Lieutenant Talyn Rac: An Assignment
Author: Lt. Commander Lewis
Summary: The crew picks up a young man, John and Aeryn learn to deal with each other. Bad and good stuff happens.
Rating: strong PG-13 for violence and language, Action/Drama
Spoilers: Everything to “The Way We Weren’t”, that includes “Picture If You Will”.
Disclaimer: I hate to say this, but I don’t own a single stroke of genius of FarScape. I do own the character Lt. Tayln Rac, though. Back to the disclaimer, all things FarScape don’t belong to me, yada, yada, yada, you get the point.
Archiving: You can put it where ever, just tell me and keep my name with it.
Notes: In some of this there isn’t much of Lt. Rac. I know some parts are wordy, boring, and go on more than necessary, sorry about that. This is my second fanfic ever published, so go easy on me. I would love feedback. My address is LtCommanderLewis@aol.com
The young Peace Keeper walked swiftly down one of the many corridors of the command carrier. He was egear to hear of his new orders from High Command. At seventeen cycles, he was now a Lieutenant. It was unheard of in the Peace Keepers for such a young man to be promoted to a position as such. Never the less, he was there. He rounded the corner leading into the Captains quarters. “Gen scan complete.”, beeped the device after he had placed his hand in the scaner. “Enter.”, barked the Captain. Standing at attention, “Reporting for reassignment, Sir.” “I know why you are here. At ease.” The tense, young man relaxed slightly. The captain stared at him menacingly, “You are to report to Scorpius. He is currently on Crais’s former command carrier. He has been given complete control over it. You will be properly briefed upon arrival. Is that understood?” “Yes Sir.” “Very well, dismissed.” “Yes Sir!” The young man turned and was almost out of the door when, “Congratulations Lieutenant Rac. Good luck Talyn.” “Thank you sir.” As Lt. Rac left, there was a glimmer of pride in the Captains eye.
Talyn made his way to his quarters. When he got there, his best friend was waiting for him, “Hey Tal, where are you headed now?” A smile on Talyns’ face brought one to his friends’. “Another carrier.” Pon waited for a microt, “Well, how does it feel to be a Lieutenant now, Sir.” Talyn laughed, “As much as it did being an Officer, Pon, just heavier.”, he pointed to the new bars on his cuff. “Good, someday I should have those. They are too heavy for you anyway.”, Pon joked. With a smirk, Talyn started to gather his meager possessions.
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Once Lt. Rac arrived upon the command carrier, he was escorted to his quarters. “What the frell is going on here?”, questioned Talyn. The older officer didn’t reply with an answer, “Sir, you will be confined to your quarters.” With that the officer stepped out and the door locked shut. He was not one to question authority, but this was absurd. A junior officer ordering me to stay in my quarters! The little of the carrier he saw had been in total disarray. There were problems with control systems flaring up all over the place. Talyn thought that only a battle or explosive device could have caused such a mess. It was to the point that techs' and officers' were actually working together. He decided to not dwell on the breach of protocol. Lt. Rac was new, and not about to start any trouble.
Four arns later, the doors to Talyns’ quarters slid open. He jumped to immediate attention when he saw the senior officer step in. “Lt. Rac, so good of you to join us. Come with me.” He obediently followed. This was starting to sound not so good, but anything was worth his promotion. After ten microns or so of walking, they came upon the captains room. When Talyn entered he was stunned at first, realizing the ‘captain’ was not even Sebacean. He kept at attention though. Scorpius grinned, “Nothing phases’ you, does it Lt. Rac?” “No sir.” “Very good, that is just what I’m looking for.” Scorpius made his way to the front of the desk, all the while looking at a record sheet. “You have a very impressive career, Talyn. At four cycles you began training, at seven you were in attack school, and at thirteen you were a Prowler pilot with the Nacar company.” Talyn smirked at the thoughts’ of his first day with the Nacars’. Scorpius leaned against the desk, “However, what I found most interesting were your recent achievements’. Fourteen cycles and you were squadron leader, sixteen cycles and you where in commando training, graduated top of the section in hand-to-hand combat, stealth, and weapons training. The last of your record states that you received the ‘Color of Honor’ for wiping out a whole village of rebels and saving a Captains life. For that you also received promotion to Lieutenant, the youngest one in the Peace Keepers history.” Tayln kept an impassive face, “Yes sir.” Scorpius smiled, his crooked teeth against the background of his blacked gums, “Yes, well I have an assignment for you. It is Red level Deca.” The Scarren half-breed could see the discomfort of Lt. Rac increase, “At ease Lt. Rac.”, he paused for a microt, “Have you heard of the defector, Aeryn Sun?” “Yes sir. She was in the Plesiars, her whole unit has been demoted.” “Good, you know that name. Do you know of a John Crichton then?”
