And on to Chapter Seven
Jul. 8th, 2003 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itsallovernowI started to write this chapter, realized that I was just playing and that it contains very little plot forwarding, so be forwarned, it's a lot of rambling, but I just wasn't ready to jump back to John,
Chapter Seven
Aeryn could feel the sweat streaming along her body, her skin damp and flushed. Her elbow connected solidly with Teyvn’s cheekbone, earning her a grunt of pain and surprise. She was faster than he was, less strength but more stamina and she had little of his cockiness to hold her back. And right now, her need to slam her frustrations into someone else completely overrode the motivations of her fellow Sebacean.
Left alone with Teyvn in the common room after D’Argo gave up on arguing with her, she had sipped her drink and tried to settle on a course of action. Her daughter was caught in the throes of a rocky adolescence, trying to assert her independence at the least convenient times, her most trusted friend and ally was criticizing her choices and bitterly regretting his own actions, and her past had woken up in time to question her judgement. Compared to them, Teyvn looked like a Hynerian banquet at this point.
He unfolded his long limbs from the table and got up, hooking the flask of raslak loosely and settled down beside her. His body was warm and he smelled familiar and sharp. He put his hand on her knee, looking her in the eye, and stroked up her leg to rest his palm near her groin, his thumb moving in minute circles, milidenches away from it’s target. Aeryn sucked in her breath. Teyvn rarely approached her, having being turned down more often than not.
“Atos is on guard duty, tonight,” he said, making it a request. He leaned towards her, breathing her in, pushing against her thigh, his lips near her cheekbone. “Making sure the human doesn’t shoot anyone,” which had always been the commando’s problem, thought Aeryn with a mental sigh. He just didn’t know when to stop.
She covered his hand with hers, not retreating away from his mouth and quickly wrapped her fingers around his thumb, bending it back with a snap. He winced, but grinned at her.
“Or we could do something else,” he suggested with a puff of laughter.
“You were a Peacekeeper,” Aeryn said sarcastically, “I know you at least learned the basics of the structure of command.”
He shrugged. “You’ve never been a Peacekeeper captain with your troops, Captain Sun,” he said, drawing out her name, and sitting back, clear of her limbs.
She rested her hand on her pulse pistol, fingers tracing the grip and he laughed. She just rolled her eyes.
It really had been too long since she’d had any sort of physical release outside of flying, she thought momentarily as Teyvn threw a punch. She angled down, sending a well placed kick to his abdomen that knocked him back with a grunt and recovered her balance enough to push forward, laying another roundhouse kick into his side. He caught her bare foot, wrenching it around, throwing her off balance. She dropped her weight, pulling him down as he released her and as she hit the mat, she rolled over her side and lashed out with her other heel, slamming it into his temple, before rolling onto her back and forcing herself up to her knees. Teyvn squatted in front of her, pushing at the swelling flesh of his cheekbone, checking for damage. He caught his breath while she did the same, taking in deep gulps of air. They had been at this for two arns, and the remaining inhabitants of the palace would be stirring soon, taking advantage of the daylight.
Teyvn got up and returned with towels and water. He tossed the bottle to her and sat back down, wiping his face, and looking at the blood on the cloth with some amusement.
“It’s still early. And Atos is still on duty,” he suggested hopefully. “A shower, a little recreation, you’d be a lot more calm.”
Aeryn just shook her head. Teyvn was certainly attractive. He was a friend and a good frell and his role as her lieutenant and her child’s guard had never bothered either of them much, but he lacked a certain amount of subtlety. She had too much on her mind and sex wasn’t going to solve any of the issues she was currently dealing with, although… She eyed her commando speculatively for a moment, and then just shook her head again. Not here. Not in this place. And not with this man. The workout had loosened some of the tension in her body, but she was still too edgy to sleep and would just have to get up in a few arns to meet with her troops. So she sent Teyvn on his way, and headed for her chambers to shower.
Anix was tossing and turning in her bed, her smooth cheeks tearstained. Aeryn bent down over her child, delicately brushing strands of her hair off her face. She was so vulnerable despite the many things she had been taught over the cycles, and Aeryn felt a deep stabbing pain that she would be unable to protect her child, that she was somehow failing her, and that there was nothing she could do about that.
The water poured over her body, clear and cool, washing away the sweat and some of the day. She could push it out of her mind, the arguments with her daughter, the sojourn to the outlying colonies, the struggle with the Empress, but she couldn’t push past the look of fear on John Crichton’s face when he admitted he was seeing Scorpius, or the doubt and confusion in Anix’s eyes at all they’d kept from her. Maybe it had been a mistake, Aeryn thought, but it was better to have erred on the side of caution.
