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 9
Salem Center Hospital
"There you are! About time! My, what a great job you two did!" Sylvia's profusion of compliments were enough to make even Lita blush; Cade smiled, but he found himself immune to this sort of praise. It was causing something of a scene, something that made him definitely uncomfortable.
"They came to see Crichton, might as well not disappoint." Cade shrugged as he said this, trying to look nonchalant, uninterested. Chiana nodded her head vigorously in agreement. Zhaan, too, seemed eager to see her human friend. Lita headed for the elevators with her mother, Zhaan followed, but Cade stood still. Chiana tugged on his arm.
"Let's go." He shook his head.
"I should wait for Eddie. He tends to be rather skittish in public." Chiana blinked, curiosity in her gaze.
"You mean...he is worse than you?" Cade was startled.
"What?" Chiana shook her head and tugged on his sleeve, inviting him to follow her. They headed back outside, waving to the others to go on ahead without them. Chiana pulled him out of the way of traffic and looked around nervously. The subject was not only dangerous, but speaking, for her, could be damning.
"You are a criminal, Cade Foster." Chiana proved, again, startling. For a moment, Cade had nothing more to say.
"Yeah, but not really."
"That does not matter. You are nervous because you don't want to be caught. I am a fugitive from my people as well, you know." Cade nodded; they had shared these stories already. "What would they do to you if they caught you?" Cade's gaze dropped to the cement sidewalk. Chiana slipped her finger under his chin, bringing his head up so he could look at her again.
"I'd go to prison, or back to the nuthouse." Chiana's smile of victory was fleeting.
"Do you know what would happen if John is caught? If Aeryn is? If I am?" He shook his head. Chiana closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as if to ward off the pain the truth caused her. "John would be tortured more, then most likely ripped apart for experiment. Aeryn would be executed. I would have my very being stripped away so I could be a mindless dependent. Given that, do you see me nervous about it? How about Aeryn? John? No, we never let it show. You will be caught if you keep acting this way."
Cade remained silent. So many times, he had received advice, from Eddie, from numerous Nostradamus references, from everyone whose life he had saved. That advice had all been about how to keep going, how to find the strength to fight despite the odds. Chiana's words spoke to strategy, something he usually thought of very little as it applied to large scale. Sure, there was the website, the fact that his efforts brought down Gua project after project, but his mind was usually focused on exposure and elimination of the specific goal. Play the part, kill the bad guys, pass on the truth, let word of mouth take it from there. Now, Chiana was telling him how to do it better?
"What makes you think I don't act that way already?" Chiana raised an eyebrow, but Cade remained firm on his argument. "I have managed to kill more Gua than I can count, Chiana. I am good at hiding in plain sight. I have a job to do, I do it well."
"But when you're not working, you expose yourself." Clear, direct, simple. Chiana nodded as his blank look indicated that he was beginning to comprehend.
"I have to all the time?" It was only a partial question, but Chiana nodded in reply.
"In space, with the Peacekeepers, you never get a moment's rest. They never give up. Well, neither do we. If we let our guard down, they'll take us out with no problem. When will your enemy catch you, Cade Foster?" Chiana leaned close to him, whispering in his ear, "When you're asleep on the job."
"I don't sleep very well any more, Chiana, trust me." He could feel her nodding against his shoulder.
"I understand, better than you even know." She backed away to look at him. Cade had his eyes closed, his breathing was a bit unsteady. She was challenging him, pushing him even farther than Nostradamus had, making him know he had to fight harder and more consistently. Shaking her head and the serious conversation, she lightened the subject and returned to their reason for being at the hospital.
"Your friend will be fine. Come up and see John with us, and maybe he can teach you how to be this way." Cade smiled.
"Not from a hospital bed, Chiana." It was Chiana's turn to smile.
"You'd be surprised what he's capable of. Humans surprise me more and more everyday."
**************************
"Quiet her!" Joshua hissed at Davean. Davean clamped his hand over Tatiana's mouth. At first, the nurse had thought that once they had Aeryn and John that these people would pass on. Instead, they had reentered the room, discovering her in the process. She had screamed, bringing her to this present state. Davean took the tranquilizer and gave her a healthy dose straight to her neck.
As Tatiana slid to the floor, fastly falling into darkness, she saw the two men hefting the unconscious John and Aeryn back to the bed. John was dumped on the bed and then hastily covered with a sheet. Aeryn was leaned against him, lying at his side where the guardrail had been. Right before she blacked out, Tatiana wondered wildly:
Where are the other men who came with these two?
-------------------------------
"Good afternoon, Jessica!" Sylvia greeted the nurse with a wave and a smile. Jessica returned the smile, though it was a good deal more nervous than Sylvia's.
"Afternoon! How can I help you three?" She smiled over Sylvia, Lita, and Zhaan. Her eyes rested on Zhaan. "Oh, new visitor?" Zhaan bowed her head slightly, careful not to tilt her head enough to dislodge the wig.
