Title: 'Survival instincts'
Summary: After an attack on a planet, Aeryn's life hangs in the balance. Will she survive?
Disclaimers notice: I don't own Farscape but I do this fanfic.
© copyright 2003 Anna Levermore (AnnaSun)
Aeryn moved backwards, firing her pulse rifle. John joined in flipping two pulse pistols from their holders and shooting. A body fell dead to the ground.
"One Scarren dead, five more to go!" shouted John.
Aeryn sprung into action again. She punched a wounded scarren with a pantack jab and sent him sailing to the wet ground beneath. The scarren hit the floor with a thud, rolled over and stopped by a tree stump, motionless.
John and Aeryn were amidst a Scarren fight (well a mini scarren war as Crichton had called it). They had visited the planet in search of food and water when suddenly they found three dreadnoughts smashed to pieces on the planet's surface. Scarrens surrounded them in every direction, swearing that John and Aeryn had been the cause of the ships crashing onto the dead-like planet. John fired his pulse pistol at an over hanging branch, snapping it and bringing it down on top of another scarren. A female.
"Three Scarrans dead, two to go!" John shouted. He turned to see Aeryn pinned against the floor by an angry scarren. He was using his heat glands to omit radiation to Aeryn's body. Crichton knew that heat would kill a sceabation and charged in, pulse pistol and all. Leaping on top of the scarren he managed to free it from Aeryn before shooting his pulse pistol at its head. The scarren let out a growl and fell dead to the floor.
"Thanks John" said Aeryn.
"That's Okay. I'm glad he didn't fry you."
Aeryn looked puzzled at John's last words but didn't question him on what they meant.
"There was another scarren" said Aeryn suddenly, looking around. "I was sure of it."
"Me to" replied John. "Lets split up and try and find it."
Aeryn agreed and headed off to her left whilst Crichton veered to his right.
The planet named 'Volten one' was dark and mysterious. The trees were overhanging and fizzled around the edges of the branches. There must have been a big fire about a moen ago. The sky above looked eerie and foreboding. Amongst the burnt out, scarce landscape were strips of mist that laid a blanket over the dark, lifeless place. There didn't seem to be any settlements. John and Aeryn hadn't seen any anyway. They guessed that no-one lived here. But there was plenty of food and a small river for the inhabitants to thrive on if they did.
Aeryn had strode off into the misty land in search of the last scarren they had to kill. The mist was getting thicker and soon Aeryn couldn't see where she was heading. She took small steps keeping to a line of trees so she wouldn't get sidetracked. She was nearly out of the mist and into a clearing when she heard a noise. She spun round in alarm hoping it was John. She could hear a growling noise. It had to be the scarren she thought. She held out her pulse pistol and began pointing it around. The noise made an appearance again. Before Aeryn could comm Crichton to tell him of her situation the scrarren launched an attack. Aeryn moved quickly, sending bolts of yellow light flying out from her pulse rifle to the scarren. He ducked, moving out the way and growling angrily. Aeryn moved in again firing her pulse pistol yet again. The scarren was strong he ducked again missing the pulse pistol blasts. Aeryn stepped backwards, the mist surrounding the both of them. It was hard to see, but the scarren didn't stop. He managed to grab Aeryn's arm and started to emit radian to her like the other scarren had done before. Aeryn began squirming. She could feel the heat burning up her body. She let out a sigh and thought I can't believe I am thinking this but I need John Crichton! Where the frell was he she thought. She was unaware that John had got lost in the mist and was trying to find his way back to the transport pod. Aeryn squirmed and wriggled trying to set her self free from the Scarren's grasp. With one hand free she reached her pulse rifle and shot the tree above her. The large branch fell down and hit the scarren. Luckily Aeryn had moved aside just in time before the branch had time to hit her too. It wasn't finished yet the scarren moved quickly from under the branch and picking it up tried to smash Aeryn but missed and hit a dark tree. Something in the tree was hit and a nest of creatures was awoken sending a swam of flying creatures out of the tree. The scarren was surrounded first and then they started surrounding Aeryn. The scarren in total fear fled. Aeryn fled too. She didn't know what these creatures were but she didn't plan on finding out. They picked up speed running deeper into the mist. The scarren had sped of into another direction and the big flying creatures was following Aeryn. Aeryn ran as fast as she could, she could see the mist in front of her slowly disappearing. She must be near the transport pod she thought. She could hear noises behind her and decided to turn around and have a look, bad idea she tripped over a tangled tree root and fell twisting her wrist and grazing it.
"Frell!" she cursed under her breath and pulled her self up, feeling a little dizzy. Suddenly something large bit her left arm embedding millions of small spikes into it. She feel to ground again, this time hearing someone's voice.
"Aeryn!, is that you? I found the scarren he looked rather freaked. I managed to killed him…….whoah…….whoah….what are those…….." The creatures started surrounding Crichton too. He didn't like the look of them.
"I don't know. They started following me" said Aeryn staggering to her feet.
"Aeryn I think we better go" he said wisely. Aeryn clutched her wrist and followed John back to the Transport pod. Once inside they closed all the open doors quickly so that none of the creature could get in.
"I swear we need some bug repellent. Those creatures…..bugs….what ever they were looked mighty angry. What do you think Aeryn?"
Aeryn was leaning again a consol, taking long deep breaths.
"Hey, Aeryn, you okay?" asked Crichton feeling concerned.
Aeryn moved her head upwards which made her sight start to blur and could see an array of blurred Crichton's before her. She then grabbed her wrist nursing it from the pain.
"You want me to look at that. It could be broken?"
"I can deal with it." Aeryn replied simply " I'll get Zhaan to take a look when we arrive back on Moya" she added.
"Okay" replied John, still sensing something about Aeryn that wasn't right.
Just then Aeryn felt her head begin to swim in a sideshow of images and it was becoming more and more difficult for her to focus. Then the dizziness began to kick in.
"John…I…..I" She stuttered trying to tell him how she felt. Before she could finish her sentence, however she suddenly collapsed on the floor.
Crichton frantically activated his comm badge.
"Pilot, Aeryn's collapsed. I am bringing the transport pod back now. Tell D'Argo and Zhaan to meet by the hanger doors. It's a medical emergency."
"I will commander and await your return." replied Pilot.
John looked down at Aeryn who was lying in foetal position on the floor.
"Frell!" he shouted before staring up the engines and flying back to Moya.
TBC………
A/N: Hiya Scapers!, I decided to write a new Farscape fanfic. So what did you think? If there is anything I could improve on let me know. I look forward to the reviews and I will put chapter 2 up as soon as I can. Thank you for reading.
