Title: Home and the Second Wave
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. And ps…some stuff is made up entirely, as people who actually live in Salem, Mass. will attest. Just let it slide? Please?
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…Oh and one more thing? These events occurred in a reality separate from the Farscape world that ended with Family Ties (I began before the episode altered reality a bit, so please, just through Bone to Be Wild, thanks)
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 8
The Landing Site
"Stay still, Chiana! I can't get this finished if you don't stop fidgeting." Cade sighed, utterly frustrated. Every time he tried to help Chiana with the concealer, she fidgeted, pulled away, eyeing the cream.
"It stinks! How do humans put up with that smell?" Chiana made a face as she looked at the beige cream. Zhaan, sitting behind the Nebari, laughed, disrupting Lita from her makeup work.
"Some humans like that smell, Chiana. Now stay still." This growled command caught Chiana's attention, and she stopped squirming. Despite the smell, which she could overcome, Chiana liked this makeup. It had a smooth texture, and the spongy thing Cade used to apply it to her face was soft. The breeze over the liquid layer made her cold, but it was an enjoyable chill.
"There, finished, thank God." Lita cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the lipstick, eyeliner, eye shadow, and blush lying on top of the plastic bag. Sighing, Cade scooped them up. "You know I'm hardly qualified to do this, right?" Lita smirked but said nothing.
"I trust you'll do a good job, Cade." Chiana smiled. Cade shook his head, half smiling, half teary. The last time he had helped anyone with this...was with Hannah. Once or twice, before a night out, he would help her get dolled up, as he was always finished in advance and had the time. More often than not, helping Hannah put on her makeup had led to them missing the planned evening entirely. Not that that had been a bad thing, Cade's wounded smile returned. It was nice to remember the good times; it made the hard ones just that much more supportable.
Chiana held herself still as he brushed the orchid-pink eye shadow over her closed lids. His movements were slow and gentle, and sooner than she was ready, he finished. The blush took less time because, in Cade's opinion, the less Chiana had on, the better. The barest hint of pink offset the pale, muted gray-beige that was a combination of her natural skin tone and the layers of concealer.
"You have to pucker your lips, Chiana, like this," Cade demonstrated. Chiana eyed him curiously, a tickle of a smile on her lips. "Come on, I know you know what I'm saying, just be a good girl and do it." Instead of puckering, Chiana's lips pouted. "What? What I say?"
"I'm not a girl."
"My mistake, it's just an expression." Chiana mulled this over and then nodded.
"John uses expressions a lot." Seeing understanding, Cade tried again with the lipstick, and Chiana complied, puckering her lips so he could apply the light maroon makeup. It had not been his choice for lipstick color, but Lita had had a reasonable argument for the darker shade. The color had to be dark enough to mask the gray of Chiana's natural skin tone. The effect was not entirely pleasant; Chiana, with the pale colors elsewhere, looked almost like a Goth wannabe. On the other hand, little could be done to detract from her natural beauty.
"What about my hair?"
"Leave it."
"It won't look strange?"
"Of course it will, but so will the makeup. If people think you've done it that way on purpose, they won't think twice about you. Whether or not they stare is a different problem." Chiana smiled, her now maroon lips baring her brilliant white teeth. She turned to watch Lita finish with Zhaan. The Delvian's skin tone was harder to hide because it was a true color, not just a gray, like Chiana's. Lita had chosen a darker brown for Zhaan, and over all, it worked. Zhaan's lips were a deep black-brown, as was her eye shadow. Lita was pulling out another object from her bag, a hatbox.
"What's in there?" Chiana pointed. Lita looked over at her.
"Oh, God, Cade, what did you do!?!" The blood drained from Chiana's face; Cade's stomach sank. Lita reached out and scraped lightly at the corner of Chiana's mouth while she handed the Nebari a tissue. "You need to blot the lipstick, stupid. You want her to have it all over her teeth? Sloppy!" Chiana laughed, not understanding any of this; Cade smiled as he helped Chiana with the finishing touch.
