Nothing's Quite The Same

Story by: Neuroscpr and Can

P17: by Neuroscpr

Setting: After DWTB, spoilers up until that ep

Rating: R

Summary: John and the other displaced members of the crew embark on their own missions as Moya heads into unknown territory.



The double doors burst open as Grayza came running in with a cart right behind her. She motioned to the nearest doctor to come forward.

"She's here. Have you completed your preparations," she asked.

He nodded curtly and turned to look at the setup. One of the surgical areas had been completely emptied and redone for the patient he was about to see. Things had to go smoothly or it would be his hide.

"Everything is as you requested," he said. "The girl is alive?"

Grayza glanced over at Chiana, who lay motionless on the steel crash cart. Her eyes scanned over the body and she smiled. "She is."

The doctor noted his approval and moved to study the specimen. He ran a gloved hand over her body and giggled like a school child. No peacekeeper scientist had been given the opportunity that he was about to.

He looked up at the commandant. "You'll have to leave now, sir."

Grayza shook her head angrily. "No, this is my capture. The Nebari is not to be out of my sight," she growled.

"Commandant, I can't allow that."

She stepped forward and had to restrain herself from shooting the doctor on the spot. "This isn't a negotiation."

The doctor held firm. "We know nothing about this contagion," he whispered almost soothingly. "Or what kind of exposure is necessary for infection."

"Our contact said it was intimate contact!" Grayza challenged.

"Unreliable information at best," the doctor replied. "High Command ordered us to take every precaution necessary. That means you leave now."

For once, Grayza had no way out of the situation. She understood what the doctor was saying and might even have agreed with him under different circumstances. But this was her capture and she wasn't going to lose the credit.

"I will be right outside," she said coldly. "You will be informed when Colonel Schumka arrives."

She shot the doctor another deadly stare and then walked out of the room. The double doors smashed against the wall as she went.

Now on the operating table, the patient began to regain consciousness. Chiana opened her eyes slowly and was greeted by harsh artificial light. The blindness passed quickly and she was able to take in the gray walls of what looked like a hospital. Strange things were happening.

A figure hovered above her. A surgical mask obstructed his face but Chiana could tell he was frowning by the look in his eyes. She panicked inside but couldn't move to do anything about it.

"Oh, you're awake," the doctor said. "How unfortunate."

He tore Chiana's silver top just enough to expose the soft skin of her stomach. Then he reached for a scalpel on the table next to him.

Mustering all her strength, Chiana screamed.



Aeryn stepped into the ship's tiny control center and moved toward the group of techs that had assembled. She spotted Jaron standing at the periphery with a confused expression on his face. The ex-peacekeeper had to remind herself sometimes that not every soldier got the type of experience she did.

"Are you sure this is the right move," Jaron asked when he saw her.

"No, but I'm doing it anyway," she replied.

The wall beside them suddenly shifted to reveal a large video screen. With a nod from Jaron, it flickered to life and displayed the image of a small peacekeeper ship.

"What can you tell me," Aeryn asked.

Jaron wondered what was on her mind but decided against saying anything. He didn't think Aeryn would appreciate his concern.

"Typical design, no additional weaponry," he said. "If what our prisoner said is true, the intention was most likely to distract attention from it."

Aeryn nodded. "Which might explain the large fleet we detected."

"A diversion?" Jaron asked.

"Maybe. Have you made contact yet?"

Jaron turned to one of the techs. "Put her through," he said.

The onscreen view of the peacekeeper ship suddenly switched to that of a stern-faced man. His eyes glared angrily back at Aeryn with suspicion. Behind him, several other soldiers of similar disposition could be seen moving about. Aeryn wondered about casualties.

"You have ten microts to convince me why I shouldn't begin firing," the man said. He then closed his mouth and ceased to speak.

Aeryn did not falter for a moment before speaking. "High Command ordered us to rendezvous with you. There is a security risk," she said.

"We were not informed of this," he replied.

"No, there wasn't time. Our sister ship was attacked and captured by rebel forces on the way here. I have reason to believe that one of its officers gave out restricted information."

