Chapter Eight
The first blast from Crichton's pulse rifle hit the councilman to the right of Tadace. He smiled at Lias lying next to him. "Next!" The doctor pointed and Crichton fired again as Shantar and his men opened fire on the guards and the inquisitors.
Crais dropped from the chair he had been sitting in, pulling Morgan down beneath him as the chamber erupted into chaos. "What the frell were you doing?" he yelled over the screaming representatives. The guards that had been standing behind them, Sulan's men and part of the resistance, had surrounded them, trying to protect the four prisoners. A set of keys fell to the floor in front of Crais.
"What? You think I was going to let them just send me off to Scorpius without saying something? You frelling nuts?" she yelled back, turning over so that Crais could release her hands.
Crais looked at her as he moved to sit on his knees, handing the keys to her. A slow smile spread across his face. "Sometimes I do not understand you, Morgan," he answered.
She smiled, leaning forward to quickly kiss him. "You're not supposed to."
Tauvo belly crawled over to them. "Uh, it might be a nice idea if we get out of here," he suggested calmly as Aeryn slid up next to him.
Crais grabbed the pulse rifle from a falling guard as Morgan uncuffed Aeryn and Tauvo, the four of them slowly standing. People were screaming and running as Crichton and the resistance members took out the council. Those Peacekeepers not part of the resistance fired back, trying very hard to dispense with the guards surrounding the prisoners.
Raseen saw her chance. She vaulted the railing, striding forward towards Morgan as the ground shook beneath them. The first of the explosives the resistance had set went off. She caught herself, pushing her way through the crowd, following the human and her companions as they blasted their way towards the door through which the council had entered. She noticed Sulan and tilted her head, wondering what the woman was doing. And why she was still alive when the bodies of the other council members littered the room.
Tadace stood inside the door, waving to them to hurry as a second blast rocked the council building. He saw Raseen heading towards them. "Sulan!" he called, pointing.
Sulan nodded, grabbing Crais' arm as he went past. "Bialar." Her eyes met his and she pressed a data chip into his hand, closing his fingers around it. "Make sure no one gets this." She nodded towards Morgan, who was jogging down the corridor behind the others. Sulan turned, closing and locking the door behind Crais. She looked at Raseen. "You can't have them, Raseen."
"Get out of my way you frelling traitor," Raseen hissed, pushing Sulan to the side.
Sulan pulled back and punched Raseen, knocking the woman backwards. She pursued Raseen, kicking the Captain as she fell, smiling at the grunt of pain emitted by the arrogant woman.
Raseen reached out with her hand, grabbed Sulan's ankle and pulled, bringing the councilman down. "What are they to you?" she yelled, pouncing on Sulan and swinging, her hands pummeling the older woman's face.
"Our salvation!" Sulan hissed. She looked up as the ground shuddered beneath them, and smiled, dropping her hands.
Raseen looked at Sulan in confusion, then gazed up in enough time to see a beam of the domed ceiling come crashing down on top of them.
As soon as Crichton saw Sulan close the door, he stood. "Time to rock and roll!" he yelled. They followed Dr. Lias back through the gallery, dodging falling rock and mortar as the building slowly began to cave in. He slapped his comm badge. "Talyn! Some help down here would be nice!"
Shantar and his men followed Crichton and the doctor out into the open square of the council building. Sebaceans and aliens alike ran helter- skelter in a frenzy of confusion as they pushed their way through. A phalanx of Peacekeepers moved towards them, firing, not even worrying about whom they killed in the process. Shantar tapped Crichton's shoulder, ducking a pulse blast. "Raseen's men!" he yelled.
Crichton looked around. "Where?"
Shantar pulled him back as another one fired. "Over there!"
They ducked behind a chunk of building that had fallen, returning the Peacekeepers fire. "We are in trouble," Crichton murmured. He looked around, noticing that Dr. Lias was missing. "Hey! Where's the doc?"
Shantar winced as a blast sizzled over his head. "I thought she was with you," he answered, firing.
Crichton peeked around the edge of the building remnant, his eyes spotting Lias. She was clutching her stomach, pulling herself slowly up a wall behind another piece of fallen debris. He looked at the Peacekeepers, fired once, and ran, sliding to a halt next to Lias. Crichton laid the rifle down, gently moving her hand from her stomach. "Aw man, this is not good," he commented, pulling off his jacket.
