Phantom Planet Part 2
by Xenitejen
"You're what?" John stood baffled in the center of the room.
"I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby. Your baby."
"Oh my..."
"Please, Tareena, can you leave us for a moment?"
She nodded and fled.
Aeryn began pacing the room, looking for something to mess with, or to focus
on.
"I found out a week or so ago. And I can't take a baby to a planet we don't
now about."
"Aeryn...if you would've told me sooner...I..."
"Done what?"
"Something! What the frell did you think I was going to do if I knew you
were...in delicate condition? You-"
"I am not in delicate condition I am PREGNANT. Are your translator microbes
frelled as well as your head?" Her voice grew husky with tears. She cursed
and bowed her head, wiping them off hastily.
"Aeryn."
She looked up quickly. He smiled and fled across the room. Before she could
utter a curse or a word, he scooped her up into his arms.
"Oh, Aeryn! I'm so happy!"
"Happy? John, put me down!" She slapped at his hands. He set her down
still grinning from ear to ear.
The smile was contagious and Aeryn smiled too.
"When?"
"On the false Earth. I've been sick lately, and tired."
"Wow, I'm gonna be a dad!"
Aeryn shook her head and smacked his.
"Hey! Back to topic number one. This planet or something."
"Yeah...hey do you think that it's a boy?"
"JOHN!"
"OK, OK. Ummm it's probably not a good idea for you to be there...well
maybe. LIsten, first we talk to the crew about it, then we go and see if
it's a safe place."
"What of commander Lucious?"
"Errrr...kill him."
Aeryn laughed darkly.
"You couldn't harm a-what do you call it?"
"Fly."
"Fly right. Anyway, I want to just clear one thing up. I am not putting my
baby in danger to go on one of your missions."
"What if we find earth?"
"What if we don't? What if this planet doesn't exist?"
"Then we'll keep Lasca on board."
He took both her hands in his, and pleaded with his eyes.
"What do we have to loose?"
Aeryn rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Yes?"
"Yes."
John jumped up and raced out of her room. She grimaced and yelled:
"JOHN! You have to convince the crew first."
Then she almost screamed when she heard him yell: "I'm gonna be a father!"
"JOHN!" She raced after him.
* * *
Later that night the crew spoke of the planet, and Aeryn. John
grinned the whole night away, and laughed whenever someone mentioned Aeryn.
"So we are going to do this?"
"Yes." D'argo nodded and glanced over at the door.
"Let's just hope Lucious doesn't find out. This Lasca girl, better not be
lying."
"Of course she isn't. How else would she know about earth?"
"Scorpius?"
"NO," John snapped.
"Alright then. Oh, and John, congratulations."
John smirked and then glanced at Aeryn, who was quietly eating with
Zhaan. Zhaan was talking in low tones and Aeryn would nod or answer. He got
up and sat next to her, helping himself to one of her crackers. She slapped
his hand and continued the conversation with Zhaan.
"...so there isn't any vomiting yet?"
"Just queasy."
John's ears perked up and he wrapped his arms around Aeryn's waist. Slightly
annoyed, she ate another cracker.
"Zhaan, how long is this going to last?"
"Oh, another month and queasiness is gone. Then the back pain begins."
"Oh, goodie."
"I'm getting back rubs, John."
"Sure, sugar. Whatever you want."
She smiled satisfactorily and let him rest his chin on her shoulder.
He hesitantly rested his hands on her abdomen, and didn't relax till she
loosened up. Zhaan stood up, obviously done with the conversation.
"John, all this is well and good. I heard you two talking earlier. We're
going."
"Yep. All we need to worry about now, is Verilius Lucious finding us out and
Lasca blabbing."
"Does she know yet?"
"No."
"Then, what are we waiting for."
"Me. I feel like finishing my dinner."
* * *
They traveled down different teirs to their room, and Lasca's. Then
were stopped by Tareena, the blonde.
"Commander Sun, Commander Lucious demands your presence in the bridge."
Aeryn rolled her eyes and started walking down the hall with the woman. John
followed closely behind. They approached the bridge very quickly and she
entered it quickly, trying to hurry up.
"Alright, what is it commander?"
"I wanted to know how much longer to the destination. If you please."
"Ask Pilot."
"I refuse to ask that creature."
Aeryn almost groweled but oblliged anyway.
"Pilot, how much longer to the coordinates?"
"A month. This planet seem to be in the middle of nowhere."
"A MONTH!" Lucious slammed his fists on the table and made even Tareena
flinch.
"Yes, a month, commander."
He stood toe-to-toe with Aeryn.
"Make this stupid Leviathan move faster! I order you!"
"You order me? Be reasonable. I can't make this Leviathan go faster."
John stepped foreward.
"Back of sir, before you get hurt."
"Shut up! We'll have to be dropped off at the next peacekeeper base for
module repairs on our ship, then we'll go there faster. Tareena, escort
Private Chriton to his chambers, he is not to be trusted right now."
Chriton looked at Aeryn who was sternly shaking her head.
"Go, you'll be repremanded later."
He nodded and walked, with Tareena following behind. Lucious stepped away
from Aeryn and leaned against a control panel.
"Do you agree to my terms?"
"Yes. We will take your ship to the next base for repairs...then we'll go on
with our mission, commander."
She turned on her heel and left abruptly, leaving Lucious somewhat angry.
"Do you have to point that gun at me?"
