Chapter Seven
Crichton paced around Sulan's office, chewing on his thumb. He glanced at Dr. Lias sitting calmly on the leather settee just inside the door. He was hungry, he was tired and he was mad. "How long is it going to take for her to get here?" he snapped irritably.
Lias shrugged. "She was asleep when she received the message. Give her…" Her words drifted off as Sulan and Tadace strode in. She stood up, handing the bug sweeper to Sulan. Lias refused to take any chances with the security of the resistance.
"Well, this has turned into a fine mess," Tadace commented, resting one hip on Sulan's desk. He rubbed the bridge of his patrician nose, sighing. "There is no way we can get to them now. Security has been heightened, thanks to Raseen's capture of Crais and Morgan." He turned hard eyes on Crichton. "How? How, in Cholak's name, did Bialar manage to let them sneak up on him?"
Crichton ran his fingers through his hair, his temper flaring. "Well, it's not exactly quiet down there! Raseen's men had to have been following us!"
Tadace rose. "Which means she knows that you are here…" he motioned with his finger in a circular fashion, "…somewhere in this frelling complex! It was supposed to have been a simple rescue, Crichton! It's not like Bialar to frell something like this up!"
Crichton moved towards Tadace. "Are you accusing me? You saying it's my fault?" he yelled, poking Tadace in the chest. "After what Crais has put me through over the last few cycles, it's taken a lot for me to trust his sorry ass! And you are not laying the blame for this on my shoulders! Got that, mister high and mighty Councilman?"
Sulan stepped between the two men, laying a calming hand on both of their chests. "Gentlemen, this is not getting us anywhere. We still have a plan to finalize if we intend on rescuing them and only a few arns to do it in," she said soothingly, her voice soft. She gazed up at Tadace. "Have you heard from Shantar?"
Tadace's eyes narrowed at Crichton before turning to look at Sulan. "Yes. The resistance fleet has just moved into the sector. They are in place if needed."
Sulan nodded. "Good." She looked at Crichton next. "And the gunship? Talyn?"
"He's standing by. Crais left him on the dark side of the moon with instructions to respond to either one of our signals. He'll be ready to pick up whatever we manage to escape in since Raseen found and impounded our transport pod," Crichton answered.
Sulan pursed her lips. "Fine. Then we go to the contingency plan."
Tadace stared at her, returning to his seat on the corner of her desk. "That means exposing ourselves to the rest of the council," he commented softly. He watched as she moved past him to sit down. "What about your son?"
Sulan took a deep breath. "He has already been removed from the ranks and is on his way to Zorosa 3." She tapped a few keys on her console, scanning the messages waiting for her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Mmm, Scorpius is on his way." She flipped the monitor off. "We must move fast."
"What do you suggest?" Dr. Lias finally asked, standing up and walking towards them.
"We can't do anything until after the inquisition," Tadace answered, standing up to pace the room. "The inquisitors will not allow the sentence to be carried out until later in the evening."
"How do you know that?" Crichton quipped, crossing his arms.
Tadace just glared at him. "I just know." He turned to Sulan. "This is what we will do…"
Morgan kept her chin held high as the guards marched her down the cellblock. She had no idea where they were taking her and they refused to speak to her, remaining silent as they led her through the soundless corridors of the complex. She had fallen asleep in her cell and was still annoyed at being so rudely awoken. They stopped in the middle of the corridor, removing her restraints before pushing her through the door.
"Frelling rude son of…Ugh!" She rubbed her wrists, sighing as she shook her head. The skin around them was raw and she gazed at the bonding tattoo. "Dammit," she whispered.
Crais sat up, gazing at her as he leaned one arm on the bench that served as a cot, watching her in the dim lights of the cell. She didn't realize he was there and he could only assume Tadace or Sulan was behind this conjugal visit. Unless someone else in the council was hoping they'd hear something interesting. Slowly, his body still sore from the beating Raseen's men had given him; he swung his legs over the edge and stood, moving quietly over to his wife.
Morgan turned at his touch, staring up at him, the colored contacts long gone, her blue eyes searching his face as he cupped her cheek in his hand, his lips lowering to hers in a soft kiss. She chuckled quietly. "I'm still mad at you," she whispered, laying her head on his chest.
Crais gazed down at her. "What for?"
"Playing patsy to Raseen on the gammak base. And letting her kiss you"
Crais held Morgan out at arms length, his eyes locking with hers. "You know I love you. And…I thought I had lost you," he answered, stroking her hair. "I thought she killed you."
"No. Just wounded me, that's all." She shrugged. "I zigged when I should have zagged." Morgan licked her lips. "What's gonna happen now?"
Crais shook his head. "We will face the inquisitors and when they have the information they want, we will be executed," he whispered. He stroked his thumb gently over her bruised cheekbone. "And you will be turned over to Scorpius."