She dressed and quickly made the rounds of the palace compound, checking in on the posted guards and the remains of the Royal planets security forces. The sense of abandoned splendor gave the palace an eerie, empty feeling, but the guards were necessary. The ease with which the Peacekeepers had infiltrated the structure and set explosives was testament to that.
She found a bleary looking Atos patrolling near Crichton’s quarters. “I want the planet’s online tracking back within the next day,” she said, “And restart the generators. I think they understand this is an emergency.” The older Sebacean indicated that he’d pass on the message to her crew of techs. Things were going to have to change on this planet, despite anyone’s wishes to the contrary.
***
“I’m sorry about the Empress, Captain Sun, “ said the Councilor heavily, “but she refuses to budge. She is part of the dynasty that has maintained peace for 2000 cycles, and has worked very hard to do so.”
“I know that Councilor, but surely you or the remaining members of the senate have some sway over her. This planet is not so isolated that you have been unaware of the war.” Aeryn replied stiffly. She did not want a repeat of this conversation, especially here in this room, with Tyno mournfully watching over his former love. Aeryn had not intended to interrupt him, merely to check on the situation at hand when one of her guards had directed her down the hall to the med chambers.
“If your troops could help us rebuild,” he left the request hanging, and Aeryn agreed with a sigh.
“I do not want to support the illusions of the Empress but it is possible that the Peacekeepers would have done less damage if we had not interefered. IT is a minor possibility,” she emphasized, “but it is still a possibility.” She paused and said emphatically, “but that does not change the fact that peace is no longer an option.”
Tyno looked away, but she continued. “This planet will have to make a choice, or have one made for it. You must enter this conflict, or be prepared to fight to stay out of it. And I still think your best bet is too flee.”
“Help us rebuild,” Tyno said softly, “and let us worry about the consequences.”
“Fine. We will do what we can within the time that I feel we can spare, Councilor.”
“Agreed, and thank you.”
Aeryn dismissed the thanks, and gestured towards Katralla, “How is she?”
“Unchanged,” he responded steadily. “She is unchanged, and no one is making a move towards a decision.”
“I’m sorry,” Aeryn said. “This must be difficult for you.”
He barely raised his shoulders and his eyes had long worn the look of resignation. “She will become Empress, or her child will,” he said softly. “The dynastic integrity will continue, thanks to Crichton.”
He returned to his place by the side of the princess.
The next five solar days were filled with preparations for rebuilding. Aeryn met with her ground troops and explained the situation. There was very little protest as many of them were Sebacean and saw the destruction of the planet as a personal affront, others had lived on planets or in colonies that had seen similar devastation. Her few Luxan soldiers just shrugged, looking to D’Argo for guidance and support and she left him to deal with the less enthusiastic. Crichton had come in during the middle of the meeting, hanging back and watching. He wore Teyvn’s clothing, the black leather pants and long sleeved shirt giving him a much different air than before, and someone had cut his hair very short. He looked like one of her soldiers, the gun now strapped to his thigh, but he received the news of their efforts to rebuild with pleasure.
Anix had agreed to study with her tutor and train in the morning if she could help with the work in the afternoons, and Aeryn and D’Argo had both agreed. She had a good mind for planning and strategy, and understood more of the rudimentary engineering than either of them. More importantly, she had ceased to ask either of them questions about Crichton or Scorpius. She continued to spend time with Crichton, and Aeryn had them monitored surreptitiously. She was fairly certain that Crichton was still seeing Scorpius, but he was making a concerted effort to keep it from her daughter.
They all met at the end of the day for meals, and Aeryn watched as he charmed her daughter and her soldiers, renewing his friendship with D’Argo, and coaxing occasional laughter from her. His eyes would light up when that happened, and he’d give her that slow, sweet smile that she’d never forgotten, the one she had a hezmana of a time turning away from. His delight over knowing that Rygel was safe, and in a position to give orders to willing soldiers had spurred on a retelling of some of Rygel’s most memorable moments, including the unfortunate body swapping incident with the Halosians, and even Aeryn felt tears of laughter form in her eyes at some of those memories. Sometimes, it felt like she was listening to stories of another person, another soldier, and from the looks that Anix gave her, she guessed her daughter felt the same way, trying to reconcile the woman who would laughingly wrestle with John Crichton with her stern and serious mother.
