Survivor 1: The Game

By ISIS

Disclaimers: Farscape is the property of Rockne S O'Bannon, Jim Henson Company et al. I make no claim on them. I borrow only. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Archiving: You're welcome to it; please tell me where it's at.(use email address above)

Acknowledgements: Thanks as always to Quilt Lady for her great suggestions and criticisms.

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"No! Scorpy, leave me alone! No! Ahhh!"

John's anguished cries rang through the corridors of Moya, the living ship that had been his home for nearly two cycles. Zhaan was abruptly wrested from her meditation at the sound. As she pulled on her robes, she heard other booted feet race through the halls to the Human's quarters. Zhaan moved quickly towards John's agonized screams, repeating the same prayer to her Goddess that she had been chanting every day since Aeryn had finally confided in her about John's visions of the sadistic Scarran-Sebacean Scorpius. Grabbing up the sedative injector that she had been keeping at constant readiness, the Delvian moved swiftly towards the room of her tormented Human crewmate.

Zhaan arrived at John's quarters to find both Aeryn and D'Argo fighting to keep the Human from hurting himself. He was thrashing around on his bed, trying desperately to strike himself about his head, screaming at Scorpius to get out of his head. Zhaan could see several self-inflicted dark bruises and bleeding cuts on his neck and face. Chiana stood just inside the open doorway, her dark eyes wide with horror. Rygel hovered just outside in the corridor, a look of concern on his normally haughty face.

"John! John, stop it! " Aeryn leaned over the struggling Crichton, her hands gripping his head, trying to get him to look into her eyes, to recognise her.

D'Argo held the Human's arms. He looked over his shoulder to see the Delvian enter with a sedative in her hand. "Hurry, Zhaan!"

Just as Zhaan came closer, John kicked out at the Luxan with his feet, knocking D'Argo away from him and into Zhaan. They both went down in a tangle of arms and legs and the injector skittered away from them across the floor.

Aeryn ignored them and pulled John's head up, placing her face right in his. "John! John! Calm down! Scorpius is not here! It's me! It's Aeryn!" Her hands held his face gently but firmly.

Some of the wild panic went out of John's eyes. He gazed up into Aeryn's concerned blue eyes, his own filled with fear and desperation. Sitting up, he reached up and covered Aeryn's hands with his. "Aeryn, he was here! Scorpius was here! He's always here! And he's going to get me! He keeps saying he's going to get me!" He slid his arms around her waist and buried his head in her neck, sobbing like a child. Aeryn cradled him to her, her eyes filled with sad compassion.

Zhaan dragged herself up from the floor with Chiana's help and retrieved the injector. Her eyes met Aeryn's as she came up behind the weeping Human and pressed the tip of the injector against his neck. He did not even react, simply clinging to Aeryn, shaking with the force of his sobs. Aeryn held him until she felt him begin to relax in her arms. His arms loosened from around her waist and slid down as he slipped into the unnatural drugged sleep. Finally, Aeryn laid him carefully back down on his bed, her hands gentle as she covered him. Then she sat beside him and softly caressed his damp brow and cheeks. She looked up at the others with a sorrowful smile. "I'll stay with him. The rest of you need to get your sleep."

"We'll take shifts, Aeryn. You need your sleep too," Zhaan stated firmly, her tone brooking no argument. She shepherded the others out into the corridor then looked back at the sight of the former PeaceKeeper soldier taking John's hand in hers and bowing her dark head in obvious despair.

"How long are we going to put up with this, Zhaan?" Rygel demanded.

Zhaan shushed him and pointed down the hall towards her quarters. She ushered them all inside, then closed the door and drew the privacy curtain. She turned back to her fellow crewmates, whose eyes all reflected the same question that Rygel had merely put into words.

"He's becoming dangerous! One night, he could kill us all in our beds!" Rygel accused.

"You know John would never do that, toad!" Chiana protested, but D'Argo cut her off.