"There, all better?" Cade looked up at Lita, who was fishing a mahogany-colored wig from the hatbox and setting it on Zhaan's head. Chiana shrieked with laughter at the ridiculous thing on her friend's head.
"They'll never believe that's real!" Lita frowned, placing her hands on her hips.
"The hell they won't. You only think it looks funny because you know it's not her hair." For her part, Zhaan seemed entirely curious about the wig, randomly plucking at strands and letting them slip through her fingers. "I think we're about done here, don't you?" Cade nodded. "Stand up you two," Lita gestured to Zhaan and Chiana, "let's get a look at you."
Cade and Lita stepped back to survey their work. Chiana's white hair in its spunky cut gave her whole look a playful childish attitude, not helped any by the clothing, a popular brand-name tee shirt matched with a popular style of jeans. She kept her own shoes as the jeans covered them anyway. Zhaan looked more the part of naturalist, something both Cade and Lita had little trouble believing she was, with or without their additions. She wore straight-legged khaki pants and a baggy, straw-colored knit sweater. The strange hair coloration looked better in the sunlight, and even with its somewhat separate statement from the rest, it matched.
"I think we're ready to go visit your friend, don't you?" The hope in Chiana's eyes burned through the makeup. Zhaan's grateful smile indicated she, too, was eager to be reunited with her compatriot.
"Then let's go, troopers," Cade jerked his head to the trail. Chiana skipped over to his side and took his arm, letting him lead her. Zhaan and Lita followed behind. The earlier jovialities were gone; an aura of serious intent had descended. This was a mission, like any other, and the fact they were in disguise made detection that much more dangerous. If spotted through disguise, there would be no way to claim innocence or ignorance.
"Your pocket is making a noise again." Cade snapped out of his serious train of thought and swatted at his pocket for his phone. "Yeah?"
"Foster? Oh man, thank God I found you."
"What's up, Eddie?" The whole party, which had stopped when the ringing began, breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Foster, we've got some alien sightings." Cade snorted at that. If only you knew, Eddie. "Seriously man, and more than that. I've gotten two reports that something big touched down outside of Salem. Think it's our angels?"
"Eddie, where are you?"
"I'm on the road, actually. I'll be in Massachusetts in another hour."
"When you get to Salem, get directions to Salem Center Hospital. You're looking for room 312. If they won't let you, tell them you know the patient and to have them call one of us. The whole group will be there."
"Group? 'Us'? Foster, exactly who is with you?"
"Angels, Eddie, angels." Eddie was silent. "What did the reports say about the landing?"
'Uh, just a second, I printed it out...here it is," the sound of ruffling papers came across the phone. "Yeah, FYIUFO swears there are aliens in a small woody preserve on the outskirts of the city, in a suburb. UFOgurlz claims aliens are camping in that same spot. Yes or no?"
"Both, Eddie. There are...angels in those woods, but they're not who we thought they'd be."
"Foster, what are you talking about?"
"Just get here, Eddie, I want to talk to you face to face on this one."
"See you in half an hour."
"I thought you said you were still an hour away from Massachusetts."
"I lied. I'll be there, traffic or no. Hey! Move it asshole!" Cade clicked off his phone, leaving Eddie to yell at the others on the road. He gave the party a thumbs up.
"No problems here. Let's go, shall we?" They continued on, the silence only broken by a few timid questions from Chiana, and one or two from Zhaan. The humans led their disguised friends to the car and took off, obeying no speed limits until they reached the hospital.
*****************************
Salem Center Hospital
"Excuse me, sir, but you have to sign in before you go see a patient on this ward." The fat nurse at the round desk stuck out a chart to the five men entering the third floor ward under her care. Joshua took the clipboard, hesitant at first to sign, but knowing better than to let the human see this hesitation.
"It's all right, Jane, these are my friends. Hey guys, just come around here," Jessica waved, her smile bright, her attitude bubbly. Upon learning the 'guests' were friends of another nurse, 'Jane' lightened up.
"Oh, just visiting the staff! Well, why didn't you say so! Go on around," she point to the swinging door in the desk. Joshua nodded, smiling superficially, and walked over to it, followed by the four others. Jessica smiled, greeting each of them by the accepted pseudonym they had worked out in advance.
