itsallovernow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
itsallovernow) wrote2003-07-18 04:55 pm
itsallovernow) wrote2003-07-18 04:55 pm
Blue Eyes - Chapter 9B
I meant to have this done on Wednesday. Sorry about that. We're not out of the woods yet, but the momentum has returned. Chapter 10 will be the whole trip. I can't even imagine how they blocked WGFA. And I'm dead certain it doesn't translate into prose. (Oh, tiny reminder on how rough this is).
Chapter 9B
She had been younger than her daughter the last time she felt this rough, clawing terror in the back of her throat. Not even Crais’ pronouncement of irreversible contamination had elicited such a response. D’Argo followed her to the transport, barking commands into his com in the kind of rapid fire efficiency that she had never been trained to believe Luxans capable of. Yanking the storage unit out of the back, she jammed open the lock, opening the case and grabbing one of the weapons.
“Aeryn!” It took her a microt to realize that D’Argo was shouting at her, the stream of orders completed. She slammed the lid down and turned, the neu ral stick a firm, solid weight in her hand.
“What?” she demanded.
His eyes dropped to the weapon and he frowned. “She’ll be fine,” he insisted.
Aeryn jerked her head down once. “Yes,” she said, leaving no ro om for argument, “Take Atos with you.”
He darted his hand out, grabbing her upper arm, encircling it, and shaking her slightly. “Aeryn. You’ll find him, it hasn’t been that long.”
She laughed, a harsh bitter sound. “D’Argo, most likely we’ll find his corpse. It’s fitting, don’t you think? The frelling Peacekeepers woke him up so the Scarrans could kill him.” She sounded hysterical even to her own ears, and she shrugged her a rm out of his grip, steeling her resolve, feeling herself slide into becoming the Peacekeeper that always lived under the surface.
“If they figure out who he is,” D’Argo began. “Then I will kill him before they can torture him,& #8221; she agreed.
D’Argo embraced her roughly. “Do not get killed, Aeryn. That child is too young to be alone in this universe,” he said gruffly.
She snorted, “As far as we know, it’s one Scarran. I have no intention o f dying today,” she paused, death and mayhem in her eyes. “But I expect to know who was responsible for this lapse by the time we return.”
Nodding his agreement, they parted ways.
Teyvn and two other commandos were waiting for her and the four of them set off into the city, scans having pinpointed a source of heat that seemed to match the human’s signature. Teyvn was loaded for Scarran, a pulse cannon, two pulse rifles and a heavy, ugly blade warred for precedence. He looked at her in surprise, seeing only the pulse rifle and the neural stick.
“You ever used on of those, Captain?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“Yes,” she clipped off the word, reading the scanner and directing them down an alley.
“They’re not considered regulation,” he said, slightly teasing.
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not a regulation army, isn’t it?" she responded. The neural sticks had been hijacked from a ship of Charrids who w ere trying to do a little double dealing. They’d been turned over to the Scarrans after the rebel troops had looted their ship and had undoubtedly suffered an unpleasant fate. But they were dealing in very unpleasant weapons.
The sticks were Peacekeeper designed implements of death and torture, used effectively on many species until high command had outlawed their use by ordinary grunts. Too many deaths had resulted from careless usage. The sticks shot an energy current into the nervous system, disrupting neurological function for anywhere from a few microts to arns, causing the body to seize in muscle spasms, snapping the spine if used excessively. The weapon was vicious, and also had a tendency to misfire on the wielder of the weapon, causing serious neurological damage.
Teyvn looked dubious. “You’re going to have to get awfully close for that to do anything,” he said. Aeryn just gripped the weapon more tightly and set her jaw.
Teyvn hesitated, glanced back at the other two commandos, and then whispered to her, “He’s probably dead, Aeryn. I’m sorry, but even if he’s not…” he let the sentence trail off.
“If Crichton is dead, I still need to make sure the Scarran doesn’t r eturn to his patrol and we need to confirm, regardless, that there is not a whole frelling dreadnought headed this way,” she hissed back.
“Yeah, but,” he nodded at the neural stick, “that’s a little excessive isn’t i t.”
“You’re one of my best soldiers, Teyvn, you know that. But you’ve never gone one on one with a Scarran,” she said. “And if John is alive, if he’s being tortured, then I need to be able to stop it immediately.”
