Part 6

Aeryn stood at parade-rest, hands locked behind, back straight, and feet apart. She stared out the hammond side portal as the ships of the Peacekeeper armada moved about carrying out whatever duty they were assigned. It had been two weekens since John was taken and their capture. She admired D'Argo's remarkable control over the frustration and helplessness he, like the rest of them, had been feeling. Chiana was a small blessing, helping to look after Nyka. The one good thing about this frelled up situation was that with no reports of Peacekeepers being hurt or killed, their captors allowed the crew the freedom to move about Moya with the exception of the landing bay and a few other places.

After her last confrontation with Councilor Keitha, Aeryn drew more into herself as her anger, frustration, and desperation grew with each passing microt. She was ready to strike out at anyone or thing as her powerlessness grew heavier. Aeryn tightened the reign on her temper and continued to stare blindly out the window lost in thought. She looked up as a pair of marching feet invaded her space and a harsh voice commanded.

"Officer Sun, the Admiral has ordered that you report to him in Command."

Turning, she faced the Senior Officer with a neutral expression. To show her concerns, fears or any other emotions in front of the enemy was a sign of weakness. She was a soldier first and foremost, and like John would say, she would be damned if she'd let them have the pleasure of seeing any weakness.

"And the others?"

"No, just you," he said stepping aside to allow her to walk in front of him.

D'Argo's impatience was apparent. He glanced back over his shoulder several times as he made his way into the Center Chamber. Once inside, he scanned the room to make sure all the Peacekeeper techs were out. Chiana sit with Nyka on her lap as he played with his favorite toy.

Looking up she asked, "Have you seen Aeryn recently?"

"No. Why are you still watching Nyka? The last I had seen Aeryn; she said she was going to collect him for his nap. "

"Well, she's never showed up," Chi said, carrying the little boy over to Noranti. The old woman extended a spoon out laden with stew.

The whine of Rygel's thronesled announced his arrival, as D'Argo was about to exit the room. "Noranti, is the Majella stew done?" Rygel asked.

Watching the child smacked his lips and reaching for more, she gleefully said, "Yes, indeed the little one thinks so."

D'Argo paused and asked Rygel. "Have you seen Aeryn?"

"Yes, with a Peacekeeper. Now if you'll get out of my way, I want to get some of that stew before the old woman gives my part to the nixer."

Grabbing his sled, D'Argo prevented him from moving. He said in a controlled voice edged with anger. "Which way were they going?"

"To Command," Rygel grumbled. A knowing look came into his eyes. "You see but you don't know what is going on. You hear but you don't understand. Maybe if you listen with your ears and mind rather than your mivoks, you might be surprised at what you can learn, Luxan and then you wouldn't have to keep asking me."

D'Argo pulled Rygel up to eye level and snarled through clenched teeth, "Tell me what you know."

"Only that the Admiral wanted to see her. I don't know why. Now, let me go," Rygel growled back.

He stared at the little Hynerian, trying to judge if Rygel was telling him everything, or not. After a few microts he gave up and pushed the sled away, spinning Rygel around from the fierce thrust. D'Argo was positive that the slug wasn't sharing everything he knew, as usual.

"Frell," D'Argo scowled. "We have wasted too much time with these Peacekeepers. They speak of tracking John, but we're still here."

Chiana glanced up from Nyka. "I've heard that Marauders have been following the Bancardens."

D'Argo sat across from her, watching the child eat. "John has been turned over to whomever this Collector is, long ago. No, they're only feeding us dren, for all we know the Peacekeepers could have already retrieved John."

"Then why keep us here on Moya? Why use an armada to hold us prisoner? I get the impression time is imperative to them," Rygel said in between bites. "The rumors that war with the Scarrans is imminent makes this mission too imperative. It makes no sense to hold us prisoner in the middle of nowhere if they already have Crichton. "

"Yes, time is imperative. War is at hand," Noranti said from across the room. "They need all the assistance they can get — even from a criminals such as us. They're afraid of what could happen if Crichton is captured...if Aeryn or the child were captured. So they seek us out to protect themselves...more than us. The Peacekeepers dare not kill him. They hope that he will change his mind and save their way of life."