"But, what about…"
Crais shook his head again, looking briefly up with his eyes as he laid his thumb over her lips. He raised his eyebrows in question.
Morgan nodded, understanding what he was telling her. They were being observed. She took his hand and led him back to the bench, allowing Crais to enfold her in his arms. She reached her hand around to the transponder at the base of his neck, removing it and sliding it under her hand as she settled herself on his lap, Her legs straddling his, her back to the door and the camera. Morgan studied the transponder, shaking her head. "Dammit. Dammit. Dammit," she whispered in frustration. "I can't fix it without my tools. There's two many broken wires."
Crais took the offending piece of equipment back, returning it to its cradle. You can still contact him?" She shook her head as he looked up at her. "If anything is going to happen, it will be right after the inquisition."
"Are you sure about that?" she whispered.
Crais nodded. "We will get out of here," he answered, letting his hands drift up from her waist, undoing the jacket she was wearing. "I promise."
Morgan chuckled as she let the jacket fall to the floor. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Crais."
He smiled slyly, a smile Morgan had come used to seeing. Crais carefully ran his fingers around the slow healing wound in her shoulder. It would scar and somehow he knew she would carry it as a badge of courage. Crais kissed her, pulling Morgan against him, holding her tightly as if it might be the last time he would ever feel her in his arms.
Knowing that it could very well be.
The council chamber was a large circular room beneath a high domed ceiling with enough seats to easily fit the entire United Nations and half the governing bodies of Earth within it. It was filled to capacity with representatives of every Peacekeeper controlled and protected world, the half-moon bench of the Council looming above all else. The inquisitors sat in the center of the moon, two men, two women, their faces set in grim and determined lines as they watched the prisoners being led in.
Tadace was the last to take his seat, the room eerily still in the early morning. It was all he could do not to glance at Crais and his brother. "This inquisition will now come to order!" his voice boomed. He watched as everyone took their seats, the guards standing behind the prisoners pushing them down. "Captain Jira Raseen, you have brought before us four members of a resistance group that you took captive." He looked at her, wanting to wipe the smug expression from her face. "Is there any other pertinent information about them that you wish to add before we begin?"
Raseen stood. "No, Councilman Tadace. I believe the facts that have been presented are complete."
Tadace nodded, trying to control the shaking in his hands. "Then we may proceed."
The first inquisitor, Shara Maki, stood up. "Members of the Council, I wish to direct my initial questions to Captain Bialar Crais." Crais stood and moved forward, his hands still in restraints before him. Shara looked down at him. "Captain Crais, you were in charge of a Leviathan prisoner ship that escaped. Please tell the Council the events that led up to your being declared irreversibly contaminated by the Peacekeeper Scorpius."
As Crais began the tale of his first encounter with Crichton, the human and Dr. Lias approached the empty gallery above the chamber, the guards that were spaced around its entrance Tadace's men. Crichton dropped to his stomach, Lias to his right, Shantar and five others spaced out around them. The resistance group had come in under the planetary defense screens as a cargo carrier, meeting with Lias and the others arns before the beginning of the inquisition. Crichton gazed at her quickly. "Why do they want to know all this?" he whispered.
Lias looked at him. "They are giving him a chance to defend himself. As they will all of them. Tauvo will be the one they have a problem with."
Shara turned to the other inquisitors. "And…you have been bonded with an alien woman, a…" she checked the monitor in front of her, "…human?"
Crais glanced at Morgan. "Yes." He set his jaw in determination. They were not going to take him down or humiliate him.
The inquisitors conferred for a moment, one of the men, Telor Joice, standing. "Captain Crais, is it true that you first learned of the resistance movement from your brother, whom you believed to be dead?"
Crais nodded. "I was deceived by my brother during the Leviathan's escape."
The man looked at Shara and nodded. "That is all." He looked up at Tadace. "We wish to question Officer Aeryn Sun next." Aeryn took her place at the stand, her own face in set lines of determination. "Officer Sun, as a child, you were approached by a woman Peacekeeper, Officer Xhalax Sun. What do you remember of this encounter?"
Aeryn tilted her head. "Nothing," she lied. "It was nothing more than a dream to me."
Telor took a deep breath. "And when you saw her again, during the attempt to recapture the hybrid leviathan gunship Talyn? What happened then?"
Aeryn clenched her fists. "Sr. Officer Sun attempted to…disable the gunship and capture Captain Crais, Commander John Crichton and myself." She purposefully neglected to mention Rygel and Stark.
"Officer Sun, Sr. Officer Sun reported you dead. Why would she have lied?" Shara asked quietly.
A whisper of surprise echoed through the chamber. "I do not know. Maybe she actually had feelings for the life she had given birth," she snapped angrily. "Maybe her training never took hold."
The whisper in the chamber grew louder at Aeryn's blasphemous words. "Silence! SILENCE!" Tadace ordered. The room quickly quieted and he gazed at the inquisitors. "Is there a purpose in this line of questioning?"
