The Uncharted Territories
Part 7 – What Took You So Long?
No one that I own. I don't own none of it 'xept Jonha and Nykarene. My babies.
A brief feeling of nausea overcame Jonah as the Lo'La passed into the vortex. She felt like she was indeed in two places at once, stretched across a vast, immeasurable distance. The ship itself seemed longer, everything and everyone fading as if not entirely present, as if parts were missing from their whole form.
Then a ramification, a sudden burst of energy it seemed that pulled everything back together, and forced anything still in Jonah's stomach into her throat. Swallowing the foul taste she tried to untie herself from the curled position she had adopted, looking out of the view port.
Instead of space she was seeing a brown gas, laced with black and endless. They passed through it, layer upon layer of the same gaseous substance, the same colour and pattern.
One of the consoles was conducting a silent count, but it was counting forever in a day, for time had no meaning here, no control over the mist.
Then the mist was parting; no something was blowing it away, making it thinner. They passed through into an open cavern within the walls of the centre halo…a hole kept free. Nykarene had said that a Halos mist could freeze objects forever, so it made sense that a hole would be made for the…"Frell".
The 'base' they had been expecting was more like a complete colony, a civilisation living within the halo, inhabiting a matrix of interconnected buildings and modules upon a huge space station structure similar to a commerce station, only at lease twice the size. The buildings were well lit on the inside, indicating that it was an active station.
The Lo'La performed a complete revolution before finding a suitable port for docking, the door already open and ready to accept incoming ships. Unfortunately this was the first problem in their lack of plan. "If we dock, won't we be detected?" Jonah asked.
"We're not going to dock". D'Argo told her.
The mist of a Center Halo was a presence within the vacuum of space, holding a rudimentary…but present atmosphere. It wasn't breathable, but it didn't need to be, it still protected them from the vacuum.
Jonah quickly climbed onto D'Argo's back with her arms about his shoulders and legs around his waist. "I want to just say that this is a bad idea".
"Agreed". D'Argo nodded and Jonah started to force herself into a hyperventilation fit, keeping it up for six breathes, then taking a deep one to hold. Tapping him quickly on the shoulder to signal her readiness she braced herself quickly as the Luxan jumped.
It was like flying as they glided along a thick tope through the water like air and…somewhat ungracefully…landed on the station hull. Quickly D'Argo swung himself round and into the airlock, forcing the door closed behind them and the lock to pressurise. A sudden thought came to him, but the panic was quickly quelled when Jonah took a deep breathe of the air, proving that this Bihoshen species breathed oxygen and nitrogen just like most others.
Jonah took a few more breathes, waiting for the burning of her deprived lungs to subside. "We should get out of this airlock. They're bound to notice it's pressurised".
The Luxan forced the internal door open, checked the passageway, and then guided her out. "If all goes to plan, they will think it an error". He led the Sebacean through the empty corridors, although neither of them knew the way. Finally they found a small alcove, situated beneath what appeared to be a flight of stairs…a bipedal race then…but hidden in shadow by a well placed console. They crept inside, D'Argo reaching for the communicator badge. "Any luck".
Static. "About frelling time, I thought you guys were dren".
"Nyka your faith in us is reassuring". Jonah replied.
"Have you started the scans?" D'Argo said, business as usual.
"First two tiers are done so far…none yet…third tier…and…WAIT".
"What". D'Argo almost dropped the communicator.
"Fifth Tier, second section. There's a DNA signature that part matches Jonah's. A Sebacean signature near that…they're weak but alive".
"Alive". D'argo couldn't help loosing his composure for a few precious moments.
"Fourth teir second section, that's one section back and three tiers up from your location". Nykarene added. "You're lucky, judging by the level of activity it looks like night time on the colony, and they obviously don't feel the need for heavy internal security".
"Must be part Peacekeeper". Jonah said, remembering what the Banik had told her about the ease of her last infiltration.
D'Argo wasn't listening; he was now in full soldier mode. "One section back and three tiers up…come on". He quickly grabbed the Sebacean girl and pulled her back into the open and up the stairs they had hidden beneath, carefully but quickly following the directions that Nykarene, studying the mapping scans from the Lo'La, was giving them.
The Banik had been right about the lack of security presence, they only met a few guards along the way, most easily hidden from behind consoles and the occasional crate. Only one had proven a problem, and he had been easily dispatched by the skill of the Luxan. Jonah started when the head of the unconscious alien seemed to fall apart, revealing a crushed mess of eyes and teeth. "Bihoshen?" She asked, gagging slightly at the mangled mess of the face.
The Luxan didn't answer as he quickly carried the limp form into a hiding place, taking its weapon as he did so.
