Chapter 7
It had been two weekens since their adventure with the Scarren radiation weapon, two weekens in which Crichton had had to bite his tongue on several occasions to keep his promise to Aeryn not to tell anyone about the baby just yet
"Until we both get used to the idea of being parents," she had said
"Aeryn, I think the others may notice by the time he or she is twenty-one!" he had joked in reply but complied with her wish, however hard it was for him. Every now and then his joy would well up in him like the bubbles of champagne and come out as a sort of goofy smile.
"Why are you smiling to yourself like that, Crichton?" It was Rygel that caught him on this occasion
"Oh, nothing Sparky, just thinking about something Aeryn said the other day"
"Hmm, I don't know what you've got to be happy about. The pair of you were supposed to get enough supplies to last a monen at that last planet and all you got was a pitiful supply of food cubes and some useless piece of metal which D'Argo then blew up. I can't believe you left behind all the fresh food that you had already paid for"
"Gee, sorry, Buckwheat. Next time we'll just let intergalactic war break out and the Scarrens kick our butts, but make sure that we pick up the fresh groceries before we try and escape. Anyway, Pilot's found another commerce planet. We should be there tomorrow morning. I'll make sure that I'm more successful this time and I'll even use my own share of our money, not the kitty. Does that please your worshipfulness?"
"Yes, and make sure there's a decent supply of marjools" Rygel had to get the last word in before speeding off on his thronesled.
The next day Crichton awoke to the sound of Aeryn stumbling to their bathroom. It was the same thing that had woken him for the past weeken or so. He went after her and found her hunched over the basin
"Crichton, you are so lucky that I haven't got my pulse pistol with me right now or I really would shot you!"
"I know, babe, its all my fault," he said softly as he gently wrapped a towel round her shoulders. It was almost becoming a routine; he held her hair away from her face and gently rubbed her back while she went through her morning conversation with the basin. This morning was the worse so far.
"Shall I get Jool?" he asked anxiously
"No, I just want to go back to bed" she snivelled. He picked her up and carried her back to their bed.
"I frelling hate feeling like this" she said with conviction as she lay back amongst the covers
"I'm sorry, babe. You stay there. I'll take D'Argo on the grocery trip instead. Is there anything special that I can get you? Some crispy grolak or something?"
She opened one eye, levelled her gaze at Crichton and said very calmly "John, I have to tell you that I can now reach my pulse pistol and if you mention food to me once more I will shoot you in the mivonks so that this can never happen again!" He wisely backed away at that point
D'Argo and Crichton took Lo'la to the commerce planet. Its main trading area seemed to be very ancient. The old walls were extremely thick and had many arches. Some just had small stalls within them whilst others had openings to larger shops housed in crypt-like underground caverns. The whole place was teeming with life. As they wandered through the throng of people John spotted one of the stalls selling what looked like baby gear. He desperately wanted to go over and buy something to take back to Aeryn, but he didn't think she'd appreciate it right now.
"John, why are you staring over there with that silly grin on your face?"
"Oh, God D'Argo, Aeryn's gonna kill me, but if I don't tell you I'll burst"
"That would be extremely unpleasant. Tell me what?"
"Aeryn, she's, I mean, we, well we're gonna have a baby!"
"Aeryn's pregnant? Well that certainly explains a lot of things"
"Like what?"
"Like why she almost bit my head off when I told her she looked a bit tired when we changed watches in command the other day, why she's been going about with a face that makes Rygel look like someone with a sunny disposition. Shall I go on?"
"God, I know D. I don't know what to do. You know I really, really want kids, and I couldn't be more happy about this, but Aeryn, she's not keen on the idea at all"
"Well that's only to be expected really, John. I shouldn't think that Aeryn's ever given motherhood a thought before now. Give her time. I remember when Lolaan was first pregnant with Jothee; she had been raised with so much dren about pure sebacean bloodlines that she was so frightened by the prospect of a half Luxan child she wouldn't talk to me for about a monen. Once she got used to the idea she couldn't have been happier"
"I hope you're right bro." He sighed "I seem to be spending half my life giving Aeryn time"
"You have to remember, John, that everything she has had to deal with since she met you is new, completely alien to her way of life. You took time to adjust to being out here but all the emotional, relationship "human" stuff is second nature to you. It's not to her. She's still learning."