Teyvn was skeptical, but then, trusted soldier or not, he had only been with her a few cycles, didn’t know her full history, didn’t know the full range of actions they’d committed over the cycle, didn’t really know John C richton.
“Why would he bother torturing him. Scarrans are usually eminently practical,” he said acidly. Teyvn’s first combat unit had been destroyed by Scarrans while he was recovering from a flight accident.
Aeryn sighed, “Be cause he’s John Crichton,” she said in exasperation, and then her voice softened slightly. “Because they think that cycles ago, he made a dreadnought disappear into thin air.”
Her com chirped then, D’Argo’s heavily relieved voice announcing, “We’ve got her Aeryn. She’s fine.” Aeryn closed her eyes, feeling some of the terror dissolve. “Take her back to the palace, D’Argo. We’re narrowing in on the Scarran.”
***
The door felt wonderfully cool on his back, and he allowed himself to sag against it after getting no response from on high at his bellowed demands.
“May I suggest that you follow the advice you were given and get dressed,” a voice said in his e ar and John reared away from the sudden sight of Scorpius standing far too close to him. He shuddered, the sweat cooling on his body, and shrunk back. The hybrid put a hand on his bare shoulder and said, “John, we need to talk.”
John threw o ff the hand, bolting for the bathroom. “Get the fuck away from me, Scorpius.” He snapped the lock shut and took deep shaky breaths, looking at himself in the mirror, touching his face, trying to gage his reality, and then finally just shook h is head and climbed into the shower, washing away the sweat.
Anix had been right. The living room was overflowing with people, and his head started to pound again. He was trapped in someone’s nightmare, but the sting of hot and cold water had fel t unbearably real.
“John,” his father’s voice was typically hale, hearty well-met, and John resisted the urge to shrink away from him.
“Hey, Dad,” he managed to wheeze out. Anix moved away from another group of people an d came over, taking his hand. He knew she wasn’t real, knew Aeryn would never let her kid dress like a typical earth teenager, but her palm felt warm and comforting.
“Grandpa,” she said, “let’s at least let him sit down. Why don’t you go tell Mom that he’s dressed?“ She led John to the kitchen, nudging him into a seat in the sunlight.
He sank into the chair gratefully, and his dad went off to find Katralla. Anix rested her hip on the corner of the big, wooden table idly plucking at his shirt sleeve.
“Daddy, are you okay?” she asked, sounding embarrassed at her concern.
“I don’t know kid," he replied, "I really don’t know.”
“Damn John, you had us really s cared there for a while.” John looked up to see DK standing in the doorway behind Katralla.
“DK made it this time,” he muttered to himself. “Yeah man, scared me to,” he answered loudly.
His friend had his arm around Katr alla’s shoulder, and as he propelled her into the kitchen, John noticed that he was followed by Aeryn, her long hair dark and glossy, pulled back into a low ponytail. She looked human, Levis and a fitted white shirt open at the color, exposing the long, graceful column of her neck and he felt his blood stir, aware of the delusions, but unable to hold back a breathy exhalation of her name. Katralla glared at him.
“You kept saying that name,” she said, her voice accusatory.
Aeryn looked at him inquisitively, and he just murmured, “Old girlfriend.”
He didn’t even flinch when DK wrapped his arms around her, pulling her too him possessively. “Katherine and I were worried about you,” he said.
“Katherine, huh?” She smiled at him, that 100 watt grin, and he ignored DK’s wandering hands. The room was getting warmer as it filled up with people.
“I suppose most of IASA is out there for some reason or another,” John asked lazily. “At least they didn’t shoot me with a dart gun this time.”
DK and Katralla both looked at him like he’d lost his mind, and Anix narrowed her eyes in concern.
“Dude, you haven’t worked for IASA since before Livia here was born," DK said with a worried laugh.
John just nodded, looking back and forth between Anix and Aeryn, wondering how whomever was running this show could have attributed the teenager's parentage to anyone but the black haired woman.
̶ 0;Cool. We named you after my sister.” The girl cocked her head, but said, “Yeah.”
There was more commotion in the doorway, and John leaned to the side to see Scorpius jumping up and down. “Honestly John, might I have a word?&# 8221;
He sat back up, “Anyone think that guy’s a little strange,” he asked. They looked at him like he’d gone mad, and if he had, well hell, this was proving to be far easier than the first go round on a false earth. At least the re was continuity.
