"What about my friends, the Luxan and the Delvian?" John asked.
"Your prisoners will be set free. I'm sure your superiors will be angry about that. That is, if you ever see them again."
The last thing John remembered was a hard pressure against the base of his skull and a loud "Whoomph!" before everything went black.
**********************
Zhaan stepped out of the medicine man's shop clutching the valuable Vulkdralgon serum. She was greeted by the sight of an unconscious D'Argo lying prone on the ground, Crichton nowhere to be seen, and a crowd dispersing. To her right, a group of guards were dragging someone off. Her mind put two and two together. She rushed over to D'Argo.
"D'Argo, get up." She was rewarded by a groan indicating that he was coming to. "Why are they taking John?"
D'Argo swayed as he stood up, but he soon got his equilibrium in order. "From what I heard, they don't like Sebaceans."
"Perfectly understandable," Zhaan said with a nod, "but we must make them understand that he is not Sebacean and there is no reason to hold him."
A guard stepped up to them, interrupting the conversation. "We have taken the Peacekeeper into custody. You are no longer his prisoners." He nodded curtly and attempted to walk away, but D'Argo grabbed his arm to keep him there as Zhaan stepped closer to him.
"What are you planning to do with him?" Zhaan asked, her eyes blazing like blue flame.
The guard ripped his arm away from D'Argo's grasp. "I don't know why you're so protective of this Peacekeeper. Obviously, he used some kind of mind device on you to make you loyal to him. Do not worry, soon you will come around. As for your dear Sebacean, he will be given the same treatment that we give all Sebaceans." The guard scurried away to keep out of D'Argo's hands.
"That sounds ominous," Zhaan said.
"Inform Pilot of the situation. I will find out where they're keeping Crichton and free him if possible." D'Argo walked of in the direction of the guard.
"Pilot," Zhaan called through the comms, "it seems that we've run into a bit of a problem."
"Yes, Pa'u Zhaan?"
"Inform Rygel and Chiana that John has been taken prisoner on this planet. Do not worry Aeryn with it. She'll insist on coming down, and she's in no condition to do so."
"But, Zhaan, Chiana is not aboard. Moya says that she went down to the planet with you."
"She did what?!" She looked around for Chiana, but couldn't see her anywhere. "Then we have a bigger problem," she sighed.
**********************
John woke up with a feeling in his mouth like he had swallowed two pounds of sand and his head was reeling. He opened his eyes, but not being able to focus on anything caused his headache to worsen. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again and found himself in a cell of some kind with a thick metal door. In the upper part of the door, there was a little slot that appeared to be able to open. The cell was fairly dark, but there was enough light to see the dry stone walls. The door slot slid open and unwelcome light escaped from the outer hallway into John's eyes.
"Wha'appened?" he croaked through the painful dryness in his mouth and throat. "Where the hell am I? Who are you people?"
"A Sebacean asking questions. That's new," a voice from outside teased. "Isn't it the Peacekeeper way to destroy first and bother the remaining rubble and corpses for questions later?" There was definite malice in his voice as he spat the words at John. A pair of violet appeared through the slot.
"I'm not a Peacekeeper," John insisted, standing up. The alien cocked his head.
"In all my years of working in this section, I have never heard a Peacekeeper deny his backgrounds. Especially when he's so obviously lying." He looked pointedly towards John's clothing.
"These aren't mine," John quickly defended. "They were left on the Leviathan, my ship."
"Excuses, excuses, and bad ones at that," he said with a roll of his eyes. "We do not tolerate Sebaceans on Gondilea. It's a law, meant to be respected as all laws. You must pay the penalty."
"That wouldn't be a fine, would it?"
The eyes seemed to delight at John's question. "No, no. You must undergo the full punishment." The slot slammed shut.
"I'm not a Sebacean!" John yelled after the violet eyed native. John paced for a little while, but eventually sat down in the middle of the cold floor and waited for his "punishment" to begin.
**********************
After making sure that Aeryn was well asleep, Rygel floated toward the door panel. He liked having most of the ship to himself except for the DRDs, but he didn't have all of the ship. There was Aeryn's room and all the rooms adjacent to the corridor it attached to. Aeryn had moved to her own room, tired of being in Zhaan's lab. As long as Aeryn was in hearing range, he didn't dare to anything to attract attention to himself. But soon, that would not be a problem. There was nothing of interest in Aeryn's room anyway. Which is why he closed and locked the door.
He chuckled as the sound arose Aeryn. She looked at what was going on and struggled to get up when she found out. When she had reached the door, though, it had already closed.
"Rygel! You open this door!" she shouted.
"I think not, Aeryn. After all the times your kind has locked me up, I think it's a fair turn of events." He floated away hearing Aeryn angrily yell his name repeatedly.
"Pilot," Aeryn called, finally giving up on Rygel.
"Are you in need of assistance, Aeryn?"
"Yes, I am. Please let some of the DRDs teach Rygel a lesson."
"Do you want me to let you out?"
"No. Let Rygel think he's getting away with something."
"Understood." The comms were silent.
Aeryn climbed back in her bed. 'Now let's hope Zhaan gets back with the Vulkdralgon serum soon. I feel like old dren sitting in a mud hole,' she thought as sleep claimed her.
