Chapter 2.

Braca stared down at the infant in its tiny bed among the other Peacekeeper infants, one hundred in all for this regiment, all but one the results of the Peacekeeper breeding program like Braca himself had been. He was born on the Command Carrier that Crichton had destroyed, marked for the elite from the outset, the product of a genetic match between two high ranking officers who'd never met. It had taken him this long to achieve that destiny and he had John Crichton to thank for it. He was now Captain Braca but the title had been hard earned, the degradation at Commandant Grayza's hands nearing insufferable. To be serving another mutant of questionable origins had spurred him into action. He was a pureblooded Peacekeeper; he would see to it that Scorpius' prize got him the command he deserved.

That prize was a female infant, as yet unnamed. Grayza took no notice of how many children were born in these mass breedings. That was a tech's job but none would dare to question Captain Braca if the question of one additional child arose. He'd admired Scorpius' ability to keep Aeryn Sun's capture and the child hidden from Grayza. At least Scorpius had come to the Peacekeepers through sacrifice and hatred of the Scarrans. Grayza…Braca shuddered. He had no factual knowledge of how Grayza had attained her rank, although he certainly had his own ideas about it.

He hadn't regretted killing Scorpius and had relished humiliating the half-breed. But Scorpius had been a brilliant scientist and had taken great pride in keeping this little girl from Grayza's reach, a bargaining chip. Perhaps he had sensed the tide turning against him, although one didn't have to be a genius to have seen that approaching. Braca, no genius himself, had known it would happen as soon as they'd fled the debris of the carrier, the last known survivors to leave the ship.

The infant stirred, opening its eyes slightly and Braca studied it, looking for any telltale sign of its parentage, anything in its outward appearance that would mark it as different. The eyes, perhaps, bright blue, a color not often seen in Sebacean children. Still, it wasn't enough to arouse suspicions. A shock of thick black hair covered her head. She was a little smaller than the other children were, seemingly premature but her tech had kept close watch on her growth and had regulated it during her gestation so that there'd been no outward defect in this half-breed. At first glance, it was nothing but a Sebacean. The only giveaway would be its genetic make-up.

Even before the DNA testing had confirmed it, neither he nor Scorpius had questioned whether the child was Crichton's. Aeryn Sun's contamination and fate had been sealed long before this child was conceived. From the moment she'd taken up for Crichton against Crais, every action had been treasonous. Braca knew, as severe as the sentences her fellow criminals would suffer, hers would be worse; she had forsaken and betrayed all that she had sworn a loyalty to. Peacekeeper High Command would put her up as an example. The child, though…He gazed at it thoughtfully, a thin smile forming along his lips. He intended to use the child to its full advantage.

The infant started to cry, a screech that grabbed at Braca's senses. He hit his comm and stepped back a bit.

"Co-kurra! This is Captain Braca."

"Yes, Captain?" The voice came over his comm, hesitant. Co-kurra Strapa, completely devoid of any useful knowledge about wormholes or much of anything else, had become a breeding tech. He was the only one whom Scorpius had trusted and he had harvested the child from its mother. Braca had followed Scorpius' instinct in regards to Co-kurra; the creature was harmless.

"I need your assistance. Now." The child wailed incessantly, her little face turning red. Braca sucked in his breath. Humans! The noise alone was enough to confirm it was Crichton's child.

Co-kurra rushed in and picked up the squalling child, quieted it, then handed it to a nurse to feed. Fortunately, humans and Sebaceans took food in a similar way, through a nursing machine. The child stopped crying once it was fed.

"Was that all, Captain?" Co-kurra said.

"Yes, yes." Braca waved at him dismissively and Co-kurra nodded. He turned but Braca caught him by the arm. Co-kurra's reactions were slower than they used to be, as though only half his body worked. His eyes gazed at Braca somewhat blankly, always looking like he was about to ask a question but would never remember the answer.

"Yes, Captain?"

"The child. How…" He leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. "How is its health?"

Co-kurra clapped his hands together. "Very healthy, Sir, very healthy. But she does seem to cry more than the others."

"Yes." Braca tugged at his ear. "I've noticed that." He put an arm around the tech and walked him towards the corner where the child was still "You are the only tech working with her, correct?"

"Yes, sir, as you've instructed, but she seems to need an inordinate amount of nourishment—"

"I don't care. No one is to interfere with her but you. You understand that she has to remain in good health if she is to be of any use to me."

