"War Angel"
Time: Some time during Season 3, after Self-Inflicted Wounds II: Wait For The Wheel
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
---------------------------------------
Theme: "This Is Who You Are"
from Beethoven's Last Night
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Sometimes
Slowly
Time brings revelation
Waiting
Softly
For someone to believe
That the ghosts we've hidden or left to die
Have now arisen and will arrive
To say what has happened
Say what has happened
Say what has happened
To me
And who would have thought
That you'd be the one
That I would have found here waiting
Lost in this night
Until you arrived
And always too blind to see
And who would have thought
That after this time
That I'd be the one you're saving
Now undisguised the ghosts that survive
Now say what was meant to be
I never wanted to give my life away
Who ever thought it would matter anyway
Wandering inside this night
Finding pieces of a life
Never sure I'd ever know what it means
It's the strangers in your life
That you never thought you'd meet
It's the hand that picked you up
When you're laying in the street
It's the hand that cut you down
It's the dream that someone shared
When you thought that all was lost
It's the friend that wasn't there
You can run from all the memory
But never get that far
For in the end they'll find you
For this is who you are
Change one note
Change one line
Nothing's going to be the same
Change one loss
Change one cut
Everything is rearranged
Every act
Cruel or kind
Lost inside our memory
If you look
There in time
You'll find it in
Find it in
Find it in
You'll find it in me
---------------------------------------
"War Angel"
Time: Some time during Season 3, after Self-Inflicted Wounds II: Wait For The Wheel
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
---------------------------------------
"It's my duty, my breeding since birth, it's what I am."
"You can be more."
---------------------------------------
Part Two: Silent Beginnings
"Don't need this path before me
Don't need forgotten glory
Don't need these threats of violence
Don't need eternal silence"
"Mephistopheles' Return"
from Beethoven's Last Night,
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Aeryn looked over the checklist she held and nodded. She looked around the small parts shop and spotted the shopkeeper in a corner, punching information into a computer terminal.
"Right, then," she said. "That looks like everything."
The shopkeeper, a native to the planet, reminded Aeryn of any number of insects. He spread his four arms and chirped happily. "Glad I am," he said, "that able I was to fill your needs."
"So am I. A bad synthetic gravity generator's not something you want to live with for very long."
They had gotten lucky. While Moya's synthetic gravity system hadn't failed completely, it had begun to go fahrbot; some chambers had zero gravity, some immensely high gravity. The rest of Moya's interior spaces were shifting from one extreme to the other. Their luck continued to hold when Pilot found a small commerce planet relatively close by.
This is too easy, Aeryn thought. Or maybe I'm just so used to things going wrong that when they go right, I can't accept it.
The shopkeeper scampered over to her, his arms waving cheerfully. "Yes, lack of gravity can make space flight difficult." He took a step closer to Aeryn and clasped his hands together. "Now, about payment."
Aeryn nodded, reached into a pocket and took out a drawstring pouch. "As agreed. Here you are. Make sure these parts are delivered to my transport pod within the arn."
"Yes, of course. Deliver them myself I will. Strange, is it not? A Peacekeeper buying parts from a second-hand shop?"
Aeryn blinked, caught by surprise. "I'm not a Peacekeeper. Not anymore, anyway."
"Sebacean, aren't you?"
"Not all Sebaceans are Peacekeepers, you know."
The shopkeeper nodded once and his eyes darted to Aeryn's holstered pulse pistol. "Yes, as you say. Well, clear skies to you."
Outside the store, Aeryn stopped and looked around, getting her bearings. After remembering the way back to the landing field, started walking. As she wove her way through the crowd that filled the street, Aeryn noticed several members of the shopkeeper's race watching her intently. They kept their distance, but appeared to be following her. Aeryn glanced at them again and picked up her pace.
As she turned a corner, Aeryn tapped her comm. "Pilot, I have the parts we need."
There was a burst of static before Pilot answered. "That's good to hear, Officer Sun. Moya is becoming distressed with the malfunctioning system."
"We'll be up as soon as John and the others are finished buying the rest of the supplies." John, D'Argo and Rygel had gone in search of supplies to replenish Moya's diminishing food stores. Chiana and Jool had gone off in their own direction, saying something about going shopping for something else besides parts and supplies. Admonishing them to stay out of trouble was most likely a waste of breath, so Stark had gone after them, saying he would make sure they stayed out of trouble. Aeryn didn't see Stark's presence as being much of a deterrent.
"It shouldn't be more than an arn. Is there something wrong with the comms? I'm hearing a lot of static."
"I am aware of the problem. I was experiencing the same interference earlier when Commander Crichton checked in. I'm running diagnostic checks on Moya's communications system, but I have yet to find a fault."
"Stay on top of it, Pilot. We'll be out of here soon."