Everyone in the room took notice of what had just been said. Jaron in particular was not sure he liked the idea of telling the truth to someone who had the ability to blow them into steaming bits.

"Prepare to synchronize for docking," said stern-face.

Everyone breathed.



If not for the throbbing pain, Chiana might have mistaken the perfect darkness for the back of her eyelids. Somehow she knew this wasn't a dream and neither was what had happened with the doctor. The Nebari lifted her head up slightly and tried to get a look around. No suck luck.

She took a breath and shivered as it formed a cloud in front of her. The situation had not improved.

"Frelling peacekeepers."

At that very moment there was a noise from somewhere in front of her. Chiana couldn't tell exactly and it worried her.

"We do have our moments," a voice said.

Chiana backed up slightly and found herself backed up against the wall.

"Who's there?" she asked.

A loud snap filled her ears and suddenly the room was bathed in blinding light. Standing only steps away was an unfamiliar man dressed in pk uniform.

"Your name is Chiana. Correct?"

Without realizing it, she nodded.

"Where were you born?"

Chiana's face transformed into a look of curiosity. The fear was still there, surgical procedure and all, but this seemed less threatening.

"Who's asking huh? I don't talk to strangers," she spat out.

Without warning, the man threw himself forward and crushed Chiana against the wall. He heard her squeal in pain but did not back away. His own breath was coming out in increasingly loud gasps.

"I'm not playing games, girl!" he shouted. "This isn't an interview, a conversation. You'll answer each question quickly and precisely. I don't care who you are. You'll die if I don't get what I want."

Chiana hadn't doubted any of the other people who had spoken those words throughout her life. She didn't doubt this man. Still....

"I'll answer your questions," she said through gritted teeth. "But you should know I tend to lie."

The man placed his hand on Chiana's stomach and lowered it onto the stitched area where she'd recently had an operation. "The commandant told me you were all headstrong. I see now her powers of observation remain strong as ever."

He backed off just as easily as he had attacked. Brushing imaginary dust off his uniform, the man turned to look at the door.

"Who are you?" Chiana asked again.

The man glanced back at her. "Colonel Schumka," he said. "I want to know about that contagion and you are going to tell me."

"Unless you'd prefer to see the doctor again."



The docking was accompanied by a loud clanging sound. Both ships had lined up alongside themselves and were now making the final adjustments. On one side, Aeryn's rebels stood ready and armed to board. Peacekeepers on the other did the same.

"Remember! I want prisoners not casualties," Aeryn yelled back at her people.

Behind her, several cartridges clicked into place as pulse weapons were prepared. Jaron stood right next to Aeryn with his own stern expression. He cradled his gun softly in his hand and waited.

"Whatever you say Aeryn," he said. "You're the boss."

With a final beep from the docking engines, the passageway between the two ships began to open. Aeryn watched silently as a group of well-armed soldiers came into view, each as dark and determined as her own men.

The stern-faced man appeared at the head with his gun pointed squarely at Aeryn's chest.

"Tell all your men to lower their weapons," he growled. "I'll give you three microts."

At that point Aeryn's plan changed slightly. Just as the stern man raised his weapon, she did as well. Both of them stared at each other with eyes that screamed malevolence and death.

"I was about to say the same thing," Aeryn said.

"You're not boarding our ship with armed troops," he shouted.

"Ours either," she said.

There was a microt or two where the two sides just stood there. Neither Aeryn nor the man dared back down first. Dust settled.

Aeryn stared at her opposition and narrowed her eyes as possible scenarios raced through her mind. The casualty rate was rising in her mind. An idea came to her.

"Fine, I'll go first," she whispered. She lowered her rifle slightly.

The stern-faced man nodded and did the same. Likewise, all of his soldiers stood down.

Aeryn fired into his stomach. "Attack!" she shouted.

Jaron reacted first but the rebels quickly followed his lead. Charging into the peacekeeper ship, they sent a wave of pulse fire raining down on the enemy.