Co-kurra looked at him in surprise. "For what purpose, Sir?"

Braca laughed shortly, proud of himself and eager to share his insight. "Co-kurra, but of course. You must know that Crichton will come looking for her."

Co-kurra looked confused. "Sir, Scorpius released Aeryn Sun. I do not believe she had knowledge of…" He paused and sighed, sounding almost remorseful. "Of what I did, Sir."

"You did as you were ordered." Braca clapped him on the back reassuringly, letting his hand rest on Co-kurra's shoulder. "It was your duty and you committed it faithfully. You will be rewarded, Co-kurra."

"Sir," he said as though in agreement but he looked away towards the child. "She is quite beautiful, Captain Braca."

"Beautiful!" Braca snorted. "She's the offspring of a traitor and a human. She's a half-breed. She has only one purpose for me and you are to see to it that I achieve that purpose. You do understand that no one—no one—is to know of her existence until I am ready." Braca tightened his grip on Co-kurra's shoulder but the creature hardly seemed to notice. "You know who I'm talking about, correct?"

Co-kurra nodded furiously. "As Scorpius requested. Yes, Captain, I remember." He cocked his head, troubled. "But I do need to enter her name in our databanks or I will arouse suspicion. Each child must be logged and registered."

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" A name? It hadn't even occurred to him. He supposed he could use his own. It wouldn't have been the first time a high-ranking officer had forgone the standard breeding policies. But he didn't want his name associated with this child.

"Well." Co-kurra put a finger to his lips. "A'lya is a common Peacekeeper name. But certainly, Sir." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You cannot use the mother's name."

"No, of course not." Braca thought a moment. He'd seen Aeryn Sun's file and a name had caught his eye for no particular reason. "Lyczac. Name her that then. A'lya Lyczac. That's sufficient."

"Yes, Captain. I will do it at once."

Braca clapped him on the shoulder. "You're doing a fine job, Co-kurra. Go about your business."

The little creature nodded at him and scurried away. Ordinarily, this one would have been out an airlock with Scorpius's demise but his presence had served a purpose. He was too addle-headed to give Braca any trouble or ask too many questions and, for some reason, he had seemed unusually loyal to Scorpius. More so than Braca himself had been.

He turned away from the nursery and took one last look at the child who'd been moved back to her crib, a small, satisfied smile on his face.

*******

Aeryn was lost. She hadn't wanted to admit it to John yet but the fact of it shouted out to her from the instrument readings. She had been so sure that Scorpius had wanted her to return to the Carrier that she had misread one of the coordinates. She couldn't remember where it had happened or why, just that there'd been times while they'd been flying that she'd felt disconnected from herself, her body moving one way without her mind registering the movement.

She had done what she could to avoid the feelings that were eating away at her center. It was not the same sharp pain she'd had when John had died, but only because this time she'd clung to the small hope that this John's words promised, that they'd find the child and evade the Peacekeepers and go to a place where they could be left alone. She held fast to that hope without cynicism only because she knew if she didn't, she'd take the Prowler straight to the Command Carrier, disembark and kill every person she encountered until they killed her. She wouldn't make it past the refueling bay.

"Hey." She heard his voice in her ear, soft. More than once, she had wished that she'd just given in to him on Moya, had forgone his coin-toss or that it had gone in his favor. It had been too late for her, she'd told him; she still closed her eyes against the memory. If she'd realized then that there was another life at stake… Fate. The word reared its head again, and this time not for the better. At that moment in her life, would she have made any other choice than to leave?

"Hey," she said in return. The earth greeting she'd heard from him so many times, offering the opportunity to talk if she needed to. She didn't need to.

"You okay?" he asked. His hand settled on her shoulder and she could feel herself molding into his fingertips. Seven days ago, she had flinched under his touch, the Aurora Chair fresh on her skin as though it had been yesterday. Now, he was the only thing that kept her from going insane. Her piloting days were long over. The Peacekeepers were another lifetime. This life lacked rules and order and she had suffered pain that she hadn't even imagined existed. She had finally realized that it was all worth it for that hand on her shoulder.

"Yes," she sighed. She leaned back a little and closed her eyes. Her head hurt and for once, she could honestly say she had no idea what she was doing. She had allowed him to go with her, away from the relative safety of Moya, to find the Command Carrier. Would she even know where to begin when she got there?

"Maybe we should make another stop," he suggested. "Or I can do the driving."

