"I'm on another planet," Harry whispered to himself. "Me, I'm not on Earth."
Aeryn ignored him as they both strolled through a busy marketplace, away from their parked Prowler.
"I've sent the beacon to the Command Carrier. They should be here in minutes," She informed him.
"There are so many aliens," Harry whispered to himself. And there was. Big aliens, small aliens, aliens with two eyes, aliens with four legs, aliens that looked overgrown insects, aliens so beautiful that they made Harry feel ugly, reptilian aliens, feathered aliens and so many more.
"Of course there are, this is world is full of dirty dren like them," Aeryn scoffed. "Now come on, we have…that's one of Moya's transport barges! We have to report it in!"
Harry looked up and saw a rectangular pod, larger than the Prowler and built of the same material and colour as Moya, zoom off into the sky. "Ah well, they got away." He said carelessly.
Aeryn gave him a sideways look. "For a law enforcement officer, you do not seem to be concerned."
"You mean a former law enforcement officer and it could have been worse," Harry told her. "Besides, we're to be rescued. They're not a threat to us anymore."
"They are prisoners, escaped prisoners!" Aeryn hissed angrily. "They must be recaptured or…"
'Destroyed?" Came a chilled voice from behind them, and they both whirled around to see D'argo standing there, his eyes flickering with rage and his qualta blade gleaming in the sunlight. "Do not tempt me."
"D'argo, there are Peacekeepers coming. You really should be on that ship," Harry said a touch nervously.
"Traitor!" Aeryn hissed to him.
"That's why I want you both on Moya, as insurance," D'argo said menacingly.
"You should leave before…too late," Harry muttered as he peered past D'argo's shoulder, where a squad of armoured Peacekeepers, dressed much like Aeryn had been, rushed through the street, holding sleek weaponry. Aliens quickly dispersed and disappeared from the squad of armoured troops, leaving the street relatively deserted. Behind the squad, a dark haired bearded man with cold black eyes stalked angrily forward, while D'argo sneered.
"I will not fall for such an ancient ruse," The Luxan hissed angrily.
"You already have, Luxan," The man hissed and D'argo's eyes widened, spinning around and striking out with his blade. An armoured Peacekeeper used some form of sub-machine gun to block the strike, and D'argo grunted as he was smashed across the head and sent tumbling to the ground, his blade falling from his hands.
The man ignored the fallen Luxan and stalked up to Harry and Aeryn, the latter standing at rigid attention as he approached.
"Captain Crais!" She breathed softly.
Crais ignored her and regarded Harry with eyes full of rage and hatred. Harry frowned slightly at the malice being directed his way from somebody he had never met and examined the Peacekeeper officer in front of him.
"Name?" Crais hissed coldly.
"Harry Potter, um, Commander Harry Potter," Harry replied slowly.
"And where are you from, Commander Harry Potter," Crais sneered, stressing Harry's rank coldly as his fingers twitched. Harry believed that at that moment, the officer would have liked nothing more than to strike him across the face.
"Sir, he claims to be from a species called 'human' from a place called 'Erp', somewhere far from this galaxy," Aeryn supplied.
"That's Earth," Harry corrected.
"He's shown himself to be quite…"
"'What Officer Sun? Quite a coward? Quite a clever impostor? My brother's murderer?" Crais hissed, fury twisting his features into an animalistic snarl.
"I'm sorry, what? A murderer?" Harry exclaimed incredulously. "I haven't killed somebody for quite a few years, especially an alien!"
"You rammed my brother with that white death-pod of yours!" Crais hissed.
"Wait, you're talking about the guy who hit me with his ship?" Harry breathed as realisation dawned upon him. "That was an accident!"
"It was no accident to my brother, my dead brother now, thanks to you!" Crais breathed harshly. "A human, you say? This will require some study, and let me tell you that I will enjoy hearing your screams as I personally pull you apart to see what you're made of!"
As a Peacekeeper slapped cold metal cuffs onto Harry, Aeryn gulped and spoke up.
"Sir? I have spent time with this human. He claims to be a fellow law enforcement officer and proven himself to be…talented, in certain areas. But I do not believe that he is advanced or brave enough to dare attack us." Aeryn spoke boldly, her eyes riveted forward.
"And how much time have you spent with him?" Crais asked quietly in a deadly tone.
