Chapter Three
NC-17 for implied sexual violence and strong language.
John watched in horror as Velorek entered Aeryn's cell, "You keep your hands off her you bastard."
Velorek ignored John's threats and carefully approached Aeryn. He was well aware that she was fully capable of kicking his eema. He kept the stun gun pointed at her. As he crept forward, Velorek studied his former lover's grey eyes. Aeryn had always had the most expressive eyes. He was a handsome male and had had his fair share of lovers but none had eyes like hers. Sometimes in the light they were almost blue but in the dimness of his room aboard the command carrier, where they had often retreated for privacy, her eyes looked almost black. Now, they were steel grey but there was no hint of fear. In fact, Velorek decided that all he saw in her eyes was relief.
"Hmm," Velorek stopped, cocked his head to one side and surveyed Aeryn more closely. Her posture wasn't exactly relaxed but neither was she tensed for a fight. She had kept her eyes focused on him almost as if she were willing him to continue toward her. Velorek subtly turned his head toward John while keeping his eyes on Aeryn. A quick flash of fear flitted through her eyes and she clutched the baby blanket in her left hand a little tighter. His suspicions were confirmed. She wasn't afraid for herself. She was more than happy to have his aggressions directed toward her if it meant that her man was safe from harm.
"Well, what're you waiting for? You want a piece of this or don't you?" Aeryn provoked.
"Aeryn, what the. . ." John called from the other cell.
"Stay out of this John, it's between me and Velorek."
"Oh, but he is in it, my dear," Velorek could smell her fear now.
Velorek tapped his comm device, "Drego, get back up here."
"Aye, Captain," the pirate responded from the other end.
"So. Piracy? Never pegged you for the type," Aeryn wasn't much for talking her way out of a situation but thought that maybe if she could reach the compassionate Velorek that she had known then they might be able to find a peaceful way out of this. If not, they were frelled. She had heard Pilot tell John that there had been about thirty pirates aboard their ship. It would take Noranti a while to round up Chiana. Aeryn guessed it would take at least twelve arns before they could hope for any kind of reinforcements and that was if they were lucky.
"Well, I am not exactly your typical pirate."
Aeryn looked at him doubtfully.
"Sure, the guys that I run with they are your standard rape and pillage sorts but my interests are more personal."
"Personal?" Aeryn arched an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Revenge, revenge, my dear. Your old friend Bailar Crais."
"Newsflash, Bozo, Crais bit the dust a cycle ago," John yelled and pulled at the door again in vain. He wondered if they had put some type of control device on Pilot or if Pilot was waiting for a better time to remotely unlock the doors to these cells.
"Crais is dead?" Velorek looked to Aeryn for confirmation.
"Yeah, what galaxy you been living in? Did you miss that nasty war between the Scarrens and the Peacekeepers too?" John asked snidely.
"I do my best to stay out of political and military entanglements," Velorek whispered, stunned by the news. He moved toward the bed and sat down on the edge.
As Velorek processed the news of Crais' death, Aeryn saw an opportunity to finish this the way she knew best. Frell talking! Swiftly, Aeryn knocked the gun from Velorek's hand and strangled him with D'Argo's baby blanket. Velorek clawed at the blanket but to no avail. Aeryn was strong and she had the advantage because she was standing behind him. He jerked his body, hoping that he could swing them both onto the floor where he might have a chance to turn the tables. She held firm and he decided that if he tried that again it might break his neck. Aeryn pulled on the blanket harder. She hoped that he would pass out before his associate made his way there. She could just go for the gun and stun him she thought but she already had him immobilized. One of John's odd sayings crossed her mind, something about a bird in the hand. Finally, he collapsed. Aeryn didn't bother to check for a pulse. She scrambled across the corridor and began working the release controls on John's cell.
"Stop! Hands Up! Back away from the control panel or I will kill you. I ain't as nice as Vel. I could have some real fun with a pretty tralk like you," One of the body-builder pirates called from behind Aeryn.
"Frell," Aeryn muttered and complied with the pirate's orders.
"You did quite a number on Vel, huh, d'ya kill him? Put your hands behind your back, now!" Drego pulled a pair of cuffs from his back pocket and slapped them on Aeryn. He led her back into the cell where Velorek was lying unconscious. Drego grabbed one of the prisoner restraint chains that was attached to the wall and ran the end of it through Aeryn's cuffed hands and then latched in onto a hook in the wall. She was securely fastened to the wall and the way that her arms were pulled behind her back caused her breast to jut forward and the tops of them nearly spilled out of her corset. The pirate took a moment to admire his captive. He ran a dirty finger across her bosom.
"You son-of-a-bitch, wait til I get my hands on you." John felt fucking hopeless.
Drego turned and taunted John. He grabbed at his dick. "Does your tralk give good head?"
Velorek started coughing violently on the floor and Drego helped him up.
