Back on Moya:
"Well, I say we go down there and talk to this Tarcus. Maybe we can make a deal with him," said Aeryn.
"Aeryn, remember Furlow?" John asked.
"Yes. She helped restore your module when we got stuck on that planet with that Pomolian hound-like couple," Aeryn answered.
"Well, what if we went down to the planet and took a look at this beacon. Maybe there's some way you could manipulate it to make it sound like I'm not worth the effort," John said matter of factly.
"It's worth a try. But what if he doesn't believe it?" Aeryn asked.
"Aeryn, we have to try something. Pip and the others don't have much time. If I go down there with you and D'Argo I'm sure we could get some answers," John stated.
"John, I do not think that is a good idea. What if he has already contacted Scorpius? We cannot take the risk of dealing with Scorpius if you are with us. Stay here on the ship. Aeryn and I will go down and talk to this son of a hezmat," D'Argo said and he readied and switched his Qualta blade into a pulse rifle.
"Big guy, listen..."
"No, John! It is settled. Aeryn, let's go."
"Right. Pilot, ready a Transport," Aeryn said as she and D'Argo walked out of Command.
"Yes, Officer Sun," Pilot answered.
Crichton looked as if he was about to follow the other two out when Zhaan stepped in.
"John! Aeryn and D'argo are right. If you traveled to the planet with them and fell into Tarcus's hands, we would have nothing to bargain with for the release of Rygel and the others."
"I know, Blue. I just feel so damned...." he cut off what he was about to say and threw his hands up in frustration.
"... helpless," finished the Delvian. "As do I. But Aeryn and D'argo are our best recourse at this time. It is best if you, Malika, and I stay aboard Moya in the event Aeryn and D'argo need to call for help."
"So we get to stay here and wait? Sounds like fun," Malika said sarcastically. "Well, I'm going to grab some food. I'll be back in a little while, nervousness make me hungry," she said. "Want to come, Andar?" she asked.
Andar nodded, not knowing what to make of the current situation. At that moment, he realized that he had not eaten for several days. Food would most definitely be good right now. Besides, he rather liked the blue woman's company.
When they reached the Center Chamber mess, Malika started to look for something suitable to eat.
"Where are you from anyway?" she asked turning to look at him. "I never did find out how you ended up out here in space."
"My people call our world Shalazar," the Sebacean man began, "It's no doubt primitive by your standards, but, it's home. The storytellers say that our people came to Shalazar millennia ago on ships similar to the one I was on. Then, the Cataclysm came. The ships were destroyed, and my people were stranded and forced to start anew."
He looked at the floor, not liking what he was going to say next.
"Some weekens ago, I was taken from Shalazar. Abducted by alien beings. They performed tests on me, experiments on my body. Eventually, I managed to escape in the shuttle. I came across you not soon afterwards."
"I'm sorry, that sounds awful," Malika said. She didn't know what to say next, so she started to look for food again. "Looks like this is the best here right now," Malika said pulling out some fruit, "Want some?" she asked.
When Aeryn and D'Argo reached the planet they set out in search of Tarcus.
"D'Argo, over there," said Aeryn pointing in the direction of the merchant's storefront.
D'argo started to reach for his Qualta blade. "I will rip his head off," he started.
"D'argo, no! I'll handle this. Just let me talk to him. I'll get him to come around," she said as they reached Tarcus' building where he was in the process of selling a piece of his merchandise. Aeryn walked over and shoved the unsuspecting customer out of her way. She then reached over the counter and grabbed Tarcus by the throat.
"Where are they?" she demanded.
"What? Who...? I don't know what you're talking about," he managed to get through as he gasped for air.
"Don't play stupid with me! You know who I'm talking about," Aeryn said as she squeezed his throat a little tighter.
"Let me talk to him, Aeryn. I'll get him to tell us where they are," growled D'argo as he moved Aeryn aside and pulled out his Qualta blade.
"You are all escaped prisoners but the only one I want is John Crichton. Give me John Crichton and I'll tell you where your shipmates are," demanded Tarcus.