Tareena pushed the gun in his back again.
"Yes."
"Fine then." He reached his room and went inside. She sneered as his door
shut and he just smiled right back at her. He leaned back against his bed
and stared at the ceiling.
"What the frell do we do now?"
His door slid open, and two squabbling females stood in front. Aeryn and
Tareena.
"LIsten, blondie, I call the shots. I am above you, stand aside."
"What do you want of him?"
"I need to repremand him, remember?" The blonde reluctantly moved aside and
nodded at her. Aeryn shook her head and shut the door. John, immediately
jumped up and kissed Aeryn full on the lips.
"John!"
"Thank God, he didn't hurt you Aeryn."
"I can handle him."
"Sure." He held her close and then spun her around.
"You're not always gonna be like this are you?"
John smirked, "Nope. Now don't just stand there, reprimand me."
* * *
The PK base approached slowly in the dark. Moya just barely missed a
few speeders that had gone by, and eased slowly towards it.
John paced in his room as Aeryn looked on.
"John, stop it."
"We have to do something now. They might recognize Moya. We could get
captured."
"John, D'Argo is coming, we'll work it out."
As if on cue, D'Argo walked in. Immediately he began talking.
"I say kill them now, and get it over with."
"I agree." John said quickly. Aeryn just rolled her eyes.
"We can't just kill a couple of peacekeepers."
"Why not?" John and D'Argo said together.
She tried not to laugh but did anyway.
"I see your point."
"So, we'll ambush the blonde, then the commander."
"Right."
D'Argo and John began going out of the room, and Aeryn went to follow.
"No. Aeryn you stay here."
"Oh, frell..," she called after them, "it's not going to always be like this
is it? Cause I will runaway from this ship, John Chriton!"
* * *
"Pilot, seal the cargo bay." D'Argo's raspy voice filtered through
the hall. John crouched and snuck in the door of the cargo bay just before
the doors shut, and locked. Tareena was there, with Lasca.
"Lasca, you're a nice girl, but you need to learn how to be a good fighter."
"I know Tareena."
"Good girl. Now, why don't you go to that idiot commander and see if he has
everything for our landing arranged?"
Lasca nodded and then started out, head down. She couldn't open the
door, so she banged it with her foot. John whispered her name, she turned
and gasped.
D'Argo nodded at John, John nodded back.
They both jumped out of their hiding spaces and were suprised when Commander
Lucius and Tareena had guns in their faces. Tareena laughed.
"You idiots. Did you think we were that stupid? Lasca does seem to
have her uses, doesn't she?" The captian motioned for them to drop their
weapons and they did. Their hands high in the air, they were backed agains
the door.
"Now, we run this ship. Lasca, you go round up the others."
She trembled where she stood, under the captains gaze. Then she shakily
replied:
"I can't, the door is sealed." The captain growled then motioned for her to
come over there. He handed her his gun, and said: "Keep it on him," he
motioned to John," or else."
John winked at Lasca, then fell on the ground, moaning in pain. The
captain was startled but un amused.
"Idiot girl! Shoot him, then!"
John saw that her hand was shaking on the pulse rifle. She couldn't
hold it steady to save her life. She shook her head to the captain then
pointed it at him and shot. Time seemed to stop for a good minute. She
lowered the rifle, then stood, stone faced. Tareena screamed, but John had
taken her gun away and tied her up during that long slope of shock. Lasca
gulped down at the body. He was shot, in the stomach, smoke still billowing
out of the wound.
The doors to the bay opened, and Aeryn ran in. Rygel floated near
Chiana, and Zhaan was calmly asking what had happened over the coms.
"There was a little shooting, Zhaan," John said," the captain is dead."
By this time, Tareen a was screaming her head off at Lasca and the
rest of the crew. She was in short, freaking out. Aeryn checked his pulse,
and found that the captain was in fact dead. She walked over to Lasca, who
was still staring at the body and turned her chin away.
"Don't look anymore," she whispered softly.
Lasca's gun clattered to the floor. She nodded to Aeryn and walked
out of the bay.
* * *
They cruised right by the PK base with no problems. It seemed the
whole base was deserted, and the captain would've been doomed anyway. Lasca
hadn't come out of her room since the incident, and refused to let anyone in.
Now, they were on their way to the coordinates that the captain had kept on
his ship. The planet she'd spoken of, that phantom planet, would take at
least a week to reach, even with starburst.
That was fine by Aeryn. She wanted to see this planet, but wanted to
gain the crew's confidence in her first. They were babying her. She didn't
deserve it, nor want it. Their attempts had only made her aggitated and
they'd reply by saying she was just "cranky" because of the baby. Twice,
she'd contemplated killing John, but decided against it at the last moment.
Now she stood at the door of Lasca's room ready to blast her way in if
she had to. She would speak with her or kill her. Aeryn frowned and rubbed
her temple, what was up with the killing urges? She shrugged and asked Pilot
to open the door.
"She has asked me not to let anyone in, Aeryn."
"Just open the frelling door. I need to talk to her, now."
Pilot sighed and the door slowly opened.
Lasca was on her bed, clothes almost all off, asleep. Just as she
went to wake the poor thing up, John's voice came over the coms.
"Yes, John?"
"Yeah Aeryn, you and Lasca need to get up here now."
"Why?"
"Because we just got a signal from the Planet....and it's someone claiming to
be Lasca's father."
End part II