Title: When Worlds Collide
Author: sassy_lion
Summary: Aeryn and John are having a wonderful weeken to themselves, when Aeryn goes missing and John finds a Peacekeeper plot that seems too unbelievable (somehow all my stories, as of late, get the PK treatment), only to get help from an unlikely source...
Spoilers: A little more than 5 months after season 3. John and Aeryn are back together, as they should be!
Disclaimer: Rockne owns the world. I just live and play in it, I really can't ask for more...
Archiving: If you want it, take it. Send me a note.
Beta: Iris Green, a trusty Hitachi computer, and Rusty- my piece of shit computer.
Feedback: PLEASE. I need it! Compliments will be shined and placed in a display case. Flames will be used to blow new glass. (yes, I know how to do it too!)
Author's Notes: 1) I am person who HATES to do story outlines ahead of time. It just throws me off and makes me lose my concentration. 2) I am a nocturnal 18-year-old, so if you find a mistake (regarding space-time or just normal time) it just means I had to be up for at least part of the day. 3) You'll find a couple of anime references in a lot of my stories. No anime belongs to me, and in a way I want to strangle Lizzy for giving me excuses to watch more and more TV every week. Most of my references will be Gundam Wing, Cowboy Bebop, or Outlaw Star, but there others.... **Dogma reference: that doesn't belong to me either.** 4) To everyone: I am working on about four stories at once, so please forgive me if I don't post as frequently as I usually have been. I hope you guys enjoy!
Shout-Outs: The biggest thanks go to [always] Lizzy (aka pinky) for endlessly listening to me bitch and moan about EVERYTHING from my works, your works, your spelling problems (quit complaining, you know I luv ya!), being broke, and trying to borrow all your stuff, instead of getting my own copies. Why do you put up with me anyway? Amy for being a nit-pick and noticing EVERY spelling and grammar error in this vapid little excuse to get away from my loud and crowding family life. I don't think I could ever get this story up without the help, EXCEPTIONAL work. Thank you, and I hope you feel better soon. Maren, for no other reason than she is as crazy as me (and I hope she is proud of it!) Vaidah and Dawn

EXTRA NOTE: I'll be switching between Risal and Tara for Tara's name. They are the same person! There is a whole other side to Tara that I have not mentioned in the previous chapters. That will be coming up near the end of this chapter and some of the next. It may not make sense, but deal with it!


Okay now my babbling is done. (for this chapter at least)



When Worlds Collide
Chapter 6: The Secret Unveiled

Tara screamed once again, still not believing the amount of pain circulating through her head at the moment.

It had been two, maybe three arns since Scorpius had ordered his guards to place her in the Aurora Chair.

So far, all of what Zahir had told was true, the more resistance, the more pain, as Scorpius systematically raped her mind of all the memories she possessed, including all her memories of Earth, Centinnal, her life after Centinnal, and more.

The breaks had come few and far between as Scorpius searched her mind for the answers to questions he wanted to know. She sobbingly told him the truth about her Peacekeeper ruse, and all the secrets she had held on to since she had infiltrated the command carrier to save John.

One of the only secrets she held now was the Resistance. He would never break her of that one, even if he continued to search her mind as heavily as he had been. Twelve million resistance leaders, soldiers, and supporters would all be found and executed if she gave that information to him, and her work since she left Centinnal would be wasted.

"That's enough for now. Her brain patterns show that she would not be able to endure much longer if this level were kept up," Niem's voice came from behind Tara somewhere.

Tara could sense that two guards were coming up to the platform, but because of the amount of pain that was running through her, she couldn't feel her limbs. Apparently, they took off the straps quickly because the next thing she knew was being pulled up from the sitting position. She flexed her wrists painfully, reveling in the self-inflicted pain for a brief microt before Tara felt herself being pulled into unconsciousness. She fought to keep herself awake long enough to make sure the guards wouldn't do anything to her.

"Agreed. Guards take... Lieutenant L'San back to her cell," was the last thing she heard as Scorpius motioned for the guards to take her as she felt herself slip into blessed unconsciousness.

*-*-*-*-*

Aeryn sat on the floor of the cold metal cell with John's head buried underneath her neck as she gently stroked the back of his neck, allowing him to be relaxed and stay asleep. John had fallen into a deep sleep an arn earlier, thankful to be back in physical contact with Aeryn as she checked the welts that had begun to form on his wrists from the chair's bindings.

She sat there thinking of how all of this had gotten started when the door creaked open. Two guards stepped in and unceremoniously dropped Tara on the ground. She heard a small moan from Tara as they left and Aeryn went back to watching John's sleeping form, averting her eyes to Tara's unconscious one every few minutes.

She felt the baby's small form move as it told her it was hungry. She was thankful she hadn't really begun to show yet. She figured, if meticulous enough, she could hide the fact until about the tenth monen. She knew the sentence she would receive if it were learned the baby was not fully Sebacean. It would have no life outside of her womb.

John moaned softly and picked his head from under Aeryn's chin. "Hey, baby." He leaned up slightly and kissed her soundly on the lips.

"I see you are feeling better then," she smirked as he pulled out of her lap and rested next to her on the floor.

He noticed Tara's unconscious form on the floor and wondered for a brief moment what had happened to her before returning his attention to Aeryn.

"Are you okay? The heat got you a little earlier."

"I'm fine; a little dizzy, but I'm all right. You were unconscious for about three arns yourself. Risal said something about the Aurora Chair before Scorpius's guards took her away. She was brought back no more than 100 microts before you woke up."

"She's not who she seems to be," John repeated his earlier tirade as a shiver passed through him when she mentioned the chair.