"Hope?" D'Argo says in disbelief, then demanded. "Have you heard something?"

"I hear everything, of course. Some important, some not," she chanted.

"Tell us. What have you heard?" D'Argo commanded.

Coming around the counter she sat down next to Chiana and started to tell them what she had learned.

Admiral Arnell stood with his hands behind his back looking at the clamshell. A Senior Officer snapped to attention. "Sir, I have Officer Sun as you ordered."

The Admiral dismissed the Officer, but his eyes remain locked on the viewer.

Aeryn glanced around as the Peacekeepers moved about Command; techs mostly. Councilor Keitha had ordered repairs to be done on Moya after seeing her damaged decks. Scared, Moya asked Pilot to monitor everything that was being done and to keep the others informed. As the work had progressed, Moya had reported that she was feeling much better, but she still remained leery of the Peacekeepers.

After a few microts, Arnell said, "I wanted to speak to you without your companions present."

Aeryn remained stubbornly quiet.

The Admiral turned his full attention to her. He wasn't surprise at her silence. The crew had not volunteered anything willingly over the past two weekens.

"We have found the Bancarden Trekker that was responsible for taking Crichton."

Aeryn stood at attention her eyes locked onto his.

He continued. "Only the crew was already dead when the commandos arrived."

"Dead? You mean they put up a fight and were killed in the confrontation?" She asked.

"No, it would appear this Collector paid them with death instead of currency. A team is going over the ship's navigation data spools to see if there is any leads to were this Collector's planet could be."

Anxious Aeryn turned her face to the viewer trying to slow down her racing mind, to keep her emotions under control.

Arnell kept talking. "I am surprise that you and your friends have remained passive. I would have thought you would be trying to escape to find Crichton on your own. I have heard that John Crichton was the one that always had a plan to get in and out of situations that were thought impossible or foolish. "

Aeryn looked back at him, surprised at the tone of admiration in his voice. He continued, "It would have been interesting to see what he would have come up with if he was here."

Aeryn grew tired of his idled talk. As her frustration bubbled to the surface, she demanded. "Why are we still here, Admiral? Are we your political prisoners or do you truly want to broker a truce with us?"

"The search is ongoing as we speak." The Admiral cocked his head slightly and asked. "Tell me. If you and the others were given a opportunity, would you accept our help in locating and retrieving him, or would you simply escape and do it on your own?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he shook his head and turned back to the clamshell. "It makes no difference. We will work together to find John Crichton."

"Together?" Aeryn snapped. "We are your prisoners and we have done nothing but sat here for two weekens. You have found nothing. You have told us nothing but the same dren. Let us go and we will find him."

"And so will the Scarrans. They have been shadowing you before the Bancarden came along. So I am positive that they are just aware of what is going on as we are. They too have been searching for this Collector. As Councilor Keitha has told you, we only want you, Crichton, your family, and friends to be safe from the enemy."

"Safe? " Aeryn shook her head in disbelief. "How can you ensure our safety at a time of war? How can you guarantee our safety from your own people if the situation grows worse?"

The Admiral glanced back at her and said, "The best we can, and we anticipate that before it is to late John Crichton will come to realize we are all that stands between him, his family, and his home world's safety."

Aeryn heard the sincerity in the admiral's voice. Maybe they were telling the truth; she did want to believe a few might share in what the Peacekeepers had once stood for. "Peace is all we want. All John and I want is to find somewhere we can just simply live our lives in peace."

"Peace," he scuffed. "We are Peacekeepers, Officer Sun. We promote peace through force, or have you forgotten the old saying? Piacum rotha sumprus potnus, supra anthoa st visgaon."

"Peace through sovereign power, supreme authority is but a hallucination. I never knew a Peacekeeper officer from High Command would admit he believed in that. Is this a weakness that is showing?" A smile flickered across Aeryn's lips as she mused with a hint of sarcasm.

