Chapter Three
Kira looked at the jumbled pile of wires at her feet, her annoyance growing by the minute. She raked her fingers through her hair, turning around in a circle to view the mess, the DRD's chirping in their strange mechanical way. She shook her head, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. Kira tapped the comm badge she had pinned to her t-shirt. "Morgan!"
Crais walked into Talyn's small medical bay. "She and Crichton have not yet returned. What seems to be the problem?" he asked. He was beginning to get concerned. With the long-range communications down, he had no way of contacting his lover. It should not have taken this long to go into Roswell and return.
Kira looked at the alien Captain, thrusting a handful of multi-colored wires at him. "You see this?" She indicated to the mess surrounding them. "Your DRD's just spent the last hour pulling these."
Crais looked at her, brown eyes wide in question. "And?"
Kira blinked at him, mumbling in Japanese. She grabbed the wires. "You dipshit! These were the wires we spent five hours installing yesterday!" She turned away from Crais, leaning down to pick up one of the DRD's. She held it up to her eyes, staring at the little yellow bio-mechanoid, it's antennas rotating in alarm. "Rerun these wires, R2D2, or I'll pull your eye antennas out." She set the DRD down, feeding wires to it as it and the others began to fix the mess.
Crais closed his eyes momentarily, shaking his head. "Talyn, please instruct the DRD's to coordinate their efforts with Miss Preston and to not pull any more wires before she approves it." He looked at Kira in expectation.
"Thank you," Kira sighed, kneeling down to begin untangling another pile of wires. She looked up when Aeryn walked in.
Crais had worked with Aeryn long enough to tell by the look on her face something was wrong. "What is it?" he asked quietly.
Aeryn looked at him as Kira stood up. "Jack just got a phone call from Crichton. He said something about the local law enforcement picking them up."
Kira stepped over a DRD, walking to stand next to Crais. "The Police?"
Aeryn gazed at her. "It seems Crichton and Morgan have been arrested."
"What in the hell for?" Kira gasped. She could feel the bile rising in her throat. Her eyes turned to Jack as he and DK walked into the medical bay, both men pale with the consequences of Morgan and Crichton's arrest.
Jack exhaled, looking down and composing himself, hands on his hips. He looked at the others. "Someone made a positive id of John and Morgan and called IASA. They were taken into custody on charges of willful destruction of government property and going AWOL."
DK saw the confused look on Aeryn's face. "Absent without leave," he supplied.
"Yes, I know what it means, thank you," Aeryn snapped.
Kira's face blanched. "The Farscape and the Osiris," she whispered.
Crais folded his hands behind his back, his mind running through various scenarios. "Crichton's Farscape module is here on Talyn," he provided.
"Where's the Osiris?" DK asked.
Aeryn propped her hands on her hips, speculating on what Crais was planning. "The Osiris was destroyed shortly after Morgan arrived in the Uncharted Territories. We used it as a ruse to save Crais."
"You destroyed the Osiris?" DK asked crestfallen.
"Right now, that's not either here or there," Jack interrupted. "We can't reveal your presence, or else we will be swamped by military personnel and you all will be in physical danger, not just Talyn."
DK looked at the older Crichton. "So what do we do now?"
Crais looked at them. "Talyn's sensors are picking up a large amount of vehicles heading this way."
DK and Jack both sighed. "It took them long enough." Jack turned on one heel, pointing back at Crais and the others. "Listen, you stay here and keep working. Those vehicles are bound to be military personnel."
"But this is private property, Jack," Kira called.
"Yeah, but it won't keep them from snooping around or getting a warrant to search the compound," he called back, leaving Aeryn, Crais and Kira staring at each other.
Kira watched as Crais' face grew dark with anger. "Now what do we do?" she asked quietly, fear gnawing at her belly. Not fear for herself, but for her new friends and the wonderful living ship known as Talyn.
Crais and Aeryn's eyes met in quiet resolve. Both let their Peacekeeper training take hold. "We mount a rescue mission," he simply declared.
"I already told you it is for an experiment I have been working on," Morgan answered. "Look at my file, you moron. You'll see I have a PhD in cybernetic engineering."
Crichton laid a hand on her arm. "Easy Morgan. No matter what we say, they aren't going to listen to us." He looked up at her, shaking his head. "You know how IASA pencil necks are."
Morgan looked at him and sat down reluctantly, leaning back in the chair and folding her arms. They had been fighting with IASA's representatives and lawyers for two days. She had managed to keep them from removing the transponder, forcing them to take x-rays, convincing them the links were too deeply established. She had overheard the doctors using the words 'study' and 'scan' and didn't care for the idea of being dissected in the name of science, now knowing what a guinea pig felt like.
The lawyer stood up, tossing her hair over one shoulder as she closed her folders, laying them in her briefcase. "IASA has asked for a lie detector test as well as full psychiatric evaluations." She gazed at them. "As soon as I know when they are scheduled, I will let you know." She shut her briefcase and walked out, leaving Crichton and Morgan alone.
"We are in deep dren," Crichton whispered. He leaned his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "This is ridiculous."
"Still wanting to stay on Earth?" Morgan asked. The back of her neck was sore from all the tests the doctors had performed, damaging the transponder in the process. Now she couldn't feel Talyn, let alone try to get a message to him.
Crichton leaned back in his chair, taking Morgan's hand. "We have to get out of here."
"Yeah, but how?" She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.
