MATCHMAKER 3
By: Jigs & Officer Don
Feedback: Any and all comments welcome. Email: jigsaw4@a...
or marks@c...
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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.
Lord Jesliac paced back and forth swishing his deadly tail
angrily. There had been a Peacekeeper spy here - that
was bad enough - but she was still alive on a Leviathan,
which, for all he knew, could be long gone, but he
doubted it. He turned to his underlings who were only
about six foot in height, but just as deadly as their leader.
"That Peacekeeper spy must have a ship here somewhere.
Find it and destroy it! Then we find the Leviathan!"
"Yes my lord!" The two other Sak'kra hissed as they
left in search of Jena's ship.
++++
John and D'Argo were in the transport pod headed back
into hell, at least that is how John thought of it. The only
thing he was grateful for at the moment was that it was
still nighttime on Bacca-Prime.
"I probably shouldn't ask, but what is all the fuss over the
Sak'kras?" John asked
D'Argo grunted, "they are little more Sheyangs, but much
better organized and equipped. They spend much on their
military or so it is believed, and they use their firepower
to possess as much territory as they can and they don't
care who they kill to do it. Nobody knows why. Some
say it is for planetary resources; others believe it is for
food stocks, if you get my meaning."
"That is horrible!" John shuddered at the grotesqueries of
that image.
"It is pure speculation, of course. No one who has
uncovered their intentions has lived long enough to tell
about it," D'Argo continued.
"Hell, they make Klingons look tame," John remarked,
shaking his head.
D’Argo shot his friend a what-the-frell-are-you-on-about
look.
Grinning, John said, "forget about it, big guy. It would
take too long to explain."
"Now you understand why I think fighting is the only
option."
"So why didn't they try to take over the Uncharteds
during the last 500 cycles? Wouldn't that make more
sense than launching an attack on established worlds?"
"That's another mystery. It could be revenge, I guess. The
story goes that when the Sak'kra Empire first
attacked, the Uncharteds were the known territories' new
frontier. After the war, in which the Sak'kra
slaughtered hundreds of worlds and systems, all the
major space-faring races abandoned their colonies and
outposts. Five hundred cycles later we have the
Uncharted Territories as we know them now."
John pondered this for a time, "that means there could be
map fibers of the Uncharted Territories then? Old ones,
but…."
D'Argo nodded, "…if the story is true, then it's possible."
++++
Jena knew she really should be resting, but once she
found John's cell she couldn’t resist the urge to have a
look around. She wasn’t surprised to find he had very
little in the way of possessions. Since all he had were the
clothes he was wearing when he went through that
wormhole, including a hideous orange flight suit, it was
no wonder he had added the Peacekeeper uniform to his
wardrobe. There were a few personal items, too, mostly
odd bits from various commerce planets, and a very
curious recording device.
It didn’t take her long to figure out how it worked. She
smiled, turning the strange little machine over in her
hand. //Time to find a quiet place and listen to this.// Her
training wouldn't allow her to pass up a chance at
intelligence gathering, even on her friends. Checking the
passageway, Jena ventured down the corridor, headed for
the ion backwash chamber on Tier 7.
++++
For the second time, John and D'Argo landed on
Bacca-Prime without incident and quickly exited the pod.
They made their way toward the main spaceport and
hangar where Jena told them the star darter was stored.
Just as the pair reached the intersection of what
apparently passed for roads on this backward planet, John
heard voices. Grabbing D'Argo by the arm, he pulled him
against the wall of the nearest building, then peered
round the corner. He saw Hiselk on the far side of the
square talking to two very ugly, reptile-looking critters
that stood about six-foot in height.
"Um, D'Argo, what do these Sak'kra look like?" John
asked hesitantly as he leaned back against the wall.
It was D'Argo's turn to check out the scene, and what he
saw almost sent him into hyper-rage. "They are
Sak'kra!" He hissed, converting his Qualta blade to a
rifle.
"Any other way to the spaceport, I wonder?" John asked.