Aeryn sighed as she took turn and rested her head on his shoulder. I hate lying to him, but she said the less he knew the better... I have a strange sense that I can trust her not to hurt any of us. Her thoughts trailed off as she spoke, "She is exactly who she seems to me. John, I spent a quarter arn talking to her."

"I still don't believe that," he whispered as the door squeaked open and a guard stepped in, mumbling about feeding traitors and disgusting prisoners before he dropped three trays in the center of the room and quickly stalked back out, slamming the door behind him.

John silently moved to the center of the room and grabbed two of the trays. Bringing them back to where he previously sat, he held out the tray to her. "Eat something, you'll feel better." He smirked slightly and Aeryn immediately knew he was talking about her and the baby, but didn't want the monitors to know their secret, let alone the rest of the ship.

She grudgingly nodded her thanks and took a few bites of the food cube he had held out to her. "When do you think Risal will wake up?"

John shrugged and popped a food cube into his mouth as he glanced at the still unconscious form of the so-called Risal L'San, wondering about anything and everything that came to mind.

*-*-*-*-*

"What?" Zahir yelled as he paced back and forth in Command on Loki, "it's -- she can't be. I've never known Risal to be anything but a loyal Peacekeeper soldier." Not to mention, a wonderful wife and recreating partner.

He was thankful that last statement was made out of Scorpius's line of vision aboard the Leviathan; otherwise Scorpius would definitely know he was lying through his teeth. Once again, he was being interrogated by Scorpius. And it wasn't like he could just have Loki starburst away, Tara, her brother and Officer Sun were aboard the other ship.

His other problem was that Captain Chatto had become more involved and was also being heavily interrogated by Scorpius and his crew also. He had communicated with Chatto many times over the last few solar days about mounting a rescue mission for the three.

It took many days, but Zahir finally managed to stop Scorpius from initiating any more interrogations. And yet he was no where near close to getting his wife and the other two he needed desperately to carry out the mission the Resistance had given him and Tara.

Zahir rubbed his face in his hands, sighing softly as he climbed into the empty bed, half expecting Tara to walk in any moment and pounce on him ready for sex. But she didn't. She wasn't there anymore. She was being tortured for information on Scorpius's ship.

He shuddered slightly at the thought and rolled over to Tara's favorite side of the bed. He grabbed her pillow and buried his face in it, inhaling deeply to catch her unique scent. He smiled at the smell of haifa flowers and kaa'ya nectar from her favorite soap with the underlying light musky smell that her body naturally produced. Zahir fell asleep a few moments later, hoping to make it one full night of sleep, as he thought of a perfect plan to get them out.

He woke up six arns later, feeling better than he had since Tara had been captured. He stepped on to Command and activated the comms. "Captain Chatto, I could use your help."

*-*-*-*-*

Tara was in the chair again.

"Tell me all you know about this Resistance movement. I caught a fleeting glimpse of it last time I placed you in here. Tell me more," Scorpius commanded as Niem raised the chair's extraction levels.

Everything exploded as Tara's last barrier broke, revealing all the information she had been given about the Resistance. I'm so sorry I let everyone down. Zahir, I'm so sorry, her thoughts sobbed as she screamed one last time before passing out; her last thought being about how long it had actually taken to pry the information from her now coveted mind.

As she fell into the cell, John was picked up and brought out. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle many more sessions in that frelling chair if Scorpius knew all the information was useless without her.

She hoped that Zahir and Captain Chatto would soon come up with a plan to save the lot of them, but she didn't know how anymore. At least there is one secret he doesn't know about. My psionic ability, it has been so well hidden since I left Centinnal that I almost completely forgot about it. But would it still work after three cycles of disuse? It might be worth a try in the future, but for now, I know I should keep it hidden, but...

She turned on her side and looked at where Aeryn was quietly asleep on the floor. She closed her eyes and concentrated intensely on the sleeping form. She took a deep breath and slipped quietly into her mind, slightly pleased that her ability was still as strong as ever.

The first thing on Aeryn's mind, as Tara had suspected, was John's health. She watched as Aeryn's dream shifted from one dangerous situation to another. Draks. Sheyangs. A Flax. Three different Johns. John as a statue. The Gammak Base. The Shadow Depository. An Ice Planet. The commerce station near the twin suns of Quell. An image of John playing paper rock scissors with himself. A Budong. Dam-Ba-Da. John dying of radiation poisoning aboard the hybrid Leviathan. John alive on Moya. Scorpius's command carrier.

Tara watched in curiosity as all these events were played in real time through Aeryn's mind. She could sense all the emotions that ran rampant inside Aeryn's head at the times of the incidents and the overwhelming fear for the current one. Tara now knew for certain that she could trust in Aeryn to help.

She pulled out of Aeryn's mind and sighed deeply, opening her eyes and looking directly at the still sleeping Aeryn. Tara smiled slightly, as Aeryn had never sensed another presence in her mind.

About an arn later John was promptly thrown back into the shared cell as Tara and Aeryn talked about each other. Throughout the whole base it was already known that two humans had been captured, so there was no use hiding it from the monitors.

"John," Aeryn cried softly as he lifted his head and gave her a slight grin, "are you all right?"

"Yeah, got one hell of a huge headache, but I'm okay for now. How are things on the flip side?"

"Not much better." Tara replied as she closed on her brother's position. "I don't know how to reach Captain Luca or Captain Chatto," she whispered, "they would come in an instant if they knew exactly where we were on the ship. I doubt they have had much luck finding us this far." Tara rubbed the side of her neck and stared at the door expectantly, "Getting out is not the immediate problem. Scorpius has the information on the Resistance."

Two sets of eyes looked at her in horror as she turned away from them and set her head in her hands, silently sobbing.

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See, Nixar, isn't this a wonderful chapter? Who am I kidding? I would hope for some comments soon!!!!!!!