"I don't know." Crichton laid his head on hers, staring at the cream colored wall across from him. "But, we've got two ex-Peacekeepers on our side, as well as Dad, Kira and DK. And if I know Aeryn and Crais, they'll have something their sleeves."
Morgan nodded. "I hope so."
The arrests made Kira and the others work that much faster on Talyn. Jack and DK had held off the military, demanding a search warrant, but for how much longer was anyone's guess. They performed tests on the young Leviathan at night, the flight performance numbers pleasing Crais. Only Talyn's starbursting systems remained unchecked. The underlying worry over both Morgan and Crichton gnawed at him, especially after neither he nor Talyn could contact her. It was if she wasn't there. Whether her transponder's privacy mode was engaged, by choice or by force, Crais didn't know.
Jack walked onto the bridge, breaking him out of his reverie. "They are moving them to Houston." He looked at Crais. "That will be the only time and chance we have to try and rescue them."
Aeryn walked in behind Jack, DK and Kira with her. "When?" She tossed Crais a fresh power pack for his pulse pistol.
"Tonight. They are hoping to avoid a media circus," he answered.
DK ran his fingers through his curly hair. "Yeah, listen to this." He snapped open the morning newspaper. "IASA officials have released confirmation that two missing astronauts have reappeared, apparently living in secret in Roswell, New Mexico. Commander John Crichton and Captain Morgan Langtree were taken into custody after being positively identified by the owner of a local Roswell gas station. It is believed that they masterminded an elaborate plan before Crichton's famous test flight four and a half years ago, the flight that made national headlines when his module disappeared, never to be seen again. Captain Langtree, Crichton's cousin, reenacted Crichton's flight almost eleven months ago, disappearing the same way. No debris was ever found from either ship and IASA believe that they returned to Earth, using the current radar limitations and unusual occurrences that reside in the Roswell area." He closed the paper. "Is this a bunch of bullshit or what?"
"With your military showing so much interest in our location, it will be difficult to keep Talyn hidden any longer," Crais commented. One by one, Talyn triggered his systems, the Leviathan powering up. "So…until we are ready to rescue Commander Crichton and Captain Langtree, we will be hiding elsewhere."
Talyn slowly lifted from the ground, moving carefully out of the hangar into the bright light of day. With a burst of energy that, for once, didn't blow any systems, he rose into the sky, rocketing through the atmosphere, his powerful thrusters easily breaking the hold of Earth's gravity. Crais allowed him to fly free as he quickly headed towards the moon.
"Oh my god!" Kira squeaked, grabbing a hold of DK's arm. The paper slid from his hand to land on the deck in a flood of pages, the front-page article forgotten. The blue sky turned black, the stars glittering around them as Talyn sped towards the moon, his scanners already actively searching for the dreadnaught.
"How many planets are in your solar system?" Aeryn asked Jack, the only human on the bridge whose mouth was not hanging open in awe. She assumed Morgan's spot at the system console.
"Nine," Jack answered, moving to stand next to her.
"The Scarrens have moved to the eighth planet," Crais remarked. "Talyn, stay on the dark side of Earth's moon until we are ready." He turned and looked at DK and Kira, smiling slightly. "There is a better view from the dining area."
DK and Kira managed to get their feet moving, following Crais and the others, heading right to the viewport. "Every kid dreams of this," DK sighed.
Aeryn slipped into a seat around the table, her eyes meeting Crais'. "When you have grown up in space, it loses its luster."
Crais turned to Jack who still stood in the doorway. He stroked his goatee in thought. "How dangerous will it be to bring Talyn back to Earth?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Our military suspects something is happening, even though they don't know what. They are going to be watching the area around Roswell carefully." He paused, taking a deep breath. "You and Talyn are the only escape John and Morgan have."
Aeryn turned at his words, noticing the look of worry that wrinkled Jack's brow. "What do you mean?"
DK tore himself from the viewport to gaze at Aeryn. "If they are found guilty, they will be court marshaled and possibly imprisoned for life. All their research, all their hard work, will be discredited and if IASA pushed it, they could be charged as traitors to the United States."
Jack's gaze froze on the two Sebaceans. "A penalty of death still comes with certain traitorous acts," he added. "I know they will have a better life in the Uncharted Territories than here. At least there, they'll be free."
Crais nodded. "I concur with that assessment." He motioned for Kira and DK to join them at the table, a table that had seen more strategy plans over the last cycle than Crais had ever counted on. "Here is what we will do…"
"John," Morgan whispered, nudging Crichton.
"What?" he grumbled, lifting his head from where he had his chin propped on his chest.
They bounced with the transport van as it ran over a pothole. They were handcuffed and Morgan slid closer to him. "Can you…can you talk to Harvey whenever you want?" she asked softly, her mind concocting a plan.
Crichton looked at her. "Why?" He gazed at his cousin in the dim light that filtered into the van from the small window that separated them from the front of the vehicle. The radio blared country music, their two guards laughing.
She quickly glanced forward, then shifted in the seat, her back to the cab of the van. "Well, we still have a Scarren dreadnaught to contend with. If Scorp's got any info that…" Morgan noticed the glazed look that came over Crichton's face and she lifted her hands, waving them in front of his eyes. "Well, that's a big yes."
"Hey Harvey! Front and center!" Crichton called in his mind, turning in circles in the blackness that was there.