"Not much," Harry answered quickly. "Same cell, that's about it."
But Crais ignored him. "You are aware, of course, that High Command has strict procedures regarding unauthorised contact with unclassified alien life-forms. You may have exceeded these parameters, Officer Sun."
"Sir! No!" Aeryn tried to protest.
"You may be irreversibly contaminated, and you know what happens to Sebaceans who are contaminated." Crais said softly.
"Death," Aeryn breathed softly, her face paling and her eyes bulging with shock and fear. Her voice took a pleading tone. "Sir, I'm not…"
"I believe you are, Officer Sun," Crais snapped. "Take them away, take them all away."
Harry suddenly elbowed the Peacekeeper behind him in the ribs, and spun around, moving quickly and slamming his cuffed hands down on the armoured head. The peacekeeper fell as another quickly took his place, striking Harry across the face. Harry took the blow and deliberately staggered backwards, collapsing next to D'argo's form. As Peacekeepers crowded around them, Harry grabbed a fistful of D'argo's tentacles.
"My wand! Where is it?" He hissed urgently.
D'argo stared at him quietly, ignoring the hands that picked both the Luxan and human up, but when he was upright he roared and slammed a Peacekeeper away with his fist, sending the figure crumpling to the ground. Weapons were raised just as D'argo reached into his clothes and pulled out the wand. But he was struck in the head yet again, and groaned in pain, dropping the wand and collapsing into the waiting hands of the Peacekeepers. The wand clattered to the ground and rolled down the street, stopping just an inch away from Aeryn's foot. Harry stared at Aeryn, his face apprehensive as she stared at the wand, then at him. Her blue eyes met his green and for a moment she hesitated, before she lashed out with her foot, sending the wand flying through the air.
"Get that!" Crais shouted as he noticed their movements. "It must be a weapon!"
But Harry had already pushed past his guards and had clasped the wand with his bound hands. Immediately, magic surged through his body and at once, the cuffs fell of both D'argo's and his own hands. He immediately levelled his wand at the nearest Peacekeeper, who had raised his weapon.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry roared, and a blast of red light slammed into the Peacekeeper. To Harry's surprise, some of the blast was absorbed by the armour, but the Peacekeeper let out strangled yell as he was blasted aside, his weapon flying from his hands and clattering to the ground. The weapon was immediately picked up by Aeryn, who then ducked behind a stall as D'argo roared, swinging his qualta blade madly. Bursts of red-hot energy fire lanced across the street as Peacekeepers fired randomly, confused and disorientated by the Luxan in the ranks and the strange forces that send them flying through the air and ripped their weapons from their hands. As D'argo ducked behind another stall, Harry was surrounded by three Peacekeepers, all who raised their rifles and fired. As the bolts zapped towards him, he back peddled and spun around, his cloak covering his torso. The energy fire struck his cloak and sent him stumbling, but did little other harm. Harry whipped his arm out from his cloak, his wand trailing through the air.
"Accio! Leviocorpus!" He hissed, and one Peacekeeper gave a startled yell as he was lifted off his feet and hurled through the air towards Harry, who sidestepped and let the Peacekeeper slam onto the wall, while another Peacekeeper dropped his weapon as he was flung upside down by the ankle. Harry cancelled the charm midway, letting the soldier fall from the air, and confronted the third Peacekeeper, who fired another volley of sparkling red energy.
"Astempi!" Harry hissed, and a shimmering globe of magic surrounded him, glowing with a golden hue. The energy struck the shield and although the first few bolts were deflected, the shield was torn down by the strange energy, which led to Harry ducking and throwing himself to the side. He landed on the ground with a solid thump, and ignoring the pain in his ribs, or the sounds of fighting around him, levelled his wand and bellowed an incantation.
From his wand came a flash of light and a loud bang, similar to that of a gun. The Peacekeeper gave a cry of pain as a portion of his arm was blown away and collapsed to the ground as Harry stood back up, flicking his wand quickly. More flashes of light and loud bangs filled the street. His magic left fist-sized holes in the stone ground and wall, causing dust and shards of rocks to fall through the air as he forced the Peacekeepers back. The ground trembled under the strain of the explosions and Harry was panting as he managed to reach the stall where D'argo and Aeryn were.
"We need to get back to Moya!" D'argo hissed.
