MATCHMAKER 4
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.
Being in the Special Directorate had its advantages, Jena
thought as she neared the maintenance bay. You were
less likely to be found guilty of being irreversibly
contaminated. After all if you didn't mix with the
different races, how would you ever complete a mission?
Even so, she would need to be careful how she brought
up that subject with Aeryn Sun. Jena certainly didn't feel
like the human contaminated her, but it was probably a
painful subject for Aeryn. Peacekeeper training was
difficult to ignore or overcome.
She owed the human and all of Moya's crew a lot. All
they really wanted was to be left alone and find
someplace to call home. There were those in High
command who didn't like or trust the Scarran half-breed
Scorpious. After making a copy of John's tape, which
was surprisingly easy to do, she downloaded the logs
from Moya's internal systems that the crew either didn't
know about or had never bothered disabling. Jena had
enough information to show High Command that this
group of unlikely shipmates was not a threat to the
Peacekeepers. And inform them that Scorpious was
chasing something that John may or may not posses. The
Peacekeepers had more important things to worry about
at the moment than a lone Leviathan full of displaced
souls, especially with the reality of the Sak'kra threat
looming on the horizon.
++++
John turned to see three Tellez standing around him. To
say he looked surprised was a supreme understatement.
"Gammet…what are you doing here?"
Gammet smiled, "I could ask you the same thing, my
mysterious friend."
"Well if I told you I'd be letting the cat out of the bag
wouldn't I?"
Gammet frowned and John had to laugh, "just one of my
Erp sayings. No one out here can understand half the
things I say."
"You're a long way from home then?" Gammet asked, his
curiosity getting the best of him.
"You have no idea how right you are. I'm not even in the
neighborhood!"
"So what are you doing back on Bacca-Prime?"
"Remember that Peacekeeper?" John grinned, "she's alive
and well on Moya. And she did ask me very nicely if I'd
get her ship for her."
"Peacekeepers don't do nice," remarked one of the other
Tellez.
"Jena has a way with words," John answered, still
smiling, "and she isn't a bad frell either." He sighed, "but
she isn't the radiant Aer…." John decided he had said a
little too much, chastising himself mentally. He chalked it
up to nervous tension.
Gammet smiled, "what's so important about this ship?"
Before John could answer hissing snarls filled the air
from outside the hangar. John ran to take a look, "oh
felling dren!" Five Sak'kras approached from the
other side of the square. "Great! We get rid of two of
them and five more decide to join the party!"
Turning to face Gammet he said, "there's your answer,
Sak'kras!" John headed for Jena's star darter. It was
time to get the hell out of here.
Gammet paled slightly; it all made sense to him now.
"Before you go human, you had better take this," he said
placing a small pouch in John's hand. "The Peacekeeper
will need them."
John's confusion made Gammet grin and answer his
unasked question. "A Luxan and a Sebacean who isn't
Sebacean, a Leviathan named Moya, and an
ex-Peacekeeper named Aeryn Sun." The Tellez laughed
uproariously, "information is my business. I know all
about you, John Crichton!"
As John tried frantically to process this information,
Gammet ordered, "Now go! Aeryn Sun is waiting for
you! Don't worry, we will take care of these
Sak'kras!"
John didn't hang round to argue. It surprised him that
information brokers like the Tellez would just give away
their commodity for free, but then he remembered what
D'Argo said about the Sak'kras. Perhaps the Tellez
had a score to settle with them from the war long ago,
along with the Hynerians, Luxans, Peacekeepers, and
countless other races. Of course that didn't explain
Gammet's reaction in the bar to discovering Jena was a
Peacekeeper.
Maybe Gammet had had time to reconsider. If the
Peacekeepers were the best defense against the
Sak'kras, then maybe the Tellez were willing to help
them. Too bad Jena didn't reveal she was Peacekeeper
Special Directorate in the bar when the Sak'kra
Empire was mentioned. If she had, Gammet might not
have been so intent on trying to kill her for deceiving
him.
"Good luck, Gammet, and thanks," John yelled over his
shoulder. He was in Jena's ship, firing up the engines
before the lizard men reached the hangar entrance. He
lifted off and headed for the safety of Moya as fast as the
little star darter would fly. As he pulled into the familiar
confines of the docking bay, John wondered if the Tellez
who aided his escape were still alive.
++++
Jena entered the maintenance bay to find Aeryn tinkering
with her prowler. "Aeryn Sun, Pilot told me you were
here."
Without stopping her work, Aeryn said, "shouldn't you be
resting?" From anyone else the question might have
implied concern, but Aeryn wanted nothing to do with
Jena and her tone was far from friendly.
