"Apparitions"
Time: Twenty-five cycles after Dog With Two Bones
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
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Part Twenty-Six: Picking Up The Pieces
Three days later.
He couldn't pull his eyes away from the terrace's clear canopy. He didn't even turn when he heard Rea's voice.
"Mattis? Are you all right?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." His voice was heavy with emotion. "I couldn't stop her, Rea. I saw her hit her father and instead of reacting to that, I let myself be distracted by that frellin' Ancient." He lowered his head and sighed deeply. "I can't believe she's gone."
Rea stepped up next to Mattis. "I don't think you could have stopped her."
"Vanessa and I have been together for three cycles, Rea. I should know how she thinks by now. I should have expected her to do something like this." He sighed again and shook his head. Mattis looked up through the canopy to where then wormhole had been, then started from the terrace. "John?"
After a microt, John answered. "Yes, Mattis?"
[i]He sounds as bad as I feel,[/i] he thought. "How're you three doing?"
"Tashina's taking care of a few last minute details. Then Aeryn will do what she wants to do. Are you all right?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess."
"Do you.do you want to move on? It's been three days."
"I'll let you know when you get back."
John was silent for a microt. "Okay. I understand. Aeryn should be finished soon."
"All right, John. Thanks."
Mattis and Rea walked in silence for a few microts. "What's Officer Sun doing? I saw her and Tashina dragging that prisoner down to the maintenance bay."
"I'm not sure, really. Vanessa told me that Furlow and her mother have a past. John said something about revenge."
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Aeryn shoved Furlow forward and watched the blindfolded mechanic stumble and fall to the floor of the cave. She looked around at the bare rock walls and nodded. "All right, Furlow. You can take off the blindfold."
Furlow pulled off the blindfold and looked around. Aside from the three small lanterns that illuminated the small space, the cave was bare. "Where the frell are we?"
"We're on the fourth planet of the Bia'thera system. It's a rocky, inhospitable little planet. We're about four hundred metras under a mountain. Perfect for you."
"What're you going to do?"
"You're going to pay a debt you've owed for twenty-five cycles. You're going to pay for John's life."
Furlow looked confused as she watched Tashina carry in two large containers. "What the frell are you talking about? Pay for Johnny's life? He's still alive."
Aeryn took a step forward and felt the old pain begin to twist. "One John is still alive. If it weren't for you and what you did on Dam-Ba-Da, John and his twin would both be alive."
"John and his twin? Exercise your mind and pretend that I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Pretend that I don't give a frell what you think. Tashina?"
"Food and water, Officer Sun. I also have a comm for her."
Aeryn nodded. "Give it to her. Then wait for me at the transport pod."
Tashina handed the comm to Furlow and started out of the cave. She stopped by the mouth of the cave and looked at Aeryn. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Aeryn's only reply was a cold look. "As you will."
Aeryn watched her then turned back to Furlow. "Your path ends here, Furlow."
Furlow put on a look of defiance and leaned against the cave wall. "I didn't think Peacekeepers held grudges."
"I don't hold a grudge, Furlow. I keep it until it dies of old age, then I have it stuffed and mounted. You have some food and water, so you'll be able to survive for a little while."
"You're going to strand me here?" Furlow's face was calm, but Aeryn was sure she heard fear in her voice.
"In a manner of speaking. I want you to stand right there. Goodbye, Furlow."
"When will I be able to move?"
Her back to Furlow, Aeryn let an evil grin cross her face. "You'll know." She continued walking without looking back.
Aeryn stopped at the mouth of the tunnel and looked around. Not far from the tunnel was the transport pod. Tashina stood by the lowered ramp, John sat on the steps. He stood as she approached.
"You all right, Aeryn?"
"Fine. Is everything ready?"
Tashina held up a small control unit and handed it to Aeryn. "Primed and ready, Officer Sun." She leaned close to Aeryn. "Remind me to never get you mad."
"Call me Aeryn." She looked over the unit and touched the isolated button.
A series of powerful explosions erupted along the rocky face of the mountain. Simultaneously, explosions flared inside the tunnel. It didn't take long for the tunnel to be completely eradicated.
Furlow's panicked voice came from their comms. "What the frell did you do?"