“I’m calling the doctor right now,” said Katralla, whirling around and heading for the phone. “Yeah, honey,” he said, sweat pouring down his face. “That’s a really good idea. I don’t f eel so well.”
>
Chapter 9B
She had been younger than her daughter the last time she felt this rough, clawing terror in the back of her throat. Not even Crais’ pronouncement of irreversible contamination had elicited such a response. D’Argo followed her to the transport, barking commands into his com in the kind of rapid fire efficiency that she had never been trained to believe Luxans capable of. Yanking the storage unit out of the back, she jammed open the lock, opening the case and grabbing one of the weapons.
“Aeryn!” It took her a microt to realize that D’Argo was shouting at her, the stream of orders completed. She slammed the lid down and turned, the neu ral stick a firm, solid weight in her hand.
“What?” she demanded.
His eyes dropped to the weapon and he frowned. “She’ll be fine,” he insisted.
Aeryn jerked her head down once. “Yes,” she said, leaving no ro om for argument, “Take Atos with you.”
He darted his hand out, grabbing her upper arm, encircling it, and shaking her slightly. “Aeryn. You’ll find him, it hasn’t been that long.”
She laughed, a harsh bitter sound. “D’Argo, most likely we’ll find his corpse. It’s fitting, don’t you think? The frelling Peacekeepers woke him up so the Scarrans could kill him.” She sounded hysterical even to her own ears, and she shrugged her a rm out of his grip, steeling her resolve, feeling herself slide into becoming the Peacekeeper that always lived under the surface.
“If they figure out who he is,” D’Argo began. “Then I will kill him before they can torture him,& #8221; she agreed.
D’Argo embraced her roughly. “Do not get killed, Aeryn. That child is too young to be alone in this universe,” he said gruffly.
She snorted, “As far as we know, it’s one Scarran. I have no intention o f dying today,” she paused, death and mayhem in her eyes. “But I expect to know who was responsible for this lapse by the time we return.”
Nodding his agreement, they parted ways.
Teyvn and two other commandos were waiting for her and the four of them set off into the city, scans having pinpointed a source of heat that seemed to match the human’s signature. Teyvn was loaded for Scarran, a pulse cannon, two pulse rifles and a heavy, ugly blade warred for precedence. He looked at her in surprise, seeing only the pulse rifle and the neural stick.
“You ever used on of those, Captain?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“Yes,” she clipped off the word, reading the scanner and directing them down an alley.
“They’re not considered regulation,” he said, slightly teasing.
“Well, it’s a good thing we’re not a regulation army, isn’t it?" she responded. The neural sticks had been hijacked from a ship of Charrids who w ere trying to do a little double dealing. They’d been turned over to the Scarrans after the rebel troops had looted their ship and had undoubtedly suffered an unpleasant fate. But they were dealing in very unpleasant weapons.
The sticks were Peacekeeper designed implements of death and torture, used effectively on many species until high command had outlawed their use by ordinary grunts. Too many deaths had resulted from careless usage. The sticks shot an energy current into the nervous system, disrupting neurological function for anywhere from a few microts to arns, causing the body to seize in muscle spasms, snapping the spine if used excessively. The weapon was vicious, and also had a tendency to misfire on the wielder of the weapon, causing serious neurological damage.
Teyvn looked dubious. “You’re going to have to get awfully close for that to do anything,” he said. Aeryn just gripped the weapon more tightly and set her jaw.
Teyvn hesitated, glanced back at the other two commandos, and then whispered to her, “He’s probably dead, Aeryn. I’m sorry, but even if he’s not…” he let the sentence trail off.
“If Crichton is dead, I still need to make sure the Scarran doesn’t r eturn to his patrol and we need to confirm, regardless, that there is not a whole frelling dreadnought headed this way,” she hissed back.
“Yeah, but,” he nodded at the neural stick, “that’s a little excessive isn’t i t.”
“You’re one of my best soldiers, Teyvn, you know that. But you’ve never gone one on one with a Scarran,” she said. “And if John is alive, if he’s being tortured, then I need to be able to stop it immediately.”
Teyvn was skeptical, but then, trusted soldier or not, he had only been with her a few cycles, didn’t know her full history, didn’t know the full range of actions they’d committed over the cycle, didn’t really know John C richton.
“Why would he bother torturing him. Scarrans are usually eminently practical,” he said acidly. Teyvn’s first combat unit had been destroyed by Scarrans while he was recovering from a flight accident.