"We have the Prowler," Harry told the Luxan, breathing heavily. Sweat gleaned on his forehead as he leant out from the stall, sending a barrage of disarming hexes down the street. The red streaks of light zoomed past the Peacekeepers, forcing them to duck and halt their advance, but they kept firing, a rapid volley of red energy fire, while Crais screamed his orders in anger.
"No, I have the Prowler," Aeryn interjected angrily. Her eyes were wild and still bore the brunt of the pain of being 'contaminated', and she was breathing harshly. "You can go back to Moya, but I will not be returning with you."
"Fine!" D'argo growled, hissing angrily. "We don't want you too!"
"D'argo, she goes, or none of us go!" Harry snapped angrily and bent his head closer to Aeryn's. "Aeryn, where else can you go? I've seen the Prowler, it's not a long-range fighter, and I bet that there are other Peacekeeper spaceships up there."
"Being a Peacekeeper is all I know! It's who I am!" Aeryn hissed back at him.
"Then become something better!" Harry urged intently, flinching as something exploded above him by an energy blast. He growled in annoyance and flung his wand out again, firing off a multitude of low-level hexes and jinxes, enough to keep the enemy wary of approaching. Of course, Harry was sure that the worst some of the hexes could do was tickle them or give them boils, and if the Peacekeepers knew that, then they would swarm forward but Harry was not ready to start killing people over a terrible accident and a stupid misunderstanding.
When Harry turned back, Aeryn had picked up two of the scattered energy pistols and was holding them steadily. "We have to leave now, before reinforcements arrive." She told Harry quietly over the noise of the battle. D'argo chose that moment to duck down, his qualta blade in one hand and an energy rifle in the other.
Harry nodded briskly. "I'll distract them and meet you at the Prowler."
"It's about time!" D'argo muttered angrily.
"When I say go, run," Harry told them and flicked his wand. "Serponsortia!"
There was a small puff of smoke as a deadly cobra was conjured up, hissing madly. Its scales glinted in the sun as it swivelled around, its beady eyes regarding Harry carefully.
'Summoned me, Speaker?'
'Hunt and feed!' Harry hissed back, ignoring the strange looks of his companions. "Engorgio! Go, go now!"
The enlargement charm took effect immediately and as the snake slithered forward, it grew rapidly in size, until it dwarfed the stall. It slithered past the cover, down the street, and continued to grow, until it was bigger than a man. Its hiss was like a roar and Harry could hear the Peacekeepers giving out panicked screams. Energy fire rained down on the snake, who hissed angrily as its flesh was torn up, black blood leaking from scorch wounds. It was dead before it had even reached the Peacekeepers, but when the Commando's penetrated the fallen stall, there was no sign of the criminals.
Crais let out an aggrieved scream and kicked a wooden piece of debris in rage.
"Casualties?" He snarled off to the Commando Captain standing stoically next to him.
"None sir, although we have four wounded, one unconscious, and one…well Sir, one dancing uncontrollably," The Captain reported curtly. "He said he took a blast to the face, but instead of pain, he just started moving against his own will."
"Where did this snake come from, and how did it sneak up on us?" Crais muttered to himself, glancing at the overgrown beast. Suddenly it shimmered and wavered, shrinking and morphing back into its original form, and Crais stared in a horrified wonderment as the giant snake retreated into a tiny snake no bigger than his arm.
"Sir?" The captain asked hesitantly. "What is…?"
"The events that have happened here are now classified. Do you understand, Captain?" Crais barked. "This does not reach anybody! We are a race of science and technological superiority, not trickery and sorcery!"
"Yes sir!" The Captain said and saluted as Crais stormed from the street, but glanced uneasily at the dead snake, and gasped as it disappeared into a puff of smoke.
The Prowler zoomed into the Leviathan hanger doors, speeding towards the maintenance bay. Inside, Aeryn flew quickly, while D'argo and Harry crouched uncomfortably in the cramped fighter, which had clearly not been intended for a Luxan's size.
"D'argo? Is that you?"
"It is me, Zhaan,"
"There is a Peacekeeper Command Carrier heading for us. Pilot is preparing for immediate Starburst."
"Understood," D'argo said gruffly, before sending a sidelong glance towards Harry and Aeryn. "The human and Peacekeeper are also here. It appears we have new allies."
