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 11
Massachusetts Base
"There has to be a way out of here." Cade called over his shoulder. No one answered until he turned away from the door expectantly. Aeryn nodded, but stayed pensively silent. John grimaced in pain as he shifted in Aeryn's lap to look at the alien hunter.
"Listen, panicking isn't going to get that door open. We need to think clearly. You should rest or something."
"That won't help. I've been caught by these bastards before, just you remember that. You have no idea what they're capable of." Aeryn glared at him, but John shrugged. Slowly, he edged himself to a seated position, refusing any aid from Aeryn and stopping Zhaan short with a hand gesture when the Delvian made a motion to help. The sour look of lancing pain persisted and worsened as he stood, but eventually, John Crichton was on his feet. Aeryn jumped up, prepared to catch him should he fall. The way the blood had drained from his face had scared her.
"Yeah, what the frell would I know about being a prisoner, right? You think you're in some kind of exclusive I've-been-an-alien's-hostage club, Foster?" The squared, determined stance belied Crichton's weakened body. Cade stared right at the other man, swallowing his angry protests as he absorbed the features of the other man. Clearly, more hospitalization was still in Crichton's future. His eyes were still puffy and red, despite the fact that he had been on the mend. The hard look of determination was fast losing out to fatigue. Whatever strength John Crichton had called on in his futile effort to escape the Gua in the hospital, it was depleted, leaving the former astronaut without reserves.
"John, you should sit."
"I'm fine," Crichton growled, his voice grating more with the discomfort than the annoyance at Zhaan's suggestion. He kept his eyes locked with Cade. "You say you've been caught by these aliens before? Fine, then you should be able to tell us what they want…and what their weaknesses are." It was not a question.
"Salt. It's like a drug to them. Once they ingest enough salt, they're stoned enough to be subdued. Any fatal wound will cause them to dissolve. Other than that, there's little else I can tell you. I think what they want is pretty obvious. I'm a former lab rat. They want to dissect my brain, figure out what makes me tick."
"Why you?" John turned his head slightly at Aeryn's voice. From the corner of his eye, he could see her regarding Cade much as she had done him on any number of occasions where she did not comprehend his human character.
"I'm different."
"How? What makes you so special?" John crossed his arms in a look of skeptical disbelief. At least, that was how he hoped it looked. In reality, he was only wrapping his arms around himself to keep steady on his feet.
"I don't give up. I won't let them win. My original testing was meant to drive me crazy by taking away all the things I loved…all the people that mattered to me." John quelled guilt as he realized that Foster was referring to his wife again. Score another point for your own insensitivity, John. Shaking his head at himself, Crichton managed to stay still while Cade continued. "I refused to sink into depression. I rose to the challenges they set against me. They seem to think it's a character trait that could prevent their takeover of this world."
"You…a warrior?" Despite the incredulity, Aeryn heard the respect in her own question. Warriors were meant to survive, to meet challenges, as this human said, but she had never considered humans to be a species capable of producing such a breed of fighters. John is a survivor. He may not be a warrior, but he could be. He has the potential; he lacks only the training and inclination…or possibly the motivation. She recalled his vain but dedicated effort to help her at the hospital. He had no prayer of success with that showerhead club, but he had charged after her, trying to help her defeat the enemy. If he was not the exception among his people, then there had to be certain humans who were built to be warriors.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it that. I fight for sure, but it's more important that I make people aware of what the Gua are doing here."
"How do you track them?" Zhaan joined in the discussion, observing Foster's reaction as closely as Aeryn.
"Through the works of a prophet." Zhaan muttered some religious-sounding credo under her breath.
"Prophet? You've been calling the psychic friends hotline or something?" Crichton retorted with sarcasm, his last refuge when confused.
"Nostradamus. He wrote a book of prophecies that allow myself and my friend to stop the Gua. We've made sure they can't find the book. I can't tell you too much more, not here. They'll be listening," Cade waved at the security camera. John's gaze flickered over to the recording device and then back to Foster.
"Is that how you knew to find us?" For once, his voice held no goading tone or sarcastic, skeptical note that would suggest he did not completely believe the alien hunter. Relieved, Cade nodded, his tense brow loosening.
"According to Nostradamus, you were supposed to return with them to Salem for some kind of restoration. Not in those words, you understand, and I had no way to know who he meant, but it all fit once I met Aeryn and then the rest of the crew."