Aeryn sighed, “Be cause he’s John Crichton,” she said in exasperation, and then her voice softened slightly. “Because they think that cycles ago, he made a dreadnought disappear into thin air.”
Her com chirped then, D’Argo’s heavily relieved voice announcing, “We’ve got her Aeryn. She’s fine.” Aeryn closed her eyes, feeling some of the terror dissolve. “Take her back to the palace, D’Argo. We’re narrowing in on the Scarran.”
***
The door felt wonderfully cool on his back, and he allowed himself to sag against it after getting no response from on high at his bellowed demands.
“May I suggest that you follow the advice you were given and get dressed,” a voice said in his e ar and John reared away from the sudden sight of Scorpius standing far too close to him. He shuddered, the sweat cooling on his body, and shrunk back. The hybrid put a hand on his bare shoulder and said, “John, we need to talk.”
John threw o ff the hand, bolting for the bathroom. “Get the fuck away from me, Scorpius.” He snapped the lock shut and took deep shaky breaths, looking at himself in the mirror, touching his face, trying to gage his reality, and then finally just shook h is head and climbed into the shower, washing away the sweat.
Anix had been right. The living room was overflowing with people, and his head started to pound again. He was trapped in someone’s nightmare, but the sting of hot and cold water had fel t unbearably real.
“John,” his father’s voice was typically hale, hearty well-met, and John resisted the urge to shrink away from him.
“Hey, Dad,” he managed to wheeze out. Anix moved away from another group of people an d came over, taking his hand. He knew she wasn’t real, knew Aeryn would never let her kid dress like a typical earth teenager, but her palm felt warm and comforting.
“Grandpa,” she said, “let’s at least let him sit down. Why don’t you go tell Mom that he’s dressed?“ She led John to the kitchen, nudging him into a seat in the sunlight.
He sank into the chair gratefully, and his dad went off to find Katralla. Anix rested her hip on the corner of the big, wooden table idly plucking at his shirt sleeve.
“Daddy, are you okay?” she asked, sounding embarrassed at her concern.
“I don’t know kid," he replied, "I really don’t know.”
“Damn John, you had us really s cared there for a while.” John looked up to see DK standing in the doorway behind Katralla.
“DK made it this time,” he muttered to himself. “Yeah man, scared me to,” he answered loudly.
His friend had his arm around Katr alla’s shoulder, and as he propelled her into the kitchen, John noticed that he was followed by Aeryn, her long hair dark and glossy, pulled back into a low ponytail. She looked human, Levis and a fitted white shirt open at the color, exposing the long, graceful column of her neck and he felt his blood stir, aware of the delusions, but unable to hold back a breathy exhalation of her name. Katralla glared at him.
“You kept saying that name,” she said, her voice accusatory.
Aeryn looked at him inquisitively, and he just murmured, “Old girlfriend.”
He didn’t even flinch when DK wrapped his arms around her, pulling her too him possessively. “Katherine and I were worried about you,” he said.
“Katherine, huh?” She smiled at him, that 100 watt grin, and he ignored DK’s wandering hands. The room was getting warmer as it filled up with people.
“I suppose most of IASA is out there for some reason or another,” John asked lazily. “At least they didn’t shoot me with a dart gun this time.”
DK and Katralla both looked at him like he’d lost his mind, and Anix narrowed her eyes in concern.
“Dude, you haven’t worked for IASA since before Livia here was born," DK said with a worried laugh.
John just nodded, looking back and forth between Anix and Aeryn, wondering how whomever was running this show could have attributed the teenager's parentage to anyone but the black haired woman.
̶ 0;Cool. We named you after my sister.” The girl cocked her head, but said, “Yeah.”
There was more commotion in the doorway, and John leaned to the side to see Scorpius jumping up and down. “Honestly John, might I have a word?&# 8221;
He sat back up, “Anyone think that guy’s a little strange,” he asked. They looked at him like he’d gone mad, and if he had, well hell, this was proving to be far easier than the first go round on a false earth. At least the re was continuity.
“I’m calling the doctor right now,” said Katralla, whirling around and heading for the phone. “Yeah, honey,” he said, sweat pouring down his face. “That’s a really good idea. I don’t f eel so well.”
>
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Yeah? Oh. 'K.
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-anomia
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And rough draft or no, this is still good reading. You are posting the next chapter soon, I hope??
Re: