Chapter 3: Cause for Concern
Chiana walked into the mess hall. As usual, Rygel had situated himself over a plate of food cubes. Sikozu, oddly enough, was also in the room. Chiana grabbed a few food cubes and sat in front of the fire-haired women. "How are you?"
Sikozu lifted her head. "How do you think? I'm stuck here with nobody for company but an overly self important slug, a sex crazed Nebari, and a member of a deficient species who I'm pretty sure is frelling farhbot, so how do you think I am!"
Chiana just gave her best friendly grin. "Welcome to the club."
Sikozu snorted. The fiery redhead was picking up Nebari fast. She rolled her eyes. "Frelling human. You know that before him, I would have had no problem with finding a pilot and a Leviathan to be killed for their tissues. I thought that they were just animals -- impressive ones, I admit, but animals nonetheless. Now I see the bond that the human and the pilot have, and the way she talks to him. Now I feel guilty for finding the graveyard. I didn't know that they had souls. I honestly didn't want to know. Frelling human," she growled.
Chiana grinned. "You're not the first to say that, and you won't be the last, either. You have no idea how many times those two words have been spoken together."
Sikozu looked up and smiled but she shifted nervously. "I'm also worried," she suddenly blurted.
Chiana cocked her head in surprise. "About what?"
"The frelling human. He seems different. He's paler, and his eyes seem withdrawn and his eyes have become increasingly redder. I swear I saw his hand shaking violently. He's become more distant and deranged. I've actually seen him carry a conversation with himself! For some reason, I don't think that's normal behaviour."
Chiana leaned in closer. "I know. I'm worried too; Crichton is one of the only people left in the universe I care about."
An unexpected voice startled them. "I'm also concerned; I care about the deficient creature as well." Chiana and Sikozu turned around abruptly to locate the voice. Looking as regal as possible, Rygel sat on his throne sled.
Chiana was about to say a snide remark but the look on Rygel's face was genuine concern. She was surprised to say the least. "Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this."
Pilot focused on the work around her. She was troubled and wanted to tell the others. But she had promised. She sighed. When Crichton had awakened two arns later, he looked worse, even more haggard then when he first came in. He had asked her to find a planet with good doctors, discreetly, without the others finding out. She had obeyed his wishes. Something registered on her scanners. She smiled. "Yes Elack, I see it. Crichton can you please come to the den?" She heard a grunt of acknowledgement.
John walked into Pilot's den microts later. A wave of fear washed over the ancient pilot at Crichton's appearance. His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, his hair messy and sticking up in all directions. Blood caked his shirt, and his face had a ghostly pale complexion. Sweat poured down his forehead. His eyes seem haunted, but the fire he always had was still there, barely, and he gave Pilot his best cheeky smile. "Don't worry Pilot, I feel worse than I look," he stated with a chuckle. His chuckle soon turned into a fit of coughing. "Damn, I can't wait till I can laugh without losing a lung. I still need those," John said stubbornly. "So whatcha got?"
Pilot did the closest thing to a smile a member of her species could. "We've found a planet about two arns away that seems to have excellent medical facilities. It seems friendly enough, and there is no peacekeeper presence as far as I can tell, though I doubt they'd be out this far."
John jumped up and hugged the towering alien. "Sounds great. Tell the others we need supplies of some sort, make something up." Leaning in closer he whispered "Thank you." And then he was gone.
Elack whispered something to her, something only she could hear. "I know, he is a kind soul. I wish him well. Let us hope no misfortune befalls him. We need to keep an eye on him." The least she could do was watch.
John walked to his quarters as quickly as possible. He was in such a hurry that he didn't notice a small shape shadowing his steps, with two stalks, two glowing lights, and the words 1812 painted on the side.
The only thing on Crichton's mind the fear of having one of the others see him like this. For the first time in a long time, luck was with him as he reached his room without incident. Quickly John washed, scrubbed, and scraped all sign of his sickness from his body, and when he was done he looked somewhat human and as red as a tomato. "My skin's gonna be sore later. No, wait, it's sore now. How many layers did I just rip off?" He grimaced.
Crichton strapped on both of his pulse pistols and wore his peacekeeper leather coat. Scrutinizing his appearance in the mirror, he grinned. "I'm one bad mutha...shut your mouth." He chuckled silently to himself. "I could give Keanu Reeves a run for his money as the all-time coolest action hero." His comm badge suddenly came alive.
"Commander Crichton, we've arrived at the planet. The others have already been informed that I require a certain medicine to help keep me alert and they require more food."
John grinned. "Thanks Pilot, you're the best. Please get some rest, you must be exhausted." With that John left his quarters and headed to the maintenance bay.
Chiana stood outside a transport, shifting uncomfortably. She had a feeling something was going to go horribly wrong; the human called it rattlers.
"Hey Pip!" John yelled.
