Ok then, it looks like you enjoyed that first part so I hope you'll stick
around and see what's what. Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you
likes.
Fic: Insiders p2 by: Neuroscpr (mtrx9991@yahoo.com) rating: pg-13 spoilers up to: current
P2-5 will be posted MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY
thanks to can for all the help
chapter 2
"What do you mean she left?"
A DRD scurried out of the way as John and Chiana came charging down the corridor. They moved with the speed of two people who were used to getting answers they didn't want to hear.
"Exactly what I said," Chiana answered. "She got in her prowler and left."
John reached out and gripped the Nebari's arm. The action brought them both to an abrupt stop and spun Chiana around to face her companion.
"Aeryn got in her prowler and left?"
Chiana pushed him away. "Yeah," she said. "Now quit frelling around. Pilot wants us in the hangar when he gets here."
"Did she say anything?" John continued.
She rolled her eyes and started back down the corridor. Chiana could feel the human's eyes on her back but she didn't want to turn around, didn't want to see him like that again.
"Rygel told me she said she'd be back," she answered. "That's all I know."
John ran to catch up. "What about D'Argo? You said he was there too."
The newest question made Chiana stop again and turn around. Her wild hair fell down over her face and managed to hide the look of worry that had begun to form. "He's gone too," she whispered.
Before John could ask about that, they entered the hangar. The inner doors were already open and they could just make out the stars that shone at the other end. No one was there to greet them.
"Ok Pilot, what are we looking for?" John asked.
Pilot's voice came in over the comm just a microt later. "Thank you for hurrying commander," he said. "Moya and I are both very concerned."
Chiana shot a look at John. He shook his head and tapped the comm again. "Yeah, what else is new? What's the problem?"
"If not for our recent encounter, Moya and I would have dismissed it as debris," Pilot answered. "However, closer scans reveal it is a body."
"A body?" Chiana exclaimed. "What the frell's a body doing floating around in space?"
Pilot sighed over the comm. "It appears we are about to find out Chiana."
Behind them, Sikozu walked into the room covered in one of Moya's orange blankets. She looked from the human to the Nebari and frowned. "Whatever is going on, I don't see why it was necessary to."
"It's coming in!" Pilot shouted.
As he spoke, a black spot appeared in the outer hangar and began moving toward them. The force of Moya's docking web had sent it in at tremendous speed with no engine to slow the descent.
"Crichton," Chiana said. "Grab it!"
John glanced over at her in alarm just as the object came barreling into the inner hangar. It slammed headfirst into the unassuming astronaut and threw him to the ground.
"Chiana!"
The Nebari moved quickly to his side and pulled at the body. "Hey Sikozu, help me with this!"
Sikozu groaned but did as she was told. Together they managed to push the body aside and get to Crichton.
"Crichton, you alright?" Chiana said, a smile spreading across her lips.
John blinked a few times and then used his hands to shield the brightness of Moya's overhead lights. Seeing Chiana's grin, he did the opposite. "What are you laughing at?"
Chiana giggled as she helped him up. "I guess that's a new one for us huh?"
He looked down at the body and nodded. It was wearing a black space suit that appeared intact. John thought it looked peacekeeperish.
"Hey pip, do me a favor," he said. "Take Sikozu and put this guy in a cell."
Sikozu looked up as her name was called. "We don't even know if he's alive," she challenged. "And you want to put him in a cell?"
John and Chiana exchanged looks. "You know me," he said. "I have difficulty trusting people."
As he turned to walk out of the room, Chiana started to pick the body up. "Where are you gonna be?" she called out.
"I'll be back," John said as he walked out the door.
The ship's internal systems cast a menacing red glow over the proceedings in Scorpius' cell. He sat quietly before the table, Crichton's chess game laid out before him. The hybrid had spent many arns learning its maneuvers. It was interesting, but ultimately a waste of time in his opinion.
Through the jagged bars of the cell, John watched the monster that had tormented him for so long. It still made his mind flinch every time he saw him. The enemy right at the center of his home.
"That's mine," he finally said.
Scorpius looked up from the table and almost grinned. "Quite right John," he responded. "My apologies."
When Crichton didn't answer, the hybrid continued. "It is an interesting gam-
"Why'd she leave?"
Scorpius was caught slightly off-guard. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean John," he said.
"Why. Did. Aeryn. Leave?"
The connection became evident and Scorpius smiled fully. "I see."
John slammed the cell door with all his might, rattling it and scattering the small litter of DRDs that were still stationed outside.
"If I had known that Officer Sun had such an adverse effect on your mind, I would not have bothered with the neural clone."
Crichton, with alarmingly little forethought, reached for his pulse pistol. Thankfully, something inside forced him to stop. Something deep down. "Just tell me why," he ordered.
Scorpius shook his head thoughtfully. "I do not know John," he answered. "Officer."
"Stop calling her that!"
The hybrid almost laughed, but managed to restrain himself. "Even if I knew John, you would not want to hear it from me."
John stared back angrily at his old enemy but said nothing in return. Instead, he turned on his heels and walked back the way he had come.
"May I ask one question John?" asked Scorpius.
The human stopped in mid-step.
"This body you brought aboard," Scorpius said. "Is it peacekeeper?"
John wondered how Scorpy had found out but did not ask him. Instead he continued on out of the corridor.
Scorpius breathed out slowly, a despondent look in his eyes. "Be careful John," he whispered.
She wasn't the type of person who just cried. True, during some of the more emotional moments in her life, the tears had come. Heavily even. But this was different. She was alone in her prowler, surrounded by the emptiness of space and the tears that might have helped so much did not come.
Aeryn reached out blindly and searched through the cargo she'd collected in the time she'd went away. Some of them were necessary survival tools. Others held special meaning. Her hand found the bag of wanted beacons. Each held the face of one of Moya's crew. Every face except hers.
She found John Crichton's and let it play as she had so many times before. The thought that she was purposely torturing herself, payment for something she couldn't even tell him about, had crossed her mind many times.
"A reward for the capture of John Crichton," Grayza's placid face repeated over and over.
Aeryn shut it off and closed her eyes. She knew the rendezvous point was drawing near, but there was still time for a little rest. Instead of that though, she thought about what Scorpius had let slip. Aeryn wondered what had happened to John Crichton on Arnessk. She wondered what Grayza had done to change him.
'Beep.'
She looked up at the prowler's control center and spotted where the warning had come from. It only took a microt to realize what was going on.
"Is that you Officer Sun?"
Aeryn frowned as she steadied the prowler for descent. Below her, the view opened up on a large inhabited planet. The kind of place one could get lost in.
"It is," she replied.
"Good," the voice said. "You're cleared to land."
As the prowler shifted direction and headed downward, a second ship maintained its orbit. Invisible to the scanners that surveyed the area, it was host to only one passenger. D'Argo replayed the message one time before directing Lo'la to follow.
"Strange sight."
Braca stopped and turned to face the man he was escorting. A look of restrained confusion made its way over his face. "What was that?" he asked.
The man in similar uniform smiled gently and nodded toward him. "Strange to see a captain undertaking such a trivial duty."
"You keep your insights to yourself," Braca snapped. "Is that clear?"
In what may have been an effort to annoy Braca even further, the man chuckled. "Yes sir, of course sir," he replied.
Braca straightened up and continued on toward the appropriate hangar.
"Except I'm not a peacekeeper," the man said as he caught up. "So you're not actually my superior."
The captain kept walking but answered anyway. "I don't care what you are," he said. "Soldier, bounty hunter, whatever. On this ship, you'll do as I say." As he said this, they reached the appropriate door.
"Actually, I'm not the bounty hunter," the man said as the door opened. "He is."
Braca looked up just in time to see an enormous hand reach out and grab him by the throat. Within microts, his arms and legs were flailing in mid-air as the assailant lifted him up.
"You are captain Braca?" the hand's owner asked.