She shook her head and suppressed a small smile…if she thought they were lost nowShe reached over and squeezed his hand. "I'm fine."

"No," he mused. "I don't think so. I don't think you know where you're going or what you're going to do if you get there. And that's cool, except if we're going to do this thing, we're going to do it right."

"John—" she began but he cut her off.

"Hey, look, Aeryn, we're crammed together in this tin can of a ship. I may not be able to see your face but I can see your hands. You've been fiddling with those controls for the last half arn or so. And I think we're lost."

"You're right," she said. "You're right. You're right. That is what you wanted to hear, isn't it?" She slammed her palms flat on the console. Whether it was what he wanted to hear or not, it was the truth. She felt suddenly claustrophobic, frustrated, kicking herself for the mistakes that kept piling up on her.

"Whoa, hey." He stroked her hair. "Aeryn. We're on the same side, baby. What happened to the coordinates? I thought they were set."

"I thought so too." She turned to him. "I was wrong." Now would have been a good time to say she'd been wrong about everything but there were more important things at stake.

"I'm not blaming you." His gaze met hers. "For anything."

She breathed out, not realizing that, until she heard those words, she'd been holding her breath. "You haven't asked," she began.

"You haven't said," he answered. "I'm not a glutton for punishment, Aeryn. You don't want to talk? Okay. And maybe there are just some things a guy doesn't want to know." He leaned back and scrubbed his hands over his face. "And we could talk ourselves crazy and it wouldn't change a damn thing. Maybe that's something you were right about. Why bother?"

She turned back to her controls. "It's not too late to turn back, John," she said tightly.

"Yeah, Aeryn, it is too late." She felt him sigh against her. Both of them were vulnerable out here, helpless and now irrevocably tied together. If she led him to his death...she would never forgive herself. It would be that simple. She should have knocked him unconscious and left him on Moya instead of allowing him aboard the Prowler with her.

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" she said finally.

He leaned back a little and sighed. "Yeah. But you're not gonna like it."

*****

"This is a very bad idea." Chiana cocked her head at D'Argo and punched him in the arm. "Very bad."

"Chiana, we are not arguing about this" He glided Lo'La gently into Arnessk's atmosphere, weapons at the ready. So far, the sensors hadn't picked up any Peacekeeper transmissions but that didn't necessarily mean they were in the clear. Although the planet's magnetics had been returned to normal, he knew it would be easy for the Peacekeepers to disguise themselves. For once, he wished that Chiana could still see the future or something like it.

"You could have all just stayed behind," he said. He looked over his shoulder at Chiana, Sikozu and the old woman, Noranti. Rygel had decided to stay aboard Moya, calling them all "farboht" and stuffing his face while he'd grumbled at them. D'Argo was grateful for the Hynerian's absence. It was bad enough that Noranti had pushed her way onto Lo'La, under the guise of being useful in the event negotiations were needed. If nothing else, maybe he'd have something to throw at the Peacekeepers if the situation got out of control.

"So Jool sends out a call and we all coming running? That's how it works, D'Argo?" Chiana pushed him again. "Didn't know you too were so…close."

"As I said, 'we' didn't have to come at all. I didn't ask any of you." He looked at the three females, all viewing him with varying parts of disgust, pity or curiosity, depending on how well each of them knew him. The redhead would be of some value, he supposed, given that she seemed able to follow his plans, such as they were. Chiana was always good in a fight. The old woman was crazy. Even Crichton was better in a fight, though, and Aeryn…he shook his head a bit. He and Aeryn alone could have taken out an entire platoon.

"You know that I would not leave Jool defenseless," D'Argo began. "No more than I would have left you or Crichton or—"

"Yeah, yeah, save it," Chiana muttered, looking past him to the planet's surface. "That it down there? I see some kind of reflection."

"The Temple," Noranti said rapturously. She clasped she hands together and sighed.

"Oh, brother," D'Argo muttered at Chiana who just shrugged, still annoyed that he had gone out of his way for Jool. Well, that was just her misfortune. Whether he liked it or not, he felt responsible for what was left of the crew. And he would not abandon any of them.

"Why would the Peacekeepers come back here if they have no quarrel with Jool?" Sikozu asked. "This looks like a trap."

"Well, what do you know?" Chiana slapped one hand on her thigh, impatient. "A trap. I hadn't thought of that one, genius." She shuddered a little. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Well, that's convenient," Sikozu said. "I thought you said that your 'feeling' had changed to something else."

