Part 2
CHAPTER 8
Flying into Daybreak
Three hundred microts later, Jothee and his crew have the entire camp packed and John carries his daughter and all of their remaining equipment to the ship. He lies the girl down on a bench in the passenger compartment of the ship. Luckily this Luxan-built ship is much more equipped for traveling with more passengers. It isn't cramped and uncomfortable like the Prowler and there is room for the gear and for John to gently set Taly down. Only two of Jothee's men have boarded the vessel with them. H'tna and Myann having remained planet side with their small ship to remove any traces of the small camp.
He sits, looking down at the girl as the vessel hums to life, preparing to leave the dusty, hellish planet. Finally, not a moment too soon as far as John is concerned.
The girl is still sleeping, though there is more motion under her eyelids now. He reaches down to her forehead, gently brushing her hair to the side with his fingers. He studies her, looks her over completely. He can't tell for sure if she's been injured or abused. Fuck the bastards if that's the case. He'll find them and fucking kill them all. He'll shove all of their cocky faces so far into the ground that they'll never see the light of day again.
She looks like her mother.
Strong features, beautiful, muscular even in her youth.
"How we doing back there?" John hears Jothee call from the cockpit of the ship as they prepare to head back into space.
"Snug as a bug in a rug," John mumbles, still unable to take his eyes off his daughter.
He is lost in thought; transported to some other time, some other place.
Jothee throws a curious look over his shoulder towards his friend and turns his attention back to the controls.
John feels the ship shifting into hyper speed and breaking through the atmosphere in a whir of light and sound.
Just enough light and sound, apparently, to rattle the girl out of sleep.
"Oh shit," John drawls as her eyes slowly open, bright blue, matching his own.
Her movement is sluggish, as if the effects of the powder are wearing thin. She opens her eyes, a confused expression on her face.
"Hi," John whispers, his voice a mixture of amazement and nerves.
The girl sits up fast, pushing herself back against the seat, limbs moving fluidly in the black leather like she was born wearing it. Her eyes are wide with fear and uncertainty.
"Where am I? Who the frell are you?" the words spill out of her mouth like bullets from a machine gun. And her voice, hearing his daughter's voice hits him like one.
John's voice, however, is lost to him. He doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to respond. This isn't the way it was supposed to go down. He and Aeryn were going to confront her together, make her understand the situation. They would hug and kiss and be one big fucking happy family. Damn it.
Her hand quickly reaches down to where her holster and pistol should be and John watches her look nervously at the empty spot, immediately noticing its absence.
"It's not there, probably back hanging on your bunk kiddo," he says, words finally coming to him as he gauges a reaction so similar to those Aeryn used to have when they had first met that it jars his tired mind.
"Tell me who you are," she questions, her timid voice rising. "Why did you take me!" She's been trained as a soldier, trained to handle all kinds of situations, trained to react as emotionlessly as possible in any given predicament. But, he can see the fear and panic rising as her neck gets red and her cheeks flush. Her eyes are moist and she's on the verge of losing every bit of that training, that hardness that was instilled upon her.
"Umm, well, where should I even start, this is gonna sound crazy I'm sure. Hell, it is crazy; no getting around that," John rattles on, unsure of where to go. Shit, he might as well just spill it at this point. No sense in beating around the damn bush when she's sitting right in front of him. "I'm your Dad…it's been a long time Taly."
She looks at him curiously, her eyes showing a glimpse of recognition at the nickname that he was sure hadn't carried over to her time with the Peacekeepers. He reaches out to take her hand, try to explain some more, but before he knows what's hit him the girl has kicked him upside the head and he's gone down like a ton of fucking bricks.
"Shit!" John exclaims as she is up and moving towards the far rear of the small craft.
He sits up and rubs at his head. How the hell did this girl get so strong? She's a tiny little thing.
Taly stops suddenly as she comes to face the two Luxans blocking her passage to the cargo hold. She backs up, right into John's waiting arms. He grasps her around her middle, holding her arms to her sides. She wouldn't one up him again.
