Entertaining Angels

by Cat Luckey

John and Aeryn Face What Fate had Left Them and Grayza's Doomsday Machine

8. Exodus: Solar Day Two

Chapter 8 - Exodus: Solar Day Two

When the servant of the man of God rose early and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. Elisha's servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

Elisha answered, "Fear not; for those with us are more than those with them."

Then Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray You, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the young man's eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

And when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, "Smite this people with blindness, I pray You." And God smote them with blindness, as Elisha asked.

-- 2 Kings 6: 15-18 (The Amplified Bible)

The floating sensation never ceased to astound him. It was the same each time he left a planet with natural gravity and returned to Moya. He was susceptible to her swaying. It was like experiencing turbulence during a storm on an airplane only to have the sensations of ascending and descending remain hours after landing on solid ground.

My equilibrium is off.

That's how he felt about Aeryn...at that moment. Sikozu had told him that Aeryn needed to rest and not to disturb her. But he needed to know if she and the baby were truly okay. Yet "Wait" was still the operative word given to him.

John stood on the terrace in an "at ease" position, gazing at space, that span of black velvet set with diamond pinpoints of stars. Moya was hiding behind one of Yontur's moons that perpetually spun a silvery light and contrasted with the shadows of determination on his granite face. He ached for Aeryn, his child, and was responsible for Yontur. He would find out about his family in a few microns, and if they were okay, he'd leave for Yontur.

About ten arns ago, John received an extra boost of bio-microbes and with rest of eight arns, recovered quickly. But Aeryn, on the other hand, needed more attention, more time. She had been operated on by Sikozu and received blood from the planet below. Thanks to D'Argo, Adu, and Lo'La, who had successfully infiltrated a secured Blood Bank without being detected by Peacekeepers and had returned unmolested with the much needed blood supply.

It was all because of him this insanity had occurred. He had to find a way to stop "The War Of The Worlds." He stood in the dark and couldn't imagine what would happen if the doomsday machine did its job. He couldn't allow it to happen--Judgment Day. And with only about two solar days left, it just might. He needed help.

John knew Grayza's ship wasn't the previous Command Carrier that was destroyed from within by Crais and Talyn. Even if he boarded this one, how could he dismantle the bomb if he didn't know how it looked? All he knew was that it was some sort of chemical which reacted with the planet's calcium carbonate found in their numerous caves. Adu and Aeryn seemed to know even more about this weapon, but he couldn't take Aeryn along to find out. She and the baby needed protecting.

Which left Adu. Aeryn's wing man had gotten her back to Moya in time to be saved and had even fetched her blood from Yontur; a dangerous mission. Though John was grateful, at the same time he felt a tinge of jealousy, wishing it was him that had brought Aeryn back safely. But at this point, John decided he had no choice but to trust Adu and the guy's knowledge of the Spherical. He had to get Adu to agree with him to help stop that bomb.

Time. I never seem to have enough of it, John thought as he gazed at moon's surface. If only there was enough time for him and Aeryn to be together, settle down, and enjoy all the creature comforts of a normal life. If only he had enough time to beat this Spherical. There had to be a way out of this death trap. A solution. Something.

John closed his eyes. He'd been standing there for over an arn waiting. Then he rotated his shoulders, flexing the muscles to see if they still worked. Stiff. Still painful. It would take a little while before his back healed completely.

John rubbed his lower lip hard, played with the fleshy part of it with his thumb, deep in thought. This Command Carrier, which held the weapon, was too close to Yontur to destroy with a wormhole, which would only result in the planet being obliterated along with the ship. That would be disastrous, causing too many fatalities. D'Argo's ship couldn't destroy a Command Carrier unless his Luxan friend used Lo'La to make the carrier implode. She did have a maximum firing power that could possibly cause as much damage as Starburst. But that involved too much sacrifice, and the end result would probably be the same, destruction of the three planets from the cataclysmic blast. Every angle John thought of was a dead end. No solution in sight anywhere.

He identified with a long ago sermon, how a servant stood in fear when an army came to destroy them and the prophet Elisha said, "Open his eyes." And the servant saw the angels with chariots of fire.

Fear not. Those with us are more than those with them.

John sucked in his lower lip. He was blind to a solution. If God had any angels on this side of the universe, he needed them now. "Open my eyes," John said, softly to the blanket of space before him.

"Commander Crichton," the comms bleeped on and Pilot's welcomed voice permeated the terrace.

"Is Aeryn okay?" John asked before the navigator completed his sentence.

"Yes, Commander, she is doing well. You are able to see her now."

"How's the baby?"

"The child is fine as well."

"Thanks, Pilot, I appreciate it." John sighed in relief and felt the flush return to his face at the mention of Aeryn and the baby. The heat warmed his skin and his heart, his heart that drummed hard, playing a rat-tat-tat rhythm against his chest. He was glad to hear Pilot's calm voice and barely could wait for the next directions, yearning to be with Aeryn.

"You will find her resting in her quarters."

Before Pilot finished, John sprinted through Moya's corridors to see her. Entering Aeryn's room, he found her recumbent, covered in a golden blanket. He anxiously perused her face. She was still pale. But when her large gray eyes locked with his, John's stomach flipped with rattlers. He knelt beside the bed and felt her forehead.

"Hey, how're you doin'?" He smiled, caressing her face.

It often amazed him how her eyes would sometimes change color from deep blue, to gray, or bluish-gray. But now they were gray. They met his, "Mmmm, you would end up fine. How is your back?" She smiled, squinting her eyes.

"In good shape. You okay?"

"Ask me that later. I have something to tell you."

"Yeah?"

"I found out earlier that Grayza is planning to destroy Yontur and the neighboring planets. She's taken the CL3 shipments we spoke of and has already mixed it with Fribium aboard the Command Carrier. She said in three solar days she'll destroy it all." Aeryn winced.

"I know." He stroked the side of her cheek with his hand and remembered how they had fought together, laughed together, and ate together. They even made love once. He knew Aeryn, her nuances, her funny little gestures. He knew when she was angry, happy, or sad. At that moment, he knew something was troubling her. That childlike frown appeared, her brow creased, and countenance darkened. He ran his finger alongside her perfectly shaped brow, then kissed it. "What's the problem?"

"I didn't want to tell you before." John could see this was very hard for her, the way she stuttered, turned her head away from him. "I...I didn't want you..." She inhaled and faced him, "I didn't want you to go and get yourself killed, playing the hero."

"Now what makes you think I'd do a stupid thing like that?"

Aeryn paused for a moment. "You're going down there aren't you?"

"I have to."

"Well then, I'll be going too." She huffed and began to sit up. John gently resisted her.

"Nooo you're not. You still need to recover. And you've got the baby to take care of."

"I am battletested and I will go." She pushed against him, straining.

"No you won't." John sternly took her shoulders and gently returned her to the recumbent position. He locked eyes with her. "You're staying." Her eyes. It was her eyes that first attracted him. Now they were like troubled waters, sparkling, rushing to find serenity. And his heart broke at her silent plea, her yearning to go with him.

"Then promise me you'll call for me if you need me."

"I'll always need you." Her face blurred beneath his welled tears, and he lowered himself to the side of her face.

"Then promise me you'll come back."

"Don't worry, this'll take a couple of days max. I'll be back in a jiff," he spoke softly into her ear.

"Promise me." Aeryn persisted. John sat up. Her brow creased and her eyes were suddenly thick with tears. One slowly fell and John caught it with his index finger, then stroked her face with his hand. She was so distraught. John was baffled at how she was trembling, silently crying over him leaving. But then who wouldn't when a doomsday machine awaited them. He wanted to tell her nothing would happen, everything would be all right. But it wasn't.

"I promise I'll always be close enough to where you can see me, hear me. Hmmm?" His voice cracked, sounded gruff to him. She was his treasure and he would do everything within his power to keep his family safe, warm, and out of harms way. John lowered the silken-like blanket and saw where the wound was healing, encircled by crimson flesh beneath her black sports top. Her belly was exposed, heaving in and out. He lowered his head on her cool stomach and kissed her bellybutton to settle her distress.

Aeryn stroked his neck, then combed her fingers through his hair. It felt like heaven to John. He didn't want to leave.

"John?"

"Yeah?" His voice was muffled, while speaking into her stomach.

"Why are you doing this, your mouth on my stomach?"

He looked up and laughed. "An Earth tradition. We're communicating to our baby. If he's got ears like yours, then he'll hear us."

She sat up and brought his face to hers and rubbed against his cheek with her hand. John leaned into her palm. She softly whispered into his ears, "You better not die, or I'll kill you myself." Then she kissed his mouth, lightly, and reclined.

Soon after, her eyes closed and shallow breathing followed. John sighed. He was glad to see her sleeping. He smiled. There lay Sleeping Beauty, and if she were anyone else, he would've laughed at her gentle whisper. But he had seen her in action, and he had seen her kill.

He brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead as she slumbered. "I'll never leave you, Aeryn. Never."

***

Tick tock...

Time passed, pressure was building. John paced the docking bay like a caged animal waiting for D'Argo and Adu. Before he could leave for Yontur, he needed to talk to the big guy. His bags were packed, had plenty of ammo, just in case. And...and...he dug into his coat pocket and felt Aeryn's flight pin. A keepsake.