"Why haven't the Gua come for us yet? Are they hoping you will share some piece of information that they would otherwise be unable to attain?" Cade nodded at Zhaan, but Aeryn cleared her throat and shook her head.
"Not necessary. In the Officers' Training Corps, we learned that the Gua use a device similar to the Aurora Chair to obtain information from subjects." Everyone noticed the uncontrolled shudder that played along Crichton's spine at the mention of that device.
"They only used a kind of lie detector on me, nothing nearly as complex or advanced as what you've described this Aurora Chair to be."
"It may be fatal to use it on humans, then," was Aeryn's only reply. Her attention refocused on Crichton who was unconsciously pulling his Peacekeeper jacket tighter around his frame as he gripped around his rib cage. A dull alarm stirred within her. If the Gua meant to give Crichton back to Scorpius, the odds were good, but not entirely certain, that the human would die. But Joshua had never iterated whether or not the Gua would attempt to pull any information from him first. If such an action were fatal…that is not acceptable.
"Or maybe it would ruin my autopsy," Cade muttered venomously.
"That will not be a matter for you to be concerned with for much longer, Foster," a baritone voice rumbled from the door. All four who had been involved in the conversation turned to the source. Joshua stood in the door with three armed Gua behind him. Instinctively, Aeryn stepped closer, not only challenging the men in the doorway but also protecting John as she moved in front of him.
"Who are you?" Zhaan surprised them all with her proud, defiant tone as she uttered the first tangible challenge.
"Joshua." Cade whispered, disgust evident in his voice.
"Gua," Aeryn's voice joined, equally despising this man. His whole race had been her enemy since birth, and now he and his people threatened the man she loved with a fate worse than death. Her only comfort was her knowledge that this particular Gua was 'contaminated.' He was a warrior with a conscience, something his people fought to keep out of their ranks as much as the Peacekeepers did. As far as her understanding went, punishment for 'contamination' was a death worse than that she would have suffered.
"Silence, Peacekeeper. I should not even honor you with that association with a warrior race. From our contacts, we know you are no longer a Peacekeeper. You are a defector, a traitor of the worst kind."
"She's no traitor." Crichton growled, his angry words holding more threats than he would ever be able to deliver. "She's a free woman, and I bet she could still kick your ass across the Uncharteds, so piss off." Aeryn allowed herself a cruel smile. John had left her a perfect window for an attack that could not fail.
"Coward. You are the biggest coward I have ever met, Joshua. You would insult a warrior, while you hide behind your weapons and superior manpower? You have no honor, so your insolence and rudeness cannot wound me. I am better than you." Aeryn held herself rigid, ready to fight.
"This conversation is unnecessary. Take him." Joshua gestured for the guards to move in. Cade prepared himself to resist, but the two guards who advanced bypassed him and moved straight for Crichton. To his credit, John never flinched or tried to back away. He pulled himself into a fighting stance behind Aeryn, ready to defend but clearly dependant on Aeryn for help.
Aeryn delivered, knocking the weapon of one Gua wild with a well-placed jab. The second swept at her legs, knocking her to her back while the first retrieved his weapon before any of the prisoners could. With all due celerity, Aeryn freed herself from under the guard to pin him, ready to snap his neck without the slightest hesitation. Cade lunged at the other guard, Zhaan coming to his aid. The third entered to save his comrades, and Joshua closed the distance between himself and Crichton. Seeing this, Aeryn shot a leg out in a vicious kick, knocking Joshua away.
The third guard used the butt of his weapon to strike Zhaan in the back of the head, dropping her to the floor. The two guards worked in tandem to subdue Foster with metal restraints and toss him sideways into the three women still huddled in the back. Sylvia caught him as Lita jumped out of the way and to her feet. The two guards easily coaxed her back down, and one restrained each woman with little to no interference from a still-dazed Foster.
Joshua, back on his feet, strode over to Crichton, careful to avoid Aeryn's desperate attempts to stop him. The two guards approached from behind, weapons at the ready. Aeryn jerked the third guard's neck one hundred and eighty degrees the wrong way and leapt to her feet. She halted as the weapons that the other two carried were pointed not at her, but at Crichton.
"You will cease and desist, Officer Sun, or this human's brains will be all over the wall." Scowling, Aeryn backed away, still tense for a fight. Joshua turned his head to be sure she was no longer posing a threat. In that instant, John whirled around, smacking the rifle-like weapon from one of the guards' hands. The other reacted immediately and brought his weapon down on Crichton's head as he had done to Zhaan. Aeryn lunged forward as Crichton crumpled to the floor. Joshua grabbed her around the waist and tackled her to the floor. Off balance and dazed after hitting her head, Aeryn was an easy target for Joshua's wicked hook.
"Pick him up and get him out of here." The two guards each took Crichton by one arm and hefted him to his feet. Unconscious, Crichton was a dead weight they had to support all the way to the interrogation.
****************************
Salem Center Hospital Parking Lot
"Uh, right this way," Eddie swept his hand over the door to his trailer and opened it for his guests. The smaller woman rudely shoved the nurse forward while still clutching her wrist in a vice-like grip. As she passed, Eddie spotted the thin line where the makeup ended and Chiana's natural skin tone shone through. Attempting not to let this faze him, Eddie quickly closed the door behind him and locked it, hoping he had not done so too fast as to alarm his guests.
"Let go of me you Crac'een Whore!" Eddie whirled to see the nurse who had introduced herself as Jessica rubbing her wrist after she had torn it free of Chiana's grip.
"Nebari, Gua, and remember that! I've seen Crac'een whores though, and trust me when I say not even they would allow you to pollute their ranks." Chiana regretted her tart reply as soon as she saw Eddie's amazed stare. He can't understand a word I'm saying. Oh dren, what I wouldn't give for that frelling DRD right now. "Tell him I am his friend, and not to be alarmed that he cannot understand me. You will translate," Chiana hissed.
"She says not to worry. You can't understand her, human." Chiana smiled as realization settled over Eddie's features. His lips pouted somewhat before he uttered,
"Gua. You're an alien, aren't you?" Chiana prodded her captive with Cade's weapon and the nurse sighed and nodded.
"Fahrbot Gua krell-lagor frinky-thai-whahat," Chiana sneered. And a smelly one at that, she added mentally to her curse. Jessica appeared outraged.
"My mother was a saint, you miserable little…" Chiana stuck her tongue out at the confounded Gua while she stuttered, looking for the right curse to spew back. Eddie seemed amused, but there were still questions to be answered.
"Ladies, please, can we stick to the subject at hand?" He titled his head to eye Chiana. The Nebari mimicked his action, the graceful twitch was a natural reaction for her. Eddie marveled at the action. The line between makeup and skin caught and held his eye. The movements, the makeup, and most importantly, the skin underneath all pointed to one thing.
"You're an alien too." Chiana smiled, exposing her perfectly white teeth in an almost predatory smile. This human was smart, not smart like John was smart, but intuitive. John had incredible intelligence, for his species anyway, but sometimes it took arns for him to see the obvious. Frell that, make it solar days. He never pays any attention. He missed Aeryn casting eyes at him ever since I've been here, and probably a lot longer. Granted, she probably had no idea, but still…
"Nebari. Quel'an kha Gua." Eddie shook his head.
"I don't understand a word…well, except for Gua."
"She said she's Nebari, not Gua. And thank the lord for small miracles." Chiana tagged her in the arm, threatening worse violence with a spewed invective train. Slowing herself down, Chiana carefully explained to the Gua what to say. Eddie watched amazed and silent until Jessica looked back at him, rolling her eyes.
"She wants to know if you have any makeup she can use. She saw you staring. Oh God, I saw you staring. Learn to be subtle, human." Jessica found nothing but scorn and spite for this situation. She may not have been the most valiant warrior, but she was still of that noble race, and this capture was not only humiliating, it was frustrating. Eddie rummaged around in some drawers until he came up with some of the supplies he had procured for Liz' Beth a while ago and tossed them to Chiana. The bag landed in Jessica's lap, but Chiana snatched it away, giving the Gua more orders in the process. Sneering, Jessica ignored the order and proceeded to grill Eddie.
"Where is the book? I know you are 117's accomplice, everyone knows that. Where have you hidden the book of prophecies? You cannot win, you know. You might as well give up now, and take the merciful end."
"Not a chance. And who says we can't win? Seems to me like the two of us have you guys on your toes. And speaking of Foster, where is he?"