Her breathing is heavy and ragged; fear and determination seem to be brewing right under the surface, threatening to break out. She's sweating, almost to the point of panic.
"Luxans? What are you, Mercenaries?" She asks incredulously, her blue eyes wide with uncertainty and probably some sort of shock.
Sash and Bruye glance at each other, not sure whether to step in or just leave the awkwardness between father and daughter.
"Don't worry about this guys, I have this all the way under control. We're good," John states with way more confidence than he feels.
The girl is so small in his arms, still so small. He holds on to her longer than he needs to, letting the feel of her in his arms work its way back into his brain.
This is really happening. This time they really have her.
Taly struggles against his grasp, but now that John's got her without the element of surprise on her side, her small body is no match for him. He picks her up from behind sitting his ass hard on the seat with her on his lap, never loosening his grip. He moves one hand up to cover her mouth, just so he can get a damn word in edgewise.
Her breaths come quick now and her body is completely tense. She's just waiting for the opportunity when she can strike out and gain the advantage back from him.
She is a spitfire, his little girl, just like her mom. It seems that the concept of him being twice her size is lost on her.
"Now, you listen, and listen good Talyse'un Sun Crichton. I'm not gonna hurt you. These big fella's aren't gonna hurt you. I came to take you home. We came to take you back to where you're supposed to be." He slowly loosens his grip on her mouth.
"I know you can't have forgotten everything."
"My mother and father are dead," She mumbles, emotionless, void of any hint of feeling. It sounds like the line has been pounded into her head with a hammer and a chisel.
So, this is the load of bull shit that they've been feeding her.
She's a kid, of course, why would she have any reason to doubt the people that were raising her?
"Well kiddo, I'm right here…in the flesh, and I'm telling you I'm pretty much as alive as it gets at this point," John replies.
Tears softly roll over his hand. She's crying. She's broken and confused and he has no idea how to make her realize what the truth about her life is. No idea how to make her feel safe again.
One more quick, burst of a struggle and her energy is gone. John continues to hold her tightly, as much to keep her still as it is a sign to her and himself that she is really in his arms. She smells of leather, sweat, and that sweet scent of a child. As the realization of what he's missed washes over him again, he feels like one of the last whole pieces of his heart is about to shatter.
"Almost there…" Jothee calls back in a soft voice.
John sits still in the chair, feeling his daughter breathe against his chest as he sees Moya coming into view out the small oval window. They are almost home, and maybe Aeryn can find the appropriate words for this fucked up situation, he knows she remembers this way of life. Maybe seeing her mother will be the key to unlocking Taly's memory from so long ago, if it's still there.
They spend the rest of the journey in silence. No noise except the sound of the ship as it meets with the docking web; the sound of his daughter's steady breaths.
No noise but the sound of his own heart as it threatens to beat right out of his chest.
- -
Shaking. She can't stop the shaking. It's like an uncontrollable tremor in the midst of a blazing heat storm. Aeryn can't remember anything more miserable. But then, she can't really remember anything beyond the past fifty microts so that doesn't really speak for much.
She can feel the rough surface of the ground on her back; tiny pebbles and sharp rocks that chafe overly sensitive skin through the rips of her shirt. She still can't gather the strength to open her eyes, however, but she knows she has to. She can taste her fear as it threatens to overwhelm her and she hears the crackling of an unfamiliar comms device. This isn't where she is supposed to be, that much she knows, and that might be the only thing.
Aeryn musters all of the remaining strength she can and tries to move her arms, but they don't budge. She can feel tightly wrapped leather cut into her wrists and hot blood trickle down into the palms of her hands.
Frell, open your eyes Aeryn. Open your eyes and find out where you are.
She takes a deep breath and coughs quietly as she peers out through shaking lids right into the center of a fire. She can feel the blistering heat close to her side and her stomach lurches as relief washes over her when she takes in the view beyond the fire.
Why the frell has he built a fire?
She sees D'Argo sitting on a rock, working on his lessons while her little Jack sleeps soundly on a blanket to his left. John is standing by a tent where he seems to be gathering some items to toss in a kettle by the fire.