John walked back and forth nervously, saying an old nursery rhyme over and over again: "Tick tock, the game is locked. Nobody else can play. And if they do I'll take my shoe and knock them black and blue."

An arn ago, he had stopped at Pilot's den and confidentially made the navigator agree to Starburst if he and D'Argo requested.

"Will you do it?" John asked, touching the rim of Pilot's shelled head.

The navigator's eyes glassed over and closed. "We have been through much Commander Crichton. It would be a tragedy not to have you amongst us."

"I know," he whispered the words, regretting all that transpired to meet this end. John held tight to Pilot's ridge, "If D'Argo disagrees, don't listen to him. Starburst anyway. Got it?"

"But, you know I only serve those on Moya. You are free to stay on Yontur. But why should you decide our fate and Moya's when you possibly will not return? If D'Argo chooses not to Starburst, then we will not."

John laughed, "There was a time when you would've said, 'So long, we're gone. Starburst!' seeing the danger here." He sensed Pilot wasn't humored. "Okay, one thing will change your stubbornness to stay. One thing."

Pilot put his claw on John's hand. "And what could that possibly be?"

"The lives of those you serve here on Moya and the life of my child, our family; Starburst to save them. Please, Pilot? Okay?"

Pilot nodded. "I understand. It is a shame to say goodbye to one so...familiar. John, you have been a true friend to Moya and...and I."

John patted the shelled head. He couldn't bear to see the tears welling in this magnificent creature's eyes, "I'll never forget you and Moya." He slid off the round console and headed through the doors.

Now he stopped pacing and stood, wondering what to say to his Luxan friend. It wasn't going to be easy.

***

...The game is locked. Nobody else can play...

"Are you fahrbot!" D'Argo yelled, shook his head with tentacles flapping, adding to the monstrous scene. "We should Starburst NOW and leave them to their fate!"

Rygel whirred in on his throne chair. "What the yotz is going on?"

John gestured Rygel to stop. "Nothing Sparky, it's a private thing. We need to speak alone."

"Well," the Hynerian puffed, lifting his frog-like chin, "I have come on the behalf of Adu. He is delayed in talks with the Regent."

A rumbling noise came from D'Argo, then wheezing from his nose, "Shut up! Rygel and leave. John and I have business. Can't you see?"

"All I need to do, Luxan, is fetch Chiana. I'm sure your mivvocks won't be worth holding up!"

D'Argo growled and swung at Rygel, who quickly sped on his throne chair out of the bay.

"Come on, D'Argo, I need you, buddy."

"I will not, I will not have Moya Starburst while you are stranded on that planet. And what of Aeryn? She expects to be with you on Yontur while you're battling that Spherical. She is a warrior. We should not deny her."

John had to revert to harshness. In any other case he would never trudge up memories privy only to his Luxan friend. Now he was going to have to use them. "Would you have allowed Lo'Laan and your son this same end...hmm? How many times have you wanted to save her from that horrible fate...hmm? Do you think I'd purposely murder Aeryn and my kid? Send them to that planet to die? No!" John stopped, he'd gone too far. The strong warrior that stood so tall, stood too still. No expression, no anger showed on his face. Then D'Argo simply sat on the floor as if only just registering what John had said.

"D'Argo?" John crouched before him. His Luxan friend pierced John with eyes like daggers.

"You have no right to pry." D'Argo turned away from John, his rage smoldering ready to combust.

"I had to do this...for Aeryn...the baby. Can't you see?"

"No!"

John rubbed his face to take away the stress, the hardship, but there was no other way. He had to invade his friend's memories. "You would've done anything to prevent what had happened to them. Anything. Would you begrudge me of this chance to save them? D'Argo?" John came out of the crouching position and sat beside his friend and grasped the heavily padded shoulder. "We've been through a lot, watched each other's backs. Most of all, we've been allies. What I need now is your help. You can't let your rage blind our friendship. You just can't."

John heard a deep rumbling come from the Luxan, groaning, moaning, or just plain growling, he couldn't tell. But anything was better than getting smashed, or even shot by him.

"Yes," the Luxan finally spoke in a whispered voice, his eyes focusing far away. "So many times I imagined I had caught her brother in time. He murdered her and left my son motherless."

John sighed, "I'm sorry, D."

"You are right, John.," D'Argo's voice boomed throughout the docking bay. "We must protect Aeryn and the baby. One day, my rage will not interfere with decisions." D'Argo patted John's knee, "When you comm me, we will Starburst immediately."

"You will take care of them for me? Like your own."

"Only if it is impossible for you to return. John, I will watch them with my life." They got up and D'Argo grabbed John in a huge bear hug.

"You're better than Spock. Umph, take it easy on the back" John struggled out of D'Argo's hold.

"Are you ready to bum down, Kirk?" D'Argo attempted the old Star Trek adage. And John laughed.

***

...And if they do, I'll take my shoe and knock them black and blue.

"Ahhh, a fellowship goes on here." Adu slapped John on his back and smiled. "Brother man, good things are in place!"

"What do ya mean?"

"Evacuation, my friend. It has started. Come, before we leave you must see in the viewer."

John, D'Argo, and Adu left for the Command Center, where they watched speckles of ships leaving the planet.

"What did you and the Regent plan." John spoke barely above a whisper, awed by the Exodus.

Adu's eyes seemed more cat-shaped, almond ovals turning up at the edges; they squinted. "Yontur is evacuating their heads of state, leaders, scientists, and families--those who can start a new world or blend in with others."

"Uh-huh, and what about the other planets?"

"They have been contacted and all dignitaries have complied. Everyone is working together."

John fidgeted and drummed his fingers on the command console. Something didn't seem right, didn't add up. "And what about the little people, your everyday citizen? Don't they get a chance?"

The silvery lights flickered against Adu's skin, light against dark. He paused for what seemed too long. He sighed. "There weren't enough ships to transport all citizens." He exhaled again, "We don't know if they will make it."

John sensed dread in the Captain's eyes...Adu fearful? "What do you mean?"

"The Command Carrier is no longer with us," Adu said.

"Pilot, do you detect the Command Carrier?" John asked. Since he was still here, he needed to compile as much information as possible before leaving, to understand why Adu was fearful, and why this didn't feel right.

"No, Commander, it had left the stratosphere many arns ago."

"How many?"

"A little after you were brought board Moya. About nine arns."

John grinded his teeth, looking at the clamshell. "Was there anything unusual ejected from the carrier?"

"Since the scans and comms were still adjusting from molecular change at that time, we were not able to detect any anomalies."

"Can you do it now, Pilot?"

"I will try. However, Commander, there are considerable magnetic distortions on my scans."

"Try focusing on the distortions, maybe that'll give something away."

Adu stood with arms akimbo and legs straddled, "It sounds plausible. Unusual interference could mean the Spherical."

"You know something about this?" D'Argo asked, voice resonating base tones. "Tell us!"

Adu's lip twitched on the side, he exhaled, and approached closer to Moya's forward portal. He pointed toward the doomed planet that hung in dark silence. "Either it was released in the stratosphere of Yontur or in the orbital region, which I very well doubt. Somehow Grayza already knew where to release it to cause the most harm."

John nodded and echoed Adu's delayed answer. "Right over the city of Armana."

"Correct in the stratosphere, soon arriving in the atmosphere."

D'Argo stepped between John and Adu. "What I understand is the escapees will not be out of range in time. Isn't that right, Captain Kendrell."

Adu turned to face D'Argo and nodded. "That is why, my Luxan friend, the Command Carrier sped away so quickly, probably at Hetch 9 to escape the explosion. The outer planets, Tranish and Banel, escapees may make it. That would be a marginal chance." Adu grunted, crossed his arms. His lips tightened.

"John," D'Argo started, his brow crinkled, eyes sparkled with urgency. "Do not do this. Turn away from this unspeakable act. We still have a chance to Starburst."

John gripped the Luxan's shoulder, "It's my fault. It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't here. I have to fix this. Hmmm?" He looked up to the one that towered him all bushy-eyed, reminding him of Chewbaccu. "Hey, take care of them, okay?"

"I will." D'Argo nodded.

John reached into his coat pocket brought out two chips. "I...I forgot to give these to you back at the docking bay." John handed the first chip with a dark inscription. "This one is for the crew in case..." John rubbed his eyes and handed the second chip with no inscription. "You know who this is for. Just in case..." Lord knows, if only he didn't have to go down there, he wouldn't. John wiped his nose. "I love her, man. It's difficult, but I love her."

"I know, my friend. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. A time to live and a time to die."

John slapped D'Argo on the back and laughed. His Luxan friend was sounding more like him every day, saying lyrics from songs of his past or slogans from TV shows and movies. He glanced around Moya one more time and smiled. Moya and the other side of the wormhole, nightmares and fairy tales, they all rolled into one big surprise:

Aeryn.

"Come on Adu, let's kick some butt!" John turned on his heal without saying further adieus to his family. He left with a determination to defeat the enemy or die trying.

***

Tick tock, tick tock...