"Jane, hold down the fort, okay?" The other nurse nodded and was instantly distracted by Tatiana's appearance from the elevators. The five men disappeared into the back with Jessica, who led them to the storage room at the far end of the station.
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"Tanya! Hello! How are you this morning?" Tatiana laughed and joked with Jane.
"Oh, same old, same old. I swear, I'll be damned if I don't fall in love with absolutely everybody who walks in here." She proceeded to describe her morning rounds with great detail, Jane listening and nodding.
"By the by, who were those big guys who came in just now."
"Who? Oh, you mean Jessica's friends. I don't know, they had to get started with what ever, so they left."
"Didn't sign in?"
"Nope." Tatiana frowned. Suspicion, which had been building for a while, reared its head.
"They should sign in anyway. I'll just take the board to them. Be back in a jiff, Janey." Jane nodded and swiveled in her chair to tackle her next batch of files. Tatiana strolled past the nurse, but as she moved further into the station, she began to creep more stealthily. The sounds of footsteps had disappeared, but one or two whispered voices were still coming from some where. Tatiana looked at the slight smudging of mud on the floor and followed it with her eyes to the storage closet.
Five men and Jessica...in there? Yes, it could be, that closet was large enough, she decided. Ever more quietly, she crawled over to the door. As an afterthought, Tatiana snatched a tissue from one of the desks. If they came out, she would pretend to be cleaning the smudged dirt off the floor.
Hardly daring to breathe, adrenaline and fear racing around her body, Tatiana leaned an ear to the door.
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"Gone? You assured us that 117 was here, Jessica." A gruff, take-charge voice demanded answers without asking questions.
"He went with the others to get something to eat, and he hasn't come back yet. He left the cafeteria, that I know, but he will be back." That was Jessica, sounding excited and panicked at the same time.
"How can you be sure?" This was another voice, softer but with an edge of malice.
"Would he abandon this man? He must know who he is, after all." There was a murmur of consent on this. "How would you have rather I'd handled it? Tried to force him to stay? You said low profile, and I kept to that order, sir." Tatiana heard defiance in that tone. Besides the fact she had no idea what this group was talking about, she understood the dynamic. Jessica was obviously subordinate to the first speaker, and the others appeared not to question him or his judgment either.
"Then we will wait for 117 to return and meet with the patient. Then we will take them both. We can tranquilize the human, then wait in the room." The younger, eager voice of yet another voice piped in.
"No, that crazy bitch is still guarding him. If you go in there, I don't think she'll take kindly to you drugging him. She is in on this some how, I know it." Tatiana could not believe what she was hearing. In on this? On what? What the hell are they talking about?
"He is being protected?"
"There was a woman who came in with 117 and the doctor and her daughter. She nearly waltzed right into the ER, and she's been something of a constant fixture around the patient since he was moved to his current room. She must know who he is. They seem...intimate." There was another murmur, this of disbelief, which was silenced before the leader spoke again.
"Commander Crichton has been missing for a year. He would have had no opportunity to make such an alliance."
"I'm telling you what I saw. Another nurse told me she saw them...being friendly. Too friendly, if you understand my meaning." A pause.
"Then she must be working with 117. There is no other reason why she would be here."
"Great, another UFO junkie, and she's hooked up with Foster." A muttering from a fourth voice came.
"Then she must be contained." The leader spoke and was silent. "Jessica, you will see that she receives a tranquilizer as well. Drug her first, then Crichton." Tatiana listened, petrified. They were going to do WHAT?
"I'll see that the records say he was dismissed."
"Of course. We will wait for 117 to show."
"Sir?" This was the last member of the party.
"Yes, Sylan?"
"What of the treaty with the Peacekeepers?"
"What of it?"
"If this human has crossed enough space for them to know of him, let alone for them to want him captured, perhaps he has made some alien friends." There was a silence in the room that magnified the pounding of Tatiana's heart.
"What do you mean, Sylan?"
"According to the hospital report, he was in no condition to support himself. How did he get back to earth? For that matter, how did 117 find him and the others to help him?"