He was in no hurry to get into a firefight, but he was very
glad to have one of Aeryn's pulse rifles on this trip after
deciding to give Winona a breather. He didn't want to get
caught with a temperamental weapon when their lives
were in danger. He had finally learned to use Aeryn's
weapon of choice; she had insisted on it.
"There is another way, but it would take us far too long
and I'd say those two are looking for Jena's ship. We
need to move now!"
One of the Sak'kras sniffed the air and nudged his
partner who was also picking up a scent.
"There's a Luxan nearby and a being I can't identify,"
spat the first.
"It could be the two from the bar tonight. They are
probably looking for the Peacekeeper’s ship, too," Hiselk
said.
"You have done well. Go now…we will deal with these
two minor inconveniences."
++++
Jena sat quietly, listening to John's voice talking to his
father about his favorite subject.
"After all this time I still haven't figured out why Aeryn
defended me to Crais, Dad. She could have said nothing
and she'd still be the happy little Peacekeeper, dominating
the lesser races." There was a pause, "or would she? I
knew Aeryn was special the moment I met her. Knew she
could be more than a Peacekeeper, hell she already is! "
Another pause, then a subtle laugh, "she's the stuff
dreams are made of, Dad. I just wish she knew that. I
wish I could tell you she's the girlfriend of a very lost
human, but I don't think we are there yet."
Releasing a long, slow breath, John continued, "I don't
know how Aeryn puts up with me lately. I’ve having
eerie visions of tall, dark and scaly…sometimes I think
I'm losing my mind, or Scorpy is determined to make me
go insane – Aurora chair or not." The tape clicked off at
that point, and when John started talking again, he was on
another subject.
"I'm never going to stop trying to get home, Dad…. But
when and if I do find a way home, I won't be staying
long. I want to see you and DK again, let you know I'm
still alive and fill you in on what’s been happening to me,
not that you'd believe most of it. And leave these tapes
I've so painstakingly recorded. The others think it’s
foolish, but talking to you like this makes me feel closer
to you…." There was a moment of silence, then he
laughed sadly.
"I've changed too much out here, Dad. I wouldn't fit in on
Earth anymore. And after what happened on the false
earth…. I mentioned in on another tape, you remember
the story about the Ancients and the wormhole…. I know
Aeryn doesn't want to live on Earth, and besides, her
home is in space. In a strange way it feels like home to
me now, too."
Jena noticed that John’s voice became softer as he
continued, "you'd like Aeryn, Dad. She's incredible! I just
hope we both live long enough to finally admit that we
love each other. I know we do…we’re just both too
stubborn to say it first."
Jena heard John chuckle, "You know Dad, we think
Earth women are hard to understand, you should try a
Sebacean woman! But with Scorpy after my head, the
future doesn’t seem too secure. I hate to say it, Dad, but
getting home is not as important to me as it once was.
Finding some nice, out-of-the-way planet for Aeryn and
me would be great."
There was another laugh, "that's if Miss PK pin-up will
have this deficient human as her mate."
After a brief pause, John continued, "gotta go, Dad,
D’Argo and I have to make a supply run down to
Bacca-Prime. At least it's too hot for Sebaceans down
there, so Aeryn will be safe on Moya." The tape clicked
off.
Jena smiled inwardly. Yes, her plan would definitely
work - now to find Aeryn. She was looking forward to
this.
++++
"I told you it was foolish bringing that Peacekeeper
aboard!" D'Argo roared as he and John dove for cover to
avoid the two attacking Sak'kras.
"Next time I get the urge to save a Peacekeeper," John
replied, firing at the reptilians, "make sure you stop me!"
John smirked, "especially if they're female!"
D'Argo shook his head. How the human could make light
of their current situation was beyond him, but he guessed
it had something to do with John’s natural defense
mechanism and coping with stress.
"Man! Don't these guys know how to die?" John yelled
as their shots just seemed to bounce off the advancing
reptiles; their thick skin was more like impenetrable
armor. John got an idea even as he heard D'Argo break
into one of his rants.