The clocks were winding with a turn of the gear. Tick tock went the clock, time was winding near. Tick tock, tick tock, time we hold, hold so dear.

He patted Winona rhythmically on his thigh; it was more nervous energy than anything else. John and Adu had landed on one of Armana's noncommercial airstrips and hidden the ships in a secured hanger. The Farscape 1 was dwarfed by the Delta nestled within a cluster of inoperable aircraft as the Regent's guards escorted them to the Temple of Gratuities.

John and company funneled through the corridors of the temple. The stalactites were prolific, still hanging in luxurious display throughout the hallways from the ceiling. They sparkled, shimmering like the modern chandeliers of Earth. Yeah, beauty and death seemed to balance on the scale of life here; one didn't go without the other in this universe. John shivered as he strode with the others, quaking inside at the impending doom, and the irony of how the stalactites were instrumental to their demise. They finally reached the Regent's office and were greeted by the old fat cat.

"Commander Crichton, it is good to see you!" Without further warning, the Regent wrapped his huge arms around John. Though he had become almost impervious to pain, the Regent's bear hug was a bit intolerable.

"Ouch," John gasped, his ribs almost crushed. "Hold the phone, Heckle, I've got some back problems." The Regent released John. "Gettin' old, you see. Don't squeeze the mojo, okay?"

Adu put his hand on the Regent's shoulder. "My Regent," he said, "our friend has a back injury and is healing. Perhaps if you'd squeeze tighter!"

The Regent smiled hesitantly and slightly tilted his head toward John, "Ahhh, I would not have imagined you so sensitive, Commander. And to think you were the great hero that imploded a Command Carrier."

John coughed. "That was a collective feat, not just me," he said, then pointed to his taunter. "Stop settin' me up, Adu." John forced a smile, wishing Adu would change his irritating tactics.

The Regent waved his hand to interrupt John's accusation. "No, no, no. It is good to see you both. We anticipated your return with distress. Your delay had us in disarray."

Adu nodded. "My apologies, your Regent. I would not have returned without Commander Crichton."

"Ahhh, Captain Kendrell, " the Regent laughed nervously with a distinct gurgle. "Things have escalated so quickly. Our people are panicking, leaving the city in droves. We have secured everything, and it seems we are naked beneath this threat. In spite of this horror, I have the greatest confidence in you. You understand exactly what we need and what to do."

Adu stepped back and patted the pistol on his teal-garbed chest. "Right now, your Regent, you require protection and solutions."

"So true. I must show you both something. Come quickly. We have little time." The Regent and guards passed through a secret doorway to a tunnel where a sub-mobile waited.

As they strapped into the seats of the six-seated sub-mobile, John queried the Regent. "Where are we going?"

"To the mines, my friend. Where this all began."

***

They had traveled to the inner depths of the mines beneath Yontur and exited the mobile, walking alongside the ridge of the tunnel containing tall poles, ten motras high. Each pole had a string of blue lights lined to the tip. They flickered intermittently, streaming like a marquee's flashing neon. Directly in front, as they footed around the curved tunnel, a small shack appeared, protruding from a craggy wall.

Darkness surrounded John, and stench permeated his nostrils. He recognized that smell from somewhere, but where he couldn't make out. That pungent musk odor was mixed with a foul sweetness, like a goat in heat. It was everywhere and it stank.

John suddenly whipped out his pistol, aiming at a cluster of dark forms coming toward him with the same ember eyes he had encountered when Aeryn was kidnapped. They were ambling along the tracks, pushing three-wheeled carts loaded with pieces of hardware.

"Stop! Right there!" John yelled. They kept coming. John slowly pressed on the trigger.

"No! They can't hear you." Adu stepped in front of the line of fire.

"Are you nuts? They're dangerous." Blue lights flickered on John's face, revealing his knitted brow and ominous stare.

"They are harmless," the Regent said, touching John's extended arm. "They have no concern for you. In the beginning these so-called creatures were hired to mine. These sub-dwellers you have almost killed are helping with our Spherical research. There were many, many others. However, they no longer work in this vicinity. As you can see, there is no stalactite or stalagmite to be mined. Only a few of our sub-dwellers are here doing manual labor."

"Sub-dwellers," John echoed the Regent and returned Winona reluctantly back to her holster.

***

With his two allies, John entered the small shack. Optical illusion, John thought, perusing the huge lab below. To John's relief the offensive smell dissipated, and hustle and bustle was the theme inside. Scientists worked in synchronous order like an orchestra. They were in an orchestra pit to save the world.

To the left, below, John noticed some of the workers, like players of stringed instruments, plucking, poking at the three dimensional hologram of the Spherical. The whole place filled with these people raising their arms, directing as if to music, opening electronic files, connecting holographic coordinates to three-dimensional data strings. They seemed not to touch anything but an electrical field of light that projected images.

To the right, like the bass and loud clashing cymbals, other scientists funneled in and out of the room through a tunnel door, unlike the one he walked through. They had stalactite, hardware, and containers, and were putting them on lab tables, making clanging noises in the process. He didn't know why they were putting the material together, maybe for reconstruction or simulation.

John, Adu, and the Regent were on an elaborate lift, with a marble platform and golden rails, above the commotion. The lift slowly descended while John watched the hub-bub below. In the middle, oh, just like an orchestra pit was the conductor of the scientists and technicians, directing them from behind a huge console, compiling all the data into storage to save their world.

They stepped off the lift and funneled through the bustle.

"Follow me," the Regent gestured to John and Adu. "Ignore us," the ruler signaled the workers to continue with their work. "Time is of the essence," he explained.

They entered a small doorway into an adjacent room sealed from the rest of the outside. John stood, perusing the joint. It felt like a tomb. The air is thin in here.

"Captain, you have been valuable to us. We would have never gotten this far with success without you." The Regent turned to John. "Commander, we are standing in the office of my former confidant aid, Palimous. May the goddesses rest his soul."

John's brow crinkled. "You mean, he's not around; he got away? You should have kept your word and given him the whipping he needs."

Adu interrupted bowing to the Regent, "I found Palimous dead when we rescued you and Officer Sun."

"Oh. Why didn't I know this."

"Because you were unconscious." Adu seemed somewhat irritated or impatient. John couldn't tell.

"You should've told me, Adu. I've got to--"

The Regent waved his ringed hand and interrupted, "So much for the prattle. We have no time to vie. Dear Commander, if you wish for information, then you will learn much today. Palimous had found a way to hide his treachery."

John walked toward the door. "You know, Regent, I'd love to sit, chat, and have coffee, but there's a big ball in the sky ready to drop. I don't think there's time for 'Let's do lunch.'"

Adu hastened to where John was and led him back in.

The Regent continued. "I understand your impatience, but it is imperative for me to share this with you. Please be seated." He waved his hand, and a cushioned slab ejected from the wall. John sat, surprised to find it comfortable.

"View this." The Regent nodded to Adu. A chip was inserted within a slot, and John saw the story unfold within ten microns. It was Palimous' files on the residents forced from their homes, especially those who would not surrender their property. The cruelty unfolded. Documented files appeared with names of those who surrendered and received payment for relinquishing their homes and those who wouldn't surrender. They both ended up in the mines, changed from Sebacean to a sub-dweller with ember eyes. The documents were stamped...PAID IN FULL. The funds were delivered to Palimous' neutral account on the planet Banel.

"I should have suspected this two cycles ago when there was no such thing as sub-dwellers until the disappearance or relocation of our residents. The relocation of residents increased dramatically at the end of the first cycle of this trickery. I only hired Captain Adu when I noticed imbalance of funds and less inventory of CL3." The Regent's head lowered and shook, his jowls flapping. "Now my people's lives have been destroyed." The Regent sighed.

"They were people, the ones that kidnapped Aeryn and attacked me. But how can decent people become zombies?" John asked.

The Regent and Adu looked at each other, not knowing what to say. John sighed. Even after all these years with translator microbes, he still confused everyone.

The Regent drew closer to John. "Though our scientists are still working on the Spherical, they have discovered a messaging array in the light system and some sort of molecular restructuring tool within the pole structure. We believe this may have changed them. We are seeking to change them back."

John interrupted. "That's how our weapons and Moya were dismantled. Maybe I can help. If I can comm her, Sikozu--" John stopped abruptly and suddenly slapped his leg. "Oh, this gets better all the time! Here we are trying to figure out how to change sub-dwellers back to Sebaceans and at the same time we have a doomsday machine over our heads. Doesn't this beat it all!"

John noticed the Regent direct his gaze to a suddenly flashing emerald light. Emergency! he thought.

"We must leave now! It has happened!" The Regent had every right to appear tensed. The look in his eyes confirmed John's fears.

"What's goin' on?" John saw the rush of scientists pointing at a huge screen centered above a circled console. It was all there in Technicolor: the sky, and the Spherical magnified two-hundred times. Sebacean inscriptions tagged the screen, giving location and descent of the doomsday machine.

The Regent picked up the hem of his garment to keep from tripping. His agility belied his cumbersome weight. "Oh goddess spare us! The Spherical has descended from orbit into our stratosphere," he cried as he plodded ahead of John and Adu. "Why Palimous would betray us I will never fathom. How could he bring such destruction and pain to my people?" The Regent panted and muttered all the way to the main console where the huge screen hung. John could see the panic, the dread, as the workers and scientists barked commands and held their stations. The Regent cupped his face to hide his despair. Realization finally hit the ruler. "So much evil...so much evil," he cried out to John, heartbroken.

