MATCHMAKER 2
By: Jigs & Officer Don
Feedback: Any and all comments welcome. Email: jigsaw4@a...
or marks@c...
Archiving: Please e-mail us first
Rating: PG-13
Category: Action/adventure
Warnings: Possible references to scenes from the
Premiere through 'The Ugly Truth'
Summary: John and D'Argo run into an old friend on a
supply run.
Disclaimer: Regrettably we have no claim to Farscape;
we're just borrowing the characters for the SACC
FanFiction Challenge 2000.
"How long before the pod arrives, Pilot?" Aeryn asked
running to the docking bay.
"200 microts, Officer Sun," Pilot answered.
Aeryn met Zhaan and Chiana at the docking bay with
100 microts to spare. Rygel was taking a nap after
gorging himself and couldn't be bothered.
The blue Delvian brought what medical equipment she
could carry. "What do you know of the Peacekeeper
Special Directorate, Aeryn?"
"Not that much. They keep very much to themselves and
report to High Command directly. You have to be the
best of the best to be an operative." Aeryn frowned,
"what was she doing on the Royal Planet, I wonder?"
Chiana cocked her head to one side, "more importantly,
what was she doing down on that hot rock and why isn't
she in the Living Death?"
Aeryn could only nod as the transport pod landed in
Moya's familiar confines. John was the first one down the
ramp, followed closely by D'Argo carrying Jena. Zhaan
came over to look at the wounded Peacekeeper and
noticed her right wrist or what was left of it. "What
happened to her wrist?"
"That's where her stiletto implant was. Must have been
sheared off in the bar fight," John surmised.
Aeryn was annoyed, "you started a bar fight, Crichton?"
John just gave her an exasperated stare while D'Argo set
the record straight. "No he did not. From what we can
tell, Jena was discovered as a Peacekeeper and all
Hezmana broke lose after that."
+++++
After leaving Jena in Zhaan's capable hands, John and
Aeryn found themselves on the terrace. They always
seemed to end up here when they needed a little privacy.
John stood behind Aeryn, his arms wrapped tightly
around her waist as they faced the view of the stars.
"I'm glad you're back safely, John. I was worried."
"I'm glad I'm back, too. Bacca-Prime was not the most
welcoming place I've ever been." He smoothed the hair
back behind her ear, "I hope Jena pulls through."
Aeryn frowned and leaned her head against his shoulder,
"why are you worried about her?"
John sighed, "because it could have been you, Sunshine,
and because she saved my life on the Royal Planet."
John's tone took on a more serious note; "she's Special
Directorate, Aeryn, which raises two questions - what
was she doing on Bacca-Prime and how did she avoid the
Living Death?"
Aeryn turned to face John, "well I'm more curious about
what she was doing on the Royal Planet?"
"She called herself a disrupter," John explained, "as near
as I could tell she was there to make sure our big scaly
friends, the Scarrans, didn't get a foot hold on that world.
Clavor was in cahoots with them, you know, and look
what happened to him."
"Did she tell you why she's here?"
"No, she was too weak. When she's up to it I'll ask her
again."
"If I didn't know better, Crichton, I'd say you like her."
Aeryn was barely able to disguise the flash of jealousy
she felt.
John smiled slightly, "there's something intriguing about
her, I'll give you that. But there's only one Peacekeeper
for me Aeryn, and that's you."
"Don't flatter yourself, Crichton," she teased with the
slightest hint of a smile.
John's own smile widened, "like I said, she saved my butt
so I'm just returning the favor."
"So if someone saves your butt, as you put it, what kind
of favors would they get?" Aeryn asked playfully.
"Well, that would depend on who it was…wouldn't it?"
John said cryptically.
For just an instant, it occurred to John that he should tell
Aeryn about his indiscretion with Jena at the lake on the
Royal planet, but considering her amorous mood, he
decided it could wait. Jena probably wouldn't be coherent
for a while. No reason to jeopardize this rare opportunity
to be close to Aeryn with that confession.
"If it was me, for instance, what would I get?" She
purred, leaning in to nuzzle his neck.
John raised his eyebrows, "Aeryn Sun, are you feeling
OK?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she sighed, moving her mouth to suckle
his earlobe, "just answer the question."
"Well, I'd rather show you…." He answered, pulling back
to look at her.
"Show me then," she challenged.