"Much as I hate agreeing with his Royal Pain-in-the-Eema, Rygel has a point." Chiana's face tightened. "I don't think John would kill any of us, but he is becoming a danger to himself."

Zhaan sighed, recognising the truth to D'Argo's words. "Yes, D'Argo, I'm afraid you*re right. I'm concerned as well. These constant visions of Scorpius are worrisome. And we can't just keep drugging him. Overuse of the sedatives will become detrimental rather than helpful." Zhaan sighed and gazed over at the leather mask she kept by her bedside. "I wish Stark were here. His experience with the Aurora Chair could help us help John. And he was the only one who seemed to be able to calm him." She picked up the mask and cradled it to her, her fingers tracing lovingly over its contours.

"Aeryn seems to be doing okay in that department," Rygel observed with a smirk. "Ow!"

Chiana smacked him across the back of his head. "It's not funny, slug-face. Did you see the look on her face? She's hurting as badly as Crichton!"

Rygel had the grace to look contrite. Zhaan looked at the others. "Chiana is right. John's illness is taking its toll on all of us, but Aeryn is suffering the most. She feels more helpless than the rest of us."

D'Argo met her eyes, seeing where she was going. "And if Aeryn feels helpless, she may do something desperate. In her own way, she's even more reckless than Crichton," he said, remembering her rescue mission on the Gammack base when she should have been resting and healing. But nothing they had said then could stop her from charging in to rescue her Human companion.

"So what do you propose, Zhaan?" Rygel asked impatiently.

"I will go over John's scans yet again. Perhaps I have missed something. I've checked everything physical. The scans have shown nothing. Perhaps there is a psychological reason why John keeps seeing Scorpius," Zhaan mused.

"In the meantime, we will have to be particularly vigilant," D'Argo added. *Both for Crichton's protection and our own,* he thought but didn't say out loud. He moved over and opened the doors to Zhaan's quarters

"I'll work with Pilot and go through Moya's data base," Chiana volunteered. "I know he's Human, but perhaps there are records of similar trauma suffered by PeaceKeepers. They may have some treatment."

"Not likely. PeaceKeeper treatment usually consists of administering a lethal injection," D'Argo growled, but Chiana would not be dissuaded.

Then they all turned towards Rygel, not really expecting him to help. "I'll keep an eye on Aeryn," he offered, surprising them all. "What? I'll have you know I was considered quite a compassionate Dominar. I'm not completely selfish." He lifted his nose, offended, and glided out of the room. The others shared a tired grin and then moved back to their beds to salvage what sleep they could from the remaining sleep period.

***************

"Zhaan! Zhaan, get down here!" Chiana's excited voice carried through the comm. "I think I found something!"

Zhaan was roused from her meditation by the summons. She hastily apologised to her Goddess and rose from her cross-legged position. Carefully replacing her Bru'ar crystals in their hiding place (safe from any pilfering Hynerian or Nebari fingers), Zhaan pulled on her robes and went to see what had gotten the little Nebari so excited.

When she got down to Pilot's chamber, she saw with dismay that Chiana had summoned Aeryn as well. The ex-PeaceKeeper should have been sleeping. She had been spending every possible microt with John. And her health was suffering. There were dark circles under her eyes. She moved with less than her usual military precision, even now leaning tiredly against Pilot's console. Her hair, which she had once more taken to keeping in its tightly controlled braid, was uncharacteristically dishevelled, several tendrils escaping to curl softly around her cheeks and temples.

Chiana was chattering away enthusiastically, growing even more excited when she saw Zhaan. "Zhaan, I really think I might have found something to help Crichton!"

Zhaan looked at the symbiont who nodded his agreement. Then she turned to the weary Sebacean. "And how are you holding up, my dear?"

Aeryn looked at her sharply but saw only concerned caring in the Delvian priestess's eyes. "I'm fine, Zhaan," she replied automatically.

Zhaan sighed, not really expecting anything else from the aloof ex-PeaceKeeper. "So tell me, what has you so excited, Chiana? Pilot?"