"I won't tell you." Chiana abruptly whacked Jessica in the arm with the gun.
"Yes you will, if you want to live, that is."
"I won't."
"Want to bet? How long do you think you'll be allowed to live without cooperating?"
"How long do you think I'll live if I tell you where they are?" Chiana's grin returned.
"So you do know where they are."
"I never said I didn't."
"Ladies? Mind letting me back in on this a little?" Chiana cocked her head sideways to indicate that she had heard, but her eyes were fixed with Jessica's.
"I'll make you a deal. This human will affix a tracing device on me, and then I will allow you to capture me and send me off. No one will know how it got there, fair?"
"We are not that stupid, Nebari. We are Gua. We are supreme."
"Well 'we' are not about to have our head blown off, are 'we'?" Jessica considered that a moment.
"What do you propose I should do?" Hearing a compromise, Eddie jumped back in.
"What is she suggesting?"
"That I have you bug her so you can follow the signal."
"That I can do," Eddie stood and rummaged for the correct devices, connections, and wires from another drawer that was filled to bursting with mechanical equipment.
"I'll get my kit with the tranquilizer." Chiana shook her head.
"No such luck, your majesty. I'm not letting you put me out."
"They'll never believe I caught you without sedating you."
"So tell them you did. I can play dead really well."
"Restraints then." This time, Chiana vehemently shook her head.
"Never again. If you even try, I'll kill you." Pausing, Chiana thought it over. The Gua did not look happy at her refusal to consent to the simplest of false appearances. "Fine, but no locks. I can pick them anyway. And he," she pointed to Eddie, "will be there watching to make sure no funny business."
"Hey, what's up?" Eddie asked, nervous. The alien was pointing at him as she whispered to the nurse. Anxiety ate through his stomach. For the first time, he considered the fact that he had not stopped once to question Chiana's motives since she had appeared. She had claimed to be Foster's friend, but she had not offered any proof. She had his weapon, but that could mean that she had forcefully taken it. This could be a trap.
"How do I know I can trust either of you?" Chiana regarded him curiously, smiling after a minute. Slowly, she raised her arm and wiped at her face with a vigorous rub. A small smear of makeup came off her left cheek, exposing the gray underneath.
"I am not a Gua."
"She's no Gua, human. You can stop pissing yourself." Surprised at that snappish remark from a supposedly subdued woman, Eddie's face hardened into a harsh look of hurt pride.
"How do I know that?"
"Look at her! She and her people are gene-jokes! A worthless society that believes in conforming until there are no individuals. Even you are more advanced than she is! And you dare suppose my people or I would ever associate with her? The Nebari have only survived this long because of their superior weaponry. Eventually, all mindless, spineless peace lovers like them will get their due…as will you, I might add."
"Shut up! When we want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you!" Chiana whacked Jessica with the revolver again to iterate her point. "You are willing to accept our plan in return for your life. He will watch you when I am taken away."
"He can't watch me all the way to our base."
"Who said you were coming with?"
"The unit that comes to retrieve you will take me, too. Our operation here is finished, thanks to you and 117. Too risky." Listening in silence, Eddie turned slightly to tap his computer off its sleep mode. Neither woman noticed as they were arguing.
"You can give them some excuse. Tell them you found him," Chiana nodded sideways to Eddie, "And tell them it will only be a matter of time before you have him too. They'll let you stay."
"You're a terrible liar. They'll never buy that story."
"I am a terrific liar, thank you very much! They'll buy it. This guy's important too. I can tell…even without you jumping all over him for some stupid book."
"The book of prophecies is the only thing that allows these rebel humans to resist us successfully. Without it, they are lambs for the slaughter."
"I don't know what a lamb is, but I'm going to bet you're wrong anyway. These people are brave, I know. I've seen a human in the worst of circumstances pull through where you would have folded, Warrior-wannabe." Jessica and Chiana sat glaring at one another, hurtling challenges that neither voiced all with their eyes.
"What did you say your name was?" Eddie interjected excitedly.
"I didn't." Chiana shook her arm and gave her leg a kick. Grunting and grumbling as she reached to massage her leg, Jessica replied. "Jessica Simmons." Eddie furiously pounded on what Chiana assumed was some kind of input device. The primitive, solid screen displayed records, each flashing by until the movement stopped on one attached to a picture of their captive.
"Jessica Simmons, RN, Salem Center Hospital…bingo!"
