Title: The Journey Home
Chapter 17: Cassandra's Surprises
Rated: R
***
{1 week later}
Cassandra stared at the transport pod nervously. She took a deep breath, held it, then
exhaled. "Okay, I'm ready."
Chiana sent her friend a sympathetic smile and watched as she boarded the transport.
Cassandra was flying down to the surface to pick up the next batch of supplies and the
Humans.
Cassandra landed the transport at the coordinates Thomas Clark had given her. She
exited the transport cautiously, spotting Thomas Clark immediately. "Mr. Secretary,"
she acknowledged, though her right hand stayed close to her pistol.
"Commander Crichton," he said eyeing the hand hovering over the pistol. "If you will
follow me."
She followed him across the landing field to one of the many buildings. It took a
microt for her eyes to adjust to the indoors. She waited patiently for Mr. Clark while
he spoke to his staff about loading the transport. When he finished, he turned to
her.
"Your passengers will be arriving shortly. Is there anything I can get you?"
"Yes. There are some things I'd like to get before we leave."
"Give me a list, and I'll see that they are acquired."
"I'm afraid that won't work. I need to pick some of them out."
Mr. Clark frowned. He didn't like the idea of Cassandra Crichton, a known friend of
aliens Earth was still unsure about, running around.
"Send someone with me. You'd need to anyway; I don't have any money," Cassandra said,
guessing the nature of his thoughts.
"Alright," he said after awhile. "But two guards will accompany you as well as my
assistant, Mr. Pentagrast."
"Fine," Cassandra agreed. "Here's a list of the stuff I don't need to be there to
get." She handed him a small list.
A short while later, Cassandra found herself in the back of a black sedan, seated next
to the serious Mr. Pentagrast. He frowned at her. "Where is it you need to go?"
"First stop would be a textbook store, someplace I can find college textbooks," she
replied, ignoring his bad attitude.
Cassandra selected a great many textbooks: math textbooks from Algebra to Calculus
III, science textbooks of every type. She got as many medical textbooks and reference
books as she could find. She selected a few English textbooks as well. Mr. Pentagrast
showed his disapproval through the whole process. After once again getting into the
car, Cassandra directed them to another unusual spot, where she acquired the three
most important things she'd wanted.
Her purchases were loaded into the transport without comment, her last three being
placed with her in the pilot's area. She shook hands with all of the politicians,
waved at her father and DK, and boarded the transport.
Upon returning to Moya, Cassandra did not immediately exit the transport. She waited
until Pilot, her co-conspirator, gave her the all clear. No one was in the docking
bay. Gathering her three purchases, she exited the transport with all due haste.
Depositing them in her quarters, she locked the door and met up with the group being
shown around Moya.
As soon as the politicians were safely tucked away in their quarters, the supplies
from the transport unpacked, and the crew was relaxed in the central chamber,
Cassandra got up and returned to her quarters. Once more gathering her purchases, she
took them to the central chamber.
She stood out in the hall, somewhat nervous. "Oh, John!" she called. "I have a
surprise for you!"
The talking in the central chamber fell silent. What was Cassandra up to? She leaned
down and released one of her purchases. She gently pushed him into the central
chamber and glanced up at John.
The absolute shock on his face melted into absolute joy. He laughed and squatted
down. "You got me a puppy!" He called the puppy over to him.
Cassandra grinned as John and the puppy became acquainted. "I want one!" Xhalax
groaned.
Cassandra became very serious. "I'm sorry, Xhalax. I guess you'll just have to make
due with this..." She reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and pulled out a
small ball of orange fluff.
Xhalax squealed. "What is it?"
Cassandra grinned. "It's a kitten, a little girl."
"What's her name?" Xhalax asked in awe as Cassandra placed the sleepy kitten in her
arms.
"She doesn't have one yet; you get to name her," Cassandra replied.
"Really?" Xhalax asked joyfully. "Mommy! Mommy! Look at my kitten!" Xhalax yelled
rushing over to show her mother.
Aeryn stared at the kitten slightly confused. What was she suppose to do with it?
"It's umm..."