The landscape shifted before him and he found himself standing in the middle of Roswell, Scorpius walking towards him wearing an 'I Met E.T. In Roswell, New Mexico' t-shirt. "John. It is not like you to come looking for me. I'm honored."
"Yeah, yeah. Save it for the funny papers. How do we destroy the dreadnaught?" He fell into step with the neural clone as they headed for a greasy spoon on a side street.
Scorpius stopped and looked at him oddly. "Blow it up. Honestly, John. I thought you were smarter than…"
Crichton stepped in front of the clone. "I know we have to blow it up. How? Talyn does not have enough fire power and in case you forgot, we're on Earth," he answered, pointing to the ground.
Scorpius looked at him thoughtfully. "Earth does not have any weapons powerful enough to destroy it." He pointed at Crichton. "Which means you must come back through the wormhole, bringing the carrier with you." He moved to stand almost nose-to-nose with Crichton, his eyes gleaming in delight. "You have to get the formula from the Scarrens," he happily declared.
Crichton smiled, shaking his head. "Uh-uh, not me buddy."
Scorpius stepped back in surprise. "Who then?"
"Morgan."
"What?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder to the front of the van. She had no idea how long Crichton had been out of it, his eyes staring eerily forward. It was all she could do to hold both of them on the bench as the van traversed the rough road.
Crichton's eyes had cleared and grew wide with sudden realization. He leaned towards her. "Can you still hack?"
"Hack? As in computer hacking?"
"Yeah." Crichton smiled.
Morgan's eyes narrowed. "If we get out of here. Why?"
His smile grew into a triumphant grin. "So we can get the formula from the Scarrens."
Crais and Aeryn lay flat on their stomachs in the scrub not far from the road. The transport pod was hidden in the wash behind them, powered down so as to not attract any undue attention. The sky was clear, the stars twinkling above them in strange patterns, the waning moon casting odd shadows around them. They could barely see Kira standing next to an old junker that had barely made it to the site they had chosen.
"Something's coming," Kira said, her voice tinny as it filtered through the comm badge. "It's them."
Two military police cars escorted the van, one in front, the other behind. They slowed as Kira waved her hands to catch their attention, pulling to the side of the road. An MP stepped out and walked to the front of his car. "Broke down miss?"
"Yeah. It stopped smoking about ten minutes ago," Kira answered.
Crais raised the pulse rifle, taking aim at the police car. "I'll call a tow…" was all the MP got out as the Captain pressed the trigger, sending a ray of laser fire towards the car.
The car burst into a ball of flame, Kira diving behind the junker as Aeryn fired, making sure there was nothing left of the already burning car. The two Peacekeepers ran towards the van. The MP in the passenger seat of the van slipped out, raising his pistol and aiming at Crais. He never got a shot fired. Crais rose the rifle, swinging it and knocking the man back into the van. He pulled his pulse pistol, firing once, taking out the driver, then shooting the unconscious MP.
The officers in the other car sat in momentary shock as Aeryn moved towards them. The driver managed to get out. "Freeze!" he yelled, his hands shaking as he aimed his 9 mm at her.
Aeryn fired, taking him the chest. His scream echoed across the sand as he fell backwards, his pistol discharging harmlessly in the air. She pulled open the van's door, propping the rifle on her hip. "Sorry I'm late," she said, smiling as Crais stepped up beside her.
"What took you so frelling long?" Crichton asked, hopping out of the van, Morgan right behind him.
"Get these damn things off me," Morgan said, holding her hands in the air, the chains of the handcuffs stretched as far apart as possible. She turned her head as Crais fired, the chains breaking. Movement behind her lover pushed her into action. She grabbed the pulse pistol Crais had holstered and fired, hitting the last MP dead center of his forehead as Kira ran up. She spun on the ball of her foot, firing into the car's engine. It exploded into flames, the hood flying up and back, landing with a loud metallic thud on the road.
Crichton turned to her. "Hey, next time warn somebody before you do that!" he yelled.
"Sorry," Morgan answered. She grabbed Kira's arm, dragging her across the road, following Crais and Aeryn down the wash, Crichton bringing up the rear.
"You just…you…you…" Kira stammered, finally finding her voice as they ran past Aeryn, who had turned to fire upon the junker. By the time the fires died out, no one would be able to determine what had happened.
"Later!" Morgan snapped, pushing her up the pods access ramp, slapping the panel as soon as everyone was on board.
"Aeryn! Get us out of here now!" Crais yelled. The pod lifted, moving fast down the wash and back up into space. He stared at Morgan as Kira jerked her arm free, running to the front where DK and Jack waited. "Are you harmed?" Crais asked softly. Crichton had followed Kira, leaving them alone.
"No, I'm okay. But the transponder's frelled."
Crais turned her around and she pulled her hair to the side, letting him examine what was left of the neural transponder. "Talyn, prepare another interface for Morgan, exactly like mine," he commanded.
Morgan looked at him. "Is that such a good idea?" she asked as she moved into his arms.
Crais smiled at her. "You have fixed all the problems and…added a few new features. I cannot foresee any difficulties." He saw Kira walk past, her eyes shooting daggers at Morgan. "I am afraid your friend is…"
"Pissed at me," Morgan finished with a sigh. She laid her head against his chest, comforted by the steady thump-thump of his heart and his strong arms around her.
"There is…no possible way you and Crichton can remain on Earth now," he whispered.
"That's okay. I never intended on staying," she answered.