It was an invitation he couldn't pass up. He leaned
forward, tilting Aeryn's head slightly and kissed her.
Aeryn moaned softly deepening the kiss.
"Hmmm…see, showing is better." John’s voice was
breathy and soft.
"Is that all, Crichton?" Aeryn asked, pretending to be
disappointed.
"Not by a long shot, baby," he said, taking her by the
hand and leading her off the terrace to a more secluded
location.
+++++
Zhaan repaired Jena's wrist as best she could and gave
her some herbal concoction to ease the pain. The rest was
up to Jena now. Zhaan began straightening the medical
lab with D’Argo lending a hand.
"Will she make it?" D’Argo asked.
"I think so, but she will be in a great deal of pain. I've
done all I can for her wrist; she will need special surgery
for that. The bruises and cracked ribs will have to heal
naturally before she can return to normal activities. She is
lucky you got her off that planet before the heat
weakened her further"
"I don’t think she feels all that lucky at the moment,
Zhaan." D’Argo said putting the last of the herb canisters
on the shelf.
"No, I suppose not," Zhaan agreed.
Their conversation was interrupted as Jena moaned.
Zhaan turned toward her patient just as she was regaining
consciousness.
"Ah my dear, I’m glad to see you are awake," Zhaan said,
activating the medical scanner and running it over the
wounded woman.
"What the frell happened?" Jena asked groggily.
"You were in a bar fight, Peacekeeper," D'Argo
grumbled, "if it hadn't been for Crichton you'd be in the
Living Death."
Jena nodded, "where is John? I want to speak to him."
Zhaan spoke into her comms, "John? Can you come to
the lab? Jena is awake and wants to speak to you."
When John didn't respond immediately, Zhaan repeated
the summons.
"OK…yeah…be there in a few microts," John answered,
trying not to sound annoyed.
"Hmm…" Zhaan pondered. She didn’t say it aloud, but it
seemed to her John was a little out of breath, "am I
interrupting anything important?"
John cackled, "why should anything I'd be doing be
important, Zhaan? I'll be there, don't worry." The link
went dead.
Zhaan was sure she had heard Aeryn curse. The Delvian
smiled to herself. She had indeed interrupted something
important, at least for John and Aeryn, and the priestess
had a feeling she knew what it was, too.
Zhaan turned back to Jena, "John will be here shortly,"
she said, unable to hold back a smile.
+++++
"Frell…frell…frell!" John exclaimed as he rolled off
Aeryn and started to look for his clothes. "Why is it
whenever we get horizontal we always get interrupted?"
Aeryn was disappointed too, but she couldn’t help but
have a little fun at John’s expense. Rising up on her
elbows she watched him as he slipped on his pants.
"Because you are so unlucky you can't even manage a
simple frell?"
"That's *not* funny, Aeryn!" John growled as he pulled
his black tee shirt over his head. "I'm not that unlucky…I
found you, didn't I?" He returned to her side and kissed
her quickly.
Aeryn smiled, "you may have found me, but I sat on you
first - you're mine!" She said, falling back on the bed and
laughing.
John cocked an eyebrow, "I thought Peacekeepers didn't
go in for the one partner thing?"
"They don't…usually. It's an ancient Sebacean custom. A
woman can claim a man if she knocks him down and sits
on him. Like I did when we first met."
"What? That's the oddest mating ritual I've had ever
heard of." He didn't believe it either.
"So you see, Crichton, you've been mine for almost two
cycles now," Aeryn said grinning from ear to ear.
"You’re making that up!"
"Uh uh...." Aeryn shook her head, her eyes dancing.
"Why you!" John laughed as he threw a pillow at her
before leaving for Zhaan's medical lab.
"Yotz!" Aeryn swore. She and John were just getting
serious when Zhaan called and her body was not happy
about the interruption. She lay on the bed for a time
wondering what she was going to do. A smile crept
across her face and she ran her hands down her body,
wishing they were John's.
By the time John arrived at the medical lab, Jena was
sitting up and looking a lot better. The color had returned
to her face; the pain was merely an annoyance.
She smiled as John entered, "I'm glad to see you got
here."
John only nodded, "so Jena, now are you going to tell me
what you were doing on Bacca-Prime?"
"Only if you promise to help me."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Somehow he knew
there would be a condition.
"My ship is still down there. I need it back. It has all the
information I've collected for Peacekeeper Command."
