Rystal

by DOKChairman

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.

13. The Three Hundred Spartans

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.  A Special thanks to paz, you're reviews are very much appreciated.  They are some of the nicest compliments anyone has ever given me with regards to my writing.  I'm glad you like my story, and look forward to anymore input you might have.  Thank you!

Third Author's Note: This chapter is the beginning of the end for this part of my story.  There will be lots of action, suspense, drama, and … oh who am I kidding.  Just read the chapter.

"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 13: The Three Hundred Spartans

Takes place a few arns after The Frog Who Would Be King-

            Ever since John had come to the Uncharted Territories all those cycles ago, people had told him that he was crazy.  And he had been, for a little while at least.  If killing the woman you loved didn't make you crazy, John didn't know what did.  But John thought that he had dealt with his problems.  He had beaten and learned to control Harvey, he had come to terms with his life in the Uncharted Territories, and he had accepted that he would never get home.

            Of course all that had changed the day he visited that cave and found out that the Ancients had screwed him over again.  He hadn't told anyone, especially Juli, but he had been having flashes of strange looking symbols ever since he had left that cave.  At first they came sporadically, maybe only once a weeken, but they had steadily become a daily occurrence.

            John knew that the symbols were wormhole equations, but despite the fact that he had been seeing them for more than a monen, he still didn't really understand them.  In fact the only difference between now and before Jack unlocked the information in his mind, is that now he can actually see the equations instead of having them hidden.

            Being so tantalizingly close to the equations but still unable to understand them was slowly driving John insane.  It wasn't that he was in a big hurry to get home, he still had a lot of things to do left on Rotar, but the equations were constantly on his mind, distracting him.  He wanted to solve them, if nothing else, than to get them out of his mind.  He hated not knowing.

            His only consolation was that certain bits and pieces were slowly falling into place.  He was beginning to understand them, unfortunately he was moving at a pace that would have made a snail look like Speedy Gonzalez.  That was what was driving him crazy, knowing that he might eventually solve the equations in his mind but also knowing that it would take forever to happen. 

            So far he had been able to hide his distraction and preoccupation from everyone, but John didn't know how much longer he could last.  Juli had been watching him like a hawk ever since he had been kidnapped, and now that Aeryn and the others were on Rotar, John knew it was only a matter of time before he was discovered.  He didn't want them to think that he was nuts.  He had already been through that on Moya.  He didn't want everyone's pity, and he was tired of the others looking after him like he was a little kid that didn't know what he was doing.

            If the others thought that he was crazy, they would probably do something drastic, or even worse; stop him from living his life.  As much as John hated doing what he was doing on Rotar, he realized a long time ago that he needed to do it.  As much as he wanted to do it for the people of Rotar, he knew that he was doing it for himself as well.  He wanted to prove right all those people that believed that he could be what they wanted.  He wanted to show everyone that he wasn't the incompetent, ignorant, stupid human that got everyone in trouble everywhere he went.  If the others thought that he was nuts, they would make him stop being the Rystal, and he didn't want that.

            It wasn't an ego thing, or even about pride, it was, as so many other things in his life had been, about his father.  John had always looked up to his father.  Up until he had come to the Uncharted Territories, he had subconsciously sought out his father's approval in just about everything he did.  He wanted his father to be proud of him, he wanted to show that he could be the kind of man that his father was. 

            That search for approval had waned since he came to this part of the galaxy, but it had never disappeared.  John had met Aeryn, and the focus of his need for approval had shifted to her.  Aeryn quickly became the person that he looked up to, that he searched for his approval.  She was just such an amazing person and he loved watching her grow into a complete person.  A compliment or word of approval from her could make his day, hell, it could make his week.

            But all that had changed when Aeryn had left him on Rotar, and John had found out that he was supposed to be some planetary savior.  When he had seen the image of the Ancient Jack talking to him, he had been reminded of his father.  He had thought that he had finally moved past his feelings of inadequacy when compared to his father, but when he had seen that image, he once again felt like he had to prove something to his father.  He had to prove that he was his own kind of hero.  He had to prove that he could do what so many people who believed in him thought he could do.

            He had been writing the equations down, hoping that maybe that would help him solve the equations.  Unfortunately, that had only made the equations pour into his consciousness faster.  That would have been a good thing if not for the fact that the increased understanding also meant extreme distraction.  And he could not afford to be distracted, not with the war with the Peacekeepers coming to a head.

            Once he had realized that writing the equations down was only making matters worse, he had tried to stop, but he couldn't help himself.  Every single microt of free time that he had was spent trying to solve the equations.  Which also meant the time set aside for sleeping.  John had not slept for more than five arns in as many days, and yet amazingly he was not tired.  For some reason, when he concentrated on solving the equations he never felt the tug of sleep, or the rumble of his stomach.  If he actually cared, John probably would have tried to figure out why he didn't feel tired, but since he didn't care John just let it go.

             At the moment he was in his quarters, writing the equations down on some paper he had scrounged up.  He had managed to sneak away from everyone for a little while, and have some time for himself.  Usually he would have used this time to take one of his walks, but since the equations started occupying his thoughts day and night, he used this time to work.

            He had already filled up more than ten pages of equations, drawings, and ideas that he had come up with.  He was working on the eleventh page when he heard a knock on his door.

            John quickly shoved his papers under his bed.  He didn't want anyone to know what he was working on just yet.  He had yet to tell anyone what had happened to him when he blacked out in the cave.

            He answered the knock rather harshly, "What!"

            A voice responded from the other side, "It's Juli, John.  Captain Verity just arrived and she brought your friend with her."

            John softened his tone, "Ok, I'll be right there.  Hold on."

            John made sure his papers were well hidden before straitening his clothes.  He walked up to the door and opened it to Juli's smiling face.  "What's got you in such a good mood?"

            Juli just continued smiling, "I'm always in a good mood, especially when I'm with you.  You're the one that always letting your emotions get the better of you."

            John said annoyingly, "Haha, very funny Kid.  Just take me to see the little slug."

            Juli's smile faded a little bit at the mention of her hated nickname, before turning around and leading John towards the landing area.

            When John and Juli arrived at the landing area in the Rystalva's mountain complex, Aeryn, D'argo, and Chiana were already there.  The Prowler was just setting down.  The canopy of the ship lifted and a woman climbed out, assisting Rygel as she did.  She put him briefly down on the ground and then placed his thronesled right next to him.  Rygel wasted very little time climbing into his thronesled and bringing it up to its normal height.

            Rygel zoomed over to his three crewmates and began talking to them.  Meanwhile, Lorana, after making sure that the Prowler was secure, walked over to John and Juli.  When Lorana got within just a few feet of John, she stopped, straitened up and gave John a crisp military salute.

            John was a little lost.  He had never really saluted anyone before, so he didn't know the proper way to respond.  He just did the only thing he knew how to do: he talked to her.  "Whoa there!  No need to salute me."

            Lorana looked confused, "But sir, you are my superior officer.  It is against regulations not to show you proper respect."

            John just gave Lorana a comforting and understanding smile.  Here was another Peacekeeper that was giving him the chance to show her that there was more to life than rules and regulations.  You would think that someone who was betraying the Peacekeepers would be a little more flexible in how they do things.

            John left Juli's side and walked over to Lorana.  He could see her becoming more uncomfortable the closer he got.  He grabbed her arm and started walking away from everyone.  "Walk with me, talk with me.  What is with you Peacekeepers and always having to follow the rules?  Don't you know that rules are made to be broken?"

            Lorana was still very uncomfortable with John being so close to her and holding her arm.  She tried to plead her case, "But sir, I must follow the rule…"

            John just interrupted her, "And another thing.  I hate being called sir.  I am not my father, and until I get to be as old as he is, I never want to hear you ever call me sir again.  Got it?"  He had said the last part good-naturedly but he should have known better.  John could see the look of embarrassment and chastisement on Lorana's face.

             John sighed and stopped their walking.  He moved in front of her and tried to look her in the face, but her head was down.  He moved his hand to her face and slowly lifted her head so that he could look her in the eye.  "Look, I know that you are still a Peacekeeper and have yet to learn the benefits of having a sense of humor, but that was a joke.  I wasn't serious."

            Lorana looked at him with a spark in her eye, "I know what a joke is.  I just didn't think yours was very amusing."

            John just stared at her with his mouth slightly open.  He couldn't believe what he just heard.  Oh my god, she just made a joke.  Maybe she's not as uptight as I thought.  John just started laughing, rather loudly, startling everyone on the landing area.  They all turned to look in his direction.  John finally stopped laughing and looked at Lorana who was still standing in front of him.  "Thank you, I haven't laughed like that in a while.  But seriously, you don't have to call me sir.  In fact I insist on it.  I am ordering you to never call me sir.  If you have to talk to me, call me John."

            Lorana still looked like she was slightly uncomfortable.  Now it had more to do with John's order than it did with his closeness.  "If that is what you wish, sir-I mean John."

            John gave her a warm smile, "It is.  Hearing people call me sir makes me feel like I'm old.  I've got more than enough to worry about now without having to worry about whether or not I am an old man."

            John then turned to look at the five other people on the landing area who were still staring at him and Lorana.  John noticed that both Aeryn and Juli were shooting subtle glares in his direction.  It was then that John realized how close he and Lorana were standing.  Oh frell!  Danger Will Robinson!  Back away from the girl right away before blood starts spraying.  John stepped away from Lorana, and said, "Come on, the others are waiting for us.  We have a lot to talk about."

            Toben was in his element.  This was what he loved to do.  He loved it even more than combat, and for a Rotarian that was almost unheard of.  Toben was, as John Crichton had called him on more than one occasion, a 'glorified paper pusher'.  Whatever that meant.

At the moment Toben was doing his daily inventory of the Rystalva's supplies, troops, intelligence reports, and maintenance requests.  There was just something about the sterile order of numbers that brought a feeling of calm to Toben.

It wasn't that Toben was afraid of fighting.  Far from it.  He was after all related to Kwami, the former leader of the Rystalva and one of the fiercest warriors he had ever seen, and the warrior spirit flowed in his blood.  It was just that Toben loved organizing things.  He knew that he was different from most Rotarians, and that only made him embrace his strange behavior even more.  Toben liked to be different.

When John had chosen Toben to handle all the important, but extremely boring, details of running a large organization like the Rystalva, Toben had thanked him profusely.  John had said he wanted nothing to do with any of the little stuff, which perfectly suited Toben.

Not only did Toben get to do all the number crunching, he also got to lead all the meetings of the twelve former primes when John was too busy to be there himself.  Toben knew that he was different from most Rotarians, but that didn't mean that he wasn't like them at all.  He still loved that he was in a position of power over the twelve.  He was still a Rotarian after all, and Rotarians instinctively craved power.

He was just finishing his inventory when the twelve primes that he had just been thinking about began pouring into the conference room.  Eleven took their normal spots along the table.  Krant who was the most senior of the primes and the one they all deferred to, stayed standing and addressed Toben.  "Where is John Crichton, we have much to discuss."

Toben responded promptly, "As I'm sure all of you have heard by now, several of John Crichton's former shipmates have arrived on Rotar and John is currently spending his time with them.  He said he did not wish to be disturbed."

Krant also responded without hesitation, "I understand the Rystal's need to reminisce with his shipmates, but we have a very important issue to discuss that demand's his attention.  I mean no offense, but I feel that your input alone is not adequate enough for the situation."

Toben bristled at Krant's comment, but kept his emotions under control.  "I assure you that I am quite capable of handling any situation.  But if you insist in John Crichton being here, then I will ask him to come."

Krant nodded his big head, "I insist.  We insist."  Krant said the last part while he spread his arms wide to encompass the eleven other primes sitting in the room.

Toben frowned a little, but he gave in to their wishes.  "Very well.  But this had better be important or he will not be happy."

Toben then activated the comm that he kept with him at all times, and spoke into it.  "John?  I hate to disturb you, but Krant and the others are demanding your presence in the conference room.  They say that they have a very important issue to discuss with you."

There was a long pause, and then a loud sigh could be heard.  "Alright Toben, I'll be there in a few microts.  Tell Krant and the others that the end of the world better be happening, or else there'll be hell to pay."

John kept up the appearance that he was pissed off at being interrupted, but on the inside, he was sighing in relief.  He had been taking everyone on a tour of the base, and he had felt like he was in hell the whole time.  Suffice it to say, having Aeryn, Juli, and Lorana all together at the same time was not one of John's brighter ideas. 

He had thought that their common backgrounds would have brought them together, they were after all in some way or another ex-Peacekeepers, and they were all extremely independent and strong women.  If anything John had thought that they would have banded together against him, not be in constant conflict with each other.  Obviously, John did not understand women.

John could understand why Aeryn and Juli might not get along, but why they didn't like Lorana, and vice versa, was beyond him.  Ever since they had left the landing area, the three women had been bickering with each other.  At first he had thought that they were fighting amongst each other because they didn't know each other.  John could understand that, after all it wasn't easy to trust people in this part of the galaxy.  But John had thought that would have ended once they got to know each other a little better, but once again he had been wrong.

John was just thanking God that the fighting hadn't become physical.  He definitely would have hated having to get in between the three, especially since all three women could easily kick his ass.

John turned his head slightly to the right to look at D'argo who was walking next to him.  John voiced his frustration, "What the hell is wrong with those three?"

D'argo laughed and smiled at his friend, "They are females, John.  No one understands why they do the things they do.  But if I had to guess, I would say that they were fighting over you."

John looked at D'argo with a shocked expression on his face, "Me?  Why do you say that?"

Chiana, who had been walking next to John on his left, laughed.  "Come on John, isn't it obvious?  I realize because you're a man that you're pretty stupid about these things, but I didn't think that you were that stupid."

John let the insult pass; he was too interested in hearing what Chiana meant.  "What are you talking about Pip?"

Chiana eagerly replied to John's question.  He so rarely asked for her advice that she was always happy to help him anyway she could.  "I haven't completely figured out that Peacekeeper captain yet, but Aeryn and Juli are pretty easy to read.  Both of them see each other as competition, so they naturally don't like each other.  The captain, I think, feels the same way, although I could be wrong about her.  She is even more closed off emotionally than Aeryn."

John digested what Chiana had said, recognizing the behavior in all three women, but especially Aeryn and Juli.  John became visibly frustrated.  He grounded out through clenched teeth, "God damnit, I do not need this crap right now.  The last thing I need to worry about is whether or not those three are going to kill each other.  I need all of them."

Chiana looked sympathetically at John, "Look at the bright side.  No matter what happens, you'll always have me!"

John smiled warmly at Chiana, "As comforting a thought as that is Pip, I don't think you posses quite the killer instinct those three do.  I need that instinct if I'm going to win this war."

Chiana immediately became indignant, "Hey, I'll have you know that I can take care of myself.  I too have that killer instinct!"

John laughed lightly at Chiana and draped his left arm over her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.  "I love ya Pip, but I'm about as scared of you as I am of Rygel.  You're just so damn cute."

Chiana gave John a pained glare, before snuggling in closer to his body.  She had missed doing this kind of thing with him.  John reminded her so much of her brother Nerri, in fact at many times she sometimes wished that he were her brother.  It wasn't that she didn't love Nerri, but Chiana knew that John Crichton would always be there for her. 

Of course there were times where she occasionally had less than brotherly feelings for him.  But she had always had those kinds of feelings for John, since she had first met him.  Those feelings had temporarily disappeared when she and D'argo had become involved, but they came back full force after the fiasco with Jothee.  She had learned long ago to suppress those feelings, especially since she knew that John would always be interested more in Aeryn than he would ever be interested in her.  That didn't mean she didn't love flirting with him and teasing him, though.

John looked down at the mop of white and gray hair, smiling the whole time.  He felt Chiana move in closer to him.  She was practically leaning on him.  John didn't mind of course.  John had always been an affectionate person, especially when it came to physical contact, and since Aeryn rarely let him touch her, even when things had been going great between them, he usually turned to Chiana to fulfill his needs.  There wasn't anything sexual or romantic about it, it was just the kind of relationship they had.

John looked up and noticed an amused look on D'argo's face as he looked at them.  "What?"

D'argo just smiled even more, "Oh, its nothing John.  I was just wondering if you were trying to get yourself killed is all."

John looked at D'argo blankly, "Uh?  What are you talking about?"

D'argo nodded his head in the direction of the three women behind them.  "Well its just that those three are fighting because they're jealous of each other, and here you are walking with Chiana practically attached at your hip.  I just thought it was funny how you can sometimes be so oblivious to the things around you."

John just glared at D'argo, "Frell them, they can think what they want, but I'm not going to change how I live because of them."

D'argo just laughed, "It's your choice, but I don't think it's a very good one.  Not to mention potentially hazardous to your health."

John shook his head, "Yeah, whatever.  It doesn't matter anyway.  We're here."

John pointed to the door that led to the conference room.

Krant was becoming impatient, "Where is John Crichton?  This delay is unacceptable."

Toben was becoming impatient himself, not to mention a little angry.  "He said he was coming.  He will be here when he gets here, so I suggest you shut up and wait like the rest of us."

Krant let out a low growl.  Despite his accomadating nature, he still did not like it when someone so young talked in such a disrespectful matter to him.  If it hadn't been for the fact that he had allowed Toben to become Second, and for the fact that he was too old, he might have felt obligated to physically teach the young Rotarian a lesson in how to show proper respect for one's elders.  Instead he just let it go, and sat down in his chair.