Morgan slipped out of their quarters, leaving Crais asleep, sprawled across their bed. She walked quietly up the corridor, scratching the back of her neck where the new transponder rested, smiling at Talyn's soft query. The bridge doors slid open as she approached and Morgan proceeded straight to the system's console, watching the as the lights registered normal. She stretched, her mind still on the lovemaking between herself and Crais as soon as they returned to the gunship. A sound behind her prompted Morgan to spin around, her pulse pistol immediately in her hand. She lowered it, sighing. "Jeez, Kira," Morgan said, holstering the weapon.
Kira glared at her angrily, her brown eyes flashing. "Planning on shooting me next?" she snapped nastily.
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Give me a break, Kira."
Kira walked towards Morgan, studying her, stopping just outside of Morgan's reach. "You killed a human, Morgan. One of your own species in cold blood. What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, her voice rising in fury.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Morgan retorted. She reached back and popped the transponder from it's cradle, engaging the privacy mode. "I just saved your frelling life!"
"You killed a person!" she bellowed back, stepping forward.
"Really? Tell me something I don't know! What'd you want me to do? Stand there and let him shoot you? Or John? Any of us?" Morgan ran her fingers through her hair. "Kira, if I didn't shoot him, we'd all be in jail and Talyn an experiment for our wonderful and incredibly stupid science community!"
Kira stared at her in shock. "You've changed Morgan," she stated softly.
"I've changed?" Morgan nodded, licking her lips. "Okay. You want see why?" In a flash, Morgan had grabbed Kira, swinging her around and pinning her between the system's console and herself, a fistful of Kira's hair in her hand. She popped the transponder back in place, activating the clamshell before them. "Let me show you just what John and I have been up against," she hissed angrily.
"Morgan, let go," Kira begged.
Morgan shook her head. "Oh, no." She held Kira tight, letting the images flow slowly across the clamshell. "See him," she said softly, incensed. "That's Scorpius. He's the biggest reason John is on the run in the Uncharted Territories. He wants the wormhole technology." The image shifted again, the face of a Scarren appearing. Morgan looked at Kira. "Don't you dare close your eyes," she hissed. She waited until Kira opened them. "That is a Scarren. Those bastards captured and tortured Crais shortly after I showed up. They are the biggest threat Earth has." Morgan kept shifting the images, showing Kira exactly what she had gone through.
"Morgan, stop it, please," Kira begged, tears slipping down her cheeks.
She let her go, stepping back away from Kira. Morgan pointed at her. "If you had been in my shoes, I sincerely doubt you'd be the same too." She shook her head. "I live every day on the run. All of us, Talyn included, are wanted in the Uncharted Territories. And not just by the Peacekeepers."
Kira wiped her face brusquely. "Then stay here."
Morgan snorted. "It's not that simple." She rubbed her eyes and then pointed towards the viewport. "Earth is not ready for what is out there and you are defenseless against races like the Scarrens and their allies." Her breath came fast, the adrenalin pumping through her veins. "We're the only chance you have of keeping Earth safe," she emphasized.
Kira looked down at the deck, unable to meet Morgan's gaze. "It doesn't justify what happened today," she said softly.
"I never said it did. I didn't enjoy it, Kira." She exhaled, running her fingers through her hair. "But you tell me what choice I had."
Kira looked up at her. "I could never have done it."
"Never say never, Kira."
Something in the way Morgan spoke made Kira study her. It was the same Morgan she had grown up with standing before her, but she presented herself differently. She was more mature, more confident, more in control of herself than Kira had ever known her to be. Gone was the questioning soul Morgan had been, a stronger woman in her place. Kira realized that Morgan was right. "So now what happens?"
Morgan moved back to the system's console. "Tomorrow I'm gonna try to hack into the Scarren's database and get the worm hole formula." She looked up at the moon that floated before her. "And go home."
"Part of me wants to go, too," Kira whispered.
Morgan's eyes met her. "I know." Her jaw set, blue eyes hardening against the temptation of taking Kira with them. "But you can't." Morgan stormed off the bridge, never noticing Crais standing in the shadows of the corridor.
Kira sighed, the tears slipping down her face as she began to softly sob, laying her head on the console.
Crais watched silently, letting the human woman cry for a moment before stepping onto the bridge. "It…is not all bad, Kira," he said softly, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Kira stood up, quickly wiping the tears away. "What's happened to her?"
Crais smiled gently. "Crichton and Morgan have seen things that maybe no human has been prepared to see. And…both of them…have shown Aeryn and I another way to…exist. A way we were forbidden most of our lives." He reached back, grasping his transponder. "Let me show you something." The clamshell sprang to life. "What…Morgan did not share with you…is the beauty of the worlds and some of the…gentler races in the Uncharted Territories." He looked down at Kira. "Look," he encouraged, motioning to the clamshell with his head.
Kira hiccupped once and turned her gaze to the clamshell, letting Crais show her what Morgan hadn't.
Morgan had returned to the quarters she shared with Crais to find him gone, wanting nothing more than to forget the argument in his arms. She sat on the bed, her heart finally slowing down as she searched the gunship for him, finding him on the bridge with Kira. She heard what he had said and her face crumbled. She was not the only one who had changed. Morgan let the link go, turning on the bed to lay her face in the pillows, letting herself cry for what she had lost and what she gained.