"I never knew an in-service-born Peacekeeper could abandoned her station to become the mate of an unclassified insubstantial species. I would say that is a weakness, " the Admiral countered.

Aeryn's smile never left her lips, although deep inside she so wanted to strike out at this arrogant man, to wipe off the superior smugness from his face. She remained persistently silent.

The Admiral watched his techs work in efficient silence for a few tense microts, and he cleared his throat. Gruffly he spoke, "I apologize, Officer Sun. It is hard to let go of the old ways, but I do believe that if we are to survive, we have to change much of our tactics in dealing with other life forms."

He ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair and looked away. "Councilor Keitha was right on one thing, this pathetic human has made a statement in the Uncharted Territories like no other. I can only hope we can find him and that a collaboration can be brokered."

With his back turned, Aeryn could scrutinize the once-great Admiral who she had at one time so admired. In his stiff formidable stance she could see a man who was uneasy at admitting his fears.

He spoke, breaking into her reverie. "Tell me, Officer Sun. What kind of power does this man... this human have, that has had such a devastating affect on high-ranking Peacekeeper officers? What kind of creature is he that can demand and receive such devotion from so many different kinds of species?"

"Because he simply is who he is. You either like him or you don't. What you see is what you get. "

The Admiral continued to stare at her blankly. She wanted to laugh at his confounded look. John was right give them Earth adages and watch them go crazy trying to understand.

"You truly are contaminated by this human if you understand those complete nonsense words."

"He is a man who gives willingly and demands nothing in return from those he care about. John Crichton stands up for what he believes in and is willing to die for his beliefs, if need be. He is a man of honor and courage."

The Admiral just stared at her and asked. "The word hope, I've heard it associated with the human. Why?"

"We would not have survived all this time without it. I have hope. We, the crew, have hope that we will be reunited with John. You seek John in hope that he will help to save the Sebacean race if need comes to that."

Snorting in disbelief, the Admiral moved about Moya's Command deck. Coming to a halt at a console, he stared at the viewer, watching his Carrier station itself just metros away from Moya's position. "Superstitious primitive," he murmured. "We have always wielded power without such a thing."

Aeryn countered back. "Why then, Admiral, are you really here?"

He turned to face Aeryn. His mantle of command and power firmly back in place. He said in an authoritative voice. "You know, if Crichton has tried to escape this Collector he will have killed him, or worse."

"We have yet to abandon hope, Admiral. I know he is alive," she stated in a steely voice, emphasizing on each word. "We will find and rescue him. "

"We? So you want to work with us on this? Then I hope you are right, Officer Sun, that we will find him very soon."

Councilor Keitha watched Moya, she asked Captain Javier, "Did the Admiral say how long he would stay aboard the Leviathan?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Have there been any other reports on John Crichton's retrieval?"

"Not since the last one, Ma'am."

"You will inform me at once if you hear anything, or do I need to wait for the Admiral to learn of it first, Captain?" She asked turning her gaze upon him.

"I will personally report any new leads directly to you," the Captain said.

"Good. Alert me the moment the Admiral returns back aboard. I will be in my quarters."

"Ma'am."

Keitha stood in her darken quarters. She held a small reddish glowing crystal in the palm of her hand. Squeezing it tightly, it emitted an eerie glow, bathing her in a reddish half-light. A faint image of a woman appeared directly before her. Holding her head high, Keitha began, "I have kept my end of the bargain now it is time you did yours. Have you found Crichton?"

"Yes," the woman answered.

"Well, where is he?" The councilor demanded impatiently.

"You have wasted valuable time. Your impatience is inconsequential. If you want to be the one to rescue Crichton then you must convince the Admiral to release Aeryn Sun and the Luxan Ka D'Argo."

Keitha angrily snapped. "They are not prisoners."

"If that was so, the human would have been free days ago."

"Why is it so important for them to go where you are?"