Telor looked up at Tadace. "Councilmen Tadace, Officer Sun's relationship with her mother may bear some light on why she disobeyed a direct order from Captain Crais to return to the command carrier after the Leviathan escape." He gazed at the prisoners. "We believe that Officer Sun and Captain Crais knew of the resistance and therefore disobeyed a direct order from High Command to cease their pursuit of the Leviathan in order to join the newly formed resistance." He handed a sheaf of plastic forms to Tadace. "There is ample evidence that many of Captain Crais' own crew were members of the resistance faction."
Crichton rubbed his eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Oh, he didn't know anything about it. He just wanted to kill me," he murmured.
Crais was thinking the same thing and his eyes met Aeryn's as she returned to her seat. He looked at Morgan sitting next to him. She was pale, dark circles beneath her eyes. Crais leaned towards her. "What is the matter?"
Her eyes remained forward, focused on some unseen point against the bench. "I feel like I'm gonna barf."
Shara looked at Aeryn. "Officer Sun, one last question. Where is the human known as John Crichton?"
Aeryn never flinched. "I do not know. The last I saw him was with Captain Crais."
Shara's eyebrows rose as she looked at Crais. "Captain?"
Crais tilted his head. "I killed him."
Morgan bit her lower lip, trying not to smile.
Shara opened her mouth in surprise as the crowd in the room erupted in shock. She looked at Telor questioningly. The man just shrugged.
Crichton chuckled. "My boy Crais," he whispered, shaking his head. He looked to Shantar, giving the Sebacean a thumbs-up. With little effort, Crichton lifted the pulse rifle to his shoulder, waiting.
Telor cleared his throat, embarrassment plain on his face. "Officer Tauvo Crais, please approach."
Tauvo stood, moving forward. "It's Commander Tauvo Crais," he corrected, his face a mask of resolve.
"Officer Crais, we do not recognize your rank within the resistance," Shara remarked.
Tauvo looked at her, a sinister smile on his face. "Then I do not recognize this inquisition as a legal proceeding against me."
Crais lowered his head, shaking it as he exhaled in frustration at his brother's answer. He was going to get them all killed.
The room once again burst into an outraged din. Tadace peered at Sulan, trying to contain the smile that threatened to crease his face. "Order!" He pointed at Tauvo. "Simply answer the questions, Officer Crais!"
Tauvo's smile never left his face. "As you wish." He turned to Shara expectantly.
"Officer Crais, what is the current location of the resistance base?"
Tauvo simply shrugged. "I do not know."
The other woman inquisitor looked up. "You do not know?" she asked incredulously.
Tauvo clasped his restrained hands together. "I have never been there. I receive my orders and I do as I am told from my ship," he answered vaguely.
Morgan leaned towards Crais. "What is he doing?" she whispered.
"Being stupid," Crais answered, the guard behind them pushing them apart.
"Officer Crais, who do you receive these orders from?" Telor asked, stroking his chin in thought.
Tauvo laughed. "You seem to think that I am going to willingly expose the leaders of the resistance. No amount of questioning will make me do that." Tauvo's eyes hardened and narrowed. "Not even Scorpius' Aurora chair will make me give up that information."
Crichton shook his head. "Damn, you can tell those two are brothers." He looked at Shantar, his eyebrows raised in question. The ex- Peacekeeper shook his head, telling Crichton to wait.
The inquisitors put their heads together, conferring, the room deathly still. Tadace and Sulan exchanged glances, their eyes meeting the other three members of the Council who were in on the resistance. Crais looked at Morgan, then to his brother as he returned to his seat. Shara stood up and cleared her throat after a few minutes of deliberation.
"Would the prisoners please rise?" she called. "Captain Bialar Crais, you have been found guilty of disobeying a direct order from Peacekeeper High Command, consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, murder of your second-in-command, Lt. Teeg, and theft of Peacekeeper property, namely the hybrid gunship named Talyn. You are hereby sentenced to death."
Telor stood next, moving to stand next to Shara. "Officer Aeryn Sun, you have been found guilty of consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, murder of a senior officer, your mother, Sr. Officer Xhalax Sun on the planet Valldon…"
Aeryn's mouth dropped open. "I did not murder my mother. She was trying to kill me and Captain Crais shot her trying to save me."
Telor's eyes narrowed. "While you were both were evading capture. You are also charged with conspiracy against Peacekeeper High Command and hereby sentenced to death."
Shara looked at Tauvo. "Officer Tauvo Crais…"
"Commander," Tauvo butted in.
She pursed in lips in annoyance. "You have been found guilty of consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, conspiracy against Peacekeeper High Command and traitorous acts against the Peacekeepers. You are hereby sentenced to death." Shara sat down, Telor right behind her.