Lias grabbed his wrist. "I'm dying Crichton. Just let me go." She pressed a data chip in his hand. "Get this off the planet. And take care of them." Dr. Lias took one last breath, her fingers slipping from Crichton's wrist.
"Son of a bitch!" Crichton swore. Before he could rejoin Shantar and his men, he heard the high-pitched screech, a screech only a Leviathan could make when coming in fast and strong in the atmosphere. Crichton pressed himself up against the boulder, curling himself into a ball as Talyn opened fire.
The landing bay where Tadace's personal transport was housed was filled with Raseen's Peacekeepers, waiting, watching for the escaped prisoners and their traitorous leader. The Captain had signaled them after Crais and the others escaped the council chamber, right before Sulan confronted her. They hid behind the small transport ship and in between the five Prowlers that were in the bay. The leader held his pulse rifle ready, and fired as soon as the door opened. She had ordered them to kill whoever came in that bay.
Tadace drew back as the first guard hit the deck. "They will pick us off one by one this way," he commented, ducking further back in the corridor.
Crais looked at Morgan. "Signal Talyn. Have him…"
"I already did." She holstered the pulse pistol she scavenged. "It might be good idea to…"
Talyn's first blast shook dirt from the corridor walls, causing a dust haze to filter out into the bay. "Come on," Tadace called, running out the door and along the wall as they returned fire.
Talyn struck again, blowing out the automated doors, daylight filtering in, and revealing the hiding Peacekeepers. Smoke filled the air, the sounds of the wounded floating back to them.
Morgan and Aeryn moved low along the wall, staying under cover as they moved towards two of the Prowlers. "Planning on a fight?" she asked the ex- Peacekeeper.
Aeryn simply nodded. "I don't plan on being caught in an unarmed ship." She motioned towards the next Prowler and Morgan cautiously moved around the one Aeryn was about to climb into.
Crais and Tauvo fired at the guards, the brothers easily picking them off one by one as Tadace worked his way towards another Prowler. He looked up in time to see one of the Peacekeepers approaching him and raised his own pulse pistol.
But not in enough time. The guard fired, taking Councilman Borin Tadace, leader of Peacekeeper High Command, square in the chest. Tadace's body hit the wall with a sick thud.
"No!" Tauvo yelled, standing up.
Crais pulled his brother back down, struggling with him. "He's gone Tauvo!"
"Let me go!"
The bay suddenly went quiet and Crais and Tauvo looked up. The Peacekeeper who had killed Tadace stood over them, pulse rifle cocked and ready. "Get up." Slowly the brother's rose, dropping their weapons. "Face the…"
Twin pulse pistol blasts echoed through the bay and the Peacekeeper froze in place, his eyes glazing over as a trickle of blood ran down his chin. He pitched forward, falling face first on the floor, Aeryn and Morgan standing together, their pulse pistols still raised, the last of Raseen's men dead.
"Borin!" Tauvo cried, bolting away from Crais. He knelt next to Tadace, cradling the man's head in his lap. "We'll get you out of here," he said softly. Tauvo shook his head as he looked up at Crais.
"No…Tauvo," Tadace choked. Blood speckled his lips as he looked up at Tauvo. Crais, Morgan and Aeryn surrounded him and he looked at all of them. "No." He reached out, motioning for Crais to come closer. Crais canted his head as he knelt. Tadace laid his hand on Crais' arm. "Listen…to…me. I…sent…Tauvo…to find you," he began, coughing, the breath rattling in his lungs. "You…must carry…this…on. I…am counting…" Tadace swallowed, pausing, "…on you to…lead…the resistance."
Crais' eyebrows drew together in confusion and he shook his head slightly. "But Tauvo…"
Tauvo looked at his brother. "No. We have always planned on you…"
Tadace tightened his grip on Tauvo's arm, silencing him. "Bialar…you are…in charge…of the resistance…now. You must…protect the…next…generation,…the children. I am…leaving…you…in charge…of this…legacy. Say…you accept."
Crais' eyes met Tauvo's, his younger brother nodding in encouragement. "I will, Borin. We will finish what you started," he answered softly.