"Yo, big guy!" After he had D'Argo's attention he made a
series of hand gestures that, remarkably, the Luxan was
able to understand.
Both D'Argo and John stopped firing at the same time.
Fortunately Jesliac’s two grunts were a bit dim, assuming
they had killed their prey. When they were at point blank
range, John and D'Argo sprang up firing, hitting the first
Sak'kra, then the other with their combined
firepower. Unfortunately for D’Argo, one of the big
lizards got a shot off grazing him in the leg. He growled
in pain, but it felt worse than it was.
The gun battle had not gone unnoticed. Trilok glanced
outside to see what all the commotion was about when he
spied the Sak'kras and raced back to the bar, grabbing
the pulse pistol he kept hidden there. What were those
evil demons doing on his planet? When his brother
returned they would have to have a serious talk.
The Sak'kra Lord was also watching the destruction
of his two minions from another vantagepoint. Seething
with rage, he signaled his other four grunts to follow him.
"Those fools!" He barked; his four subordinates remained
wisely silent. "If you want something done right best do
it yourself! Follow me!"
++++
On her way to find Aeryn, Jena stopped at John's room to
return the tape recorder. She had rewound the tape
completely and listened to all of the entries. She was
aware of some of the events John talked about after
making some subtle inquiries at High Command when
her assignment was completed on the Royal Planet. The
background checks on former Officer Aeryn Sun and
John Crichton had been quite enlightening. Most of the
information on D'Argo, Zhaan and Rygel had to do with
their trials and imprisonment. Chiana was still a mystery
since the Peacekeepers didn't have much information on
any Nebaris.
"You are indeed a very resilient man, John Crichton,"
Jena remarked as she placed the recorder back where she
had found it. "You find yourself in a galaxy you do not
understand, yet you have survived and adapted. You have
even made alliances with beings that would have killed
you, but now they protect you with their lives. Quite an
accomplishment for an inferior species." Jena laughed,
knowing the human was far from inferior. "You could
have been a great disrupter."
As she turned to leave, Jena looked again at the orange
flight suit, "I cannot guarantee that I can keep Scorpious
from hunting you, but you do not deserve such a fate.
You are an honorable man, John Crichton, and because
of that I will try and help you."
As she walked down the corridor, Jena tapped the comms
badge Zhaan had given her, "can you tell me where I
might find Aeryn Sun, Pilot?"
"She is in the maintenance bay on Tier 3," he answered.
"Thank you," Jena replied, quickening her pace to
confront the ex-Peacekeeper.
++++
John and D'Argo found Jena's star darter without further
trouble. The outer hull didn't look like a Peacekeeper
vessel, but then that was the whole point, wasn’t it? It
had been adapted with overlaid panels and indistinct
markings to disguise its Peacekeeper origins. John
popped the hatch with ease and jumped inside. The
layout was very similar to Aeryn's prowler.
"D'Argo, I'll fly Jena's ship back to Moya," John
volunteered, as his head popped up from the hatch
opening. "You take the transport pod."
"Are you sure, Crichton?" D'Argo asked doubtfully,
knowing John had much less experience flying Aeryn's
prowler than the transport pod.
"Yes, if I can fly Aeryn's prowler I can handle this. I may
not be as great a pilot as our Officer Sun, but I think I can
manage the short flight back home," John replied
flippantly. He really wanted to fly it. Jena's star darter
was a sleek little vessel - the Peacekeeper equivalent of a
hot rod. Besides, D'Argo's injury would make it difficult
for him to get his enormous Luxan frame into the narrow
hatchway.
"Very well, I'll go back for the pod." D'Argo turned and
limped toward their landing site.
After completing the external preflight checks, John was
about to hop into the cockpit when he heard movement
behind him, knowing instinctively it wasn't D'Argo.
"Frell," he muttered under his breath, "I *knew* this was
too easy!" John turned to face whoever had sneaked up
on him.