"Brought half the mountain down. There's no way you will ever be able to get out of there." Aeryn's voice was cold.
"What the frell.are you out of your frellin' mind! Johnny, get me outta here!"
"Sorry, Furlow, but you'll need Scotty and the transporter to get you out of there. Actions have consequences, Furlow, even if those actions take cycles to catch up to you."
"You can't do this to me!"
"I can. I did. Goodbye, Furlow." Aeryn switched off her comm, cutting off Furlow's screams.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get out of here."
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"Crais and Talyn are away," Pilot said.
Mattis looked up at Pilot and nodded. "All right, Pilot." He leaned heavily on Pilot's console and sighed deeply. "What do you and Moya think? Should we wait or should we get out of here?"
Pilot sighed and his head leaned forward. "While both Moya and I are saddened by Vanessa's loss, we are both agreed that we are risking discovery by remaining here."
Mattis nodded and touched his comm. "John? Aeryn?"
"Yes, Mattis. We're here."
"Are you ready to get going? For all we know, a command carrier might be on the way."
The comm was silent for a microt. "Yeah, Mattis. Let's get out of here." Aeryn's voice was a dull monotone.
"All right. Anyone else have any reason why we should stay here?" [i]Besides the hope that Vanessa might still come back.[/i]
For a microt, there was no response. "Anyone?"
"Nothing," Chiana said, sounding like she was crying. "Let's get the frell outta here."
"Can you give me a few microts, Mattis?" Tashina's voice was quiet.
"For what?"
"Vanessa was my comrade-in-arms, my sister. I want to commemorate her loss with a few words on the terrace."
"All right. I'll meet you there."
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"I wish I had the strength to say these words while Vanessa was here. But as it is with life, there's never the time or the opportunity. Now it's too late."
Tashina stared up through the canopy in the direction of where the wormhole had been. Behind her stood the rest of the crew, surrounding John and Aeryn, supporting them. Rea and Xhalax stood off to one side, away from the rest. For her part, Rea looked sad, while Xhalax almost looked pleased with herself.
"Three cycles ago, Lhatan and I were searching for a new life after what I had done on Olitas. Moya found us adrift in a damaged shuttle. Vanessa offered us a place. She made it easy for us to fit in here. I know she had questions about us.you all did.but there was never any pressure to reveal our secrets."
Tashina's head dipped slightly. "Instead of finding the answer to her questions from me, she had to find out from a Peacekeeper. Vanessa was angry with me for keeping secrets from her. There wasn't the chance to clear the air between us. Now there will not be the chance to tell her how sorry I am for keeping secrets from her."
She closed her eyes as tears began to run down her face. "Vanessa's affect on my, on all of us, cannot be measured. Anything I achieve from now on will be because of her. I will dedicate the rest of my life to her memory."
Chiana glanced at John and Aeryn. "She was just like you. No matter what, Vanessa always tried to save as many lives as she could, but she never hesitated to shoot when she had to. It was like you were still here, taken apart and put together into one person."
"Her spirit was calm and her nature was caring," Stark said quietly. "Sacrifice was not new to her."
Rea sighed. "I didn't know Vanessa well or for very long, but she struck me as someone who cared about the people around her."
"Whenever she saw people in need, Vanessa was always willing to step in and help." Mattis closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears. "She was caring, generous." A thin smile crossed his face. "And she was stubborn and single-minded, and." His voice caught in his throat. ".and I loved her."
"I have a question for you all," Xhalax said as she shook her head, a look of disbelief on her face. "Why are you saddened by Vanessa's disappearance?"
John crossed the terrace in a few long strides. "Look, lady, I've had it with you and your people! You and your extra-dimensional parents frell up our lives then act like nothing's wrong! I am down to my last nerve and you Ancients are getting on it! My daughter's dead."
Xhalax's head tilted to one side. "Is she? Really?"
Pilot's anxious voice came from the speakers. "There's a signal coming in!"
Static replaced Pilot's voice. Through it, they heard a woman's voice. ".Pilot.Pilot, are you there.?"
"Vanessa!"
John turned from the group and looked up through the terrace's clear canopy. As his eyes searched the starfield, Aeryn leaned close. "John?"