Tadace nodded, satisfied. "Good. You…are a…leader, Bialar." He coughed again, choking, his breath labored as he struggled to sit up. He motioned Crais closer. "Protect…all of them…including the humans…especially…Morgan. She…carries…" Tadace's eyes began to glaze and leaned back against Tauvo, "…the future…"
Crais looked away as Tadace died. He reached out and closed the man's eyes and laid a hand on Tauvo's shoulder. "We must leave. Now."
Tauvo nodded and gently lay Tadace down. He turned to move away and stopped, watching as Crais removed his jacket, a Peacekeeper uniform jacket that carried Captain's bars. Crais momentarily contemplated the bars on the sleeve, rubbing his thumb over them before laying it over Borin Tadace's still form, silently vowing that he would never again don another Peacekeeper uniform.
Talyn flew over the city, firing on anything that looked like a Peacekeeper below him, leveling buildings, dodging fire from the Prowlers that had been scrambled to catch him and the others. The Leviathan was determined to get out of there. He had picked up Crichton, Shantar and the others, using his DRD's to lower lines to them. Now, he had to find Crais and Morgan.
Crichton gazed at the system's console, looking for any sign of his cousin and the others. Talyn rocked beneath him and he held tight, looking out the viewport. "Hey Talyn, you planning on going around that building?" he asked conversationally. The gunship fired, the building disintegrating before them as he flew through the dust and rubble. "Okay. I guess you're not."
Shantar walked up beside him. "We have no way of knowing who is friend or foe out there," he commented as Talyn banked to the right. "How are we going to know which of those ships are Crais and the others?"
Crichton turned a blue-eyed stare on the ex-Peacekeeper. "Beats me. Hopefully Talyn can figure that one out. There's not a whole hell of a lot I can do. Talyn's pretty much doing whatever he wants."
Shantar eye's rose. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
The communications board sprang to life. "Crichton, you got a copy?"
Crichton's hand slapped the board. "Morgan! Where are you guys?"
"We're heading away from the planet with about ten Prowlers on our tails. A little help here would be nice!"
Crichton didn't have to say anything as Talyn chirped wildly, pulling away from the planet and the strafing run he had been enjoying. He locked on to Morgan's signal and took off, flying at top speed to intercept them before the Prowlers could pick them off.
Aeryn banked the Prowler, cursing under her breath. She couldn't shake her pursuer. "Morgan! Get this frelling idiot off my tail!" She clenched her teeth as she sent the Prowler into a roll, Tauvo gripping the back of her flight seat.
"I'm on him!" Morgan pushed the throttle forward, throwing both Crais and herself backwards. As soon the oculars lined up the shot, Morgan fired, blasting through the glowing remains of the ship.
All around them, skirmishes took place as the resistance fleet engaged the Peacekeeper carriers that circled the planet. Many of the smaller ships had already moved away, heading towards the edge of the system, the resistance carriers slowly following them, leaving the Peacekeepers disabled and in ruins.
Aeryn felt the tug of a docking web and she checked her scanners, breathing a sigh of relief as Talyn swooped in. She shut down the systems, allowing the Leviathan to bring her in.
Morgan banked her Prowler as the weapons lock alarm sounded.
"Head for the cutter," Crais commanded, pointing past her head to a small Peacekeeper cutter that was burning out of control.
She dodged the shots, the small fighter shaking as one hit its mark. The stick went dead in her hands. "Uh oh."
Crais peered around her. "What?"
"Dead stick! And a boogie on our butt!" she called, the burning cutter getting closer.
The Prowler behind her fired again, the rear stabilizer absorbing the hit. "Defense shields down to 25 percent." Crais cursed under his breath. "Did you initiate a re-start?"
Morgan nodded, trying it again. The Prowler tilted, slowly rolling as its momentum carried it towards the ship. "This is not good!"
The cutter grew in the viewport, the enemy Prowler's weapons fire stopping. The weapons alarm went silent…
The cutter filled the viewport…
Crais laid his hand on her shoulder…
The Prowler began to shudder violently…
"Hey, no Viking funerals!" a voice called.
The Prowler's descent came to an abrupt halt as Talyn's docking web took a hold of the ship. Morgan leaned back, a sigh escaping her lips.