Turning blue, Braca managed to nod vigorously. His fears were elevated when he realized what exactly was holding him.
"Yes, that's right," it said. "I'm a Scarran. But you can call me Klavic." With that, he dropped Braca and took a step back.
Scorpius' former lieutenant trembled as he took in the reptilian form of the Scarran. He'd seen many in his lifetime but none this close as far as he could remember. "A Scarran?" Braca realized at that moment that his trade-up in superiors had indeed come with its own set of hazards.
"That's right," Klavic answered. "Now, let's get going."
He grabbed Braca by the collar and dragged him aboard his small craft. In less than a quarter of an arn, they were airborne.
"Yeah, just try it!" Chiana shouted, her hand reaching quickly for the shoulder holster at her side. She whipped out the pistol and aimed it at the lifeless body behind the cell.
"Is everything alright Chiana?"
The Nebari glanced up at the ceiling and smiled. "Sure Pilot, everything's just great," she answered. "Just practicing."
"It was very convincing," the creature offered.
"Thanks Pilot."
In that solitary microt of distraction, she missed the slight jerk in her captor's left leg. A deep breath and a fluttering of eyelids followed it.
"Hey!" she yelled. "You moved."
The prisoner's hands reached up to his helmet and made quick work of removing it. Beneath the black sphere was the face of a young man. His features were rough and several scars lined his face but Chiana could immediately tell the species.
"You're a Sebacean," she said.
Caught off guard, the man jumped to his feet and backed up against the wall. "Where am I?" He cried. "What is this? Who are you?"
Chiana raised her hands above her head. "Hold on, I'm not gonna hurt you," she tried to say as reassuringly as possible.
The man stared at her for a microt and then grabbed at the front area of his space suit. Its fabric tore away easily and a small pulse pistol fell out into his hands. "Let me out," he ordered.
Chiana, wide-eyed, looked from his face to the gun but did nothing else.
A warning shot fired through the bars and burned into Moya's metallic skin.
"Let me out!" he shouted.
"Ok, ok," Chiana stammered. "Don't go farhbot on me." She inched forward and waved her hand over the door controls. The door slid open unceremoniously.
The man kept his gun aimed at her as he ran out of the cell and disappeared down the corridor. As soon as he was out of sight, Chiana grabbed at her comm.
"Aw frell!"
"Pip, what's wrong?" John asked.
She kicked herself for being so stupid. "Crichton, the guy got away."
"What? How?"
Chiana paused a microt before answering. "He had a gun."
"You didn't check him for weapons?" Crichton asked.
"I did but. Just get your ass over here!" Chiana said before shutting off the comm. She fell back against the wall and banged her head against it. 'Stupid tralk.'
The space man ran with as much speed as his weak legs could muster. Unfortunately for him, his experience on leviathans was not extensive. Every corridor and junction looked like the one he had just passed.
"Please surrender," a voice said. "You will not be harmed."
He could only guess that it was the pilot's voice. Unmoved, the space man continued on and suddenly found himself in a dark area of the ship unlike the others. Through the dim light, he saw a figure that made his blood run cold.
Scorpius looked through the bars of his cell and spotted the peacekeeper just as he himself was spotted. The same look of surprise spread across their faces.
"What are you doing here?" The hybrid asked.
The space man ignored the question and raised his pistol. Even in the dark both of them could see it shaking. "Why is this happening?!" He shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Scorpius answered. A pulse blast fired over his head.
"Frell that. You do!" The man shouted back. "Why are they doing this to us?" He asked. "Tell me now or I'll fire."
Scorpius took a step back though he knew there would be no escape. His vast intellect searched for a way to appease the man that did not involve the truth. For once it came up short.
"Fine then," the man said. "You die." He raised his weapon once more and began to pull back on the trigger. The pulse pistol clicked.
The blast erupted from the gun just as Sikozu jumped onto the man's back. It hit the cell door and fizzled out. Meanwhile, Sikozu wrapped her arms around the man's neck and tried to wrestle him to the ground. He threw her off easily but did not attempt another shot.
