Author's note: Thanks to everyone who has provided feedback on this story
- I have been encouraged to carry on! Although I started this story long
before BHTB, the parallels with the current story line in season 4, with
Aeryn being captured and Crichton trying to rescue her, have not gone
unnoted. I'm therefore going to do my best to get it finished PDQ (work
commitments permitting), before that season 4 story line reaches its climax
(mainly because I wouldn't want to presume to compete with the real thing!)
Chapter 10
They reached the landing area without incident. Sure enough, casualties were being loaded onto ships for transport to medical facilities around the planet. John chose a relatively small ship that "walking wounded" were climbing onto. On boarding he quickly found a small compartment at the back of the ship and gently placed Aeryn inside. Although her face was covered in blood, he couldn't take the risk of someone recognising the now infamous traitor. She was barely conscious. He knew that she needed medical treatment but he couldn't risk getting her treated on the High Command planet; they needed to get off as quickly as possible if they were to have any chance of avoiding recapture.
"Shhh, baby, just stay here and keep quiet till I come and get you"
"Stay here, yes John" she murmured. He had no idea if she knew it was him or whether she was in another world with the other him.
John went through into the main command area of the ship. He decided that boldness was his best option, so walked right up and sat down in the empty pilot's seat and started flicking switches like he knew what he was doing.
"You the pilot?" said the man sitting in the co-pilot's seat holding a cloth to a nasty gash across his forehead. He also had a makeshift bandage around his upper arm.
"Sure am. Now lets get these people out of here to the nearest medical unit." Fortunately the controls of this ship seemed to be similar to the marauder so he hoped he would pass as a reasonable pilot. He flicked what he hoped was the comms switch. "Uhh, this is emergency medical transport 911 requesting clearance for take off." The comms crackled for a few moments; John held his breath.
"Clearance request acknowledged 911, what is the number and status of your casualties?" John looked around and did a quick count. "I've got about twelve, mainly walking wounded. Doesn't look like any serious cases"
"Acknowledged. Please proceed to Medical Centre Galdos. You are clear for take off"
"You know where that is?" John asked the man he had spoken with previously. "I'd only just arrived when they commandeered me to fly this thing. Didn't give me any charts or a chance to familiarise myself with the planet and I haven't been here before"
"Yeah, it's on the far side of the planet. Go due eastwards and head towards the highest blue tower you see"
John adjusted the controls and headed in an easterly direction. The trip was fairly short but with each groan or cry of pain from his passengers he felt more and more guilty. All of this for the preservation of one life, no matter how precious that life was to him. He mentally questioned the ethics of his actions; no matter how the Peacekeepers overall deserved everything they got for the way they treated people, here, surrounded by individual people he had effectively personally hurt and maimed, he felt that he had reached their level and descended far below it. He had to remind himself that if their positions were reversed, Peacekeepers such as Grayza and Scorpius, or even Braca, wouldn't think twice about mass death and destruction in pursuit of their goals.
They landed on the roof of the medical centre where there were plenty of people on hand to help unload the casualties.
"I'm heading back for another load" John told them when they were finished. He went back inside and immediately got Aeryn out from her hiding place and laid her on one of the bunks in command.
"This is emergency transport 911. Drop off at Galdos complete. Requesting clearance to return to base"
"Clearance granted and hurry up will you" replied a harassed sounding voice.
"On my way." John quelled the feeling of guilt at not helping out further with the casualties, but this was his and Aeryn's only hope. He took off, but instead of heading back in the direction he had come, he headed out towards space. As they exited the planet's atmosphere into space he was congratulating himself on the success of their escape. It had all been so easy. Plan E was definitely a good one. "Thank God we didn't have to get to the F plan without Rygel here!" John was just joking with himself when things started to get difficult again.
"911, you are off course"
"I knew it was too good to be true" muttered John to himself. "Ahh, yeah, got a slight malfunction. Just giving her a longer run to iron it out" John decided to turn off the comms before he turned into an inveterate liar; his nose should be the size of Pinocchio's! He put the ship into top speed and looked out of the view port, just in time to see an enormous command carrier glide into view.
"Oh, hell, just when I thought we had made it"
"We have you on our screens. Identify yourself." When John gave no reply the disembodied voice of the person on the carrier said with more force "Stand down and our docking web will retrieve you in 15 microts." John decided that the old tricks were the best and turned the ship into a dive towards the planet's atmosphere again. His old theory about gravitational pull had saved them from a command carrier once; it could do it again. The only problem was that this ship wasn't Moya. Its top speed seemed to be about Hetch 6. He slammed on the acceleration as far as it would go and it slowly rose to Hetch 8. He felt the gravitational pull and then they were in the sling shot manoeuvre. The ship shot away from the planet, leaving the carrier in their wake.