Chiana jumped right in. "I was going through Moya's records with Pilot and we found this old reference to a treatment to reverse the affects of cranial interrogation. It seems that about seven cycles ago, Moya was pressed into service to retrieve and transport a seriously injured disrupter. The agent had been captured by the Scarrans and tortured until uncoherent. A team of medtechs was sent along to try to restore the disrupter's mind."

"And why would PeaceKeeper High Command even bother?" Aeryn asked contemptuously. "It is not their policy to heal those captured or tortured. In fact, they are considered irreversibly contaminated and given a death sentence." Aeryn's voice cracked on the words 'irreversibly contaminated' even now, after all these cycles.

"Yeah, your people have quite the reward programme for injury in the line of duty," Chiana shot back.

Zhaan placed a restraining arm on Aeryn. "So why did they try to heal him?"

"Her," Chiana corrected. Under her hand, Zhaan felt Aeryn shudder, knowing what kind of torture a female PeaceKeeper would have had to endure from the Scarrans. "Apparently, the disrupter had uncovered very important information that High Command needed desperately in its war against the Scarrans. They had to restore the disrupter's conscious mind to get it."

"And did it work?" Aeryn asked anxiously.

"According to these records, yes," Chiana declared proudly.

"So what did they use?" Zhaan asked.

Pilot took over, reading the screen in front of him. "Apparently a rare and powerful drug called Othelymon. They modified it somewhat and were able to restore the disrupter's conscious mind. The data is all here."

Aeryn turned to Zhaan hopefully. "Do you think it might work on a Human?"

Zhaan met her anxious gaze with a slight smile. "I will have to check to make sure that it will do no harm to John's system, but I have heard of this drug. It is indeed rare." She looked at the others sadly. "It will cost a great deal of money, I'm afraid."

Aeryn was already on her way out of Pilot's chamber. "I will do whatever it takes to get a hold of this drug," she stated emphatically. Then she paused and came back to the console. She laid her hand over one of Pilot's claws. "Thank you, Pilot. I'm sure that this drug will help John."

Pilot looked at her with kind, compassionate eyes. Then they slid to the Nebari perched on his console. " You're welcome, Aeryn, but Chiana really did all the work."

Aeryn turned to face the white-haired young Nebari. She reached out and took Chiana's hand in hers. "Thank you, Chiana," she said with soft sincerity.

"You're welcome, Aeryn," Chiana replied, her dark eyes wide with surprise. "You're not the only one who loves John," she added, then groaned inwardly to see Aeryn's open face close over, her emotions once more masked. Miserable, she watched the ex-PeaceKeeper leave Pilot's chamber. "Frell!" The Nebari turned in frustration to Zhaan, who had watched the exchange. "I shouldn't have said that, Zhaan. Now she's mad at me."

"No, she's not mad, Chiana. She's just afraid to lose John," Zhaan said sadly.

"As are we all, Zhaan," Pilot replied. The two women bowed their heads in agreement.

***************

Aeryn moved purposefully through Moya's corridors to return to her watch over her Human shipmate. Her mind was in turmoil. She vowed to check out Moya's database as soon as she was relieved of her vigil, but for the first time in several monens, she was starting to feel optimistic. * John will get better,* she vowed to herself. *He has to!* she added, but still shied away from the real reason why his health -- his life -- was so important to her.

She entered John's room, relieved to see that he had not awakened in her absence. She went over and sat down on the side of his bed, checking to see that he was sleeping peacefully. He looked relaxed. His breathing was steady and there was none of the tell-tale flickering of his eyelids that she had come to recognise as a sign that he was dreaming or suffering visions of Scorpius. Aeryn leaned down closer to him, her eyes softening at his vulnerable appearance. With a gentle hand, she lightly traced his brow, down over his nose and strong chin, then along his whiskered jawline. Finally, her fingers lovingly caressed his lips, remembering the few time she had felt them against her own. Unable to resist, Aeryn bent to press her mouth softly against John's.