Wait, that's not right.
Why is Jack here?
John…
She opens her mouth to call his name but she can't speak; feels like she's swallowed a mouthful of dust. She's so tired. She can't seem to wrap her mind around the images in front of her, but she knows what she's seeing can't be real.
Can it?
They can talk later, after he's finished doing what ever it is he is doing. They have all the time in the world.
She blinks hard to clear the dark edges of her vision and starts at the scene before her.
She sees the blond curls as her small daughter comes running out of the tent, clinging to her father's legs. He laughs and stumbles for effect before he sweeps her off of her feet and into the air above his head. Aeryn closes her eyes again as she listens to the melodious laugh of her baby.
Time isn't making any sense. Everything is out of place and her head feels like it's filled with air and nothing more.
None of this makes any sense.
She closes her eyes attempting to gather her roaming thoughts.
"This is Strass. I'm going to need some back up out here. Get your frelling eema's up and come help me, you lazy pieces of dren."
Aeryn hears a man's gruff voice, not one she recognizes. She strains to open her eyes again, only to come to the realization that she and D'Argo are still bound with restraints on the rough ground where the guard had found them. There is no fire, no John, nothing but darkness and heat.
"I've got Sun and the boy. She's down like a limp goulan and he's being a pain in my eema. I don't have time for this dren, and there is no way I'm going to be able to get them both back to camp, so I'm going to need some help and I need it now Trayn."
She wiggles her wrists against the tight leather again, only to feel it cut deeper into her skin, drawing more blood.
Aeryn pushes against sore ribs and sighs as deeply as she can before weakly turning towards where she thinks she remembers D'Argo sitting. Her brain surprises her by actually remember something, even if it's not much, it has to be a start. She opens her mouth to get his attention, but can only gape silently as she sees another D'Argo come over and sit beside the first. She whimpers as she turns her head to look back to where she saw John and her daughter, only to find two more replicas of her son.
She quickly turns her head as the muscles in her neck pull sharply as she looks back to the rock to find Scorpius and John sitting where her son was moments before. They are looking at her; talking and laughing but she can't make out a word they're saying.
This is wrong, this is all wrong.
Her breathing quickens and her heard is spinning as it roughly falls back to the ground and she finally finds her voice.
"What the frell is going on?" she cries.
She has just enough time to see the guard drop his comms device, apparently startled by the sudden noise, and turn towards her as the butt of his gun hits her square in the side of the head.
- -
"A drink, that's what I need. I need a drink, and a slice of Mom's lasagna, and a good game of poker," John mumbles out loud to himself. "Or maybe just the drink; I could do with just the drink."
"What the hezmana are you going on about?" Jothee asks over his shoulder as they slowly unload the ship.
John hasn't let go of the girl, and he doesn't have any intention of doing so until she's safely in her quarters and she and her mom can have a good heart to heart. Speaking of Aeryn, he had thought that she and D' would be biting at the bit for them to get back. He's a bit surprised that they're not waiting with a sign to welcome him aboard.
"Pilot, where's the little lady?" He asks over his comms.
"Welcome back on board Commander," Pilot states dryly. "Jothee, it is good to have you back."
Never breaking from his task, Jothee responds, "Good to be here Pilot."
"Officer Sun and D'Argo has not been in range of a docking web yet, Commander."
Pilot continues, "I have not heard any correspondence from the Prowler since you left nearly two solar days ago."
"What the hell?" John says, trying to stay calm as he heads out of the hanger. He's walking at a brisk pace towards the girl's quarters, but this news is unsettling and he abruptly changes directions. He's grasping her hand, practically pulling her along behind him as she gapes at the huge ship.
"Ouch, you're hurting me!" she exclaims from behind him, trying to wriggle her hand out of his tight grasp.
"I'm sorry Little Bit, sometimes I don't know my own strength." His mind is racing and his body seems to follow suit.
Where the hell are Aeryn, and D'Argo?
John makes his way quickly to Command so he can get his hands on the live comms and try to contact them off ship. They had to be out there somewhere close. They couldn't have left that long after Jothee's ship.