He didn't answer immediately, just continued to scan the stars. After a few microts, he pointed and said, "Wormhole.now!"
There was a brief flash of light as a wormhole twisted into existence. "It's a small one, smaller than the one Vanessa opened."
"There's something coming out," Pilot said. "It's the module!"
Aeryn closed her eyes and tried to remain calm. "Vanessa, is that you?"
"Mom? Did I make it back?" Vanessa sounded weak, like she was just barely remaining conscious. "Did I get it right this time?"
Pilot sounded hopeful. "Vanessa, come home!"
For a microt, there was only static. "Can't.systems down.no power.did I get it right."
"We're coming, Vanessa!" Mattis wiped his eyes quickly. "Pilot!"
"Moya is already moving, Mattis. We'll be in range of the docking web in ten microts!"
"I'll get the medical bay ready," Lhatan said as he started from the terrace.
John looked up at the wormhole then back to where Xhalax had stood. Seeing the Ancient gone, he said, "Guess there was no reason for her to stay. Good riddance. I hope to God we don't see her or any Ancient again." He pulled Aeryn close and held her for a few microts.
"Come on," she said. "Let's go get our daughter."
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The images raged through her mind, running into each other, overlapping each other until there was nothing but confusion.
There had been so many unrealized realities, so many minor differences. There was one where Chiana looked like her mother, one where she served as a Peacekeeper lieutenant under her father, a Peacekeeper captain in that reality. Variation after variation, reality after reality.the variety had been fascinating at first, but the longer her enigmatic guide propelled her from one reality to another (under the guise of "teaching" her the dangers of wormhole technology), the closer she felt she was getting to the end of her life.
Finally, she decided to leave, to get away from the being before he really did kill her.
Vanessa Sun opened her eyes.
For a few long microts, she lay still, staring at the ceiling of the medical bay. [i]I'm back on Moya,[/i] she thought, [i]and we're in starburst. But is this the right Moya?[/i]
Chirping came from behind her. Tilting her head back, Vanessa saw her DRD clinging to the wall, looking down at her.
"Hey, little guy." She stared at the ceiling a microt longer then sat up.
Across the bay, Vanessa saw Lhatan leaning on his workbench, his back to her. She hesitated a microt before saying, "Lhatan?"
Lhatan turned. To Vanessa, it looked like he hadn't slept in days. When he saw her awake, Lhatan looked relieved and smiled. "Vanessa! It's been days since you returned. When you didn't wake up, I feared." His voice caught in his throat and he slapped his comm. "Everyone! Vanessa's awake!"
Within microts, everyone arrived at the medical bay. "I've been praying for you since you returned, Vanessa," Stark said, his single eye wide and a smile on his face. "The goddess is still watching over us."
"The goddess or Zhaan," Chiana said.
"Much the same."
"Are you all right," John asked, his face split by a wide smile. "Is she all right, Lhatan?"
"She'll be fine. There's signs of exhaustion and she hasn't eaten in three days. I suggest we find someplace peaceful to lay low at for a little while." He glanced at Tashina. "I think we all could use the rest. And some of us have decisions to make."
Aeryn glanced back at Tashina then at Lhatan. "Later for that. Where did you go?"
Vanessa closed her eyes and yawned. "Well, I landed in the middle of a big, empty, black.space I guess you could call it. Dad, do you a tall man, bald head, no eyes?"
John frowned and nodded. "Einstein. His people are the parents of the Ancients, you could say. What did he do?"
"He bounced me around from one unrealized reality to another, trying to convince me of the dangers inherent to wormhole technology. No matter how many times I told him that I already knew how dangerous it was, he kept on sending my and sending me."
"He was the same way with me. How did you get him to send you back?"
"Well, I don't think he was planning on sending me back. I think he was planning on killing me. So I left. Opened up a wormhole and ran. I started having problems with the module and had to make a few side trips to get the module patched up again."
"And you got back here by focusing on Moya?"
"Moya is home, so I focused on her. The module died on me before I arrived. This time, everything went, including life support."
"Well, you were lucky," Aeryn said, visibly relieved.
"Well, I'm your daughter. If I didn't inherit luck from the two of you." Vanessa looked at Mattis, who was standing to one side. "Well, come on, Mattis. What do you have to say?"