She didn't like disrupters and saw no reason to pretend
otherwise. That John found her interesting was enough to
raise Aeryn's blood pressure. The ex-Peacekeeper had
never been impressed by any of the Special Directorate
disrupters she had known. They were always skulking
around, spying on enemies or their fellow Peacekeepers,
and Aeryn didn't like deception. Confrontation was her
style, meet the enemy head on and beat them with tactical
prowess and superior skills, not intrigue and mendacity.
Of course Jena was aware of the contempt with which
most of the Peacekeeper rank and file viewed the
disrupters. She chalked it up to jealousy - only a select
few were even considered for the elite of Peacekeeper
High Command. The selection process was rigorous, but
Jena completed the training at the top of her class. Oh
yes, she was going to enjoy taking Aeryn down. Her only
regret was that she was not in top physical condition at
the moment and would have to limit this encounter to
verbal sparring. Hand to hand would be much better
exercise, but mental calisthenics would have to suffice.
"I probably should be resting, but I was never one for
lying around." It was time to test the waters, Jena
thought, wondering how easy it would be to get Aeryn on
the defensive. "So tell me, how did an ex-Peacekeeper
end up on a Leviathan prison ship full of fugitives?"
Of course she already knew the answer, but Aeryn didn't
know that, and it was a good place to start.
Aeryn eyed Jena suspiciously. "Are you trying to pick a
fight with me, Jena? That doesn't seem like such a
brilliant move for a Disrupter in your current physical
condition. I won't be provoked into a fight you."
//Really? We'll see about that! Let's try another
approach.// Jena looked around the maintenance bay and
spotted the odd-looking Farscape module. "What is
that?" She asked condescendingly.
Aeryn looked up to see her staring at John's pride and
joy. The technically challenged little shuttle had never
been Aeryn's favorite, but she wasn't about to let Jena
ridicule something of John's, or anything else on Moya
for that matter.
"It's Crichton's spacecraft. He designed it himself and it
brought him all the way across the galaxy," she explained
proudly, defying Jena to criticize it.
"It's a piece of dren," Jena taunted, running her hand
along the sleek lines of the module's hull. "He's braver
than I thought."
"Yes, he's quite brave actually." Aeryn agreed, returning
to her repair work on the prowler, "I should think he had
demonstrated that after escaping from you a few monens
ago." She smirked triumphantly, delighted at the
opportunity to defend John and get a dig in a Jena.
"Oh I wouldn't say he escaped from me…but we can
discuss that later." Jena paused, "I'm more interested in
finding out how much you know about this human?"
Aeryn looked over at Jena, wondering what she really
wanted, but she was eager to let her know that she knew
more about John than she did. "I know he is intelligent
and loyal…."
"Loyal? You make him sound like a pet…."
"Hardly," Aeryn scoffed, "what do disrupters know about
loyalty, anyway? You spy on your own, use deceit and
lies to accomplish your missions without a thought for
the lives you ruin the process."
"I take it you don’t have much respect for the pride of the
Peacekeeper High Command?"
"I find nothing to be proud of in your methods. John has
helped me see that the Peacekeepers have a narrow,
conceited view of the universe. Using their power
indiscriminately to dominate and control that which does
not belong to them."
"I see…he has been quite an influence on you to turn you
against your own." Jena watched Aeryn with interest,
waiting for the time to spring her trap.
"I was never one of you - was never interested in being a
devious secret operative."
"Not interested…or not selected?"
Aeryn bristled at that comment, but refrained from taking
the obvious bait, "I'm a pilot, a damn good one - not a
spy. Like John, I am loyal to my friends and I’ve learned
to choose them wisely, not blindly."
"Meaning I am not your friend…." Jena was poised like a
tiger ready to pounce on an unsuspecting prey.
Aeryn smiled smugly, "I do not believe you know the
meaning of the word."
"Friendship, or any emotional attachment, is a liability in
my kind of work," Jena replied evenly. "But my job does
allow me certain freedoms."
"How can you be free when your life is spent following
the orders of your superiors?" Aeryn thought Jena's
statement was ludicrous.
"Well, I don’t have to worry about being irreversibly
contaminated, do I?" Jena smiled haughtily, knowing she
had hit a nerve as Aeryn tensed perceptively.
"If that is meant to be an insult…." Aeryn began.
"Just a fact. My allegiances, though fleeting, can be
quite…" she paused for emphasis, satisfying."
"What does that mean?"
"Only that I can recreate with anyone I want…."
Laughing incredulously, Aeryn sneered, "You call that a
benefit? I think it just makes you a tralk." Inwardly
Aeryn was quite pleased with that comeback. She didn't
need to get Jena on the exercise mat, she could take her
down with words alone.
This is too easy, Jena thought. //I have you now, Aeryn
Sun!// "Maybe not always a benefit…but some of my
liaisons have been very enjoyable."
"What is it you are trying to say?" Aeryn knew there was
some point to this, but she didn't know what it was.
"Just that I had great fun getting to know John Crichton.
And I'd say he did, too."
