Chapter 9
John took refuge in a side room off the corridor into which they had escaped. He sat Aeryn gently down against the wall.
"Who are you?" she asked weakly. John took off his helmet and the now useless oculars.
"Hello Princess, I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!"
"Crichton, what the frell are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too Aeryn." He replied, angrily. He paused for a moment and then began again, in a calmer voice. "I couldn't just let them take you, Aeryn. If it wasn't for me you would have still been happily parading up and down that hall like the good little Peacekeeper you were," he said quietly, a wistful look of longing in his eyes at he gazed her, despite her current appearance.
"I've been doing my best to convince them that you're dead so they will leave you alone and you just walk in here." She sounded wearily resigned to her plan failing.
"Yeah, I know. Reports of my death are an exaggeration! How did you manage that?"
"When I was in the aurora chair I let them see memories of the other John, but blocked all the recent memories of you." John was heartened that she referred to the "other John" and not just "John". Perhaps she was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was just as much John Crichton as the man who had died. He decided to press his luck a little further.
"Why would you want to do that?" he asked quietly
"You're not the only one who can sacrifice yourself in a good cause. I thought that if they believed you were dead then you and the wormhole knowledge would be safe. Frell, it was hard though. I now know what you went through in that chair with Scorpius. I can't believe you've ruined all my good work by having the audacity to come to Peacekeeper high command itself."
"Don't think they'll be inviting me back anytime soon do you?"
"You just blew up the Hall of Victory. Is there any Peacekeeper establishment you've visited that you haven't destroyed?" she joked with a painful laugh
"I didn't really destroy this one. Just damaged it a bit to create a diversion. I didn't think that roof would be so fragile. Crichton strikes again, hundreds injured and dead" he said, his voice holding a hint of self- loathing.
"How did you lay the explosives"
"Braca and I did a little reconnoitre earlier. On the way here I got these great minuscule high explosive charges from an arms dealer who looked like a red version of Rygel, and I thought I would lay a couple just in case."
"I can't believe that Braca was helping you"
"Oh, he wasn't doing it voluntarily. I was making him do it with these" he held up the discarded oculars. "Another handy toy from the red frog."
Aeryn gasped in pain as she tried to move her leg. She had a cut on her arm that was bleeding profusely. "Anyway we have to get you out of here" said John, with a worried frown. He had no idea how to accomplish their escape.
"What's your plan?" she asked
"Well we had already reached plan D when I let off the charges. I hadn't gotten around to plan E. I was hoping we could make it back to the marauder that Braca and I arrived in."
"All the exits will be sealed. They won't be allowing any ships to take off without high level sanction. If we did manage to get away they'd shoot us out of the sky in microts."
"Yeah, I figured that. God, we could do with a friend like Gilina right at this moment to re-programme the targeting system." They were both silent in thought for a moment.
"What will they do with casualties from the hall?" asked John
"Take them to the medical centres" replied Aeryn with a shrug
"Where are they? Are they all easily accessible from here?"
"I don't remember. I've only been here once or twice before."
"I have an idea. It's a bit of a long shot but we might be able to pull it off"
"Why does that make me feel nervous?"
"Trust me darlin', you know my plans always work!"
"I can't believe you just said that."
"Come on, Aeryn, its time we got you out of here and back where you belong on Moya." He smiled down at her as he wiped blood from the cut on her arm onto her face and his hands. He gently picked her up in his arms, noticing, despite the seriousness of their situation, how thin she had become in the short time she had been in Peacekeeper custody. She had always been slim, but strong. Now she felt like a feather in his arms. She didn't even protest at being carried. She knew that she would only hold them up if she tried to walk.
John ducked his head out of the door. People were running about in all directions shouting orders and carrying wounded comrades. John joined the throng. Holding Aeryn close he headed back in the direction he thought lead to the landing bay.
John took refuge in a side room off the corridor into which they had escaped. He sat Aeryn gently down against the wall.
"Who are you?" she asked weakly. John took off his helmet and the now useless oculars.
"Hello Princess, I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!"
"Crichton, what the frell are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too Aeryn." He replied, angrily. He paused for a moment and then began again, in a calmer voice. "I couldn't just let them take you, Aeryn. If it wasn't for me you would have still been happily parading up and down that hall like the good little Peacekeeper you were," he said quietly, a wistful look of longing in his eyes at he gazed her, despite her current appearance.
"I've been doing my best to convince them that you're dead so they will leave you alone and you just walk in here." She sounded wearily resigned to her plan failing.
"Yeah, I know. Reports of my death are an exaggeration! How did you manage that?"
"When I was in the aurora chair I let them see memories of the other John, but blocked all the recent memories of you." John was heartened that she referred to the "other John" and not just "John". Perhaps she was finally coming to terms with the fact that he was just as much John Crichton as the man who had died. He decided to press his luck a little further.
"Why would you want to do that?" he asked quietly
"You're not the only one who can sacrifice yourself in a good cause. I thought that if they believed you were dead then you and the wormhole knowledge would be safe. Frell, it was hard though. I now know what you went through in that chair with Scorpius. I can't believe you've ruined all my good work by having the audacity to come to Peacekeeper high command itself."
"Don't think they'll be inviting me back anytime soon do you?"
"You just blew up the Hall of Victory. Is there any Peacekeeper establishment you've visited that you haven't destroyed?" she joked with a painful laugh
"I didn't really destroy this one. Just damaged it a bit to create a diversion. I didn't think that roof would be so fragile. Crichton strikes again, hundreds injured and dead" he said, his voice holding a hint of self- loathing.
"How did you lay the explosives"
"Braca and I did a little reconnoitre earlier. On the way here I got these great minuscule high explosive charges from an arms dealer who looked like a red version of Rygel, and I thought I would lay a couple just in case."
"I can't believe that Braca was helping you"
"Oh, he wasn't doing it voluntarily. I was making him do it with these" he held up the discarded oculars. "Another handy toy from the red frog."
Aeryn gasped in pain as she tried to move her leg. She had a cut on her arm that was bleeding profusely. "Anyway we have to get you out of here" said John, with a worried frown. He had no idea how to accomplish their escape.
"What's your plan?" she asked
"Well we had already reached plan D when I let off the charges. I hadn't gotten around to plan E. I was hoping we could make it back to the marauder that Braca and I arrived in."
"All the exits will be sealed. They won't be allowing any ships to take off without high level sanction. If we did manage to get away they'd shoot us out of the sky in microts."
"Yeah, I figured that. God, we could do with a friend like Gilina right at this moment to re-programme the targeting system." They were both silent in thought for a moment.
"What will they do with casualties from the hall?" asked John
"Take them to the medical centres" replied Aeryn with a shrug
"Where are they? Are they all easily accessible from here?"
"I don't remember. I've only been here once or twice before."
"I have an idea. It's a bit of a long shot but we might be able to pull it off"
"Why does that make me feel nervous?"
"Trust me darlin', you know my plans always work!"
"I can't believe you just said that."
"Come on, Aeryn, its time we got you out of here and back where you belong on Moya." He smiled down at her as he wiped blood from the cut on her arm onto her face and his hands. He gently picked her up in his arms, noticing, despite the seriousness of their situation, how thin she had become in the short time she had been in Peacekeeper custody. She had always been slim, but strong. Now she felt like a feather in his arms. She didn't even protest at being carried. She knew that she would only hold them up if she tried to walk.
John ducked his head out of the door. People were running about in all directions shouting orders and carrying wounded comrades. John joined the throng. Holding Aeryn close he headed back in the direction he thought lead to the landing bay.