"Yeah, I know D, but she's really scared about this. I've never seen her so scared of anything and you know when she's like that she can be a bit unpredictable. And she's right; I'm scared too; for her, for us, for the baby. I mean, what if the Peacekeepers or the Scarrens ever find out about the baby? They may try and use it to get to me. Aeryn's always been able to take care of herself, hell, she usually saves my ass as well. Being pregnant or having a young child makes her vulnerable. I couldn't live with myself if by getting her pregnant I have put both their lives at risk"
"You can't worry about that, John. You thoughts need to stay closer to home and focus on Aeryn right now. I imagine that's a more immediate worry if she's not very happy with the idea! Make sure she feels safe and loved. I know that Aeryn's not the most ah, romantic of souls, but in my experience this is a very important time to make sure she feels like a woman and not just the mother of your child. So instead of buying that little baby outfit you were eyeing up just now, buy a present for her"
"That's good advice D. I feel so guilty about being so happy about it, but I really think that this is right for us. Do you think I should push my luck and finally pop the question?"
"You mean marriage? I wouldn't just yet if I were you, not until she has come to terms with her current situation. My big mistake with Chiana was pushing her for too much too quickly so she panicked and looked for an escape route. I'm not saying Aeryn would do the same thing but you have to be patient with her."
"Time and patience. You're starting to sound a but like Zhaan, but your right. I just hope she gets used to the idea quickly." He patted D'Argo on the shoulder, glad to have someone to talk to who understood about women, well as much as any male ever could. "You will look suitably surprised when we finally tell everyone about the baby won't you?"
"I'll do my best, and, John, I'm really happy for you both"
"Thanks big guy"
During this conversation they had wandered to the end of the market place. In front of them was an arch that looked even older than the others, under which any number of odd looking objects were displayed
"Hey, D, check this out. It's like an old fashioned bric-a-brac shop, sells anything and everything. I might find something for Aeryn here"
"I'll go and make sure the supplies have arrived. I'll see you back at Lo'la in an arn"
Crichton dipped his head beneath the archway and entered the shop. It seemed to go on forever. There was a myriad of rooms filled with everything from the detritus of life in the UTs to beautiful and expensive pieces of jewellery. There were books, weird looking instruments, ship parts mixed in with clothes, cooking pots and utensils. Crichton felt that if he searched long enough he bet he could find something from earth, but right now he wanted to find something that Aeryn would like. He eventually came up to a desk with a very wrinkled old man sat behind it. It was difficult to tell what species he might be, he was so old.
"Can I help you?" he enquired of Crichton
"Umm, I'm looking for something for my," how did he describe Aeryn? Lover, shipmate, friend, the centre of his universe "my mate" he finally settled on. He pointed to some very delicate bottles on the desk. "These are nice. Are they scent bottles?"
"No, they don't contain scent. It's a compatibility test. An ideal present for your mate"
"We've already done one of those, and it's not like we need anymore proof of our compatibility" he replied with a grin. The old man looked at him enquiringly and suddenly he found himself explaining all about the baby. He could not seem to stop himself. He talked about his hopes and fears, that they had enemies that may try and take their baby, how he wanted to settle down because living on a leviathan and being chased all about the Uncharted Territories wasn't really the right environment in which to raise a child, his worries for Aeryn because of the unknown factor in her pregnancy of the development of a half human-sebacean baby.
"Human, I have not heard of it before" the old man finally interrupted him
"Not many people have. I've been lead to believe that I'm unique in this part of the galaxy"
"Unique, interesting"
"Oh, yes unique is always interesting, or so I have been told"
"If you would like to know if there are ancient links between your species we can also test your genetic origins"
"So, like you could tell if humans and sebaceans are genetically related?"
"I have some contacts that are able to do that, yes"
"I'll think about it. Right now I need to get back to my ship and I think I've found just the thing for Aeryn" He picked up the object he had spotted whilst talking to the old man. It was a small knife in a holster. The holster was of fine-tooled leather and the knife had a beautiful handle. It was small but extremely sharp. He knew it was something that Aeryn would appreciate but would never buy for herself. "Yes, this is just right. How much do you want for it?" They agreed a price after a friendly haggle and Crichton reluctantly left the shop.
As he was heading back to Lo'la he noticed that the crowd seemed to have miraculously cleared. A low moaning, growling sound came from one of the side alleys and suddenly this huge hairy beast with a long snout came at Crichton.
"Shit, it's Chewbacca and I seem to have pissed him off somehow!" He ran as fast as he could towards where they had landed Lo'la. The beast came after him and made a lunge for him. It caught the back of his leg but he managed to get out of its grip. Despite the pain in his leg, John ran faster. At last Lo'la and D'Argo came into sight.