Tadace looked at Sulan. "If there are no further questions from the inquisitors, we shall call this to an end. Sentence will be carried…"
"Whoa there hoss," Morgan called, standing up and walking towards the bench.
"Morgan! What are you doing?" Crais hissed.
She waved her bound hands back at him. "What about me? You've passed judgment on Aeryn and Tauvo and Crais. But what about me?"
Crichton banged his head on the deck. "Morgan, shut up," he whispered, his forehead wrinkling in frustration.
"What about you, human?" Telor asked, standing back up.
"She gets that from the Langtree side of the family," Crichton murmured.
Morgan's temper flared. "You say the word 'human' like it was a bad thing. Well, for one thing, I have a name. It's Morgan. Morgan Langtree- Crais. Captain, a rank I earned in the United States Air Force and IASA on the planet Earth. A rank I worked my tail off to earn, just like my cousin did," she emphasized. "Yeah, according to you my race is unclassified. I'm an alien," she said, her voice getting louder.
"Morgan!" Crais snapped, through clenched teeth.
"Well, guess what? To my race, you're the alien." A murmur went through the crowd. Tadace dropped his head in his hand momentarily. "Neither John nor I expected to be dumped in this little corner of the universe but here we are. So…" she paused for emphasis. "What gives you the right to infer that I am a lower-class life form compared to you Sebaceans?"
"Morgan!" Crais warned.
Morgan looked directly at Telor, not giving the man a chance to respond. "Let me tell you something, Mr. Inquisitor. One my planet, I was the leading scientist in cybernetics. My cousin was the leading scientist in his field. We broke the barriers of our own solar system. And you call us inferior."
"Get 'em Morgan," Crichton whispered.
"Am I not good enough to be questioned?" she asked, her eyes flaring. She pointed to herself. "I know it's not because I'm female. You have definitely broke the gender mold out here."
Shara stood up. "Captain Langtree, you fate has already been decided. You are to be remanded to Scorpius for study," she remarked quietly.
Morgan nodded, pushing her tongue under her lower lip for a moment. "Sucks to be me, then, huh? When you say study, you mean what? Dissected? Torn apart limb from limb to see that my physiology is pretty FRELLING CLOSE TO YOURS?" she screamed.
"Morgan!" Crais bellowed.
She whirled around and faced him. "Shut up, Crais!"
"Captain Langtree, you do not know the gravity of your situation," Telor said.
Morgan looked at him. "Oh really? I think I do." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the inquisitor. "Scorpy gets a hold of me and I go right into the Aurora chair. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars." She slammed her fist on the railing. "He gets the wormhole formula and boom, more worlds for the militaristic bullies of this end of the universe to conquer and enslave."
"Oh Morgan, shut up," Crichton wished. He looked at Lias, surprised to see a smile on the doctor's face. The feisty human woman was getting the council and inquisitors nervous.
"You know what? There once was an organization like you guys on my world. About sixty, maybe seventy cycles ago that enslaved and exterminated almost an entire race of people because one man didn't like their religion. You think we're so inferior, let me enlighten you on something. We bombed the dren out of those idiots and that country is only now starting to see some prosperity. You guys are worse, because you enslave your people under the flag of a peaceful military that forces them to pay for protection with the blood, sweat and tears of their young. The people of my planet would never stand for that and they'd rise up against you in a heartbeat." She snapped her fingers in emphasis. "I'd rather die side by side with Aeryn, Bialar and Tauvo then to give Scorpius the wormhole formula so you can go and enslave more worlds."
"Captain Langtree, are you quite finished?" one of the Councilman snapped.
Morgan sucked her lower lip in thought. "No, come to think of it, I'm not."
Crais looked up at the glass dome above them, shaking his head as Tauvo chuckled quietly beside him.
"I have one other thing to say." Morgan turned and pointed at Raseen. "That little Peacekeeper wannabe, she killed Captain Lerin Kerick the commanding officer of your gammak base in the Qualni system. If you're going to hang Crais for killing Teeg, follow suite and hang Captain Raseen as well." She dropped her hands, turning and approaching Raseen, the railing between the prisoner area and the stands the only thing separating them. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Oh, and by the way, Bialar never really loved you!"
Raseen's face grew red in fury. "How dare you!" she hissed, launching herself out of the seat she was in. Armed guards grabbed Raseen, pulling her back, restraining her.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it Jira?" Morgan goaded, laughing. She looked at the members of the council. "You can sentence me to death, I don't care. I was a rogue on my own planet and I'm a rogue here. And I refuse to give Scorpius or the rest of you the satisfaction of winning." She laughed, walking back to Crais and planting a kiss soundly on his lips, sending the entire council chamber into an uproar. Morgan shook her head and looked back at the council. "For all I care, you can all get frelling stuffed."
The words had barely left her mouth when all hell broke loose.