"That was a bit too close," Crais whispered.
Morgan nodded. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Crais ran through Talyn's corridors, Morgan hot on his heels as they entered the bridge. "Status," he snapped, gazing at Crichton.
"The coordinates from Tauvo's carrier are set, the Peacekeepers are still pursuing us and Scorpius' command group just joined the party," Crichton reported.
Crais nodded. "Talyn, starburst immediately!" he commanded as the gunship rocked.
Tauvo stepped up behind his brother, watching as the viewport before them blurred. "The nebula will hide us until we regroup. Then we have to decide what our next step is," he remarked quietly.
"Where is everyone else?" Shantar asked from his spot at the weapons console, although he suspected he already knew the answer.
Tauvo looked at him. "Dead," he replied. He looked at the others and stalked off the bridge, Shantar behind him.
Crais and Morgan exchanged glances. "I'll…uh…have Talyn prepare you a new transponder. Raseen's men frelled that one up pretty good," she commented, turning back to the system's console.
Crais walked past Crichton, following his brother. He stopped, looking at the human. "Thank you," he simply said as he walked out.
Crichton looked at Morgan then followed Crais, searching for Aeryn, leaving Morgan alone on Talyn's bridge. She sank to her knees, her stomach still queasy, her body aching. The gunship chirped at her. "I'm fine Talyn. Just tired." She nodded at his response and leaned against the console, not wanting to leave the bridge. "Just wake me if you need me."
Crais found his brother alone in the galley. He walked up next to him, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the blurred lines of the stars as Talyn traveled to the nebula. He glanced at Tauvo, noticing the lines of tension that wrinkled his brother's face. "You need some rest. We all do."
Tauvo nodded. "I'll rest when the fleet is together." He sighed, hanging his head. "He deserved more than what he got."
Crais laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "They all did." He waited as Tauvo regained his composure. "How many members of the council were involved?"
Tauvo looked at him. "Four. All dead." He moved away, stopping at the table and picking up a piece of fruit. "The…leadership structure of the resistance has been drastically altered." Tauvo turned dark eyes back to his brother, tossing the round fruit up in the air and catching it before biting into it. "You are the head of the resistance now. And I'm your second."
Crais leaned against the bulkhead, arms crossed as he stared at Tauvo. "You accept this?" he asked softly.
Tauvo nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you have been leading this fleet. This has been your life since the day I sent you after Moya," Crais answered. He watched his brother finish off the piece of fruit, searching for the right words before answering.
"Bialar, you are a leader. Borin wasn't lying about that. Many of the resistance members look up to you because you had the nimvoks to throw caution to the wind and chase after my 'killer'."
"I went after Crichton out of blind fury and the need for revenge."
Tauvo shrugged. "Whatever the reason, Borin and the other members of the resistance, myself included, believed you would be the best choice to lead us if anything happened." Tauvo stood up and walked over to his brother, leaning one hand on the bulkhead as he stared at Crais. "Are you saying, then, that you won't finish this?"
Crais turned his head and gazed at Tauvo. "On the contrary, brother, I have every intention on seeing this through." He stood up and walked over to a side system console, running his fingers along the edge as he thought. "When the fleet is regrouped, we need to take…stock of our resources. And determine where are weaknesses are."
"You realize we left Peacekeeper High Command in shambles with almost no leadership," Tauvo remarked.
Crais tapped the console, the clamshell before him coming to life. "As of right now, the highest ranking member of the Peacekeepers, not counting Admiral Logia who is currently patrolling the Traki cluster and is out of communication range…" Crais paused,"…is none other than Scorpius."
Tauvo moved closer to his brother. "Well, that puts a whole new twist on the resistance game."
Crais nodded. "I concur." He shut the clamshell down. "As soon as the others have arrived, I want to have a strategy session. We have a lot of work to do."
"And not much time to do it in," Tauvo added as they walked from the galley. "Scorpius is not going to give up."
Crais headed towards the bridge. "No." He stopped, turning to Tauvo. "As long as my wife carries the wormhole formula, unlocked, in her head, she will be in danger. And so will Crichton." He lifted his chin. "Scorpius will not give up until that formula is his and they are dead."
"Then we better get to work," Tauvo answered.
