Chapter 2

The Marvenians, John and Don solidified their spy plans. Ronon had volunteered to search for medical records while the rest of the recruits would filter through the neighborhoods in the evenings to gather whatever information they could from the locals. In the meantime John, Scotty and Don would scavenge the salvage yard for equipment that might be useful in upgrading their communications and electronic systems. Kairon was to remain on the ship as the main coordinator and contact person for all three groups.

Ronon entered the common area of the ship and asked, "Well, what do you think?" He was dressed in the soldier's uniform that Judy had stolen all those months ago at the Ministry of Extermination.

"Amazing, fits like a glove," John commented.

"You look quite handsome," Kairon added, and Ronon blushed at the comment.

Don motioned him over, "Final touch." He put an orange armband on his left sleeve.

"Now, remember your training and be careful," Scotty admonished him. He felt like he was sending one of his own children into the belly of the beast.

Balus had arranged to have fake orders drawn up by one of his aides, and Ronon was set to go. He saluted his friends and sped off on a hover bike to begin his assignment. The other recruits were given their green armbands and left to filter throughout the city. Scotty, Don and Johnwere ready to begin their scavenging at the salvage yard. Hover bikes were the order of the day as the three men found their way to the yard.

"I see the guards have left since our last visit," Don commented.

"No reason to guard this place anymore. We're gone, remember?" Scotty grinned at his teammates.

"Okay, gentlemen, here is the list of what I'm looking for. Let's separate and report back in an hour," John ordered.

Given their mechanical skills, the men made short work of their assignments. They rejoined John near the main gates and prepared to ride back to the ship. Scotter warned that a change in shifts was due in five minutes, so they either needed to wait or leave immediately. A mechanic sauntered out of the small office and spotted them. The man waved to Scotter to go back, and they complied.

"What's going on?" Don asked.

"I worked with that guy before, he can be trusted. I guess the shift is changing a little earlier than usual today. He just saved our necks," Scotty answered.

They waited until the man approached them, speaking in his own language. "Scotter! What are you doing here? The last I heard, you had left the planet with the 'man in the chair'."

"Tion, meet the 'man in the chair', Major Don West."

Don nodded and shook his hand.

"And his close friend, Professor John Robinson."

"Hello," John greeted.

"You shouldn't be here. There are wanted posters out with your picture on them as well as his." Tion stated as he pointed to Don. "Whatever made you come back?"

"There's a rebellion brewing, Tion. I've joined it."

"That's dangerous, Scotter. Nothing's going to change."

"I don't know about that, Tion, there are a lot of unhappy people around."

"Yeah, but they're not Tier Oners."

"We've got some Tier Oners working with us too. We have a good chance."

Tion crossed his arms and admonished him, "You know you can't be seen, or you're a dead man."

"Don't I know it. Whatever happened to that mechanic that turned me in?"

"He left here last week. Said he had a better job. He hooked up with some Tier 1 guy who offered him a lot of money and his 'vessel' when he's through with her."

"You don't say. You got any more information on this guy?"

"Nope."

"Do me a favor, see what you can find out. I'll come back in two days to see if there's anything else that might help us. We're also looking for a doctor that might work with us. Let me know if you can think of anybody."

"Sure thing, Scotter."

"You know, if you ever want to join us, you're welcome to."

"Thanks, I just might think about it."

The swimming hole was as beautiful as ever, and had become Judy's favorite place for her journal writing since Don left. She, Penny and Will had just finished collecting another round of the saliva and had gotten a swim in as well. The children were getting ready to head back to the Jupiter and Judy promised them that she would be along after she spent some time alone.

"Judy, are you sure you're okay?" Penny asked.

Judy honestly replied, "I'm as okay as I can be. I'm just going to sit here on Don's rock for a little bit and write in my journal. I won't be long, I promise."

"Okay, see you at dinner." And Penny and Will were off.

Judy sat near the waterfall, reminiscing about her many experiences with Don before beginning her writing.

August 10, 2000

I'm sitting on Don's rock at the swimming hole and I can almost feel his presence. I close my eyes and imagine that we're still lying on the bed with the candles and lights all around. "Crazy for you…" Can you hear me, Don? I'm singing to you again. It's about seven o'clock, or 2100 as you would say, Major sir. I have my eyes closed and I'm imagining that---

The sound of falling rocks near the base of the waterfall drew her attention and she put her journal down. She thought that one of the creatures may have wandered out of the cave and went to investigate. A figure with a jet pack flew down beside her and covered her mouth with a scented cloth. Before she knew what hit her, she slipped to the ground, unconscious, and the pen dropped from her hand.