Crichton paced around Sulan's office, chewing on his thumb. He glanced at Dr. Lias sitting calmly on the leather settee just inside the door. He was hungry, he was tired and he was mad. "How long is it going to take for her to get here?" he snapped irritably.
Lias shrugged. "She was asleep when she received the message. Give her…" Her words drifted off as Sulan and Tadace strode in. She stood up, handing the bug sweeper to Sulan. Lias refused to take any chances with the security of the resistance.
"Well, this has turned into a fine mess," Tadace commented, resting one hip on Sulan's desk. He rubbed the bridge of his patrician nose, sighing. "There is no way we can get to them now. Security has been heightened, thanks to Raseen's capture of Crais and Morgan." He turned hard eyes on Crichton. "How? How, in Cholak's name, did Bialar manage to let them sneak up on him?"
Crichton ran his fingers through his hair, his temper flaring. "Well, it's not exactly quiet down there! Raseen's men had to have been following us!"
Tadace rose. "Which means she knows that you are here…" he motioned with his finger in a circular fashion, "…somewhere in this frelling complex! It was supposed to have been a simple rescue, Crichton! It's not like Bialar to frell something like this up!"
Crichton moved towards Tadace. "Are you accusing me? You saying it's my fault?" he yelled, poking Tadace in the chest. "After what Crais has put me through over the last few cycles, it's taken a lot for me to trust his sorry ass! And you are not laying the blame for this on my shoulders! Got that, mister high and mighty Councilman?"
Sulan stepped between the two men, laying a calming hand on both of their chests. "Gentlemen, this is not getting us anywhere. We still have a plan to finalize if we intend on rescuing them and only a few arns to do it in," she said soothingly, her voice soft. She gazed up at Tadace. "Have you heard from Shantar?"
Tadace's eyes narrowed at Crichton before turning to look at Sulan. "Yes. The resistance fleet has just moved into the sector. They are in place if needed."
Sulan nodded. "Good." She looked at Crichton next. "And the gunship? Talyn?"
"He's standing by. Crais left him on the dark side of the moon with instructions to respond to either one of our signals. He'll be ready to pick up whatever we manage to escape in since Raseen found and impounded our transport pod," Crichton answered.
Sulan pursed her lips. "Fine. Then we go to the contingency plan."
Tadace stared at her, returning to his seat on the corner of her desk. "That means exposing ourselves to the rest of the council," he commented softly. He watched as she moved past him to sit down. "What about your son?"
Sulan took a deep breath. "He has already been removed from the ranks and is on his way to Zorosa 3." She tapped a few keys on her console, scanning the messages waiting for her, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Mmm, Scorpius is on his way." She flipped the monitor off. "We must move fast."
"What do you suggest?" Dr. Lias finally asked, standing up and walking towards them.
"We can't do anything until after the inquisition," Tadace answered, standing up to pace the room. "The inquisitors will not allow the sentence to be carried out until later in the evening."
"How do you know that?" Crichton quipped, crossing his arms.
Tadace just glared at him. "I just know." He turned to Sulan. "This is what we will do…"
Morgan kept her chin held high as the guards marched her down the cellblock. She had no idea where they were taking her and they refused to speak to her, remaining silent as they led her through the soundless corridors of the complex. She had fallen asleep in her cell and was still annoyed at being so rudely awoken. They stopped in the middle of the corridor, removing her restraints before pushing her through the door.
"Frelling rude son of…Ugh!" She rubbed her wrists, sighing as she shook her head. The skin around them was raw and she gazed at the bonding tattoo. "Dammit," she whispered.
Crais sat up, gazing at her as he leaned one arm on the bench that served as a cot, watching her in the dim lights of the cell. She didn't realize he was there and he could only assume Tadace or Sulan was behind this conjugal visit. Unless someone else in the council was hoping they'd hear something interesting. Slowly, his body still sore from the beating Raseen's men had given him; he swung his legs over the edge and stood, moving quietly over to his wife.
Morgan turned at his touch, staring up at him, the colored contacts long gone, her blue eyes searching his face as he cupped her cheek in his hand, his lips lowering to hers in a soft kiss. She chuckled quietly. "I'm still mad at you," she whispered, laying her head on his chest.
Crais gazed down at her. "What for?"
"Playing patsy to Raseen on the gammak base. And letting her kiss you"
Crais held Morgan out at arms length, his eyes locking with hers. "You know I love you. And…I thought I had lost you," he answered, stroking her hair. "I thought she killed you."
"No. Just wounded me, that's all." She shrugged. "I zigged when I should have zagged." Morgan licked her lips. "What's gonna happen now?"
Crais shook his head. "We will face the inquisitors and when they have the information they want, we will be executed," he whispered. He stroked his thumb gently over her bruised cheekbone. "And you will be turned over to Scorpius."
"But, what about…"
Crais shook his head again, looking briefly up with his eyes as he laid his thumb over her lips. He raised his eyebrows in question.
