Part 10

Aeryn wandered into Pilot's den. She had felt bad about not informing him personally. She was pretty sure he had heard about it from Talyn prior to her announcement. "Hello, Pilot."

"Is there something I can do for you, Aeryn?"

"I wanted to apologize for not telling you in person."

"I.understand that you have been preoccupied. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. It's been hard accepting all the changes in my life."

"Talyn has told Moya that you might be leaving with him."

Aeryn continued, the sadness plain in her voice, "I don't know that I can stay here. My child needs a father and I know that Crais isn't comfortable here. I also know that Crichton wouldn't want to raise Crais' child."

"If you.decide to leave we would miss you," the sorrow in his voice was plain. No one else onboard Moya was a close to him as Aeryn.

She reached out and placed her hand on his claw. "I would miss both of you, as well. I'm sure we would meet up periodically."

"I would hope so. Moya and I were very relieved to discover that Talyn was alive. We don't want him to leave, but we realize he will be safer away from us. It will also be safer for you.and the baby. Talyn has expressed to Moya that he feels Crais will make an excellent father. He suggests that Crais' experience raising him will help Crais deal with a child." Pilot tried to put some cheer into his voice.

Aeryn smiled at this as the thought out Crais looking after a baby entered her mind. "I'm sure he's right, Pilot." She knew the others would never believe this if they heard it. They still could not accept the fact that Crais had changed. This surprised her, because she used to be just like him.

Scorpius stared past the pulse pistol and looked Crais in the eyes, "That weapon is unnecessary. I am not here to harm you. I merely wish to talk with you."

"A precaution."

"Very well," Scorpius sounded unconcerned.

"What are you doing out of your cell?" Crais demanded.

"I can leave whenever I want. I merely find it in my best interest to stay there."

"Are the others aware your cell does not hold you?"

"That is inconsequential to the reason I am here. I have something important I wish to discuss with you." Crais gave him a look that said he had better be quick about it. "I know you are the father of Officer Sun's child. I fear that she may decide to go with you and Talyn when you leave."

"Why should your fear concern me?"

"I'm sure it doesn't. You must realize that she doesn't love you. Her heart belongs only to Crichton, even if it is the one who has died. She will never be yours." Scorpius was using his most reassuring voice.

Crais became defensive, "The child is mine. That is what's important. Why are you concerned about her?" he suspicious of the half-breeds motives.

"I will admit that my concern is in part selfish. The only reason I am still alive is because she has granted me asylum. I believe that once she is gone, I will find my life in jeopardy."

Crais allowed himself a cruel smile, "That does not concern me in the least. I have no reason to care whether you live of die."

Scorpius took a step forward and Crais tensed. Scorpius stopped his approach, "Without my protection, John will be in danger. Only I can protect him. You destroyed my command carrier to prevent the Peacekeepers from getting wormhole technology. Would you want the Peacekeepers, or worse, the Scarrens, to get that technology? They will without me here to protect John," desperation was creeping into Scorpius voice.

Crais didn't want to believe the half-breed, but he knew that while the scientist could be cruel and ruthless, he was not a liar. He also knew that Scorpius had save Crichton, and by extension the Moya crew, three times. "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

"I want Officer Sun to remain here."

"It is not my choice." Crais lowered his weapon, realizing Scorpius was not going to harm him. The scientist was merely anxious.

Scorpius began walking around Crais, "It may not be, but you can make it so that she does not feel welcome with you. Make it so that she would prefer to remain here."

Crais exclaimed, "I will not leave my child!"

Scorpius had known this would be difficult. Crais had thrown his Peacekeeper career away for the love of his brother. This child was the only family he had. "Then stay here with her," Scorpius was doing his best to keep his temper under control.

Crais chuckled, "You may not have noticed, but I am only slightly more welcome than you. With the exception of Aeryn, they would be glad to see me leave."

"Perhaps, but it will be in the best interest of all if she remains here. Think about it." Scorpius walked past Crais and presumably headed back to his cell. All thoughts of sleep had now been banished from Crais' mind. Why did everything have to be so difficult? He knew Aeryn wanted to get away from Crichton, for at least a little while. He found himself rubbing the bridge of his nose again. The headache he had managed to avoid earlier was coming back full force. He would have to speak with Aeryn.