D'argo growled and Aeryn stood firmly between D'argo and Tarcus. "What good is your reward going to be if you're dead?" she said as she pulled out her pulse pistol and aim it directly between his eyes. "Have you contacted Scorpius?" she asked.
"And what if I have?" answered Tarcus smugly.
Aeryn blasted a container of some kind of liquid behind him with her pulse pistol.
"Don't play games with me. Now have you contacted Scorpius?" Aeryn asked again.
"No! No, I haven't contacted anyone yet. Please just don't mess up my place of business," Tarcus pleaded.
"You really don't know who you're dealing with do you?" asked Dargo. "What makes you think that Scorpius will give you anything because you gave him John? He just might decide to take you with him and put you in his Aurora Chair," Dargo started as he leaned in closer to Tarcus.
"Aurora what?" asked Tarcus curiously.
"Yes. You're right, Dargo. Why would he give a nobody like this anything," Aeryn said with a sly grin. "Scorpius is always willing to put someone new in his comfy chair."
"Wait! What is this about an Aurora Chair? What is it?" Tarcus asked in near panic.
"Oh, so you've never heard of the Aurora Chair then? Dargo, tell our friend here about the effects of the Aurora Chair," said Aeryn.
Dargo leaned in even closer to explain the Aurora Chair in detail. "First he'll strap you in the chair so that you cannot move. Then he'll commence to picking apart your brain piece by piece all the while extracting your precious memories from your head until they're nothing but one big blur. You'll feel as if your head will explode and he will not stop until he has what he wants. And when he is finished with you..." Dargo looked over to Aeryn to let her finish.
"Well... you get the idea, Tarcus. So now, what's more important to you now? Death or freedom? What's it going to be? You are an interesting species. I'm sure Scorpius would love to get a hold of a specimen such as yourself," Aeryn said calmly.
"Ok, ok. Here. Here are the coordinates," shouted Tarcus. "Just go. Please go. And take this beacon with you. I have no further use for it."
Aeryn and Dargo quickly left the hut and headed for the transport. Aeryn activated her comm to let Pilot now they had indeed received the coordinates to where their missing crewmates were.
"Pilot, we have the coordinates to Rygel and the others. As soon as we reach the Pod, we'll scan them up to you. Set a course on that trajectory as soon as possible. We'll be there shortly."
"Thank you, Officer Sun. I'll let the others know," answered Pilot.
Tarcus glared at their departing backs. Brushing of his shirt of many colors, he hurried into the back room of his store.
"Did you see the two that were just here?" he asked a large being while kicking at his chair.
The big humanoid grunted something in its language to indicate that he had noticed them.
"Good! Get your men and get to the spaceport... I don't want them to leave this planet alive."
As the alien rose from his chair, Tarcus suddenly slapped him and shrieked, " ...and next time, pay more attention! They nearly killed me and I'm paying you for protection!"
The being lumbered out the back door, not seeming to pay much mind to his employer's outburst.
"Aurora Chair... indeed! humf!" he muttered.
"Are you frelling frackeled?" Chiana's shout was slightly muffled by the layers of cargo canvas and padding she wore to keep warm. Berret opened his eyes and looked over at her. He'd been trying to picture in his mind again what he saw on the day of the crash. Somewhere a metra away laid the remains of the Pod's drive section and he was trying to pinpoint its position by memory seeing visibility was still low.
"You'll get lost and freeze to death," she added, trying to reason with him.
"That's why I have you to help me. With you signaling I shouldn't get lost, and I'm betting those microbes will prevent me from freezing... or at least minimize any damage." he said attempting to sound reassuring.
"Yeah?" Chiana snapped back angrily. "What if they don't? We probably won't be able to find you out there."
"If we don't do something for an alternate source of heat... Rygel will die and then so shall we," Berret responded.
He turned back to recheck the makeshift sled he constructed out of pieces of crate, leaving Chiana to try and think of further reasons to persuade him from going. He examined all the items he packed against his mental list and found he had everything he believed he would require. On the sled were several fluid storage cans, a length of hose, rope, about four-dozen metal rod poles, and a pulse rife. He double checked to make sure the small tool kit was secured inside his clothing and the bent to pick up a satchel containing most of the Pod's supply of glowsticks, which were chemical devices that when bent and shaken produced different colors of intense light for a few arns. He turned back to the Nebari girl expecting to be given another scolding tongue lashing by the small woman; instead she simply looked at him with sad eyes. Feeling badly because it seemed like abandoning her and Rygel, he reminded her,
"I need you to help find my way back, do you remember the signal codes?"
She nodded, but he recited them once more anyway.
"Four Pulse rifle blasts means success, three mean I haven't found the drive yet but will keep searching, two mean I haven't found it but am returning... then what to you do?" he asked.
She sighed and answered, "I keep firing my Pulse rifle straight up in the air every 300 microts so you can find your way back to the Pod."
"All right, an arn after I leave you'll fire one shot into the air and await my reply volley... what happens if there is no reply or only one return shot?" he asked.
"One or no shot means you're hurt or dead.... and we are not to try and rescue you," she said reluctantly, then added, "...at least until the weather clears."
Knowing that was the best promise he could get from the stubborn Nebari waif, he nodded and broke one of the glowsticks. Shaking it to life, he hung in on the wreckage of the Pod facing the direction he would travel. He picked up the tether line that he would run out as far as he could and mark with a glowstick. He faced Chiana one last time and told her.
"Wake up Rygel and get his help finding components and heating elements to use. If there is any fuel left, we'll need a way to burn it safely. The two of you would know better how to construct such a device then I would."
The girl nodded her head and reached up as if to hug him good-bye. To Berret surprise she cupped his face and pulled him down to her. Her lips were warm and gentle against his, but he was too stunned to enjoy the unexpected kiss. He had seen John and Aeryn kiss before and had noticed that the others politely ignored the incidents, even though they seem to have slight smiles of approval at the times the two were getting along. Zhaan had even kissed him once on the cheek after an unusually rough mind link, but he'd know she was only being kind and comforting. He had thought Chiana's occasional rubbing together of cheeks with him was much the same thing, but it had never occurred to him before to kiss her. Before he knew it the kiss was over and then came the hug he originally expected. In his ear she whispered two words.
"Come back."
Strangely a phrase from his memories returned to him. It was a phrase the lizard-like being in his nightmares made him repeat as part of some macabre ritual, only this time it held another meaning for him.
"...Not even death," he whispered back.
Stepping back from the Pixie, he cleared his head of the swimming thoughts. There would be time later he hoped to figure all this out. He slid into the sled's harness and clipped on the tether line. He waved good-bye to Chiana saying,
"Remember... start firing in one arn."
She waved back and responded lightly, "I will if me and Rygel aren't too busy playing Taggle!"
Chuckling at her offhandedness, he set off in the direction he thought the drive section laid, pulling the sled behind him and thinking that it was hard to keep a good Nebari down.
Good luck would have it that his feet didn't sink too deeply into the snow. He thought it might have been due to the crash melting the snow and then it refreezing as ice, making the surface easier to travel over. It was also a good indication that he'd picked the right direction to go in. He also ironically hoped the designers of the microbes he had been altered with seen fit to install some sort of compass. Halfway along the tether he stopped and attached another glowstick. His steps soon became mechanical and his mind wondered back to Chiana's kiss. He wondered why he'd never thought of it before and what he was supposed to do, or even if he was suppose to do anything. Perhaps he should ask John if... or when, he corrected, they got back. He had second thoughts about asking Crichton for advice as he recalled the times Aeryn had became annoyed with him over one thing or another. Rygel claimed to have many wives, but he would rather choked then ask that overstuffed pompous Hynerian for advice on any matter. Luxan romance probably included screaming, blood, and throwing heavy objects, so asking D'argo was out of the question, even if they did get along. He had concluded Zhaan would be the best source of information on the subject when the tether line grew taut and abruptly jerked him off his feet. Laying on his back in the snow, he wondered what happened, then began to laugh into the wind as he realized he was so deep in thought he failed to notice he'd come to the end of his rope... so to speak.