"Don't touch her," Velorek managed to rasp out as he massaged his throat.
"You're no frellin' fun Vel, I didn't hurt her. Hell, didn't even get a taste."
"She's off limits to you, got it?" Velorek said more forcefully.
"Yeah, yeah, what d'ya want, anyway? Good thing I came when I did, huh."
"I want you to have fun with him, not her," Velorek answered.
"Him?" Drego looked at John, sizing him up.
"You got a problem with that?"
"Some fun's better than no fun," Drego answered and licked his lips.
"No!" Aeryn fumed and tried to rip herself from the wall.
"Well, well, well, you've got yourself in quite a mess, haven't you Officer Sun," Velorek mocked Aeryn as Drego opened and entered John's cell.
"Take your clothes off," Drego ordered John.
"Frell off, buddy!" John swung at Drego but the pirate ducked and punched John so hard in the gut it caused him to double over.
"Vel," another pirate came over the comm, "you'll want to see this."
"Not now," Velorek answered.
"But it's what you've been looking for."
"I am on my way," Velorek responded. He ordered Drego to stop. He turned to Aeryn. "Your pilot lied. This is the Leviathan. This is Moya."
"What do you want with Moya? Let John go! Velorek don't do this, whatever it is you want to do, don't do it."
"I'll deal with the two of you shortly! Drego chain him and stand guard. If you touch her, you will have to answer to me."
"Hey, what about my fun?" He had clearly worked up a hard-on from his tussling with John. Inflicting pain was apparently his aphrodisiac of choice.
"It'll keep," Velorek ordered and disappeared down the corridor.
Aeryn played a million scenarios in her head but all of them required her getting free from the chains. Now that John was similarly chained, their opportunities for escape were even bleaker. There was nothing she hated more than feeling helpless.
Drego paced the corridor between them. Aeryn looked at the pirate with disgust. He was going to rape her husband. She needed to find a way out and now. Drego made another pass between them. He grinned at her lasciviously and vilely waggled his tongue at her. It was her that he wanted and not John. John was just a consolation prize. Maybe she could use that somehow. She caught a quick blip of light from the right side of the corridor. She could just barely make out 1812. He was signaling her. She didn't know what he was planning but decided she would gamble.
"Drego."
"Huh," the pirate stopped his pacing and looked into her cell.
"That's your name, right? Drego?"
He grunted affirmatively.
"I need to use the bathroom. Can you walk me over to the toilet?"
"I ain't fallin' for that, you're gonna do somethin'"
"I am chained to the wall, what exactly is it you think I am going to do. Look, if you want me to piss in the floor fine but could you at least come pull my pants down so I don't soak them, leather and piss make a terrible combination."
That did it. The lusty pirate was not going to miss an opportunity to pull Aeryn's pants down.
John looked at Aeryn in confusion. She did her best to whistle a familiar portion of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. It took John a minute but she saw recognition flash across his face. He offered a slight nod.
"What're you whistling for?" Drego looked around suspiciously.
"To keep from peeing my pants, will you hurry please?"
As Drego entered Aeryn's cell, 1812 denched forward slowly so that his motors made as little noise as possible.
Drego's repulsive breath assaulted Aeryn's nose as his undid the button and zipper of her leather pants. Just as he started to push her pants down, 1812 injected his calf with a sleep agent. He reached for his weapon the instant he felt the needle pierce his skin but it was too late. Drego crumpled to the floor. 1812 extended his arm as far as he could reach, ignited his welding torch and went to work on melting the chain that held Aeryn.
Within microts Aeryn was loose from the wall, it took another few to break the lock on the cuffs.
She grabbed the pirate's gun and she and 1812 released John and the trio headed for Pilot's den.
When they reached Pilot's den it became apparent why Pilot had not been able to assist them. He had some sort of control collar on and the other Arnold-type pirate was keeping guard.
"1812, you get his attention and Aeryn you zap him!" John whispered.
"That's your plan?" Aeryn asked.
John nodded.
"What if Velorek hears the gun fire?"
"Aeryn, he could be twenty tiers down for all we know."
"Or he could be standing just beneath Pilot."
"Well, what's your plan?" John asked.
Aeryn looked upward as if beseeching some deity to intervene.
"That's what I thought, my plan then."
"Fine, your plan but it'll never work." Aeryn warned.
"Never does." John agreed.
"Go 1812," Aeryn waited for the DRD to skitter toward the pirate then turned the corner and took aim. The pirate was standing at the edge of the walkway when Aeryn blasted him in the chest with one clean shot. The impact pushed him over the edge to the depths below.
"Commander Cricthon, Officer Sun, get this thing off me!" Pilot was near panicked.
"Calm down, Pilot," John attempted to sooth him while Aeryn worked on releasing the collar.
"You don't understand," Pilot cried, "he intends to kill Moya!"