Chiana and Crichton had spent a lot of time together over the last weeken. She was a good friend and Crichton was glad she was there. At times he thought she hinted that she would like to advance their relationship, but Crichton wasn't sure it was a relationship she was looking for. He knew how much she feared commitment. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to get involved in a relationship that had no threat of commitment. Alex had turned out poorly and Aeryn had turned out no better. Maybe he needed a break from serious relationships. It had been, he started to think, and realized it had been way too long. He left in search her. He found her in command.

"Hey, Pip," he called out jovially.

"Hey, old man," she teased.

"Anything out there?"

"Just a bunch of lifeless planets. It's kinda dull in this area of space," she sounded bored.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I think I could use a good pleasure planet. Maybe next time we can talk D'Argo into staying a little longer."

She nuzzled up next to him and he put his arm around her, "That would be a good idea. Maybe we could do something to make it a little more exciting." She looked at him mischievously.

"Hmm.Like what?" has asked innocently.

"I think you have a good idea. Why don't you meet me in your quarters and you can find out," she purred. On her way out of command she ran her hand from his shoulder, across his chest and gently brushed his chin. Before she walked out the door she looked back over her shoulder at him. Crichton followed.

Crais had been stalling in talking to Aeryn. He had noticed she was becoming increasingly moody. He assumed it had something to do with the pregnancy. For not the first time he was beginning to wish he had had the foresight to get some information about pregnancy when he had been on the planet. He found that she was in relatively good spirits today. He came up behind her shoulder and spoke softly, "Aeryn, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

He had rehearsed in his mind what he wanted to say to her, "I have been thinking about our situation. We are making good progress with Talyn. I feel that he will be ready to attempt starburst soon."

"We can leave soon, then?" she asked eagerly.

"That.is what I want to talk to you about." He took a deep breath. "You.know that I neither like nor trust Scorpius. While I have not personally witnessed him do anything beneficial, I have been informed of what he has done to protect Crichton. Will your protection remain after you are gone?"

She stared at him for a few microts, "Are you saying that you want to me stay here?"

He gently grasped her shoulders, "I'm just saying that perhaps there is more to consider than two of us. Scorpius has kept his word about protecting Crichton. We both know the Scarrens cannot be allowed to get a hold of wormhole technology."

She looked him in the eyes, he could see her struggling to hold her emotions in check, "I know that. It's hard for me to look at him. It's been over a half a cycle, but it still hurts. I had hoped to be able to get away."

"I realize that. I just wanted you to consider it before making your choice. Perhaps they can be convinced to allow Scorpius to live."

"I think that you know D'Argo was well as I do. We both know he would kill Scorpius in an instant."

"Perhaps Crichton could keep D'Argo in check?"

"Maybe, but Crichton doesn't like Scorpius any more than D'Argo. He actually has the most to be bitter about."

"I think you need to at least think about it."

She nodded her head. "How did you come to think about it?"

Crais was loath to admit that Scorpius had come to him, but he detested lying. "Scorpius came to me about a weeken ago."

"Scorpius came to you?" she sounded shocked.

"Yes. He made sure to point out that your presence was the only thing keeping him alive, and that, to a point, he was the only thing keeping Crichton alive. I hate agreeing with Scorpius, but he has a valid point. Perhaps we should not leave Moya yet."

"You would stay here?" he could see her eyes light up. Apparently she had assumed ha planned on leaving without her.

"As long as you want me to stay, I will."

She was overcome by a wave of emotion, "Thank you. I don't know if I could be here alone with him."

She hugged him and Crais returned her embrace. While he was gently stroking her hair, he wondered what he had gotten himself into. Aeryn's fluctuating hormones were having a profound effect on her emotions. He would stay. He had given his word.

Crais had gone over to Talyn to do some minor repairs. He hadn't expected to take long and went over by himself. Aeryn was feeling a little under the weather. The effects of the pregnancy were starting to get to her. Over the last two weekens the two have them had been working at building Talyn's confidence to prepare him for starburst. Crais estimated it should only be another few days. Sikozu had been sulking because Crais was excluding her from helping. While he was working Talyn informed him there was a ship approaching. After a few microts Talyn identified the ship as a command carrier.