"I just have one question for you, Vanessa." He leaned close and yelled, "Just how many different kinds of stupid are you!"
"At ease, Mattis. Did you have any ideas for dealing with the Vigilante? Everything was working fine until I got pulled into the wormhole." She slipped off the table and stretched. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere special. Just an empty sector. Pilot wanted to put a few starbursts between us and Bia'thera before the Peacekeepers realized we were still there. Why? Is there someplace special you want to go?"
Vanessa smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is."
"Where would that be?"
Her smile grew. "That'll be a surprise. Someplace I've been thinking of going for a little while now." Vanessa looked at Tashina. "Can you give us a microt, please?"
When they were alone in the bay, Tashina said, "I'm please you returned before Lhatan and I left."
Vanessa nodded. "I kinda guessed you were planning on taking off. Would it matter if I said I don't want you to leave?"
Tashina's head lowered. "After the secrets I've kept from you, you still want me to stay?"
"We all have secrets, Tashina. Do you think I'm going to kick Mom, Dad, Chiana and Stark off of Moya because they kept secrets from me? Given the nature of the secret, I can understand why you kept it." Vanessa stepped up next to Tashina. "Look, as much as I'm my mother's daughter, I'm also my father's daughter. As you well know, I'm sometimes hesitant to shoot. I need someone besides Mattis at my back, someone who's willing to pull the trigger when I hesitate to."
"I'm honored you place such faith in my abilities, Vanessa. For my part, I have come to value you way of finding ways out of situations that do not require massive firepower. Perhaps there is still a place for Lhatan and I here on Moya."
"Of course there's a place for you two here." Vanessa slipped an arm around Tashina's shoulders and hugged her close. "I always wanted a sister. Chiana was always more of an aunt or surrogate mother. Everyone I love is here on Moya. We've become a family, and I can't let part of the family leave. Besides, all I have to do is tell Pilot and he won't let you and Lhatan off of Moya."
Tashina turned an evil grin toward Vanessa. "You make a persuasive argument."
"I know. Now, come on. I need something to eat. And I have to tell Pilot where I want to go. You'll like it there."
TO BE CONCLUDED (For real)
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
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Part Twenty-Six: Picking Up The Pieces
Three days later.
He couldn't pull his eyes away from the terrace's clear canopy. He didn't even turn when he heard Rea's voice.
"Mattis? Are you all right?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." His voice was heavy with emotion. "I couldn't stop her, Rea. I saw her hit her father and instead of reacting to that, I let myself be distracted by that frellin' Ancient." He lowered his head and sighed deeply. "I can't believe she's gone."
Rea stepped up next to Mattis. "I don't think you could have stopped her."
"Vanessa and I have been together for three cycles, Rea. I should know how she thinks by now. I should have expected her to do something like this." He sighed again and shook his head. Mattis looked up through the canopy to where then wormhole had been, then started from the terrace. "John?"
After a microt, John answered. "Yes, Mattis?"
[i]He sounds as bad as I feel,[/i] he thought. "How're you three doing?"
"Tashina's taking care of a few last minute details. Then Aeryn will do what she wants to do. Are you all right?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess."
"Do you.do you want to move on? It's been three days."
"I'll let you know when you get back."
John was silent for a microt. "Okay. I understand. Aeryn should be finished soon."
"All right, John. Thanks."
Mattis and Rea walked in silence for a few microts. "What's Officer Sun doing? I saw her and Tashina dragging that prisoner down to the maintenance bay."
"I'm not sure, really. Vanessa told me that Furlow and her mother have a past. John said something about revenge."
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Aeryn shoved Furlow forward and watched the blindfolded mechanic stumble and fall to the floor of the cave. She looked around at the bare rock walls and nodded. "All right, Furlow. You can take off the blindfold."
Furlow pulled off the blindfold and looked around. Aside from the three small lanterns that illuminated the small space, the cave was bare. "Where the frell are we?"
"We're on the fourth planet of the Bia'thera system. It's a rocky, inhospitable little planet. We're about four hundred metras under a mountain. Perfect for you."
"What're you going to do?"
"You're going to pay a debt you've owed for twenty-five cycles. You're going to pay for John's life."