"I…see."
The Peacekeeper Command Carrier lumbered forward, its powerful engines burning brightly. The capital class vessel was at last the size of a football stadium; with a rectangular body meeting into an oval loop around the middle of the ship. Four Cannons of some sort perched in some of these ovals, sparkling with energy as they began to charge. Prowlers darted from the hangers and grouped together, zooming towards the former prison transport.
"The iriscentant fluid has not yet been pumped into all of Moya's systems and she still needs time to recharge for Starburst!" Harry heard Pilot exclaim as he rushed onto Command beside Aeryn and D'argo. Zhaan was wringing her hands, her eyes worried as she stared at the approaching vessel.
"Is there nothing we can do?" She asked Pilot desperately.
"I am sorry, but the Command Carrier has superior engines. We can not outrun them," Pilot said. His image looked miserable on the monitor, dreading the return to Peacekeeper captivity. "We are trapped."
"How far away are they?" D'argo demanded.
"Sixty Metras and closing," Pilot said.
"Sixty Metras?" Harry asked Aeryn softly, who waved him off impatiently.
"The Command Carrier is powering their Frag cannons!" Pilot exclaimed in fear.
"What is the range of their Frag Cannons?" Zhaan asked Pilot.
"I do not know. I am afraid that Moya or I, are not sufficiently conversed in Peacekeeper weaponry." Pilot responded.
D'argo turned to Aeryn, who stared defiantly back at him, her blue eyes hard. They were both still for a moment, before Aeryn looked uncomfortably away.
"Forty-Five Metras," She answered hesitantly.
Harry, who had been staring at the approaching ship with a sense of awe and dread, was suddenly hit by an idea and quickly turned to face his companions. "Guys, I got a plan."
As the squadrons of Prowlers zoomed forward, the Leviathan transport suddenly veered away and broke for the planet. Its speed was slow, but it hit the atmosphere in a matter of minutes, before banking up sharply. The gravity of the planet pulled it in and suddenly Moya shot forward, gaining more and more speed. The transport became a fiery streak in the sky, gaining more and more momentum as it orbited the planet, until it veered off and shot off deep into space. After a second, it was a tiny dot and a second later, it was gone. Moya had escaped from the Peacekeepers, taking the wanted criminals with her.
Harry sighed with weariness as he slammed the canopy down on the Farscape module. He climbed down, shaking his head and letting out a loud yawn. Merlin, he was tired. He continued his yawn as he walked from the maintenance bay, before stopping warily. D'argo stood in front of him, blocking his path. His blade rest on his thick shoulders and his seven foot frame towered over Harry. He snorted softly, baring his teeth, and looked at Harry with a mix of distrust and grudging respect.
"Zhaan tells me that you're some kind of mystic, a sorcerer," D'argo murmured. "I saw what you did back on the commerce planet. It was…interesting. You could be useful to us."
Harry didn't say anything as the Luxan stepped forward, his eyes burning intently into Harry's eyes.
"I don't trust you or your powers," He said softly. "I was a prisoner for eight cycles, eight cycles! Now that I have my freedom, I swear that I will never be taken alive again! If you ever threaten my freedom, you will be dispensable. Do you understand me?"
Harry took a slight step backwards as the menacing Luxan moved closer, his hand sliding up his robe sleeve and grasping his wand holster. But the Luxan merely gave him one last sneer and roughly brushed past him. Harry staggered and almost lost his footing, but he laid a hand on the wall and steadied himself. The wall, Harry realised with surprise, was warm. As he straightened himself up, somebody else spoke up.
"They're vicious creatures, Luxans," Aeryn said as she moved out of the alcove she had been hiding in. "Angry and vengeful, causing great harm to those who oppose them. You should watch your back and consider your allegiances very carefully. Because one day the Luxan may decide that you are no longer useful, and you will need help."
"And you can be that help?" Harry asked in dark humour.
Aeryn shrugged and peered at Harry through half-closed lids, her blue eyes scrutinising Harry closely. "Just choose wisely."
Harry watched her retreating back as she disappearing into the hallways of the ship. He stood still for a moment, replaying this entire screwed up and unbelievable day in his mind. Somehow, his entire universe had been turned upside down in a matter of hours. He had to find a way home. Somehow, he had to find his way home.