"It's not that kind of feeling," she said. "Anyway, who asked you? I'm not even sure why you're still here. Or—" She moved in towards Sikozu, "If I should just toss you out like yesterday's grolak."

"You're insane," Sikozu said. "You know that, don't you?"

"Just crazy enough to toss you out—" Chiana glared at the redhead.

"Enough!" D'Argo said, turning to them. "I cannot think with all this arguing. You." He pointed a finger at Sikozu. "Sit there and be quiet. And you." He turned to Chiana who stared back, daring him. "Just let me do what we came to do."

"Oh, very good, D'Argo," Noranti said but her praise meant little to him. It had been this way since John and Aeryn had left Moya, the two females arguing with each other, doing all they could to get on each other's nerves. D'Argo had feared—no, feared was too strong a word. He had hesitated to break away from Moya's coordinates, concerned that Aeryn and John might realize that their mission was hopeless, at best, and would return to Moya. But there'd been no word from them and he'd had no way of knowing whether or not they'd achieved their goal. Nine solar days of uncertainty and the bickering had begun to drive him insane. The distress call from Jool had at least been a call to action.

He checked his control panel and zeroed in on the signal Jool had sent out then landed the ship and cloaked it after they disembarked. "Let's go," he said. He took the lead, Qualta blade at the ready until he saw Jool standing behind a tree and waving at him frantically. He motioned to her and she ran out to them, hugging him and each of the others in turn.

"Thank you," she said. "I knew you wouldn't fail me."

"Hey, Princess." Chiana looked around. "What the hezmana is this all about? You know, we were kinda busy up there. And why the frell are we standing here waiting to get killed?"

"They're gone." Jool linked her arm through D'Argo's and pulled him towards the dig site. "We saw them, the priests and I, a squadron." She pulled D'Argo into the site and the others followed behind. "And…" She stopped and turned to all of them. "He's gone."

"What?" D'Argo said. "'He'? He who?"

"Fek-face!" Chiana said. "Scorpius, right? The frellnick dug himself out?" She started walking in a circle, laughing. "Oh, great. I don't frelling believe this. Doesn't he ever die? Just lead us right back to where they're at so we can just get this over with, why don't you?"

"No," Sikozu interjected. "How do you know he's gone? You didn't actually go to the…grave, did you?"

"Well, now that would be stupid, wouldn't it?" Chiana said. "Frell! D'Argo, you see what this little pity trip has brought us? Who would have guessed Rygel would have been smart enough to miss this one?"

"No, Chi, he's gone." Jool touched her arm to calm her. "The priests saw him and described him to me. Right after you left…I don't know how he managed to survive. There was a squad of Peacekeepers—Sebaceans. They weren't dressed like Peacekeepers. They must have dug him out. The priests saw them leave." She looked around. "Where's John?"

D'Argo shook his head and paced. "He and Aeryn are on some crazy mission to the carrier."

"Aeryn? But—"

"Oh, skip the back story, Princess," Chiana said. "We don't have time for this dren. Did Scorpius see you? Can your priests be trusted?"

"Well, of course they can. They didn't have any contact with him. They saw him, they reported to me what they'd seen, which has been what they've done with every experience." She clasped her hands together. "You wouldn't believe what I've learned."

"Jool." D'Argo placed his hands on her shoulders. "That is all very nice and informative, I'm sure, but there are Peacekeepers looking for us and I don't think it's a good idea for any of us to stay here. Do you have a place to hide if they come back?"

"D'Argo, I'm telling you, they're not coming back." Jool put her hands on her hips. "These weren't Peacekeepers."

"But Scorpius is a Peacekeeper," D'Argo said. "And he'll come back. For you if nothing else."

"He doesn't even know I'm here." She turned to Chiana. "What about Aeryn? She returned to Moya? And she's with John?"

Chiana shrugged. "Long story, Jool. Maybe some time when our lives aren't in danger…" She turned to D'Argo. "Let's get out of here before Scorpius changes his mind. Unless you want to stay, of course."

D'Argo rolled his eyes and was about to say something more when one of the priests came hurrying in. D'Argo aimed his Qualta at the creature but he didn't even seem to notice D'Argo as he whispered something to Jool. Jool gasped and then turned to them.

"What?" Chiana said. "Don't even frellin' tell me…"

Jool nodded. "They've seen him. It's Scorpius."