Fortunately, for both Toben and Krant, they did not have to wait much longer for John to show up.  Only about twenty microts after Krant had sat down, John, accompanied by everyone else, walked into the conference room.  John had a scowl on his face as he looked at the seated former primes.  He began talking to them as he moved to his place at the head of the table.  "What the frell is so important that you needed me here?  I told Toben that I was busy.  Can't you people let me have just a little time to myself?"

John sat down in his chair and waited for a response from the people sitting in front of him.  When he had waited more than fifteen microts without getting one, he let his anger and impatience come out.  "What the frell is going on here?  You drag me all the way down here, and when I finally get here, you have nothing to say?"

John still got no response, and he was about to shout again, when he finally noticed why everyone was so quiet.  They were all staring behind him, more specifically at Lorana, who along with everyone else had moved behind him and were standing at the back of the room.

John's anger was replaced with confusion as he saw the primes staring at Lorana.  Their reaction was very surprising.

Krant, using that magical ability he seemed to posses that allowed him to know what everyone else in the room was thinking, spoke up.  "What is she doing here, John Crichton?"

John knew who Krant was talking about, but he couldn't stop himself from turning around in his seat and looking at whom Krant was pointing at.  Of course it was Lorana.  John could see a look of uncomfortable surprise on Lorana's face.  She obviously hated being the center of attention.

John turned back around in his seat to face Krant.  "That's Lorana.  I told all of you about her almost a monen ago, what's the problem?"

Krant had an accusatory tone to his voice, "You told us that she was a captain in the Peacekeepers.  You did not tell us that she was a captain in the Special Directorate.  There is a big difference."

John let some of his waning anger into his voice, "Look, I don't care what branch of the Peacekeepers that she used to be a part of.  She, along with the admiral, have both joined us in our fight against the Peacekeepers, and that's all I need to know.  And if that's all I need to know, then that's definitely all you need to know."

Krant raised his voice a little, "Rystal, Special Directorate do not leave the Peacekeepers.  There is a reason why they are Special Directorate.  They are the most loyal, most experienced, and most well trained.  She is not to be trusted and she should not be here."

John was about to argue the point some more, when a voice from the back instantly spoke up.  John immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Juli.  "I have left the Special Directorate as well, should I not be trusted Krant?"

Juli's comment shut Krant up.  He had obviously forgotten that Juli had used to be a Disruptor.  When no one had said anything for a few microts, John had finally thought the issue dead.

For Krant the issue was not dead.  The only reason why he had not continued the argument was because of the embarrassment that he had felt over forgetting about Juli Fallon's former employers.  But in Krant's mind the two situations were completely different.  Krant had forgotten about Juli because he was so used to her, and Krant was sure that she was one of the few people whose loyalty was without question.  Krant knew that her loyalty was mainly to John, and not necessarily to the Rystalva, but as long as John was the Rystal, Krant trusted Juli Fallon implicitly.

Besides, Juli had proven her loyalty on many different occasions, the Peacekeeper captain had not.  Until the captain did prove her total loyalty to the Rystalva, Krant would continue to think of her as Special Directorate.  And he would use all his considerable influence to make sure that the other primes did as well.

That was an issue to discuss at a later time.  He had lost his momentum during the argument, and he needed to get it back.  The issue that he had come here to discuss initially needed priority.

John spoke up, "Look, everyone needs to relax.  Maybe take some prozac."  John stopped talking and looked pointedly at Krant.  "You had something you wanted to talk to me about.  And before you say something, no I will not ask Lorana to leave.  So if you have anything to say you need to say it in front of her."

Krant got a frown on his face, or at least what John considered a frown to look like on a Rotarian.  Almost as soon as the frown appeared, it disappeared.  Krant seemed to come to some internal decision.  He stood up and began speaking in his commanding voice, "As you know, John, the Peacekeepers have suffered many defeats over the last few solar days.  Our forces have overwhelmed and destroyed many of their bases, and the Peacekeepers are on the defensive."  Krant said this last part with a predatory smile upon his face.

Krant then pressed a button on the top of the table, and a holographic image appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the table.  The image was actually a highly detailed topographical map of the region surrounding the capital city of Rotar.  Krant pressed another button and the image suddenly exploded outward, and then coalesced back together, this time with a more specific focus on the range of mountains that were just south of the city.

Krant began talking again, "With the exceptions of a few isolated pockets of resistance in strategically unimportant locations across the planet, the Peacekeepers have concentrated their remaining forces at their garrison in the Ryota Mountains.  Because of its strategic importance and because it is the last bastion of Peacekeeper control on this planet, the Peacekeepers have been doing all that they can to make sure that the garrison does not fall."

Krant pressed another button and again the image exploded outward, before reforming itself, an even more detailed image of the mountains this time with emphasis on the Peacekeeper garrison.  The image had little symbols representing the different forces.  In the garrison there were symbols representing the Peacekeepers, while around the garrison there were symbols representing the forces of the Rystalva.

Krant continued his briefing, "Before we had moved our own forces into the area, the Peacekeepers had significantly reinforced the garrison.  Our intelligence reports put the number of Peacekeepers in the garrison around only twenty thousand.  Now considering how many troops the Peacekeepers started out with at the beginning of this conflict that is a relatively small number.  Which is why this garrison is so strategically important.  If we can destroy the garrison there will no longer be a Peacekeeper presence on this planet.  With the exception of the command carriers in orbit of course, but we can only do so much at once."

Once again Krant stopped, letting what he had just said sink in to the others in the room.  The former primes had of course already been through this briefing, but John had only been briefly informed of the current state of affairs.  He had no idea that the war with the Peacekeepers had progressed as much as it had.  He really had been spending too much time working on his wormhole equations.

John smiled.  "That's great to hear Krant, and while this is certainly great news, I don't uderstand what the big emergency is."

Krant did not smile however.  "As I was saying, our own forces have been laying siege to the garrison for some time now.  We have been attacking them constantly and have significantly worn them down.  We estimate that only a quarter of them remain, which would be great news if not for the information that I received earlier today."

John recognizing the seriousness of the situation quickly sobered.  "What information did you get Krant?  What's so important?"

Instead of answering John's question directly, Krant went off on a tangent.  "As you know John, this war has not been an easy war."  Krant then laughed humorlessly before continuing, "No war is ever easy, but this one has been especially difficult.  While it is true that we have defeated the Peacekeepers in almost every major battle, we have only done so because we overwhelmed them with superior numbers."

Krant paused before turning to face John directly, looking him in the eyes.  "We have suffered many casualties.  Thousands upon thousands of our people have died, our cities have been destroyed, and our world has been destroyed.  But we knew that this would happen when we agreed to fight the Peacekeepers, and we have accepted this.  However, our forces, despite being large in number, grow weary and tired of fighting.  This has only been a short war, but has caused as much damage as if it had lasted a hundred cycles."

John shook his head and said in a sad voice, "I understand you Krant, believe me I do, but I don't understand what this has to do with the garrison."

Krant nodded his head in understanding, "I'm getting to that John.  I do not believe our forces can handle another monen of fighting.  If the Peacekeepers were to reinforce the garrison with more troops, then this war will prolong, possibly indefinitely.  Our forces surrounding the garrison have already expressed their desire for this war to end, and wish to attack the garrison with everything we have and end the war once and for all.  I have been reluctant to take such action, because even with their depleted forces, the Peacekeepers will be able to inflict heavy casualties on our forces during any attack.  However, the information that I received this morning has forced me to reevaluate my opinion."

Krant paused and took a deep breath.  "I received word from one of my spies on board one of the command carriers, that the Peacekeepers are sending down every single soldier that they can spare to reinforce the garrison.  My spy tells me that the Peacekeepers will be sending down almost twenty thousand soldiers.  They are only keeping the barest minimum of Peacekeepers needed to run the carriers on board, all other Peacekeepers are being sent down.  I have even heard that they are sending techs.  That just shows you how serious and how desperate the Peacekeepers are about keeping that garrison.  We cannot allow them to reinforce the garrison.  We will never be able to attack it if they are up to full strength and I don't think our forces will last long enough to wear them down again."

Krant knew that the newcomers would need time to digest the information that he had just given them, so while he waited he sat down in his chair.  He could see that John was deep in thought.  He was unconsciously biting the edge of his thumb, something Krant knew that John did when he was concentrating especially hard on something.

John stopped biting on his thumb long enough to ask Juli to come forward as Krant knew he would.  John always asked for Juli's advice when it came to any military related decisions.  That was another reason why Krant trusted Juli, she knew what she was talking about and always gave John good advice.

John looked up into Juli's face, and a wordless question passed between them.  They had gotten to know each other so well over the couple of monens that they had been together, that they could communicate with each other without saying anything.  John felt a pang of remorse as he remembered that he had lost that connection with Aeryn.

