"I remember you..." Aeryn said as
she slowly walked towards the man. "You are Crichton's
father...!"
"I am not his father." Jack spoke quickly,
correcting her observation. "I only use his form and image to
present myself in this realm."
"How did you enter this vessel
undetected?" Crais asked him. "Tell me now!"
Crais believed
Jack to be a spy at first, which would explain the fact that he
infiltrated Talyn without being noticed by his sensors, but Jack soon
corrected Crais also.
"I am not a spy." Jack said. "And to
answer your question..."
Jack pointed towards the window of
Talyn, which looked out to space.
As Crais turned around, he could
not believe his eyes.
A giant, blue, shining wormhole blinded him as he looked out of the window.
"You came from the
wormhole?" Crais asked.
Jack did not answer him. He just
nodded.
As Aeryn saw the wormhole stretch before her eyes, she
knew that the she had seen it before.
She recognised the planet
that was visible on the other side of the
wormhole...
Earth.
Crichton's homeplanet...
"Is it
true?" Aeryn asked softly. Hopefully.
"Is Crichton still
alive?"
Jack looked her in the eyes, but Aeryn got the feeling
that those weren't his real eyes.
"He is alive." he
answered. "Barely."
"Where is he?" Aeryn asked.
As she
stepped forward, she hurt her leg as she tripped and almost
fell.
Crais grabbed her, before Aeryn reached the floor.
After
all those hours after her near-death-experience, she was still
feeling weak.
Her empty, hollow eyes revealed her true emotions
and inner pain.
Hearing about Crichton's survival made her eyes
glow again.
"Where is he?" Aeryn asked him again.
"That's
what I'd like to find out." Jack answered, as he looked upon her
with his frozen eyes.
"…bloody little slug…"
Grunchlik muttered as he opened the door to the communicator.
He
intended on contacting Scorpius, telling him about the whereabouts of
Moya's crew, and possibly Crichton.
He didn't expect the
Scarran who suddenly stood in front of him, slamming him against the
walls and heating his brain.
"Who are you?" Artokh asked the
frightened Grunchlik, who lied begging on the floor in front of
him.
"My name is Grunchlik, sir." he said. "I am but a
meaningless slug. My services are at your disposal."
"How can
you be of use to me? Tell me, or die!"
Grunchlik tried desperate
to think of how he can help the Scarran or be of assistance.
"Tell
me what you want and I'll give it to you! Please don't kill
me!"
At first Artokh wanted to kill this unholy, pathetic
creature, but then decided otherwise.
"Perhaps you may be of
some use to me..."
Artokh grabbed Grunchlik by his neck and
dragged him away.
The doors of ice closed as they left the
chamber.
"State your designation." Scorpius
said.
"Aenos Farren. Peacekeeper Commando. Deadolian Company.
Ishtar Regiment."
Scorpius walked round him as the Sebacean
stood at attention in the middle of the room.
"He is the one who
found Crichton." Bracca said. "Sir..."
"How
interesting..."Scorpius said amusing. "Such an act of bravery
must be rewarded."
Aenos was briefly tempted to look Scorpius
straight in the eyes, but he didn't, because that would be
inappropriate before a commanding officer.
"Luitenant Bracca."
Scorpius said. "Give this man twice the amount of money that he
would normally receive. A man like you deserves such a reward."
"But
what about my team, sir?" Aenos asked. "How will they be
rewarded?"
"Your team will get a honourable funeral. Their
names will be enlisted on the Wall of Fallen Heroes."
"Thank
you, sir." Aenos said. "I am sure that they would have been
honoured to have see their names on the Wall."
"Now, officer
Farren." Scorpius said. "I want you to return to the Command
Carrier. There you will resume your present post, until called for,
do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Aenos said.
"Good."
Scorpius said. "You may leave."
Aenos did as Scorpius
requested of him, and returned to the Command Carrier.
He was
accompanied in the Marauder by several soldiers , but he did not know
any one of them.
All new faces. Tired faces.
He thought of his
friends. His dead friends. His team.
All their names will be
engraved into the 'Wall of Fallen Heroes' on the Sebacean
capital.
But his will not be engraved, because he is not
dead.
Why?
Because one Luxan decided otherwise. He spared his
life.
And in doing so, he condemned it.
"Give
them everything they want." Artokh said.
Grunchlik swallowed and
nodded to the Scarran who was twice his own height.
His rumbling
voice echoed through his ears, and the Scarran's claws burned into
Grunchlik's skin.
"When they return to their Transport Pod, I
will be awaiting them..."
"Obviously." Grunchlik said. "A
very cunning plan, If I might add."
At first he only wanted to
steal from Moya's crew, but now he had to sacrifice their lives in
order to save his own.
He knew he was a frelling coward, but he
didn't want to die.
But he knew that a Scarran's word could
not be trusted.
Nor anyone who threatened to kill him.
He
needed to be of some extra value to him. Show him that he doesn't
need to kill him.
That way he could live...
"Perhaps I can
make a suggestion..."
Artokh growled, and Grunchlik smiled
nervously as he got closer to the Scarran.
"It might be easier
with a little help..."
"Help?" Artokh grumbled, reaching
for his throat again with his burning claws.
"From another
Scarran I mean!" Grunchlik groaned.
Artokh did not what he was
talking about.
And he did not have the time to listen.
Who
knows when that dreadful War Minister arrives?
And when she does,
she would expect some results.
"There is... another Scarran...
in this facility..." Grunchlik said clearly, whilst his neck was
being burned and crunched at the same time.
He nervously watched
as Artokh let him go.
Smoke came out of his mouth and
nostrils.
"I'll show you where he is..." Grunchlik said as
he cleared his throat. "Follow me..."
As Grunchlik turned
away from the room where D'Argo, Chiana and Rygel were seated, he
was quickly followed by the Scarran, who followed the poor creature
past many ice caverns and chambers, only to enter the largest room in
the facility.
It stretched out for miles.
The chamber was
clearly not carved out by humanoids, or any other creature that had
carved the building above this chamber.
The edges of the cavern
were still visible in the walls, which were several metras high.
But
the walls of the cavern were not visible, as thousands of big, metal,
cryo-pods stood beside them. And every one of those cryo-pods
contained a living person.
And every last one of them was as good
as dead, as they were clinging onto life on a very little
thread.
They were organ-donors, frozen as they breathed their
lasts breaths, so that the organs which they used to help their
living, and paying , customers and patients, would be fresh still.
In
that way, their patients had more chance of survival.
Everyone in
that chamber was as good as dead.
Except for óne.
Artokhs
footprints were still smoking as he walked through this hollow
chamber, following this creature, Grunchlik, to the place where he
said the other Scarran resided.
With every step, the ice melted
away under his feet.
"Now," Grunchlik said as he
approached one of the cryo-pods.
"Here he is."
Artokh could
not see who was inside, because the window was clouded on the
inside.
Grunchlik typed in a few codes in the console of the
container, to begin the unfreezing process.
It finished quicker
then he expected.
Artokh stood silent as he watched the other
Scarran step out of the cryo-pod.
His body was wet by the melting
ice around him.
Smoke ascended from the cyo-pod.
"Artokh"
Grunchlik said. "Meet Gyrshna."
But Artokh recognised the
Scarran, to Grunchlik's surprise.
"Hello, brother." Artokh
said.