"Yes, she's a friend of room 312's, and she'd like to see him." Jessica prayed that her face did not show her panic.
"Oh, 312? Bad news, I'm afraid." All three women, at once, were alarmed.
"What's the matter, Jess?" Lita nearly jumped over the desk as she approached the nurse.
"Doctor's orders, no visitors."
"No visitors? Where's Aery...uh, the woman who was with him?"
"Oh, she was escorted to the cafeteria. She's probably still there, if you're looking for her." Sylvia nodded, but she was not entirely satisfied with this change of events.
"Why can't we see him?"
"Toxicology reports were ugly. The doctor is afraid of him getting any kind of infection. Believe me, I wish it were otherwise, but the doctor's report even had your other friend worried enough to leave. And I thought we were going to have to fix her up a bed next to him!" Jessica laughed lightly. Zhaan blinked at the nurse's amused noises. She knew human laughter well enough, but this woman's laugh was different in intonation than that of any of the humans' she had heard. There was an almost metallic edge to it. Neither Sylvia nor Lita seemed to have noticed.
"Can we wait to see him here?" Jessica shrugged and nodded, pointing to the couches.
"It may be a while, but if you'd like." She returned to her paperwork while secretly gearing herself up for 117's arrival.
**************************
It had taken Chiana another five minutes of pleading to convince Cade to go visit John and to trust that his partner would find his way on his own. They were in the elevator a minute after that, Cade calling Eddie to see if he needed directions.
"Foster? Yeah, you did say Salem Center Hospital, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That place is hot with activity, man."
"What?"
"Three reports of missing patients, I've checked." Cade knew better than to question Eddie on this. The man had hacked his way into everything and anything for knowledge useful to their war.
"Under what circumstances?"
"Three patients reported dead, no bodies ever rendered to the families."
"Any reasons given?"
"Apparently, they had to be burned, contamination. Foster, the patients are listed as having died due to complications. Two of them were only there for blood transfusions, the third was in a coma. Complications?"
"I'll look into it, Eddie. How far are you?"
"Another fifteen minutes?"
"312, see you there."
"Careful, Foster."
"Always, Eddie. Always." Cade heard a surprised drawing of breath from his partner. Eddie was genuinely shocked by the steel firmness of that promise. At Cade's side, Chiana smiled.
The doors opened to the third floor. Cade and Chiana stepped out and were immediately greeted by the others of their party.
"What's going on? Why aren't you with John?" Chiana whispered so that only the huddle could hear her.
"The doctor has refused visitors for a time...to prevent contamination," Zhaan explained. Cade's hackles rose at that. Contamination. Then the hospital was not completely unaware of the strange deaths? Cade said nothing.
"Excuse me?" Jessica called from behind the desk. She pointed to the phone in her hand. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of calling the doctor. He says you're welcome to see your friend, but only two at a time or less, okay?" The whole party seemed relieved and grateful. Cade, on the other hand, was suspicious. He watched the nurse pretend to hang up the phone. She kept stealing furtive glances at him, which he caught from the corner of his eye.
"Chiana and I will go first," Cade left the rest with no room for argument. His tone refused all dissenting opinions their voice. The group consented, and he and Chiana walked over to the desk to sign in. He signed Dylan Chase and Anya Lomacks for himself and Chiana. The nurse took the pen from him with a shaking hand. It was not noticeable, or at least, not to the casual observer. Cade devoured this detail in his mind. Chiana seemed to have noticed as well, although she hid it as he did.
"Thanks, that's all, have fun," Jessica waved them off. As they passed, Cade glanced down at the phone. The phone was not on hold and no line was active even though Jessica had yet to hang it up. This is a trap. Cade reached inside his jacket to feel the butt of his gun. Only if necessary. Chiana saw the movement and separated from him. If it came to violence, the human would need space to fire his weapon.
Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
------------------------------------
Joshua saw Davean tense. He held up two fingers, then wildly flashed the high sign. 117 was in the corridor.
After all this time, Joshua almost felt remorse. Losing Cade Foster meant the Earth was doomed. There was no way to allow the human to escape this time, no way he could buy the human any more time than he had. The Assembly was pushing forward. If not for the intervention of a Peacekeeper warship, the Second Wave would have been on Earth already. That warship, ironically, had brought the perfect bait with which to trap subject 117.
Davean nodded to Joshua, and both men raised their weapons and got into position Davean flattened himself against the wall, Joshua hid in the bathroom, ready to jump out and confront the humans.
Quick, painless...success.
------------------------------------
"Chiana, stay behind me, just in case, okay?" The Nebari nodded, tense and ready to flee if required. Cade opened the door to the darkened room. From his position, he could see Crichton in the bed, Aeryn next to him. Be alert. What do you see that's right? What is wrong?
Aeryn and Crichton were there, both looked to be breathing, all that was as it should be. The lights were out; the dark outline of Crichton under the bed sheet suggested he was dressed; Aeryn was laying on the bed where the guardrail should have been; all those were bad, wrong signs.