Copyright 2002, Beth A. Carpenter
Kira looked at the jumbled pile of wires at her feet, her annoyance growing by the minute. She raked her fingers through her hair, turning around in a circle to view the mess, the DRD's chirping in their strange mechanical way. She shook her head, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. Kira tapped the comm badge she had pinned to her t-shirt. "Morgan!"
Crais walked into Talyn's small medical bay. "She and Crichton have not yet returned. What seems to be the problem?" he asked. He was beginning to get concerned. With the long-range communications down, he had no way of contacting his lover. It should not have taken this long to go into Roswell and return.
Kira looked at the alien Captain, thrusting a handful of multi-colored wires at him. "You see this?" She indicated to the mess surrounding them. "Your DRD's just spent the last hour pulling these."
Crais looked at her, brown eyes wide in question. "And?"
Kira blinked at him, mumbling in Japanese. She grabbed the wires. "You dipshit! These were the wires we spent five hours installing yesterday!" She turned away from Crais, leaning down to pick up one of the DRD's. She held it up to her eyes, staring at the little yellow bio-mechanoid, it's antennas rotating in alarm. "Rerun these wires, R2D2, or I'll pull your eye antennas out." She set the DRD down, feeding wires to it as it and the others began to fix the mess.
Crais closed his eyes momentarily, shaking his head. "Talyn, please instruct the DRD's to coordinate their efforts with Miss Preston and to not pull any more wires before she approves it." He looked at Kira in expectation.
"Thank you," Kira sighed, kneeling down to begin untangling another pile of wires. She looked up when Aeryn walked in.
Crais had worked with Aeryn long enough to tell by the look on her face something was wrong. "What is it?" he asked quietly.
Aeryn looked at him as Kira stood up. "Jack just got a phone call from Crichton. He said something about the local law enforcement picking them up."
Kira stepped over a DRD, walking to stand next to Crais. "The Police?"
Aeryn gazed at her. "It seems Crichton and Morgan have been arrested."
"What in the hell for?" Kira gasped. She could feel the bile rising in her throat. Her eyes turned to Jack as he and DK walked into the medical bay, both men pale with the consequences of Morgan and Crichton's arrest.
Jack exhaled, looking down and composing himself, hands on his hips. He looked at the others. "Someone made a positive id of John and Morgan and called IASA. They were taken into custody on charges of willful destruction of government property and going AWOL."
DK saw the confused look on Aeryn's face. "Absent without leave," he supplied.
"Yes, I know what it means, thank you," Aeryn snapped.
Kira's face blanched. "The Farscape and the Osiris," she whispered.
Crais folded his hands behind his back, his mind running through various scenarios. "Crichton's Farscape module is here on Talyn," he provided.
"Where's the Osiris?" DK asked.
Aeryn propped her hands on her hips, speculating on what Crais was planning. "The Osiris was destroyed shortly after Morgan arrived in the Uncharted Territories. We used it as a ruse to save Crais."
"You destroyed the Osiris?" DK asked crestfallen.
"Right now, that's not either here or there," Jack interrupted. "We can't reveal your presence, or else we will be swamped by military personnel and you all will be in physical danger, not just Talyn."
DK looked at the older Crichton. "So what do we do now?"
Crais looked at them. "Talyn's sensors are picking up a large amount of vehicles heading this way."
DK and Jack both sighed. "It took them long enough." Jack turned on one heel, pointing back at Crais and the others. "Listen, you stay here and keep working. Those vehicles are bound to be military personnel."
"But this is private property, Jack," Kira called.
"Yeah, but it won't keep them from snooping around or getting a warrant to search the compound," he called back, leaving Aeryn, Crais and Kira staring at each other.
Kira watched as Crais' face grew dark with anger. "Now what do we do?" she asked quietly, fear gnawing at her belly. Not fear for herself, but for her new friends and the wonderful living ship known as Talyn.
Crais and Aeryn's eyes met in quiet resolve. Both let their Peacekeeper training take hold. "We mount a rescue mission," he simply declared.
"I already told you it is for an experiment I have been working on," Morgan answered. "Look at my file, you moron. You'll see I have a PhD in cybernetic engineering."
Crichton laid a hand on her arm. "Easy Morgan. No matter what we say, they aren't going to listen to us." He looked up at her, shaking his head. "You know how IASA pencil necks are."
Morgan looked at him and sat down reluctantly, leaning back in the chair and folding her arms. They had been fighting with IASA's representatives and lawyers for two days. She had managed to keep them from removing the transponder, forcing them to take x-rays, convincing them the links were too deeply established. She had overheard the doctors using the words 'study' and 'scan' and didn't care for the idea of being dissected in the name of science, now knowing what a guinea pig felt like.
The lawyer stood up, tossing her hair over one shoulder as she closed her folders, laying them in her briefcase. "IASA has asked for a lie detector test as well as full psychiatric evaluations." She gazed at them. "As soon as I know when they are scheduled, I will let you know." She shut her briefcase and walked out, leaving Crichton and Morgan alone.
"We are in deep dren," Crichton whispered. He leaned his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "This is ridiculous."
"Still wanting to stay on Earth?" Morgan asked. The back of her neck was sore from all the tests the doctors had performed, damaging the transponder in the process. Now she couldn't feel Talyn, let alone try to get a message to him.
Crichton leaned back in his chair, taking Morgan's hand. "We have to get out of here."
"Yeah, but how?" She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.