He lined up the dim glow from the first two glowsticks as best as he could in a straight line then drove in the first of the metal rods into the snow. He activated a third stick and attached it along with end of the tether line to the pole. He turned his back to the new glowstick and continued on his way, looking over his shoulder every few microts to be sure he was traveling in as straight a line with the other markers as possible. Whenever a glowstick became too dim, he stopped and set up another pole and stick to mark the way back. He lost track of time and his timepiece beeped to tell him the arn was up. Turning back towards the Pod he waited and a few microts later a pulse bolt shot upward into the air and exploded. Chiana's signal was right on time. He took the pulse rifle from the sled and fired three rounds skyward in return to tell the woman that he was still searching for the Pod's drive. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he continued on.
Their next exchange of signals was due in another 15 microns. He pulled the sled far enough to set another marker and was moving on when his foot broke through the snow up to his knee. The ice was thinner here.
Freeing his leg he took a moment to scan the area, the blowing snow making the act difficult to say the least. He missed it on the first pass, but on the second look, he noticed a patch of area that was darker then the rest of the surrounding snowscape. He un-harnessed the sled and drove in a pole and glowstick to mark its position. Plowing through the snow better than knee deep, he moved in closer to investigate. As he neared, the shape slowly took form. The first thing he could make out was a thruster port, and he let out a sigh of relief... he'd found the drive section.
Berret worked his way around from the exhaust part of the drive to the end that had sheared off. Much of the outer hull was blow apart as fuel reserves had exploded, the torn off end allowed him to view the part of the drive that contained the four main fuel tanks. He chose a yellow glowstick from his supply and set it alight. In the bright glow of the stick, his heart sank as the light revealed that the three tanks in plain view were totally destroyed. The shielded area around each burnt by the intense heat of the fires. The fourth tank lay hidden beneath hull and engine wreckage. Not holding out much hope for the survival of the last tank he climbed into the section of pod and started to work removing the blockage. He lost track of time working but he soon had the tank uncovered. Bringing the glowstick closer to examine the unburied equipment, he stood stunned for a microt and then let out a victorious yell... the tank was scorched but unbroken! Thank the Goddess for Peacekeeper Pod construction! Checking his chron, he realized he'd missed Chiana's next signal by several microns. He hurried out of the Pod wreckage and unslung the Pulse rifle. Once outside he fired four rounds into the air, waited several microts and fired four more. Off in the distance he saw Chiana's answering volleys. The message was understood.
He set more glowsticks to mark the end of the trail and bulled the sled as close to the drive section as he could. Inside the section he found the valve shunt intact. Now the difficult part of the work began because he had to work without gloves. His hands quickly became numb from the cold and handling metal parts, but he managed to attach the length of hose to the fuel tank's nozzle. He had to hand pump the tank to build up pressure to remove the fuel, which took time and made his hands ache from the cold temperatures. Once the tank was primed he started to fill the containers he brought from the other section of the Pod. While the cans filled, he blew on his hands and tried to re-warm them as best as he could. He'd only brought four quad-liter cans; thinking anymore would make the sled too heavy to travel over the snow. When the cans where filled he secured the tank and piled a few pieces of wreckage over it to protect it from the elements.
He loaded them back aboard the sled and began the trek back to the passenger part of the Pod, easily following the glow of the markers one to another. The sled pulled somewhat harder on the way back but the trip went quicker because he didn't have to keep stopping to set up further markers. His hands still had not thawed out but at least he was able to jam them under his wrappings to keep them warmer. He was beginning to tire when he found the tether-line, a few microns later the shape of the Pod started to take form before him. Standing just outside the hatchway was the small figure wrapped in her cargo canvas. When Chiana saw him emerge from the blowing snow, she ran to meet him and jumped into his arms and hugged him in welcome. She grabbed one of the ropes to the sled and together they pulled the sled the last few drec to the downed Pod. As fast as possible they unload the cargo from the sled and brought everything inside and resealed the hatch. Exhausted, Berret stripped off most of his covering and collapsed into a seat. Clutching his cold burned hands under his arms he said to Chiana, "I'm afraid you and Rygel will have to complete the hook ups... I don't think I'll be able to help you."