Furlow looked confused as she watched Tashina carry in two large containers. "What the frell are you talking about? Pay for Johnny's life? He's still alive."
Aeryn took a step forward and felt the old pain begin to twist. "One John is still alive. If it weren't for you and what you did on Dam-Ba-Da, John and his twin would both be alive."
"John and his twin? Exercise your mind and pretend that I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Pretend that I don't give a frell what you think. Tashina?"
"Food and water, Officer Sun. I also have a comm for her."
Aeryn nodded. "Give it to her. Then wait for me at the transport pod."
Tashina handed the comm to Furlow and started out of the cave. She stopped by the mouth of the cave and looked at Aeryn. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Aeryn's only reply was a cold look. "As you will."
Aeryn watched her then turned back to Furlow. "Your path ends here, Furlow."
Furlow put on a look of defiance and leaned against the cave wall. "I didn't think Peacekeepers held grudges."
"I don't hold a grudge, Furlow. I keep it until it dies of old age, then I have it stuffed and mounted. You have some food and water, so you'll be able to survive for a little while."
"You're going to strand me here?" Furlow's face was calm, but Aeryn was sure she heard fear in her voice.
"In a manner of speaking. I want you to stand right there. Goodbye, Furlow."
"When will I be able to move?"
Her back to Furlow, Aeryn let an evil grin cross her face. "You'll know." She continued walking without looking back.
Aeryn stopped at the mouth of the tunnel and looked around. Not far from the tunnel was the transport pod. Tashina stood by the lowered ramp, John sat on the steps. He stood as she approached.
"You all right, Aeryn?"
"Fine. Is everything ready?"
Tashina held up a small control unit and handed it to Aeryn. "Primed and ready, Officer Sun." She leaned close to Aeryn. "Remind me to never get you mad."
"Call me Aeryn." She looked over the unit and touched the isolated button.
A series of powerful explosions erupted along the rocky face of the mountain. Simultaneously, explosions flared inside the tunnel. It didn't take long for the tunnel to be completely eradicated.
Furlow's panicked voice came from their comms. "What the frell did you do?"
"Brought half the mountain down. There's no way you will ever be able to get out of there." Aeryn's voice was cold.
"What the frell.are you out of your frellin' mind! Johnny, get me outta here!"
"Sorry, Furlow, but you'll need Scotty and the transporter to get you out of there. Actions have consequences, Furlow, even if those actions take cycles to catch up to you."
"You can't do this to me!"
"I can. I did. Goodbye, Furlow." Aeryn switched off her comm, cutting off Furlow's screams.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get out of here."
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"Crais and Talyn are away," Pilot said.
Mattis looked up at Pilot and nodded. "All right, Pilot." He leaned heavily on Pilot's console and sighed deeply. "What do you and Moya think? Should we wait or should we get out of here?"
Pilot sighed and his head leaned forward. "While both Moya and I are saddened by Vanessa's loss, we are both agreed that we are risking discovery by remaining here."
Mattis nodded and touched his comm. "John? Aeryn?"
"Yes, Mattis. We're here."
"Are you ready to get going? For all we know, a command carrier might be on the way."
The comm was silent for a microt. "Yeah, Mattis. Let's get out of here." Aeryn's voice was a dull monotone.
"All right. Anyone else have any reason why we should stay here?" [i]Besides the hope that Vanessa might still come back.[/i]
For a microt, there was no response. "Anyone?"
"Nothing," Chiana said, sounding like she was crying. "Let's get the frell outta here."
"Can you give me a few microts, Mattis?" Tashina's voice was quiet.
"For what?"
"Vanessa was my comrade-in-arms, my sister. I want to commemorate her loss with a few words on the terrace."
"All right. I'll meet you there."
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"I wish I had the strength to say these words while Vanessa was here. But as it is with life, there's never the time or the opportunity. Now it's too late."
Tashina stared up through the canopy in the direction of where the wormhole had been. Behind her stood the rest of the crew, surrounding John and Aeryn, supporting them. Rea and Xhalax stood off to one side, away from the rest. For her part, Rea looked sad, while Xhalax almost looked pleased with herself.