Juli began answering John's unspoken question. "I think the most obvious course of action would be for us to attack the garrison as soon as possible so that the Peacekeepers have nothing to reinforce.  Then the Peacekeepers coming down will have nowhere to go."

Krant responded, "I have thought of that as well, Juli Fallon.  Unfortunately, we do not have the forces to launch such an attack.  It would take at least two solar days to get the needed number of soldiers to reinforce our own forces to launch a successful attack.  My spy tells me that the Peacekeepers will start landing tomorrow.  I have already ordered reinforcements be sent, but there won't be enough there in time."

Juli was about to begin speaking again, when Aeryn who had moved up to stand next to John preempted her.  "Then you must attack the convoy, before it reaches the garrison."

Juli looked at Aeryn with disdain.  "Attack a Peacekeeper convoy on open ground?  Are you fahrbot?"

Aeryn felt anger course through her body, "It is the only chance we have.  The Peacekeepers must not reinforce the garrison.  It is a logical decision.  If you can't destroy the garrison then you must destroy the thing that will ensure the garrison's survival."

Juli was completely facing Aeryn now, practically ignoring everyone else in the room.  "Come on, even a first year cadet knows that you never attack an enemy, no matter how much you might outnumber him, on open ground.  That's suicide!"

Aeryn had just about had enough.  It had made her very angry when she had seen the easy camaraderie between Juli and John.  She hated the way things were between John and her.  Since they had had their talk, John had not spent more than an arn with her.  He was always by himself or with that stupid tralk Juli.  She wanted the easy interaction, the connection that she had had with John back.  It wasn't helping that Juli seemed to have taken her place in his life.  That was why she was arguing with Juli right now.  She needed to show Juli who was in charge.

Aeryn barked out, "It's not suicide if you know what you're doing.  If you can't plan the attack on your own, I'd be more than happy to do it for you."

Juli said menacingly, "Oh, I bet you would, wouln't you?  You think you know what you're doing?"

Aeryn was about to retaliate, when she heard a loud cracking sound.  John, in intense anger, had slammed his hand down on the table.  Both women stopped arguing and looked at John in shock.

John stood up, his eyes blazing in anger.  "Shut up, both of you!  I asked for your frelling help, not this crap.  As interesting as this catfight is, I've had enough."  John then got up and began pacing along the length of the table, moving behind the seated primes.

Still pacing John spoke, "Hey D!  You got any great ideas?"

D'argo, along with both Chiana and Rygel, had been relatively ignored since coming into the conference room.  So it came as some surprise when John asked for his advice.  However, this was a topic that D'argo had quite a bit of experience in and so was ready to answer John.  He had actually already been thinking up battle plans to give to John when they were in more private locations, but now was as good a time as any.

D'argo spoke, his gruff voice reverberating around the room.  "I think that you should do both.  Attack the convoy and the garrison at the same time."

John abruptly stopped pacing and stared at the holographic image still hovering above the table.  He began walking closer, intently studying the map.  There was something that he was trying to focus on, and the closer he got, the clearer the idea in his head became.  John stepped in between two of the primes still sitting in their chairs and reached out his hand, touching the image.

John suddenly exclaimed, "D'argo, you're a frelling genius!  I can't believe I didn't see this sooner!"  John then ran over to D'argo and wrapped him up in a big hug.  D'argo was too shocked by John's reaction to do anything other than mumble, "I am?"

John stopped hugging D'argo and faced everyone in the room, all of whom were staring at him like he was some strange bizarre creature that they were just seeing for the first time.

Seeing John's reaction brought back to Aeryn so many memories of other times John had acted like a raving lunatic.  Before she even knew what she was doing, she involuntarily started speaking, "You are the most bizarre…" She never had a chance to finish because John cut her off.

With a wide smile directed solely at Aeryn, John finished her sentence.  "…Creature I have ever met.  Yeah I know Aeryn, but that's why you love me."

John sudden change in behavior shocked everyone except those who knew him best.  This was not the first time they had seen him go from angry one microt to happy and excited the next.  It was actually a good sign to those from Moya.  It meant that there was still a part of the John that they had known still inside him somewhere.

John stopped staring at Aeryn, not noticing the brief look of hurt pass across Juli's face.  John hurriedly moved back to where he had been standing, looking at the holographic map.

John began pointing his index finger at a point on the map.  He then began speaking, "D'argo is right.  We need to attack both targets at once, and I have figured out how we're going to do it."

Krant, getting over his surprise at John's revelation, spoke up.  "How John?  Juli Fallon is correct in saying that any attack against the convoy would be suicide.  Just like at this moment, any attack against the garrison would result in defeat as well."

John smiled at Krant.  "Stop with the negative waves, man.  You got to think positive thoughts."

Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, John sighed.  "Krant, what's the easiest and quickest way to get from the spaceport to the garrison?"

Not understanding where John was going with his question, he answered anyway.  "The quickest and easiest way is the Ryota Mountain Pass.  It goes from the garrison all the way down to the foot of the mountain range.  But only an absolute fool would use that path to get to the garrison.  Even a Peacekeeper commander would not be stupid enough to take the most obvious route.  The pass is a perfect setting for an ambush."

John excitedly nodded his head, "Exactly!  Any commander worth his salt wouldn't take that path, because it would be the most obvious way to go.  So what's he gonna do if he can't use the pass?"  Not waiting for an answer, John continued.  "He'll make what he considers to be the obvious choice and take a harder, longer, but ultimately safer route to the garrison.  Right?"

Krant nodded his head in reluctance, still confused as to what John's point was.  Again John continued excitedly, "See, this is where D'argo's brilliance comes into play.  He got me thinking.  What would it take to wipe out that convoy?  And then I saw the pass, and you're right Krant, it is the perfect setting for an ambush."

John stopped talking and looked at everyone with a smug and proud look on his face.  The look vanished though when he saw that everyone was still totally confused.  Exasperated, he sighed again.  "Don't you see?  What would it take to make a smart, careful, proper Peacekeeper commander do something totally stupid?"  John still saw blank looks.  "We attack the garrison!  If we attack the garrison with everything that we already have in place, and I do mean everything, we remove the convoy leader's choice.  We force him to take the pass or else he risks losing the garrison, and if the Peacekeepers lose the garrison then they lose the war.  And no self respecting Peacekeeper is going to risk losing a war because he was being too careful."

John stopped talking and waited for a response.  Krant looked deep in thought, as did both Juli and Aeryn.  Krant finally spoke up, "I will admit that your idea does have merit.  However, the fact of the matter is that we will not have enough troops to attack both targets.  We don't even have enough to attack the garrison."

John's good mood did not falter at Krant's negative response.  "Sure we do.  Toben, how many people do we have here?  At the base?"

Toben reached into his extensive memory and pulled out the figure.  "There are currently 1,500 personnel occupying the base.  Of them only 500 are combat personnel."

John had an almost intense desire to stick his tongue out at Krant, now that he had proven him wrong.  "You see, 500 people.  That's more than enough to attack the convoy."

Krant started stuttering, something he never did, "A-a-attack the convoy?  There are over twenty thousand Peacekeepers in that convoy.  We'd be outnumbered 40-to-1.  That is the most completely fahrbot thing that I think I've ever heard you say."

John just smiled at Krant.  "You're thinking too small, Krant.  You need to think big.  Look at that pass; it's the perfect spot for an ambush.  You don't need a large force to do a lot of damage."

Krant still wasn't convinced, "John, you can't be serious.  We won't succeed."

John's smile faded and frustration set in.  "What choice do we have?  This is our only chance.  If that convoy makes it to the garrison, then we will lose this war.  I won't let that happen.  I made a promise, and I always keep my promises.  We will attack both targets; it's the only way.  Now stop arguing with me and telling me what we can't do and start telling me what we can do."

John could still see the doubt on Krant's face.  John needed Krant, the primes looked up to him as much as they did to John.  If John was going to succeed in his plan, he needed their support.

John decided to try another tactic on Krant as he moved to retake his seat.  "Did I ever tell you about the Spartans, Krant"

Krant got a confused look on his face, "The who?"

John just kept talking, "I thought not.  Anyway, the Spartans were a group of warriors on my planet thousands of years, uh cycles, ago.  In a way they were a lot like the Peacekeepers.  Since they were children they were trained to be soldiers, and they were good at.  They were considered to be the best soldiers on the entire planet during their time.  Anyways, unlike the Peacekeepers they didn't go along imposing their will on everyone.  Oh sure they weren't angels, but as long as you left them alone, they didn't bother you.  Which was a good thing, because everyone was afraid of them."