"I hate," John replied slowly, "to see you're not the only one finding this out." John shook his head and his heart ached for the Regent. "You ever wonder how much evil can we stand?"

"How much?" The Regent asked, quickly. He appeared to be holding onto straws as his eyes dashed back and forth, watching his people struggle to gain more information. In that moment, things seemed to have slowed down after the initial emergency flash and the numbers on the screen abruptly stopped.

John cocked his eyebrow and bit his lip. He turned to the screen and watched the huge orb, appearing to hang by a thread. Then he turned to the ruler, "Regent, one microt at a time. One microt at a time."

The Regent gathered himself, shook off the despair. "One of my scientist is signaling now. I must go. It appears our evacuation of the city is not complete."

Adu's face was stern a mask of granite. Unusual, John thought, Captain Kendrell emotionless. No panic. No fear. Nothing. That set John's nerves even more on edge and made this whole fiasco all the more real.

Adu then put has hand on the Regent's shoulder. "Your Regent, there is no need to worry. Commander Crichton and I will inspect everything above."

"Good." The Regent clasped Adu's hand. "Let me know of any changes."

John and Adu abruptly left the sealed-off room, taking the lift and then the sub-mobile to the surface.

It had started. Mayhem.

***

The sky is falling...

"Why couldn't you shoot it down!" John shouted above the ruckus, knowing he was speaking out of fear before he had thought out the results of what the explosion was costing the lives of Yontur.

"Our weapons have been off-line," Adu hollered. "They are all dismantled, from satellites to firing arms. We have nothing until we have a fresh supply of fuel and Chakan oil. If we find that!"

Ugly. It was freakin' ugly. John cursed under his breath, standing in front of Gratuities. He was wearing the oculars, helping him to see into the atmosphere. A spot on the sun lowered. He watched it, still as small as a fly, slowly descending again, taking all the time in the world to make its mark. Then, strangely, it stopped again.

Goose bumps prickled up his arms.

Crowds were on the walkways, gazing at their star. Audio blimps were bleeping out directions to evacuate the city. As if that would help. Streams of mobiles blocked the streets. Though a few ships had been able to escape previously, it seemed as if most of the population of Yontur was still trapped, its only exodus to the mountains.

"My brother man, take a good look. It will be a matter of a solar day and a few arns to throw in before impact and then we will make a bed and lie in it, thinking of good things."

"My man, Adu , you seem to know more about this than you're letting on. Tell me why you're here." John took off the oculars and locked eyes with Adu.

Adu's lip twitched, the muscles in his neck tightening, but his gaze remained locked on John's taunt face. Abruptly, he averted his eyes and began to explain. Suddenly dropping the relaxed Jamaican accent, Adu's tone became subdued, darker, and authoritative. Probably used the accent as a cover, John thought.

"I was recommended to assist the Regent a cycle ago. I became part of the mercenary unit as only a distraction for the parties in question. I have had experience with CL3 and its destructive power. My planet owned many mines and only two were teamed with CL3. I was one of the officials in authority over those sectors. One of the mined planets was destroyed by the Peacekeepers and stripped of its CL3. The same is happening here.

"This, we learned at a great loss. Colonies were formed on those mining planets. As you can see, brother man, we needed protection. I was the one to construct the purchasing of a shield from the Tarkens for the last mining planet of CL3. It worked."

"Did you say you bought shield technology from the Tarkens?"

"A great undertaking."

"This shield, how did it work?"

"Alas, an energy blast would dissipate. Disappear. But the shield had to be activated around to protect the planet."

"I know these people. They made the shield belts."

"I don't know of shield belts."

"Maybe, just maybe we can use it to--. I've got to comm Moya. Is there any way we can open comms without breaking up, anywhere? We've been having trouble with our comms ever since Jughead jinxed them."

"Jughead?" Adu gave an incredulous look.

"Yeah, the stiff, Palimous."

"Ahhh." Adu cocked an eyebrow, appearing to make sense of what he said. "In the lab, below, where we were. It is the main center, a very powerful receiver. I believe our departed Palimous' tampering will not affect the strength of our receiver. You will even be able to view your friends as you speak."

"Well, we can't do anything up here now. Might as well go back and try the comms. You game, Adu?"

"Very playful." Adu slapped John on the back.

"Whoa, no abuse here, okay?" John winced, twitching away from him.

Adu raised his eyebrow, "I thought you wanted to play?"

"You thought wrong. Come on." John shook his head and rotated his shoulders gingerly as they headed toward the sub-mobile. Lord, his slang was getting him in trouble.

***

"John, we can see you and hear you clearly," D'Argo filled the image field. It was different from Pilot's clamshell, or a drive-in theater, and it was clearer than television. The image field was located seven motras behind the central console close to the back wall. John could see the defined edges of the field. When he walked around the field, much like a 3D hologram, he saw all sides of D'argo along with the crew and the Command Center but only within a three-motra range. It had to be the stalactite that helped with the imagery, to make the image so clear and in 3D. But John didn't continue with that stream of thought, seeing his friends in front of him.

It was wonderful seeing them together, like a family portrait. Chiana stood beside D'Argo, her gray flesh contrasting against his rusty tanned skin. Sikozu still reminded him of a salmon, red hair and skin of scales and iridescence, as she stood on D'Argo's other side. Even Noranti poked her head in beside Chiana's to see, as if her third eye isn't enough. And there was Sparky, face in front of D'Argo with a huge smile on his fleshy lips. They all looked beautiful. Would he ever see them again?

Of all the heart wrenching images that appeared before him stood beside Sikozu. Aeryn shone out, exotic, strong, and always mysterious. He stood with bated breath, unable to speak, when he saw her beauty. He missed her touch, her deep voice, her scent. He would do anything to have her here with him. John extended his hand. No. He felt his eyes welling with tears and withdrew his hand, seeing her face drawn, pale, and her eyes with dark circles. John's eyes perused to her midriff and noticed the scar healing. That was his sign to let him know what he wanted was selfish. Impossible to have you here with me. Be safe, Aeryn. He silently bade her in his thoughts.

"John?" D'Argo called out again. "John can you hear us?"

"Are you all right?" Aeryn interrupted. "We can actually see you quite well."

It was her voice that prompted his attention. "Yeah?" He tried not to sound throaty. "How are you guys doin'?"

"Emphatically well!" Sikozu said, raising her arms. "Obviously holding our own. Unfortunately, you haven't joined with our restraint of Aeryn--"

"Shut up, Sikozu! This is not the time." D'Argo interrupted.

"How, D'Argo, can you say that when we literally had to tie her down. You, John, are the culprit for this. She needs rest and now she stands here after all I've done. All...is...ruined!" Sikozu walked away from the field area and disappeared from the rest.

John began laughing through his teary eyes. "It's so good seeing you guys. You don't know how good." He didn't want them to worry, to see him cry, but his heart was breaking, yearning to be aboard Moya with Aeryn and his crewmates. Swallowing hard, he gathered himself to open up options to save this planet.

"Captain Kendrell," Aeryn spoke up, her tone strong. "How is John treating you?"

"Dear Officer Sun, he breaks me, tears me up limb by limb."

John didn't like the smile and twinkle in her eye when she received Adu's answer. "He does tend to do that." She laughed softly, "John, are you leaving Captain Kendrell in 'stitches?'"

John pushed Adu aside, "It's my turn." then to Aeryn, "Hey, English professor, you look great. Sikozu treating you right?"

"Well, taking away due force, I'm surviving. As a matter of fact, she's waving for me to cease this conversation right now."

John saw Noranti trying to pull Aeryn away from the image field. He had to let her know how he felt before she left, even if everyone was standing around eyeing him like a spectacle.

"Aeryn?"

"I have to go now." She clasped her side where the wound appeared and flung her ebony hair back, long luscious strands falling past her shoulders. This might be the last time he'd see her...so beautiful.

He glanced toward Adu, standing out of range of the image field.

He better stay there and keep his arms crossed, John thought, before berating himself for his possessive behavior.

Then he turned to Aeryn. His heart tightened and his chest hurt, looking at her, yearning for her. She still appeared pale, needing more strength. D'Argo was right, she did require more rest. But John realized he needed her to know why...why all this. He was doing it because of her. Because he wouldn't be able to look her in the eye if he Starburst with them and ran like a chicken. But how could he tell her? John paused and then mustered all his courage.

"No matter what happens. Remember this one thing, Aeryn, for us." She stood, bringing her hands to her face. "Remember that I love you. Always."

Aeryn's brow furrowed and she pushed away Noranti hovering over her. "John," her voice softened, wavered, "I love you, too." Then she gathered herself, stood erect, and spoke in that commanding tone. "You must let me know when you need me to come down. Understand?"

"Aeryn, no prob. I understand. We're here for you 24/7. Okay?" John hoped against hope she'd accept what he just said. He never promised to call her down. He'd be a coward, a fool, a double murderer to have her with him. But to tick her off was worse than a woman's scorn. Can't win for losing.