"The woman..." More silence after Jessica's hesitant statement. "She could be a non-human." There was more muffled talk, but Tatiana had had enough. Working feverishly to slow her pace and keep silent, she crawled away from the door, hands shaking as she padded along. Not until she bolted for room 312 did she dare think about what she was getting into. She did not breathe until she had the door closed and locked with no pursuing party on her heels, ignoring, for now, the other two people in that room.
What the hell is going on around here?
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"Then we drug the female, discover her secrets later. The human is the bait. He must remained undamaged, or else not permanently so. Agreed?" Jessica nodded at the powerful Acolyte; the others did the same.
"What about the party with 117? Suppose they came back while we..."
"We will move now, quickly, before they have the chance. Now, Jessica. Sylan and Davean will accompany you." Jessica nodded at the command. All six walked out of the closet. Jessica led the two men who would accompany her, but stopped when she saw Joshua staring at the floor.
"What is it?" Davean bent to look at he marks in the dirt. They were faint, but there were certainly signs that someone else had stepped in the tracks their shoes had left.
"Someone was listening." Jessica paled but turned immediately to question Jane. Joshua listened to her conversation, picking up only the name of the possible threat: Tanya. Jessica returned, her face ever whiter. "What did she say?"
"She said Tanya came in for a while, and left in a hurry about two minutes ago."
*******************************
Aeryn was awake, but she could not remember why. She had fallen asleep, leaning on her arms, which were laid against the guardrail of Crichton's bed. Watching him in his sleep was no dull routine, not for her anyway, but the hours of strain and worry, hours spent not only awake but also on edge and alert, had worn her out.
So why was she awake now? What had brought her out of her nap? Aeryn saw nothing to cause alarm, no strange sounds. John was asleep, the nightmare demons having, apparently, left him alone for a while. Accepting the fact she could not go back to sleep, Aeryn stood, stretching out the kinks in her neck and upper back. She stretched and then performed a few practice blows at the air, sharpening herself against unseen enemies.
A nurse, the one who had interrupted her and John before, bursting through the door and throwing the lock, interrupted the short exercise. Aeryn tensed, ready to attack, ready for an attack. But the nurse did not move from the door. She cowered against it, leaning her body's weight against it. It seemed more like she was protecting them then trying to harm them. Aeryn swore silently, raging against the fact she could not ask what was wrong.
"You have to get out of here, now!"
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"She can't have gotten far."
"Would she have gone to the patient or to warn 117?" This question was directed to Joshua. The Acolyte was silent for a moment.
"You four will accompany me to the patient's room. Jessica, stay here and see that no one goes down this wing." Joshua led the troop, waiting only for Sylan to move Jane's body to the storage shed. Jessica quickly set herself to working at the desk, sorting, moving and working on files to cover for the now-deceased nurse.
"Hurry, sir. Someone is going to come looking for her sooner or later." Joshua nodded and the men disappeared with him.
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"Listen to me, there is someone…some people are here to catch you. I don't know what you've done, but these people are bad news, and they are definitely not the police. They were talking about aliens…" Tatiana cut herself off. Great, try to convince her by saying aliens are after her. Stupid, Tanya! She took a deep breath and tried again.
"They want to drug you and your friend. I think they're terrorists." Aeryn listened to all this with growing panic, though nothing more than surprise registered on her face. More than ever, she wished she could ask this human what the problem was, who and how many the enemy were. Aeryn understood they were in danger, but from whom? Humans? Peacekeepers?
"You have to leave! Wake him up! Get him out of here!" Aeryn shook herself out of her immobility and proceeded to do just that.
"John, crah-fahlen!" Tatiana watched Aeryn scream at her sleeping friend in shock. She obviously had no trouble speaking, but speaking English appeared to be another matter. Tatiana listened and watched, forgetting the fear for a moment, fascinated. "Crah-fahlen! Crah-fahlen, ist'ho weit!" John's eyes fluttered open.
"Aeryn? Aeryn, what…what the hell are you…"
"Glah ist gopy ingnot!" Tatiana saw this register with the patient, who sat up and violently ripped the IVs out of his arm, barely even wincing. He turned to Tatiana.