John could see that he had Krant's undivided attention, as well as everyone else in the room.  "Of course not everyone took the Spartans seriously.  There was this guy called Xerxes who was the king of Persia, and he wanted to conquer the Spartans and everyone else in Greece.  As you can imagine, the Spartans weren't too happy about that and they decided to do something about it.  They sent three hundred of their best soldiers, as well as their own king, to face the Persians."

John paused in his telling to take a drink from a pitcher of water that was always kept in the conference room.  "Now the Spartans weren't alone, they had about 3,000 allies, but everyone knew that the Spartans were the ones who would carry the brunt of the battle.  They picked a spot in the path of the advancing enemy, a pass much like the one in the Ryota Mountains, called Thermopilye and waited for the Persians.  The Persian army was huge, they had over a million soldiers, and the allied forces waiting for them barely went over three thousand."

Again John stopped, but this time he was interrupted by Krant.  "A million soldiers?  I doubt that your Spartans lasted very long.  And I see where you're going with this John, but I think that the situations are a little different."

John shook his head emphatically, "Let me finish my story Krant.  Now as I was saying, the Persian army attacked the Spartans in that mountain pass, and they were defeated.  They sent wave after wave of men and every time they were defeated.  Thousands of soldiers died on that first day, and only a few Spartans were killed.  As I said the Spartans were the best, and they were proving it to the Persians.  On the second day the Persian army attacked again, and again they were defeated.  The Spartans would not die.  Their allies were being wiped out, but they always held their ground.  By the end of the second day, the allied forces were down to only a few hundred.  The Spartans and a group of their allies who refused to leave their side.  On the third day, the Spartans knew that they were going to die, but they had to buy as much time as possible for their other allies to prepare for the oncoming enemy.  So they waited for the Persians, and fought to the last man, even defeating the Persians' special Imperial Guard.  Three hundred men held off one million enemy soldiers with nothing more than swords and spears.  I think that we can do the same with some pulse rifles and a little more men."

John leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face.  Several of the primes were nodding their heads in agreement with him.  And John could even see some of Krant's resolve weakening.

Juli, who was still standing next to John, asked a question.  "So is that it?  What happened?"

John looked surprised by the question, "What?  You mean the war?  Because of the amount of time it took the Persians to defeat the Spartans, the Greek allies were able to coordinate their forces and prepare for the Persians.  The Athenian navy surprised the Persian navy and wiped them out, cutting off the Persians' line of reinforcement and supply.  A few months later the Persians were defeated by a large group of Greeks, led by the remaining Spartans again.  They annihilated the Persians.  So you see, a small force can defeat a much larger force."

Krant nodded his head reluctantly, "I suppose so.  But I have no desire to be, how do you say it, 'wiped out'."

John laughed, "Believe me Krant, neither do I.  But I mean, come on, if a few hundred inferior humans can defeat one million enemy soldiers, then five hundred Sebaceans and Rotarians should be able to beat twenty thousand Peacekeepers.  They won't know what hit them.  Besides, I still got my staff, and we all know how much damage that thing can cause."

Krant smiled, "Trying to appeal to my pride, uh?  Well it worked.  You're right, they won't know what hit them."

John hated being in this position.  It was hell on the knees, and he certainly wasn't getting any younger.  At the moment John was crouched behind a large rocky outcropping, along with about thirty others, waiting for the Peacekeeper convoy to come up the pass.

The attack on the garrison by the Rystalva's forces had started over two arns ago, and if the Peacekeepers truly did care about saving it, their convoy would be arriving any microt now.

The five hundred soldiers that John had brought with him were lined up all along the pass.  Some were hidden up on the mountains, while some were down on the pass itself.  John, Aeryn, Juli, and the other thirty people were one of the groups waiting in the mountains.  It had been decided that half the force would take the high ground while the rest attacked from the ground.  John hoped being attacked from multiple directions would confuse the Peacekeepers.

The planning for the attack had been extensive, but brief.  They couldn't afford to waste any time.  Krant, Toben, and D'argo would lead the attack on the garrison, which they hoped would force the Peacekeeper convoy to use the Ryota Mountain Pass.  That was where John came in.  He had wanted to personally lead the attack on the convoy; it was his crazy idea after all.

Everyone had objected, especially Aeryn and Juli, but John had stayed firm in his decision.  Eventually, Aeryn and Juli had caved and demanded that they go with him.  It seemed to John that both women had finally found something that they had in common.  John had briefly thought about sending Aeryn with D'argo, but had reconsidered when he realized that if he tried to send Aeryn away he'd probably end up dead before the battle had even begun.

Both women were staying so close to John that he couldn't move more than three feet without them following him.  Under normal circumstances, if such a thing existed in the Uncharted Territories, John would have been very happy having two very beautiful women so interested in him, but at the moment it was really getting on his nerves.  It was one of John's pet peeves, being treated like he couldn't wipe his own ass without help.

John moved his right hand down into his pocket to finger the small metal cylinder resting there.  The R'yclava staff was an essential part of John's plan.  In fact, when John thought long and hard on the plan, it was the only thing that was going to give them any chance of victory.  It was John's job to make sure that the Peacekeepers were hit hard and were hit fast.  He was to fire into the Peacekeeper convoy, and since he knew how much damage the staff could cause, he knew that there wouldn't be much left of the convoy when he was finished. 

Despite the fact that John knew that what they were about to do had been his plan, and that they had to do it, John was more than a little uneasy about attacking the convoy.  John was about to become a killer of thousands of people.  Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly a foreign feeling for him.  He had done the same thing, only two cycles ago when he had destroyed Scorpius's Gammack base.  John hated the fact that he was becoming all too comfortable with killing people.  But John knew that he needed to do this.  Millions of people depended on him and the Rystalva to succeed today.

The comm on John's jacket activated and three low pulses could be heard.  That was the signal that John had been waiting for.  It was the signal that meant the Peacekeeper convoy was on its way up the pass.  It would only be a few microts before the convoy reached the Rystalva's position.

John looked at the others to make sure that they all heard the signal.  Both Aeryn and Juli were checking their pulse rifles.  They had been given specially modified pulse rifles, built specifically for shooting long-range targets.  Their job was to cover John while he exposed himself to use his staff.  That had been the most dangerous part of the plan, at least for John.  Because of the staff's violent recoil, John knew that he would need a spot that he could fire repeatedly from without having to constantly get up from being knocked on his ass.  Unfortunately the only spot with a good line of sight to the pass was also partially out in the open.  He would have to sit on a little ledge, with a rock going up at an angle that allowed him to brace his feet against and allow his back to take the impact.  He would at least stay upright be able to fire repeatedly.

John stopped crouching and moved to his firing spot.  He took the R'yclava out of his pocket and extended it to its full height.  Before he got all the way to his spot, he was grabbed from behind and turned around.  Aeryn was standing in front of him, looking very unsure of herself.  She looked like she was making some kind of decision.  Finally, she seemed to shake off her indecision, and she brought him closer to her and then kissed him.

John was so overcome with shock that he didn't initially respond, but he soon got overcame his surprise and began kissing her back.  For a brief moment he forgot every problem between them, and just lived in the moment.  It had been so long since he had felt her warm lips against his that he wanted to savor it. 

After about twenty microts, Aeryn broke off the kiss and gave John a shy smile.  "I just wanted to do that, before…well you know."

John had a huge grin on his face, "I am coming back you know.  I have no intention of dying out there."

Aeryn smile faded but she didn't look angry or ashamed, just concerned.  "I know that, but I still wanted to."

She then turned around and walked back to her spot next to Juli, who was trying to act like she hadn't seen the kiss but was failing miserably.  John just shook his head, the smile still plastered on his face, and moved onto his ledge.

John's attitude grew more serious as he readied himself for the coming battle.  He braced his staff up against the wall of the mountain, so that it was facing down and waited for the convoy.  John was just grateful that the Peacekeepers couldn't use air units to bring in the reinforcements; the mountains were too dangerous for that.

 Finally, after what seemed like forever, John's ears began picking up the sounds of twenty thousand Peacekeepers walking toward him.

Captain Harm Brevel was not used to being on the ground.  In fact Brevel hated being planet side.  There was just something so dirty and uncivilized about a planet, especially a planet infested with an inferior alien species.  It was the reason why Brevel had become a starship captain, so he wouldn't have to deal with the kind of situations he was currently finding himself in.

Since he was the most senior of the three captains, he had taken command of the Peacekeeper reinforcement convoy.  While he had little practical experience leading troops in a terrestrial campaign, he had gone through the training.  He would have never made it to captain if he hadn't.

Unfortunately for the Peacekeepers, the convoy might have stood a chance if someone with more experience had commanded them.  Instead they had Brevel, and when Brevel heard the plea for help coming from the Peacekeeper garrison in the Ryota Mountains, he had done the only thing that he felt he could do.  He directed the convoy to take the Ryota Mountain Pass, knowing full well how dangerous it was, but feeling that he had no choice.