"I don't know." Crichton laid his head on hers, staring at the cream colored wall across from him. "But, we've got two ex-Peacekeepers on our side, as well as Dad, Kira and DK. And if I know Aeryn and Crais, they'll have something their sleeves."
Morgan nodded. "I hope so."
The arrests made Kira and the others work that much faster on Talyn. Jack and DK had held off the military, demanding a search warrant, but for how much longer was anyone's guess. They performed tests on the young Leviathan at night, the flight performance numbers pleasing Crais. Only Talyn's starbursting systems remained unchecked. The underlying worry over both Morgan and Crichton gnawed at him, especially after neither he nor Talyn could contact her. It was if she wasn't there. Whether her transponder's privacy mode was engaged, by choice or by force, Crais didn't know.
Jack walked onto the bridge, breaking him out of his reverie. "They are moving them to Houston." He looked at Crais. "That will be the only time and chance we have to try and rescue them."
Aeryn walked in behind Jack, DK and Kira with her. "When?" She tossed Crais a fresh power pack for his pulse pistol.
"Tonight. They are hoping to avoid a media circus," he answered.
DK ran his fingers through his curly hair. "Yeah, listen to this." He snapped open the morning newspaper. "IASA officials have released confirmation that two missing astronauts have reappeared, apparently living in secret in Roswell, New Mexico. Commander John Crichton and Captain Morgan Langtree were taken into custody after being positively identified by the owner of a local Roswell gas station. It is believed that they masterminded an elaborate plan before Crichton's famous test flight four and a half years ago, the flight that made national headlines when his module disappeared, never to be seen again. Captain Langtree, Crichton's cousin, reenacted Crichton's flight almost eleven months ago, disappearing the same way. No debris was ever found from either ship and IASA believe that they returned to Earth, using the current radar limitations and unusual occurrences that reside in the Roswell area." He closed the paper. "Is this a bunch of bullshit or what?"
"With your military showing so much interest in our location, it will be difficult to keep Talyn hidden any longer," Crais commented. One by one, Talyn triggered his systems, the Leviathan powering up. "So…until we are ready to rescue Commander Crichton and Captain Langtree, we will be hiding elsewhere."
Talyn slowly lifted from the ground, moving carefully out of the hangar into the bright light of day. With a burst of energy that, for once, didn't blow any systems, he rose into the sky, rocketing through the atmosphere, his powerful thrusters easily breaking the hold of Earth's gravity. Crais allowed him to fly free as he quickly headed towards the moon.
"Oh my god!" Kira squeaked, grabbing a hold of DK's arm. The paper slid from his hand to land on the deck in a flood of pages, the front-page article forgotten. The blue sky turned black, the stars glittering around them as Talyn sped towards the moon, his scanners already actively searching for the dreadnaught.
"How many planets are in your solar system?" Aeryn asked Jack, the only human on the bridge whose mouth was not hanging open in awe. She assumed Morgan's spot at the system console.
"Nine," Jack answered, moving to stand next to her.
"The Scarrens have moved to the eighth planet," Crais remarked. "Talyn, stay on the dark side of Earth's moon until we are ready." He turned and looked at DK and Kira, smiling slightly. "There is a better view from the dining area."
DK and Kira managed to get their feet moving, following Crais and the others, heading right to the viewport. "Every kid dreams of this," DK sighed.
Aeryn slipped into a seat around the table, her eyes meeting Crais'. "When you have grown up in space, it loses its luster."
Crais turned to Jack who still stood in the doorway. He stroked his goatee in thought. "How dangerous will it be to bring Talyn back to Earth?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. Our military suspects something is happening, even though they don't know what. They are going to be watching the area around Roswell carefully." He paused, taking a deep breath. "You and Talyn are the only escape John and Morgan have."
Aeryn turned at his words, noticing the look of worry that wrinkled Jack's brow. "What do you mean?"
DK tore himself from the viewport to gaze at Aeryn. "If they are found guilty, they will be court marshaled and possibly imprisoned for life. All their research, all their hard work, will be discredited and if IASA pushed it, they could be charged as traitors to the United States."
Jack's gaze froze on the two Sebaceans. "A penalty of death still comes with certain traitorous acts," he added. "I know they will have a better life in the Uncharted Territories than here. At least there, they'll be free."
Crais nodded. "I concur with that assessment." He motioned for Kira and DK to join them at the table, a table that had seen more strategy plans over the last cycle than Crais had ever counted on. "Here is what we will do…"
"John," Morgan whispered, nudging Crichton.
"What?" he grumbled, lifting his head from where he had his chin propped on his chest.
They bounced with the transport van as it ran over a pothole. They were handcuffed and Morgan slid closer to him. "Can you…can you talk to Harvey whenever you want?" she asked softly, her mind concocting a plan.
Crichton looked at her. "Why?" He gazed at his cousin in the dim light that filtered into the van from the small window that separated them from the front of the vehicle. The radio blared country music, their two guards laughing.
She quickly glanced forward, then shifted in the seat, her back to the cab of the van. "Well, we still have a Scarren dreadnaught to contend with. If Scorp's got any info that…" Morgan noticed the glazed look that came over Crichton's face and she lifted her hands, waving them in front of his eyes. "Well, that's a big yes."
"Hey Harvey! Front and center!" Crichton called in his mind, turning in circles in the blackness that was there.