"Well, I say we go down there and talk to this Tarcus. Maybe we can make a deal with him," said Aeryn.
"Aeryn, remember Furlow?" John asked.
"Yes. She helped restore your module when we got stuck on that planet with that Pomolian hound-like couple," Aeryn answered.
"Well, what if we went down to the planet and took a look at this beacon. Maybe there's some way you could manipulate it to make it sound like I'm not worth the effort," John said matter of factly.
"It's worth a try. But what if he doesn't believe it?" Aeryn asked.
"Aeryn, we have to try something. Pip and the others don't have much time. If I go down there with you and D'Argo I'm sure we could get some answers," John stated.
"John, I do not think that is a good idea. What if he has already contacted Scorpius? We cannot take the risk of dealing with Scorpius if you are with us. Stay here on the ship. Aeryn and I will go down and talk to this son of a hezmat," D'Argo said and he readied and switched his Qualta blade into a pulse rifle.
"Big guy, listen..."
"No, John! It is settled. Aeryn, let's go."
"Right. Pilot, ready a Transport," Aeryn said as she and D'Argo walked out of Command.
"Yes, Officer Sun," Pilot answered.
Crichton looked as if he was about to follow the other two out when Zhaan stepped in.
"John! Aeryn and D'argo are right. If you traveled to the planet with them and fell into Tarcus's hands, we would have nothing to bargain with for the release of Rygel and the others."
"I know, Blue. I just feel so damned...." he cut off what he was about to say and threw his hands up in frustration.
"... helpless," finished the Delvian. "As do I. But Aeryn and D'argo are our best recourse at this time. It is best if you, Malika, and I stay aboard Moya in the event Aeryn and D'argo need to call for help."
"So we get to stay here and wait? Sounds like fun," Malika said sarcastically. "Well, I'm going to grab some food. I'll be back in a little while, nervousness make me hungry," she said. "Want to come, Andar?" she asked.
Andar nodded, not knowing what to make of the current situation. At that moment, he realized that he had not eaten for several days. Food would most definitely be good right now. Besides, he rather liked the blue woman's company.
When they reached the Center Chamber mess, Malika started to look for something suitable to eat.
"Where are you from anyway?" she asked turning to look at him. "I never did find out how you ended up out here in space."
"My people call our world Shalazar," the Sebacean man began, "It's no doubt primitive by your standards, but, it's home. The storytellers say that our people came to Shalazar millennia ago on ships similar to the one I was on. Then, the Cataclysm came. The ships were destroyed, and my people were stranded and forced to start anew."
He looked at the floor, not liking what he was going to say next.
"Some weekens ago, I was taken from Shalazar. Abducted by alien beings. They performed tests on me, experiments on my body. Eventually, I managed to escape in the shuttle. I came across you not soon afterwards."
"I'm sorry, that sounds awful," Malika said. She didn't know what to say next, so she started to look for food again. "Looks like this is the best here right now," Malika said pulling out some fruit, "Want some?" she asked.
When Aeryn and D'Argo reached the planet they set out in search of Tarcus.
"D'Argo, over there," said Aeryn pointing in the direction of the merchant's storefront.
D'argo started to reach for his Qualta blade. "I will rip his head off," he started.
"D'argo, no! I'll handle this. Just let me talk to him. I'll get him to come around," she said as they reached Tarcus' building where he was in the process of selling a piece of his merchandise. Aeryn walked over and shoved the unsuspecting customer out of her way. She then reached over the counter and grabbed Tarcus by the throat.
"Where are they?" she demanded.
"What? Who...? I don't know what you're talking about," he managed to get through as he gasped for air.
"Don't play stupid with me! You know who I'm talking about," Aeryn said as she squeezed his throat a little tighter.
"Let me talk to him, Aeryn. I'll get him to tell us where they are," growled D'argo as he moved Aeryn aside and pulled out his Qualta blade.
"You are all escaped prisoners but the only one I want is John Crichton. Give me John Crichton and I'll tell you where your shipmates are," demanded Tarcus.