If he had been a better commander, he might have noticed how unusually calm the mountains were and might have questioned why his communications techs were picking up strange comm signals, instead he ignored those tell tale signs and led his men as quickly as he could up the pass.

Brevel knew that he could not fail in saving the garrison.  If the garrison fell, then the Peacekeepers would be defeated on Rotar, and High Command would not be pleased.  And when High Command was not happy they tended to take it out on the one most visibly responsible for the defeat.  In other words, they punished the person in charge.  Brevel had no intention of letting his career getting ruined.

So far the convoy had been making good time, considering all the equipment they were carrying.  There would be no point in reinforcing the garrison if they couldn't resupply it as well.  But Brevel knew that they needed to be faster.  They had just received another transmission from the garrison saying that the enemy had breached two of their outer walls and that there was heavy fighting inside the compound.

Thankfully they were coming upon a relatively flat portion of the pass.  Brevel had been told that the flat ground would last for about five metras, which would allow the convoy to make up some lost time.

At the moment, Brevel and his command staff were near the front of the column.  Brevel had wanted a look for himself of the terrain.  They had come upon one of the narrower portions of the pass.  There were high walls on both sides, with lots of ledges, rocks, and what looked like caves lining the pass and the walls.  Brevel had thought it might be the perfect spot for an ambush, so he had made sure that everyone in the column was on high alert.

They had made it half way through the narrow portion of the pass when all hell broke lose.  A large blast of pulse energy struck the ground at the front of the column, vaporizing the ten men that had been near the blast when it hit.  A huge crater, roughly the size of a Marauder, appeared as dirt, body parts and other material rained down on Brevel and his staff.

The men near the front immediately spread out, trying to place as much space between each other as the narrow confines of the pass would allow.  Another blast hit the wall of the mountain near Brevel, creating a huge hole and sending out flying shards of rock that sliced into any person unfortunately close enough to be affected.  Brevel was thrown to his feet.

Another blast hit the convoy farther down, causing even more damage than the first two had, taking out a sizable chunk of soldiers.  Soon smaller pulse blasts started raining down on the Peacekeepers, this time taking out individual Peacekeepers.  Peacekeepers were falling all over the place.  One Peacekeeper that had been standing next to Brevel had his head blown off, while another was shot in the chest.

Brevel finally saw where the all the fire was coming from.  Up ahead, through the haze of smoke and flying debris, he could make out figures moving around.  He also saw people moving about along the walls of the mountains.

Brevel was dazed and he was finding it hard to see with all the blood in his face, but that didn't stop him from reaching down to his thigh and pulling out his pulse pistol.  He carefully crawled to a group of crumpled bodies, and using them as cover, began firing down the pass at the people who had ambushed him.  He saw one of his shots hit someone, and he felt a brief flash of satisfaction.

Soon the Peacekeepers nearest the fighting began following Brevel's example and started returning fire.  Peacekeepers from the rear of the convoy, those not attacked yet, started moving closer to the fighting and were joining in.  The Peacekeepers were beginning to give as good as they got.

Brevel was just starting to think that maybe things were starting to turn around when he heard the sound of what he assumed was a frag cannon firing.  Nothing else that he knew of could produce the kind of firepower that whatever weapon was being used was producing.  Brevel looked over his shoulder to see where the blast hit and saw another huge crater, where some of the Peacekeepers from the rear had been grouping together.  Brevel needed to find that cannon, it was decimating his men.

Brevel slowly began moving forward, using dead bodies as cover, until he reached the first crater that had been created.  He lowered himself into the smoking crater, ignoring the searing heat.  Once he was hidden in the crater he surveyed the walls of the mountains, trying to see if he could spot where the blasts were coming from.

When the cannon fired again, Brevel tracked the angle of the blast and looked up into what he hoped was the right direction.  What he saw surprised him.  The cannon wasn't a cannon after all, but was a Sebacean holding some kind of staff.  Brevel could not believe that such a relatively small weapon could produce such devastating fire.  However, why the staff was able to produce so much firepower wasn't an issue that he should be worrying about.  Brevel knew that the techs would have plenty of time to study it when he killed its owner.

Brevel lined up his pulse pistol with the Sebacean who was oblivious to him as he was too busy concentrating on the Peacekeepers behind Brevel.  Just as Brevel was about to fire, and silence that cannon forever, one of the staff's blasts hit the wall of the mountain again sending out deadly flying shrapnel.  A piece of shrapnel hit Brevel in his arm just as he fired, throwing off his aim and causing the pulse blast to bounce harmlessly off the wall next to the man's head. 

Brevel looked down at his arm and noticed that there was a piece of rock about the size of his hand imbedded in his bicep.  The wound was bleeding profusely, and Brevel knew that if he didn't take care of the wound soon, he would most likely die.  But Brevel couldn't leave until he stopped that Sebacean.  Brevel picked up his pulse pistol in his left arm.  He wasn't as good a shot as he was with his right, but he was more than able to still hit his target.

He again lined up the man in his sights, but unfortunately he never got the chance to fire.  A pulse blast hit him in the face less than a microt after Brevel recognized the blast as coming from a special, long-range pulse rifle.

As Brevel's lifeless body fell to the bottom of the crater, the battle still raged on.

"Get down!"

D'argo dropped to the ground as two pulse blasts sailed over the space his body used to occupy, and hit two Peacekeepers who had been sneaking up on D'argo from behind. 

The person who had just saved D'argo's life was already gone, moving on to find more targets.  D'argo got off the ground and started to follow her.  They were both heading deeper into the garrison, as the fighting had moved from outside the compound to inside.

It had been awhile since D'argo had seen anybody that he recognized.  He had been separated from Krant and Toben after the Rystalva's forces had breached the outer walls of the garrison.  He had joined a mixed group of Sebaceans and Rotarians, and had managed to stay with them until they had all been killed in a grenade blast.  How D'argo had managed to walk away still in one piece still amazed him. 

Since then, he had been moving from one group to the next helping as much as he could.  Right now he was following the woman that had saved his life.  She too had been separated from her unit and had been searching for them since she had met D'argo.  D'argo was staying with her until she found her unit, and then he would go and find someone else who needed his help.

It wasn't as if Toben or Krant needed his help in leading the attack.  D'argo had learned fairly quickly that both Rotarian males were quite adept at military strategy.  Besides, D'argo liked this more.  He liked fighting and he certainly loved shooting stuff.  This was what he was good at.

D'argo stopped thinking when he noticed the woman ahead of him abruptly stop.  She held up her hand, and D'argo moved towards her as quietly as he could.  When he got close enough, he whispered, "What?"

Without turning to face him, the woman whispered back.  "Peacekeepers.  Three of them around the corner."

D'argo nodded his head and gripped his Qualta blade tighter.  He had long since transformed it into its rifle configuration.  D'argo whispered, "I will distract them long enough for you to kill them."

The woman just nodded her head in assent, and brought her pulse rifle into firing position.  D'argo rather liked the woman standing next to him.  She didn't argue, or contradict him like his shipmates did.  She seemed to recognize his obvious prowess in battle and deferred to him.

Gathering himself, D'argo let out a deafening growl and leaped out from around the corner.  The surprised Peacekeepers turned around, bringing their weapons up as they did, but unfortunately they were too slow.  D'argo fired twice at the Peacekeeper on the left, hitting him once in the shoulder and once in the stomach.  D'argo then fired at the one in the middle, while the woman fired twice at the one on the right.  All three shots hit their targets, and all three Peacekeepers fell to the ground.

D'argo looked over at the woman and smiled a smile of thanks, before moving down the hall to make sure the Peacekeepers were dead.  He hadn't checked the last time, and he had a scorch mark on his tunic where one of the Peacekeepers that he had thought had been dead had shot him.  D'argo was not about to make the same mistake twice.  The woman covered him as he did.

Fortunately, all three Peacekeepers were dead and D'argo and the woman continued to move down the hall.  As they were walking down the hall, D'argo turned his head to face the woman.  "You know in all this time, I haven't asked you your name.  I would like to know what to call you when I say thank you."

The woman briefly turned to look at D'argo, before concentrating on the hallway.  In a low voice she responded to D'argo's question.  "My name is Fyy.  Jayn Fyy."  The woman said nothing more, and D'argo and the woman continued down the hallway in silence.

"John!  Move, Now!"

Not hesitating to question why, John jumped off his ledge and dived to where Aeryn and Juli were crouching behind a rock.  It was a good thing John moved when he did, because a halo of pulse blasts hit the mountain wall where he had been standing.

