Title: Rystal
Author: DOKChairman
Time/Spoilers: I really have no idea when this takes place, but if I had to say, it takes place before John was twinned, but after Zhaan dies. Everything before that is fair game.
Summary: After a disastrous fight with Aeryn, John is abandoned on a strange planet. He soon discovers an ancient and mysterious prophecy that leads to open warfare with the Peacekeepers, and maybe a way home.
Disclaimer: "Farscape", its characters, and its situations don't belong to me - they are the propertyof The Jim Henson Company, Rockne S. O'Bannon, the Sci-Fi Channel, Hallmark Entertainment, and Nine Network Australia. The only thing that belongs to me is the original story and characters.
Author's Note: Unfortunately, school is starting up again and that means that I will have significantly less time for writing. So I would like to apologize in advance for posting the next few chapters later than usual. I will try to post one new chapter a week, but I think that might be too generous a promise.
Second Author's Note: I would like to thank those who have given me feedback; it is much appreciated. Like before, any and all feedback is encouraged, especially constructive criticism. Oh, and I have things planned for Juli that may or may not change people's opinion of her.
Third Author's Note: The crew of Moya reunites with John and find out more about the situation than they wanted to know.
"Perhaps you can. You have every incentive. The welfare of Earth hangs on your doing so and, as you have told me, your own career."
"What good is incentive? If you ordered me to fly by flapping my arms and told me further that if I failed, I would be promptly killed by slow torture and that Earth would be blown up and all its population destroyed, I would have enormous incentive to flap my wings and fly-and yet still be unable to do so."
-Isaac Asimov, The Robots of Dawn
Chapter 11: The Family Reunion from Hell
Four days after the events in And the Lord Said, "Let there be light…"-
Everyone was there. The entire crew of Moya, with the exception of Pilot of course, was standing in command waiting for the all clear signal from Crais. When they had finally come up with a plan for getting into the Rotarian system, they had decided that the best course of action would be to send Talyn in first. Since Talyn was armed, it would have the better chance of the two Leviathans to get away if it ran into trouble.
The plan had been rather simple once they worked it out. Talyn would slowly and as stealthily as possible, enter the system and scan for the three command carriers that were supposed to in orbit around the planet. If the command carriers were in fact in orbit around the planet, and not floating around in the vastness of space, then there was a chance that Moya could enter undetected. Crais had informed them that being in orbit around a planet dampened the carriers' effective scanning range; it supposedly had something to do with magnetic and ionic interference.
If the carriers were in orbit, then Crais would plot a course for Moya to follow that would get them into the system undetected, and then send a signal informing them it was safe to come in. If the carriers were not in orbit, then Crais would rejoin Moya and they would both starburst out of there.
So that left them where they were at now, waiting for a signal they all hoped to hear. The mood in the room was so tense, that no one was willing to talk; afraid that they would break what fragile control they had over their emotions to begin with.
They had been waiting for more than arn, and Aeryn was really starting to get impatient. She was so close to finally finding John, and the waiting was starting to make her go fahrbot. What the frell is taking Crais so long? It should have taken Crais only half an arn to enter the system, scan it, and then determine whether it was safe or not. It had been more than an arn, and Aeryn was starting to worry about something happening to Talyn.
Aeryn felt a brief spark of guilt over letting her urge to find John dominate her emotions. Under normal circumstances, she probably would have never agreed to let Talyn go into a situation like the one he was in now, but her need to see John overrode even her concern for Talyn. She just hoped nothing happened to them.
Pilot's voice broke into her thoughts. He was very excited, "Moya is receiving a transmission from Captain Crais. It is the signal. He says that he has found a course that Moya can follow and still be undetected. He apologizes for the delay, but he had to avoid a Prowler patrol.
Aeryn was the first to break the silence, "That's great Pilot. Proceed on the course Crais gave us."
Aeryn felt Moya powering up and start moving.
The grenade exploded not more than fifteen feet away from John, and the force of the explosion threw him back. Fortunately, it seemed that none of the flying shrapnel had hit him. John brought Wynonna up and fired at the Peacekeeper that had thrown the grenade, hitting him once in the chest and in the arm. He dropped to the ground unmoving, but his partner returned fire at John. The pulse blasts bounced harmlessly off the large boulder John was hiding behind. John returned fire at the Peacekeeper, but he was as unlucky as the Peacekeeper was in hitting his target.
John then turned his head to his partner and constant shadow, and whispered to her, "You go left and I'll go right. As soon as I count to three we'll jump out from behind this rock and fire. Hopefully one of us will get the bastard."