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“Crichton get the frell back up!”, yelled Aeryn. John laid flat on his back on the floor. Aeryn had given him another Pantak jab; this had knocked the wind out of him, not to mention his feet out from under him. “Ugh,”, groaned John, “Would ya just kill me already Aeryn?” She just glared at him, “You must know how to defend yourself John.” “Oh, and I just thought you were having fun kicking the dren out of me.” “What are you talking about?” He rolled his eyes and tried to sit up, “I thought that our relationship had reached a new level. Ya know, level one you kick the frelling dren out of me, level two you shut me out and kick the dren out of me, and level three you just kick the dren out of me.” A sharp pain shot through his side when he sat up, “Oh god, that hurts like hell!” A look of concern was in Aeryns’ eyes, “What’s wrong?” “Nothing much, just feels as though a semi hit me.” She had almost know clue of what he was saying, but still got the gist of the meaning, “Zhaan, would you please come to my training area. John is hurt.” “I will be there in a minute Aeryn.” John tried to get up again, “I’m fine Aeryn. Besides you’re always tellin’ me to toughen up.” Aeryn was becoming more concerned and annoyed by the microt, “I didn’t me what I said.” “What the frell did you mean then?” To Aeryns’ relief, Zhaan walked in, “What happened Aeryn?” “You do realize I’m coherent.”, stated Crichton. Aeryn and Zhaan just ignored him, “I was teaching him some defensive moves. I must have hit him wrong.” Zhaan completed the scan, “You just have a bruised rib and a slight concussion. You should be fine in a few solar days.” She was interrupted by Pilot, “Commander, Officer Sun, Moya has located a transport in distress. Should we….” D’argo yelled over the com, “No Pilot, we shall *not* bring them aboard.” “Wait a sec big guy. They could need medical help or something. We *should* bring them aboard.” “We should do what John has said.”, chimed in Zhaan. D’argo cursed in Luxan. Aeryn finally joined the discussion, “We *will* bring them aboard Pilot.” “Very well. The transport will be docked in three hundred microts.” “D’argo, meet me in the docking bay.” John finally got up, “Hey, I’m coming too.” Zhaan and Aeryn began to protest, but decided against the action. “Fine.”, Aeryn said as she took off to the bay. John was on her heels.
Aeryn, John, and D’argo stood in front of the door with their weapons drawn. “Does this remind you of a certain experience with Rygel and Crais?”, joked John. “That is not funny Crichton.”, came D’argos’ gruff reply. The doors slid open and out walked a young man; about seventeen or eighteen cycles old as far as John and Aeryn could tell. “Stay where you are, put your hands above your head.”, Aeryn barked. He complied. John asked, “Pilot, would you have the DRD’s scan for weapons and tracking devices?” “Yes Crichton.” As Pilot said this, a small army of DRD’s zoomed by and into the transport. “Who are you with?”, growled D’argo. “I am part of an escaping transport from Narold Prime.” “Well howdy then. What where you escaping from?”, asked John in an exaggerated southern drawl. “I was running from the Peace Keepers’. How do you not know this, you are a Peace Keeper?” John and Aeryn turned towards each other and started laughing. “What is so funny?”, questioned the young man. John repressed his giggles, “It’s just that when we pretend we’re PK’s it never frelling works, when we don’t try it, it works to frelling good.” Aeryn finally calmed herself and went back into ‘kick ass PK mode’ as John called it. She asked, “What is your name?” “Tal Rac.”, stated the young man. “Well Tal, ya can put your hands down then.” “What Crichton?”, asked D’argo incredosly. “He’s a enemy of the PK’s, so are we. We can at least be *nice* to the poor kid.” D’argo looked at Aeryn, “And you agree with him?” “Yes.” John was shocked, “One point for the home team.”, he mumbled. “Right then, we’ll give you a place to bunk and some food. We’ve got more questions of course, but you can get a bite before then.” “You could use some new clothes too.”, stated Aeryn after assessing his rags. “Thank you.” “No problem. Follow me. We’ll get you some clothes and then some food. We do have more crackers, right Aeryn?”