"Chiana," he whispered. "Run." Hearing the word spoken, Davean jumped from the wall, knocking Cade to the ground, sending his gun flying out of his pocket and into the dark room. Chiana bolted but in the wrong direction, heading further into the ward instead of back to the others at reception. Davean tried to shoot at her retreating form, but she was too fast and Cade had knocked his arm off its target, sending the dart wild.
Hearing the scuffle, Joshua emerged from the bathroom, walked over to where Cade and Davean were struggling to keep the dart gun pointed at each other, and aimed at Cade. Seeing this, Cade flipped Davean into the dart's path. The Gua loosened his hold on the tranquilizer in shock, and Cade snatched it from his hand. Joshua acted first and this time, clipped Cade in the shoulder. Cade returned fire, but Davean threw himself in the way, saving his leader. Cade felt another dart bury itself into his other shoulder.
"Joshua," he muttered, breathless, trying to tear at the darts embedded in his body with weakening muscles.
"Foster." Cade rolled, trying to bring the gun up on the Gua. Joshua did not hesitate to put one more dart into him, this one in his arm, slacking up all muscle control there. Joshua bent down and fished in Foster's pocket for his cell phone. "Jessica?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Have a clean up crew take care of the rest. See that they're brought to the installation, alive. One escaped us here. Have the hospital searched."
"Right away." Cade's eyelids fluttered as he fought to stay conscious.
"The nurse..."
"...works for us, Foster." Joshua finished the sentence as the human surrendered to the drug's effects. "Jessica."
"Sir?"
"Have our base contact the Assembly. 117 and Crichton are in our custody." He tossed the phone aside and began to lug Cade's slack body into the room and onto the other bed. Joshua moved to check the human's pupils with a pocket flashlight. They were dilated. He was out cold. Joshua repeated the scan on the other two. Both were still knocked out.
Success, at last.
Massachusetts Headquarters
"Are they awake, Joshua?" The powerful Acolyte nodded as he watched the humans through the two-way mirror. Earth technology was crude at best, but this particular invention was most useful. The Assemblyman was impressed at the array of captured specimens. Five humans, one Sebacean, one Delvian. Joshua had seen to it that the only escapee was listed as deceased, corpse burned. Whoever that human had been, he or she could do nothing now.
The Assemblyman depressed the audio button to talk directly over the loudspeaker in the room.
"Good morning all."
--------------------------------------
"Time to rise and shine, I believe you would say?" John Crichton rolled his eyes under his eyelids. Whatever had hit him had left its painful fingerprint. His muscles groaned with every fraction of an inch he tried to move. Finally, he struggled to sit up from the floor, searching with bloodshot eyes for friendly faces. Zhaan was in the corner, awake, a concerned look upon her face. John assured her with a nod that he was okay, and he looked around the room for the rest of the party. The three women, Sylvia, Lita, and Tatiana, who had helped them, were still out cold in the opposite corner. The man, Cade something, John remembered, was slumped next to Zhaan. Where was Aeryn?
She was not in the room. No...no, no, no, no. His mind screamed, unwilling to think Aeryn dead. They would not have killed her...would they?
"Zhaan?"
"Yes, John? How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," he dismissed the question gruffly, "Where's Aeryn?" The Delvian shook her head.
"She was taken to another room upon our arrival here."
"How do you know? They didn't drug you?"
"They could not. I am a 'stinking plant,' remember?" John smiled, knowing Zhaan attached no spite to that phrase, only humor. "The drugs they used only work on those of animal descent, apparently. They bound me very simply. I would have easily escaped if not for fear of your lives should I have done so." John grimaced. Zhaan could have been free, but she had stayed to protect them and out of concern for their lives.
"Why Aeryn? Why not me, or him?" Crichton nodded toward Cade.
"Perhaps because she is...was a Peacekeeper. They are Gua; I heard the name in the halls. If they think Aeryn means to capture this planet, which they are obviously interested in..."
"They're going to try and stop her," John finished. Zhaan nodded. Cade moaned just then, drawing their attention to him. Zhaan stood and walked over to him, helping him to sit up. "Hey, where's my help?" John teased as Zhaan assisted Cade.
"Shit shit shit shit shit..." Cade was mumbling, holding the side of his head. "Stupid...stupid stupid stupid!"
"Hey, relax, pal, we're all in this dren too," John snapped, pain and irritation adding venom to his words. Cade stared at him, incredulous and furious.
"You have no idea what is going to happen to me...to all of us, do you!?!" John shook his head. "THEN DON'T YOU TELL ME TO RELAX!" Cade winced at the headache, rubbing his temples. Zhaan assisted in the easing his pain slightly, for which Cade thanked her.
"What are they going to do to us then?" The color drained from Cade's face.
"I don't know for sure about you or your friends, but I am a dead man."
End of Part 9