"I'll kill you!" Sikozu shouted. "Come back here!" Her cries went unanswered as the man turned and ran back the way he had come.
From inside the cell, Scorpius was growing increasingly distraught. In a moment of decisiveness, he ran to the cell door and shouted out, "Why are you here?!"
Sikozu looked back at Scorpius and followed his lead. "Why are you here?" she yelled.
The man did not stay to answer.
D'Argo watched from a distance as Aeryn made her way across the small marketplace. He'd already picked out a large abandoned building as her probable destination. It seemed to fit the pattern of her behavior. As discreetly as possible, he unsheathed his Qualta blade and crept forward.
Ahead of him, Aeryn walked up to the building's rotted door and knocked lightly. Though she could not see them, she knew there were several weapons trained on her at the moment. It was a familiar feeling.
"You're cleared," a low voice said. "Come in."
The wooden door swung open part of the way and then stopped. Aeryn had to squeeze herself through the gap before it slammed shut again. Accomplishing this, a pulse rifle peeked out and touched the smooth skin of her forehead.
"Right on time, Officer Sun."
Aeryn nodded at the gun wielder and proceeded into the musty darkness of the room. At its center was a small green table where three men sat talking. Each one of them was heavily armed and could kill her before she reached for her weapon. Or at least that's what they thought.
"You called for me?" Aeryn asked.
One of the men stood and looked up at her. He was the only one she recognized and perhaps that was why he smiled. "Hello Officer Sun," he said.
Aeryn showed no trace of emotion. She stepped forward and nodded curtly at the man. "You sent for me?"
The man nodded, his face suddenly serious. "Yes, we did."
"Why?" Aeryn asked.
He glanced at his two companions and both reached for their weapons. "I really wasn't sure if you would come," he said. "Since you have, I'll do you the courtesy of being honest."
Outside, D'Argo moved in a bit closer.
"We called you here," the man said and then paused, "... to get you off Moya."
TBC
Neuroscpr
Fic: Insiders p2 by: Neuroscpr (mtrx9991@yahoo.com) rating: pg-13 spoilers up to: current
P2-5 will be posted MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY
thanks to can for all the help
chapter 2
"What do you mean she left?"
A DRD scurried out of the way as John and Chiana came charging down the corridor. They moved with the speed of two people who were used to getting answers they didn't want to hear.
"Exactly what I said," Chiana answered. "She got in her prowler and left."
John reached out and gripped the Nebari's arm. The action brought them both to an abrupt stop and spun Chiana around to face her companion.
"Aeryn got in her prowler and left?"
Chiana pushed him away. "Yeah," she said. "Now quit frelling around. Pilot wants us in the hangar when he gets here."
"Did she say anything?" John continued.
She rolled her eyes and started back down the corridor. Chiana could feel the human's eyes on her back but she didn't want to turn around, didn't want to see him like that again.
"Rygel told me she said she'd be back," she answered. "That's all I know."
John ran to catch up. "What about D'Argo? You said he was there too."
The newest question made Chiana stop again and turn around. Her wild hair fell down over her face and managed to hide the look of worry that had begun to form. "He's gone too," she whispered.
Before John could ask about that, they entered the hangar. The inner doors were already open and they could just make out the stars that shone at the other end. No one was there to greet them.
"Ok Pilot, what are we looking for?" John asked.
Pilot's voice came in over the comm just a microt later. "Thank you for hurrying commander," he said. "Moya and I are both very concerned."
Chiana shot a look at John. He shook his head and tapped the comm again. "Yeah, what else is new? What's the problem?"
"If not for our recent encounter, Moya and I would have dismissed it as debris," Pilot answered. "However, closer scans reveal it is a body."
"A body?" Chiana exclaimed. "What the frell's a body doing floating around in space?"
Pilot sighed over the comm. "It appears we are about to find out Chiana."