The landscape shifted before him and he found himself standing in the middle of Roswell, Scorpius walking towards him wearing an 'I Met E.T. In Roswell, New Mexico' t-shirt. "John. It is not like you to come looking for me. I'm honored."
"Yeah, yeah. Save it for the funny papers. How do we destroy the dreadnaught?" He fell into step with the neural clone as they headed for a greasy spoon on a side street.
Scorpius stopped and looked at him oddly. "Blow it up. Honestly, John. I thought you were smarter than…"
Crichton stepped in front of the clone. "I know we have to blow it up. How? Talyn does not have enough fire power and in case you forgot, we're on Earth," he answered, pointing to the ground.
Scorpius looked at him thoughtfully. "Earth does not have any weapons powerful enough to destroy it." He pointed at Crichton. "Which means you must come back through the wormhole, bringing the carrier with you." He moved to stand almost nose-to-nose with Crichton, his eyes gleaming in delight. "You have to get the formula from the Scarrens," he happily declared.
Crichton smiled, shaking his head. "Uh-uh, not me buddy."
Scorpius stepped back in surprise. "Who then?"
"Morgan."
"What?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder to the front of the van. She had no idea how long Crichton had been out of it, his eyes staring eerily forward. It was all she could do to hold both of them on the bench as the van traversed the rough road.
Crichton's eyes had cleared and grew wide with sudden realization. He leaned towards her. "Can you still hack?"
"Hack? As in computer hacking?"
"Yeah." Crichton smiled.
Morgan's eyes narrowed. "If we get out of here. Why?"
His smile grew into a triumphant grin. "So we can get the formula from the Scarrens."
Crais and Aeryn lay flat on their stomachs in the scrub not far from the road. The transport pod was hidden in the wash behind them, powered down so as to not attract any undue attention. The sky was clear, the stars twinkling above them in strange patterns, the waning moon casting odd shadows around them. They could barely see Kira standing next to an old junker that had barely made it to the site they had chosen.
"Something's coming," Kira said, her voice tinny as it filtered through the comm badge. "It's them."
Two military police cars escorted the van, one in front, the other behind. They slowed as Kira waved her hands to catch their attention, pulling to the side of the road. An MP stepped out and walked to the front of his car. "Broke down miss?"
"Yeah. It stopped smoking about ten minutes ago," Kira answered.
Crais raised the pulse rifle, taking aim at the police car. "I'll call a tow…" was all the MP got out as the Captain pressed the trigger, sending a ray of laser fire towards the car.
The car burst into a ball of flame, Kira diving behind the junker as Aeryn fired, making sure there was nothing left of the already burning car. The two Peacekeepers ran towards the van. The MP in the passenger seat of the van slipped out, raising his pistol and aiming at Crais. He never got a shot fired. Crais rose the rifle, swinging it and knocking the man back into the van. He pulled his pulse pistol, firing once, taking out the driver, then shooting the unconscious MP.
The officers in the other car sat in momentary shock as Aeryn moved towards them. The driver managed to get out. "Freeze!" he yelled, his hands shaking as he aimed his 9 mm at her.
Aeryn fired, taking him the chest. His scream echoed across the sand as he fell backwards, his pistol discharging harmlessly in the air. She pulled open the van's door, propping the rifle on her hip. "Sorry I'm late," she said, smiling as Crais stepped up beside her.
"What took you so frelling long?" Crichton asked, hopping out of the van, Morgan right behind him.
"Get these damn things off me," Morgan said, holding her hands in the air, the chains of the handcuffs stretched as far apart as possible. She turned her head as Crais fired, the chains breaking. Movement behind her lover pushed her into action. She grabbed the pulse pistol Crais had holstered and fired, hitting the last MP dead center of his forehead as Kira ran up. She spun on the ball of her foot, firing into the car's engine. It exploded into flames, the hood flying up and back, landing with a loud metallic thud on the road.
Crichton turned to her. "Hey, next time warn somebody before you do that!" he yelled.
"Sorry," Morgan answered. She grabbed Kira's arm, dragging her across the road, following Crais and Aeryn down the wash, Crichton bringing up the rear.
"You just…you…you…" Kira stammered, finally finding her voice as they ran past Aeryn, who had turned to fire upon the junker. By the time the fires died out, no one would be able to determine what had happened.
"Later!" Morgan snapped, pushing her up the pods access ramp, slapping the panel as soon as everyone was on board.
"Aeryn! Get us out of here now!" Crais yelled. The pod lifted, moving fast down the wash and back up into space. He stared at Morgan as Kira jerked her arm free, running to the front where DK and Jack waited. "Are you harmed?" Crais asked softly. Crichton had followed Kira, leaving them alone.
"No, I'm okay. But the transponder's frelled."
Crais turned her around and she pulled her hair to the side, letting him examine what was left of the neural transponder. "Talyn, prepare another interface for Morgan, exactly like mine," he commanded.
Morgan looked at him. "Is that such a good idea?" she asked as she moved into his arms.
Crais smiled at her. "You have fixed all the problems and…added a few new features. I cannot foresee any difficulties." He saw Kira walk past, her eyes shooting daggers at Morgan. "I am afraid your friend is…"
"Pissed at me," Morgan finished with a sigh. She laid her head against his chest, comforted by the steady thump-thump of his heart and his strong arms around her.
"There is…no possible way you and Crichton can remain on Earth now," he whispered.
"That's okay. I never intended on staying," she answered.