Chiana stopped brooding over her intuition and looked at the human. He looked decidedly healthier and better spirited than she had last seen him. "You're late, old man," she stated in mock annoyance.
Crichton just smiled. "You know, when you get to be my age, your old bones won't be able to be hurried anymore. Young people today are so impatient. You probably think the universe revolves around you. Kids! What a bother, I wonder why we bother havin' 'em," said an exasperated John as he pointed a shaking figure at Chiana. He then started to walk over to the pod, hunched over while using a spare metal rod as a walking stick.
She broke out laughing at his comical appearance. 'Well at least his humour's intact,' thought Chi. John graced her with another hearty grin and twinkling eyes.
Within moments he rushed into his module in a blink in an eye, leaving Chiana standing outside. Crichton poked his head out of the hatch. "Hey Chi, you comin'? I mean, you're so slow for someone so young. You're holdin' me up, slowpoke!"
Chi gave him an icy stare even though she had no idea what a slowpoke was. John slowly slumped back into his seat with a self-satisfied grin that Chiana really hoped would go away. "Why are we taking this anyway?"
"Well, my dear, because the transport pods are more likely to break down, and I want to refuel my module. Besides, it'll be nice to fly it again."
"It's still a bucket of dren." Chiana retorted. John pouted, making her giggle. He grinned at her and powered up the small craft.
John skilfully landed the module without even a thud; he still was slightly irked that no one ever commented on his piloting prowess.
Chiana climbed out first. Sand swirled around her body and blew off into the distant horizon. The bleak surroundings' only colours were various earth tones such as browns and yellows, making her grey skin stand oddly out of place. The dusty city was fairly large, filled with various markets and bars.
John jumped out behind Chiana, squinting to keep the sand out of his eyes. The sand caked on his hair and lips. "Ah Pip, looks like we flew right into Mos Eisley."
"Where?"
"You know a wretched hive of scum and villainy." Chi stared at him incredulously. "Forget it, but if I see C-3P0, I'm gonna shoot myself, better yet, I'll shoot him." Chiana sighed and walked ahead, giving him the "more human nonsense" look. John just chuckled knowing how much it infuriated the others when they didn't understand anything he said. It was only fair he thought, because he had no idea what they said half the time either. Crichton went to order fuel for his module and then he and Chiana set out on their shopping expedition.
Chiana watched the human as they walked. 'It doesn't look like there's much cause for concern, yet,' she thought.
Chiana walked into the mess hall. As usual, Rygel had situated himself over a plate of food cubes. Sikozu, oddly enough, was also in the room. Chiana grabbed a few food cubes and sat in front of the fire-haired women. "How are you?"
Sikozu lifted her head. "How do you think? I'm stuck here with nobody for company but an overly self important slug, a sex crazed Nebari, and a member of a deficient species who I'm pretty sure is frelling farhbot, so how do you think I am!"
Chiana just gave her best friendly grin. "Welcome to the club."
Sikozu snorted. The fiery redhead was picking up Nebari fast. She rolled her eyes. "Frelling human. You know that before him, I would have had no problem with finding a pilot and a Leviathan to be killed for their tissues. I thought that they were just animals -- impressive ones, I admit, but animals nonetheless. Now I see the bond that the human and the pilot have, and the way she talks to him. Now I feel guilty for finding the graveyard. I didn't know that they had souls. I honestly didn't want to know. Frelling human," she growled.
Chiana grinned. "You're not the first to say that, and you won't be the last, either. You have no idea how many times those two words have been spoken together."
Sikozu looked up and smiled but she shifted nervously. "I'm also worried," she suddenly blurted.
Chiana cocked her head in surprise. "About what?"
"The frelling human. He seems different. He's paler, and his eyes seem withdrawn and his eyes have become increasingly redder. I swear I saw his hand shaking violently. He's become more distant and deranged. I've actually seen him carry a conversation with himself! For some reason, I don't think that's normal behaviour."
Chiana leaned in closer. "I know. I'm worried too; Crichton is one of the only people left in the universe I care about."
An unexpected voice startled them. "I'm also concerned; I care about the deficient creature as well." Chiana and Sikozu turned around abruptly to locate the voice. Looking as regal as possible, Rygel sat on his throne sled.
Chiana was about to say a snide remark but the look on Rygel's face was genuine concern. She was surprised to say the least. "Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this."
Pilot focused on the work around her. She was troubled and wanted to tell the others. But she had promised. She sighed. When Crichton had awakened two arns later, he looked worse, even more haggard then when he first came in. He had asked her to find a planet with good doctors, discreetly, without the others finding out. She had obeyed his wishes. Something registered on her scanners. She smiled. "Yes Elack, I see it. Crichton can you please come to the den?" She heard a grunt of acknowledgement.
