here's part 3 for all you lovely readers out there. Hope you likes and
thanks for reading.
Fic: Insiders p3 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 her help
chapter 3:
John pulled his pistol out of the holster as the sound of pounding footsteps reached his ears. He backed up against the wall and waited as it grew closer.
"Chiana," he whispered.
"I'm here, what is it Crichton."
The human might have been comforted by those words if they weren't coming from the comm on his shirt. He was all alone for the moment.
"Did you see which way he went," he asked.
There was a short pause on the other end as Chiana thought about the question. "Naw, he could have gone anywhere."
Just then the footsteps came to a stop. Crichton looked up as a shadow passed by the door to the room he was hiding in. It seemed to slow as it fell over him.
"Hold on Pip," he said. "I think I got him."
The shadow stopped.
"Who's there?" John called out.
His cell's door opened with a whoosh and the space man walked in. The two men, each with pulse pistol in hand and aimed, stared at each other. Neither felt compelled to shoot first.
"You are John Crichton?" The man asked.
John shrugged as he took a step forward. "Last time I checked," he answered. "Who are you?"
The man raised his gun a little higher and it began to shake slightly. His eyes were wide and showed evidence of the fear he was feeling. There had not been many missions like this in his past. "Drop the weapon."
"How about we do it together?" John asked.
Both pistols remained in the air.
"No, didn't think so," the human said.
The eerie silence that began to form was broken as a single DRD rushed through the open doorway and crashed into the space man's legs. Its strange appearance separated it from all the other DRDs on Moya.
"1812!" John cried. "Toast this guy!"
The multi-colored machine spun around to face John Crichton and began to play its song. Startled, the space man lowered his gun slightly.
"Ahhhhhh!" John yelled as he threw himself forward. With all the force he could muster, John slammed into the man's body and both of them went sprawling back into the hallway.
"You're insane!" The man cried as he stood himself up.
John grinned like a madman. "Yeah, that's what they keep telling me."
The noise from the marketplace only increased as D'Argo waited for something to happen inside the abandoned building. As much as he was concerned for Aeryn's safety, he also wanted some answers from her, information his human friend would want to hear.
"Reward for the capture of John Crichton!"
D'Argo almost fired his Qualta blade when the sound of Grayza's voice reached him. Instead, he dropped into a defensive position and shifted toward the source.
"What the frell is that?" He whispered.
In front of him, a large courtyard opened up that formed the center of the marketplace. In that place sat what appeared to be a long-deserted fountain with barely a drop of water spilling from its edge. The structure's dusty surface was home to a small black object D'Argo had seen many times before.
"Warning Beacon."
As the Luxan watched, a hologram of John Crichton and two men he did not recognize appeared on the screen. Behind them a video played of scenes that D'Argo knew well. To his surprise, he saw the destruction of a gammek base, a shadow depository, and finally the chaos of a command carrier folding in on itself.
"A reward for the capture of John Crichton and his rebel companions," Grayza repeated. "For the destruction of Peacekeeper property and assassination of allied leaders."
Puzzled, D'Argo took a step toward the beacon and almost didn't hear the gunshot behind him.
Before he could turn around, the building's door exploded outward and Aeryn Sun charged out into the harsh sunlight. She whipped her pulse rifle in all directions and finally settled on the Qualta Blade in D'Argo's hand.
"D'Argo?" She asked with obvious surprise.
The Luxan turned toward her and growled. "What is this Aeryn?" He asked calmly.
In quite the opposite manner, Aeryn grabbed D'Argo's arm and ran off in the direction of her prowler. "What the frell are you doing here?" She yelled out as they went.
"I should ask you the same question," D'Argo yelled back.
Behind them, shouts and gunfire started streaming from the abandoned building's open door. One large shot rang over their heads and made direct contact with Aeryn's prowler.
"Down!" She managed as the peacekeeper ship was ripped to shreds.
D'Argo felt splinters of metal rain over him as the prowler went up in a cloud of black smoke that fogged the landscape. Now it was his turn to lead. "Aeryn, this way!" He shouted as heading toward Lo'la.