"D'Argo, quick, get on Lo'la and get us the hell out of here"
D'Argo ignored this instruction. He took out his Qualta blade, took careful aim and fired, hitting the creature chasing after Crichton in the chest area. It yelped and ran off.
"What was that thing?" gasped Crichton
One of the locals who was helping to load supplies onto Lo'la answered him "That was the Grasha. It belongs to Sentros."
"And he would be?"
"One of the banes of our lives. We have lost so much custom because of him. He is a being that trades in genetic and cellular material. We have tried to force him off this planet but have never succeeded. Funny, you're sebacean, he only usually preys on rare species not already in his collection"
"I'm not sebacean, I'm human."
"Did you tell anyone this?"
"Yeah, some old guy in one of the shops. Don't tell me that was him!"
"It could have been, no one really knows what he looks like. He is extremely elusive. When he detects a new subject he sends the Grasha to obtain it. It can sense genetic signatures"
"Hell, if he just wants a DNA sample I'm happy to give him one. I've already left them over half the galaxy"
"Sentros doesn't take small samples. He supplies cellular material on an industrial scale. For a rare specimen such as yourself he would want at least a limb, preferably more"
"God, me and my big mouth. I had to go and brag about the unique thing and now Shylock wants his pound of flesh."
They turned at the sudden noise of a ship taking off.
"That is Sentros' vessel"
"You didn't tell him about Moya did you?" asked D'Argo
"Yeah, I couldn't seem to stop myself"
"Sentros is able to extract information from people, both by telepathy and mind control"
You mean he's a god like alien and he's got a critter? I can't believe I've found a god like alien with a critter! Why do I always seem to attract these people? My nightmares just go on getting better." A sudden and horrible thought struck him "Does it have to be a sample of me or would he take any tissue that might be in some way related to my species?"
"Oh no, he will use can use any type of genetic or cellular material he can find. Once he's identified a new species he will stop at nothing to obtain the biggest and best sample he can"
"Including foetal tissue?"
"Oh yes, he prefers to get a sample of foetal material if he can" the man replied, bitterness in his voice. John didn't have time to enquire why that was, but turned to D'Argo urgently,
"Holy mother of God, I also told him about Aeryn being pregnant. We have to get back to Moya now"
It had been two weekens since their adventure with the Scarren radiation weapon, two weekens in which Crichton had had to bite his tongue on several occasions to keep his promise to Aeryn not to tell anyone about the baby just yet
"Until we both get used to the idea of being parents," she had said
"Aeryn, I think the others may notice by the time he or she is twenty-one!" he had joked in reply but complied with her wish, however hard it was for him. Every now and then his joy would well up in him like the bubbles of champagne and come out as a sort of goofy smile.
"Why are you smiling to yourself like that, Crichton?" It was Rygel that caught him on this occasion
"Oh, nothing Sparky, just thinking about something Aeryn said the other day"
"Hmm, I don't know what you've got to be happy about. The pair of you were supposed to get enough supplies to last a monen at that last planet and all you got was a pitiful supply of food cubes and some useless piece of metal which D'Argo then blew up. I can't believe you left behind all the fresh food that you had already paid for"
"Gee, sorry, Buckwheat. Next time we'll just let intergalactic war break out and the Scarrens kick our butts, but make sure that we pick up the fresh groceries before we try and escape. Anyway, Pilot's found another commerce planet. We should be there tomorrow morning. I'll make sure that I'm more successful this time and I'll even use my own share of our money, not the kitty. Does that please your worshipfulness?"
"Yes, and make sure there's a decent supply of marjools" Rygel had to get the last word in before speeding off on his thronesled.
The next day Crichton awoke to the sound of Aeryn stumbling to their bathroom. It was the same thing that had woken him for the past weeken or so. He went after her and found her hunched over the basin
"Crichton, you are so lucky that I haven't got my pulse pistol with me right now or I really would shot you!"
"I know, babe, its all my fault," he said softly as he gently wrapped a towel round her shoulders. It was almost becoming a routine; he held her hair away from her face and gently rubbed her back while she went through her morning conversation with the basin. This morning was the worse so far.
"Shall I get Jool?" he asked anxiously
"No, I just want to go back to bed" she snivelled. He picked her up and carried her back to their bed.
"I frelling hate feeling like this" she said with conviction as she lay back amongst the covers
"I'm sorry, babe. You stay there. I'll take D'Argo on the grocery trip instead. Is there anything special that I can get you? Some crispy grolak or something?"