"Details are important, Councilor. You should know that. Send them to the planet Quevila. There, they will meet with an old hag by the name of Korrala. She will have the information you seek."

Keitha stepped closer to the figure and demanded. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"If you were to charge directly onto the Collector's planet he would simply move Crichton. He has spies everywhere. Tell Aeryn Sun to bring a token. A token associated with her child." As the light began to dim, the woman said. "We have already kept our end of our bargain, Enya Keitha. Are you not on the High Council?"

Drawing herself up straight, Keitha stared at the pulsating crystal in her hand. Angry that they would dare to take credit for her rise to power, she swore under her breath. Her thoughts were interrupted.

"Councilor Keitha, the Admiral has come back aboard. He has requested that you meet him on the Command bridge."

Putting the crystal away, she answered calmly. "Inform him that I'll join him in a few microts."

Despite her time table being delayed, her plans were still on track. Now to manipulate the Admiral once more then her future would be assured as the next leader of the High Council.

Admiral Arnell stood next to his Captain and spoke to him in a low voice. The Captain nodded his head in understanding. Snapping to attention, the Captain hurried out of command just as the Councilor arrived. Arnell gave a faint smile, he loved playing games with power-hungry people and Keitha was proving to be a good adversary. Let the games continue, he thought to himself with pleasure. .

Captain Fraven Randella stood at the main navigational console in Command and fumed; pretending that what was happening on the Leviathan didn't bother her. Four monens earlier, she had attended a meeting with Admiral's senior staff. The ready room was silent and still as the Admiral presented the visibly stiff and quietly rebellious officers their new orders. She still felt her stomach tighten in quiet fury remembering her new orders. She couldn't understand why the short-sighted, sleazy, grobat-mating, pupa- eating senior-ranking officers of High Command made policy and sent orders with a total disregard for the difficult logistics faced by line officers who continued to grapple with the Scarrans short of all-out war. She was infuriated that the Supreme Council would sanction a mission that would divert two Command Carriers in order to locate, contact, and protect the infamous Commander John Crichton and his fellow criminals.

A young Lieutenant came to a halt beside her. "Ma'am."

Lips tight, radiating bitterness, Randella stared at the young officer, and snapped. "Yes."

Holding out the small gray innocuous chip, the Lieutenant said, "Captain, orders from the Admiral."

After taking it from her Second, she stood quietly with her teeth clamped together and facial muscles knotted. She had to get control of herself. Captain Randella had been advised by a fellow Captain to mask any strong feelings she may have about the assignment. It was a known fact that Councilor Keitha had a way of detecting traitors amongst the ranks, and it was also a known fact what happened to those traitors. She stared at the chip blankly and shaking her mutinous thoughts away into a safe mental compartment, finally took notice that the Lieutenant still stood beside her.

"You are to view this with me," her voice took on a cold calmness. Turning sharply she marched out of command with the Lieutenant following close behind. The Admiral had specially asked her so she cloaked her objections and did her duty as instructed. It still didn't mean she thought they shouldn't just simply kill this sub-specie Human, and if given a chance, she would be honored to do it.

After the door closed behind her and the Lieutenant, she inserted the chip into the viewer. Sticking their hands into the controls that verified their DNA patterns, the chip activated. The Admiral appeared on the viewer looking grim. "Captain Randella, I know your objections to this mission, but as the officer I know you are, you've preformed your duty well. I asked for you specially for this assignment because I know how you and your crew wish to go against the Scarrans."

Admiral Arnell leaned forward resting his arms on the table. "I wanted another senior officer to witness this revised order so that you are protected from any retribution that may come your way if this assignment goes wrong. This is what I want you to do..."

A few microts later, Captain Randella smiled with great satisfaction. Her time was finally coming.

Aeryn stood with Nyka in her arms, D'Argo flanking her on the hammond; Chiana sitting at the conference table to her treblen. Rygel had positioned his thronesled next to Chiana directly on the table. Noranti stood slightly away from the others, mumbling under her breath as she studied the ingredients from one of her many pouches.