“I was sure you were going to kill me,” John said with a laugh and a smirk, taking a long pull from the bottle of fellip nectar. “But you almost always surprised me.”
He raised his eyebrow, biting down on his lower lip to stifle a leering grin and Aeryn felt herself blush at the memory, and replied, “Yes, well, you proved to be surprisingly useful after all.”
They let the line of conversation drop, and she soon ushered Anix off to bed before a final meeting with her unit. The body swapping fascinated her daughter, who wanted to know every detail of inhabiting another persons skin, refusing to take no for an answer until Aeryn finally barked, “It was a long time ago, Anix, Just let it go. All I remember is being unbelievably glad when I was myself and no longer Hynerian.”
Anix had learned several rude expressions of doubt from the variety of species that she’d been raised among, but merely said, “Hmph” to Aeryn’s obvious lie.
Aeryn was going over plans for reconstructing some of the roads with the foreman from the city, while Tyno, Crichton and Anix looked on when Atos burst into the room in a fit of panic.
“Captain Sun, “ he breathed, doubled over trying to catch his breath. “ In the city, something is there.” He panted, trying to speak simultaneously. “I don’t know what, but a ship tracked through our system. I just got word.”
Aeryn looked at D’Argo and nodded. “Get the troops ready and start survey maneouvers. Find out if it really was a ship and if it landed or not.”
Atos tried to acknowledge her orders.
“Have someone get a land vehicle ready and we’ll be right down.”
“Peacekeepers?” John asked.
“Possibly, or Scarrans or Nebari, or frelling Charrids or some other frellling species that we’re unprepared to deal with. We are not supposed to be surprised!” she bit out, furious at this lapse on someone’s part.
“I need another weapon,” she said to D’Argo. “ I’ll meet you at the vehicle.”
The Luxan nodded.
“I’m coming too,” John insisted.
Aeryn shook her head. “We don’t know what this is.”
“Frell that, Aeryn, I’m responsible for these people.”
“No,” she bit off, " You’re not. You’re responsible for the princess and the heir, and I’m not going to see you killed.”
“I am responsible, you said it yourself, and I am coming with you.”
“ Fine,” she replied, “Then hurry up.”
“You,” she pointed at her daughter, “ Stay here.”
The mutinous look of anger was back, and it just pushed Aeryn over the edge. “Fine,” she spit out, throwing up her hands. “You can all frelling come, and we can all die together, “ and stormed off towards her quarters.
Chapter Seven
Aeryn could feel the sweat streaming along her body, her skin damp and flushed. Her elbow connected solidly with Teyvn’s cheekbone, earning her a grunt of pain and surprise. She was faster than he was, less strength but more stamina and she had little of his cockiness to hold her back. And right now, her need to slam her frustrations into someone else completely overrode the motivations of her fellow Sebacean.
Left alone with Teyvn in the common room after D’Argo gave up on arguing with her, she had sipped her drink and tried to settle on a course of action. Her daughter was caught in the throes of a rocky adolescence, trying to assert her independence at the least convenient times, her most trusted friend and ally was criticizing her choices and bitterly regretting his own actions, and her past had woken up in time to question her judgement. Compared to them, Teyvn looked like a Hynerian banquet at this point.
He unfolded his long limbs from the table and got up, hooking the flask of raslak loosely and settled down beside her. His body was warm and he smelled familiar and sharp. He put his hand on her knee, looking her in the eye, and stroked up her leg to rest his palm near her groin, his thumb moving in minute circles, milidenches away from it’s target. Aeryn sucked in her breath. Teyvn rarely approached her, having being turned down more often than not.
“Atos is on guard duty, tonight,” he said, making it a request. He leaned towards her, breathing her in, pushing against her thigh, his lips near her cheekbone. “Making sure the human doesn’t shoot anyone,” which had always been the commando’s problem, thought Aeryn with a mental sigh. He just didn’t know when to stop.
She covered his hand with hers, not retreating away from his mouth and quickly wrapped her fingers around his thumb, bending it back with a snap. He winced, but grinned at her.
“Or we could do something else,” he suggested with a puff of laughter.
“You were a Peacekeeper,” Aeryn said sarcastically, “I know you at least learned the basics of the structure of command.”
He shrugged. “You’ve never been a Peacekeeper captain with your troops, Captain Sun,” he said, drawing out her name, and sitting back, clear of her limbs.
She rested her hand on her pulse pistol, fingers tracing the grip and he laughed. She just rolled her eyes.