Copyright 2002 Beth A. Carpenter
The first blast from Crichton's pulse rifle hit the councilman to the right of Tadace. He smiled at Lias lying next to him. "Next!" The doctor pointed and Crichton fired again as Shantar and his men opened fire on the guards and the inquisitors.
Crais dropped from the chair he had been sitting in, pulling Morgan down beneath him as the chamber erupted into chaos. "What the frell were you doing?" he yelled over the screaming representatives. The guards that had been standing behind them, Sulan's men and part of the resistance, had surrounded them, trying to protect the four prisoners. A set of keys fell to the floor in front of Crais.
"What? You think I was going to let them just send me off to Scorpius without saying something? You frelling nuts?" she yelled back, turning over so that Crais could release her hands.
Crais looked at her as he moved to sit on his knees, handing the keys to her. A slow smile spread across his face. "Sometimes I do not understand you, Morgan," he answered.
She smiled, leaning forward to quickly kiss him. "You're not supposed to."
Tauvo belly crawled over to them. "Uh, it might be a nice idea if we get out of here," he suggested calmly as Aeryn slid up next to him.
Crais grabbed the pulse rifle from a falling guard as Morgan uncuffed Aeryn and Tauvo, the four of them slowly standing. People were screaming and running as Crichton and the resistance members took out the council. Those Peacekeepers not part of the resistance fired back, trying very hard to dispense with the guards surrounding the prisoners.
Raseen saw her chance. She vaulted the railing, striding forward towards Morgan as the ground shook beneath them. The first of the explosives the resistance had set went off. She caught herself, pushing her way through the crowd, following the human and her companions as they blasted their way towards the door through which the council had entered. She noticed Sulan and tilted her head, wondering what the woman was doing. And why she was still alive when the bodies of the other council members littered the room.
Tadace stood inside the door, waving to them to hurry as a second blast rocked the council building. He saw Raseen heading towards them. "Sulan!" he called, pointing.
Sulan nodded, grabbing Crais' arm as he went past. "Bialar." Her eyes met his and she pressed a data chip into his hand, closing his fingers around it. "Make sure no one gets this." She nodded towards Morgan, who was jogging down the corridor behind the others. Sulan turned, closing and locking the door behind Crais. She looked at Raseen. "You can't have them, Raseen."
"Get out of my way you frelling traitor," Raseen hissed, pushing Sulan to the side.
Sulan pulled back and punched Raseen, knocking the woman backwards. She pursued Raseen, kicking the Captain as she fell, smiling at the grunt of pain emitted by the arrogant woman.
Raseen reached out with her hand, grabbed Sulan's ankle and pulled, bringing the councilman down. "What are they to you?" she yelled, pouncing on Sulan and swinging, her hands pummeling the older woman's face.
"Our salvation!" Sulan hissed. She looked up as the ground shuddered beneath them, and smiled, dropping her hands.
Raseen looked at Sulan in confusion, then gazed up in enough time to see a beam of the domed ceiling come crashing down on top of them.
As soon as Crichton saw Sulan close the door, he stood. "Time to rock and roll!" he yelled. They followed Dr. Lias back through the gallery, dodging falling rock and mortar as the building slowly began to cave in. He slapped his comm badge. "Talyn! Some help down here would be nice!"
Shantar and his men followed Crichton and the doctor out into the open square of the council building. Sebaceans and aliens alike ran helter- skelter in a frenzy of confusion as they pushed their way through. A phalanx of Peacekeepers moved towards them, firing, not even worrying about whom they killed in the process. Shantar tapped Crichton's shoulder, ducking a pulse blast. "Raseen's men!" he yelled.
Crichton looked around. "Where?"
Shantar pulled him back as another one fired. "Over there!"
They ducked behind a chunk of building that had fallen, returning the Peacekeepers fire. "We are in trouble," Crichton murmured. He looked around, noticing that Dr. Lias was missing. "Hey! Where's the doc?"
Shantar winced as a blast sizzled over his head. "I thought she was with you," he answered, firing.
Crichton peeked around the edge of the building remnant, his eyes spotting Lias. She was clutching her stomach, pulling herself slowly up a wall behind another piece of fallen debris. He looked at the Peacekeepers, fired once, and ran, sliding to a halt next to Lias. Crichton laid the rifle down, gently moving her hand from her stomach. "Aw man, this is not good," he commented, pulling off his jacket.
