Crossroads--Part X
Velorek and Aeryn sat there for several microts just staring at each other. Velorek finally spoke up.
Velorek: "You are different. You are not the same Aeryn I knew, are you?"
Aeryn: "No."
Velorek: "This human alien. You two are...?"
She looked down at her ring. He followed her eyes. She looked back up at him.
Velorek: "He is your mate?"
Aeryn: "He is my love."
Velorek looked away.
Velorek: "As you were mine once."
Aeryn: "Crais led me to believe that you were dead."
Velorek: "I would have been were it not for my knowledge of leviathans and their breeding."
Aeryn: "You helped them create more gun ships like Talyn."
Velorek looked over at her.
Velorek: "What is that I hear in your voice disdain? After what you did to me?"
He shook his head slightly.
Velorek: "You played your part well Officer Sun."
Aeryn: "I wasn't playing any part. My feelings for you were real but I didn't understand what they were or what to do about them."
Velorek: "You have obviously figured it out."
Aeryn: "Thanks to John's patience and love, yes I have."
Velorek: "Why did you come in here? To torture me with your love for another."
Aeryn: "No, I wanted to..."
Velorek: "Wanted to what?"
Aeryn: "I wanted to apologize for what I did to you."
Velorek: "You were a peacekeeper soldier, Officer Sun, I would have expected nothing less but I hoped for so much more."
Aeryn stood up and walked toward the cell door.
Velorek: "Aeryn wait."
She looked back at him.
Velorek: "I was right wasn't I?"
Aeryn: "About what?"
Velorek: "When I told you were special and that you could be more. I can see it in your face. In those captivating eyes."
She didn't say a word. She just stood there.
Velorek: "Come back. I would like to talk to you."
She went back and sat down.
*******
John was pacing back and forth in command. D'Argo looked at him.
D'Argo: "John, if this is bothering you that much why don't you go down to the cell chamber."
John: "Aeryn wanted to talk to him alone."
D'Argo: "Then relax. Aeryn can handle herself."
John: "I know she can. I just wish she didn't feel like she needed to."
John's attention shifted to Crais.
John: "Crais, you realized I stopped Aeryn from freeing your soul when you walked in here earlier."
Crais: "I noticed she was a bit agitated."
John: "What is the story with this Velorek? Why is he still alive?"
Crais: "He was much to valuable to kill."
D'Argo: "To high command?"
John looked at D'Argo then back at Crais.
John: "No, he was much to valuable to Captain Crunch. If Velorek could breed one leviathan successfully with peacekeeper technology, think of the army of gun ships that could be produced. Am I getting warm right you cockroach?"
Crais shot John his patented peacekeeper look.
Crais: "I was a Captain. It was my job to follow orders of high command and that is what I did."
D'Argo: "Where has been housed all this time?"
Crais: "He was kept on the Viligante. Officer Sun didn't know because she didn't need to know. She was a soldier and she did her duty. She got her reassignment to prowler duty as she wished. Had she been told that he was still alive, it would have affected her performance."
John: "You make me sick!"
John turned away from Crais.
Crais: "Look Crichton, there are many things I had to do in my capacity as a peacekeeper captain that I wasn't proud of and some of them involved Officer Sun. It was who we were raised to be and I will not apologize for being good at what I was born to do."
D'Argo looked at John and Crais.
D'Argo: "All of this bickering is not going to help Aeryn right now. We have to decide what we are going to do with Velorek once we have met up with Moya. Clearly we can not leave him on Talyn and I don't know if Pilot will be overjoyed to bring him aboard Moya."
John: "D'Argo is right. What are we going to do with Velorek?"
Crais: "If he has escaped from the peacekeepers, as I suspect he has, then he is no threat to try and turn us in."
John: "That still leaves the problem of what we are going to do with him. Do we give him a transport and send him on his way? Or do we just drop him off at a commerce planet and let him fend for himself?"
D'Argo: "I think we should include Aeryn in this discussion."
Crais: "Aeryn may not be the most objective when it comes to Velorek."
John looked at Crais.
John: "Aeryn will be fine. We will wait until we meet up with Moya and the crew can discuss it together."
John walked out of command.
******
Velorek had told Aeryn of his escape from the peacekeeper strong hold and how he hitched a ride on a cargo ship to the Uncharted Territories. He told her he had heard stories of her and Crichton and Ka D'Argo through the territories. He also heard of Crais and the powerful gunship, Talyn. He thought Crais was using Talyn for war and destruction. Aeryn told Velorek of Talyn and Moya. He was amazed to learn of Talyn's capabilities.
Velorek: "So what of you Aeryn Sun? What of your life with this human?"
John was unnoticed in the corridor. He stood off to the side listening.
Aeryn: "It is a good life with John."
Velorek: "You have a light in your eyes. He makes you happy obviously."
Aeryn: "More than I ever thought possible."
Velorek: "At one time I thought you and I would..."