Behind them, Sikozu walked into the room covered in one of Moya's orange blankets. She looked from the human to the Nebari and frowned. "Whatever is going on, I don't see why it was necessary to."
"It's coming in!" Pilot shouted.
As he spoke, a black spot appeared in the outer hangar and began moving toward them. The force of Moya's docking web had sent it in at tremendous speed with no engine to slow the descent.
"Crichton," Chiana said. "Grab it!"
John glanced over at her in alarm just as the object came barreling into the inner hangar. It slammed headfirst into the unassuming astronaut and threw him to the ground.
"Chiana!"
The Nebari moved quickly to his side and pulled at the body. "Hey Sikozu, help me with this!"
Sikozu groaned but did as she was told. Together they managed to push the body aside and get to Crichton.
"Crichton, you alright?" Chiana said, a smile spreading across her lips.
John blinked a few times and then used his hands to shield the brightness of Moya's overhead lights. Seeing Chiana's grin, he did the opposite. "What are you laughing at?"
Chiana giggled as she helped him up. "I guess that's a new one for us huh?"
He looked down at the body and nodded. It was wearing a black space suit that appeared intact. John thought it looked peacekeeperish.
"Hey pip, do me a favor," he said. "Take Sikozu and put this guy in a cell."
Sikozu looked up as her name was called. "We don't even know if he's alive," she challenged. "And you want to put him in a cell?"
John and Chiana exchanged looks. "You know me," he said. "I have difficulty trusting people."
As he turned to walk out of the room, Chiana started to pick the body up. "Where are you gonna be?" she called out.
"I'll be back," John said as he walked out the door.
The ship's internal systems cast a menacing red glow over the proceedings in Scorpius' cell. He sat quietly before the table, Crichton's chess game laid out before him. The hybrid had spent many arns learning its maneuvers. It was interesting, but ultimately a waste of time in his opinion.
Through the jagged bars of the cell, John watched the monster that had tormented him for so long. It still made his mind flinch every time he saw him. The enemy right at the center of his home.
"That's mine," he finally said.
Scorpius looked up from the table and almost grinned. "Quite right John," he responded. "My apologies."
When Crichton didn't answer, the hybrid continued. "It is an interesting gam-
"Why'd she leave?"
Scorpius was caught slightly off-guard. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean John," he said.
"Why. Did. Aeryn. Leave?"
The connection became evident and Scorpius smiled fully. "I see."
John slammed the cell door with all his might, rattling it and scattering the small litter of DRDs that were still stationed outside.
"If I had known that Officer Sun had such an adverse effect on your mind, I would not have bothered with the neural clone."
Crichton, with alarmingly little forethought, reached for his pulse pistol. Thankfully, something inside forced him to stop. Something deep down. "Just tell me why," he ordered.
Scorpius shook his head thoughtfully. "I do not know John," he answered. "Officer."
"Stop calling her that!"
The hybrid almost laughed, but managed to restrain himself. "Even if I knew John, you would not want to hear it from me."
John stared back angrily at his old enemy but said nothing in return. Instead, he turned on his heels and walked back the way he had come.
"May I ask one question John?" asked Scorpius.
The human stopped in mid-step.
"This body you brought aboard," Scorpius said. "Is it peacekeeper?"
John wondered how Scorpy had found out but did not ask him. Instead he continued on out of the corridor.
Scorpius breathed out slowly, a despondent look in his eyes. "Be careful John," he whispered.
She wasn't the type of person who just cried. True, during some of the more emotional moments in her life, the tears had come. Heavily even. But this was different. She was alone in her prowler, surrounded by the emptiness of space and the tears that might have helped so much did not come.
Aeryn reached out blindly and searched through the cargo she'd collected in the time she'd went away. Some of them were necessary survival tools. Others held special meaning. Her hand found the bag of wanted beacons. Each held the face of one of Moya's crew. Every face except hers.
She found John Crichton's and let it play as she had so many times before. The thought that she was purposely torturing herself, payment for something she couldn't even tell him about, had crossed her mind many times.