"Where are my clothes?" Tatiana pointed a trembling finger at the cabinet-nightstand next to the bed. Aeryn fished out his t-shirt, underwear, pants, and the peacekeeper jacket they had brought him in. Aeryn knocked the guardrail off the bed as he pulled on his t-shirt. He flung his legs easily over the edge of the bed, the guardrail, as it was missing, not providing a problem. Dressing faster than anyone Tatiana had ever seen, John looked ready to go in ten seconds flat.
"Dren," John placed a hand gingerly to his forehead, wincing as all the pain from his movements caught up with him. Aeryn grabbed his elbow, and he leaned against her for a moment. "I'm okay. You wouldn't happen to have your pulse rifle with you, would you?" Aeryn smiled and opened her vest to reveal the concealed weapon. "Thank God for small favors." He looked around for another item to use as a weapon, but the hospital room was plain, stripped of anything dangerous. Scowling, John trooped to the bathroom to investigate there. In a quick decision, he ripped the extendable showerhead from the wall, separating the tube from the head, and holding the head as a club.
"It'll have to do, huh?" Aeryn nodded. "Who did you say was coming?" Aeryn shook her head.
"Ask her," Aeryn pointed to Tatiana. The nurse only heard more garbled speak, but she seemed to understand.
"I don't know who it is, but they sounded dangerous." John nodded and started for the door. Aeryn held him up with a hand.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" Despite his pallid color and the thin sheen of sweat from the strain, Crichton nodded. Aeryn took lead anyway. "Stay here," she ordered the nurse, pointing and waving her away from the door with her pulse rifle. Tatiana, again, figured out through gestures what Aeryn meant, and backed away. "Ready?" Aeryn called over her shoulder. No answer. "Crichton? John!?!" Aeryn spun to see him staring at the window in the door. Aeryn looked up for the first time.
Joshua's face was in the window, gloating over them. He appeared to speak, and only through lip-reading could John tell what he was saying.
"Got you." Panic rose in his throat, and he tried to call Aeryn, but she was staring at the stranger, raising her pulse rifle to the window. She was willing to make their way out in any way she could, which included blasting her way out. Joshua retreated a step. This time, he cried out so that they could all hear his angry words.
"PEACEKEEPER!" Aeryn fired as soon as she realized what he had said, shattering the glass but missing Joshua's head. While he ducked for cover, Aeryn flipped the lock open and yanked the door inward. The four other men in the hall were recovering from their surprise, lifting their weapons. Aeryn fired on two of them before they had the chance to do the same. Joshua managed to fire the tranquilizer before Aeryn put him down with an angry-looking wound to the shoulder. She spun when she heard the hissing of the other two bodies dissolving. The remaining two warriors fired at her, one hit her with another tranquilizer, and the other hit her in the mid arm with a bullet. Aeryn ignored the pain and tried to fire again, only to be smacked across the face with the pistol in Joshua's hand.
"Aeryn!" John vaulted to her side, striking out with the showerhead. The three remaining attackers backed off, but only to get a better shot with the tranquilizer darts. Aeryn recovered, looking up from the floor in time to see one dart lodge itself in John's shoulder while the other bit into his hand. John's system, already taxed to its limit with simple movements, succumbed to the sedative almost instantly. Aeryn caught him on her knees, more concerned with protecting him from the fall than what would happen now that they were both down.
"Take them." Joshua ordered the remaining two warriors. They nodded, one grabbing John and slinging him over his shoulder. The second tried to grab Aeryn, but she fought back, taking the opportunity to place her pulse rifle in the man's throat. His body dissolved before she hit the ground again. She immediately trained the weapon on the man holding John. Joshua beat her to it, holding his weapon at John's temple.
"This dart will kill him if it hits him here. Understand, Peacekeeper?" Aeryn had no opportunity to nod. She had missed the chance to fire on them already, as the sedative pulled her into unconsciousness. Joshua leaned over her, bending to pick her up. Aeryn muttered one word before passing out.
"Gua."
End of Part 8