D'argo growled and Aeryn stood firmly between D'argo and Tarcus. "What good is your reward going to be if you're dead?" she said as she pulled out her pulse pistol and aim it directly between his eyes. "Have you contacted Scorpius?" she asked.
"And what if I have?" answered Tarcus smugly.
Aeryn blasted a container of some kind of liquid behind him with her pulse pistol.
"Don't play games with me. Now have you contacted Scorpius?" Aeryn asked again.
"No! No, I haven't contacted anyone yet. Please just don't mess up my place of business," Tarcus pleaded.
"You really don't know who you're dealing with do you?" asked Dargo. "What makes you think that Scorpius will give you anything because you gave him John? He just might decide to take you with him and put you in his Aurora Chair," Dargo started as he leaned in closer to Tarcus.
"Aurora what?" asked Tarcus curiously.
"Yes. You're right, Dargo. Why would he give a nobody like this anything," Aeryn said with a sly grin. "Scorpius is always willing to put someone new in his comfy chair."
"Wait! What is this about an Aurora Chair? What is it?" Tarcus asked in near panic.
"Oh, so you've never heard of the Aurora Chair then? Dargo, tell our friend here about the effects of the Aurora Chair," said Aeryn.
Dargo leaned in even closer to explain the Aurora Chair in detail. "First he'll strap you in the chair so that you cannot move. Then he'll commence to picking apart your brain piece by piece all the while extracting your precious memories from your head until they're nothing but one big blur. You'll feel as if your head will explode and he will not stop until he has what he wants. And when he is finished with you..." Dargo looked over to Aeryn to let her finish.
"Well... you get the idea, Tarcus. So now, what's more important to you now? Death or freedom? What's it going to be? You are an interesting species. I'm sure Scorpius would love to get a hold of a specimen such as yourself," Aeryn said calmly.
"Ok, ok. Here. Here are the coordinates," shouted Tarcus. "Just go. Please go. And take this beacon with you. I have no further use for it."
Aeryn and Dargo quickly left the hut and headed for the transport. Aeryn activated her comm to let Pilot now they had indeed received the coordinates to where their missing crewmates were.
"Pilot, we have the coordinates to Rygel and the others. As soon as we reach the Pod, we'll scan them up to you. Set a course on that trajectory as soon as possible. We'll be there shortly."
"Thank you, Officer Sun. I'll let the others know," answered Pilot.
Tarcus glared at their departing backs. Brushing of his shirt of many colors, he hurried into the back room of his store.
"Did you see the two that were just here?" he asked a large being while kicking at his chair.
The big humanoid grunted something in its language to indicate that he had noticed them.
"Good! Get your men and get to the spaceport... I don't want them to leave this planet alive."
As the alien rose from his chair, Tarcus suddenly slapped him and shrieked, " ...and next time, pay more attention! They nearly killed me and I'm paying you for protection!"
The being lumbered out the back door, not seeming to pay much mind to his employer's outburst.
"Aurora Chair... indeed! humf!" he muttered.
"Are you frelling frackeled?" Chiana's shout was slightly muffled by the layers of cargo canvas and padding she wore to keep warm. Berret opened his eyes and looked over at her. He'd been trying to picture in his mind again what he saw on the day of the crash. Somewhere a metra away laid the remains of the Pod's drive section and he was trying to pinpoint its position by memory seeing visibility was still low.
"You'll get lost and freeze to death," she added, trying to reason with him.
"That's why I have you to help me. With you signaling I shouldn't get lost, and I'm betting those microbes will prevent me from freezing... or at least minimize any damage." he said attempting to sound reassuring.
"Yeah?" Chiana snapped back angrily. "What if they don't? We probably won't be able to find you out there."
"If we don't do something for an alternate source of heat... Rygel will die and then so shall we," Berret responded.