Morgan nodded, understanding what he was telling her. They were being observed. She took his hand and led him back to the bench, allowing Crais to enfold her in his arms. She reached her hand around to the transponder at the base of his neck, removing it and sliding it under her hand as she settled herself on his lap, Her legs straddling his, her back to the door and the camera. Morgan studied the transponder, shaking her head. "Dammit. Dammit. Dammit," she whispered in frustration. "I can't fix it without my tools. There's two many broken wires."
Crais took the offending piece of equipment back, returning it to its cradle. You can still contact him?" She shook her head as he looked up at her. "If anything is going to happen, it will be right after the inquisition."
"Are you sure about that?" she whispered.
Crais nodded. "We will get out of here," he answered, letting his hands drift up from her waist, undoing the jacket she was wearing. "I promise."
Morgan chuckled as she let the jacket fall to the floor. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Crais."
He smiled slyly, a smile Morgan had come used to seeing. Crais carefully ran his fingers around the slow healing wound in her shoulder. It would scar and somehow he knew she would carry it as a badge of courage. Crais kissed her, pulling Morgan against him, holding her tightly as if it might be the last time he would ever feel her in his arms.
Knowing that it could very well be.
The council chamber was a large circular room beneath a high domed ceiling with enough seats to easily fit the entire United Nations and half the governing bodies of Earth within it. It was filled to capacity with representatives of every Peacekeeper controlled and protected world, the half-moon bench of the Council looming above all else. The inquisitors sat in the center of the moon, two men, two women, their faces set in grim and determined lines as they watched the prisoners being led in.
Tadace was the last to take his seat, the room eerily still in the early morning. It was all he could do not to glance at Crais and his brother. "This inquisition will now come to order!" his voice boomed. He watched as everyone took their seats, the guards standing behind the prisoners pushing them down. "Captain Jira Raseen, you have brought before us four members of a resistance group that you took captive." He looked at her, wanting to wipe the smug expression from her face. "Is there any other pertinent information about them that you wish to add before we begin?"
Raseen stood. "No, Councilman Tadace. I believe the facts that have been presented are complete."
Tadace nodded, trying to control the shaking in his hands. "Then we may proceed."
The first inquisitor, Shara Maki, stood up. "Members of the Council, I wish to direct my initial questions to Captain Bialar Crais." Crais stood and moved forward, his hands still in restraints before him. Shara looked down at him. "Captain Crais, you were in charge of a Leviathan prisoner ship that escaped. Please tell the Council the events that led up to your being declared irreversibly contaminated by the Peacekeeper Scorpius."
As Crais began the tale of his first encounter with Crichton, the human and Dr. Lias approached the empty gallery above the chamber, the guards that were spaced around its entrance Tadace's men. Crichton dropped to his stomach, Lias to his right, Shantar and five others spaced out around them. The resistance group had come in under the planetary defense screens as a cargo carrier, meeting with Lias and the others arns before the beginning of the inquisition. Crichton gazed at her quickly. "Why do they want to know all this?" he whispered.
Lias looked at him. "They are giving him a chance to defend himself. As they will all of them. Tauvo will be the one they have a problem with."
Shara turned to the other inquisitors. "And…you have been bonded with an alien woman, a…" she checked the monitor in front of her, "…human?"
Crais glanced at Morgan. "Yes." He set his jaw in determination. They were not going to take him down or humiliate him.
The inquisitors conferred for a moment, one of the men, Telor Joice, standing. "Captain Crais, is it true that you first learned of the resistance movement from your brother, whom you believed to be dead?"
Crais nodded. "I was deceived by my brother during the Leviathan's escape."
The man looked at Shara and nodded. "That is all." He looked up at Tadace. "We wish to question Officer Aeryn Sun next." Aeryn took her place at the stand, her own face in set lines of determination. "Officer Sun, as a child, you were approached by a woman Peacekeeper, Officer Xhalax Sun. What do you remember of this encounter?"
Aeryn tilted her head. "Nothing," she lied. "It was nothing more than a dream to me."
Telor took a deep breath. "And when you saw her again, during the attempt to recapture the hybrid leviathan gunship Talyn? What happened then?"
Aeryn clenched her fists. "Sr. Officer Sun attempted to…disable the gunship and capture Captain Crais, Commander John Crichton and myself." She purposefully neglected to mention Rygel and Stark.
"Officer Sun, Sr. Officer Sun reported you dead. Why would she have lied?" Shara asked quietly.
A whisper of surprise echoed through the chamber. "I do not know. Maybe she actually had feelings for the life she had given birth," she snapped angrily. "Maybe her training never took hold."
The whisper in the chamber grew louder at Aeryn's blasphemous words. "Silence! SILENCE!" Tadace ordered. The room quickly quieted and he gazed at the inquisitors. "Is there a purpose in this line of questioning?"