Thankfully, his partner didn't argue with him, which was strange. He would have thought after the little speech she gave him when they were attacking the armory that she would have objected to putting himself in danger. But she seemed to have given up trying to keep him from fighting, and instead just listened to what he said. She had actually started following his orders. John figured that Juli had realized that putting the safety of one man over the safety of the entire group was illogical and doomed to failure.
John began counting, "1…2…3…go!" John dived from out behind the boulder, and brought his pistol to bear on the Peacekeeper. He fired two quick shots, but both went wild. The Peacekeeper brought his rifle to line up with John's prone body, but was stopped by two pulse blasts to the chest. He collapsed to the ground, his body still twitching.
John slowly got to his feet, dusting himself off as he went. He saw Juli walking up to him with a questioning look on her face. John smiled at her, "I'm fine. Nice shooting, deadeye."
Juli smiled briefly and then snorted, "Yeah, well, if you did the training I want you to do, I wouldn't have needed to shoot him. I can't believe you missed him." Juli said the last part playfully. She liked teasing John.
John got indignant, "Hey! It wasn't my fault, the pulse blasts didn't go where I told them to go."
Juli just snorted again and walked over to the two Peacekeepers to check them over. When Juli was out of hearing range, John looked down at Wynonna with a disapproving frown on his face. "How could you make me look bad like that? I thought we had understanding. I take good care of you and not cheat on you with anyone else, and you take care of me and always hit your target. What happened? Don't make me find someone else!"
After Wynonna had a thorough talking to, John placed her back in her holster and walked over to Juli who was still looking over the bodies. This had become a common occurrence for John, searching dead bodies for important information. God, how morbid has my life become?
John crouched down next to Juli, "Anything?"
Juli shook her head in the negative, "No, they're completely clean. They're just grunts."
John stood up and let out a curse, "Damn!"
He then searched the horizon, seeing multiple flashes and hearing the explosions that were peppering the landscape. A battle was raging across the Rotarian landscape. Rystalva forces had engaged a massive Peacekeeper force numbering in the tens of thousands. They were the troops from the three command carriers that had arrived in orbit around Rotar more than two weekens ago.
The Peacekeepers had wasted very little time. The day the carriers arrived, they sent all 100,000 troops down to the planet. Bringing the number of Peacekeepers on the planet numbering more than 130,000. Suffice it to say, the Rystalva was hopelessly outnumbered. They were doing all they could to stem the overwhelming flood of Peacekeeper might, but John knew that they didn't realistically stand a chance.
At least that had been the case until two solar days ago. Two days ago, John had been brought before the Rotarian High Council, Rotar's ruling body, and received their endorsement. The encounter was still very fresh in his mind.
John stared in awe at the sight before him. Sitting in front of him were seven Rotarian females, the seven members of the Rotarian High Council, and they were some of the most beautiful beings that he had ever seen. They weren't beautiful in the sense of what humans might consider beautiful. But they were beautiful.
Amazingly, they were even more slim and lithe than the Rotarian males were, they were also shorter and seemed to have less mass, but they were just as imposing as the males. The thing that made them beautiful was their fur. Each female's fur was made up of multiple colors, unlike the males that had only one solid color, and reflected light almost like a mirror. They were constantly surrounded by a sheen of light.
John knew that he should stop staring, after all it wasn't polite to stare, but it was hard to draw his eyes away from them. He realized that he should probably be afraid of the seven in front of him, if they wanted, they could have him killed, but he wasn't.
The seven females in front of him were the ultimate authority on the planet of Rotar. Despite the fact that the Rystalva numbered in the thousands, they were nothing compared to what the Council could bring to bear on them.
The Council had requested John after the Peacekeeper command carriers had entered orbit and started sending troops down. That had been over a weeken ago, and now was the first time there had been a lull in the fighting long enough for John to leave. He knew that making the Council wait had angered them, they weren't used to being refused, especially by a male. So John was more than a little wary about what their reactions would be once they finally met him.
John had a pretty good idea why he was here. The Council wanted to question him about the conflict and about who he was. He knew that he needed to convince them that war with the Peacekeepers was a good thing, at least as far as any war could be good, and that the Rystalva could use their support. He didn't want to have to fight the Peacekeepers and the Council at the same time.
John's slack jawed look ended abruptly when one of the females began speaking. "Do you know why you are here John Crichton?"
John answered with some hesitation, "Yes, I think I do."