She opened one eye, levelled her gaze at Crichton and said very calmly "John, I have to tell you that I can now reach my pulse pistol and if you mention food to me once more I will shoot you in the mivonks so that this can never happen again!" He wisely backed away at that point
D'Argo and Crichton took Lo'la to the commerce planet. Its main trading area seemed to be very ancient. The old walls were extremely thick and had many arches. Some just had small stalls within them whilst others had openings to larger shops housed in crypt-like underground caverns. The whole place was teeming with life. As they wandered through the throng of people John spotted one of the stalls selling what looked like baby gear. He desperately wanted to go over and buy something to take back to Aeryn, but he didn't think she'd appreciate it right now.
"John, why are you staring over there with that silly grin on your face?"
"Oh, God D'Argo, Aeryn's gonna kill me, but if I don't tell you I'll burst"
"That would be extremely unpleasant. Tell me what?"
"Aeryn, she's, I mean, we, well we're gonna have a baby!"
"Aeryn's pregnant? Well that certainly explains a lot of things"
"Like what?"
"Like why she almost bit my head off when I told her she looked a bit tired when we changed watches in command the other day, why she's been going about with a face that makes Rygel look like someone with a sunny disposition. Shall I go on?"
"God, I know D. I don't know what to do. You know I really, really want kids, and I couldn't be more happy about this, but Aeryn, she's not keen on the idea at all"
"Well that's only to be expected really, John. I shouldn't think that Aeryn's ever given motherhood a thought before now. Give her time. I remember when Lolaan was first pregnant with Jothee; she had been raised with so much dren about pure sebacean bloodlines that she was so frightened by the prospect of a half Luxan child she wouldn't talk to me for about a monen. Once she got used to the idea she couldn't have been happier"
"I hope you're right bro." He sighed "I seem to be spending half my life giving Aeryn time"
"You have to remember, John, that everything she has had to deal with since she met you is new, completely alien to her way of life. You took time to adjust to being out here but all the emotional, relationship "human" stuff is second nature to you. It's not to her. She's still learning."
"Yeah, I know D, but she's really scared about this. I've never seen her so scared of anything and you know when she's like that she can be a bit unpredictable. And she's right; I'm scared too; for her, for us, for the baby. I mean, what if the Peacekeepers or the Scarrens ever find out about the baby? They may try and use it to get to me. Aeryn's always been able to take care of herself, hell, she usually saves my ass as well. Being pregnant or having a young child makes her vulnerable. I couldn't live with myself if by getting her pregnant I have put both their lives at risk"
"You can't worry about that, John. You thoughts need to stay closer to home and focus on Aeryn right now. I imagine that's a more immediate worry if she's not very happy with the idea! Make sure she feels safe and loved. I know that Aeryn's not the most ah, romantic of souls, but in my experience this is a very important time to make sure she feels like a woman and not just the mother of your child. So instead of buying that little baby outfit you were eyeing up just now, buy a present for her"
"That's good advice D. I feel so guilty about being so happy about it, but I really think that this is right for us. Do you think I should push my luck and finally pop the question?"
"You mean marriage? I wouldn't just yet if I were you, not until she has come to terms with her current situation. My big mistake with Chiana was pushing her for too much too quickly so she panicked and looked for an escape route. I'm not saying Aeryn would do the same thing but you have to be patient with her."
"Time and patience. You're starting to sound a but like Zhaan, but your right. I just hope she gets used to the idea quickly." He patted D'Argo on the shoulder, glad to have someone to talk to who understood about women, well as much as any male ever could. "You will look suitably surprised when we finally tell everyone about the baby won't you?"
"I'll do my best, and, John, I'm really happy for you both"
"Thanks big guy"
During this conversation they had wandered to the end of the market place. In front of them was an arch that looked even older than the others, under which any number of odd looking objects were displayed
"Hey, D, check this out. It's like an old fashioned bric-a-brac shop, sells anything and everything. I might find something for Aeryn here"
"I'll go and make sure the supplies have arrived. I'll see you back at Lo'la in an arn"
Crichton dipped his head beneath the archway and entered the shop. It seemed to go on forever. There was a myriad of rooms filled with everything from the detritus of life in the UTs to beautiful and expensive pieces of jewellery. There were books, weird looking instruments, ship parts mixed in with clothes, cooking pots and utensils. Crichton felt that if he searched long enough he bet he could find something from earth, but right now he wanted to find something that Aeryn would like. He eventually came up to a desk with a very wrinkled old man sat behind it. It was difficult to tell what species he might be, he was so old.