"Three cycles ago, Lhatan and I were searching for a new life after what I had done on Olitas. Moya found us adrift in a damaged shuttle. Vanessa offered us a place. She made it easy for us to fit in here. I know she had questions about us.you all did.but there was never any pressure to reveal our secrets."
Tashina's head dipped slightly. "Instead of finding the answer to her questions from me, she had to find out from a Peacekeeper. Vanessa was angry with me for keeping secrets from her. There wasn't the chance to clear the air between us. Now there will not be the chance to tell her how sorry I am for keeping secrets from her."
She closed her eyes as tears began to run down her face. "Vanessa's affect on my, on all of us, cannot be measured. Anything I achieve from now on will be because of her. I will dedicate the rest of my life to her memory."
Chiana glanced at John and Aeryn. "She was just like you. No matter what, Vanessa always tried to save as many lives as she could, but she never hesitated to shoot when she had to. It was like you were still here, taken apart and put together into one person."
"Her spirit was calm and her nature was caring," Stark said quietly. "Sacrifice was not new to her."
Rea sighed. "I didn't know Vanessa well or for very long, but she struck me as someone who cared about the people around her."
"Whenever she saw people in need, Vanessa was always willing to step in and help." Mattis closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears. "She was caring, generous." A thin smile crossed his face. "And she was stubborn and single-minded, and." His voice caught in his throat. ".and I loved her."
"I have a question for you all," Xhalax said as she shook her head, a look of disbelief on her face. "Why are you saddened by Vanessa's disappearance?"
John crossed the terrace in a few long strides. "Look, lady, I've had it with you and your people! You and your extra-dimensional parents frell up our lives then act like nothing's wrong! I am down to my last nerve and you Ancients are getting on it! My daughter's dead."
Xhalax's head tilted to one side. "Is she? Really?"
Pilot's anxious voice came from the speakers. "There's a signal coming in!"
Static replaced Pilot's voice. Through it, they heard a woman's voice. ".Pilot.Pilot, are you there.?"
"Vanessa!"
John turned from the group and looked up through the terrace's clear canopy. As his eyes searched the starfield, Aeryn leaned close. "John?"
He didn't answer immediately, just continued to scan the stars. After a few microts, he pointed and said, "Wormhole.now!"
There was a brief flash of light as a wormhole twisted into existence. "It's a small one, smaller than the one Vanessa opened."
"There's something coming out," Pilot said. "It's the module!"
Aeryn closed her eyes and tried to remain calm. "Vanessa, is that you?"
"Mom? Did I make it back?" Vanessa sounded weak, like she was just barely remaining conscious. "Did I get it right this time?"
Pilot sounded hopeful. "Vanessa, come home!"
For a microt, there was only static. "Can't.systems down.no power.did I get it right."
"We're coming, Vanessa!" Mattis wiped his eyes quickly. "Pilot!"
"Moya is already moving, Mattis. We'll be in range of the docking web in ten microts!"
"I'll get the medical bay ready," Lhatan said as he started from the terrace.
John looked up at the wormhole then back to where Xhalax had stood. Seeing the Ancient gone, he said, "Guess there was no reason for her to stay. Good riddance. I hope to God we don't see her or any Ancient again." He pulled Aeryn close and held her for a few microts.
"Come on," she said. "Let's go get our daughter."
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The images raged through her mind, running into each other, overlapping each other until there was nothing but confusion.
There had been so many unrealized realities, so many minor differences. There was one where Chiana looked like her mother, one where she served as a Peacekeeper lieutenant under her father, a Peacekeeper captain in that reality. Variation after variation, reality after reality.the variety had been fascinating at first, but the longer her enigmatic guide propelled her from one reality to another (under the guise of "teaching" her the dangers of wormhole technology), the closer she felt she was getting to the end of her life.
Finally, she decided to leave, to get away from the being before he really did kill her.
Vanessa Sun opened her eyes.
For a few long microts, she lay still, staring at the ceiling of the medical bay. [i]I'm back on Moya,[/i] she thought, [i]and we're in starburst. But is this the right Moya?[/i]
Chirping came from behind her. Tilting her head back, Vanessa saw her DRD clinging to the wall, looking down at her.
"Hey, little guy." She stared at the ceiling a microt longer then sat up.
Across the bay, Vanessa saw Lhatan leaning on his workbench, his back to her. She hesitated a microt before saying, "Lhatan?"