John got up from his prone position and crawled over to Aeryn.  He risked looking over the rock to see the battle going on down below and did not like what he saw.  The majority of the Peacekeeper convoy was now engaging the Rystalva's forces and things were not going well for the good guys.  John was only down to about half his force.  He had to send about seventy men to the rear of the convoy to prevent the Peacekeepers from retreating.  That depletion, plus the fact that at least a hundred of the Rystalva's fighters had been killed so far, John and the Rystalva were only keeping the Peacekeepers at bay.

The only consolation was that the Peacekeepers had suffered heavy casualties.  John had made sure of that.  With one blast of his staff he could take out twenty men, and he had been firing almost non-stop for almost an arn.  That was until the Peacekeepers had finally gotten a bead on his position.  Aeryn and Juli had done all they could to buy him as much time as possible, but there were just too many Peacekeepers to shoot at.

John knew that something needed to be done or else the Rystalva would be overrun.  What that something needed to be done, John didn't know.  He had been racking his brain for bright ideas, but had drawn a blank. 

John turned to Aeryn and Juli who were taking a break from firing down below.  "Do any of you two have any bright ideas, because I'm running on empty here?"

Both Aeryn and Juli turned to look at each other, and then turned back to face John.  Both of them shook their heads in the negative.  John felt frustration loom up in him again and he felt compelled to look down below again.  He looked down and saw a large column of men moving up, getting closer to the Rystalva fighters down on the ground.  The Peacekeepers were getting braver now that John was no longer firing down below.

John felt the urge to do something about that.  So without really thinking, he abruptly stood up, pointed his staff at the Peacekeeper column and fired.  The pulse blast hit the middle of the column, and bodies went flying everywhere.  The remaining Peacekeepers immediately spread out and started scurrying for cover.  John of course, didn't need to seek cover, because he had been thrown back into the wall of the mountain four feet away.

The impact had been so hard that he had the wind knocked out of him and he was feeling more than a little dizzy.  As if that wasn't enough, he now had to contend with two very pissed off women, who were storming towards him.  Aeryn yanked him too his feet and immediately began to tear into him.  "What the frell did you think you were doing?  I told you to stay down!"

Juli also felt compelled to add, "How could you be so stupid?  You're lucky that they didn't shoot you.  They were just waiting for you to do that."

John shook their hands off and walked back to the boulder that they had been using for cover.  "It had to be done!  They were getting too cocky and needed to be taught a lesson."

Aeryn snorted in derision, "They weren't the only one."

John just ignored her and picked up his staff, and once again stuck his head over the large rock to see what was going on.  He felt a sense of justification at seeing that the Peacekeeper column that was moving toward the Rystalva's forces had been broken up.  If only he could do that more often.  But Juli had been right.  The Peacekeepers were waiting for him, and would still be waiting for him, to stick his ass out there and fire again.  John also knew that they couldn't win if he didn't keep firing down below.

John stuck his head up and surveyed the damage done to the pass.  Any semblance of road was completely gone, as the pass had been shot to hell.  John could see several of his Marauder-size craters all along the road, and along the wall of the mountain.  Wait a minute, the mountain!  John did a double take and studied the mountain closely.

Several of his blasts had created huge crater/holes in the face of the mountain.  The entire lower edge of the mountain had been blasted several feet backward, while the upper edge was still at its normal level.  John was hit by a sudden surge of inspiration.  The armory!  He could do the same thing to the wall that he had done to the armory.

 John reached to his comm and activated it.  He spoke into it in urgency, "This is Crichton to all Rystalva forces, pull back right now.  Pull back."

John heard the three-pulse acknowledgement and he saw several friendly soldiers begin retreating.  John was about to put his plan into motion when two very confused women turned him around.  "What the frell are you doing John?  We can't retreat now!"

John nodded his head earnestly, and began speaking excitedly to Juli.  "Remember the armory, Juli!  Remember those Peacekeepers that were holding out in the doorway, and I collapsed the building on them.  I can do the same thing here.  That wall is barely holding up.  A few more shots from my staff and I can make the whole freaking mountain come down.  That I'll put an end to those Peacekeepers real quick."

While Juli was no longer confused, Aeryn was still lost.  "What are you talking about?"

Juli just turned to Aeryn and answered, "Don't worry about it.  He knows what he's doing."  Juli then turned back to John and asked, "Do you want us to cover you like last time?"

John answered as he readied his staff, "Yeah, I'm gonna need it.  It'll take me a few shots to do the job this time."

Juli picked up her rifle, and Aeryn did the same.  She was still confused but she trusted John, and she needed to make sure that he stayed safe.  She moved next to Juli and readied herself.  She needed to be calm and collected if she was going to cover John.

John moved over to his ledge, took several deep breaths, and jumped out into the open.  Waiting only long enough to make sure that his feet were firmly set, he began firing as fast as he could at the mountain face.  He could see that his blasts were working as several cracks began spreading up the wall of the mountain. 

John was amazed that he had not been hit yet, but he shouldn't have been surprised.  After all Aeryn and Juli were the best shots he had ever seen, and the long-range rifles only amplified their abilities.

John was about half way done when he felt a sharp pain in his left leg.  He had been hit.  I guess I spoke too soon.  John didn't let the shot slow him down though, he continued pouring blast after blast into the wall of the mountain.  Just a few more! 

After what seemed like being out there for an eternity, John could hear a loud cracking sound.  The mountain face was starting to break up.  Rocks and pieces of the mountain began falling down on top of the Peacekeepers.  Soon entire slabs of the mountain were coming down.

Peacekeepers were scrambling, trying to get out of the way, but to no avail.  All the Peacekeepers that had been closest to the falling mountain were crushed, and any Peacekeeper not immediately crushed was too busy trying to get out of the way to worry about John.

John limped off the ledge over to Aeryn and Juli who were both looking at him with concern.  John just waved his hand in dismissal, "Don't worry, I'm fine.  It's just a flesh wound."  John then promptly collapsed, unconscious.

D'argo and his companion, Jayn Fyy, had finally found Krant and Toben and their command group.  They had found each other in the heart of the garrison, the command and control area.

The Rystalva's forces had just stormed the control room, killing everyone inside.  Krant and Toben had been studying their new conquest when D'argo had ran into the Rystalvan guards posted outside.

D'argo and Jayn had gone inside and were greeted with looks of relief upon the two Rotarians' faces.  Toben had voiced his concern, "Thank the Rystal that you're okay.  John would not have forgiven me if anything had happened to you.  What happened to you anyway?"

D'argo waited until he had sat down before answering, "I don't really know, somehow I got separated from you when we attacked the compound's walls.  Speaking of John, how are things going on his end."

This time it was Krant who spoke, with a look of worry on his face.  "Juli Fallon informed us that they had successfully defeated the Peacekeepers.  But that John had been wounded in the attack.  He is currently being rushed to our base as we speak."

Krant was interrupted by D'argo leaping to his feet.  "Is he all right?  I must leave at once."

"Ka'D'argo wait!  John Crichton is unconscious but our doctors believe that he will be all right.  He is in no danger."

That seemed to stall D'argo but he was still very antsy.  "That may be so, but I would like to see him regardless.  I will head back to the base with the first batch of wounded."

He then began moving toward the exit, when Jayn spoke up.  "I'll go with you.  I have extensive medical training, I may be of service."

D'argo smiled at the female Sebacean.  "Of course.  You're company would be much appreciated."

D'argo and Jayn then left Toben and Krant to their new toy, and left to find his friend.

John awoke with a pounding headache.  He hadn't felt this bad since the last time he had been shot, which unfortunately was only a few monens ago.  Still, it felt good to be alive.  That much John was sure of.

John slowly sat up in the bed he was lying in and saw a mane of dark black hair laying on a desk.  Attached to that hair was the person he had hoped would be waiting for him when he woke up.  Aeryn was sitting on the only chair in his room, and was laying her head on top of his desk.  As far as John could tell she was asleep, and he had no desire to wake her.

Unfortunately, he really needed to use the bathroom, and he didn't think he could make it to the room on his own.  So very gently he nudged Aeryn's arm, hoping to wake her quietly.

Almost immediately those Peacekeeper reflexes kicked in and Aeryn bolted upright.  She quickly turned to face John and the look of happiness at seeing him awake warmed his heart.  She practically leaped at him, wrapping him in a hug.  She began mumbling excitedly, "You're awake.  Thank Chulack that you're awake.  I was starting to worry that you might never wake up."

John really could get use to this, having Aeryn draped all over his body.  But he really needed to use the facilities.  He gently pried Aeryn away, so that she wouldn't get the wrong idea, and looked her in the eye.  "Uh Aeryn, as much as I enjoy having you throw yourself at me, I really need to go to the bathroom."

Aeryn blushed a deep red.  John thought it was really cute when she was embarrassed.  "Of course John.  Let me help you."

Aeryn then stood up and grabbed John's arm.  She pulled him till he was upright and then wrapped her arm around his waist, taking all the weight off his injured leg.  They moved to the door of his quarters and opened it.  They stepped out and were assaulted by a flying Nebari.

