*Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and ideas….and the plot bunnies in the corner. Please don't sue, I'm a poor college student that has no life and way too many video games.*
"Cheese….milk's leap towards immortality."
-Clifton Fadiman
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To Be Left Behind
Chapter Summary: Day zero - We had to leave them. There was no choice, no option, no reality in which any of this would end well. But we (I) left them anyway. Why did I do it? How could I have done it? I tell myself it was because there was no other option, I tell myself a lot of things. But in the end it doesn't matter, because I left them.
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Solar Day 0
Uncharted Territories
Location Unknown
John was laying on his stomach upon the black floor. His torso, arms, and head completely concealed underneath the console and center panel. The bright purple lights gently illuminated the room as the main light above pulsed in curiosity. John hummed in amusement, his fingers separating the wires from the organic mesh with careful precision.
His soft chuckle filled the room as the newly named Rovhu suddenly shuddered and all the lights started to flicker. After much deliberation between the crew, John eventually settled on a name. He had not known the original Rovhu for very long, but the older male had saved all of their lives in their brief acquaintance. Aside from Moya, he had never known such a selfless creature.
"Sorry, Rovhu," John chuckled as he finally pulled several wires free. "I know it tickles, I'm almost done."
Signaling for 1812, the tiny drone crawled down the side of the console and used his laser to cut two of the wires. Grunting in appreciation, John started to connect them to the other wires he had already disconnected when all the lights started to flash and an alarm started to blare loudly. The sound echoed hollowly down the halls, filling the space with the deafening noise that rose and fell in a never ending crescendo.
Rovhu trilled in fear, body shuddering as he immediately tucked himself underneath Moya's side. Startled, Crichton hit his head so hard on the edge of the console, stunned for several long seconds before he began to pull himself from the floor. Rovhu's panicked chittering and 1812's franticly nudging his arm had him pushing himself up and stumbling over to the communications console. Even with communications switched on, he could not hear anything over the still blaring alarm.
"Rovhu, easy there," John spoke gently but loud enough to be heard, stretching his hand up to stroke along the glowing gold light. The glass was warm beneath his fingers as they tickled down the side to the center piece that was pulsing purple in terror.
The interior guns deployed, twitching every which way but not settling on anything. Although startled by their sudden appearance, John ignored them as they were of no consequence. Even if they had been able to focus on a target it would not have mattered as all weapons systems were currently disconnected.
"I need you to shut the alarm off, little one. I know you're scared, but I can't contact your mom until you turn it off." John's tender touch and his calm murmuring had the panicky Rovhu settling quickly. Moments later the alarm was silenced, the sudden lack of noise after such a loud one left him momentarily deaf. When he regained his hearing after several long seconds, an annoying ringing sound took place over the quiet.
"-ed side, three of them." Aeryn's voice filled the room, Chiana's hurried shouting and Rygel's unhelpful blithering echoing in the background.
"Aeryn!" John did not quite shout as he rushed back over to the main console. Fingers dipping below the gold plate, he pressed a few of the oddly shaped purple lights. The moment his fingers touched them they turned gold. He never quite understood how he knew which ones to press, but even with Moya it was as if the ship was gently guiding him. "What's going on?"
There was a short pause as the crew on Moya received his message before Aeryn replied. "We have three ships incoming, there coming up from behind. Moya has been hit and has taken damage to her left side. John, she can't starburst, the damage is two extensive."
How could we have not seen?
Fear paralyzed him, heart pounding in his chest as the blue started to creep into his vision. Rovhu's desperate trills pulled him back and the symbols faded into the background, present but not pressing into every space of his mind. Adrenaline made his hands shake as he gripped the console, knuckles turning white as he willed himself calm.
Blue eyes flickering about the room, the blue following and hovering as he sought out solutions. The weapons were offline, all of them, but it mattered not. Even if they had been online, John would not have let Rovhu use them. Unlike Talyn, John refused to let Rovhu's first moments in the universe be painted with death.
A dancing symbol drew his attention to his hands, fingers hovering over what he knew would initiate starburst. Rovhu could still flee, but Moya…his eyes flickered to the window. Moya's golden hull took up most of the view as Rovhu tried to tuck further under the larger ship. The equations danced in his mind, hovering before his eyes in that sickening luminescent blue as he took in Moya's size compared to Rovhu.
With Moya's starburst offline, the only other option was to pull her into Rovhu's, but the little ship was simply too small to pull off such a feat. He knew that Rovhu could certainly try, and he did not doubt that he wanted to, but the solution was not wrong. It floated in front of him, hovering as if in the air, but it was everywhere he looked – even behind the lids of his eyes when he closed them as if to shut it out.
If Rovhu attempted to tug Moya into his starburst, the force would rip him into pieces and he would die.
Shaking his head, he clutched at his hair as if to banish the solution, hoping that the pain would rid him once more of the blue. Instead the symbols came faster.
