CRAIS JABBED A COMPRESS, made from strips of his undershirt into his shoulder wound, wrapped it up with more.
He took a long, roundabout route, and he finally made his way back to the Den without incident. Pilot had awakened.
"We are sorry, Shee'ladahalia Muukarhi, for not seeing those hunters." She wheezed. She noted Crais' entrance, did not turn from the Pilot.
"That is hardly your fault, Pilot. How are your internal senses? Can you see where any others might be?"
"Elack's senses are deteriorating, Shee'ladahalia Muukarhi. I cannot. I'm sorry."
"There is no need to apologize, Pilot. It is not at all necessary." Crais said around Muukarhi, who frowned as she saw him pulling his jacket back on, as he winced. "Can you detect movement – apart from the technicians?"
"I have so few functioning DRD's… I shall send what I have to survey..."
"That will be sufficient." He worked his arm. It would be very stiff. He did not relish having to hunt the hunters in this condition.
"Captain… wait… I am sensing movement four tiers below where you were."
"Can you tell how many? One? More than one?"
"No, unfortunately."
"Very well – that's will have to suffice. Thank you, Pilot."
Crais headed out, gun out. Shee'ladahalia stopped him.
"You are obviously hurt." She said, after a moment.
"It is of no consequence."
He told her, resuming his forward momentum. He did not need the hunters surprising them here. Too much damage to the Den and Elack could die prematurely – and they would all be in serious trouble.
"Perhaps not," she said, "but take this anyway."
She held out a small pack, and Crais realized that it was a small emergency medkit.
"Thank you. Please continue your work. I shall deal with this."
So saying, he left the Den, made his way onto the tier, cautiously went down the corridor.
"Captain…" Pilot, husky.
"Yes, Pilot?" He whispered back.
"Elack informs me that he senses movement just outside his primary propulsion chamber."
Crais commed Muukarhi.
"Are there techs near the Starburst chamber?"
"None. All are in the Central Nexus."
"I see."
Muukarhi came back with,
"That makes sense, Crais. If I were going to board a Leviathan and didn't want the Pilot to detect me – I'd come through the vents into the Starburst chamber. Pilots can't sense anything in there."
"Can that area be sealed off? Perhaps we can detain them there long enough to allow you to finish."
"I will see what is possible."
"Just give me as long as you can."
Crais made his way down, was two more tiers closer to the hunters when Muukarhi commed him again.
"Crais, I believe if we can lift entire conduits, we can finish in under three arns."
It sounded like good news, but Crais was taking nothing for granted.
"How's that going to affect Elack?"
"Not significantly. Many are to systems already long dormant or deteriorated past usefulness. For Elack."
Crais nodded to himself, assessed. At the moment, Pilot had their visitors confined to the Starburst chamber – but they wouldn't stay there for long.
"Very well. If you think you can, please proceed – again, and I am loathe to stress the obvious, proceed with dispatch."
"Yes," she replied. "That was rather obvious."
Crais thought, thought hard and then thought again, finally decided.
This is about Talyn, Crais, he'd been told. Not about you.
He was right, of course.
"Shee'ladahalia Muukarhi, when you are finished, you are to leave. Take the tissue and go."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I will not be returning with you. Since I am the obvious target, it would be ill-advised for me to accompany you on the return trip. I will not jeopardize those grafts."
There was silence from the other end for what seemed like a long time.
"You are serious."
"I am in deadly earnest, I assure you."
"I have no auxiliary craft to leave you, Crais."
Crais found himself a nice spot just off the last tier, where he could settle in and wait, and not be seen.
"I am aware. The bounty hunters will have craft. I would appreciate if you could perhaps leave me a few ration packs in the Den."
"I will inform you when we are about to leave," she told him, after another moment.
"Thank you. Pilot – any change in the hunters' movement?"
"I fear I cannot tell with any accuracy, Captain. They have managed to bypass many of my closures."
"Yes, I was in no doubt that they would. Let me know if they get closer to me, Pilot, if you can."
"If I can."
Crais got himself as comfortable as he could, settled in to wait. Around him, he listened to the creaks and groans of a mighty starship far past its prime.
They are truly magnificent creatures, he thought. I was a farmer's son, one would think I would have remembered such respect.
It did not seem like a long time had passed, but the comm when it came startled him.
"Crais. We have finished."
"Very well. Goodbye." He killed his comm as he heard movement in the corridor outside of his hiding place, waited, held his breath.
Slowly making their way up the corridor came three dimly glowing individuals – more Invidid he realized, more globular armor, more heavy arms. Crais checked himself, he was actually a little above the corridor in his alcove and wondering if it would tactically sound to actually attempt an ambush with only one pistol, decided against it.
He needed, as Crichton was wont to say – a plan.
As quietly as he could, Crais shifted his spot, found the conduit, started to climb.
Below, 'one' of the Invidid looked up, looked down, and the other split off, going in different directions. Being a colony creature, when one looked up, both actually looked up. The Invidid that remained below Crais' spot looked until it found an entry and then calmly followed Crais up his conduit.
Crais exited the conduit, after several twists and turns and one or two rather tight spots, over the central hanger – just in time to see the Twixt Far Stars exit it.
Very good. Talyn would be repaired, no matter what happened to him.
Perhaps, a little devil voice told him, it was for the best.
Perhaps, he answered it. But that remains to be seen, no?
He did not waste time on it, dropping to the floor and dashing around the open upper tier. Fortunately, the Den was not too far from his present location.
Behind him, there was a clatter and he ignored it, ran to the large door to the Den, through it, closed it.
By the Pilot's station, he spied the ration packs, was grateful. Crais slung the ration packs, glanced back to the door. It had begun to glow at its latch point.
The Pilot, he noted, was unconscious. A long groan echoed through Elack, and Crais suddenly realized that he had less time than he had initially thought – when he had told Shee'ladahalia Muukarhi to go.
Elack was near death. Too near death. It had been his hope that Muukarhi would inform someone at Abbanerex of his predicament and they would soon return to his aid. He also suddenly realized that, like Elack surviving much longer, that too was unlikely.
None of Moya's crew actually regarded him with any more consideration than did Muukarhi. In fact, they had been handed precisely what Crichton and the rest had been wanting ever since he'd joined with the young Leviathan – his severance from Talyn.
Crais sighed and with a soldier's ingrained fatality, simply shook his head and circled the Pilot's console, looking for a way up and out.
He had made his decision. He had done it for no one other than Talyn. That would be enough. He would not go easy nor would Invidid would not find him easy prey. It appeared that he would have to, once again, save himself.
So be it.
Crais got a good grip on an overhead ladder, forced the hatch cover above his head open and was through and the hatch closed just as the door to the Den surrendered and opened.
He was trudging up a long-disused corridor when Elack pitched and shuddered, and up ahead a conduit blew…
TO BE CONTINUED…
NEXT TIME ON
FARSCAPE - FREEBOOTER:
BLIND ICARUS: ECLIPSE