Aeryn spun around and followed just as the other ship's cloaking device turned off. She was amazed by the ship's ability but had little time to indulge the feeling. In half a microt D'Argo had her arm in his hand and was pulling her aboard.
"Hold on to something," D'Argo ordered as his ship sprung into the air. Leaving the ground behind, he headed upward and towards the stars.
In the passenger seat, Aeryn ripped a section of her coat off and tied it around the wound on her arm. Even with that, blood still oozed out into view. Her face fell and she looked up at D'Argo.
"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" He asked.
She nodded slightly though D'Argo did not see it. "John for them," she murmured. "His life to save their own."
D'Argo had no idea what she was talking about but he was too angry to focus on it. His hands clamped down on the controls.
"You shouldn't have come after me," Aeryn said.
"You're right," D'Argo growled. "I should have let you die."
"Is something wrong Sikozu?"
The door to the maintenance bay swung open and revealed nothing. No body, no Crichton, not anyone. Satisfied, Scorpius entered with his new assistant in tow. She appeared to be the more worried of the two. Appearances were deceiving.
"They're going to kill me when they find out," she said. "Chiana doesn't like me as it is and."
Scorpius turned and wrapped a leather-gloved hand over her mouth. "You did what was necessary," he said calmly. "They will understand that."
"The frell we will!"
Both of them looked up in time to see a small green figure fly out of his hiding spot behind the work bench. Rygel, no weapon in hand, rode his throne sled into plain view and scowled at the two intruders.
"When he finds out you've escaped," Rygel started, "Crichton is going to kill you!" The Hynerion smiled gleefully as the words left his mouth. "And I'll be watching!"
A bit of Scarran growling made it out of Scorpius' mouth. Instead of killing Rygel as he so desperately felt like doing at the moment, the hybrid lifted his hands over his head.
"We are not armed Dominar," he said. "Do with us what you will."
"Naw, that's my job."
Sikozu turned just in time for Chiana to fire a round into her leg. The redhead screamed as the pistol's blast did its work. "You bitch," she groaned.
Chiana glanced down at her handiwork and grinned. "You know, I've been wanting to do that for such a long time."
Above her on the throne, Rygel clapped his hands with approval. "Don't stop Chiana," he yelled. "That old hag is in on it too!"
The Nebari ignored him and trained her weapon on Scorpius. Her smile disappeared when she saw the look on his face.
Scorpius glared at her, simultaneously feeling the coolness of his rod evaporate. "You have made a very grievous error," he said with all the restraint he could manage.
"Chiana!" Pilot's voice interrupted. "Commander Crichton has been captured!"
This time nothing could stop the roar from escaping Scorpius' throat. Nothing like it had ever been heard on Moya before.
A squadron of prowlers and marauders escorted Klavic's ship as it departed the command carrier. The enormous Scarran vessel caused quite a bit of confusion among the many peacekeeper pilots that surrounded it. Nevertheless, their orders were to protect it at all costs.
Inside, the environment was not much better. Braca sat quietly between Klavic and his nameless assistant as they made final preparations.
"Are you ready for this captain?" Klavic asked.
Braca turned to the Scarran and narrowed his eyes. "Don't speak to me, animal," he said icily.
Though no one watching would have guessed it, Klavic grinned. "That's good peacekeeper," he growled. "You'll need that for what's ahead."
As he said this, one of the instrument panels in front of him lit up. Someone was sending an encoded message.
"That's for you," the nameless assistant said.
Braca did not look at the man. Instead he reached forward and pressed the appropriate button. In less than ten microts, Commandant Grayza's face appeared.
"I trust you are being treated well captain?" she asked. As usual, her face betrayed no discernible emotion.
"Yes ma'am, thank you," Braca answered.
A smile almost broke out on the commandant's face. "Do not thank me yet," she said. Grayza then turned to face the Scarran. "I am relaying coordinates to your ship's computer."
"I understand," Klavic responded and terminated the communication. He looked over at Braca and laughed.
"What?" Braca asked.
Klavic slapped the captain hard on the back. "Now the fun begins."
"They will come after us."
D'Argo looked up from the console he was working on and nodded. "I know," he said. "I've already seen them on the scanners."