"Promise me?" Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, and his heart broke once again. John said nothing more and stood before the image field in tight-lipped agony.

Noranti took her from the image field with trouble, pulling Aeryn by the arm. Aeryn seemed to resist her, trying to pull away from Noranti but not having the strength. He could hear her protest about not being finished. Then nothing.

D'Argo came closer, his face growing larger, "Sorry, John. Aeryn seemed a little distraught. You know she needs rest."

Chiana struggled to gain view, and pushed from under D'Argo's arm. "Hah, you nannit, can't you see she doesn't want rest. She wants to be with John."

"Don't start, Chiana." D'Argo tried to push her head down.

"The yotz she already has," Rygel said. "Her mouth runs more than my thronesled's motor."

"Hey guys! It's okay." John waved his hand. "We need Sikozu to share information about the shape-shifter machine."

Adu coughed and said into John's ear, "Molecular restructuring tool."

Sikozu returned quickly to the image field. "Actually, it is a molecular disabler tool." She was always precise, distinct, her tone, her body language. Even her long red curls seemed to stay in place, as if gravity or problems wouldn't dare dishevel her. John snickered, glad to see Adu goof up.

John coordinated the talks between Sikozu and the conductor of the scientists and techs. Two goals they had in mind. First, to figure out how to incorporate the shield belt's energy into some structure they could use that would transmit around the planet, if not the Spherical. Second, to stop the changing of the targeted sub-dwellers and return them to their previous state. All their efforts pointed toward survival.

***

There is a black spot on the moon tonight.

"Did you see it move?" John pointed toward the sky.

"No, it hasn't moved." Adu said, situating himself against the wall. "Not since the last time we were here."

"I swear...I saw it move. It's gotta be getting closer. Why hasn't it landed yet?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it is preparing...mixing...gathering energy. How should I know?"

"You've seen them in action, you should know!"

They sat with their backs against the achromatic railing structure in front of the building. John sighed. The streets were empty. Most of the evacuation had taken place. Even the blimps weren't making noise.

All was quiet.

He felt alone, tired. His mind, back, and heart ached. The whirring was starting again. That noise in his head kept turning up the amp, feeding him with anxiety, longing for Aeryn, and longing to get the frell out of there. And that stinking black spot still sat in the sky against the silvery moon.

"Adu, tell me more about the Spherical. Everything."

"From what I witnessed and gathered in reports, I know that the Spherical has a life of its own. Inside mixtures of CL3 and Fribrium combust together and come 'alive,' wild and ready to eat all molecules and burst it into plasmatic energy, much like the stars.

"From inception, like a baby, the container needs pampering when dropped in the stratosphere. Magnetic energy fields, much like cloaking fields, are emitted to hide it from detection, scanners, satellites, or just about anything else. As a child is within the mother's womb eats and grows, so does the Spherical that develops the two substances to mix and grow.

"A crew of operative specialists escort the container through the ionosphere, mesosphere, all the way to the troposphere. Most times, once the Spherical is delivered, the operatives are obsolete...useless. They are consumed by the destruction.

"I had the privilege to witness this portion. Once this large ball, as you call it, contacts the ground, it begins to spin." Adu gestured with his hands making a spinning motion. "It excretes gas to nullify anything around. And while it spins a second shield is activated, or perhaps it spins so fast until nothing can penetrate it. And then it eats the ground like huge chopping jaws."

John raised a brow. "Eats the ground?"

"Yea brother man. Eats the ground, and that is all I know."

"You can't be finished now, you just started."

"I escaped. Didn't wait to see the outcome. But this Spherical is huge, huge. Too big. When we encountered one, it was half the size of my ship. This one? It is huge."

"Thanks for the support."

John stared off into the night with the oculars, measuring any descent. There was none.

***

It was a long night, and a couple of arns had passed. John and Adu decided to return to the underground lab. After exiting the sub-mobile, they trekked toward the shack. John saw different sub-dwellers, sitting, lying, in a catatonic position. For the smelly creatures, time had stopped. John wished it as well for himself. Time, stop the nightmare.

"Do you hear something a few motras away, brother man?" Adu asked, interrupting John's musing.

"Nope." John kept walking in the dark, dank tunnel where blue intermittent lights flashed, but the hair on his arms prickled. Goose bumps and I've got my coat on. Maybe Adu's right. John stopped and turned, reaching for Winona. He hesitated, scanning the dark shadows, as his fingers twitched over the butt of the pistol.

"Wait, I will investigate. I smell more than sub-dwellers." Holding the pistol above his head, ready to fire, Adu, started back down the tunnel into the shadows.

"Aha! Come on out or you die!" Adu yelled at some barrels and a lone cart near the sub-mobile tracks. John couldn't see very well, the on and off flickering of the lights blinding him. But he could hear Adu clearly. "I thought I smelled you." Then unexpectedly, Adu holstered his pistol and proffered a hand to someone hidden behind a barrel.

John couldn't believe his eyes at the large shadow that slowly emerged. John dashed to where Adu stood.

"Gotcha!" John aimed his pistol at her, blocking Adu's proffered hand. "Fancy meeting you again."

Furlow raised her arms. "Don't mean any harm, handsome. I just need to find a way home."

John snickered. "You've lucked out, Mama. By the way, what brings you to our humble abode?"

"You, John. I followed you. Took a shortcut through the mines and who do I see?" She did that shimmy-shake thing with her head again. John noticed she was back in her mechanic's outfit with helmet and all, no bosom showing. Her pupils dilated. "You ruined my last chance to get off this drawback planet." Then she jabbed her index finger into John's chest a few times. "You, mister, and your friends destroyed the last Marauder. Sloppy work! Now I'm stuck here in this frelling nightmare along with the rest of you fahrbots."

"Lower you gun, brother man, she's a friend." Adu put his hand on John's gun wrist and helped to slowly lower it, hoping to keep the two tempered.

"You gotta be kiddin' me, Adu." John threw up his hands. "Do you know how sneaky she is?"

Adu shook his head with hands on hips. "Ah, buella, buella, man. She's in the same fix as we are. There's nowhere safe but inside. Isn't that right, brother man?"

John exhaled. "All right." He slapped Winona back in her holster. "She can't do any harm here. Come on."

***

The temperature had risen slightly within the underground lab since they had left. It was probably due to more of the energy source being transferred to the poles. John immediately shed his coat and threw it on one of the consoles after Adu and Furlow stepped off the lift.

***

Furlow and Adu followed John, matching his stride. She told Adu to slow down to get a better view of the human's black leather, worn like a second skin on his smooth physique. The blue lights within the lab danced gloriously off the human's rhythmic, rounded backside. One cheek went up and the other down, contrasting the forward thrust of his shoulders.

"The boy's got it, down to his skivvies. You see that, Adu?"

"What should I be observing?"

"The most pulchritudinous buttocks this side of Yontur. Look at them, like Boller fruit, two juicy round ones rubbing against the other."

Adu gave a throaty laugh and shook his head. "Ahhh, girlie, I can see you were born for trouble."

"I'd just like to get my hands on that! How about it, Adu? Why don't you try it out? See if the fruit is fresh." She nudged him in the side with her elbow.

John kept walking; Furlow could see the human was on edge, from the back, his shoulder muscles crumpled into tight hills beneath his black shirt.

"No." Adu locked eyes with hers. "I'm not the Boller fruit type, I prefer the feminine kind only."

Furlow tickled Adu under the chin, "You have fine biceps and aren't a bad looker yourself."

"As lovely as you are, my famous Furlow, it is someone else that I desire." Furlow noticed Adu glancing nervously at the human. She didn't understand why the human stopped abruptly. Adu seemed to have erred to say those words. The warrior braced himself for any assault from John, tapping at the pulse pistol on his chest. Well, distraction always seems to work, Furlow thought.

"Shame, we could've had fun." Furlow averted her attention toward John only a few motras away. "Ohhhhh...John Crichton! You need to see yourself. By Yontur's goddesses, you look good and juicy from behind." She laughed, her arms akimbo.

John spun around, the vein in his neck pulsed, protruded. "Shut up...the both of you! This isn't the time to gawk. How can you play games like this when everything's about to cave in?"

"It makes no difference," Adu said, shaking his full mane of hair, Furlow became confused at his outburst. Adu continued. "If we cry and wait to die or laugh, things will be as they will be. It's better to be happy. Be happy, brother man."

"What's the matter with you all?" cried John. His eyes were on fire, and Furlow could feel them burn into her and Adu.

***

"You're the matter." Furlow grinned, greedily, seemingly to ignore John's grievances, "Come hither, boy. I've got something for you."

She grabbed his arm and took a jar out of her bag. "I've got this. It's real valuable for a heart stopper like you."

John held out his hand, "Let me see it." Her vanilla eyes blinked, and then she handed it over. John observed the jar containing white dust. "What is it? And, Furlow, we don't have all day."

"Paltimyne. It eats CL3 in its pure form before it's mixed with Fribium. By the naked eye, even a general scan, the stuff appears like CL3, its crap looks like CL3, and its newborn looks the same, too."

"Well, wouldn't you know, we have a solution too late. It looks like the crap didn't hit the Spherical soon enough! Since it's still set to blow, what difference does this make?"

"Well, let me open your eyes a little. Grayza didn't reimburse me with the Cretmars. What I sold was worth quadruple what I received. So I made sure there was an even trade. You know, that little mishap with the Charrid ship right before the Command Carrier took off?" She chuckled, "That was a distraction to get this aboard the carrier. Grayza won't know the difference. And when she does...or IF she does, it'll be too late. How do you like that?" She did that shimmy-shake thing with her head.

John towered over her, but somehow she still managed to grab him by his neck and pulled his face to hers. "You look good from both ends. I never can get enough of you, Crichton."

John flushed and stayed level with her eyes, peering long, hard, with an eagle's eye. "You're saying this because Aeryn isn't here. And you know what, Furlow, I've been burned by you once. So, girlfriend, I'm not getting burned again."

"It was twice, burned twice. Just like your...cheeks." She pinched him on the side of his mouth and spoke softly in his ear. "It's twice the dabbling."

John cocked his head. "You want some of my gluteus maximus?" He slapped his rear with a resounding smack against leather. "It's already been whipped in the used car lot, Mama!"

"Maybe you need some more." She grabbed John closer, pulling him into her huge embrace, smothering him. Then she wrapped her humongous arms around his slender hips and grabbed his human backside with full hands. John's eyes popped open.

Frell! He was infuriated, wanted to slap her senseless. He smacked and pushed her hands away. Through all his vexation, he hadn't noticed his Winona hijacked by the Mama of Dam-ba-da. He completely thrust her huge frame from him only to find his own pistol aimed at his chest. Stupid! Stupid! And stupider!

John raised his arms. "Hey, give a guy a break. Let's call it a truce and you give me my pistol and I'll hitch you a ride back, okay?"

"Actually, John, I never accounted for the Spherical getting loose. I hoped, really hoped these little bugs got into it, but nope. Nope. I found out that frelling Grayza had already stored CL3 for the Spherical that wasn't part of my shipments. After all I had done to get those shipments of CL3 ruined, it still looks like this side of the universe is slated to blow." She shook her head. "And I had nowhere to go when you fekkiks blew up the Marauder. All hope was gone. But who appears out of nowhere? You! John Crichton, my fortune. Wherever you are, your module follows. And I can fly the frelling thing with, by the way, wormhole knowledge. Just think, I can escape, leaving all of you to manage your heroics."

***

Adu kept an eye on the crafty Sebacean. Her reputation preceded her countless times, and Adu was not ignorant to any of them. One of her ploys was to find victims' weaknesses, then frustrate and confuse them in order to attack. And for John, it seemed he was all the more vulnerable to her cunning and blind to her devices. It was good Furlow thought Adu an ally, so she wasn't watching him, needling him like John. Adu examined her body movements, which had given away her next manipulation. John needed help.

***

John laughed dryly and waited, letting her explain until a loud crack on her head knocked her unconscious.

"Thanks, Adu. To the cell she goes. You better get three more guys to help pick her up. And, while you're at it, throw away the key."

***

Time...time...time is winding up...

"John Crichton," Sikozu spoke over the comm. "We have a problem!"

"Another one? That's all we need." He walked into the field. "Okay, what's up?"

"I've been working on this all night and you see it's morning," Sikozu said with an agitated and nippy edge to her voice.

Frustrated by her tone, John snapped, "Yeah, we've been working too. And it's what? Like...five a.m.?" He glanced at the three viewers, one on either side of the research console and one in the middle of the console, all tracking the Spherical. The one to his left showed a sliver of magenta over the horizon. It must be getting close to dawn. No wonder we're all so trashed and cranky. "So what's your problem?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, Sikozu continued, her voice always lilting up at the end of her sentences. "Even Noranti has been helping, and we have found the sub-dwellers need a whole solar day for the molecular disabler tool to take effect. And if we adapt the tool to shield the caves first, then they will die."

"What do you mean?"

"We cannot use the disabler tool--"

Adu sharply interrupted her, "Buella, girlie, it is a molecular restructuring tool, not a disabler. We are not targeting metal, chemicals, or such the like, which are changed by the disabler tool. We are targeting flesh. And that calls for molecular restructuring. Did you account for that?"

Sikozu chillingly lifted her chin, her voice haughty with anger as she said, "Captain Kendrell, I have accounted for every known variable given to me. Do not doubt my diligence. And I thought you were a gentleman. Did you defraud me with social airs by kissing my hand?"

John noticed Adu shift his stance and tighten his jaw. Adu leaned forward into the image field, his voice low and authoritative. "There is an appointed time for everything, Sikozu. A time to tear down and a time to build. Now is not the time to refute."

"Okay, well said, Adu," John said soothingly, trying to calm them both down. Time's short, and tempers shorter. "Now let's get down to business. Sikozu, give me an understanding."

"It is as I said before, they will die if we transform the tool from changing the sub-dwellers to a shield from the bomb. We actually need to do the sub-dwellers first, but there isn't enough time to completely change them."

"Wait!" John held up his arms. "Why do they have to be done first?"

"Because we need to take a full solar day to expose them to the signature, they will not endure the shock of change if exposed less than a solar day. And apparently there isn't enough time for the exposure before the Spherical comes. You do know we can only use one signature application at a time."

"You're saying we can't save them?"

"That is exactly what I'm conveying. Once you change from exposing the sub-dwellers to shielding the Spherical, their lives are endangered. Also, we have checked our configurations here and it seems the poles that generate the signature are too far apart to protect the lab you are in. There is a high probability that you will not survive the blast. "

"I don't accept that. We'll keep the signature on the sub-dwellers as long as possible. If necessary, at the last microt, we'll switch it to the defense shield. It'll have to work. Give us the signature alignment so we can get this show on the road."

Sikozu turned away from the field. He still heard her say, "Don't say I warned you." Always so positive, Sputnik, he thought with a sigh and rubbed his aching forehead.

His plan had to work. The poles were strategically placed by the deceased Palimous in all the caves prolific with stalactite and stalagmite throughout the whole planet. It was an intricate network of poles in tunnels and caves to keep the change in the sub-dweller's molecular structure constant or to keep them from changing back to their original form. And every sub-dweller on the face of Yontur would be affected by it. That should work.

From Adu's speculations, once the Spherical contacted the ground, it would spin, then pound and funnel through until it crashed into the underground where the stalactite and stalagmite were prolific. Problem was where? John didn't exactly know. Even if they couldn't protect the planet's surface, due to lack of material and time, the simplest and most feasible resolution would be to use the underground poles. Go ahead, "Fat Man," explode, the poles will suck up your tail. That's what he hoped for. But what you hoped for, you didn't always get.

John felt himself in the middle of a converging sea of minds, hands, bodies that worked non-stop to keep the sub-dwellers alive while ensuring the signature was strong enough to shield the lab and stalactite at the same time. Nothing worked. It couldn't do two things at once. It couldn't even guarantee them safety from the inevitable blast. His head ached and stomach growled ferociously, leaving a nauseous sensation.

I need a break.

He raked his hair with his fingers, pacing back and forth, dodging the scientists at work. Chocolate and caramel, no a Kit Kat bar, that's what he needed down here to keep him going. Earth was what he missed and all its conveniences, commercials, simplicity, and peace...

Oh God, I miss Aeryn.

His heart hammered in his chest at the thought of her. He had to set his mind, keep it pumped, keep it turned away from his yearning for her. To alleviate his appetite for food and Aeryn, John began humming that familiar tune.

"Gimme a break, gimme a break. Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar." He kept singing it until some of the workers glanced at him with incredulous eyes. He stopped pacing, but kept singing, drumming his fingers on the console facing him.

"Break me off a piece of that--" John paused midstream, "bar?" He laughed and pointed his finger at Adu. "There's hope after all, buddy!"

***

Like smelling the rain when it culminates in the atmosphere, he could sense the shift, the change in the sub-dwellers. It was death losing grip; their scent changed from a putrid acidic smell to something that resembled rotten meat. John located where they were, walked over the convulsing bodies, and observed the metamorphosis. Some sub-dwellers were littered throughout the lab and others outside near the track and who knew where else. Almost stumbling over a body writhing at their feet, John and Adu went to get some of the scientists rounded up to attach a pole to the lab. John was silently thankful for that "piece of Kit Kat bar," that horizontal long bar, which would span the gap in coverage between the pole and the lab. Jumping, balancing on his feet, and straddling over the littered bodies became a feat for him as he and Adu scrambled through the building. They had little time.

God...grotesque! Smells of bubbling flesh permeated the lab as they left through the door.

John barked commands to have a pole transferred, and they attached it to the outer parameter of the lab. That took manpower, tools, and time, an entire arn of feverish work. With the help of Sikozu's instruction by the comms, John, Adu, and some of the scientists brought everything together without a hitch...smooth like silk. They had attached the bar, rearranged cables, and ensured the signature was restructured to continue the change of the sub-dwellers' molecules. The crew returned to the lab to rejoin the frantic work in progress there.

