5.01 - The Fearing Mind

Chapter 9 - Baby Names

(7/6/03)

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Talk about writer's block! Anyway, here we go with the ninth chapter, and I don't own Farscape and all that lot. Well, I own some Farscape merchandise, but not the rights to reproduce it. I own a Rygel figure, a load of trading cards, some videos, DVDs, books, magazines, bookmarks, and even the video game. So nerr!

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Chapter 9 - Baby Names

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Aeryn's mind stirred, emerging from it's pool of unconsciousness. Dutifully, probably down to her Peacekeeper training and also sharing some self-organising traits from her Pilot DNA, Aeryn thought through a series of checks over her mind and body.

She sensed she was in restraints, however she could still move her limbs against them, though not much. She could move her fingers, toes and neck freely.

Instantly, she thought of where she had last been. Her mind was a moment remembering, but then it recalled her being on a small boat with John in the middle of a seemingly endless ocean.

She had never been happier.

But that was not helping the current situation. Her Peacekeeper training forced her to focus on the matter in hand rather than wallow in memories, no matter how recent. Find out the problem, and work towards a solution!

A ship. She could not tell which species had created it, either because her mind was too hazy or simply because she didn't recognise it from anywhere.

Either way, she remembered, it had sent D'Argo into a panic, and he had shouted at the comms for them to come inside.

And then her emotions had betrayed herself. John didn't think there was a way back into Moya in time, and Aeryn had submitted instead of carrying on trying.

Stupid emotions.

Worthless emotions!

Aeryn didn't regret a moment of it.

And then it all went black.

But now - now was a different matter.

Aeryn quickly opened her eyes, then immediately closed them again in case she was being monitored. She knew she almost certainly was.

Immediately when she opened them, light flooded through, burning itself into her vision. When she closed them, there was a fading screen of orange against her eyelids as the light ebbed away.

But from what she had seen, Aeryn knew she was in a room, with what appeared to be grey, featureless walls, floors and ceiling.

Didn't seem like Peacekeeper, or Scarren. What else was there?

Nebari? Though little was known of the Nebari race, the ship that overflew them was not a Nebari vessel she had seen before - though she had only seen two. Charrid? They'd be using Scarren ships anyway.

But then who? Who were they, and how did she fight them?

But then possibly more importantly, how were John and her baby? Aeryn nearly chastised her Peacekeeper training for making her focus more on the situation than those she cared about.

Finally, she risked opening her eyes and making herself known. Whoever had captured her could have killed her already, so Aeryn decided they must want her alive.

She hoped that was the case, anyway.

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John was in the room containing the energy amplifier when he heard the news.

The Sedum, or more particularly Vwert since he was the only one John had seen, had given him a precious few pieces of a papery parchment, stating that it was created from the precious few scraps of material left on the small outcroppings of what was previously mountains, their peaks jutting out above the water level. To write with, a thin metal cylinder with a small point seemingly attached to the end to act as a nib. Apparently the substance used to write with seemed identical to ink in all intents and purposes, and even came from a small fifteen-armed squid. Except that the ink stank to high heaven of cheese. John thought to himself that either the Sedum didn't have very effective noses, or didn't care.

Harvey had been quiet, and John sensed he was trying his hand at something, possibly trying to think of a way John could escape all this, or possibly even answer another question John had been pondering.

What had the Peacekeepers been doing out here in Tormented Space anyway? And why weren't they here any more?

And did Aeryn know? Just before entering Tormented Space, she said things there would be no better than in the Uncharted Territories. Was it just rumours she had heard, or something more?

But John had to focus on the task in hand. Escape the Sedum. The only way he could see to that was blowing them all up on his way out. How to do that? Try and give them wormhole equations, but with one flaw built in so that they'd blow up at the last minute.

Problem is, John had no idea how to do that.

"Invader John Crichton." Vwert interrupted his train of thought. John looked over a frown on his face for the creature having disturbed his work, even though he had done none yet.

Vwert looked over his shoulder at the parchment, then spoke again. "The female invader is conscious."

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"Hey baby, how ya doing?" John arrived by Aeryn's side, the woman still restrained.

"John..." she gasped, still weary. "What... what's happening..."