Aeryn glanced back over her shoulder. The natives that had been following her were no longer there. A frown crossed her face as she again slapped her comm. "John?"
There was another burst of static. Aeryn could barely hear the voices through the interference, but she was sure she heard the unmistakable sound of pulse fire. Concern blossomed in her mind as she stopped walking and looked around. There was nothing threatening about the stalls and shops that lined the narrow street, which didn't make Aeryn feel any less worried.
"John? D'Argo? Chiana?" Aeryn felt herself tense as her mind began to anticipate action, coupled with growing concern. "Rygel? Stark? Jool?" The only response was more static.
"Frell." Aeryn growled in disgust and started running.
Microts later, as she reached the landing field, Aeryn slowed, drew her pulse pistol and approached the pod. A fast examination of the area around the pod revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Slowly, Aeryn climbed the ramp.
As she reached the top, Aeryn sensed someone standing behind her. Before she could turn, she heard a dull snap and felt something strike the back of her neck. Then there was nothing.but.darkness.
---------------------------------------
The first thing Aeryn heard as she woke up was John's annoyed voice. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way?"
After taking a microt to make sure she actually heard John's voice, Aeryn opened her eyes and sat up. To her surprise, she found herself lying on a thick pad. The pad was on the floor of what looked like some kind of storeroom. A short ramp lead up to a door.
Aeryn blinked and ran her hands over her face. She turned slowly and felt her eyes go wide. "What the frell?"
Along the wall behind her were John and the others, each one secured by heavy chains. On opposite walls were two small devices, each one humming quietly. Next to the group was a small cabinet. Aeryn looked around the empty room again, rolled off the pad and stood.
"It's about time you woke up," Rygel said. "Now get your skinny ass over here and unchain me!"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Rygel." Aeryn started forward, but stopped when she stepped between the devices. No matter how hard she tried to continue, Aeryn couldn't move forward. "Those devices seem to be generating some kind of containment field."
"Why would they want to keep us separated," Stark asked.
A smirk crossed John's face. "Maybe it's your winning smile and sunny personality. What happened to you?"
"I found the parts we need to repair Moya's synthetic gravity system. As I made my way back to the landing field, I spotted a few of the natives following me. After I spoke to Pilot, I tried to contact you."
"That was you I heard," D'Argo said as he pulled at the chains that held his arms. "I was too busy firing on these.people. They were following us then tried to overtake us. I took exception to that."
"You take exception to everything, D'Argo." Chiana squirmed then sat back with a sigh of frustration. "We were just trying to do a little shopping, a little sightseeing. Then these locals pop up in front of us, then darkness."
Jool stared at the chains that bound her arms and legs, as if not believing they were really there. "Why is it that every time we try to do anything, it provokes a violent reaction from people?"
"Did anyone do anything to annoy the natives?"
"Aeryn, it's us," John said. "Being in the same galaxy with us is enough to piss off most people."
Aeryn chewed her lower lip and looked at the devices. She automatically reached for her pulse pistol and cursed when she found the holster empty. "Maybe I can pull some wires and deactivate them."
As Aeryn knelt next to one of the devices, the door opened. She stood and watched four of the natives walk down the ramp. Three of them held long, tube-like devices, each one aimed at her. The fourth, who seemed to be the leader, was adorned with bands of brightly colored cloth.
He clasped his hands together, bowed and smiled. "Shru'terak'va, honored we are that you are among us."
Aeryn glanced at John and the others then looked back at the natives. "Are you talking to me? What's going on? Why are we being held captive?"
The leader's smile grew slightly. "All will be explained by our wise leader. If you will follow me, please."
Aeryn bit down hard on her lower lip and shook her head. "Don't go anywhere," she said as she started up the ramp. "I'll be back."
"I'm counting the microts," Jool muttered.
As the door closed, John sighed and let his head fall back against the wall. "Anyone have a deck of cards?"
---------------------------------------
After a few microts of walking through a series of unadorned corridors, Aeryn came to a large, equally bare room. Only a small group of mats were on the floor in the center of the room. Another native, who Aeryn recognized as the owner of the parts shop, sat on one of the mats, his legs crossed, his face calm. In front of him, one a smaller mat was her pulse pistol.
The shopkeeper waved a hand at the mat across from him. "Please, Shru'terak'va, join me. There is much we must discuss."
Slowly, Aeryn walked up to him. "Why do you keep calling me that?" She sat in front of the native and waited for an answer.
"A title of honor, it is. In our history, many have carried the title Shru'terak'va."
"You'll have to excuse me if I don't feel honored. My microbes aren't translating that word. What does Shru'terak'va mean?"
The native's head dipped and he seemed to think for a microt. "You are Shru'terak'va. You are our War Angel and you will kill for us."
