Aeryn turned around slowly, expecting to see an angry Crichton staring at her. She readied herself to inflict a Pantak jab and hoped she would get of Talyn before he regained consciousness and realised what had happened.

"Aeryn, Crichton is now in his quarters I have allocated him. During the sleep cycle it should be safe for you to leave."

She sighed with relief, "Thank you Crais..." she placed a hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. "...for everything." She lied.

{Don't let her go}

"I have to Talyn... you know all she wanted was safe passage to the nearest commerce planet." Crais argued with the young ships subconscious.

{But you love her}

"That is irrelevant." He turned to Aeryn, "Are you sure you will not stay?"

She shook her head, "I'm sorry Crais. You know I cannot."

"Very well," he replied handing her a Peacekeeper chip. "I have given you the coordinates to the nearest commerce planet where there will be someone to meet you. She will provide a hiding place until I can convince Crichton to let you go."

Aeryn nodded silently and turned to continue packing. She smiled slightly at the memory for when she and Crichton had packed for their honeymoon, but the thought was quickly replaced by the one of being alone in her quarters in so much pain. All because Crichton had to get his frelling modules fixed. She placed a hand lightly on her abdomen and sat on the bed next to where he would of sat. At that moment grief overtook her. "I'm sorry..." she whispered weakly. "I miss you...I lost the last piece of you, the only thing I had left..." She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall and rose up from the bed. She looked at herself in the mirror at the tears that now fell. 'Weak...pull yourself together Aeryn!' she told herself. She turned to face the bed and zipped up her bag. "It's too late now...I can't go back. Crichton will never forgive me for leaving him again...will never forgive me for what I have done..."

John seated himself beside the porthole in his makeshift quarters with his notebook. He was alone. Even Harvey hadn't bothered him since Aeryn had left, and right now a small part of him wished he was here. Some company is better that no company, he thought. He wished Aeryn was there right now, resting in his arms with her head against his shoulder. "Why...why couldn't I make her listen?" he thought out loud. He figured it was late and knew that Crais had already turned in for the night. 'Maybe a walk would clear my head a little?' he wondered. He left his notebook on the bed, and walked out of his quarters unknowingly towards that of Aeryn Sun's. Something inside compelled him and he didn't know what it was. There was a door to his right that urged him to enter, to walk through it. He waved a hand over the door control and walked into the empty room. Slightly puzzled by the untidy covers on the bed, he wandered over for a closer inspection. The bed was still warm and a nagging feeling ate inside him. He picked up the still warm cover to his nose and breathed in the scent deeply. Instantly he recognized it to be that of his mate. It smelt exactly like the covers in her quarters on Moya, and he knew she had been there. On the pillow he noticed three strands of long black hair and dark rage grew within him like he'd never felt before. Aeryn had been there. He ran off down the corridors of Talyn to Crais' quarters and burst in. "CRAIS YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU LIED TO ME..."

Crais opened his eyes to find himself at the wrong end of a pulse pistol, "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

John glared at him bitterly, finger on the trigger, "You know very well Captain," he said the last part sarcastically. "...she was here..."

"I am sure commander, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You lying bastard...Aeryn...she was here. I found her quarters...and you'd better have a good explanation to why you lied to me."

Crais looked at Crichton with disgust, "After what you did to Officer Sun I found her in a bar, fatigued and offered her a place to sleep. She was insistent that I did not inform you of her whereabouts."

"Your all heart." He replied sourly, "Where is she?" he asked, his blue eyes had turned ice cold.

"She has probably left by now for the commerce planet." Crais' informed, trying to keep all smugness out of his voice.

"Damn it..." he said before running out of the quarters and heading for the hangar.
Aeryn threw her bag into her Prowler once more, and climbed into the cockpit. She closed the hatch, and did up her harness tightly before turning on the engines. Placing the Peacekeeper chip into the slot she called up the coordinates that Crais had provided and punched them into the navigator. Half of her was saddened to leave, but now Crichton was on the ship she had no choice. It was either leave or kill him, and she still cared for him far too much to take the latter option. As the engines roared into life, she engaged the thrusters, just as John had entered the hangar.

"Aeryn...wait!" he called after her. But his call was in futile, as he watched her Prowler fly out of the hangar doors.

Aeryn sighed with relief. She had heard Crichton's call, but her sensors showed no crafts following her. She had made a relatively clean escape again, but she had the feeling in the future she might not be so lucky.
Back in his quarters, Crais was formulating a plan. He wasn't going to let her get away that easily. "Talyn, engaged long range communications." He waited for a microt.

"Crais?" a female voice said.

"Neeha, I have a proposition for you."

"You do?" The voice asked.

"It involves the Sebacean woman that I told you about. She is on course to the planet and should be there within a matter of arns." Crais replied.

"You want me to kill her?"

"No..." Crais almost shouted, "I want you to keep her there until her mate comes looking for her."

There was a crackle, "But I thought you were her mate?"

"Not yet..." he replied in a hushed voice. "But she will be with your help. Keep her there until her mate comes looking, then if everything goes to plan, I will show up a few arns later. Make sure you somehow get Officer Sun and Commander Crichton to meet... when I arrive I will confront Aeryn privately about the night we slept together...only I want Crichton to hear it. Do you think you can set that up?"

There was a gap before the communication finally got through, "Why would you want me to do that?"

"When Crichton hears that Aeryn has slept with me, all trust and any signs of forgiveness will be completely severed. Crichton will end his marriage to Officer Sun, leaving me to pick up the pieces and hopefully within time, she will fall in love with me, and will love me as much as I love her." Crais smiled at the thought. Officer Sun would be his. He would no longer have to be jealous of Crichton; A lesser species than his own and the one that had always ruined his chances of being the life mate of Aeryn Sun.

TBC...