John knelt by her side, his right hand going through her thick hair. "Don't you worry baby, I'm gonna make everything okay."

"John..." Aeryn said, fighting the urge to sleep. "Our baby... is it..."

Vwert spoke up from over John's shoulder. "The infant is fine and developing well."

Aeryn sighed. She looked at Vwert. "I don't know whether I should be thanking or cursing you." she managed. "Who are you?"

"We are Vwert of the Sedum." Vwert simply replied. "We apologise for the restraints. John Crichton is helping us with an important matter. Our business will be concluded in a short time, after which you may rejoin your crew aboard the Leviathan."

Aeryn looked over at John. "Is he telling the truth?" she asked, to which John nodded. "Well, it's a lot better than most of the scrapes we've been in." she said, relieved.

Vwert coughed nervously. "I shall leave you two alone for a short time." he said. "You are still being monitored." At this he turned and left through the door.

"John..." Aeryn said, a smile on her face, "is it true? That you're just helping them with something, and then we can go?"

John smiled. "Yeah baby, it's true." But in his mind he was screaming at himself. He knew he should tell Aeryn about the Peacekeeper involvement, the attack on Moya, that he had to give the Sedum the ability to direct wormholes.

But he couldn't. Not now.

Aeryn giggled. "I can't wait until we're out of here." she said. "We can start a new life somewhere, and Peacekeepers and Scarrens will be none of our concern. You, me, possibly the others nearby if they want, and the baby..."

"Our baby..." John said whimsically. "Crichton's kid."

Aeryn looked over at him, a mocked serious expression on her face. "And Aeryn's."

"And Aeryn's." John said. "Hey, what do you think for names?"

Aeryn sighed contently. "Names, names, names... Sebacean tradition is that, if you can't think of a good name yourself, you should name a child after those who've made an impact in your lives."

"Yeah, we say the same sorta thing on Earth." John replied. "So, what do you reckon for a girl?"

"I liked the name of your mother, Olivia."

"What about Olivia Zhaan?"

Aeryn stared at him for a moment, confused. "Olivia Zhaan?" she said. "It wouldn't be Zhaan's child, John."

"No, how about Zhaan for a middle name?" he said, to which Aeryn just stared blankly. "You guys don't have middle names, do ya? No, just first and last."

"Oh, I get it now!" Aeryn said, smiling. "Yes, maybe Olivia Zhaan if it's a girl. What if it's a boy?"

"Hmm..." John thought. "We couldn't really call him after any of the guys we know, 'cos otherwise we'd keep getting confused. How about Jack?"

Aeryn had obviously been thinking the same thing about fathers. "Jack Talyn Crichton." she said aloud, quite happy. "I like that."

A cough came from behind John, and he turned to see Vwert had rejoined them. "I'm afraid that John Crichton must leave for a short time." he said. "But he will be able to visit regularly. In the meantime, you shall have assisstants brought to you to cater for your needs, and to accompany you on walks around the complex."

"Thank you." Aeryn said politely, before turning to John. "See you later."

"Yeah, see ya in a bit." John said, before planting a quick kiss on her lips, then leaving the room with Vwert.

Once outside the room, he turned to Vwert. "Hey, thanks for leaving us for a moment there, and for all you're doing for her."

"Think nothing of it." Vwert replied. "I may not belong to your species, but I can tell when one is in the throes of love."

"Yeah, but you could have imprisoned her, threatened to kill her or the baby. Instead Aeryn's going to be treated well."

"So that is her name..." Vwert said. "We had not probed her mind, and with the information from yours it is not necessary. Aeryn..."

"Yeah..." John said, gratitude clearly in his voice. "But... thanks for not killing us."

"We are not monsters, John Crichton." Vwert said. "We are civilized people. We do not kill needlessly."

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Yep, I had major writer's block at the beginning of writing this chapter (hope it doesn't show) but thought "where the hell's Aeryn in all this?". Those of you who've read the short story "Horizons" by Rockne S O'Bannon (one of the main creators and producers of Farscape) which is set 300 years after the events so far witnessed in Farscape may spot a reference to John and Aeryn's kid. Anyway, please read and review, and visit www.savefarscape.com and, if you really want, my site at www.geocities.com/pilotschamber