Morgan slipped out of their quarters, leaving Crais asleep, sprawled across their bed. She walked quietly up the corridor, scratching the back of her neck where the new transponder rested, smiling at Talyn's soft query. The bridge doors slid open as she approached and Morgan proceeded straight to the system's console, watching the as the lights registered normal. She stretched, her mind still on the lovemaking between herself and Crais as soon as they returned to the gunship. A sound behind her prompted Morgan to spin around, her pulse pistol immediately in her hand. She lowered it, sighing. "Jeez, Kira," Morgan said, holstering the weapon.
Kira glared at her angrily, her brown eyes flashing. "Planning on shooting me next?" she snapped nastily.
Morgan rolled her eyes. "Give me a break, Kira."
Kira walked towards Morgan, studying her, stopping just outside of Morgan's reach. "You killed a human, Morgan. One of your own species in cold blood. What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked, her voice rising in fury.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Morgan retorted. She reached back and popped the transponder from it's cradle, engaging the privacy mode. "I just saved your frelling life!"
"You killed a person!" she bellowed back, stepping forward.
"Really? Tell me something I don't know! What'd you want me to do? Stand there and let him shoot you? Or John? Any of us?" Morgan ran her fingers through her hair. "Kira, if I didn't shoot him, we'd all be in jail and Talyn an experiment for our wonderful and incredibly stupid science community!"
Kira stared at her in shock. "You've changed Morgan," she stated softly.
"I've changed?" Morgan nodded, licking her lips. "Okay. You want see why?" In a flash, Morgan had grabbed Kira, swinging her around and pinning her between the system's console and herself, a fistful of Kira's hair in her hand. She popped the transponder back in place, activating the clamshell before them. "Let me show you just what John and I have been up against," she hissed angrily.
"Morgan, let go," Kira begged.
Morgan shook her head. "Oh, no." She held Kira tight, letting the images flow slowly across the clamshell. "See him," she said softly, incensed. "That's Scorpius. He's the biggest reason John is on the run in the Uncharted Territories. He wants the wormhole technology." The image shifted again, the face of a Scarren appearing. Morgan looked at Kira. "Don't you dare close your eyes," she hissed. She waited until Kira opened them. "That is a Scarren. Those bastards captured and tortured Crais shortly after I showed up. They are the biggest threat Earth has." Morgan kept shifting the images, showing Kira exactly what she had gone through.
"Morgan, stop it, please," Kira begged, tears slipping down her cheeks.
She let her go, stepping back away from Kira. Morgan pointed at her. "If you had been in my shoes, I sincerely doubt you'd be the same too." She shook her head. "I live every day on the run. All of us, Talyn included, are wanted in the Uncharted Territories. And not just by the Peacekeepers."
Kira wiped her face brusquely. "Then stay here."
Morgan snorted. "It's not that simple." She rubbed her eyes and then pointed towards the viewport. "Earth is not ready for what is out there and you are defenseless against races like the Scarrens and their allies." Her breath came fast, the adrenalin pumping through her veins. "We're the only chance you have of keeping Earth safe," she emphasized.
Kira looked down at the deck, unable to meet Morgan's gaze. "It doesn't justify what happened today," she said softly.
"I never said it did. I didn't enjoy it, Kira." She exhaled, running her fingers through her hair. "But you tell me what choice I had."
Kira looked up at her. "I could never have done it."
"Never say never, Kira."
Something in the way Morgan spoke made Kira study her. It was the same Morgan she had grown up with standing before her, but she presented herself differently. She was more mature, more confident, more in control of herself than Kira had ever known her to be. Gone was the questioning soul Morgan had been, a stronger woman in her place. Kira realized that Morgan was right. "So now what happens?"
Morgan moved back to the system's console. "Tomorrow I'm gonna try to hack into the Scarren's database and get the worm hole formula." She looked up at the moon that floated before her. "And go home."
"Part of me wants to go, too," Kira whispered.
Morgan's eyes met her. "I know." Her jaw set, blue eyes hardening against the temptation of taking Kira with them. "But you can't." Morgan stormed off the bridge, never noticing Crais standing in the shadows of the corridor.
Kira sighed, the tears slipping down her face as she began to softly sob, laying her head on the console.
Crais watched silently, letting the human woman cry for a moment before stepping onto the bridge. "It…is not all bad, Kira," he said softly, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Kira stood up, quickly wiping the tears away. "What's happened to her?"
Crais smiled gently. "Crichton and Morgan have seen things that maybe no human has been prepared to see. And…both of them…have shown Aeryn and I another way to…exist. A way we were forbidden most of our lives." He reached back, grasping his transponder. "Let me show you something." The clamshell sprang to life. "What…Morgan did not share with you…is the beauty of the worlds and some of the…gentler races in the Uncharted Territories." He looked down at Kira. "Look," he encouraged, motioning to the clamshell with his head.
Kira hiccupped once and turned her gaze to the clamshell, letting Crais show her what Morgan hadn't.
Morgan had returned to the quarters she shared with Crais to find him gone, wanting nothing more than to forget the argument in his arms. She sat on the bed, her heart finally slowing down as she searched the gunship for him, finding him on the bridge with Kira. She heard what he had said and her face crumbled. She was not the only one who had changed. Morgan let the link go, turning on the bed to lay her face in the pillows, letting herself cry for what she had lost and what she gained.
Copyright 2002, Beth A. Carpenter