Chiana immediately began mumbling much the same way Aeryn had.  "John!  I was beginning to get worried.  But I knew that you'd wake up.  Nothing can stop you."

John moved his free hand down and ruffled Chiana's hair, "Thanks for the confidence Pip."

John then noticed that there were two other people standing in the hallway.  Juli and D'argo were looking at John with relief.  "Big D!  Good to see you alive, man.  So how did things go?"

D'argo's gruff voice answered John, "We won John.  We took the garrison and your plan stopped the convoy.  Leave it to John Crichton to destroy a mountain to accomplish his goals.  Don't you ever think small?"

John laughed at D'argo's joke, "No way man, where's the fun in that.  You know what they say, if you can't bring the Peacekeepers to the mountain, you bring the mountain to the Peacekeepers."

Everyone looked at John strangely, but they laughed anyways.  "Look guys, as much as I enjoy this joyous celebration of my continued survival, I really need to use the bathroom."

Chiana, stopped hugging John and moved away.  "Okay John, but as soon as you finish, we got a party that needs starting."

John just smiled as he and Aeryn moved down the hall and toward the bathroom.

The party celebrating the Rystalva's victory over the Peacekeepers was in full swing.  At the moment, John, Aeryn, D'argo, and just about everyone else was in the Coliseum celebrating.  There was lots of eating and drinking going on, and John was gorging himself on both.

John felt, as much as everyone else, that he deserved this and he wanted to savor it.  He wanted to eat, drink and be merry.  He was tired of being responsible and just wanted to relax and spend some quality time with his friends.

Unfortunately, the Universe is not kind to John Crichton, and it decided to interfere on his good time.  This time it did so in the form of one very beautiful Peacekeeper captain.

Lorana had walked up to him and pulled him away from the crowd.  He was still hurting, but he could limp his way around now.  Once they were away from everyone else Lorana began speaking, "I hate to interrupt you to John, but I have received an urgent message from my father.  He needs to speak to you alone, and he needs to speak to you now."

John sighed, "Can't this wait?"

Lorana placed a comforting hand on John's arm, "I'm sorry John, but my father insisted."

John gave up trying to refuse and just went with the flow.  "Alright.  I'm assuming that I'm to take the call in the comm room?"

Lorana nodded her head, "Yes John."

John and Lorana then left the Coliseum, and walked to the comm. room.  It took awhile for them to get there because of John's leg, which gave John a lot of time to think.  He knew that the war wasn't over, and he had a sinking feeling that whatever the admiral wanted to talk to him about it was only going to confirm that feeling.

When they got there, Lorana stopped outside the room and John went in on his own.  On the main view port was an image of Admiral Ev Bach.  John wasted no time in starting off.

"You wanted to speak to me, Admiral?"  John asked the man in the viewport in front of him.

 Bach had a very solemn look on his face.  "I'm afraid I have some bad news John.  I have just received a communication transmission from Peacekeeper High Command.  They are sending a full Peacekeeper battle fleet to Rotar, and I am to assume command as soon as it arrives."

John's smile abruptly disappeared.  The high that he had been on from the Rystalva's impressive defeat of the Peacekeepers disappeared as well.  "A full Peacekeeper fleet?"

The admiral nodded his head stiffly, "Yes John, a full fleet.  Nine command carriers, twenty cruisers and other light assault ships, and their requisite support ships."  The admiral paused before telling John the real bad news, "But John, that's not all.  The fleet also contains over one million troops."

John felt his knees give way underneath him and he had to sit down.  He croaked out, "A million soldiers?"

"Yes John.  High Command is not happy.  You have caused a lot of trouble for them.  You have defeated the Peacekeepers on Rotar, rebellions have sprung up on other worlds in this sector, but most importantly, you have embarrassed the Peacekeepers and that is something they cannot allow.  The fleet will arrive in four solar days, and when they do, they will send down their troops and kill everyone on this planet.  They will make a lesson out of Rotar.  Showing the other worlds that nobody can win against the Peacekeepers.  We cannot allow that to happen."

John nodded his head dumbly.  He was still in shock.  "We will fight them.  We've done it before, and we can do it again."

Bach just stared at John like he was crazy.  "I'm sorry John, but I don't think so.  The people of Rotar have shown a remarkable talent for killing Peacekeepers, but not even they will be a match for over one million, battle hardened Peacekeeper troops.  The fleet will blast this planet from orbit, and then send in the troops to destroy whatever resistance is left.  They will not stop until the people of this planet are nothing more than forgotten memories."

John let frustration enter his voice, "What the frell are we supposed to do then?"

Bach took a deep breath before answering.  He had thought long and hard about that very question ever since he had received the transmission from High Command.  He had come up with an answer, but it was an answer that he knew that John was not going to like.  It was an answer that he didn't like as well, but he knew that if they didn't do what he was about to suggest, then over one billion people on the planet of Rotar would be dead by the end of the weeken.

Bach stared directly into John's eyes as he answered John's question.  He respected John too much to do anything else.  "As you know, John, Rotar is less than two light years from Scarren territory."

John leapt off the chair he was sitting on and interrupted the admiral rather loudly.  "Oh, hell no.  I know where you're going with this and it's out of the question."

Bach replied excitedly, "It is the only way John.  I can think of no other way of getting rid of that fleet.  The alternative is the death of everyone on Rotar."

John angrily growled out, "Yeah, and if we do what you're talking about, it could mean the deaths of billions of people throughout the galaxy.  I will not have that on my conscience."

Bach was growing angry himself.  "Frell your conscience John.  If we don't do anything, it will mean the death of a billion people.  People you know, people you care about.  Do you want that on your conscience?"

John shouted at Bach, "You're talking about starting a war with the Scarrens!  Christ the Scarrens are even worse than the Peacekeepers."

Bach calmed down visibly before responding, "I know that John, but we don't have much choice.  Yes, it will most likely start a war between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrens, but a war has been inevitable between the two for some time now.  We will just be speeding up the process."

"And what's to stop the Scarrens from coming after Rotar after they destroy that fleet.  The only reason why the Scarrens have not already attacked this planet is because of the Peacekeepers."  John asked the admiral defiantly.  He did not want to give into what the admiral was saying.

The admiral acknowledged John's statement with a nod of his head.  "That is true John, but it is a risk we will have to take.  If we do nothing, that risk will become a certainty."

John refused to give in.  "Fine, you know what?  You make the decision; I want nothing to do with it.  If you want to start a war, then go ahead, but leave me out of it."

Bach spoke softly, "You know I can't do that.  You are in command John; you must make the decision.  I know you think that I am only saying that because I don't want to make the choice, but you are wrong.  Making decisions like this is part of the burden of leadership.  You are the leader of these people, John.  You must make this decision for them.  They have trusted you with their lives, you cannot betray them now by passing that trust onto someone else."

John saw the truth in Bach's words but he didn't want to admit that to himself.  He wished he had never come to this planet.  He just had to get away; he had to think about what he was going to do.  There was no way he could make the decision right now.

John turned his back on the viewport, his head down in thought.  He began to walk away when he heard the admiral speak in a worried tone.  "What are you doing John?"

Without turning around John answered, "I need to think about this.  You'll have your answer in two arns."  With that said, John walked out of the comm room and headed deeper into the complex.  The hallways echoed the sentiments of his heart: dark, oppressing, and bleak.  John Crichton had never felt so bad in his entire life.  The decision he was about to make would decide the fate of billions of people, and John didn't know what to do.

Side Note: I want to apologize for taking so long to update, but school has been a bitch.  Damn physics is sucking up all my time like a black hole sucks up all the mass around it.  Haha, little physics analogy for you.  See!  I'm spending so much time with physics, that I'm even making stupid little analogies about it in my everyday life.  Aarrg!  Oh well, at least my lab partner is hot.

            Anyways, the next chapter will be the final full-length chapter.  It will contain many things, least of all wrapping up loose ends with regards to the story.  I would like to pose a question to all the dutiful readers out there: what should John's decision be with regards to the Scarrens?  I honestly haven't decided which way to go on this question yet, and would like your feedback.  Naturally, the decision not to bring in the Scarrens would make the ending considerably harder to write, but I'm up to the challenge if you are.

            Once again, Chapter 14 will take a while to post.  So be patient.  It will come eventually; it might just take some time.  Please give me feedback!  I need to know if this trilogy is worth continuing, if anyone is going to want to keep reading.  Let me know.  Bye for now, see you in a few weeks.

PS.  Oh, just in case anyone has been trying to e-mail me, I apologize if you haven't gotten a response.  I have been having major problems with my computer, least of which is the e-mail being on the fritz.  I have no idea when it will be fixed, so don't send me any e-mails because they won't get responded to.