Aeryn: "I wasn't ready back then. I wasn't willing to walk away from my duty, my breeding."
Aeryn: "How did he get you to do it?"
Aeryn was silent for a moment. A slight smile came to her face.
Aeryn: "It is a long story. Suffice it to say that John Crichton is an amazing and unusual man and under other circumstances, I think you two would have been friends."
Velorek: "No, we wouldn't have."
She looked at him confused.
Velorek: "Two men can not be friends when they are in love with the same women."
John had heard enough. He walked out of the shadows.
John: "Aeryn."
She looked over at him. From the look on his face, she knew he had heard what Velorek just said. She stood up and looked down at Velorek. She walked over to the door and John opened it. When she walked through John handed her pulse pistol. She holstered it. John locked the cell back.
Aeryn and John walked down the corridor. She was in front of him with a smile on her face. John walked in silence behind her. Aeryn took the smile off of her face and tried to look serious. She turned and looked at him.
John: "What?"
Aeryn: "How long were you outside listening?"
John: "I wasn't list...."
He stopped when he saw the smile come to her face. He looked in her eyes.
John: "I got there when you were telling him what an amazing man I am."
Aeryn: "Oh did I say that? I don't think I remember saying anything like that."
She started smiling when he slipped his arms around her waist. He smiled at her.
John: "Oh you think you're cute, don't you?"
Aeryn: "Yes."
He leaned his forehead against hers.
John: "Are you all right?"
Aeryn: "I am fine John. Except.."
John: "Except what?"
He looked worried.
Aeryn: "I miss Jack."
John: "We have only been gone for a few arns."
He looked at her.
John: "I miss him too."
They kissed.
D'Argo: "Aeryn, John we have reached Moya."
John broke the kiss.
Aeryn: "Meet you in the docking bay D'Argo."
She looked in John's eyes. He smiled.
John: "I will gather our guest and meet you back on Moya. I will come over with Crais."
Aeryn: "Okay."
They kissed again. John stroked her cheek. He winked at her as she walked away. Once she was gone John went to retrieve their guest.
John: "I am not going to have any trouble out of you, am I?"
He laid his hand on his pulse pistol.
Velorek: "As far as escaping goes....no."
John knew what he meant and chose not to respond.
John: "Lets go. We are going to see an old friend of yours. Lets hope he doesn't try to strangle you the way he did Aeryn when he remembered the truth about his joining with Moya."
Velorek stood up and looked at John. He walked passed him. They met Crais at his pod and headed over to Moya.
Velorek and Aeryn sat there for several microts just staring at each other. Velorek finally spoke up.
Velorek: "You are different. You are not the same Aeryn I knew, are you?"
Aeryn: "No."
Velorek: "This human alien. You two are...?"
She looked down at her ring. He followed her eyes. She looked back up at him.
Velorek: "He is your mate?"
Aeryn: "He is my love."
Velorek looked away.
Velorek: "As you were mine once."
Aeryn: "Crais led me to believe that you were dead."
Velorek: "I would have been were it not for my knowledge of leviathans and their breeding."
Aeryn: "You helped them create more gun ships like Talyn."
Velorek looked over at her.
Velorek: "What is that I hear in your voice disdain? After what you did to me?"
He shook his head slightly.
Velorek: "You played your part well Officer Sun."
Aeryn: "I wasn't playing any part. My feelings for you were real but I didn't understand what they were or what to do about them."
Velorek: "You have obviously figured it out."
Aeryn: "Thanks to John's patience and love, yes I have."
Velorek: "Why did you come in here? To torture me with your love for another."
Aeryn: "No, I wanted to..."
Velorek: "Wanted to what?"
Aeryn: "I wanted to apologize for what I did to you."
Velorek: "You were a peacekeeper soldier, Officer Sun, I would have expected nothing less but I hoped for so much more."
Aeryn stood up and walked toward the cell door.
Velorek: "Aeryn wait."
She looked back at him.
Velorek: "I was right wasn't I?"
Aeryn: "About what?"
Velorek: "When I told you were special and that you could be more. I can see it in your face. In those captivating eyes."
She didn't say a word. She just stood there.
Velorek: "Come back. I would like to talk to you."
She went back and sat down.
*******
John was pacing back and forth in command. D'Argo looked at him.
D'Argo: "John, if this is bothering you that much why don't you go down to the cell chamber."
John: "Aeryn wanted to talk to him alone."
D'Argo: "Then relax. Aeryn can handle herself."
John: "I know she can. I just wish she didn't feel like she needed to."
John's attention shifted to Crais.
John: "Crais, you realized I stopped Aeryn from freeing your soul when you walked in here earlier."
Crais: "I noticed she was a bit agitated."
John: "What is the story with this Velorek? Why is he still alive?"
Crais: "He was much to valuable to kill."
D'Argo: "To high command?"
John looked at D'Argo then back at Crais.