**********************
"This is where we part, Nebari," the guard said. He stopped in front of a cell with people already inside. Chiana was shoved inside. The guard closed and secured the door. She turned quickly and gave the guard a seductive look, but he shot her a sarcastic smile and walked away.
"I don't understand it," she said, turning to face her cellmates. "I thought the Gondilots were very sexual creatures."
"We are," one of the Gondilot prisoners said, "but not the guards. They're all eunuchs to make sure that what you just tried doesn't happen."
"Where is this?"
"You're in the section of the prison that was made especially for shoplifters."
"Is shoplifting that big of a crime here?" she asked.
"Of course it is. Most of our cities are nothing but open markets. Stealing is a major, and all too common, offense. You're in here for a while."
"I was actually thinking of playing their game for a little while before I escaped."
"Escaped?" The prisoner choked on the word. "You can't seriously think you can escape."
"Of course I can," she answered. "I'm a Nebari."
**********************
The first thing Zhaan heard as she came back onto Moya was a horrific scream that resounded throughout the ship. "Rygel?" she called. The screams continued. "Rygel?!" She ran in the direction that the screams were originating from. She found the source huddled in a corner, his ThroneSled off to one side, and five DRDs descending on him. Rygel caught sight of her.
"Zhaan, help me. I'll let her out, just please make these things go away."
"'Let her out'? What are you talking about, Rygel?"
"He locked Aeryn in her room," Pilot answered.
"Just what is Aeryn doing in her room?" Zhaan asked, just a wee bit perturbed that Aeryn disobeyed her orders. "I told her to stay in bed. In my lab. She can't go wandering all over the ship whenever she feels like it. And why is everyone being locked up? Crichton, I assume Chiana because that's what usually happens with her, and Aeryn. Goddess knows who'll be next."
"Crichton?" Rygel asked quizzically.
"Didn't you tell him, Pilot?" Zhaan asked.
"No time."
"The people down there are opposed to Sebaceans on their planet," Zhaan explained.
"Oh, well. More food for me," Rygel said.
Zhaan glared at him for a microt, then picked up his ThroneSled and leaned down to the DRDs. "Carry on."
"I take it back!" Rygel shouted. "More food for us! US!"
Zhaan shook her head and walked away. She heard the DRDs firing and Rygel screaming some more. She turned around to see blast marks all around Rygel and one slightly singed earbrow. Rygel was breathing hard. "Have you learned your lesson, Your Eminence?"
"Yes," he panted, "don't anger the DRDs."
Zhaan put the ThroneSled down and walked off to free Aeryn and finish the cure for Aeryn's illness. She heard a faint, "I won't forget this, Delvian!" behind her. "No, I'm sure you won't," she said to herself with a smile.
**********************
The eye slot to John's cell slid open. "I have informed the council of your claims. Some of the members have elected to interview you."
"Really?" John asked, his blue eyes lighting up with hope.
"Yes. Come," the violet eyed man ordered as the door opened. John stood up and habitually brushed his pants flat before joining the man in the corridor. He was surrounded by guards and quickly restrained.
"My own personal guard?" he asked sarcastically as they started walking. "I don't want you to go to any extra trouble for me."
"Silence, Peacekeeper!" a guard spat.
"I am n--"
"Yes, we know!"
"We all know," another guard chimed in.
"That's enough!" Violet Eyes said. "The council will be waiting. Your future resides on the decision made in this room," he told John. "Make a good case, or I will be sure to make your punishment extra special. I will not be made a fool of in front of my council. They might overthrow me."
John was going to ask about the last statement, which was barely audible as he mumbled it to himself almost like an afterthought. He decided against it, though. He had more important things on his mind.
**********************
D'Argo found the holding facility and was greeted by an excitable little alien that guarded the front gate.
"Where do you keep your Sebaceans?" D'Argo demanded an answer from the furry creature.
"Sebacean? Sebacean?" it asked energetically. "Sebacean bad. Mulkin no see Sebaceans. No come. Never come."
"I know there's at least one somewhere in there! Now where do you keep your Sebaceans?!" D'Argo asked louder and angrier.
"No Sebaceans here, no. Sebaceans come in, no come out. Mulkin never see Sebacean come out."
"But did you see one go in?!"
"Mulkin . . . Mulkin saw one. One came in, no come out."
"What is done with them?"
"Go in, Sebaceans, Mulkin no see again. Never see again. Mulkin wonder, but no tell Mulkin. No tell Mulkin."
"Can I get in there?"
"Mulkin cannot let. No, no. Look for Sebacean. Sebacean boom home. Sebacean bad. You free Sebacean. Boom home again. Boom Mulkin home."
D'Argo could hear sadness in his crude voice when he spoke the last phrase. It wasn't important to him. He knew John was in there, and he just had to get past this thing to get to him. "You will excuse me. I'm going inside now."
"Mulkin cannot let!"
D'Argo snarled as Mulkin got in his way. He went to shove it aside when it grabbed him with surprising strength and threw him back.
"Mulkin cannot let! Mulkin cannot let!" it screeched. All the noise attracted a crowd. D'Argo knew he couldn't get in will all these people around, so he reluctantly turned and left. He called Zhaan on his comms.
"Zhaan, I know where John is being held. I need to try and get in another way. I'll need your help and if possible, Aeryn's. Just disguise her. We don't need two of them to save."
"Understood, D'Argo," Zhaan said. "I will be right down as soon as I treat Aeryn."
"I'll be here."