His Captain and two other high-ranking officers flanked Admiral Arnell where he stood at ease at the head of the table. Councilor Keitha took a clear tablet from her assistant. Turning her gaze to Moya's crew, she slowly approached them. "Do you remember the pardons that were presented to you by Commandant Grayza?"

"Yes," Aeryn answered.

"These are the pardons that..."

"We're not giving you the technology at any cost," D'Argo rumbled.

"We're aware of that fact," the Councilor said coolly.

She held out the tablet to Aeryn. Shifting her sleeping son in her arms, Aeryn took it. Glancing down at it, she read in silence for a moment. Looking up at Keitha she explained to the others. "This version offers the same guarantees, only the governing stipulations have changed."

"What stipulations?" Rygel asked.

Councilor Keitha answered before Aeryn could. "You are simply to remain in Peacekeeper territory for your protection."

"As what, parolees, frelling bait, hostages so you can control Crichton?" D'Argo voice grated into a low mincing growl.

Arnell said impatiently, "If course not. IF you're not aware of it, the Scarrans will go to any extremes to get their hands on John Crichton or his family. WE don't want or need that to happen."

Frowning, Keitha gave the Admiral a furious look. Turning back to Aeryn, she tried to proceed calmly. "I understand after all what has happened in the past six cycles that it is going to be hard for you to trust us. We understand the need to build a new relationship, a partnership that negates the misunderstandings of the past. I want to broker a peaceful alliance between us."

"That's a new one," Chiana laughed in disbelief. "I can't help wondering what you Peacekeepers are so afraid of that you would cut a deal with us rather than simply imprison or kill us so we won't fall into the wrong hands?"

Aeryn had been studying the Admiral and Councilor silently. A look of understanding came into her eyes as she reasoned it out. "They can't afford to spend any more resources on us and they are afraid of what could happen if John is taken by the enemy. Hoping that we might take sides...hoping I will get John to take sides if I see the destruction of my own people while trying to defend themselves against the Scarrans that out number them."

Keitha nodded her head in approval. "Very good, Officer Sun. Only it goes much deeper then that."

"And that being..." Rygel asked.

Keitha backed up from them, evading his question by suggesting, "We will leave you to speak amongst yourselves about our offer."

The Admiral paused by the bay doorway saying, "We are leaving this sector now. Your Pilot has been instructed to keep in formation near the Carrier. As long as he follows these orders, Moya will be safe and free."

"Where are you taking us?" D'Argo demanded.

"To find John Crichton, of course. I would suggest not taking too long in agreeing," he advised them.

Aeryn broke in asking. "And if we don't?"

"Then I will have to take you into protective custody," the Admiral said before he joined the Councilor. The crew noticed the silent Guards that were suddenly stationed at a distance around them.

D'Argo stood over Aeryn as she sat holding her son's small body close to her. He asked, "Aeryn, what did the Admiral want with you earlier?"

Shaking her head, Aeryn was staring down at the top of her son's head. "I don't really know. He talked and asked many things. One microt he would have you believe he cares and then the next he sounds like all the others."

"Do you believe him?" he asked.

Aeryn had come to the difficult conclusion that her friends would not be able to find John on their own. If they wanted any chance of finding John, they would have to work with the Peacekeepers willingly or be placed in protected custody. In order to find him with some freedom, they were going to have to entrust themselves to their enemy's methods for now. Trust was not something they had very much of for the Peacekeepers. Trust, however, had to start somewhere and now it seemed, there were going to have to trust them.

She turned her eyes up to his. "Believe them? At the moment, yes. Trust them? No. What choice do we have if the alternative to having the freedom to find John is that we're held in protected custody?"

D'Argo sighed as he sat down next to her. "Then I guess we'll have to do as John would say. Use them, and then get the hell out of Dover."

"Dodge," Aeryn unconsciously corrected him.

Weaving his hand dismissively, D'Argo grunted, "Dodge, whatever."