---------------------------------------
TO BE CONTINUED
Time: Some time during Season 3, after Self-Inflicted Wounds II: Wait For The Wheel
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
---------------------------------------
Theme: "This Is Who You Are"
from Beethoven's Last Night
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Sometimes
Slowly
Time brings revelation
Waiting
Softly
For someone to believe
That the ghosts we've hidden or left to die
Have now arisen and will arrive
To say what has happened
Say what has happened
Say what has happened
To me
And who would have thought
That you'd be the one
That I would have found here waiting
Lost in this night
Until you arrived
And always too blind to see
And who would have thought
That after this time
That I'd be the one you're saving
Now undisguised the ghosts that survive
Now say what was meant to be
I never wanted to give my life away
Who ever thought it would matter anyway
Wandering inside this night
Finding pieces of a life
Never sure I'd ever know what it means
It's the strangers in your life
That you never thought you'd meet
It's the hand that picked you up
When you're laying in the street
It's the hand that cut you down
It's the dream that someone shared
When you thought that all was lost
It's the friend that wasn't there
You can run from all the memory
But never get that far
For in the end they'll find you
For this is who you are
Change one note
Change one line
Nothing's going to be the same
Change one loss
Change one cut
Everything is rearranged
Every act
Cruel or kind
Lost inside our memory
If you look
There in time
You'll find it in
Find it in
Find it in
You'll find it in me
---------------------------------------
"War Angel"
Time: Some time during Season 3, after Self-Inflicted Wounds II: Wait For The Wheel
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
---------------------------------------
"It's my duty, my breeding since birth, it's what I am."
"You can be more."
---------------------------------------
Part Two: Silent Beginnings
"Don't need this path before me
Don't need forgotten glory
Don't need these threats of violence
Don't need eternal silence"
"Mephistopheles' Return"
from Beethoven's Last Night,
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Aeryn looked over the checklist she held and nodded. She looked around the small parts shop and spotted the shopkeeper in a corner, punching information into a computer terminal.
"Right, then," she said. "That looks like everything."
The shopkeeper, a native to the planet, reminded Aeryn of any number of insects. He spread his four arms and chirped happily. "Glad I am," he said, "that able I was to fill your needs."
"So am I. A bad synthetic gravity generator's not something you want to live with for very long."
They had gotten lucky. While Moya's synthetic gravity system hadn't failed completely, it had begun to go fahrbot; some chambers had zero gravity, some immensely high gravity. The rest of Moya's interior spaces were shifting from one extreme to the other. Their luck continued to hold when Pilot found a small commerce planet relatively close by.
This is too easy, Aeryn thought. Or maybe I'm just so used to things going wrong that when they go right, I can't accept it.
The shopkeeper scampered over to her, his arms waving cheerfully. "Yes, lack of gravity can make space flight difficult." He took a step closer to Aeryn and clasped his hands together. "Now, about payment."
Aeryn nodded, reached into a pocket and took out a drawstring pouch. "As agreed. Here you are. Make sure these parts are delivered to my transport pod within the arn."
"Yes, of course. Deliver them myself I will. Strange, is it not? A Peacekeeper buying parts from a second-hand shop?"
Aeryn blinked, caught by surprise. "I'm not a Peacekeeper. Not anymore, anyway."
"Sebacean, aren't you?"
"Not all Sebaceans are Peacekeepers, you know."
The shopkeeper nodded once and his eyes darted to Aeryn's holstered pulse pistol. "Yes, as you say. Well, clear skies to you."
Outside the store, Aeryn stopped and looked around, getting her bearings. After remembering the way back to the landing field, started walking. As she wove her way through the crowd that filled the street, Aeryn noticed several members of the shopkeeper's race watching her intently. They kept their distance, but appeared to be following her. Aeryn glanced at them again and picked up her pace.
As she turned a corner, Aeryn tapped her comm. "Pilot, I have the parts we need."
There was a burst of static before Pilot answered. "That's good to hear, Officer Sun. Moya is becoming distressed with the malfunctioning system."
"We'll be up as soon as John and the others are finished buying the rest of the supplies." John, D'Argo and Rygel had gone in search of supplies to replenish Moya's diminishing food stores. Chiana and Jool had gone off in their own direction, saying something about going shopping for something else besides parts and supplies. Admonishing them to stay out of trouble was most likely a waste of breath, so Stark had gone after them, saying he would make sure they stayed out of trouble. Aeryn didn't see Stark's presence as being much of a deterrent.
"It shouldn't be more than an arn. Is there something wrong with the comms? I'm hearing a lot of static."
"I am aware of the problem. I was experiencing the same interference earlier when Commander Crichton checked in. I'm running diagnostic checks on Moya's communications system, but I have yet to find a fault."
"Stay on top of it, Pilot. We'll be out of here soon."