Chapter 10
They reached the landing area without incident. Sure enough, casualties were being loaded onto ships for transport to medical facilities around the planet. John chose a relatively small ship that "walking wounded" were climbing onto. On boarding he quickly found a small compartment at the back of the ship and gently placed Aeryn inside. Although her face was covered in blood, he couldn't take the risk of someone recognising the now infamous traitor. She was barely conscious. He knew that she needed medical treatment but he couldn't risk getting her treated on the High Command planet; they needed to get off as quickly as possible if they were to have any chance of avoiding recapture.
"Shhh, baby, just stay here and keep quiet till I come and get you"
"Stay here, yes John" she murmured. He had no idea if she knew it was him or whether she was in another world with the other him.
John went through into the main command area of the ship. He decided that boldness was his best option, so walked right up and sat down in the empty pilot's seat and started flicking switches like he knew what he was doing.
"You the pilot?" said the man sitting in the co-pilot's seat holding a cloth to a nasty gash across his forehead. He also had a makeshift bandage around his upper arm.
"Sure am. Now lets get these people out of here to the nearest medical unit." Fortunately the controls of this ship seemed to be similar to the marauder so he hoped he would pass as a reasonable pilot. He flicked what he hoped was the comms switch. "Uhh, this is emergency medical transport 911 requesting clearance for take off." The comms crackled for a few moments; John held his breath.
"Clearance request acknowledged 911, what is the number and status of your casualties?" John looked around and did a quick count. "I've got about twelve, mainly walking wounded. Doesn't look like any serious cases"
"Acknowledged. Please proceed to Medical Centre Galdos. You are clear for take off"
"You know where that is?" John asked the man he had spoken with previously. "I'd only just arrived when they commandeered me to fly this thing. Didn't give me any charts or a chance to familiarise myself with the planet and I haven't been here before"
"Yeah, it's on the far side of the planet. Go due eastwards and head towards the highest blue tower you see"
John adjusted the controls and headed in an easterly direction. The trip was fairly short but with each groan or cry of pain from his passengers he felt more and more guilty. All of this for the preservation of one life, no matter how precious that life was to him. He mentally questioned the ethics of his actions; no matter how the Peacekeepers overall deserved everything they got for the way they treated people, here, surrounded by individual people he had effectively personally hurt and maimed, he felt that he had reached their level and descended far below it. He had to remind himself that if their positions were reversed, Peacekeepers such as Grayza and Scorpius, or even Braca, wouldn't think twice about mass death and destruction in pursuit of their goals.
They landed on the roof of the medical centre where there were plenty of people on hand to help unload the casualties.
"I'm heading back for another load" John told them when they were finished. He went back inside and immediately got Aeryn out from her hiding place and laid her on one of the bunks in command.
"This is emergency transport 911. Drop off at Galdos complete. Requesting clearance to return to base"
"Clearance granted and hurry up will you" replied a harassed sounding voice.
"On my way." John quelled the feeling of guilt at not helping out further with the casualties, but this was his and Aeryn's only hope. He took off, but instead of heading back in the direction he had come, he headed out towards space. As they exited the planet's atmosphere into space he was congratulating himself on the success of their escape. It had all been so easy. Plan E was definitely a good one. "Thank God we didn't have to get to the F plan without Rygel here!" John was just joking with himself when things started to get difficult again.
"911, you are off course"
"I knew it was too good to be true" muttered John to himself. "Ahh, yeah, got a slight malfunction. Just giving her a longer run to iron it out" John decided to turn off the comms before he turned into an inveterate liar; his nose should be the size of Pinocchio's! He put the ship into top speed and looked out of the view port, just in time to see an enormous command carrier glide into view.
"Oh, hell, just when I thought we had made it"
"We have you on our screens. Identify yourself." When John gave no reply the disembodied voice of the person on the carrier said with more force "Stand down and our docking web will retrieve you in 15 microts." John decided that the old tricks were the best and turned the ship into a dive towards the planet's atmosphere again. His old theory about gravitational pull had saved them from a command carrier once; it could do it again. The only problem was that this ship wasn't Moya. Its top speed seemed to be about Hetch 6. He slammed on the acceleration as far as it would go and it slowly rose to Hetch 8. He felt the gravitational pull and then they were in the sling shot manoeuvre. The ship shot away from the planet, leaving the carrier in their wake.