Lias grabbed his wrist. "I'm dying Crichton. Just let me go." She pressed a data chip in his hand. "Get this off the planet. And take care of them." Dr. Lias took one last breath, her fingers slipping from Crichton's wrist.
"Son of a bitch!" Crichton swore. Before he could rejoin Shantar and his men, he heard the high-pitched screech, a screech only a Leviathan could make when coming in fast and strong in the atmosphere. Crichton pressed himself up against the boulder, curling himself into a ball as Talyn opened fire.
The landing bay where Tadace's personal transport was housed was filled with Raseen's Peacekeepers, waiting, watching for the escaped prisoners and their traitorous leader. The Captain had signaled them after Crais and the others escaped the council chamber, right before Sulan confronted her. They hid behind the small transport ship and in between the five Prowlers that were in the bay. The leader held his pulse rifle ready, and fired as soon as the door opened. She had ordered them to kill whoever came in that bay.
Tadace drew back as the first guard hit the deck. "They will pick us off one by one this way," he commented, ducking further back in the corridor.
Crais looked at Morgan. "Signal Talyn. Have him…"
"I already did." She holstered the pulse pistol she scavenged. "It might be good idea to…"
Talyn's first blast shook dirt from the corridor walls, causing a dust haze to filter out into the bay. "Come on," Tadace called, running out the door and along the wall as they returned fire.
Talyn struck again, blowing out the automated doors, daylight filtering in, and revealing the hiding Peacekeepers. Smoke filled the air, the sounds of the wounded floating back to them.
Morgan and Aeryn moved low along the wall, staying under cover as they moved towards two of the Prowlers. "Planning on a fight?" she asked the ex- Peacekeeper.
Aeryn simply nodded. "I don't plan on being caught in an unarmed ship." She motioned towards the next Prowler and Morgan cautiously moved around the one Aeryn was about to climb into.
Crais and Tauvo fired at the guards, the brothers easily picking them off one by one as Tadace worked his way towards another Prowler. He looked up in time to see one of the Peacekeepers approaching him and raised his own pulse pistol.
But not in enough time. The guard fired, taking Councilman Borin Tadace, leader of Peacekeeper High Command, square in the chest. Tadace's body hit the wall with a sick thud.
"No!" Tauvo yelled, standing up.
Crais pulled his brother back down, struggling with him. "He's gone Tauvo!"
"Let me go!"
The bay suddenly went quiet and Crais and Tauvo looked up. The Peacekeeper who had killed Tadace stood over them, pulse rifle cocked and ready. "Get up." Slowly the brother's rose, dropping their weapons. "Face the…"
Twin pulse pistol blasts echoed through the bay and the Peacekeeper froze in place, his eyes glazing over as a trickle of blood ran down his chin. He pitched forward, falling face first on the floor, Aeryn and Morgan standing together, their pulse pistols still raised, the last of Raseen's men dead.
"Borin!" Tauvo cried, bolting away from Crais. He knelt next to Tadace, cradling the man's head in his lap. "We'll get you out of here," he said softly. Tauvo shook his head as he looked up at Crais.
"No…Tauvo," Tadace choked. Blood speckled his lips as he looked up at Tauvo. Crais, Morgan and Aeryn surrounded him and he looked at all of them. "No." He reached out, motioning for Crais to come closer. Crais canted his head as he knelt. Tadace laid his hand on Crais' arm. "Listen…to…me. I…sent…Tauvo…to find you," he began, coughing, the breath rattling in his lungs. "You…must carry…this…on. I…am counting…" Tadace swallowed, pausing, "…on you to…lead…the resistance."
Crais' eyebrows drew together in confusion and he shook his head slightly. "But Tauvo…"
Tauvo looked at his brother. "No. We have always planned on you…"
Tadace tightened his grip on Tauvo's arm, silencing him. "Bialar…you are…in charge…of the resistance…now. You must…protect the…next…generation,…the children. I am…leaving…you…in charge…of this…legacy. Say…you accept."
Crais' eyes met Tauvo's, his younger brother nodding in encouragement. "I will, Borin. We will finish what you started," he answered softly.