Several microts passed after the exchange without either of them speaking. Aeryn stared out at the stars, her eyes only half open. The weight of all she had kept inside fell heavily on her now. She'd begun to do the worst possible thing a soldier could do. She'd questioned its worth.
"The men chasing us," D'Argo finally said. "The ex-peacekeeper squad? The assassins?"
Aeryn straightened up but did not make eye contact with the Luxan. "Not exactly," she whispered.
D'Argo gripped the navigation control harder and drops of clear blood oozed from the wounds on his shoulder. "Aeryn!" He shouted.
Despite all she had seen, Aeryn flinched. She'd never heard in his words what she did now. It made the pain inside even worse.
"It wasn't like this when I."
"When you left," he finished.
Aeryn shook her head. "I didn't leave," she said. "After the heat delirium, Scorpius found my prowler and took me back to Moya."
D'Argo turned to look at her and waited.
"It was there, when I saw all of you again," Aeryn said. "I didn't want to go back anymore."
As if to accentuate her words, a volley of percussion missiles flashed across the sensor array. D'Argo barely had time to maneuver out of the way as they exploded and sent shockwaves rippling across the darkness.
"They've found us!" Aeryn yelled.
D'Argo barked a command in ancient Luxan and Lo'la's invisibility shield fell away. Immediately, a formation of prowlers appeared on the horizon.
"How did they track us?" Aeryn asked as the ship trembled against another explosion.
"More important question," D'Argo said. "Why aren't they aiming at us?"
Aeryn searched for the sensor grid and saw that D'Argo was right. Though the prowlers were all firing missiles, none were aiming directly at the ship.
"Anything you want to tell me?" D'Argo asked.
She looked him in the eyes and said nothing.
"I don't suppose we could just talk this out."
John raised his hands sheepishly as the man raised his weapon a little higher. Out of the corner of his eye, the human saw that 1812 was currently out of commission.
The man shook his head. "That won't work again Crichton," he warned.
"So what is it this time?" John asked as if he weren't being held at gunpoint.
"Crichton!" Chiana broke in. "I've got Scorpius!"
John's calm exterior crumbled a bit at the last part. Under the circumstances, however, he could not even answer.
"You are under arrest John Crichton, for the."
"Could you just hold on one second," John asked as he reached for his comm.
The pulse blast singed the edge of his leather jacket and narrowly missed his face. John dropped the comm on the ground. "Guess not."
Space man narrowed his eyes, bolstered by the human's annoying behavior. "You are under arrest John Crichton," he said. "By the authority of Commandant Grayza of the Peacekeepers, you are to be remanded to her supervision and sentenced appropriately."
John grinned boyishly as his captor finished the little speech. "This was Melee's great plan?" He asked. "Send one guy after me?"
The man did not answer.
"You don't really expect to get off this ship alive do you?" John continued.
Those words got the man's attention. "If I'm not back with you in custody, they'll kill her," he said.
John's amusement disappeared at that moment. "One more time?"
"Aeryn Sun," the man answered. "Who do you think called her away?"
Although his words had the desired effect, he did not foresee what happened next.
"Oh......that's just perfect isn't it," John said. He turned and walked away.
Faced with a conflict of training and orders, the man watched in horror as his prisoner started off down the hall. Not knowing what else to do, he ran forward and struck the back of John Crichton's head with his pistol.
Standing over the body, the man felt a surge of adrenaline pump through him. "That's enough out of you," he shouted.
Grayza slid her hand across the control panel and brought the Aurora Chair to a slow stop. She looked with admiration at the young officer who stared back at her.
"You did not scream once," The Commandant said.
The young woman nodded but showed no pride in her achievement. "I have nothing to hide ma'am," she answered.
'Not yet,' Grayza thought to herself as she undid the restraints personally. As she did this, the female officer watched her with curious eyes.
"Do you have a question?"
The officer seemed embarrassed. "Will Captain Braca be returning soon ma'am?" She asked.
Grayza was somewhat surprised by the question, though she did not show it. "Why do you ask?" She questioned.
"It's only that I've never served on a carrier without a captain aboard," the woman said almost in a whisper.
This almost made Grayza laugh. "You will learn," she began, "that any member of the crew is expendable if necessary."
"Even you Commandant?"