John, Aeryn, and Tal were in the ‘mess hall’. “So, Tal, how old are you?” “Seventeen cycles.”, he said between crackers. “Okay, we’ve got another teen on are hands Aeryn.” She just gave him a weird look. Aeryn had been silent ever since they reached the ‘mess hall’. “Aeryn, come with me for a sec.”, John got up and headed to the door, she followed. Just above a whisper, “What’s up Aeryn?” “Nothings up. Why would anything be up?” John rolled his eyes and groaned, “Look Aeryn, you’ve been playing Miss silent PK for the past arn or so. What is the deal?” She looked across his shoulders back into the dining area, “He’s lying.” “And you can tell this how? Have you been hiding a Peace Keeper ability or what?” Aeryn looked confused, “I just do.” “All right, I’ll trust you. What’s the plan then?” “I don’t have one.” “Great, the famous plan B comes into action.” “The what?” “Never mind, I’ll tell you later. One of us should always be with the kid, unless he’s locked in his cell. OK?” “Yes.” “Good, let’s see if we can get some truthful info out of him then.” John turned and headed back in; Aeryn hesitated and then followed him.
The next morning, formal introductions were made. Everyone took a liking to Tal, especially Chiana. She sat very, very close to him at breakfast. “So Tal, what do you do for fun?”, she purred in his ear. He looked uncomfortable to the rest of the crew. “Yo, Pip. Give him a break.”, said John. “You’re always spoiling my fun Crichton. You don’t understand because you are old.” Aeryn sighed, “Great, more you’re tired and old dren.” John smirked at her comment, “Chi, ya still carrying that baggage from ‘Planet of the Flower Children’, cause it’s getting old a lot faster than me.” She just sighed in reply. “Great, and you know what, I do know how to have fun. I’m just not that comfortable with PDA’s like you are.” “What?”, they all asked. “Like I’m going to tell you. Certain people would skew me with a fork, probably. Any ways, ya don’t have to complain all the time Chiana. Especially about me being old. On Earth, I am young compared to some people.” “Whatever.” “That’s it, I’m finished.”, John got up in frustration and left for some part of Moya. “What did I say?”, asked Chiana innocently.
Aeryn found John on the Terrace. “Hey.” John smiled, “Hey Aeryn.” She stood uncomfortably beside him, “How are you feeling?” “About what?” “About your rib and concussion you human.”, she said annoyingly. “Better, thanks.” They just stood there for a micron or two, staring out at the stars. “What does PDA mean?” John laughed, “I already said ‘like I’d tell you. Someone would skew me with a fork, probably.’. That someone would be you Miss Sun.” Aeryn was really confused now, “Why? Why would I skew you with a fork John?” He turned to face her, invading her space as usual, “Forget about it. I was just referring to Chianas’ behavior.” He closed the gap between them and gave her a gentle hug. D’argo walked in looking for the both of them. When they heard his loud clunky step, they jumped apart. It didn’t matter how much he knew, they still acted as if they were just shipmates infront of everyone else. “John, Aeryn, we are nearing a commerce planet. We need more supplies, so we will make a stop.” John shifted his stance, “OK, D’argo. We’ll be right there.” “Neither of you are going down.” “Why not?”, asked Aeryn. D’argo growled, “No Sebaceans are allowed on it.” “Oh, this is just frelling great! The first planet without beacons and I can’t go down. This sucks!”, vented John as he started pacing. D’argo continued explaining to Aeryn, “You, John, and Tal will have to stay here. Zhaan needs more herbs, Chiana is Chiana, Rygel is meeting a dealer, and I have to keep Rygel and Chiana out of trouble. We will be back in twelve to thirty-six arns.” “All right D’argo. Go ahead.” D’argo looked at John curiously, “Yeah, fine, whatever. Have fun while you can. I know I can’t.”, said John. “He will be all right D’argo, go ahead.” The huge Luxan turned and left for the transport pod. “Crichton, would you stop that!”, she finally yelled. “What?” “That…that… that pacing of yours. It is frelling annoying.” “Fine. I’m going to go find Tal.”, with that John stormed off towards command. “Frelling male human.”, Aeryn muttered as she started after him.