Tadace nodded, satisfied. "Good. You…are a…leader, Bialar." He coughed again, choking, his breath labored as he struggled to sit up. He motioned Crais closer. "Protect…all of them…including the humans…especially…Morgan. She…carries…" Tadace's eyes began to glaze and leaned back against Tauvo, "…the future…"
Crais looked away as Tadace died. He reached out and closed the man's eyes and laid a hand on Tauvo's shoulder. "We must leave. Now."
Tauvo nodded and gently lay Tadace down. He turned to move away and stopped, watching as Crais removed his jacket, a Peacekeeper uniform jacket that carried Captain's bars. Crais momentarily contemplated the bars on the sleeve, rubbing his thumb over them before laying it over Borin Tadace's still form, silently vowing that he would never again don another Peacekeeper uniform.
Talyn flew over the city, firing on anything that looked like a Peacekeeper below him, leveling buildings, dodging fire from the Prowlers that had been scrambled to catch him and the others. The Leviathan was determined to get out of there. He had picked up Crichton, Shantar and the others, using his DRD's to lower lines to them. Now, he had to find Crais and Morgan.
Crichton gazed at the system's console, looking for any sign of his cousin and the others. Talyn rocked beneath him and he held tight, looking out the viewport. "Hey Talyn, you planning on going around that building?" he asked conversationally. The gunship fired, the building disintegrating before them as he flew through the dust and rubble. "Okay. I guess you're not."
Shantar walked up beside him. "We have no way of knowing who is friend or foe out there," he commented as Talyn banked to the right. "How are we going to know which of those ships are Crais and the others?"
Crichton turned a blue-eyed stare on the ex-Peacekeeper. "Beats me. Hopefully Talyn can figure that one out. There's not a whole hell of a lot I can do. Talyn's pretty much doing whatever he wants."
Shantar eye's rose. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
The communications board sprang to life. "Crichton, you got a copy?"
Crichton's hand slapped the board. "Morgan! Where are you guys?"
"We're heading away from the planet with about ten Prowlers on our tails. A little help here would be nice!"
Crichton didn't have to say anything as Talyn chirped wildly, pulling away from the planet and the strafing run he had been enjoying. He locked on to Morgan's signal and took off, flying at top speed to intercept them before the Prowlers could pick them off.
Aeryn banked the Prowler, cursing under her breath. She couldn't shake her pursuer. "Morgan! Get this frelling idiot off my tail!" She clenched her teeth as she sent the Prowler into a roll, Tauvo gripping the back of her flight seat.
"I'm on him!" Morgan pushed the throttle forward, throwing both Crais and herself backwards. As soon the oculars lined up the shot, Morgan fired, blasting through the glowing remains of the ship.
All around them, skirmishes took place as the resistance fleet engaged the Peacekeeper carriers that circled the planet. Many of the smaller ships had already moved away, heading towards the edge of the system, the resistance carriers slowly following them, leaving the Peacekeepers disabled and in ruins.
Aeryn felt the tug of a docking web and she checked her scanners, breathing a sigh of relief as Talyn swooped in. She shut down the systems, allowing the Leviathan to bring her in.
Morgan banked her Prowler as the weapons lock alarm sounded.
"Head for the cutter," Crais commanded, pointing past her head to a small Peacekeeper cutter that was burning out of control.
She dodged the shots, the small fighter shaking as one hit its mark. The stick went dead in her hands. "Uh oh."
Crais peered around her. "What?"
"Dead stick! And a boogie on our butt!" she called, the burning cutter getting closer.
The Prowler behind her fired again, the rear stabilizer absorbing the hit. "Defense shields down to 25 percent." Crais cursed under his breath. "Did you initiate a re-start?"
Morgan nodded, trying it again. The Prowler tilted, slowly rolling as its momentum carried it towards the ship. "This is not good!"
The cutter grew in the viewport, the enemy Prowler's weapons fire stopping. The weapons alarm went silent…
The cutter filled the viewport…
Crais laid his hand on her shoulder…
The Prowler began to shudder violently…
"Hey, no Viking funerals!" a voice called.
The Prowler's descent came to an abrupt halt as Talyn's docking web took a hold of the ship. Morgan leaned back, a sigh escaping her lips.