Grayza smiled.
TBC
Neuroscpr
Fic: Insiders p3 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 her help
chapter 3:
John pulled his pistol out of the holster as the sound of pounding footsteps reached his ears. He backed up against the wall and waited as it grew closer.
"Chiana," he whispered.
"I'm here, what is it Crichton."
The human might have been comforted by those words if they weren't coming from the comm on his shirt. He was all alone for the moment.
"Did you see which way he went," he asked.
There was a short pause on the other end as Chiana thought about the question. "Naw, he could have gone anywhere."
Just then the footsteps came to a stop. Crichton looked up as a shadow passed by the door to the room he was hiding in. It seemed to slow as it fell over him.
"Hold on Pip," he said. "I think I got him."
The shadow stopped.
"Who's there?" John called out.
His cell's door opened with a whoosh and the space man walked in. The two men, each with pulse pistol in hand and aimed, stared at each other. Neither felt compelled to shoot first.
"You are John Crichton?" The man asked.
John shrugged as he took a step forward. "Last time I checked," he answered. "Who are you?"
The man raised his gun a little higher and it began to shake slightly. His eyes were wide and showed evidence of the fear he was feeling. There had not been many missions like this in his past. "Drop the weapon."
"How about we do it together?" John asked.
Both pistols remained in the air.
"No, didn't think so," the human said.
The eerie silence that began to form was broken as a single DRD rushed through the open doorway and crashed into the space man's legs. Its strange appearance separated it from all the other DRDs on Moya.
"1812!" John cried. "Toast this guy!"
The multi-colored machine spun around to face John Crichton and began to play its song. Startled, the space man lowered his gun slightly.
"Ahhhhhh!" John yelled as he threw himself forward. With all the force he could muster, John slammed into the man's body and both of them went sprawling back into the hallway.
"You're insane!" The man cried as he stood himself up.
John grinned like a madman. "Yeah, that's what they keep telling me."
The noise from the marketplace only increased as D'Argo waited for something to happen inside the abandoned building. As much as he was concerned for Aeryn's safety, he also wanted some answers from her, information his human friend would want to hear.
"Reward for the capture of John Crichton!"
D'Argo almost fired his Qualta blade when the sound of Grayza's voice reached him. Instead, he dropped into a defensive position and shifted toward the source.
"What the frell is that?" He whispered.
In front of him, a large courtyard opened up that formed the center of the marketplace. In that place sat what appeared to be a long-deserted fountain with barely a drop of water spilling from its edge. The structure's dusty surface was home to a small black object D'Argo had seen many times before.
"Warning Beacon."
As the Luxan watched, a hologram of John Crichton and two men he did not recognize appeared on the screen. Behind them a video played of scenes that D'Argo knew well. To his surprise, he saw the destruction of a gammek base, a shadow depository, and finally the chaos of a command carrier folding in on itself.
"A reward for the capture of John Crichton and his rebel companions," Grayza repeated. "For the destruction of Peacekeeper property and assassination of allied leaders."
Puzzled, D'Argo took a step toward the beacon and almost didn't hear the gunshot behind him.
Before he could turn around, the building's door exploded outward and Aeryn Sun charged out into the harsh sunlight. She whipped her pulse rifle in all directions and finally settled on the Qualta Blade in D'Argo's hand.
"D'Argo?" She asked with obvious surprise.
The Luxan turned toward her and growled. "What is this Aeryn?" He asked calmly.
In quite the opposite manner, Aeryn grabbed D'Argo's arm and ran off in the direction of her prowler. "What the frell are you doing here?" She yelled out as they went.
"I should ask you the same question," D'Argo yelled back.
Behind them, shouts and gunfire started streaming from the abandoned building's open door. One large shot rang over their heads and made direct contact with Aeryn's prowler.
"Down!" She managed as the peacekeeper ship was ripped to shreds.
D'Argo felt splinters of metal rain over him as the prowler went up in a cloud of black smoke that fogged the landscape. Now it was his turn to lead. "Aeryn, this way!" He shouted as heading toward Lo'la.
Aeryn spun around and followed just as the other ship's cloaking device turned off. She was amazed by the ship's ability but had little time to indulge the feeling. In half a microt D'Argo had her arm in his hand and was pulling her aboard.