Aeryn glanced back over her shoulder. The natives that had been following her were no longer there. A frown crossed her face as she again slapped her comm. "John?"
There was another burst of static. Aeryn could barely hear the voices through the interference, but she was sure she heard the unmistakable sound of pulse fire. Concern blossomed in her mind as she stopped walking and looked around. There was nothing threatening about the stalls and shops that lined the narrow street, which didn't make Aeryn feel any less worried.
"John? D'Argo? Chiana?" Aeryn felt herself tense as her mind began to anticipate action, coupled with growing concern. "Rygel? Stark? Jool?" The only response was more static.
"Frell." Aeryn growled in disgust and started running.
Microts later, as she reached the landing field, Aeryn slowed, drew her pulse pistol and approached the pod. A fast examination of the area around the pod revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Slowly, Aeryn climbed the ramp.
As she reached the top, Aeryn sensed someone standing behind her. Before she could turn, she heard a dull snap and felt something strike the back of her neck. Then there was nothing.but.darkness.
---------------------------------------
The first thing Aeryn heard as she woke up was John's annoyed voice. "Why can't we ever do anything the easy way?"
After taking a microt to make sure she actually heard John's voice, Aeryn opened her eyes and sat up. To her surprise, she found herself lying on a thick pad. The pad was on the floor of what looked like some kind of storeroom. A short ramp lead up to a door.
Aeryn blinked and ran her hands over her face. She turned slowly and felt her eyes go wide. "What the frell?"
Along the wall behind her were John and the others, each one secured by heavy chains. On opposite walls were two small devices, each one humming quietly. Next to the group was a small cabinet. Aeryn looked around the empty room again, rolled off the pad and stood.
"It's about time you woke up," Rygel said. "Now get your skinny ass over here and unchain me!"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, Rygel." Aeryn started forward, but stopped when she stepped between the devices. No matter how hard she tried to continue, Aeryn couldn't move forward. "Those devices seem to be generating some kind of containment field."
"Why would they want to keep us separated," Stark asked.
A smirk crossed John's face. "Maybe it's your winning smile and sunny personality. What happened to you?"
"I found the parts we need to repair Moya's synthetic gravity system. As I made my way back to the landing field, I spotted a few of the natives following me. After I spoke to Pilot, I tried to contact you."
"That was you I heard," D'Argo said as he pulled at the chains that held his arms. "I was too busy firing on these.people. They were following us then tried to overtake us. I took exception to that."
"You take exception to everything, D'Argo." Chiana squirmed then sat back with a sigh of frustration. "We were just trying to do a little shopping, a little sightseeing. Then these locals pop up in front of us, then darkness."
Jool stared at the chains that bound her arms and legs, as if not believing they were really there. "Why is it that every time we try to do anything, it provokes a violent reaction from people?"
"Did anyone do anything to annoy the natives?"
"Aeryn, it's us," John said. "Being in the same galaxy with us is enough to piss off most people."
Aeryn chewed her lower lip and looked at the devices. She automatically reached for her pulse pistol and cursed when she found the holster empty. "Maybe I can pull some wires and deactivate them."
As Aeryn knelt next to one of the devices, the door opened. She stood and watched four of the natives walk down the ramp. Three of them held long, tube-like devices, each one aimed at her. The fourth, who seemed to be the leader, was adorned with bands of brightly colored cloth.
He clasped his hands together, bowed and smiled. "Shru'terak'va, honored we are that you are among us."
Aeryn glanced at John and the others then looked back at the natives. "Are you talking to me? What's going on? Why are we being held captive?"
The leader's smile grew slightly. "All will be explained by our wise leader. If you will follow me, please."
Aeryn bit down hard on her lower lip and shook her head. "Don't go anywhere," she said as she started up the ramp. "I'll be back."
"I'm counting the microts," Jool muttered.
As the door closed, John sighed and let his head fall back against the wall. "Anyone have a deck of cards?"
---------------------------------------
After a few microts of walking through a series of unadorned corridors, Aeryn came to a large, equally bare room. Only a small group of mats were on the floor in the center of the room. Another native, who Aeryn recognized as the owner of the parts shop, sat on one of the mats, his legs crossed, his face calm. In front of him, one a smaller mat was her pulse pistol.
The shopkeeper waved a hand at the mat across from him. "Please, Shru'terak'va, join me. There is much we must discuss."
Slowly, Aeryn walked up to him. "Why do you keep calling me that?" She sat in front of the native and waited for an answer.
"A title of honor, it is. In our history, many have carried the title Shru'terak'va."
"You'll have to excuse me if I don't feel honored. My microbes aren't translating that word. What does Shru'terak'va mean?"
The native's head dipped and he seemed to think for a microt. "You are Shru'terak'va. You are our War Angel and you will kill for us."
---------------------------------------
TO BE CONTINUED