John: "No, he was much to valuable to Captain Crunch. If Velorek could breed one leviathan successfully with peacekeeper technology, think of the army of gun ships that could be produced. Am I getting warm right you cockroach?"
Crais shot John his patented peacekeeper look.
Crais: "I was a Captain. It was my job to follow orders of high command and that is what I did."
D'Argo: "Where has been housed all this time?"
Crais: "He was kept on the Viligante. Officer Sun didn't know because she didn't need to know. She was a soldier and she did her duty. She got her reassignment to prowler duty as she wished. Had she been told that he was still alive, it would have affected her performance."
John: "You make me sick!"
John turned away from Crais.
Crais: "Look Crichton, there are many things I had to do in my capacity as a peacekeeper captain that I wasn't proud of and some of them involved Officer Sun. It was who we were raised to be and I will not apologize for being good at what I was born to do."
D'Argo looked at John and Crais.
D'Argo: "All of this bickering is not going to help Aeryn right now. We have to decide what we are going to do with Velorek once we have met up with Moya. Clearly we can not leave him on Talyn and I don't know if Pilot will be overjoyed to bring him aboard Moya."
John: "D'Argo is right. What are we going to do with Velorek?"
Crais: "If he has escaped from the peacekeepers, as I suspect he has, then he is no threat to try and turn us in."
John: "That still leaves the problem of what we are going to do with him. Do we give him a transport and send him on his way? Or do we just drop him off at a commerce planet and let him fend for himself?"
D'Argo: "I think we should include Aeryn in this discussion."
Crais: "Aeryn may not be the most objective when it comes to Velorek."
John looked at Crais.
John: "Aeryn will be fine. We will wait until we meet up with Moya and the crew can discuss it together."
John walked out of command.
******
Velorek had told Aeryn of his escape from the peacekeeper strong hold and how he hitched a ride on a cargo ship to the Uncharted Territories. He told her he had heard stories of her and Crichton and Ka D'Argo through the territories. He also heard of Crais and the powerful gunship, Talyn. He thought Crais was using Talyn for war and destruction. Aeryn told Velorek of Talyn and Moya. He was amazed to learn of Talyn's capabilities.
Velorek: "So what of you Aeryn Sun? What of your life with this human?"
John was unnoticed in the corridor. He stood off to the side listening.
Aeryn: "It is a good life with John."
Velorek: "You have a light in your eyes. He makes you happy obviously."
Aeryn: "More than I ever thought possible."
Velorek: "At one time I thought you and I would..."
Aeryn: "I wasn't ready back then. I wasn't willing to walk away from my duty, my breeding."
Aeryn: "How did he get you to do it?"
Aeryn was silent for a moment. A slight smile came to her face.
Aeryn: "It is a long story. Suffice it to say that John Crichton is an amazing and unusual man and under other circumstances, I think you two would have been friends."
Velorek: "No, we wouldn't have."
She looked at him confused.
Velorek: "Two men can not be friends when they are in love with the same women."
John had heard enough. He walked out of the shadows.
John: "Aeryn."
She looked over at him. From the look on his face, she knew he had heard what Velorek just said. She stood up and looked down at Velorek. She walked over to the door and John opened it. When she walked through John handed her pulse pistol. She holstered it. John locked the cell back.
Aeryn and John walked down the corridor. She was in front of him with a smile on her face. John walked in silence behind her. Aeryn took the smile off of her face and tried to look serious. She turned and looked at him.
John: "What?"
Aeryn: "How long were you outside listening?"
John: "I wasn't list...."
He stopped when he saw the smile come to her face. He looked in her eyes.
John: "I got there when you were telling him what an amazing man I am."
Aeryn: "Oh did I say that? I don't think I remember saying anything like that."
She started smiling when he slipped his arms around her waist. He smiled at her.
John: "Oh you think you're cute, don't you?"
Aeryn: "Yes."
He leaned his forehead against hers.
John: "Are you all right?"
Aeryn: "I am fine John. Except.."
John: "Except what?"
He looked worried.
Aeryn: "I miss Jack."
John: "We have only been gone for a few arns."
He looked at her.
John: "I miss him too."
They kissed.
D'Argo: "Aeryn, John we have reached Moya."
John broke the kiss.
Aeryn: "Meet you in the docking bay D'Argo."
She looked in John's eyes. He smiled.
John: "I will gather our guest and meet you back on Moya. I will come over with Crais."
Aeryn: "Okay."
They kissed again. John stroked her cheek. He winked at her as she walked away. Once she was gone John went to retrieve their guest.
John: "I am not going to have any trouble out of you, am I?"
He laid his hand on his pulse pistol.
Velorek: "As far as escaping goes....no."
John knew what he meant and chose not to respond.
John: "Lets go. We are going to see an old friend of yours. Lets hope he doesn't try to strangle you the way he did Aeryn when he remembered the truth about his joining with Moya."
Velorek stood up and looked at John. He walked passed him. They met Crais at his pod and headed over to Moya.