It really had been too long since she’d had any sort of physical release outside of flying, she thought momentarily as Teyvn threw a punch. She angled down, sending a well placed kick to his abdomen that knocked him back with a grunt and recovered her balance enough to push forward, laying another roundhouse kick into his side. He caught her bare foot, wrenching it around, throwing her off balance. She dropped her weight, pulling him down as he released her and as she hit the mat, she rolled over her side and lashed out with her other heel, slamming it into his temple, before rolling onto her back and forcing herself up to her knees. Teyvn squatted in front of her, pushing at the swelling flesh of his cheekbone, checking for damage. He caught his breath while she did the same, taking in deep gulps of air. They had been at this for two arns, and the remaining inhabitants of the palace would be stirring soon, taking advantage of the daylight.
Teyvn got up and returned with towels and water. He tossed the bottle to her and sat back down, wiping his face, and looking at the blood on the cloth with some amusement.
“It’s still early. And Atos is still on duty,” he suggested hopefully. “A shower, a little recreation, you’d be a lot more calm.”
Aeryn just shook her head. Teyvn was certainly attractive. He was a friend and a good frell and his role as her lieutenant and her child’s guard had never bothered either of them much, but he lacked a certain amount of subtlety. She had too much on her mind and sex wasn’t going to solve any of the issues she was currently dealing with, although… She eyed her commando speculatively for a moment, and then just shook her head again. Not here. Not in this place. And not with this man. The workout had loosened some of the tension in her body, but she was still too edgy to sleep and would just have to get up in a few arns to meet with her troops. So she sent Teyvn on his way, and headed for her chambers to shower.
Anix was tossing and turning in her bed, her smooth cheeks tearstained. Aeryn bent down over her child, delicately brushing strands of her hair off her face. She was so vulnerable despite the many things she had been taught over the cycles, and Aeryn felt a deep stabbing pain that she would be unable to protect her child, that she was somehow failing her, and that there was nothing she could do about that.
The water poured over her body, clear and cool, washing away the sweat and some of the day. She could push it out of her mind, the arguments with her daughter, the sojourn to the outlying colonies, the struggle with the Empress, but she couldn’t push past the look of fear on John Crichton’s face when he admitted he was seeing Scorpius, or the doubt and confusion in Anix’s eyes at all they’d kept from her. Maybe it had been a mistake, Aeryn thought, but it was better to have erred on the side of caution.
She dressed and quickly made the rounds of the palace compound, checking in on the posted guards and the remains of the Royal planets security forces. The sense of abandoned splendor gave the palace an eerie, empty feeling, but the guards were necessary. The ease with which the Peacekeepers had infiltrated the structure and set explosives was testament to that.
She found a bleary looking Atos patrolling near Crichton’s quarters. “I want the planet’s online tracking back within the next day,” she said, “And restart the generators. I think they understand this is an emergency.” The older Sebacean indicated that he’d pass on the message to her crew of techs. Things were going to have to change on this planet, despite anyone’s wishes to the contrary.
***
“I’m sorry about the Empress, Captain Sun, “ said the Councilor heavily, “but she refuses to budge. She is part of the dynasty that has maintained peace for 2000 cycles, and has worked very hard to do so.”
“I know that Councilor, but surely you or the remaining members of the senate have some sway over her. This planet is not so isolated that you have been unaware of the war.” Aeryn replied stiffly. She did not want a repeat of this conversation, especially here in this room, with Tyno mournfully watching over his former love. Aeryn had not intended to interrupt him, merely to check on the situation at hand when one of her guards had directed her down the hall to the med chambers.
“If your troops could help us rebuild,” he left the request hanging, and Aeryn agreed with a sigh.
“I do not want to support the illusions of the Empress but it is possible that the Peacekeepers would have done less damage if we had not interefered. IT is a minor possibility,” she emphasized, “but it is still a possibility.” She paused and said emphatically, “but that does not change the fact that peace is no longer an option.”
Tyno looked away, but she continued. “This planet will have to make a choice, or have one made for it. You must enter this conflict, or be prepared to fight to stay out of it. And I still think your best bet is too flee.”
“Help us rebuild,” Tyno said softly, “and let us worry about the consequences.”
“Fine. We will do what we can within the time that I feel we can spare, Councilor.”
“Agreed, and thank you.”
Aeryn dismissed the thanks, and gestured towards Katralla, “How is she?”
“Unchanged,” he responded steadily. “She is unchanged, and no one is making a move towards a decision.”
“I’m sorry,” Aeryn said. “This must be difficult for you.”