"Isn't she beautiful?" Xhalax cried enthused.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Aeryn replied, shooting her husband a 'please help me' look.
John picked up his wiggling puppy and walked over to Aeryn and Xhalax. John set the
puppy in Aeryn's lap much to her surprise. He picked up her hand and placed it on the
puppy's head, teaching her how to pet. Leaving Aeryn to get acquainted to the puppy,
which despite herself, she actually began to like, John showered praise on Xhalax's
kitten.
Crais glanced at Cassandra. "You didn't get one for yourself?"
Cassandra turned away from the adorable site of her brother's family and grinned at
her lover. "I never said that." Reaching once more into her inner pocket, she pulled
out a small silver-gray fluff ball. "He's a pure-blooded Russian Blue, my favorite
type of cat." She lifted the kitten so it was eye level with her. She placed a kiss
on it's nose and brought it back close to her body. "His name is Draco."
Jool, Chiana, and Zhaan clustered around Cassandra to see her kitten. D'Argo and
Rygel left the chamber, not really understanding what the fuss was about. Stark
watched the puppy intently, trying to figure out what it was thinking, presumably.
Crais watched Cassandra. She was almost glowing. It was obvious to him, she was
already in love with the kitten, Draco... and he was feeling jealous.
***
A few arns later, John came to his senses. "Cassandra did you really think this
through?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well for starters, where are they going to go to the bathroom?"
Cassandra grinned. "Come with me. Pilot should be done by now."
John, followed by his new faithful companion, Pegasus, (named for the constellation),
wandered down the corridor after Cassandra. She finally stopped a little ways away
from the second largest storage bay on Moya. Cassandra insisted that he close his
eyes before she allowed him to proceed any further.
"This is also a surprise for Zhaan. Pilot and I have been wanting to do this for
ages, and it was my idea," Cassandra told him as she lead him in. "Keep your eyes
closed. No peeking!"
"What is that smell? And that sound? If I didn't know better I'd say it was a
waterfall," John said laughing.
Cassandra grinned, they were standing in the center of the room now. "Okay, open
them!"
John opened his eyes and his mouth fell open in shock. "This is... You..."
Cassandra laughed at his stuttering attempts to speak. "Wow."
Cassandra and Pilot had transformed the bay into a garden of immense proportions.
There was a waterfall, he'd have to ask how they managed to pull that off, and all
different kinds of plants and trees. He was walking on grass. Grass from Earth. He
felt his eyes begin to tear up.
"I got the idea from all those science fiction books we use to read. You know, the
ones where they grew their food on board? We won't be able to feed ourselves entirely
with this but it will supplement what we buy on commerce planets." She glanced at
John, who was still to overcome to speak. "I figured Zhaan and Jool could figure out
a way to stunt the trees, that way they stay the size they are now. We don't have
room for them to grow very tall or to put down deep roots. As is, we had to put them
all on hills."
John glanced around, he hadn't noticed that. Every tree was elevated, the soil
underneath and around it built up.
"I didn't think it would all fit in the transport pod, but they managed to squeeze it
all in, barely," she laughed. John saw Pegasus sniffing around an apple tree and
couldn't help but smile.
"Oh! And!" She dashed back over to the door. He hadn't noticed that she had lead him
up some steps. "Pilot! Lock down the room!" A new door came down, sealing the
room. "With the way the room works. Even if Moya is completely vented with space,
this room will still hold it's air. No matter what, the room will stay as is."
"You thought of everything," John said, still flabbergasted.
"Actually the door and sealing off the room was Pilot's idea," she replied.
"You both did an awesome job," John said grinning.
"Thank you, John," Pilot replied.
"Ditto," Cassandra said smiling. "Oh, I got to get Zhaan!" Pilot opened the doors
and Cassandra sprinted out.
John looked around again, "Wow."
***
TBC
WELL... what do ya think? Please review or send me an e-mail!
hmmm... i still haven't decided if i'm going to keep this chapter. if you all like
it, i'll keep it, but if you think it's too 'out there' i'll take it down and write
a different one. so tell me what you think! thanks to the peps reviewing and e-mailing,
i live for it!