"That was a bit too close," Crais whispered.
Morgan nodded. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Crais ran through Talyn's corridors, Morgan hot on his heels as they entered the bridge. "Status," he snapped, gazing at Crichton.
"The coordinates from Tauvo's carrier are set, the Peacekeepers are still pursuing us and Scorpius' command group just joined the party," Crichton reported.
Crais nodded. "Talyn, starburst immediately!" he commanded as the gunship rocked.
Tauvo stepped up behind his brother, watching as the viewport before them blurred. "The nebula will hide us until we regroup. Then we have to decide what our next step is," he remarked quietly.
"Where is everyone else?" Shantar asked from his spot at the weapons console, although he suspected he already knew the answer.
Tauvo looked at him. "Dead," he replied. He looked at the others and stalked off the bridge, Shantar behind him.
Crais and Morgan exchanged glances. "I'll…uh…have Talyn prepare you a new transponder. Raseen's men frelled that one up pretty good," she commented, turning back to the system's console.
Crais walked past Crichton, following his brother. He stopped, looking at the human. "Thank you," he simply said as he walked out.
Crichton looked at Morgan then followed Crais, searching for Aeryn, leaving Morgan alone on Talyn's bridge. She sank to her knees, her stomach still queasy, her body aching. The gunship chirped at her. "I'm fine Talyn. Just tired." She nodded at his response and leaned against the console, not wanting to leave the bridge. "Just wake me if you need me."
Crais found his brother alone in the galley. He walked up next to him, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the blurred lines of the stars as Talyn traveled to the nebula. He glanced at Tauvo, noticing the lines of tension that wrinkled his brother's face. "You need some rest. We all do."
Tauvo nodded. "I'll rest when the fleet is together." He sighed, hanging his head. "He deserved more than what he got."
Crais laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "They all did." He waited as Tauvo regained his composure. "How many members of the council were involved?"
Tauvo looked at him. "Four. All dead." He moved away, stopping at the table and picking up a piece of fruit. "The…leadership structure of the resistance has been drastically altered." Tauvo turned dark eyes back to his brother, tossing the round fruit up in the air and catching it before biting into it. "You are the head of the resistance now. And I'm your second."
Crais leaned against the bulkhead, arms crossed as he stared at Tauvo. "You accept this?" he asked softly.
Tauvo nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you have been leading this fleet. This has been your life since the day I sent you after Moya," Crais answered. He watched his brother finish off the piece of fruit, searching for the right words before answering.
"Bialar, you are a leader. Borin wasn't lying about that. Many of the resistance members look up to you because you had the nimvoks to throw caution to the wind and chase after my 'killer'."
"I went after Crichton out of blind fury and the need for revenge."
Tauvo shrugged. "Whatever the reason, Borin and the other members of the resistance, myself included, believed you would be the best choice to lead us if anything happened." Tauvo stood up and walked over to his brother, leaning one hand on the bulkhead as he stared at Crais. "Are you saying, then, that you won't finish this?"
Crais turned his head and gazed at Tauvo. "On the contrary, brother, I have every intention on seeing this through." He stood up and walked over to a side system console, running his fingers along the edge as he thought. "When the fleet is regrouped, we need to take…stock of our resources. And determine where are weaknesses are."
"You realize we left Peacekeeper High Command in shambles with almost no leadership," Tauvo remarked.
Crais tapped the console, the clamshell before him coming to life. "As of right now, the highest ranking member of the Peacekeepers, not counting Admiral Logia who is currently patrolling the Traki cluster and is out of communication range…" Crais paused,"…is none other than Scorpius."
Tauvo moved closer to his brother. "Well, that puts a whole new twist on the resistance game."
Crais nodded. "I concur." He shut the clamshell down. "As soon as the others have arrived, I want to have a strategy session. We have a lot of work to do."
"And not much time to do it in," Tauvo added as they walked from the galley. "Scorpius is not going to give up."
Crais headed towards the bridge. "No." He stopped, turning to Tauvo. "As long as my wife carries the wormhole formula, unlocked, in her head, she will be in danger. And so will Crichton." He lifted his chin. "Scorpius will not give up until that formula is his and they are dead."
"Then we better get to work," Tauvo answered.
Copyright 2002 Beth A. Carpenter