"What did he find?" Chiana inquired, but Eddie answered before Jessica could translate or shrug.
"You worked with Mr. Atler and Mrs. Green, two patients who died recently."
"So? I didn't kill them."
"But your tests did, didn't they?" Jessica turned away, chin held high. Chiana smiled at the human. They were a very surprising race, indeed. "All this blood work done at the patient's expense and after death. Collecting data…" Chiana tilted her head to the side to look at the Gua, although she still faced away from either of her captors.
"What kind of tests?"
"They are none of your business, Nebari."
"The blood work is extensive. Must be pretty specific," Eddie filled in, and Chiana nodded gratefully.
"My, my, busy with our lab rats were we?" Chiana hopped off her seat to a crouch on the floor, edging closer, still tucked together, to draw the nurse's attention. Eddie marveled at the easy grace, the fluid, elastic, flexible movement China performed without effort. Such agility was not natural for dancers, let alone normal, out-of-shape humans…like himself. In that way, Chiana was much more at risk of exposure than Jessica. Even discounting the skin discoloration, the Gua had the edge; she mimicked human behavior so well…and that was the whole problem for the human race.
"Tell me, Gua, did you enjoy testing on them? Ooh, I know a scientist who'd love to pick your brain," Chiana purred. At last, a practical use for Scorpius' frelling Chair. The Aurora Chair immediately summoned painful memories of John, snapping her back into attention. "Look, never mind, we have no time for this. You agree to my plan or else I shoot you. What do you say?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Yes, but I don't think you'd particularly care for one plan or the other. Just choose already." Sighing, Jessica turned to face her with all her resolve and distaste for the situation screwed into a scowl on her lips.
"You will get yours for this, Chiana." The emphasis on her name was not missed; it served as a reminder that the Gua knew her personal identifier, and that she would remember that name when there was indeed hell to pay.
"Ah, but it's all a matter of who gets theirs first in this game, Jessica." Silence. Eddie watching the standoff, Chiana and Jessica still glaring until Jessica sneered and spoke.
"Then it's a deal."
**********************
"Welcome back, Commander Crichton." The bass rumbling drew him out of the black vortex. His vision swirled into focus on the commanding Gua. It took Crichton a second to remember his name.
"Joshua." The sandpaper consistency of his vocal chords made the throaty word torturous to pronounce. How long have I been out? Seeing the question in the human's eyes, Joshua spoke again.
"You've only been unconscious for about half an hour, Commander Crichton. There is water here should you require it," a gesture indicated the glass tumbler on the table separating them. Gratefully, Crichton reached out to take the glass. The splitting ache at the back of his neck screamed at the minutest movement, but Crichton refused to let the Gua see how much the injury hurt. No matter how valiant the effort was, Joshua noticed every fraction of a wince or frown or wrinkle in Crichton's brow that indicated pain. He made a waving gesture at someone behind Crichton. John managed to turn his body, so as not to strain his neck, a fraction before he felt the sting of a needle puncturing his arm.
"No!" Was the muted cry as he tried to fling his arm free. Instantaneously, the pain of the sudden movement crippled him, almost allowing the dark coldness of unconsciousness to capture him again. The needle and the person administrating it were not deterred; a few seconds later, the needle was removed, the plunger fully depressed.
"You may relax, Commander Crichton. At this time, you are in no condition to withstand our standard forms of interrogation. That shot may provide you with some relief from the pain. Enjoy such a respite while you can. I doubt that the Peacekeepers will be so generous."
"Go to hell," Crichton spat out the words, the syllables punctuated with pain. Despite his distrust of this alien, he had to admit that whatever they had given him was already working on numbing the screaming pain in his neck and shoulders. Careful. Drugs that numb pain also make you senseless. Pulling this awareness around him, Crichton refocused on his captor. "What do you want?" Unconsciously, he rubbed at his arm where the syringe had been applied.
"The Assembly wishes to be certain that you possess no information that could be damaging to us. According to the pact made with Scorpius," Joshua paused as the dual look of horror and rage at the Scarran's name crossed the human's face. "According to the bargain, you and your ship will be given to the Peacekeepers. Before we can do that, we need to know why Scorpius wants you badly enough to abandon his claims on your renegade comrades."