"Crichton, I told you this was foolish," D'Argo reminded
him as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Not now big guy. Let’s hear what Little Miss
Undercover here has to say," John said as he walked over
to Jena, "how did you manage to survive the heat down
there?"
"That's classified," Jena said, not sure she should divulge
the information - not yet anyway.
"I have an idea about that, John," Zhaan said, eyeing Jena
with scrutiny. "During the scan I found traces of an
unknown chemical. Perhaps the Peacekeeper's have
developed a drug that helps them withstand great heat, at
least temporarily."
"Is that it, Jena?" John asked.
"A disrupter can't reveal all her secrets, now can she?"
Her evasion of the direct question confirmed to John that
Zhaan's suspicion was probably accurate.
"Fess up, Jena. We're just a bunch of rebels here. Who
are we gonna tell?" John prodded, trying to get as much
information as he could.
Jena just stared at him, contemplating whether or not she
could trust them with such a tightly guarded secret.
"Well, if this drug exists, it doesn't seem to be very
effective," John observed, "how else do you explain
letting a group of bullies like the Tellez get the best of
you in that bar?"
Maybe it was her weakened condition, or her pride, but
Jena took the bait. "It's still experimental. I volunteered
to take it because we needed the information I was after
and couldn't wait for the med techs to complete their
evaluation."
John smiled triumphantly.
"It's only drawback is it has to be taken regularly," Jena
continued, "and I missed a dose. Apparently there's not
much margin for error. That's the ONLY reason I
couldn't take out those animals!"
"So, what information were you after?"
"I was on the trail of what was thought to be a Plokavian
weapons deal, but it is something much more serious
than selling illegal weapons. It seems the Sak'kra
Empire is making their presence known again. They may
be preparing to make a move on the known territories,"
Jena explained. If she was to secure their help to
complete her mission, they deserved to know the truth.
She had no intention of returning to her superiors without
results. She had never failed a mission before and wasn't
about to start now.
D'Argo let loose a Luxan rant no one could understand.
When he calmed down slightly, the translator microbes
clicked in again. "The Sak'kra! Those dishonorable
reptilian sons of Hezmana! They haven't been heard from
in hundreds of cycles! Why now?"
Jena shook her head, "I don't know for certain. It could
have something to do with the fact the Nebari are having
internal troubles. I was close to finding out more when
my cover was blown."
John had never heard of these Sak'kra, but from
D'Argo's reaction they were bad news…really bad news.
"Well, looks like we better rally the troops for a major
briefing. If you want our help Jena, it's only fair that
everyone knows what's going on."
"Very well, the center chamber then?" Jena suggested.
John spoke into his comms, "Aeryn, Rygel, Chiana -
meet us in the center chamber in 50 microts."
+++++
On Bacca-Prime things were getting nasty, at least for
some.
"Why have you risked coming here?" The Sak'kra
Lord named Jesliac hissed. He was all of 10 feet tall and
looked like a crocodile on stilts, complete with powerful
legs and a long, spiked tail.
"I have some news you may find...interesting," Hiselk
replied. "News that may convince you to leave
Bacca-Prime."
"Be quick about it then." Jesliac snarled, his impatience
barely contained. "You shouldn't be here!"
"A Peacekeeper was discovered at the bar earlier
tonight." Hiselk said as bravely as he could manage. He
knew his life was in peril just by coming here, but he
wanted the Sak'kras off his planet.
"How is that possible?" Jesliac sneered in disbelief. "It is
too hot here for those black-clad weaklings."
"That I cannot answer. However, before she could be
dealt with a Luxan and another being took her away. He
looked Sebacean, but most certainly wasn't. The heat had
no effect on him."
"WHAT!" The Sak'kra roared in anger, "the
Peacekeeper spy is still alive?"
"It would appear so. As I understand it, she was taken to
an orbiting Leviathan."
The creature’s eyes blazed and Hiselk thought he was
going to die. The Sak'kra swished his tail violently,
"go before your brother realizes you are missing."
Hiselk merely nodded and left as quickly as he had come,
unaware of the two Tellez who noted his departure.
Gammet would be most impressed when they passed on
this nugget of information.
+++++
Everyone gathered in the center chamber to hear what
Jena had to say. As usual Rygel was perturbed by the
interruption of his meal. When he spied Jena standing
there he couldn't hide his surprise, "I remember you from
the Royal Planet. What's are you doing here?"