They could still flee, Moya was big enough cover Rovhu who's own shields had yet to develop. The Leviathan was also fast enough to outclass the smaller yet bulkier ships that were baring down upon them. But with the way her hull was crumbling and the lack of a barrier between them and their enemy could only mean that her shields were not functioning. She could not take another direct hit.
Retreat was suicide.
"Pilot," he called desperately, hoping to find another solution as the blue continued to show nothing but death. "Did they hail us before they shot?"
"No, Commander," Pilot answered, his tone even but John could easily overhear the worry that he tried to mask. "Moya has tried hailing them but they are not answering."
We attack on cloudy lands and stormy seas, without warning for pirates we be.
"Aeryn, we have space pirates."
Space pirates came down on unsuspecting ships, damaging just enough so they have to surrender or die, and then boarding them. After they had boarded, they will steal every valuable item they can find, kill those who resisted, and most likely would rape the women, and men if they are pretty enough.
The pirates had three ships, all about half the size of Moya with twice the artillery as Rovhu. They also would most likely have several Prowlers or maybe even a marauder on board while Moya had three Prowlers, one which was onboard Rovhu, two transport pods, no shields and no weapons.
We are so frelled.
"John," Aeryn's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He could tell by her tone of voice that she had also come up with the same conclusion. "The way they are attacking means they have no intention of boarding Moya. They want to disable her, which means they are after the baby."
"You can't know that!" John shouted, glaring out of the window as Moya shuddered under another impact.
"John!" Aeryn snapped, voice clicking as she switched to the quicker Sebacean. "Listen to me! Moya can't fight back and she can't flee. But the pirates know that as a mother, she is still a danger."
"Aeryn–"
"No, John! Listen! They have to go through Moya to get Rovhu, and you and I both know that they must never get their hands on him!"
"I'm not leaving you!" John shouted as Moya swayed, hull trembling as another explosion erupted from her side. "You can't ask me to do that, I won't!"
"You know what they will do to him," Aeryn's voice was almost soft as the sounds of Chiana yelling and D'Argo's screaming echoed through the speaker. "I love you, John," she whispered in English, the words sounding ominous and final.
"No, Aeryn!" John gripped the console so hard it reopened the wound on the palm of his hand. Blood started to trickle down the side and pool onto the floor, but the pain did not register as the implications of what his wife was telling him drilled into his head. She was telling him to leave, to take the gunship and go. Everyone on board of Moya would be left to their own fates which would be decided by the pirates.
Could I do it, could I just leave? Leave them, leave her?
"John, you know it's the right thing."
"Dammit!" He cried, fist banging into the console as Rovhu trilled softly to him in fear and confusion. It was there best bet and everyone knew it. If they were to leave, starburst out of the quadrant then the pirates would be forced to either follow them or settle for Moya as the bounty. He trusted Aeryn's skill and the rest of the crew to turn that to their advantage. "Pilot," was that his voice cracking?
Pilot's somber voice filled the control room and tears threatened to spill from John's eyes. "Moya wishes Rovhu to be safe; she wants you to take him, John." Pilot used his first name; Pilot never used his first name. A sob tore its way out of his throat and tears spilled onto the console. "Moya knows you will keep him safe."
"Always," John whispered back in promise. "Two solar days, Aeryn. That's all you get. You be here when we get back, you understand."
"We'll be here, no need to worry. We've been through worse," Aeryn's voice broke over his unease. "I love you."
"I love you too. Don't forget," he wiped his face with his shirt as his fingers hovered over the console.
"I know, two solar days, we will be here." He heard her sniff and he could see within his mind how she swiped the tears from her face furiously, fixed her hair back into a sever ponytail and straitened her spine as she prepared for battle.
Depressing the communications button, the light switched back to purple as it was deactivated. "Rovhu, we have to leave now," he spoke softly as Rovhu chirped in fear. "I know you want to stay with your mom, but she can't fight and protect you at the same time. She'll be safe, but in order for her to be so, we have to leave."
The little ship twittered and blinked hysterically, his whole body swaying back and forth as if in denial. John moved to the center of the room, reaching up to stroke the pulsating light. Shushing the Leviathan, John tried to calm him. "You don't have to worry, you're mom…she is strong. The strongest. And I'll be with you the whole time. I made a promise, I'm never leaving you."
John concentrated as Rovhu's fear pressed into his mind, and he tried to sort through the desperate chirping in order to understand. A moment went by as John tried to comprehend the sounds that his translator microbes were attempting to decipher and the impressions that Rovhu himself was pressing into his mind. It did not take long as over the last few solar days John got more used to the strange form of communication. He wondered if it was at all similar to the way Pilot and Moya spoke to each other.
"I promise," John smiled softly as Rovhu finally started to pull away from his mother's side. "You and me, we're gonna be together forever."