The vents were turned up full force, circulating clean air in and the foul stench out. It was still warm, but nothing John couldn't handle. On the other hand, everyone in the room seemed to show a slight sign of discomfort. The scientists discarded their lab coats, while others fanned themselves with makeshift sheets of metal or their bare hands.

Heat and pressure was bad combination with overworked people; tension made it a worse one. Suddenly John heard screams from one of the work stations. John and Adu ran with goo sticking on the soles of their boots to find a female tech bending over a pasty, slimy figure huddled on the floor. The female fell to her knees and wept. John squinted, unable to understand what was wrong. Before he could ask Adu, he heard more screams spasmodically occurring throughout the lab.

"What's goin' on?" John knelt with Adu over the body where the tech lamented.

Adu touched what appeared to be a face, slime sticking to his fingers. "The sub-dwellers are no longer the creatures we encountered. See the face, the tag...unique, representing a household. She recognizes who this is."

"But--" At first John was ready to refute Adu's words; however, the features had already bubbled from an ebony mask and ember eyes to a cream-colored goo with sockets for eyes. Now, the features becoming defined and the once ebony-shadowed bodies were becoming human-looking. John touched the tag with Sebacean writing, sickened at the writhing bodies within the lab. There was nothing he could do for any of them but keep the signature going to keep them alive.

A gear snapped...like a clock out of timing...tick...tock...

The once synchronous order within the lab fractured, like a conductor losing rhythm, concentration, and heart. The scientists lost focus on their work, becoming distressed and distracted by the change of the sub-dwellers, as well as the heat. Some wailed and others fell before recognized loved ones. They were in a pit of confusion.

In front, John noticed some of the workers, like players of broken instruments, plucking and poking at foul bodies that shook like creamy Jell-O. They forgot the three-dimensional hologram of the Spherical. The whole place filled with these people tending to their own and covering the bodies with towels. They forsook the electronic files and connection of holographic coordinates to three-dimensional data strings. The electrical field of light, left unmanned, kept projecting images of the doomsday machine.

From behind, like the bass and loud clashing cymbals, other scientists left their tools to coordinate and help the sick and fallen sub-dwellers. No funneling in and out of the room through a tunnel door took place. The former sub-dwellers found were brought in to recover, and the stalactite, hardware, and containers were left on lab tables. No clanging noises persisted, only the cries for the lost...now found.

***

It was a few arns later when Pilot contacted them.

"Commander Crichton," Pilot said as he came into full view in the image field. "There has been a change on our scanners. It appears the Spherical's energy output has become critical. And there have been quite a few anomalies circling it, starting a few microts ago. We hadn't detected this before, which confirms our scanners have readjusted to maximum usage."

"What's out there, Pilot?" John asked.

"Two Marauders are in the stratosphere on auto pilot with no life signs! I have tried to comm them and there is no reply. I can see there are twelve objects escorting the machine. And they appear to be--" Pilot's expression went blank, then he blinked. "They are Peacekeepers." Pilot paused for a microt, his brow crinkled. "John?" Pilot seemed worried; there was a note of distress in his voice.

"Yeah?"

"The Spherical has begun its descent."

***

During a fire, there's a reason for no stampeding. During panic, there's a reason for calm. During confusion, there's a reason for order.

Every alarm in John's brain went off, screaming, RUN! He stood petrified, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, his only perception the torturous drumming of his heartbeat in his ears.

"Commander?" Pilot queried, his voice breaking John out of his panicked state.

John quickly nodded, "Pilot, we've got everything under control. I've got a plan. And it'll work." That was an outright lie. But the comms were open 24/7 and Aeryn could hear every word. He had to give Moya's crew confidence, even if it was false. "Trust me." John put on a plastic smile and threw Pilot a thumb's up.

John swung around and ran up to Adu, who was assisting another tech near a monitor next to the image field.

"It's coming." John grabbed the warrior's arm, ignoring the anxious tech in conversation with Adu. "We've got to do something."

"Yes, we know," Adu said, then pointed to the tech. "Tech Fyet has some equipment for us to take with us on the surface." Adu proffered a white mask and clamp. "Take the mask and hook it to your belt. You'll need this when the Spherical starts releasing neuromuscular paralysis gas. Here clamp it on now." Adu forced the mask into John's hand.

John slapped it back. "What? I'm not going up there. We're safe down here."

Before John could respond, Adu swiftly reached around to John's backside and clamped the mask to belt with a snap. After that act, Adu raised his arms in surrender and cocked an eyebrow. "Brother man, don't say I didn't help you."

That element of surprise made John realize how vulnerable he was in this world. But one good thing he realized, there was no need to go on the offense with Adu. If any harm were to be done by this warrior, it would've been done long time ago. So John, with arms crossed still unwilling to trust completely, stood there squinting at Adu, who was now retrieving a huge eight-revolver shooter from beneath the console. Adu hefted the cumbersome gun and handed it to John. "You will need this too, brother man."

"I like big guns, but--" Before he could finish, he heard the Regent shuffle from behind wheezing.

"They will not listen to me. There is too much fear. Captain Adu, Commander Crichton, there is too much unrest here. You both must hurry to the surface before--"

John now understood why the Regent was distraught. By the looks of things, some of the scientists were at their wits' end, desperate to make the plan work; others had already given up.

"We will die," came from one end of the lab.

"Let us leave to be with our families," another cry wailed from behind.

"Frell this dren!" Another yell rang out in bitterness. John made eye contact with the protester from the far side of the room. A husky dark-haired man stood in a sleeveless dirty white T-shirt. "We will not continue when there is no more time. You! Yes!"

John pointed at himself. "Me?"

"You, homen, have brought this woe upon us! I cannot be with my mate because you have brought the Spherical upon us!"

John faced the Regent and spoke quietly and quickly. "Hold up, Regent. I'll talk to 'em. If it's okay with you?" The Regent nodded. John took that as an affirmative for everything. Keeping eye contact with the protester, John spoke into Adu's ear. "Round up the best guys you've got here. Any able-bodied person and the Regent's guards if you can. We need some offense and defense. Got it?"

"Aye," Adu said.

Noticing the protestor making his approach from the other end of the room, John nodded at Adu and saw the warrior make flight to round up the team.

"Great!" John said, loudly, clearly for all to hear. And in one fluid motion, he hopped on the console and shocked everyone by the erratic act.

He whistled between his two fingers, causing many to cover their ears. "Listen up! Everybody!"

Confusion and panic permeated the lab like a river of thick molasses, sticky. The room was stuffy and musty, making it hard to concentrate on the task. Bodies littered the area. Many techs sat despondently on the floor beside the recumbent and prostrate sub-dwellers, who were collapsed against the wall or on narrow make-shift cots arranged in lines. Others lay on the floor toward the center of the lab.

John circled on the console and waved his arms. "Hey! Now can I get your attention?"

A rustle near the heel of John's boot caught his attention. John swiftly turned to find the cynic and two buddies at the edge of the console and with their palms smacked down on the surface.

"Homen and scientists mark my words!" The protestor addressed John and slapped the console with the flat of his palm. "Why bring these sub-dwellers back alive to see their deaths once more?" He slapped it once more, addressing the Regent. "What cruelty lies within your homen, our Regent?" The cynic instead of slapping the console, swiftly grabbed John's ankle with a thick hand and held John there.

John didn't struggle but stood and allowed the Sebacean a chance to speak, the man's grip tight on his ankle. However, John heard the man's impassioned words only dimly, his attention drawn to the unfortunates beyond awaiting their fate. The bodies of the sub-dwellers quaked as the filmy residue dried upon their skins, the tremors the only indication that they were still alive.

Reluctantly, John looked at his tormentor. The Sebacean's hazelnut eyes were clouded with blinded anger and fear, as his muscles that knew heavy labor tightened, his knuckles whitening as he clenched John's ankle. This guy is right. If the shield didn't work the sub-dwellers would die. And even if everyone survived the Spherical, there was no guarantee the sub-dwellers would survive the switch of the poles. It's all my fault that Grayza's dropped a bomb on these guys. They are innocents waiting for death.

Wherever he fled, there was no getting away from the Peacekeepers. And now he had caused the demise of Yontur because he didn't give Grayza the wormhole information in his head. That pang of guilt slammed like a blow against his chest. But at that moment, he didn't have the heart to draw, aim, and fire. He was frozen, guilt-stricken.

The cynic drove the accusation deeper into John's heart. "Can't you see there is no use to defeat such a thing? This man has robbed our last moments and wrought woes upon us. Now we suffer by his hand. Why do we listen to him?"

Enough is enough! At once, John knew they had to listen. They had a chance of saving many of the people of Yontur, and he had to make sure it happened. Kicking his heel out of the man's grasp, John leaped away and landed on the other side of the console without losing balance.

"It's Human. H-U-M-A-N. Human!" John shouted the word, then pointed at the Sebacean. "Don't say it like that again if you know what's good for you." He pulled his pistol and aimed it at the guy. "Okay, we don't have time for this. We have the chance to save your world. You want to throw that away? All of you? The chance to save at least some of your families, your children?"

"They are already lost! We are already lost--"

"I refuse to accept that. I refuse to let you make the decision for every person in this room. You don't want to help, fine. But you're not condemning the ones who want to live."