A different female spoke up, "Then proceed."
John was silent. He didn't know what to say that would make them do what he wanted them to do. Both Toben and Krant had told him that the Council was very stubborn and that they only did what they wanted to do. He had been told to tread carefully, and not risk angering them. Which left John without knowing what to say. Almost everything he said to the Rotarians seemed to anger them.
John's silence made the Council impatient. One of the Rotarians spoke up, "Well, do you not have anything to say?"
John finally said something, "What can I say that will convince you that what I am doing is right? Will you believe anything I say?"
The first Rotarian that had spoke up responded to John's questions. "You must tell us something John Crichton. You cannot expect us to follow you on blind faith."
John shook his head vehemently, "No, not blind faith. But faith, yes."
One of the Rotarians had an incredulous look on her face. "Faith in you, John Crichton? A primitive being that knows nothing of war or our ways."
John sighed, "Yes, faith in me, and faith in the Rystalva. They follow me because they believe in me. Why can't you?"
The first Rotarian spoke up again, "We know who you are John Crichton. At first we did not believe, and to tell you the truth, I still don't believe. However, I was outvoted and you were granted your audience with us. I don't believe that you are who you claim to be, but once again I was outvoted."
Another Rotarian began speaking as soon as the first one ended, "While it is true that those in the Rystalva follow you, we are not as easily swayed as they are. However, it is the decision of this Council that you are in fact the Rystal. The people of Rotar have heard of your deeds and your accomplishments and they want to follow you. We cannot go against the will of the people. They believe that you can defeat the Peacekeepers, and while we would have liked to have avoided a conflict with the Peacekeepers, we believe that you can as well."
When the second Rotarian finished speaking, a third began. "Make no mistake, John Crichton, that if you are not who you say you are then we will deal with you. We Rotarians do not like liars and impostors."
John was more than a little overwhelmed. He had expected more trouble. It was a little easy, easier than he had expected. "Why the sudden change in attitude? I thought that you did not want to get involved in this war?"
The first female spoke up, not without some anger in her voice. "Do not mistake our hesitance as cowardice to fight. Our people have not fought a war in over a thousand cycles. We have forgotten what war is and what war costs. You can not expect us to just begin a war without serious thought, and without serious consideration of the consequences."
John felt like he should apologize, "I didn't mean to imply that you were afraid, I was just curious about what changed your mind."
She began speaking again, "We had no choice. As soon as we determined that you were in fact the Rystal, we had to defer to you. It is part of our law, an ancient law that very few know of, but our law nonetheless. The law was written so that when the Rystal finally arrived on Rotar, he would have total authority over our people. If not, he could not be expected to bring us to our former status in the galaxy. Since you are the Rystal, we must follow you. It is the law."
John's brain was still trying to keep up with all the new input he was getting. "So this means that you will help us?"
The first female Rotarian sighed and then began speaking, "Yes, John Crichton. We will help you fight the Peacekeepers. Whatever you need: weapons, men, supplies, we will provide you with what you need."
John was brought back to the present when an especially large explosion went off in the distance.
True to their word, the Council had provided John with whatever he wanted. Of course what John and the Rystalva had needed the most were troops. The Council had provided the Rystalva with thousands and thousands of troops. The entire planet was now at war with the Peacekeepers. It was no longer just the Rystalva fighting the Peacekeepers.
With the new influx of troops, battles had sprung up all across the planet. The Peacekeepers that had initially found themselves dominating the planet were now on the run. The Peacekeepers were now the ones hopelessly outnumbered. Which brought John back to the battle that was raging in the distance.
A large Rystalva force had engaged the Peacekeepers in the capital city of Rotar, and the battle had been raging for more than three days. It was unclear which side was winning, but John knew that no matter who won, the city would be destroyed. John had seen enough pictures of what the major European cities back on Earth looked like after WWII to know that there wouldn't be much left of the cities when this war was over. John was just happy that most of the civilians had left the city before the fighting broke out.
John knew that the Peacekeepers were starting to lose the overall war and that worried him. He was worried about the three command carriers in orbit. They were one of his biggest concerns at the moment. If they wanted to, they could turn their weapons on the planet and destroy it from orbit. John knew that if they lost, the Peacekeepers wouldn't let Rotar get away with it. They would rather wipe out the planet than let the planet go free.
He knew that he needed to figure out some way to get rid of those command carriers. That would have to wait though. He needed to get back to base and find out how everything was going. He had a lot of work ahead of him.