"Can I help you?" he enquired of Crichton
"Umm, I'm looking for something for my," how did he describe Aeryn? Lover, shipmate, friend, the centre of his universe "my mate" he finally settled on. He pointed to some very delicate bottles on the desk. "These are nice. Are they scent bottles?"
"No, they don't contain scent. It's a compatibility test. An ideal present for your mate"
"We've already done one of those, and it's not like we need anymore proof of our compatibility" he replied with a grin. The old man looked at him enquiringly and suddenly he found himself explaining all about the baby. He could not seem to stop himself. He talked about his hopes and fears, that they had enemies that may try and take their baby, how he wanted to settle down because living on a leviathan and being chased all about the Uncharted Territories wasn't really the right environment in which to raise a child, his worries for Aeryn because of the unknown factor in her pregnancy of the development of a half human-sebacean baby.
"Human, I have not heard of it before" the old man finally interrupted him
"Not many people have. I've been lead to believe that I'm unique in this part of the galaxy"
"Unique, interesting"
"Oh, yes unique is always interesting, or so I have been told"
"If you would like to know if there are ancient links between your species we can also test your genetic origins"
"So, like you could tell if humans and sebaceans are genetically related?"
"I have some contacts that are able to do that, yes"
"I'll think about it. Right now I need to get back to my ship and I think I've found just the thing for Aeryn" He picked up the object he had spotted whilst talking to the old man. It was a small knife in a holster. The holster was of fine-tooled leather and the knife had a beautiful handle. It was small but extremely sharp. He knew it was something that Aeryn would appreciate but would never buy for herself. "Yes, this is just right. How much do you want for it?" They agreed a price after a friendly haggle and Crichton reluctantly left the shop.
As he was heading back to Lo'la he noticed that the crowd seemed to have miraculously cleared. A low moaning, growling sound came from one of the side alleys and suddenly this huge hairy beast with a long snout came at Crichton.
"Shit, it's Chewbacca and I seem to have pissed him off somehow!" He ran as fast as he could towards where they had landed Lo'la. The beast came after him and made a lunge for him. It caught the back of his leg but he managed to get out of its grip. Despite the pain in his leg, John ran faster. At last Lo'la and D'Argo came into sight.
"D'Argo, quick, get on Lo'la and get us the hell out of here"
D'Argo ignored this instruction. He took out his Qualta blade, took careful aim and fired, hitting the creature chasing after Crichton in the chest area. It yelped and ran off.
"What was that thing?" gasped Crichton
One of the locals who was helping to load supplies onto Lo'la answered him "That was the Grasha. It belongs to Sentros."
"And he would be?"
"One of the banes of our lives. We have lost so much custom because of him. He is a being that trades in genetic and cellular material. We have tried to force him off this planet but have never succeeded. Funny, you're sebacean, he only usually preys on rare species not already in his collection"
"I'm not sebacean, I'm human."
"Did you tell anyone this?"
"Yeah, some old guy in one of the shops. Don't tell me that was him!"
"It could have been, no one really knows what he looks like. He is extremely elusive. When he detects a new subject he sends the Grasha to obtain it. It can sense genetic signatures"
"Hell, if he just wants a DNA sample I'm happy to give him one. I've already left them over half the galaxy"
"Sentros doesn't take small samples. He supplies cellular material on an industrial scale. For a rare specimen such as yourself he would want at least a limb, preferably more"
"God, me and my big mouth. I had to go and brag about the unique thing and now Shylock wants his pound of flesh."
They turned at the sudden noise of a ship taking off.
"That is Sentros' vessel"
"You didn't tell him about Moya did you?" asked D'Argo
"Yeah, I couldn't seem to stop myself"
"Sentros is able to extract information from people, both by telepathy and mind control"
You mean he's a god like alien and he's got a critter? I can't believe I've found a god like alien with a critter! Why do I always seem to attract these people? My nightmares just go on getting better." A sudden and horrible thought struck him "Does it have to be a sample of me or would he take any tissue that might be in some way related to my species?"
"Oh no, he will use can use any type of genetic or cellular material he can find. Once he's identified a new species he will stop at nothing to obtain the biggest and best sample he can"
"Including foetal tissue?"
"Oh yes, he prefers to get a sample of foetal material if he can" the man replied, bitterness in his voice. John didn't have time to enquire why that was, but turned to D'Argo urgently,
"Holy mother of God, I also told him about Aeryn being pregnant. We have to get back to Moya now"
