TITLE: Guilty in the Mind
AUTHOR: Eloy Brightdreamer
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: A distraught Crichton returns to the ship saying that he accidentally did something horrible. But things are not always as they seem...
WARNINGS: Apparent character death, gratuitous angst. The SACC will kill me for this. :)
SPOILERS: "Look at the Princess," "A Human Reaction"
SETTING: Between "Beware of Dog" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."
DATE STARTED: 1/2/01
FEEDBACK: Send it my way! Flames will be used to cook Ramen noodles.
ARCHIVE: Just ask!
DISCLAIMER: Farscape and its characters are the property of Jim Henson Productions and the Sci-Fi Channel. No profit was made from this story.
NOTES: ~~~~~~~~~~~ denotes a flashback
Part 1 (Teaser):
D'Argo stalked restlessly around Moya's command center. "Where are they?" he growled. "They should have at least checked in over an arn ago."
"I'm sure that John and Aeryn have a good reason for being late," said Zhaan, gazing out of the viewport at the motley blue-green planet of Silexa IV below.
"Yeah, they probably needed a little... private time," Chiana smirked from her post by the door.
Rygel swerved his throne-sled out of the way of the pacing Luxan. "What I want to know is, why the yotz did they go alone to a planet with such heavy restrictions on communications? That's just asking for trouble... although Crichton rarely has to ask for it."
Zhaan shot the little Dominar a warning glance. "Rygel, you know that we're running low on supplies, and the Silexans are very unkind to non-Sebaceans. As for their communications..." she shrugged.
D'Argo shook his head impatiently. "They still should have found a way to contact us. When John gets back I'll..."
"Ka D'Argo," Pilot interrupted, appearing on the clamshell viewer. "I have just received an automated message from the transport pod. It is approaching and will be aboard in approximately 200 microts."
"Finally," D'Argo muttered, striding quickly from the room with the others following close behind.
The hatch of the transport pod was just opening as the four shipmates entered the hanger bay. A figure appeared in the door, then stumbled down the ramp, swaying slightly.
"John!" Zhaan exclaimed, rushing forward. "What happened? You look awful. Where's Aeryn?"
Crichton's face was pale underneath smudges of dirt, and dried blood formed a reddish-brown smear across his forehead. He stopped and opened his mouth as if to speak, but his eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the deck. The Delvian managed to catch him before his head struck the floor. As Zhaan cradled the unconscious human in her lap, D'Argo and Chiana rushed into the pod, calling Aeryn's name.
The priestess had just managed to revive Crichton as the two came back out. "She's not inside," Chiana panted. "What the frell happened down there?"
D'Argo knelt beside his human friend, who now sat on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees, rocking slightly back and forth. "John, where's Aeryn?"
Crichton shook his head. "She's gone," he whispered. "All my fault... she's gone, she's gone, my fault... gone..." his voice trailed off as he buried his face in his knees.
"What do you mean, gone?" inquired Rygel, hovering above. "Where did she go?"
"You don't understand," John shouted, raising his head. Tears streamed down his face, making small trails in the blood and dirt. "Aeryn's dead, and I killed her!"
To be continued...