He turned back to recheck the makeshift sled he constructed out of pieces of crate, leaving Chiana to try and think of further reasons to persuade him from going. He examined all the items he packed against his mental list and found he had everything he believed he would require. On the sled were several fluid storage cans, a length of hose, rope, about four-dozen metal rod poles, and a pulse rife. He double checked to make sure the small tool kit was secured inside his clothing and the bent to pick up a satchel containing most of the Pod's supply of glowsticks, which were chemical devices that when bent and shaken produced different colors of intense light for a few arns. He turned back to the Nebari girl expecting to be given another scolding tongue lashing by the small woman; instead she simply looked at him with sad eyes. Feeling badly because it seemed like abandoning her and Rygel, he reminded her,
"I need you to help find my way back, do you remember the signal codes?"
She nodded, but he recited them once more anyway.
"Four Pulse rifle blasts means success, three mean I haven't found the drive yet but will keep searching, two mean I haven't found it but am returning... then what to you do?" he asked.
She sighed and answered, "I keep firing my Pulse rifle straight up in the air every 300 microts so you can find your way back to the Pod."
"All right, an arn after I leave you'll fire one shot into the air and await my reply volley... what happens if there is no reply or only one return shot?" he asked.
"One or no shot means you're hurt or dead.... and we are not to try and rescue you," she said reluctantly, then added, "...at least until the weather clears."
Knowing that was the best promise he could get from the stubborn Nebari waif, he nodded and broke one of the glowsticks. Shaking it to life, he hung in on the wreckage of the Pod facing the direction he would travel. He picked up the tether line that he would run out as far as he could and mark with a glowstick. He faced Chiana one last time and told her.
"Wake up Rygel and get his help finding components and heating elements to use. If there is any fuel left, we'll need a way to burn it safely. The two of you would know better how to construct such a device then I would."
The girl nodded her head and reached up as if to hug him good-bye. To Berret surprise she cupped his face and pulled him down to her. Her lips were warm and gentle against his, but he was too stunned to enjoy the unexpected kiss. He had seen John and Aeryn kiss before and had noticed that the others politely ignored the incidents, even though they seem to have slight smiles of approval at the times the two were getting along. Zhaan had even kissed him once on the cheek after an unusually rough mind link, but he'd know she was only being kind and comforting. He had thought Chiana's occasional rubbing together of cheeks with him was much the same thing, but it had never occurred to him before to kiss her. Before he knew it the kiss was over and then came the hug he originally expected. In his ear she whispered two words.
"Come back."
Strangely a phrase from his memories returned to him. It was a phrase the lizard-like being in his nightmares made him repeat as part of some macabre ritual, only this time it held another meaning for him.
"...Not even death," he whispered back.
Stepping back from the Pixie, he cleared his head of the swimming thoughts. There would be time later he hoped to figure all this out. He slid into the sled's harness and clipped on the tether line. He waved good-bye to Chiana saying,
"Remember... start firing in one arn."
She waved back and responded lightly, "I will if me and Rygel aren't too busy playing Taggle!"
Chuckling at her offhandedness, he set off in the direction he thought the drive section laid, pulling the sled behind him and thinking that it was hard to keep a good Nebari down.
Good luck would have it that his feet didn't sink too deeply into the snow. He thought it might have been due to the crash melting the snow and then it refreezing as ice, making the surface easier to travel over. It was also a good indication that he'd picked the right direction to go in. He also ironically hoped the designers of the microbes he had been altered with seen fit to install some sort of compass. Halfway along the tether he stopped and attached another glowstick. His steps soon became mechanical and his mind wondered back to Chiana's kiss. He wondered why he'd never thought of it before and what he was supposed to do, or even if he was suppose to do anything. Perhaps he should ask John if... or when, he corrected, they got back. He had second thoughts about asking Crichton for advice as he recalled the times Aeryn had became annoyed with him over one thing or another. Rygel claimed to have many wives, but he would rather choked then ask that overstuffed pompous Hynerian for advice on any matter. Luxan romance probably included screaming, blood, and throwing heavy objects, so asking D'argo was out of the question, even if they did get along. He had concluded Zhaan would be the best source of information on the subject when the tether line grew taut and abruptly jerked him off his feet. Laying on his back in the snow, he wondered what happened, then began to laugh into the wind as he realized he was so deep in thought he failed to notice he'd come to the end of his rope... so to speak.