The way she said John's name made the tiny hairs on
Aeryn's neck quiver to attention. Before she could think
better of it, Aeryn threatened, "you stay away from
Crichton! He’s suffered enough at the hands of the
Peacekeepers!"
"Ahh..too late, I’m afraid."
Aeryn stopped working on the prowler and glared at her
adversary. She didn't like Jena's implication in the least.
Buoyed by that response, Jena eagerly continued, "we
spent time together, private time…. He is unquestionably
the best frell I've ever had," she added offhandedly, then
looked at Aeryn for a reaction. She wasn't disappointed.
Aeryn's face flushed instantly and her mouth dropped
open in complete shock before she could school her
reaction. "You're lying!"
"Am I?" Jena sidled over to Aeryn and got right in her
face. "We spent the entire night camped by the lake after
I rescued him from the palace. He was VERY
appreciative and…well let's just say he was more than
willing to…."
"I get the idea, Jena," Aeryn interrupted, clenching her
fists at her side.
"Oh I'm not sure you do. He was so enthusiastic, so
attentive…like he hadn't recreated in quite a while. I'm
surprised you weren't tempted by his considerable charms
after spending so much time with him here on Moya?"
Jena was milking this for all it was worth, enjoying
Aeryn's obvious distress.
"We're…shipmates…that's all." Aeryn stuttered, barely
able to utter the words. She was getting angrier by the
microt, and wasn't about to let Jena know that she and
John had been intimate.
"Really? That's not what Dregon told me. He seemed to
think you were in love with the human."
"Well, he's an idiot," Aeryn spat, then regaining a
modicum of control she added, "personal indulgences can
fracture a small crew."
"Don't quote the Peacekeeper hard line to me, Aeryn. I
memorized it long ago. And besides, you aren't a
Peacekeeper any more, now are you?"
Those words hit Aeryn like a gut kick and she turned
away from Jena, fighting to keep her fist from smacking
her in the face.
"Oh I checked you out, Officer Aeryn Sun, Pleisar
Regiment, Icarion Company. I know all the sordid details
of your contamination. I just assumed you and John had
recreated since you were so quick to defend him to your
captain."
"My relationship with John is none of your business!"
Aeryn screamed angrily, but her expressive eyes gave her
away.
Jena could see the truth there - Aeryn had strong,
possessive feelings for John. And if her powers of
perception were up to their usual excellence, and she was
sure they were, Aeryn was very much in love with him,
even if she didn't recognize it.
Listening to the tapes confirmed Jena's belief that John
was completely in love with Aeryn. And given her rabid
defense of him, she was sure her human friend and the
ex-Peacekeeper had already been intimate, and probably
more than once, if Aeryn had any sense. But she wasn't
about to reveal that assumption now and destroy all her
hard work!
Aeryn was tittering on the edge of an emotional
meltdown and Jena couldn't help giving her that last little
push.
"I suppose not. But from one woman to another, you
don't know what you're missing. He could certainly give
the males I've known a few pointers in how to please
their partner." She paused for effect, giving Aeryn time to
assimilate what she was saying. "He's so passionate -
incredible stamina, and those breathy groans just
before…."
"Get out of here, Jena! Or I just might forget you're
injured…." Aeryn snarled, immediately regretting her loss
of composure.
Jena held up her hands in surrender, "sorry…just thought
you might benefit from my experience." She smiled with
wicked satisfaction and ambled out of the maintenance
bay.
Aeryn tried to contain her anger, but her frustrated
scream reverberated in the cavernous hangar. She picked
up the biggest wrench she could find and hurled it across
the room, barely missing the nose section of Farscape I.
The metal tool clanged against the locker on the far side
of the maintenance bay as the DRD's skittered toward the
exit. The clattering sound it made seemed to echo for
microts.
"Aeryn Sun, is there a problem?" Pilot asked, his image
coming to life on the clamshell viewer.
"I'm fine," she snapped. Muttering under her breath, "just
peachy." Scaling back the potency of the sarcasm she
added curtly, " sorry to worry you, Pilot…just dropped a
wrench."
Although absolutely certain the wrench had been hurled
in a pique of anger, Pilot decided not to challenge her.
The tone of her voice told him she was not in the mood
for conversation or accusation.
"As you say…." He answered quickly as his image
vanished.
Aeryn swung around and pounded her fist into the side of
her beloved prowler. The nerves in her hand tingled to
her fingertips like spiders crawling on skin, but Aeryn
didn't seem to notice.
"Frell!" She screamed at the walls, "why did I let her get
to me?"
"Special Directorate tralk," she cursed, stalking across
the hangar to pick up the discarded wrench.
Seeking the comfort of familiarity, Aeryn climbed into
the cockpit of her prowler and reflected on her
conversation with Jena. She had to figure out how to
reconcile the myriad of unaccustomed emotions that were
waging war inside her.