"Good memory," Jena replied with a twisted smile.
"But…you were betrothed to that idiot Clavor…." Rygel's
confusion was evident.
"Sparky!" John thought it was time to rescue the tiny
monarch before he said anything insulting. "Allow me to
introduce Peacekeeper Special Directorate Disrupter
Jenavian Chatto." John grinned broadly at Rygel's
stupefied expression.
"Special Directorate!" The Hynerian exclaimed, his eyes
wide in disbelief.
Laughing at the puzzled look on Rygel's face, Jena
explained, "yes, I was engaged to that ridiculous
Clavor…undercover assignment."
"I thought you wanted to be empress." Rygel, who prided
himself on being in on all government intrigue, even
when it wasn't an Hynerian colony, was irritated that this
pearl of information had eluded him.
"No, I was there to keep Clavor from becoming regent.
Peacekeeper High Command couldn't allow that,
especially with his ties to the Scarrans."
"I'm sure Empress Novia would be interested to know
that Peacekeeper Special Directorate succeeded in
infiltrating her court," he threatened with his usual
inflated importance.
"Don't even think about it!" Jena smiled evilly, raising
her bandaged hand, "lucky for you my blade has been
forcibly removed, but I can still take you with my one
good arm," she added as Rygel quickly backed out of her
reach, intimidated by Jena's implication.
"So what's going on, Crichton?" Aeryn demanded, eyeing
Jena suspiciously. She wasn't sure why she was here, but
she had a very bad feeling about it.
"The Sak'kra Empire is back," Jena said simply.
Both Aeryn and Rygel paled at the mention of the name.
"That was five hundred cycles ago! The Hynerian Navy
only just managed to repel them." Rygel had hoped he
would never hear the name Sak'kra again in his
lifetime.
"The Peacekeepers suffered great losses, as well," Aeryn
interjected.
D'Argo nodded, "even Lux came close to falling. If all
the clans had not banded together, things would be very
different now."
"Now you understand why I need your help," Jena said,
groaning as she tried to stand.
A part of John didn't want to know too much more about
the Sak'kras. He had the feeling they were in way
over their heads. But if these overgrown lizards were that
dangerous, he decided they had no choice. "Looks like
you and I are going back to Bacca-Prime, big guy."
D'Argo grunted, "given the alternative, this is one time I
definitely want to go down swinging."
John just grinned; the Luxan's use of earth slang was
improving.
As Moya's crew began to file out of the center chamber,
Jena caught John's eye. "Thanks for helping me…again. I
promised you that I'd help you get what you want, and I
will."
"Jena, you've already helped me. I'm here on Moya with
Aer… with my friends, instead of being a statue for 80
cycles."
Nodding in agreement, Jena left to find Aeryn; it was
payback time. It had more than irritated her when Aeryn
threatened her on the Royal Planet and pushed her into
the washroom mirror, and in front of the insipid Katralla,
no less. But she couldn't fight back then and risk blowing
her cover. Yes, she owed Aeryn for that one.
It would give her some perverse pleasure to be able to
push Aeryn over the edge emotionally since she, like all
Peacekeepers, took such pride in their impervious
self-control.
Jena didn't want John - oh she had enjoyed him
physically, but she wasn't one for commitment. That's
why she had offered him the compatibility drops in the
first place - she had to be certain he wasn't expecting
more from her than she was willing to give.
The affection between John and Aeryn was obvious to
anyone who spent any time around them. Tyno, Dregon,
half the royal court had picked up on the vibrations.
Dregon had been most helpful, in fact. She had
befriended the tall blonde during her assignment. He was
easy to talk to, and willing, a literal font of information
on the political machinations of the palace. And quite
observant, as Jena found out; she was able to get quite a
bit of information from Dregon about Aeryn's feelings
for John.
Now that circumstances brought her aboard Moya it was
time to make good on her promise to help John get what
he wanted - and he wanted Aeryn Sun. It occurred to her
that she could keep her promise to John and exact a bit of
revenge on Aeryn by confronting the ex-Peacekeeper and
letting the details of her night with John slip into the
conversation, and she would enjoy doing it. It was worth
a try since she owed John once again for saving her life
on Bacca-Prime,
D'Argo and John would be gone at least two arns to
retrieve her star darter. That was plenty of time to put her
plan in motion.