Aeryn and the others had assembled in command as soon as Talyn had noticed the incoming ship. Aeryn heard the identification and commed over to Talyn, "Crais, I'm coming over."

Crais' voice came back over the comms circuit, ~There's no time. The command carrier is closing fast. Talyn is preparing for starburst. Get Moya out of here. We will meet up after starburst.~

Crichton called out, "Pilot, let's get out of here."

Pilot's face came up in the clamshell, "Moya prefers to wait until she is sure Talyn has completed starburst."

D'Argo addressed Pilot, "Pilot, isn't Talyn a little big to follow us through starburst?"

"Yes, Captain, but Moya does not want to leave him again."

"Great, a sentimental Leviathan," Crichton mumbled. "Crais, now would be good time."

There was no reply. The silence seemed to stretch into eternity. By now, Moya could detect the command carrier. The others in command were getting restless. Finally, they could see the yellow glow on Talyn's starburst arms. All of the sudden Crichton leapt forward activating the comms panel, "Crais, abort! I say again, abort!" There was no reply as the energy built. The others looked a Crichton in shock, wondering what his problem was. Right as the energy reached maximum and began to engulf Talyn, they saw the distinctive blue flash of a wormhole. Just as suddenly, both Talyn and the wormhole were gone.

There were a few microts of silence before Crichton spoke out, his voice emotionless, "Pilot, we need to get out of here."

The sense of loss came through in Pilot's voice, "Initiating starburst, now."

Once they had cleared starburst, Aeryn looks toward Crichton, "Where did they go?"

"I don't know."

She grabbed the front of his shirt, "You're the wormhole expert! Find them!"

He took hold of her hand and pried it from his shirt, "Aeryn, wormholes are incredibly complex. I can't just go randomly searching for them."

Desperation crept into her voice, "Why not? You know how to navigate them now. Surely you can find their life force or whatever you said it is."

He grabbed her by the shoulders, "Aeryn, I can't risk destroying time and history as we know it."

She swept his hands off her shoulders and began poking at his chest, "You only say that because you don't like Crais. You never have. You're jealous of him and blame him for everything that has gone wrong in your life. You don't care about me, you only care about you." She stormed out of command.

Everyone had watched her outburst and wondered what was wrong with Aeryn. This behavior was very much out of character.

Crais addressed the youngster in what he hoped was a soothing tone, "Talyn, we have talked about this. The only reason you were injured during the last starburst was because we were inside the command carrier. We are in open space now. Everything will be fine. You have nothing to fear. I am here with you and will help guide you through the maneuver." Talyn chirped at him. A sense of urgency crept into Crais' voice, "Talyn, we need to do this. We cannot let the Peacekeepers know we live. If they find out, they will begin to hunt us again." Talyn chirped in nervous acquiescence. Crais heaved a sigh of relief, "I'm glad you have chosen to trust me."

As they began to initiate starburst Crais heard Crichton's voice come over the comms, ~Cr..ort.say..in..ort.~

Crais wondered what the human was babbling about this time when he saw the wormhole appear in front of them. "Talyn, abort!" he shouted, but it was too late. They were engulfed.

Crais worked very hard to keep Talyn calm and flying level until they could exit the wormhole. Talyn was scared enough that he blindly followed any orders that Crais gave. Once they exited the wormhole, Crais did a quick damage assessment. They were both unharmed. He then had Talyn scan the area. He quickly realized they had no idea where they were. Talyn was frightened. He could no longer hear the song of the other Leviathans. They were far from familiar space. Crais wondered if they were in the same galaxy. "Talyn, let's find a planet and begin searching for our way back to Moya."

Aeryn locked herself into her quarters. Once again, she found her world crumbling around her. She was alone. There was no Crichton. No Crais. She wondered if the child growing within her would ever have a father. She cried herself to sleep.

Scorpius smiled to himself. He had felt Moya starburst in order to flee the Peacekeepers. He also knew Crais had been aboard the hybrid. Through the patch he had made into Moya's sensors he witnessed Talyn getting drawn into the wormhole. This was better than he had expected. It appeared his safety was assured for the time being.

The End?

If there's enough interest I may be convinced to write a sequel. Say maybe 10 readers?