~Artemis Luna Diana~
Chapter 17: Cassandra's Surprises
Rated: R
***
{1 week later}
Cassandra stared at the transport pod nervously. She took a deep breath, held it, then
exhaled. "Okay, I'm ready."
Chiana sent her friend a sympathetic smile and watched as she boarded the transport.
Cassandra was flying down to the surface to pick up the next batch of supplies and the
Humans.
Cassandra landed the transport at the coordinates Thomas Clark had given her. She
exited the transport cautiously, spotting Thomas Clark immediately. "Mr. Secretary,"
she acknowledged, though her right hand stayed close to her pistol.
"Commander Crichton," he said eyeing the hand hovering over the pistol. "If you will
follow me."
She followed him across the landing field to one of the many buildings. It took a
microt for her eyes to adjust to the indoors. She waited patiently for Mr. Clark while
he spoke to his staff about loading the transport. When he finished, he turned to
her.
"Your passengers will be arriving shortly. Is there anything I can get you?"
"Yes. There are some things I'd like to get before we leave."
"Give me a list, and I'll see that they are acquired."
"I'm afraid that won't work. I need to pick some of them out."
Mr. Clark frowned. He didn't like the idea of Cassandra Crichton, a known friend of
aliens Earth was still unsure about, running around.
"Send someone with me. You'd need to anyway; I don't have any money," Cassandra said,
guessing the nature of his thoughts.
"Alright," he said after awhile. "But two guards will accompany you as well as my
assistant, Mr. Pentagrast."
"Fine," Cassandra agreed. "Here's a list of the stuff I don't need to be there to
get." She handed him a small list.
A short while later, Cassandra found herself in the back of a black sedan, seated next
to the serious Mr. Pentagrast. He frowned at her. "Where is it you need to go?"
"First stop would be a textbook store, someplace I can find college textbooks," she
replied, ignoring his bad attitude.
Cassandra selected a great many textbooks: math textbooks from Algebra to Calculus
III, science textbooks of every type. She got as many medical textbooks and reference
books as she could find. She selected a few English textbooks as well. Mr. Pentagrast
showed his disapproval through the whole process. After once again getting into the
car, Cassandra directed them to another unusual spot, where she acquired the three
most important things she'd wanted.
Her purchases were loaded into the transport without comment, her last three being
placed with her in the pilot's area. She shook hands with all of the politicians,
waved at her father and DK, and boarded the transport.
Upon returning to Moya, Cassandra did not immediately exit the transport. She waited
until Pilot, her co-conspirator, gave her the all clear. No one was in the docking
bay. Gathering her three purchases, she exited the transport with all due haste.
Depositing them in her quarters, she locked the door and met up with the group being
shown around Moya.
As soon as the politicians were safely tucked away in their quarters, the supplies
from the transport unpacked, and the crew was relaxed in the central chamber,
Cassandra got up and returned to her quarters. Once more gathering her purchases, she
took them to the central chamber.
She stood out in the hall, somewhat nervous. "Oh, John!" she called. "I have a
surprise for you!"
The talking in the central chamber fell silent. What was Cassandra up to? She leaned
down and released one of her purchases. She gently pushed him into the central
chamber and glanced up at John.
The absolute shock on his face melted into absolute joy. He laughed and squatted
down. "You got me a puppy!" He called the puppy over to him.
Cassandra grinned as John and the puppy became acquainted. "I want one!" Xhalax
groaned.
Cassandra became very serious. "I'm sorry, Xhalax. I guess you'll just have to make
due with this..." She reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and pulled out a
small ball of orange fluff.
Xhalax squealed. "What is it?"
Cassandra grinned. "It's a kitten, a little girl."
"What's her name?" Xhalax asked in awe as Cassandra placed the sleepy kitten in her
arms.
"She doesn't have one yet; you get to name her," Cassandra replied.
"Really?" Xhalax asked joyfully. "Mommy! Mommy! Look at my kitten!" Xhalax yelled
rushing over to show her mother.
Aeryn stared at the kitten slightly confused. What was she suppose to do with it?
"It's umm..."