Nykarene had sung through every song she knew, several poems, and retold a story to the empty ship. She had run out of things to occupy her time, save confirming the odd direction over the comm. They were now a tier below their friend's cell, so close they would be able to touch them soon. Despite herself Nykarene couldn't help feeling somewhat excited for her friend who would soon meet her Father for the first time.
A red light started blinking on the console, and a strange Luxan voice filled the ship. Even with translator microbes Nykarene had trouble following the dialect of the ship, which seemed to speak in an ancient form of D'Argo's tongue. "Slow down will you".
The ship obeyed, but it was no less incomprehensible until it was replaced with a grating feminine voice, an intercepted communication.
"Ship detail Aquan. Current Temporal Location 103421.3".
D'Argo slowly crept up behind the unsuspecting guard, knocking him flat before he even had time to breathe in response. Stepping over the unconscious form the Luxan continued up one corridor, Jonah up the other, both looking through the glass window of every cell. The first few on D'Argo's side were empty, a dark grey metal with no beds or added comforts save those needed for survival 'functions', and even they were pathetically primitive in their design. The cell was one big moral breaker, as demonstrated by the state of the first prisoner he saw.
His breath caught as he forced the door open, causing the figure huddled in the corner to flinch wildly, hitting the wall he was already pressed against, but without giving the entrance a glance, he had seen the sight a hundred times, why give it any more attention.
D'Argo approached the shaking figure slowly; raising his arm as he knelt down…not making any sudden movements…until his hand was directly under the chin and tilting the head back so that their eyes met.
His face was bruised in places, with a permanent scar running down one side as if the face had been cut open. The eyes stared at him for what felt like a cycle, the expression at first one of detachment, then disbelieve…finally hope. "Yo D what took yah". The figure said no more as he buried his face in the Luxan's broad shoulder, his shaking replaced by shivering sobs as he felt joy for the first time in what for him had been over a cycle in the cell.
The wall she was facing was metallic, her reflection somewhat visible in the rusted face. It was the same as it had been yesterday, the day before, the day before, the day before, but still she studied it, still she studied it even when the door behind her opened. Funny, feeding time seemed earlier today.
"Are…are you Officer Aeryn Sun?" The voice was shaking as it asked her name. They had never used her name before, never asked what it was, she had almost forgotten what it was.
She turned to face the newcomer, and instantly recognised the eyes in the different face.
"John?" The head against his shoulder nodded. "John is anyone else with you…Aeryn?"
John leant back in the Luxan's embracing grip, looking into his face. "Oh God Aeryn".
"John". His gaze was guided over his friends shoulder, towards the door where she stood, her hair matted, her face as disbelieving and scarred as his own, her eyes hollow, but still she was…would always be…
"Aeryn". With D'Argo's help John was able to rise, only to stumble as she caught him in her arms, holding him, kissing his face, his eyes, his lips. They breathed each other in for the first time in a cycle, tears melting into one long stream. D'Argo was stood behind John the whole time, and Aeryn forever the soldier rested an outstretched hand behind the Human's back to rest upon the Luxan's own, smiling through her tears. "What took you so long?" She mirrored John's question, for even in the place where time didn't exist she could still feel it passing.
"Jonah where are you".
Out of both respect for the friends, and a strange sense of confusing fear, Jonah had remained standing just outside the doorway holding the communicator. Both John and Aeryn looked round and noticed her for the first time now, John looking straight at her with eyes so much like her brothers, so much like Jonah's own. "Nykarene". The Princess finally managed to say, though her voice was choked. "This is not the time".
"Time…this is not the time to argue about time…we don't have any". The Banik sounded frantic, as a race they had never been good at handling pressure. "There's a ship entering the base in less than 400 microts". She explained. "It's stardate dimension is 103421.3, that's sixty seven years ago at leas…" the Banik paused, possibly to take a breathe "…and remember the reset on the vortex? If that ship enters before we leave…"
"What?" Jonah asked.
"We are going to be trapped in the past".
A quick check of the other cells revealed no prisoners. It had taken Jonah and D'Argo half an arn to actually reach the prison level. They had less than half that time to get back to the dock.
D'Argo was slightly confused by the panic this had caused, but then he felt he had nothing to tie him to the present day…John and Aeryn were there beside him…albeit weak…Moya was dead, Chiana was dead.
Jonah had other family beside John however, and Nyka had a world to return to. Not to mention the confusion that travelling half a century into the past would cause.
That was why he only complained until the retreating quartet came face to face with a force of security that seemed to fill the corridor on both sides. Looked like one of the unconscious guards they had conveniently left behind had recovered early. D'Argo managed to drop the first few with ease, but after a while the number approaching them was in the dozens.
A part of Crichton that had been groggy until now finally started to make better sense of the world as he fought the best he could against the flood of security. Unless a miracle took place they had e no way of getting to the docking ring.
And less than two minutes to go.