threatening to force out tears. She was startled when his hand reached out and grabbed hers. Aeryn nearly jumped to check if he was responding, but she knew not to expect a thing. This was just another time when John peeked through the pain and delirium to reach for her help.
"I'm here. I'll be here a while longer, John. Go to sleep." Obediently, Crichton closed his eyes and fell into his fitful slumber, crying out once or twice in fear and pain. Each time, Aeryn smoothed his hair, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and even shushed him quietly. Aeryn wished she knew some sort of story or song to quiet him with, but such tender things had not been included in her education. Instead, she held his hand, staying by him until the worst spasms ended.
I am going to save you, John. You said you would never leave me. Don't break that promise…wait for me to find someone to help. Wait for me.
End of Part 2