The guy wouldn't let up and pulled himself onto the console.

"For justice, you will be the first to die!"

With a brief stride, the protestor pushed on John's chest with his left hand. Barely a microt passed and John caught the guy's arm, looking at him with no words passing between them. The guy suddenly reached with his right hand for John's pistol, and John counteracted, slapping the man's hand away then shoved him off the console. It was a loud thud when he fell not harming anyone nearby.

In the sea of faces, John found the Regent and was glad also to see two guards rapidly approaching. John gave the fallen cynic his wry grin. "My Regent buddy here is gonna lock you up with a long lost friend of mine." The Regent's gray-clad guards grabbed the guy and walked away. And John yelled at them as they left. "While you're at it, throw away the keys!"

The screens flickered behind John when he began to continue his speech. Then Pilot's voice interrupted, "The Spherical is descending now to one metra above Yontur."

John turned and saw Pilot in the image field six motras away. Still standing on the console, John raked fingers through his hair. "Pilot, can you give us details on the Spherical, where it's headed?"

"No, commander, our scans have reached its limitations. Fortunately the image field helps to detect the machine."

"Thanks, Pilot, keep us updated." John faced the crowd. He could see their restlessness and hear some of their murmurings much like the protestor. John raised his hands and said, "Look, I could be on Moya and Starburst from you ingrates without a care in this world." He laughed. "You got woes. Well, we all do. But right now, we've got a Spherical headed our way. And it's time to look the devil in the eye." He paced the console, gesturing, pointing, and all the while trying to get the point across. "Look at the monitors. They're machines that need to be manned. If you don't ride 'em like a Porsche, there's no control. We crash. We've got to work together, know where this bomb is going, and how long it's taking. If not--KA-BOOM!" John waited for the effect. They've given up. They just don't get it that there's always hope. The scientists still clung in their places with the ex sub-dwellers, eyeballing him as if he were a fool.

John had to push, to get them moving. But how? He continued, hoping this would work. "Better yet, I could be at home, watching Monday night football game, eatin' my barbecue with a Brewskie. But I'm not. I'm here with you." In a heartbeat, he slipped off the console and dropped down by the two guys that had been with the cynic. Swiftly, he closed the distance to look them in the eye, their faces only inches away, almost touching noses.

"And you." John poked one in the chest for emphasis as he spoke, "You have nothing to fear but fear itself!"

With that impact, John leaped back onto the console and spoke loudly with boldness. He pointed to a monitor where the dark Spherical appeared. "Fear not. Those with us are greater than those with them." Then he stood with arms akimbo. "Frell, if we work together, who knows? You may have too many cycles to spend with your folks. Come on, guys. Let's stick together. How about it?"

The scientists got up from their fallen families and returned to their stations, slowly as if the Spherical would grow angry at their incentive to work. But John was happy to have their cooperation to monitor the Spherical. It was what he and Adu needed for defense.

He hopped off the console and stopped Adu from taking the lift. "I've got something to do. It'll only take a jiff. Okay?"

Adu's brow crinkled, "We don't have time--" Before he could finish, John had already made his way toward a metallurgist. Kha'Lan was her name. She was with the other scientist where the stalactite, hardware, and containers were left on lab tables. Tools were scattered on the table, along with contraptions that appeared to be torches, compressors, molds, and a couple of miniature smelters. Beforehand, the Regent had recommended her to John for what he needed. He anxiously headed toward the small female with short stubby hair by the name of Kha'Lan, hoping his idea would work and she would be able to deliver.

***

He moved to the pace of ancient instruments played in Armana's dancing clubs. The long stride of his strong legs enhanced the bounce of the hanging white gas mask from his belt. It kept smacking against his leathered rear. Flip, flop, flip, flop the mask went, up and down, up and down. Kha'lan recognized it was an instrument to preserve one's life from poisonous gas. This specie's life if met with the Spherical's gas would be safe. How ironic it was, a life-saving tool as this dancing on his rear like the beaded strings and fringes of her ancient tribe's costumes during accelerated dances. It danced on him like something made only for frivolity.

This human, loose, wild, bursting from the frigidity of a uniformed Peacekeeper, wore the black undergarment shirt as if it were standard uniform for battle, not in the least embarrassed at his naked disregard of regulations. He defied all their social standards and all that she had learned in her lifetime. Nature and universal things seemed to tumble away at his feet while he scoffed them away with his arrogance.

She should have feared him, the way his crystalline eyes flared with fire. Quailing would have been appropriate for her under the circumstances with imminent death waxing closer. And his loudness should have caused her to quake unreasonably. However, despite this creature's erratic behavior, within him glowed an ember of—hope.

Some of his words she could not comprehend, but others were expressed with clarity.

"You have nothing to fear but fear itself!"

"Fear not. Those with us are greater than those with them."

What manner of species was he? That even impending doom could wash away? However, doom had tantalized her far before the Spherical. Kha'Lan's mother and father had been killed in a mining accident. Her sibling was lost a cycle ago when they wrested the child away from Kha'Lan's care. Not of parenting age, the socialists had said. And all she had left was a plastic flimsy image of her, kept within her pocket always.

She noticed the human had turned away from the lift and now pressed through the bodies toward her. Afraid, Kha'Lan put her hand against her throat. Suddenly, he was only denches away!

"Can you help me?" he asked gently. All the arrogance had left, his taunt features relaxing, and even as his sparkling eyes remained intense as they caught hers.

Kha'Lan smiled against her will. "Commander, what is it that you need?"

"This." He reached in his pockets and pulled out a small metallic object. He told her unfamiliar dimensions for the metal piece. "Can you do it?"

Suddenly, Kha'Lan's wish, desire, dream became believable, a sprig of hope lit within herself. This human seemed kind, seemed to care. He could help to find Rea'Lan her lost sister.

"Will you help me?" Kha'Lan asked as she peered up into the tall one's brilliant eyes, unusual in her part of the world. He was statuesque like the marbled monuments of their patriots, heroes of long ago that sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom.

"Anything." John bent at eyelevel with her. He was dizzyingly tall, towering over her head, which barely reached his chest. She handed the human the plastic flimsy of her sister. Still bent over, he took it gently and peered at it with a crinkled brow.

"She is my sister. Her name is Rea'Lan and may be one of the sub-dwellers. Will you find her?" Kha'Lan feared he would say no. But she felt his large hand close ever so gently on her shoulder.

"I'll do my best," he said in a soft tone. "You trust me with this, and I'll trust you with that." He pointed to the metal object. "It's my treasure. Okay?"

Kha'Lan smiled with hope burning in her heart. Now she understood why his name was always whispered with awe on the lips of Yontur: John Crichton.

***

John grabbed his coat and caught up with Adu and eight other men at the lift. Anxiously, Adu gripped John by the forearm. "Things have changed critically!"

"What do ya mean?" John locked eyes with the Captain.

"Some sub-dwellers that have been transformed early from the outside have surfaced."

"Again, what do you mean?" Though his tone was low, it scraped with dread in his ears, like fingernails on a blackboard. Adu wasn't offering much reassurance, his jaw working soundlessly as he tried to find the words.

Adu crossed his arms, "We have to fetch them, bring them back to safety."

"Can't win for losing."

Time, time, time. It's always about time, isn't it, John?

That familiar voice invaded his mind once more. There stood Harvey in a SWAT team's uniform, bullet-proof vest and all. John looked around and found himself in a small cubed room. A miniature bomb was in a corner ticking away, adorned with an LCD timer that displayed large red digital numbers, flashing the seconds.

"Chief, can't you see how crazy all this is?" Harvey said, his face too close and jaw working loudly, chewing a huge wad of watermelon bubblegum. "You see, you have to get to the module and escape. Leave these losers behind. Let 'em blow. They ain't family." It was the fake slang that irritated John, and what grated him even more was the cowardice of Harvey, blatant cowardice that dwelled within himself. And what made this creature's voice more intolerable was John's temptation to do just what his tormentor wanted. Anger welled within him and was targeted at Harvey who exposed John's weakness.

John grabbed the ebony masked jaw with arm extended and growled. "Spit the freakin' gum out! No chewing gum while I'm on a mission." Suddenly, a huge pink sticky ball of goo popped and splattered in John's face. Out of instinct, fear, or just disgust, John drew his pistol and aimed it at his friendly nemesis.

Harvey darted to the bomb and put his arms up in surrender. "Don't shoot, Chief! Don't shoot the bomb!" The black residue of Scorpius' personality waved at John, flapping his arms as he protected the bomb. "I don't want to die! Please, John."

"Get outta my head, Harvey," John said, quietly now with no more vehemence. He plopped the pistol back in its holster and took on the chore of plucking the residue of bubblegum from his face. The fight was gone in him as he kept removing the sticky stuff. John looked at his SWAT uniform with light pink gum splattered on navy blue.

"If I could escape, I would. But, in times like these, there's no way out." Tired of the whole ordeal, John sighed and turned away from Harvey and the bomb. "Go away. There's a planet I've got to save." The words were empty to him, like a whisper ebbing away.

Tick...tick...tick. Don't want to die.

He sighed as the vision left and leaned his head against the glass shield, closed his eyes shut and wished this would all go away.