Dinner at the Jupiter was short and sweet, as it was much easier to prepare and clean up with so few people to feed. Maureen was a bit concerned that Judy had not yet returned, but she guessed that she simply needed more time to be alone. When the clock approached eight, Maureen's concern turned to worry. She asked the Robot to scan the area and called on both Marcus and Dr. Smith for help.

"Judy should have been back by now. I'm going to fly over to the swimming hole with the jet pack to see what's keeping her," Maureen stated.

"I'm sure she is fine, Mrs. Robinson. The dear girl has simply been melancholy since the major left. I'm sure she'll be along at any moment," Dr. Smith comforted.

Marcus didn't share Smith's opinion and feared that something had happened to Judy. "I can see you're worried, Maureen. Go ahead and fly out, I'll take the hover bike and meet you there."

Within a short time, both were at the swimming site. Maureen picked up the journal from the rock, and Marcus found the pen and a cloth on the ground nearby. He sniffed at the cloth and realized that it held a sleeping agent.

"She was in the middle of writing a sentence when she stopped," Maureen observed.

"Maureen, take a look at this." Marcus showed her the cloth. "It's laced with a sedative made to put someone out for several hours. She was taken by someone."

"Kidnapped?" Maureen heart jumped to her throat. "Appolus?"

"I'm sure of it. This sedative is very common on Marvenius." He hesitated before continuing. "Maureen, I have something to tell you about Judy. She came to see me this morning for a pregnancy test. I was going to tell her tonight when she got back… She's pregnant."

"Oh, Marcus." Maureen hugged herself and turned away. She continued in a quiet voice, "Let's get back to the Jupiter and see if the Robot has located her."

Nothing had changed when they returned to the ship. Judy was still nowhere to be found.

Will came running in "Mom, I just saw what looked like a ship take off! I bet Judy is on it!"

Marcus turned to Maureen. "How long would it take to prepare the ship for a trip to Marvenius?"

"We can be off in an hour."

"Let's go."

The twin moons cast a soft glow around the swimming hole as he floated effortlessly around the lake. Judy sat on his rock, journal in hand, writing her private thoughts. He heard her softly humming the tune, Crazy for You.

"Hey, Judy, it's 2100. Come on in before it gets too late," he called.

"Seven o'clock isn't too late. We have all night together, lover. Just give me a few more minutes."

He closed his eyes and envisioned what he planned to do with her 'all night together'. Then he heard the sound of a pen dropping and opened his eyes to find her gone.

The sound of his pounding heart echoed in his ears as his eyes flew open. As he left his cot and made his way to the galley, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong. He pulled up to the table with his tea and took a sip. 'Calm down, Don. It was just a dream.' No matter how many times he repeated that mantra in his head, he couldn't quell his fear. He covered the cup with his hands and rested his forehead on them.

"Trouble with pain or sleep?" John asked as he entered the galley and poured the water for his own cup of tea.

Don lifted his head, "Both. I miss Judy."

"I totally understand."

Don sipped from his mug as John settled into the seat across the table. "John, in all the years that you've been married to Maureen, did you ever have a feeling that you shared some sort of ESP with her?"

"Once or twice, but I'm not sure I would absolutely define it as ESP. Why do you ask?"

"I had a dream about Judy, but it was so real, and so… specific. I can't shake the feeling that something's happened to her."

"Now, Don, if something did happen, I'm sure Maureen and Marcus are taking care of it."

Don continued to stare into his cup, his brows knitted in a frown.

Hoping to distract him from his worries, John asked, "How did Ronon and the others do today?"

"Pretty well. Ronon said he was left alone today and printed out a lot of records. Kairon was going through some of them tonight. Not much else to report from the others. One of the men said that a doctor by the name of Gannon was recommended to him."

"Did you say, Gannon?"

"Yeah. He's the medical director on one of the transport ships."

"That name sounds… wait… he's the doctor that Judy talked to on the Salvage."

"Apparently he's a Tier 3 male who worked his way up on his own merit."

"If I remember correctly, he was relegated to treating simple wounds, because they didn't have many medical emergencies on the ships."

"I wish Marcus were here to talk with him. In any case, I'd like to meet this Gannon fellow myself to see how he reacts to someone like me. That would be a good test."

"You might be right. Let's see if we can get more information on him before we make contact, though. I don't want any of us walking into a trap."