Telor looked up at Tadace. "Councilmen Tadace, Officer Sun's relationship with her mother may bear some light on why she disobeyed a direct order from Captain Crais to return to the command carrier after the Leviathan escape." He gazed at the prisoners. "We believe that Officer Sun and Captain Crais knew of the resistance and therefore disobeyed a direct order from High Command to cease their pursuit of the Leviathan in order to join the newly formed resistance." He handed a sheaf of plastic forms to Tadace. "There is ample evidence that many of Captain Crais' own crew were members of the resistance faction."
Crichton rubbed his eyes, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Oh, he didn't know anything about it. He just wanted to kill me," he murmured.
Crais was thinking the same thing and his eyes met Aeryn's as she returned to her seat. He looked at Morgan sitting next to him. She was pale, dark circles beneath her eyes. Crais leaned towards her. "What is the matter?"
Her eyes remained forward, focused on some unseen point against the bench. "I feel like I'm gonna barf."
Shara looked at Aeryn. "Officer Sun, one last question. Where is the human known as John Crichton?"
Aeryn never flinched. "I do not know. The last I saw him was with Captain Crais."
Shara's eyebrows rose as she looked at Crais. "Captain?"
Crais tilted his head. "I killed him."
Morgan bit her lower lip, trying not to smile.
Shara opened her mouth in surprise as the crowd in the room erupted in shock. She looked at Telor questioningly. The man just shrugged.
Crichton chuckled. "My boy Crais," he whispered, shaking his head. He looked to Shantar, giving the Sebacean a thumbs-up. With little effort, Crichton lifted the pulse rifle to his shoulder, waiting.
Telor cleared his throat, embarrassment plain on his face. "Officer Tauvo Crais, please approach."
Tauvo stood, moving forward. "It's Commander Tauvo Crais," he corrected, his face a mask of resolve.
"Officer Crais, we do not recognize your rank within the resistance," Shara remarked.
Tauvo looked at her, a sinister smile on his face. "Then I do not recognize this inquisition as a legal proceeding against me."
Crais lowered his head, shaking it as he exhaled in frustration at his brother's answer. He was going to get them all killed.
The room once again burst into an outraged din. Tadace peered at Sulan, trying to contain the smile that threatened to crease his face. "Order!" He pointed at Tauvo. "Simply answer the questions, Officer Crais!"
Tauvo's smile never left his face. "As you wish." He turned to Shara expectantly.
"Officer Crais, what is the current location of the resistance base?"
Tauvo simply shrugged. "I do not know."
The other woman inquisitor looked up. "You do not know?" she asked incredulously.
Tauvo clasped his restrained hands together. "I have never been there. I receive my orders and I do as I am told from my ship," he answered vaguely.
Morgan leaned towards Crais. "What is he doing?" she whispered.
"Being stupid," Crais answered, the guard behind them pushing them apart.
"Officer Crais, who do you receive these orders from?" Telor asked, stroking his chin in thought.
Tauvo laughed. "You seem to think that I am going to willingly expose the leaders of the resistance. No amount of questioning will make me do that." Tauvo's eyes hardened and narrowed. "Not even Scorpius' Aurora chair will make me give up that information."
Crichton shook his head. "Damn, you can tell those two are brothers." He looked at Shantar, his eyebrows raised in question. The ex- Peacekeeper shook his head, telling Crichton to wait.
The inquisitors put their heads together, conferring, the room deathly still. Tadace and Sulan exchanged glances, their eyes meeting the other three members of the Council who were in on the resistance. Crais looked at Morgan, then to his brother as he returned to his seat. Shara stood up and cleared her throat after a few minutes of deliberation.
"Would the prisoners please rise?" she called. "Captain Bialar Crais, you have been found guilty of disobeying a direct order from Peacekeeper High Command, consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, murder of your second-in-command, Lt. Teeg, and theft of Peacekeeper property, namely the hybrid gunship named Talyn. You are hereby sentenced to death."
Telor stood next, moving to stand next to Shara. "Officer Aeryn Sun, you have been found guilty of consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, murder of a senior officer, your mother, Sr. Officer Xhalax Sun on the planet Valldon…"
Aeryn's mouth dropped open. "I did not murder my mother. She was trying to kill me and Captain Crais shot her trying to save me."
Telor's eyes narrowed. "While you were both were evading capture. You are also charged with conspiracy against Peacekeeper High Command and hereby sentenced to death."
Shara looked at Tauvo. "Officer Tauvo Crais…"
"Commander," Tauvo butted in.
She pursed in lips in annoyance. "You have been found guilty of consorting with unclassified alien life forms, namely John Crichton and Morgan Langtree, deeming you irreversibly contaminated, conspiracy against Peacekeeper High Command and traitorous acts against the Peacekeepers. You are hereby sentenced to death." Shara sat down, Telor right behind her.