"What the frell are we doing Aeryn?" Jaron yelled through the melee. He could hardly hear his own voice through it all.

She kept fighting but heard the sound of his voice carry. Aeryn didn't bother to answer as the ship's captain came racing toward her with a long blade in his hands.

Aeryn raised her weapon and fired a clean shot into the man's chest reminding herself all the way that it was for the good of all Sebaceans. The idea never really registered.

It did not take very long for the peacekeeper soldiers to fall. They had not expected quite so forward an attack and they were outnumbered.

Jaron breathed deeply and turned to his superior. "You sure the one we're looking for isn't here?"

Aeryn shook her head. "No, they valued his secrecy above their own lives," she said. "A waste."

"I want every corner of this ship searched!" she yelled. "Find our man and bring him to me." She turned to re-enter the rebel ship and headed straight for the facilities. Her stomach churned in disapproval.



"The girl is stubborn beyond anything I've seen."

Colonel Schumka looked out through the glass partition as his patient was sowed up from the second surgery. He shook his head as doctors stumbled over themselves to get all the samples into storage compartments.

The airtight door beside him clicked open and the head doctor stepped inside. His scrubs were stained with Nebari blood.

"Is it true that she chose this over talking?" he asked.

Schumka looked over at him and nodded grimly. "It makes no difference to me," the colonel whispered. "What did you find?"

The doctor's eyes flickered in a manner that almost sickened the colonel. However, the smile that spread across his face formed the opposite reaction.

"We found traces of a contamination in her system," he said. "But nothing live enough for us to duplicate."

Schumka narrowed his eyes. "Useful?"

"No, not to us anyway. But we did find samples of the substance that killed it. I believe that is what you are looking for."

The colonel couldn't stop the smile from coming. A breakthrough of this magnitude was exactly what he had been searching for. Enough to solidify his place in the hierarchy.

"Thank you doctor," he said. "Have her boxed up and ready for departure by the end of the day."



"Are you sure about this?" Aeryn asked as pulse fire exploded past her face.

The hallway ahead of her was already on fire and lined with dead bodies. She had no intention of joining them.

"It's the only one we haven't searched yet!" Jaron yelled. "The last of them are here as well."

He looked back at her from his place at the forefront and waited for an answer. A grenade sat cradled in his left hand.

"Do it," Aeryn said.

The grenade left Jaron's hand and went sailing into the darkness. It did not wait to reach the ground to explode. Chunks of bulkhead came flying back at them.

Jaron ran forward into the just settled mess and reached the cell door with little trouble. Burning debris danced around him as he pried it open.

Little light made its way into the darkness of the cell. A man stood in the back covering his eyes from the visual assault. He did not appear to be armed.

Jaron raised his pistol. "Your name! Now!"



Aeryn sat in front of the computer console as the ID chip made its final identification. The prisoner had refused to give out the information but Jaron had been careful in searching the area. They'd found the tags with little trouble.

"Anything yet," Jaron asked.

She shook her head just as the computer chimed its completion. The screen lit up with the faces of thousands of active soldiers. It stopped on one.

Aeryn froze. Her mind registered the name but nothing else seemed to respond. She tried to speak but couldn't.

Jaron looked past her and saw for himself.

"Macton?" he asked. "I've never heard that name before."

She ignored his question as the realization reached every part of her thoughts. Aeryn lowered her head and cradled it with her cold hands.

"Aeryn, are you alright?"

She sat that way for quite a while without responding. When Jaron placed a cautious hand on her shoulder, she twitched slightly but did not speak.

Jaron walked over to the wall comm and switched it on. "Get a medic up to command-,"

"No," Aeryn whispered. She stood up slowly and stuck the seat back into place. Moving in a zombie-like manner, the ex-peacekeeper turned to her subordinate.

"Do you believe in fate?" She asked.

Jaron's brow furrowed. "Fate?"

"That some things are meant to happen."

He shook his head. "I believe that we're all meant to die. Other than that I don't know," he said.

Aeryn nodded and walked stiffly out of the room.