He barely raised his shoulders and his eyes had long worn the look of resignation. “She will become Empress, or her child will,” he said softly. “The dynastic integrity will continue, thanks to Crichton.”
He returned to his place by the side of the princess.
The next five solar days were filled with preparations for rebuilding. Aeryn met with her ground troops and explained the situation. There was very little protest as many of them were Sebacean and saw the destruction of the planet as a personal affront, others had lived on planets or in colonies that had seen similar devastation. Her few Luxan soldiers just shrugged, looking to D’Argo for guidance and support and she left him to deal with the less enthusiastic. Crichton had come in during the middle of the meeting, hanging back and watching. He wore Teyvn’s clothing, the black leather pants and long sleeved shirt giving him a much different air than before, and someone had cut his hair very short. He looked like one of her soldiers, the gun now strapped to his thigh, but he received the news of their efforts to rebuild with pleasure.
Anix had agreed to study with her tutor and train in the morning if she could help with the work in the afternoons, and Aeryn and D’Argo had both agreed. She had a good mind for planning and strategy, and understood more of the rudimentary engineering than either of them. More importantly, she had ceased to ask either of them questions about Crichton or Scorpius. She continued to spend time with Crichton, and Aeryn had them monitored surreptitiously. She was fairly certain that Crichton was still seeing Scorpius, but he was making a concerted effort to keep it from her daughter.
They all met at the end of the day for meals, and Aeryn watched as he charmed her daughter and her soldiers, renewing his friendship with D’Argo, and coaxing occasional laughter from her. His eyes would light up when that happened, and he’d give her that slow, sweet smile that she’d never forgotten, the one she had a hezmana of a time turning away from. His delight over knowing that Rygel was safe, and in a position to give orders to willing soldiers had spurred on a retelling of some of Rygel’s most memorable moments, including the unfortunate body swapping incident with the Halosians, and even Aeryn felt tears of laughter form in her eyes at some of those memories. Sometimes, it felt like she was listening to stories of another person, another soldier, and from the looks that Anix gave her, she guessed her daughter felt the same way, trying to reconcile the woman who would laughingly wrestle with John Crichton with her stern and serious mother.
“I was sure you were going to kill me,” John said with a laugh and a smirk, taking a long pull from the bottle of fellip nectar. “But you almost always surprised me.”
He raised his eyebrow, biting down on his lower lip to stifle a leering grin and Aeryn felt herself blush at the memory, and replied, “Yes, well, you proved to be surprisingly useful after all.”
They let the line of conversation drop, and she soon ushered Anix off to bed before a final meeting with her unit. The body swapping fascinated her daughter, who wanted to know every detail of inhabiting another persons skin, refusing to take no for an answer until Aeryn finally barked, “It was a long time ago, Anix, Just let it go. All I remember is being unbelievably glad when I was myself and no longer Hynerian.”
Anix had learned several rude expressions of doubt from the variety of species that she’d been raised among, but merely said, “Hmph” to Aeryn’s obvious lie.
Aeryn was going over plans for reconstructing some of the roads with the foreman from the city, while Tyno, Crichton and Anix looked on when Atos burst into the room in a fit of panic.
“Captain Sun, “ he breathed, doubled over trying to catch his breath. “ In the city, something is there.” He panted, trying to speak simultaneously. “I don’t know what, but a ship tracked through our system. I just got word.”
Aeryn looked at D’Argo and nodded. “Get the troops ready and start survey maneouvers. Find out if it really was a ship and if it landed or not.”
Atos tried to acknowledge her orders.
“Have someone get a land vehicle ready and we’ll be right down.”
“Peacekeepers?” John asked.
“Possibly, or Scarrans or Nebari, or frelling Charrids or some other frellling species that we’re unprepared to deal with. We are not supposed to be surprised!” she bit out, furious at this lapse on someone’s part.
“I need another weapon,” she said to D’Argo. “ I’ll meet you at the vehicle.”
The Luxan nodded.
“I’m coming too,” John insisted.
Aeryn shook her head. “We don’t know what this is.”
“Frell that, Aeryn, I’m responsible for these people.”
“No,” she bit off, " You’re not. You’re responsible for the princess and the heir, and I’m not going to see you killed.”
“I am responsible, you said it yourself, and I am coming with you.”
“ Fine,” she replied, “Then hurry up.”
“You,” she pointed at her daughter, “ Stay here.”
The mutinous look of anger was back, and it just pushed Aeryn over the edge. “Fine,” she spit out, throwing up her hands. “You can all frelling come, and we can all die together, “ and stormed off towards her quarters.