Tadace looked at Sulan. "If there are no further questions from the inquisitors, we shall call this to an end. Sentence will be carried…"
"Whoa there hoss," Morgan called, standing up and walking towards the bench.
"Morgan! What are you doing?" Crais hissed.
She waved her bound hands back at him. "What about me? You've passed judgment on Aeryn and Tauvo and Crais. But what about me?"
Crichton banged his head on the deck. "Morgan, shut up," he whispered, his forehead wrinkling in frustration.
"What about you, human?" Telor asked, standing back up.
"She gets that from the Langtree side of the family," Crichton murmured.
Morgan's temper flared. "You say the word 'human' like it was a bad thing. Well, for one thing, I have a name. It's Morgan. Morgan Langtree- Crais. Captain, a rank I earned in the United States Air Force and IASA on the planet Earth. A rank I worked my tail off to earn, just like my cousin did," she emphasized. "Yeah, according to you my race is unclassified. I'm an alien," she said, her voice getting louder.
"Morgan!" Crais snapped, through clenched teeth.
"Well, guess what? To my race, you're the alien." A murmur went through the crowd. Tadace dropped his head in his hand momentarily. "Neither John nor I expected to be dumped in this little corner of the universe but here we are. So…" she paused for emphasis. "What gives you the right to infer that I am a lower-class life form compared to you Sebaceans?"
"Morgan!" Crais warned.
Morgan looked directly at Telor, not giving the man a chance to respond. "Let me tell you something, Mr. Inquisitor. One my planet, I was the leading scientist in cybernetics. My cousin was the leading scientist in his field. We broke the barriers of our own solar system. And you call us inferior."
"Get 'em Morgan," Crichton whispered.
"Am I not good enough to be questioned?" she asked, her eyes flaring. She pointed to herself. "I know it's not because I'm female. You have definitely broke the gender mold out here."
Shara stood up. "Captain Langtree, you fate has already been decided. You are to be remanded to Scorpius for study," she remarked quietly.
Morgan nodded, pushing her tongue under her lower lip for a moment. "Sucks to be me, then, huh? When you say study, you mean what? Dissected? Torn apart limb from limb to see that my physiology is pretty FRELLING CLOSE TO YOURS?" she screamed.
"Morgan!" Crais bellowed.
She whirled around and faced him. "Shut up, Crais!"
"Captain Langtree, you do not know the gravity of your situation," Telor said.
Morgan looked at him. "Oh really? I think I do." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the inquisitor. "Scorpy gets a hold of me and I go right into the Aurora chair. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars." She slammed her fist on the railing. "He gets the wormhole formula and boom, more worlds for the militaristic bullies of this end of the universe to conquer and enslave."
"Oh Morgan, shut up," Crichton wished. He looked at Lias, surprised to see a smile on the doctor's face. The feisty human woman was getting the council and inquisitors nervous.
"You know what? There once was an organization like you guys on my world. About sixty, maybe seventy cycles ago that enslaved and exterminated almost an entire race of people because one man didn't like their religion. You think we're so inferior, let me enlighten you on something. We bombed the dren out of those idiots and that country is only now starting to see some prosperity. You guys are worse, because you enslave your people under the flag of a peaceful military that forces them to pay for protection with the blood, sweat and tears of their young. The people of my planet would never stand for that and they'd rise up against you in a heartbeat." She snapped her fingers in emphasis. "I'd rather die side by side with Aeryn, Bialar and Tauvo then to give Scorpius the wormhole formula so you can go and enslave more worlds."
"Captain Langtree, are you quite finished?" one of the Councilman snapped.
Morgan sucked her lower lip in thought. "No, come to think of it, I'm not."
Crais looked up at the glass dome above them, shaking his head as Tauvo chuckled quietly beside him.
"I have one other thing to say." Morgan turned and pointed at Raseen. "That little Peacekeeper wannabe, she killed Captain Lerin Kerick the commanding officer of your gammak base in the Qualni system. If you're going to hang Crais for killing Teeg, follow suite and hang Captain Raseen as well." She dropped her hands, turning and approaching Raseen, the railing between the prisoner area and the stands the only thing separating them. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Oh, and by the way, Bialar never really loved you!"
Raseen's face grew red in fury. "How dare you!" she hissed, launching herself out of the seat she was in. Armed guards grabbed Raseen, pulling her back, restraining her.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it Jira?" Morgan goaded, laughing. She looked at the members of the council. "You can sentence me to death, I don't care. I was a rogue on my own planet and I'm a rogue here. And I refuse to give Scorpius or the rest of you the satisfaction of winning." She laughed, walking back to Crais and planting a kiss soundly on his lips, sending the entire council chamber into an uproar. Morgan shook her head and looked back at the council. "For all I care, you can all get frelling stuffed."
The words had barely left her mouth when all hell broke loose.