"A reward for the capture of John Crichton," Grayza's placid face repeated over and over.
Aeryn shut it off and closed her eyes. She knew the rendezvous point was drawing near, but there was still time for a little rest. Instead of that though, she thought about what Scorpius had let slip. Aeryn wondered what had happened to John Crichton on Arnessk. She wondered what Grayza had done to change him.
'Beep.'
She looked up at the prowler's control center and spotted where the warning had come from. It only took a microt to realize what was going on.
"Is that you Officer Sun?"
Aeryn frowned as she steadied the prowler for descent. Below her, the view opened up on a large inhabited planet. The kind of place one could get lost in.
"It is," she replied.
"Good," the voice said. "You're cleared to land."
As the prowler shifted direction and headed downward, a second ship maintained its orbit. Invisible to the scanners that surveyed the area, it was host to only one passenger. D'Argo replayed the message one time before directing Lo'la to follow.
"Strange sight."
Braca stopped and turned to face the man he was escorting. A look of restrained confusion made its way over his face. "What was that?" he asked.
The man in similar uniform smiled gently and nodded toward him. "Strange to see a captain undertaking such a trivial duty."
"You keep your insights to yourself," Braca snapped. "Is that clear?"
In what may have been an effort to annoy Braca even further, the man chuckled. "Yes sir, of course sir," he replied.
Braca straightened up and continued on toward the appropriate hangar.
"Except I'm not a peacekeeper," the man said as he caught up. "So you're not actually my superior."
The captain kept walking but answered anyway. "I don't care what you are," he said. "Soldier, bounty hunter, whatever. On this ship, you'll do as I say." As he said this, they reached the appropriate door.
"Actually, I'm not the bounty hunter," the man said as the door opened. "He is."
Braca looked up just in time to see an enormous hand reach out and grab him by the throat. Within microts, his arms and legs were flailing in mid-air as the assailant lifted him up.
"You are captain Braca?" the hand's owner asked.
Turning blue, Braca managed to nod vigorously. His fears were elevated when he realized what exactly was holding him.
"Yes, that's right," it said. "I'm a Scarran. But you can call me Klavic." With that, he dropped Braca and took a step back.
Scorpius' former lieutenant trembled as he took in the reptilian form of the Scarran. He'd seen many in his lifetime but none this close as far as he could remember. "A Scarran?" Braca realized at that moment that his trade-up in superiors had indeed come with its own set of hazards.
"That's right," Klavic answered. "Now, let's get going."
He grabbed Braca by the collar and dragged him aboard his small craft. In less than a quarter of an arn, they were airborne.
"Yeah, just try it!" Chiana shouted, her hand reaching quickly for the shoulder holster at her side. She whipped out the pistol and aimed it at the lifeless body behind the cell.
"Is everything alright Chiana?"
The Nebari glanced up at the ceiling and smiled. "Sure Pilot, everything's just great," she answered. "Just practicing."
"It was very convincing," the creature offered.
"Thanks Pilot."
In that solitary microt of distraction, she missed the slight jerk in her captor's left leg. A deep breath and a fluttering of eyelids followed it.
"Hey!" she yelled. "You moved."
The prisoner's hands reached up to his helmet and made quick work of removing it. Beneath the black sphere was the face of a young man. His features were rough and several scars lined his face but Chiana could immediately tell the species.
"You're a Sebacean," she said.
Caught off guard, the man jumped to his feet and backed up against the wall. "Where am I?" He cried. "What is this? Who are you?"
Chiana raised her hands above her head. "Hold on, I'm not gonna hurt you," she tried to say as reassuringly as possible.
The man stared at her for a microt and then grabbed at the front area of his space suit. Its fabric tore away easily and a small pulse pistol fell out into his hands. "Let me out," he ordered.
Chiana, wide-eyed, looked from his face to the gun but did nothing else.
A warning shot fired through the bars and burned into Moya's metallic skin.
"Let me out!" he shouted.