"Isn't she beautiful?" Xhalax cried enthused.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Aeryn replied, shooting her husband a 'please help me' look.
John picked up his wiggling puppy and walked over to Aeryn and Xhalax. John set the
puppy in Aeryn's lap much to her surprise. He picked up her hand and placed it on the
puppy's head, teaching her how to pet. Leaving Aeryn to get acquainted to the puppy,
which despite herself, she actually began to like, John showered praise on Xhalax's
kitten.
Crais glanced at Cassandra. "You didn't get one for yourself?"
Cassandra turned away from the adorable site of her brother's family and grinned at
her lover. "I never said that." Reaching once more into her inner pocket, she pulled
out a small silver-gray fluff ball. "He's a pure-blooded Russian Blue, my favorite
type of cat." She lifted the kitten so it was eye level with her. She placed a kiss
on it's nose and brought it back close to her body. "His name is Draco."
Jool, Chiana, and Zhaan clustered around Cassandra to see her kitten. D'Argo and
Rygel left the chamber, not really understanding what the fuss was about. Stark
watched the puppy intently, trying to figure out what it was thinking, presumably.
Crais watched Cassandra. She was almost glowing. It was obvious to him, she was
already in love with the kitten, Draco... and he was feeling jealous.
***
A few arns later, John came to his senses. "Cassandra did you really think this
through?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well for starters, where are they going to go to the bathroom?"
Cassandra grinned. "Come with me. Pilot should be done by now."
John, followed by his new faithful companion, Pegasus, (named for the constellation),
wandered down the corridor after Cassandra. She finally stopped a little ways away
from the second largest storage bay on Moya. Cassandra insisted that he close his
eyes before she allowed him to proceed any further.
"This is also a surprise for Zhaan. Pilot and I have been wanting to do this for
ages, and it was my idea," Cassandra told him as she lead him in. "Keep your eyes
closed. No peeking!"
"What is that smell? And that sound? If I didn't know better I'd say it was a
waterfall," John said laughing.
Cassandra grinned, they were standing in the center of the room now. "Okay, open
them!"
John opened his eyes and his mouth fell open in shock. "This is... You..."
Cassandra laughed at his stuttering attempts to speak. "Wow."
Cassandra and Pilot had transformed the bay into a garden of immense proportions.
There was a waterfall, he'd have to ask how they managed to pull that off, and all
different kinds of plants and trees. He was walking on grass. Grass from Earth. He
felt his eyes begin to tear up.
"I got the idea from all those science fiction books we use to read. You know, the
ones where they grew their food on board? We won't be able to feed ourselves entirely
with this but it will supplement what we buy on commerce planets." She glanced at
John, who was still to overcome to speak. "I figured Zhaan and Jool could figure out
a way to stunt the trees, that way they stay the size they are now. We don't have
room for them to grow very tall or to put down deep roots. As is, we had to put them
all on hills."
John glanced around, he hadn't noticed that. Every tree was elevated, the soil
underneath and around it built up.
"I didn't think it would all fit in the transport pod, but they managed to squeeze it
all in, barely," she laughed. John saw Pegasus sniffing around an apple tree and
couldn't help but smile.
"Oh! And!" She dashed back over to the door. He hadn't noticed that she had lead him
up some steps. "Pilot! Lock down the room!" A new door came down, sealing the
room. "With the way the room works. Even if Moya is completely vented with space,
this room will still hold it's air. No matter what, the room will stay as is."
"You thought of everything," John said, still flabbergasted.
"Actually the door and sealing off the room was Pilot's idea," she replied.
"You both did an awesome job," John said grinning.
"Thank you, John," Pilot replied.
"Ditto," Cassandra said smiling. "Oh, I got to get Zhaan!" Pilot opened the doors
and Cassandra sprinted out.
John looked around again, "Wow."
***
TBC
WELL... what do ya think? Please review or send me an e-mail!
hmmm... i still haven't decided if i'm going to keep this chapter. if you all like
it, i'll keep it, but if you think it's too 'out there' i'll take it down and write
a different one. so tell me what you think! thanks to the peps reviewing and e-mailing,
i live for it!
~Artemis Luna Diana~