"What the frell is this?" The girl asks still gawking behind him.
"You've never been on a Leviathan before?" John questions with a hint of surprise.
"A Leviathan? No, I've only learned about them in class. It's huge…" she trails off, too shocked to be angry or rebellious.
"Yep, she's a monster," He says patting a warm bulkhead as they walk on. "A good monster, but a monster no less."
He swipes his hand over the door pad and the panel whirs open while Command spreads before them with the open view of space.
The girl seems to have temporarily forgotten about her precarious situation and looks overwhelmed with Moya. John looks at Taly, noticing her curiosity and distraction and he lets go of her hand, figuring he's safe for at least a few microts. He walks over to the communicator and immediately attempts to make contact with the Prowler.
"They're not in range Commander. Moya and I have attempted to locate the transmitter numerous times." Pilot's voice is slightly aggravated as he appears on the clamshell behind John.
Taly walks over and stands in front the holographic device, staring mesmerized.
"Where the hell are they? They took off at least 300 microts before us," John mumbles to himself.
He paces as he attempts to send out a transmission, regardless of the doubt he feels brewing in his chest.
"D'Argo, can you hear me? Aeryn? You guys out there?" He asks, his voice beginning to rise to its "slightly below panic" tone.
"D' if I find out that this is a joke, a good natured little prank; I hope you know that your ass is mine when you get back on this ship." His panic is now mixing with anger. "I'm not messing around here son."
He moves his face closer to the viewer, as if the proximity will help him get his message out.
"Aeryn, come in. I need to know your location," He yells, the end of the sentence tapering off to more of a mumbled whisper.
He turns around just in time to see Taly beginning to tinker with the console controls.
"Don't…" he begins grabbing her small hands, "…touch anything."
It comes out harsher than he means it to, and the girl pulls her hand away quickly.
"What are you looking for anyways?" She questions, the anger returning to her voice. "Who the frell are you yelling at?"
"I'm sorry." John murmurs, realizing that he's let his anxiety get the best of him. "It's your mom and your brother. They're not here and they should be. They left before we did."
"My mother is alive?" she says looking up at him in relative awe. "She wasn't here. I just figured that she was…well…"
John roughly rubs at the nape of his neck, "She's as alive as I am kiddo. Now where the hell she is, that's a different question entirely."
This situation is like a bad soap opera on crack.
"…ad…an you hear…ee?" A jumbled transmission cracks through on the comms.
"Shit!" John runs back to the navigational tracking screen as annoying static crackles through the device.
His answer is immediate. "D'argo where the hell are you?"
"Dad, I'm in the Prowler. We're on our way. I just picked up your transmission," he hears his son say in a relieved voice.
John leans his head into his palm, taking in a deep breath as he feels the heavy weight of uncertainty lift from his shoulders.
The relief, however, doesn't alleviate the frantic tone of his voice. "What the hell happened, D'? Are you okay? Is your mom?"
"We're fine…we're okay. We had a little bit of a, well, we got hung up a bit," D' replies over the comms breathlessly.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Let me talk to Aeryn," He says in as demanding a voice as he can muster given his overwhelming feelings of relief.
"She's kinda out of it right now Dad," He says. "Let me just get us back and I'll explain everything, okay?"
"Right, just hurry it up. Get back here in one piece." John turns back to glance at Taly, but she's no where to be seen.
So, this is how things could get more screwed.
He should never have tempted fate.
"Fuck me," he moans, his palm smacking his forehead as he turns to run out of the room. He stops short in the corridor, looking both ways. "If I were an eleven year old girl, where the hell would I go? The fucking mall?"
He heads towards the transport hanger as he reconsiders his question. If Aeryn were in a situation like this, eleven years old or now, where would she go?
"She'd try to get the hell off this ship and back to her duty, back to something that makes sense. That's what she'd do."
John starts as the answer becomes painfully obvious.
A transport pod.
He takes off as fast as his legs can carry him. If he doesn't stop her before she has a chance to leave Moya, this situation is going to go straight to hell.