John walked into Pilot's den microts later. A wave of fear washed over the ancient pilot at Crichton's appearance. His eyes were sunken and bloodshot, his hair messy and sticking up in all directions. Blood caked his shirt, and his face had a ghostly pale complexion. Sweat poured down his forehead. His eyes seem haunted, but the fire he always had was still there, barely, and he gave Pilot his best cheeky smile. "Don't worry Pilot, I feel worse than I look," he stated with a chuckle. His chuckle soon turned into a fit of coughing. "Damn, I can't wait till I can laugh without losing a lung. I still need those," John said stubbornly. "So whatcha got?"
Pilot did the closest thing to a smile a member of her species could. "We've found a planet about two arns away that seems to have excellent medical facilities. It seems friendly enough, and there is no peacekeeper presence as far as I can tell, though I doubt they'd be out this far."
John jumped up and hugged the towering alien. "Sounds great. Tell the others we need supplies of some sort, make something up." Leaning in closer he whispered "Thank you." And then he was gone.
Elack whispered something to her, something only she could hear. "I know, he is a kind soul. I wish him well. Let us hope no misfortune befalls him. We need to keep an eye on him." The least she could do was watch.
John walked to his quarters as quickly as possible. He was in such a hurry that he didn't notice a small shape shadowing his steps, with two stalks, two glowing lights, and the words 1812 painted on the side.
The only thing on Crichton's mind the fear of having one of the others see him like this. For the first time in a long time, luck was with him as he reached his room without incident. Quickly John washed, scrubbed, and scraped all sign of his sickness from his body, and when he was done he looked somewhat human and as red as a tomato. "My skin's gonna be sore later. No, wait, it's sore now. How many layers did I just rip off?" He grimaced.
Crichton strapped on both of his pulse pistols and wore his peacekeeper leather coat. Scrutinizing his appearance in the mirror, he grinned. "I'm one bad mutha...shut your mouth." He chuckled silently to himself. "I could give Keanu Reeves a run for his money as the all-time coolest action hero." His comm badge suddenly came alive.
"Commander Crichton, we've arrived at the planet. The others have already been informed that I require a certain medicine to help keep me alert and they require more food."
John grinned. "Thanks Pilot, you're the best. Please get some rest, you must be exhausted." With that John left his quarters and headed to the maintenance bay.
Chiana stood outside a transport, shifting uncomfortably. She had a feeling something was going to go horribly wrong; the human called it rattlers.
"Hey Pip!" John yelled.
Chiana stopped brooding over her intuition and looked at the human. He looked decidedly healthier and better spirited than she had last seen him. "You're late, old man," she stated in mock annoyance.
Crichton just smiled. "You know, when you get to be my age, your old bones won't be able to be hurried anymore. Young people today are so impatient. You probably think the universe revolves around you. Kids! What a bother, I wonder why we bother havin' 'em," said an exasperated John as he pointed a shaking figure at Chiana. He then started to walk over to the pod, hunched over while using a spare metal rod as a walking stick.
She broke out laughing at his comical appearance. 'Well at least his humour's intact,' thought Chi. John graced her with another hearty grin and twinkling eyes.
Within moments he rushed into his module in a blink in an eye, leaving Chiana standing outside. Crichton poked his head out of the hatch. "Hey Chi, you comin'? I mean, you're so slow for someone so young. You're holdin' me up, slowpoke!"
Chi gave him an icy stare even though she had no idea what a slowpoke was. John slowly slumped back into his seat with a self-satisfied grin that Chiana really hoped would go away. "Why are we taking this anyway?"
"Well, my dear, because the transport pods are more likely to break down, and I want to refuel my module. Besides, it'll be nice to fly it again."
"It's still a bucket of dren." Chiana retorted. John pouted, making her giggle. He grinned at her and powered up the small craft.
John skilfully landed the module without even a thud; he still was slightly irked that no one ever commented on his piloting prowess.
Chiana climbed out first. Sand swirled around her body and blew off into the distant horizon. The bleak surroundings' only colours were various earth tones such as browns and yellows, making her grey skin stand oddly out of place. The dusty city was fairly large, filled with various markets and bars.
John jumped out behind Chiana, squinting to keep the sand out of his eyes. The sand caked on his hair and lips. "Ah Pip, looks like we flew right into Mos Eisley."
"Where?"
"You know a wretched hive of scum and villainy." Chi stared at him incredulously. "Forget it, but if I see C-3P0, I'm gonna shoot myself, better yet, I'll shoot him." Chiana sighed and walked ahead, giving him the "more human nonsense" look. John just chuckled knowing how much it infuriated the others when they didn't understand anything he said. It was only fair he thought, because he had no idea what they said half the time either. Crichton went to order fuel for his module and then he and Chiana set out on their shopping expedition.
Chiana watched the human as they walked. 'It doesn't look like there's much cause for concern, yet,' she thought.