"Hold on to something," D'Argo ordered as his ship sprung into the air. Leaving the ground behind, he headed upward and towards the stars.
In the passenger seat, Aeryn ripped a section of her coat off and tied it around the wound on her arm. Even with that, blood still oozed out into view. Her face fell and she looked up at D'Argo.
"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" He asked.
She nodded slightly though D'Argo did not see it. "John for them," she murmured. "His life to save their own."
D'Argo had no idea what she was talking about but he was too angry to focus on it. His hands clamped down on the controls.
"You shouldn't have come after me," Aeryn said.
"You're right," D'Argo growled. "I should have let you die."
"Is something wrong Sikozu?"
The door to the maintenance bay swung open and revealed nothing. No body, no Crichton, not anyone. Satisfied, Scorpius entered with his new assistant in tow. She appeared to be the more worried of the two. Appearances were deceiving.
"They're going to kill me when they find out," she said. "Chiana doesn't like me as it is and."
Scorpius turned and wrapped a leather-gloved hand over her mouth. "You did what was necessary," he said calmly. "They will understand that."
"The frell we will!"
Both of them looked up in time to see a small green figure fly out of his hiding spot behind the work bench. Rygel, no weapon in hand, rode his throne sled into plain view and scowled at the two intruders.
"When he finds out you've escaped," Rygel started, "Crichton is going to kill you!" The Hynerion smiled gleefully as the words left his mouth. "And I'll be watching!"
A bit of Scarran growling made it out of Scorpius' mouth. Instead of killing Rygel as he so desperately felt like doing at the moment, the hybrid lifted his hands over his head.
"We are not armed Dominar," he said. "Do with us what you will."
"Naw, that's my job."
Sikozu turned just in time for Chiana to fire a round into her leg. The redhead screamed as the pistol's blast did its work. "You bitch," she groaned.
Chiana glanced down at her handiwork and grinned. "You know, I've been wanting to do that for such a long time."
Above her on the throne, Rygel clapped his hands with approval. "Don't stop Chiana," he yelled. "That old hag is in on it too!"
The Nebari ignored him and trained her weapon on Scorpius. Her smile disappeared when she saw the look on his face.
Scorpius glared at her, simultaneously feeling the coolness of his rod evaporate. "You have made a very grievous error," he said with all the restraint he could manage.
"Chiana!" Pilot's voice interrupted. "Commander Crichton has been captured!"
This time nothing could stop the roar from escaping Scorpius' throat. Nothing like it had ever been heard on Moya before.
A squadron of prowlers and marauders escorted Klavic's ship as it departed the command carrier. The enormous Scarran vessel caused quite a bit of confusion among the many peacekeeper pilots that surrounded it. Nevertheless, their orders were to protect it at all costs.
Inside, the environment was not much better. Braca sat quietly between Klavic and his nameless assistant as they made final preparations.
"Are you ready for this captain?" Klavic asked.
Braca turned to the Scarran and narrowed his eyes. "Don't speak to me, animal," he said icily.
Though no one watching would have guessed it, Klavic grinned. "That's good peacekeeper," he growled. "You'll need that for what's ahead."
As he said this, one of the instrument panels in front of him lit up. Someone was sending an encoded message.
"That's for you," the nameless assistant said.
Braca did not look at the man. Instead he reached forward and pressed the appropriate button. In less than ten microts, Commandant Grayza's face appeared.
"I trust you are being treated well captain?" she asked. As usual, her face betrayed no discernible emotion.
"Yes ma'am, thank you," Braca answered.
A smile almost broke out on the commandant's face. "Do not thank me yet," she said. Grayza then turned to face the Scarran. "I am relaying coordinates to your ship's computer."
"I understand," Klavic responded and terminated the communication. He looked over at Braca and laughed.
"What?" Braca asked.
Klavic slapped the captain hard on the back. "Now the fun begins."
"They will come after us."
D'Argo looked up from the console he was working on and nodded. "I know," he said. "I've already seen them on the scanners."
Several microts passed after the exchange without either of them speaking. Aeryn stared out at the stars, her eyes only half open. The weight of all she had kept inside fell heavily on her now. She'd begun to do the worst possible thing a soldier could do. She'd questioned its worth.