Lhatan turned. To Vanessa, it looked like he hadn't slept in days. When he saw her awake, Lhatan looked relieved and smiled. "Vanessa! It's been days since you returned. When you didn't wake up, I feared." His voice caught in his throat and he slapped his comm. "Everyone! Vanessa's awake!"
Within microts, everyone arrived at the medical bay. "I've been praying for you since you returned, Vanessa," Stark said, his single eye wide and a smile on his face. "The goddess is still watching over us."
"The goddess or Zhaan," Chiana said.
"Much the same."
"Are you all right," John asked, his face split by a wide smile. "Is she all right, Lhatan?"
"She'll be fine. There's signs of exhaustion and she hasn't eaten in three days. I suggest we find someplace peaceful to lay low at for a little while." He glanced at Tashina. "I think we all could use the rest. And some of us have decisions to make."
Aeryn glanced back at Tashina then at Lhatan. "Later for that. Where did you go?"
Vanessa closed her eyes and yawned. "Well, I landed in the middle of a big, empty, black.space I guess you could call it. Dad, do you a tall man, bald head, no eyes?"
John frowned and nodded. "Einstein. His people are the parents of the Ancients, you could say. What did he do?"
"He bounced me around from one unrealized reality to another, trying to convince me of the dangers inherent to wormhole technology. No matter how many times I told him that I already knew how dangerous it was, he kept on sending my and sending me."
"He was the same way with me. How did you get him to send you back?"
"Well, I don't think he was planning on sending me back. I think he was planning on killing me. So I left. Opened up a wormhole and ran. I started having problems with the module and had to make a few side trips to get the module patched up again."
"And you got back here by focusing on Moya?"
"Moya is home, so I focused on her. The module died on me before I arrived. This time, everything went, including life support."
"Well, you were lucky," Aeryn said, visibly relieved.
"Well, I'm your daughter. If I didn't inherit luck from the two of you." Vanessa looked at Mattis, who was standing to one side. "Well, come on, Mattis. What do you have to say?"
"I just have one question for you, Vanessa." He leaned close and yelled, "Just how many different kinds of stupid are you!"
"At ease, Mattis. Did you have any ideas for dealing with the Vigilante? Everything was working fine until I got pulled into the wormhole." She slipped off the table and stretched. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere special. Just an empty sector. Pilot wanted to put a few starbursts between us and Bia'thera before the Peacekeepers realized we were still there. Why? Is there someplace special you want to go?"
Vanessa smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is."
"Where would that be?"
Her smile grew. "That'll be a surprise. Someplace I've been thinking of going for a little while now." Vanessa looked at Tashina. "Can you give us a microt, please?"
When they were alone in the bay, Tashina said, "I'm please you returned before Lhatan and I left."
Vanessa nodded. "I kinda guessed you were planning on taking off. Would it matter if I said I don't want you to leave?"
Tashina's head lowered. "After the secrets I've kept from you, you still want me to stay?"
"We all have secrets, Tashina. Do you think I'm going to kick Mom, Dad, Chiana and Stark off of Moya because they kept secrets from me? Given the nature of the secret, I can understand why you kept it." Vanessa stepped up next to Tashina. "Look, as much as I'm my mother's daughter, I'm also my father's daughter. As you well know, I'm sometimes hesitant to shoot. I need someone besides Mattis at my back, someone who's willing to pull the trigger when I hesitate to."
"I'm honored you place such faith in my abilities, Vanessa. For my part, I have come to value you way of finding ways out of situations that do not require massive firepower. Perhaps there is still a place for Lhatan and I here on Moya."
"Of course there's a place for you two here." Vanessa slipped an arm around Tashina's shoulders and hugged her close. "I always wanted a sister. Chiana was always more of an aunt or surrogate mother. Everyone I love is here on Moya. We've become a family, and I can't let part of the family leave. Besides, all I have to do is tell Pilot and he won't let you and Lhatan off of Moya."
Tashina turned an evil grin toward Vanessa. "You make a persuasive argument."
"I know. Now, come on. I need something to eat. And I have to tell Pilot where I want to go. You'll like it there."
TO BE CONCLUDED (For real)