He lined up the dim glow from the first two glowsticks as best as he could in a straight line then drove in the first of the metal rods into the snow. He activated a third stick and attached it along with end of the tether line to the pole. He turned his back to the new glowstick and continued on his way, looking over his shoulder every few microts to be sure he was traveling in as straight a line with the other markers as possible. Whenever a glowstick became too dim, he stopped and set up another pole and stick to mark the way back. He lost track of time and his timepiece beeped to tell him the arn was up. Turning back towards the Pod he waited and a few microts later a pulse bolt shot upward into the air and exploded. Chiana's signal was right on time. He took the pulse rifle from the sled and fired three rounds skyward in return to tell the woman that he was still searching for the Pod's drive. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he continued on.
Their next exchange of signals was due in another 15 microns. He pulled the sled far enough to set another marker and was moving on when his foot broke through the snow up to his knee. The ice was thinner here.
Freeing his leg he took a moment to scan the area, the blowing snow making the act difficult to say the least. He missed it on the first pass, but on the second look, he noticed a patch of area that was darker then the rest of the surrounding snowscape. He un-harnessed the sled and drove in a pole and glowstick to mark its position. Plowing through the snow better than knee deep, he moved in closer to investigate. As he neared, the shape slowly took form. The first thing he could make out was a thruster port, and he let out a sigh of relief... he'd found the drive section.
Berret worked his way around from the exhaust part of the drive to the end that had sheared off. Much of the outer hull was blow apart as fuel reserves had exploded, the torn off end allowed him to view the part of the drive that contained the four main fuel tanks. He chose a yellow glowstick from his supply and set it alight. In the bright glow of the stick, his heart sank as the light revealed that the three tanks in plain view were totally destroyed. The shielded area around each burnt by the intense heat of the fires. The fourth tank lay hidden beneath hull and engine wreckage. Not holding out much hope for the survival of the last tank he climbed into the section of pod and started to work removing the blockage. He lost track of time working but he soon had the tank uncovered. Bringing the glowstick closer to examine the unburied equipment, he stood stunned for a microt and then let out a victorious yell... the tank was scorched but unbroken! Thank the Goddess for Peacekeeper Pod construction! Checking his chron, he realized he'd missed Chiana's next signal by several microns. He hurried out of the Pod wreckage and unslung the Pulse rifle. Once outside he fired four rounds into the air, waited several microts and fired four more. Off in the distance he saw Chiana's answering volleys. The message was understood.
He set more glowsticks to mark the end of the trail and bulled the sled as close to the drive section as he could. Inside the section he found the valve shunt intact. Now the difficult part of the work began because he had to work without gloves. His hands quickly became numb from the cold and handling metal parts, but he managed to attach the length of hose to the fuel tank's nozzle. He had to hand pump the tank to build up pressure to remove the fuel, which took time and made his hands ache from the cold temperatures. Once the tank was primed he started to fill the containers he brought from the other section of the Pod. While the cans filled, he blew on his hands and tried to re-warm them as best as he could. He'd only brought four quad-liter cans; thinking anymore would make the sled too heavy to travel over the snow. When the cans where filled he secured the tank and piled a few pieces of wreckage over it to protect it from the elements.
He loaded them back aboard the sled and began the trek back to the passenger part of the Pod, easily following the glow of the markers one to another. The sled pulled somewhat harder on the way back but the trip went quicker because he didn't have to keep stopping to set up further markers. His hands still had not thawed out but at least he was able to jam them under his wrappings to keep them warmer. He was beginning to tire when he found the tether-line, a few microns later the shape of the Pod started to take form before him. Standing just outside the hatchway was the small figure wrapped in her cargo canvas. When Chiana saw him emerge from the blowing snow, she ran to meet him and jumped into his arms and hugged him in welcome. She grabbed one of the ropes to the sled and together they pulled the sled the last few drec to the downed Pod. As fast as possible they unload the cargo from the sled and brought everything inside and resealed the hatch. Exhausted, Berret stripped off most of his covering and collapsed into a seat. Clutching his cold burned hands under his arms he said to Chiana, "I'm afraid you and Rygel will have to complete the hook ups... I don't think I'll be able to help you."