"Ok, ok," Chiana stammered. "Don't go farhbot on me." She inched forward and waved her hand over the door controls. The door slid open unceremoniously.
The man kept his gun aimed at her as he ran out of the cell and disappeared down the corridor. As soon as he was out of sight, Chiana grabbed at her comm.
"Aw frell!"
"Pip, what's wrong?" John asked.
She kicked herself for being so stupid. "Crichton, the guy got away."
"What? How?"
Chiana paused a microt before answering. "He had a gun."
"You didn't check him for weapons?" Crichton asked.
"I did but. Just get your ass over here!" Chiana said before shutting off the comm. She fell back against the wall and banged her head against it. 'Stupid tralk.'
The space man ran with as much speed as his weak legs could muster. Unfortunately for him, his experience on leviathans was not extensive. Every corridor and junction looked like the one he had just passed.
"Please surrender," a voice said. "You will not be harmed."
He could only guess that it was the pilot's voice. Unmoved, the space man continued on and suddenly found himself in a dark area of the ship unlike the others. Through the dim light, he saw a figure that made his blood run cold.
Scorpius looked through the bars of his cell and spotted the peacekeeper just as he himself was spotted. The same look of surprise spread across their faces.
"What are you doing here?" The hybrid asked.
The space man ignored the question and raised his pistol. Even in the dark both of them could see it shaking. "Why is this happening?!" He shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Scorpius answered. A pulse blast fired over his head.
"Frell that. You do!" The man shouted back. "Why are they doing this to us?" He asked. "Tell me now or I'll fire."
Scorpius took a step back though he knew there would be no escape. His vast intellect searched for a way to appease the man that did not involve the truth. For once it came up short.
"Fine then," the man said. "You die." He raised his weapon once more and began to pull back on the trigger. The pulse pistol clicked.
The blast erupted from the gun just as Sikozu jumped onto the man's back. It hit the cell door and fizzled out. Meanwhile, Sikozu wrapped her arms around the man's neck and tried to wrestle him to the ground. He threw her off easily but did not attempt another shot.
"I'll kill you!" Sikozu shouted. "Come back here!" Her cries went unanswered as the man turned and ran back the way he had come.
From inside the cell, Scorpius was growing increasingly distraught. In a moment of decisiveness, he ran to the cell door and shouted out, "Why are you here?!"
Sikozu looked back at Scorpius and followed his lead. "Why are you here?" she yelled.
The man did not stay to answer.
D'Argo watched from a distance as Aeryn made her way across the small marketplace. He'd already picked out a large abandoned building as her probable destination. It seemed to fit the pattern of her behavior. As discreetly as possible, he unsheathed his Qualta blade and crept forward.
Ahead of him, Aeryn walked up to the building's rotted door and knocked lightly. Though she could not see them, she knew there were several weapons trained on her at the moment. It was a familiar feeling.
"You're cleared," a low voice said. "Come in."
The wooden door swung open part of the way and then stopped. Aeryn had to squeeze herself through the gap before it slammed shut again. Accomplishing this, a pulse rifle peeked out and touched the smooth skin of her forehead.
"Right on time, Officer Sun."
Aeryn nodded at the gun wielder and proceeded into the musty darkness of the room. At its center was a small green table where three men sat talking. Each one of them was heavily armed and could kill her before she reached for her weapon. Or at least that's what they thought.
"You called for me?" Aeryn asked.
One of the men stood and looked up at her. He was the only one she recognized and perhaps that was why he smiled. "Hello Officer Sun," he said.
Aeryn showed no trace of emotion. She stepped forward and nodded curtly at the man. "You sent for me?"
The man nodded, his face suddenly serious. "Yes, we did."
"Why?" Aeryn asked.
He glanced at his two companions and both reached for their weapons. "I really wasn't sure if you would come," he said. "Since you have, I'll do you the courtesy of being honest."
Outside, D'Argo moved in a bit closer.
"We called you here," the man said and then paused, "... to get you off Moya."
TBC
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