"The men chasing us," D'Argo finally said. "The ex-peacekeeper squad? The assassins?"
Aeryn straightened up but did not make eye contact with the Luxan. "Not exactly," she whispered.
D'Argo gripped the navigation control harder and drops of clear blood oozed from the wounds on his shoulder. "Aeryn!" He shouted.
Despite all she had seen, Aeryn flinched. She'd never heard in his words what she did now. It made the pain inside even worse.
"It wasn't like this when I."
"When you left," he finished.
Aeryn shook her head. "I didn't leave," she said. "After the heat delirium, Scorpius found my prowler and took me back to Moya."
D'Argo turned to look at her and waited.
"It was there, when I saw all of you again," Aeryn said. "I didn't want to go back anymore."
As if to accentuate her words, a volley of percussion missiles flashed across the sensor array. D'Argo barely had time to maneuver out of the way as they exploded and sent shockwaves rippling across the darkness.
"They've found us!" Aeryn yelled.
D'Argo barked a command in ancient Luxan and Lo'la's invisibility shield fell away. Immediately, a formation of prowlers appeared on the horizon.
"How did they track us?" Aeryn asked as the ship trembled against another explosion.
"More important question," D'Argo said. "Why aren't they aiming at us?"
Aeryn searched for the sensor grid and saw that D'Argo was right. Though the prowlers were all firing missiles, none were aiming directly at the ship.
"Anything you want to tell me?" D'Argo asked.
She looked him in the eyes and said nothing.
"I don't suppose we could just talk this out."
John raised his hands sheepishly as the man raised his weapon a little higher. Out of the corner of his eye, the human saw that 1812 was currently out of commission.
The man shook his head. "That won't work again Crichton," he warned.
"So what is it this time?" John asked as if he weren't being held at gunpoint.
"Crichton!" Chiana broke in. "I've got Scorpius!"
John's calm exterior crumbled a bit at the last part. Under the circumstances, however, he could not even answer.
"You are under arrest John Crichton, for the."
"Could you just hold on one second," John asked as he reached for his comm.
The pulse blast singed the edge of his leather jacket and narrowly missed his face. John dropped the comm on the ground. "Guess not."
Space man narrowed his eyes, bolstered by the human's annoying behavior. "You are under arrest John Crichton," he said. "By the authority of Commandant Grayza of the Peacekeepers, you are to be remanded to her supervision and sentenced appropriately."
John grinned boyishly as his captor finished the little speech. "This was Melee's great plan?" He asked. "Send one guy after me?"
The man did not answer.
"You don't really expect to get off this ship alive do you?" John continued.
Those words got the man's attention. "If I'm not back with you in custody, they'll kill her," he said.
John's amusement disappeared at that moment. "One more time?"
"Aeryn Sun," the man answered. "Who do you think called her away?"
Although his words had the desired effect, he did not foresee what happened next.
"Oh......that's just perfect isn't it," John said. He turned and walked away.
Faced with a conflict of training and orders, the man watched in horror as his prisoner started off down the hall. Not knowing what else to do, he ran forward and struck the back of John Crichton's head with his pistol.
Standing over the body, the man felt a surge of adrenaline pump through him. "That's enough out of you," he shouted.
Grayza slid her hand across the control panel and brought the Aurora Chair to a slow stop. She looked with admiration at the young officer who stared back at her.
"You did not scream once," The Commandant said.
The young woman nodded but showed no pride in her achievement. "I have nothing to hide ma'am," she answered.
'Not yet,' Grayza thought to herself as she undid the restraints personally. As she did this, the female officer watched her with curious eyes.
"Do you have a question?"
The officer seemed embarrassed. "Will Captain Braca be returning soon ma'am?" She asked.
Grayza was somewhat surprised by the question, though she did not show it. "Why do you ask?" She questioned.
"It's only that I've never served on a carrier without a captain aboard," the woman said almost in a whisper.
This almost made Grayza laugh. "You will learn," she began, "that any member of the crew is expendable if necessary."
"Even you Commandant?"
Grayza smiled.
TBC
Neuroscpr