"Right, and bashing me on the head makes me want to tell you that because…?" Crichton laughed once before coughs seized him. Joshua watched the human recover with interest. This interrogation would succeed, but with this human's stubborn refusal to communicate already established, chances were Crichton would not survive it. Then I will be sure he knows that.
"If you do not tell us, you will die." A disturbing smile crept across Crichton's face shortly before he dissolved into crazed chuckles.
"That's not so much of a threat any more. I've lost count of all the assholes I've collected who've made the same promise. There's not much surprise or fear left to that avenue. Try again." Instead of showing his irritation, Joshua switched his approach.
"Didn't you hear me, human? Your comrades are not destined for the Peacekeepers as you are. They are ours to do with as we will. Do you expect us to allow them to live?" That stopped the human's laughter. Crichton's eyes sought and found confirmation in the Gua's eyes. Am I that easy to read? How does everyone know which buttons to push? Must have something tattooed on my forehead or something. Joshua watched the human rub the bridge of his nose, his eyes, and his lower forehead, a gesture of pensive debate.
"Why do you care about them? Just let them go. They'll leave the planet, won't bother you." Crichton knew he was pleading and it disgusted him, but he had no way to order this alien to do anything.
"I will consider advising the Assembly to do so…provided you cooperate." Silence, then…
"What do you want to know?"
**********************
"Frelling bastards!" Aeryn roared as she helped Zhaan clean the dried blood away from the back of Cade's neck. The Delvian priestess had recovered first among them all, despite her serious head injury. Aeryn had gotten to her feet at almost the same time and helped Zhaan with her wounds before they turned to help the alien hunter.
"They won't hurt him, if it is as the leader told you. John is supposed to be sent to the Peacekeepers. For now, he is safe."
"No he isn't, and you know…ow, watch it!" Cade groused as Aeryn dabbed at a tender bruise at the base of his neck. "They'll do whatever it takes to make sure your friend has nothing on them that can expose them. Plus, it's what they do."
"I won't let them hurt him," Aeryn swore, conviction in her words. Cade turned to look at her. It still amazed him how easily he had trusted this woman, this alien. After all that had been stripped from his life by the Gua, such trust seemed impossible. One look at Aeryn, Zhaan, and Chiana had changed that perspective. Seeing Aeryn now, Cade felt oddly homesick. He missed his old life, and most importantly, he missed Hannah. Aeryn cared for Crichton, that much was obvious, but her dedication to protecting him while he was weakened from torture evoked feelings superior to mere admiration.
"We have to figure a way to get out of here if you plan on keeping that promise."
"And they have to come with us," Zhaan pointed to the three women still restrained and huddled together.
"We can help you, given a chance." Lita nodded her head as her mother spoke. Sylvia was tired of being a third wheel to these people. Wanting and being able to help had gotten them here in the first place. They were not necessarily the only ones that needed the aid.
"Never waste a resource," Aeryn nodded at Sylvia. She had not forgotten the human recruits. She owed them John's life. That was precious enough to risk involving them. "We must find a way to escape without letting them know our plan." Lita turned at Tatiana's tugging and explained Aeryn's alien speak to her. "Zhaan, can you do anything to help us?"
"What is the range of the camera?" The question was directed at Cade. The ex-thief turned to investigate.
"They can see the whole room, except maybe a circle of about three feet directly where I'm standing now." Cade gestured as he pointed to the camera. He stood right under it so that the lens stuck out only a quarter of an inch past his head. "You can fit maybe one person, my height, build, etcetera within this circle, but they've got an audio feed."
"One of us needs to get out." Aeryn turned to Zhaan, raising her eyebrow in question. The priestess's smile answered everything and yet revealed nothing.
"What about the rest of us?"
"Those left will escape in the confusion." A grunt of dissent came from Lita before Sylvia could object.
"They'll lock down on us before we can do anything." Aeryn shook her head. She had no idea what Zhaan had in mind, but if it created confusion, Aeryn was certain she could handle the rest.
"I will handle that, you and Cade will back me up. Sylvia, you be ready to get out, and take her with you," Aeryn motioned to Tatiana. Sylvia nodded then explained to Tatiana. The nurse nodded and shivered, edging closer to the older doctor. Cade nodded when Aeryn turned to garner his approval of her plan. All that was left was for Zhaan to initiate it.
"When you're ready, Zhaan."
End of Chapter 11