Talyn was in his quarters, reporting back to Scorpius. “Sir, I have gained their trust. Right now, I am alone with Officer Sun and the Human, Crichton. The others will be gone for one to three solar days.” “Very good Lt. Rac. A marauder is on its way.” “Rac out.” “Scorpius out.” Talyn quickly hid the communicator when he heard footsteps coming down the hall. John peered into his room, “Hey Tal, ya want to learn something?” He was confused by the Humans’ behavior, “What will I learn?” “You’ll learn some about an Earth module, my module to be exact.”, John smiled. Right I will be there in a micron or two.” “See ya then Tal.”, he pivoted on his boot heal to leave; right infront of him was Aeryn, arms folded across her chest with a no nonsense look on her face. “We need to talk.” John continued out, “Talk about what. I clearly remember you telling me one time that that was all I did.” Talyn watched in amusement as the bickering couple made their way to one of the cargo bays’. “It’s a shame you will soon be dead.”, he commented to himself. No, do not think such things Talyn. You are becoming contaminated by them! You must keep your head about this assignment. He shook his head to clear his mind. Talyn then started to join Crichton and Aeryn.
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On the commerce planet, Rygel and Chiana were a problem as usual. “No, you will not Chiana!”, yelled the tiny Dominar. “Want to make a bet frog lips!”, with that, she took off with his entire bag of trade goods. “Thief!”, yelled Rygel as he sped after her in his throne sled.
Zhaan was gathering more herbs to replenish her stock. “Zhaan, Rygel and Chiana, well mainly Chiana are in trouble again.”, came D’argos’ voice over the com badge. “By the Goddess! Can either of those two stay out of trouble for more than a microt! I will be right there D’argo.”
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“Sir, we are currently twenty four arns away from the Leviathan.” “Very well Lieutenant. Carry on.”, said the Captain. “Yes Sir.” “Tudk, report.” “Sir, the covert Officers have detained the Nebari and Hynerian. They will soon have the Luxan and Delvian in custody.” “Good, continue with your duties Tudk.” “Yes Sir.” An evil smile twisted on to the captains face, “I will soon have my place.”, he whispered to himself.
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“Awe crap!” “What is it now Crichton?” “The Defense Screen is totally fried, T’raltixxs’ device is now a frelling piece of dren, and why the hell won’t you just call me John?” Tal was giggling at the two of them. Aeryn just glared at the young man, “What is so funny Tal?”, she said in her Peace Keeper attitude. “Do you really want to know?” “YEAH!”, yelled both John and Aeryn at the same time. “All right, I’ll tell you. You two are constantly fighting or agreeing with each other. Moreover, when you agree with the other, they question you about it. You are acting as if you were attracted to each other.”, Tal stated. They both looked shocked and then angry, “Well, we are not attracted to each other.”, they both said. To quickly for it to be the truth. Aeryn started listing off Johns’ horrible qualities while he did the same. “At least I don’t push every one I know away.” “No, instead you just talk all of the time.” As soon as they said these things, they knew where this was headed. “I need some ‘space’!”, they both yelled simultaneously. Then they stomped off in opposite directions. Talyn just grinned. He was going to have fun with this for the next solar day.
Aeryn had retreated to her ‘gym’. She was currently assaulting her punching bag. Tal stood in the doorway watching her. “What do you want Tal?” “I wanted to know what the deal between you and the Human is.” Aeryn let out another rain of punches on the bag, “Why?” Tal walked in and watched her more closely, “There is clearly something going on, I want to know what. I do not like not knowing my situation at hand.” Oh no, I let too much out. Talyn immediately realized his mistake. He had talked like the Peace Keeper he really was. When he had done this, Aeryn stopped her practice. “Who the frell are you!?”, as she yelled this she pivoted on her heal and pinned Talyn against the wall. “Pilot, get Crichton down her right now!” “He is on his way Officer Sun.” “Whoa Aeryn! What’s going on?!”, exclaimed John as he jogged into the gym. “Tal is a Peace Keeper! Aren’t you?”, she yelled menasenly into his face. When Tal did not answer, it was answer enough for John. “All right, then. What is your real name?” Aeryn pulled her arm away from his neck just enough for him to speak, “Lt. Talyn Rac.” John froze, “What the frell…. you mean to tell us that your name is Talyn?”
To Be Continued…