John began walking towards the fighting; talking over his should as he did. "Come on Juli. It's time we found the others. They're probably wondering where we are by now."
John didn't wait or look back; he knew that Juli was right behind him.
Aeryn gripped the controls of the transport pod tightly as it entered the planet's atmosphere. She only had a small window of opportunity to enter the atmosphere undetected. She had to make it to the spaceport near the city of Rotar without the Peacekeepers in orbit detecting her. Aeryn knew that it would be difficult but she knew that she could do it. She knew that she had to do it if she was ever to find John.
Aeryn briefly looked over shoulder to make sure that her two companions were all right. When she had insisted on going down to the planet right away, D'argo and Chiana insisted that they went with her. All three had left Moya as soon as she was safe hiding in an asteroid field that circled one of Rotar's moons. Fortunately, the metal in the asteroids scrambled Peacekeeper sensors and made any object in the field undetectable.
Both D'argo and Chiana looked secure, if not a little queasy from the bumpy ride. Aeryn refocused her concentration on the controls and she noticed that they were only a thousand metras from the spaceport. This would be the hard part. Aeryn would have to skim along the surface of the planet to avoid Peacekeeper ground radar. She would have to do that all the way to the spaceport.
She only hoped that she didn't venture into any of the battles that were ongoing across the planet. Moya's sensors had detected the fighting down on the planet, and it seemed pretty fierce. If nothing else, the fighting confirmed to her that John was still alive. Only John could anger the Peacekeepers enough to warrant the kind of fighting that was going on down on the planet.
She was halfway there. Only about a hundred microts more. As soon as they landed she knew that they would have to abandon the pod. Which was okay with her. She hadn't planned on leaving anyways, at least not without John. And she knew that both D'argo and Chiana felt the same way. All three knew what they were getting into when they decided to go down to a planet that was in the middle of a war.
The only problem, besides the Peacekeepers, that she could foresee was actually finding John. Not only could he be anywhere on the planet, but he was supposedly the leader of the rebellion and Aeryn knew it wouldn't be easy to see him. And that was only if he wanted to see her. She prayed to whatever deity was out there that John would give her the chance to explain herself.
She saw that they were almost on top of the spaceport. She searched for a clear landing pad. She found one and began the landing procedure for the pod. She turned to look over her shoulder and spoke up to her two companions, "As soon as we land, we need to leave right away. If the Peacekeepers didn't detect us coming in, it will only be a matter of time before they realize that there is a strange transport pod landing."
She heard D'argo mumble some unintelligible as he unstrapped himself from his seat and readied his Qualta blade. Chiana didn't respond as she unstrapped herself as well.
There was a slight jolt as the pod touched down and Aeryn immediately shut down the pod. She freed herself, and picked up the pulse rifle next to her. She had brought as many weapons as she could carry. Two pulse pistols, a pulse rifle, a bag of frag grenades, and a couple of knives. Nothing was going to get in her way.
She went straight for the hatch, opened it, waited for the ramp to lower, and slowly stuck her head out. The pad looked safe. She quickly ran down the ramp, all the while searching the area for possible targets. This was her element, being a soldier, and she had not felt so comfortable in monens.
Once she was sure that there were no Peacekeepers she yelled back at the pod for the others to come down. D'argo came barreling down the ramp, his Qualta blade held ready, and quickly joined Aeryn at the entrance to the pad.
Aeryn looked down the street that led from the pad and noticed it was empty. D'argo moved ahead and began walking down the street, Aeryn soon followed him, and Chiana brought up the rear. They knew that they needed to get away from the pod as soon as possible.
They had made it about halfway down the street when a loud voice yelled out, "Stop! Don't move another step!"
Aeryn instinctively turned toward the sound of the voice, but saw no one. The speaker had to be hidden in one of the alleys or buildings that lined the street. Aeryn could feel her frustration building. Frell! I don't believe it. Only here a few microts and I've already been captured. It really hasn't been a good three monens.
Aeryn lowered her rifle, but she did not put it down on the ground. She saw D'argo do the same with his blade. A person began walking out of one of the dark alleys. He was a Sebacean male, dressed in a Peacekeeper uniform that had obviously seen a lot of action, and he was confidently aiming a pulse pistol at Aeryn.
The man moved far enough out of the alley so that all three of Moya's crew could see him. He shouted another order, "Put your weapons on the ground!"
D'argo let out a low growl, "You are only one man, you can not shoot all of us."
The man just smiled as he motioned with his pistol for them to put their guns on the ground. "You don't think that I would be doing this if I was alone do you? Now don't make me tell you again. On the ground!"
Aeryn sighed and eased her rifle to the ground. She would never get to John if she were dead. When D'argo saw Aeryn lower her rifle to the ground, he did the same with his blade. Chiana dropped her own pistol to the ground.
Aeryn was about to remove the two pulse pistols strapped to her thighs, when the man spoke up. "That is not necessary Officer Sun. You may keep your pistols."
Aeryn looked at the man in shock. He knew who she was. She knew that she had become quite infamous in her travels, but she wasn't nearly as well known as John had been. She was unsure of how the man in front of her knew who she was. Aeryn searched her memory, trying to recall if she had ever served with the man in front of her. She was drawing a blank.
The man smiled at her shocked expression, "Yes I know who you are Officer Sun. In fact I know who all of you are. Ka D'argo of the Luxans and Chiana of the Nebari. You are all well known amongst our ranks."
The man then brought his free hand up to his mouth, placed two fingers in it, and let out a piercing whistle. Almost instantly, people began pouring out of the area around the three captured aliens. All in all, there were nine people. Six Sebaceans and three others that Aeryn remembered made up the planet's natural species.
Aeryn saw a female Sebacean with dark blond hair walk up to the man that had captured them. Aeryn could tell that the young woman was obviously in charge of the group, by the way the others looked at her and the way they seemed to treat her.
The woman spoke to the male Sebacean, "Good job, Officer Vorel. You handled yourself quite well. Maybe John wasn't wrong about you."
Aeryn, D'argo, and Chiana instantly perked up at the mention of John's name. Many thoughts began racing through Aeryn's mind. She knows John? Maybe they can take us to him. If they work for John then why are they capturing us? I hope it's not because John doesn't want to see us.
The woman, who had had her back to Aeryn while she was talking to Vorel, turned around and Aeryn instantly recognized her. The woman was someone she would never forget for as long as she lived. Aeryn felt herself become overcome with anger. Without thinking she leapt at the woman, pulling out one of her knives as she did. She wanted to kill her.
Juli, who had been expecting the reaction of the Sebacean in front of her, was more than ready for the attack. Even if she hadn't been prepared, Aeryn wouldn't have stood much of a chance. Aeryn Sun may have been an excellent soldier, but she was no match for someone who had been trained as a Disruptor.
Quickly motioning to those around her not to fire at the raging Sebacean, she turned her attention back to the oncoming woman. Aeryn, letting her anger control her, did not see the woman preparing for her attack.
When Aeryn got close enough to Juli, she let loose a powerful but wild strike that Juli easily blocked with her forearm. Juli then stepped close into Aeryn's body, and hit her twice in the stomach. Aeryn let out a whoosh of air, but that didn't stop her from trying to continue her assault.
Juli didn't want to harm Aeryn, but she couldn't let Aeryn hurt her either. She had to disable her in a way that wouldn't cause permanent damage. Juli knew that John would never forgive her if she hurt Aeryn. She had to finish the fight quickly before it escalated.
When Aeryn's arm came down on a downward strike, Juli grabbed her arm and brought it close to her body, twisting it as she did. The pressure was so great that Aeryn had to let go of the knife. Once the knife dropped to the ground, Juli swept Aeryn's legs out from under her, and then placed her knee on Aeryn's throat.
Juli placed a little pressure on her throat just to show she was serious as she gritted out through her teeth, "Stop, Aeryn Sun. I do not wish to harm you, but if you don't stop resisting, you will leave me no choice."
After realizing that she could not move, Aeryn stopped resisting and seemed to calm down. Juli carefully got off Aeryn and stood away from her, warily watching her for any sign that she might continue the fight.
When Aeryn did not show any more hostile intent, Juli spoke to her. "Thank you for cooperating Aeryn. I know that John would not be very happy with me if I had to hurt you."
Aeryn, her voice slightly hoarse, let out a growl of anger. "Take me to him, now!
Juli smiled at Aeryn's impatience, "I will be happy to take you to see him, but only if you are calm."
Aeryn took a few deep breaths, trying to ease the tension out of her body. If the woman in front of her could take her to see John, then she would do what she said, for now. She still owed her, though.
"Thank you, Aeryn Sun." Juli then turned to face the Luxan and the Nebari. "And thank you two for not getting involved."
D'argo just grunted and Chiana smiled at Juli. D'argo spoke up, "How did you find us, we just landed?"
"We were waiting for you. We picked up your transport pod as soon as it entered the planet's atmosphere. The Peacekeepers aren't the only ones with extensive tracking radar. We knew it was you, after all not too many Leviathan transport pods come to this planet anymore. So I got some men and came over here as quickly as we could. I knew that John would want to see you."
Juli's voice changed from the friendly tone that she had been using to a more serious one. "As much as I would like to stand out here in the open answering your questions, I suggest that we leave this area. A Peacekeeper patrol could come by here any microt now. I will take you straight to John."
Juli then motioned for her group to begin leaving. The soldiers spread out and began hurriedly walking down the street. Vorel walked with Aeryn and D'argo, while Juli stayed in the back.
Chiana, who had been relatively quiet since landing in the spaceport, sidled up to Juli. She had a small smile on her face and a look of appreciation in her eye, "So you are the girl that kissed John?"
Juli looked at the Nebari girl, "Yes. I've been with him ever since."
Chiana used one of the phrases she had heard John use on more than one occasion, "Cool. I gotta say, you have no idea how much fun it was seeing Aeryn getting her eema kicked. You are my hero." Chiana said the last part half-serious.
Juli just laughed. "John said that you and I would have a lot in common. I think I'm going to like you."
John slammed his hand down on the wooden table, rattling the table and sending a loud crack throughout the conference room. "Damnit! What happened this time?"
Toben, who had become used to John's emotional outbursts, barely flinched. "They were ambushed. The company commander was young and inexperienced, and he panicked. He tried to lead his men in a foolish charge against the Peacekeepers and they were destroyed."
John was still overcome by his rage. "How many made it?" he seethed out through gritted teeth.
Toben replied with his maddening calm voice, "None."
John slammed his hand down on the table again. "That's the third time this has happened in the last weeken. I've had enough. No more of this familial nepotism bullshit. I want a full evaluation of every single combat unit commander done. If they can't do the job I want them replaced. I don't care who their father was, or what their family did. If they have a problem with the new system, they can come see me and I'll personally kick their asses for being such frelling morons!"
Toben just grinned at John, showing a lot of teeth. "Of course John. I'll have it done by tomorrow."
John calmed down noticeably after his little tirade. John then got an embarrassed look on his face as he looked at the thirteen people sitting at the table in front of him. "Uh, look sorry about that. I know I tend to get a little emotional, but these needless deaths make me so mad."
Krant who was sitting opposite John at the other end of the table just laughed. "It is alright, John Crichton. I find your emotional tirades to be quite amusing. You are without a doubt the strangest being that I have ever met."
John let out a sharp laugh of his own, "Believe me Krant, you are not the first person to ever say that to me."
Toben spoke up, resuming the meeting, "Now that we have got the casualty report out of the way we need to move on to more pressing matters. Prime Brot has much to report of the battle in the city of Rotar."
Prime Brot stood up. He was a Sebacean male, older than most of the usual Sebaceans involved in the Rystalva, and a respected and accomplished leader. "Thank you Toben. I do have much to report on the status of the battle. Our forces effectively control a little over two thirds of the city. The Peacekeepers only hold a small area of the city. Our forces should overcome them by the end of the day. However, we have suffered heavy losses and need more medical supplies than have been provided for us."
John nodded his head, "I'll see what I can do, Brot, but I can't promise anything. We're already stretched pretty thin. Our forces in the southern continent have also suffered heavy losses and they have priority for fresh supplies. You will have to make do with what you have until more supplies can be found."
Brot nodded his head solemnly, "I understand, Rystal. We will hold on and use whatever we have, but we won't stop fighting.
John gave Brot a small smile, "I know you won't, Brot. Tell your men that the Rystal says that their sacrifices will not be made in vain."
Brot responded, "That will make them very happy, sir."
Brot then sat back down. Toben then began again, "Next, is Prime Halv, commander of our forces fighting in the Ryota River Valley. He wishes to request additional men and the use of one of our Prowler squadrons."
Halv stood up. He was a rather small Rotarian, only about six feet tall and did not seem to weigh nearly as much as most of the other Rotarians did. But John knew that when it came to Rotarians, appearances could be deceiving. Halv obviously had to be strong or else he would have never reached the rank of Prime.
Halv had a very gruff voice, "Yes, Rystal. The Peacekeepers have been reinforced considerably and unless I am similarly reinforced, they will defeat us."
"What you need the Prowlers for?" John asked.
Halv responded, "The Peacekeepers have been reinforcing by Marauders. If I had a Prowler squadron I could seriously hamper their efforts."
John turned to Toben and asked, "Can we spare a squadron?"
Toben briefly looked down at the pad he was holding, scanning the data there. "I believe so."
John then turned back to Halv, "Alright, you got your Prowlers. Try not to let very many of them get destroyed. They're very hard to come by."
Halv nodded his head and said graciously, "Thank you Rystal. I will do my best."
Toben then began to read the next item off the agenda when the door opening to the conference room interrupted him. Juli walked through and walked straight up to John and whispered in his ear. Toben could not hear what she said and was about to ask John what was going on, when John stood up and turned to him. "I have to go, something has come up. Take over."
John then left the room, with Juli in tow. Toben just stared at the two for a few microts before looking back down at his list. "Okay, next on the list is Prime…"
Aeryn was so overcome with nervousness and urgency that she couldn't even sit still for more than a few microts. Right now she was pacing in the room that she, D'argo, and Chiana had been told to wait in while Juli went to get John. There was no way that she could just sit calmly down in a chair, as D'argo seemed to be doing, when she knew that in a few microts she would get to see John.
D'argo had had enough of watching Aeryn pace in front of him. "Stop pacing and sit down, Aeryn. You are driving me fahrbot and you're starting to make me sick."
Aeryn just looked at D'argo in annoyance, "I don't know how you can just sit there like that."
Chiana spoke up, "Aeryn's right, how can you be so calm?"
D'argo responded in his gruff voice, "Believe me, I am just as excited to see John as you two, but pacing is not going to bring him here any faster."
Aeryn decided to try sitting down again and the room grew silent. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. After only a few microts, though, Aeryn jumped off her chair and started pacing again. She just couldn't sit still. D'argo just let out a sigh when he saw Aeryn start pacing again.
Thankfully, D'argo was stopped from having to yell at Aeryn again by a knock on the door. All three of the room's occupants instantly froze. This was it, the thing they had been waiting for, for more than three monens.
Juli entered the room first, leaving the door wide open. She moved off to the side and waited for John to follow her through. When John initially didn't enter, she understood. These people did leave him on this planet, even if two didn't mean to, and it had to be hard for him to see them again. Especially since Juli had told him that Aeryn was with them.
Finally, after what seemed forever to the three aliens from Moya, John entered the room and closed the door. What they saw shocked all three of them. The last three monens had not been kind to John. He was thin and dirty, his eyes looked like they were consumed by an inner pain, and his hair had little specks of gray in it. He was a different man than when they had last seen him.
Of course John's change in appearance didn't stop Chiana from launching herself at him with a shriek of happiness. John wrapped his arms around Chiana's small frame as she held on to him as if her life depended on it. John got a large smile on his face as he looked down at the girl that he loved like a sister. "Hey Pip."
Chiana looked up at him with some tears in her eyes, "Hey old man. I've missed you so much."
John just wrapped his arms even tighter around her, "I've missed you too, Chiana. You have no idea how much I've missed all of you."
Chiana realized that she was monopolizing John and reluctantly let him go. She moved off to his side as she saw D'argo swoop in and wrap John in a huge, crushing hug. John was having trouble breathing; D'argo was squeezing him so hard. "Whoa Big D! Back off a little bit. Just a human remember. I can't handle that big Luxan strength of yours."
D'argo looked embarrassed as he stopped squeezing John so hard, "It is good to see you John."
John smiled at D'argo, "It's good to see you too. Is anyone else here with you? Where's Moya, is she alright?"
"Moya is fine, John. She is safely hidden in an asteroid field surrounding one of this planet's moons. And Aeryn is also here with us."
At the mention of Aeryn's name, John's smile vanished and a dark look crossed his face. "Where is she?"
Aeryn spoke up from the back of the room. Despite her eagerness to see John, she had let D'argo and Chiana greet John first. She knew that her reunion with John would not be as sweet as theirs, and she didn't want to ruin the moment for them. "I am right here John."
When Aeryn spoke up, D'argo moved away from John and over to Chiana who had moved off into a corner with Juli. He spoke quietly to her, "We should leave them alone. I do not think either one of them would want us to see what is about to happen. They deserve some privacy."
Chiana whined, "But I don't want to leave. This is just getting good."
D'argo just ignored her and dragged her towards the door. Juli followed them. She realized that John needed to do this alone as well. Once all three were out the door, Juli closed it and took up position standing in front of it.
The remaining occupants in the room had completely ignored the others leaving, they were too engrossed in each other.
Aeryn was the first to break the silence, "Hello John."
That simple phrase was enough to almost break John's tenuous control over his emotions. He had wanted this day to happen for so long. Just hearing her voice was enough for him to almost forget everything that she had done to him. He didn't know how to respond. The only thing that he could come up with was questions. He finally decided on one that he had to have answered, "Why? Why did you do it?"
Aeryn sighed, "I don't know, John. I guess I was jealous."
John response came out harsher than he intended, but he didn't really care as much as he used too. "Bullshit! That's just crap and you know it. You've been jealous before. We both have. But that was never enough to make us betray and abandon each other on a planet crawling with Peacekeepers trying to kill you!" By the time he finished, John was yelling.
Aeryn just winced. She could see that John was really angry. But that made her happier than she would have thought possible. Anger meant that he still cared about her; it meant that she still had a chance.
John continued on his rant, "I want the truth Aeryn. None of this repressing emotions crap. I deserve the truth. You owe me that at least."
Aeryn thought long and hard about her response before she began talking. "Honestly, John, I don't think it was any one thing. It was a combination of things. That whole day I had been feeling nervous and worried that something might happen to you. That somehow the Peacekeepers would find you. Those feelings frelled with my mind. I was so afraid that I would lose you. So when I saw you in that bar, kissing that tralk, my fears came crashing down on top of me. I had always thought that I would lose you to the Peacekeepers or to Earth, but never to another woman. My jealousy, and fear, and anger over your perceived betrayal just overwhelmed me and I did the only thing that I knew how to do. I closed myself off and got as far away from you as I could so that my emotions could come back under my control. Unfortunately, by the time I could control myself again, a command carrier threatened Moya and we had to leave."
John just stared at her incredulously, "Wait, let me get this straight. You were afraid of losing me, so in order to prevent that, you left me on a frelling planet?"
Aeryn smiled briefly; there had been some of the old John in that statement. "I know that it doesn't sound very rational, but if I had been thinking rationally in the first place I wouldn't have left you."
John just snorted at her and then grew silent. He had to think over what she had told him. He wanted to forgive her so badly and just move on, but it hurt him that she didn't trust him. As much as he hated himself for being so weak when it came to her, he knew that he couldn't bear to be away from her any longer. That didn't mean that everything was forgiven or forgotten. They still had a lot of issues to discuss.
After a few minutes of silent contemplation, and Aeryn staring at him with more hope than he had ever seen before in her eyes, he finally voiced his decision. "Aeryn, come here baby."
John opened his arms and waited for Aeryn to come closer. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her up against his body. God, she feels so good. He had forgotten what it felt like to hold her in his arms. He looked down at her head and spoke quietly to her, his voice full of emotion. "I've missed you so much Aeryn. God, I've missed you."
They just stood there for a few minutes holding on too each other. Finally, John broke the hug and moved Aeryn to arms length. He noticed that she had been crying. He gently wiped the tears from her eyes as he spoke to her, "I need time Aeryn. I still love you, but it hurts me that you didn't trust me. I need time to process everything."
"I am so sorry John. I will give you whatever time you need, just give me a chance to make this up to you."
John had a slight smile on his face, "You want to make it up to me?" Aeryn nodded her head enthusiastically. "Good, I was hoping you'd say something like that."
John then reached into one of his pockets and took out a comm. "I picked this up before I came here. It's a modified comm, all members of the Rystalva wear one. Help me fight the Peacekeepers Aeryn. I could really use your help."
Aeryn grabbed the comm out of John's hand and placed it on her vest. "Of course I'll help you John. Does this mean that you trust me?"
John was caught off guard by Aeryn's comment. He hadn't expected that. Trust had never been an issue when it came to Aeryn. But he realized that things had changed between them, and her question was actually an important one. He thought carefully before he answered. "I trust you with my life Aeryn. But my heart still needs more time."
Aeryn just nodded sadly. John began walking to the door, but turned around before opening it. "I never touched her, you know. Not once. She wanted me to, but I could never bring myself to do it."
Aeryn didn't have to be told who he was talking about. If anything, she almost wished that he had touched her, that way she wouldn't hate herself as much as she did for not trusting him.
John opened the door and walked out, leaving Aeryn alone in the room, thinking about how she was going to get John to trust her again.
Side note: Just in case no one read the author's note at the beginning of the story, school is starting so it will take me longer to update my story. The next chapter will feature Rygel in a very prominent role, as John asks him to do him a very important favor.