She gasped in surprise as his warm lips moved under hers, responding to her kiss. Before she could pull away, John's arms came up and wrapped around her, pulling her down on top of him. His tongue slid out to trace along the line of her lips before she let him press into her mouth with a sigh. For a microt, Aeryn relaxed into the intimate kiss with John, then she stiffened and pushed herself up and away from him. She stared down into his laughing blue eyes in confusion.

"Hey!" he said gently, enjoying putting her off-balance.

"Hey, yourself!" she said, letting her annoyance cover for her embarrassment at getting caught kissing him. She glared down at him, but was unable to maintain her anger. Her sapphire eyes softened. "How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her cool hand on his brow. Unconsciously, her thumb caressed his cheek.

"Fuzzy," John replied, closing his eyes, letting his pleasure at her touch flow through him.

"Yeah, I guess you could do with a shave," Aeryn teased, deliberately misunderstanding him. She pulled her hand away, but John caught it and threaded his fingers through hers, reminding her of the time when she had been prepared to leave him to protect Talyn. She closed her eyes at the remembered pain.

John brought her hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to her long slender fingers. "Thank you, " he whispered.

"For what?" Aeryn asked, her eyes flying open.

"For keeping Scorpy at bay."

Aeryn's eyes darkened in pain. "It ... it wasn't me, John. Zhaan gave you a sedative ...," she explained quickly.

John closed his eyes. "Zhaan's drugs put me to sleep, Aeryn. But it was you -- your presence -- that kept Scorpius away. I could feel you here with me, and I knew he couldn't get me as long as you were here." He opened his eyes and gazed up at her, his love and trust as clear as the blue of his eyes.

Aeryn's heart wrenched in her breast at his confidence in her. She knew she would do anything to protect this man. But she was desperately afraid that her efforts would not be enough. She felt tears springing into her eyes at the thought that she was unworthy of his trust. Unconsciously, she moved towards him. Then she caught herself with a sharp hiss. She sat up, all business once more. "Zhaan and Chiana think they have come up with a drug that will heal you."

John gazed up at her, disappointed at her withdrawal. Then he sighed. "Anything, Aeryn. I'm willing to try anything." He closed his eyes in resignation.

Aeryn laid her cool hand on his warm brow once more. "Everything will be all right, John. I promise."

***************

"What do you mean, we don't have enough money?" Aeryn screamed, slamming Rygel's thronechair up against the bulkhead of the transport pod where the crew had met after their first foray into the markets of the decidedly seedy commerce planet of Adhafera Minor. "We've bartered everything we have! We even put up my Prowler!"

"I'm sorry, Aeryn, but it's still not enough. Othelymon is very expensive. Apparently, it also serves as a high-end hallucinogenic, prized by the wealthiest nobles in the Uncharted Territories."

"Then we'll steal some," Aeryn shouted, looking over at Chiana.

"Hey, don't look at me! I've seen some of the security for this stuff. It's impenetrable!" the Nebari thief protested.

Aeryn looked skeptical. "Don't tell me you've finally met a security system you couldn't best!"

"Well, you better believe it, PeaceKeeper!" Chiana declared, shaking off D'Argo's restraining arm. "I wouldn't go near the place!"

"Not even for John?" Aeryn asked softly. Chiana's heart broke at the pain in her voice, a pain she was feeling also.

Chiana looked at the rest of her shipmates. Her gaze finally fell on Rygel, her usual partner in crime. "Okay, we'll see what we can do. But I'm not making any promises, Aeryn!" Rygel exclaimed.

"Yes, but I did," Aeryn said cryptically before exiting the transport pod.

The ex-PeaceKeeper marched through the disreputable market place, lost in her pain. She had meant what she said back at the transport pod. She had promised John that she would make things right and that was what she meant to do. But she felt so helpless, unable to fight her way to a solution as she had been trained to do.

Aeryn wandered aimlessly down street after street until she realised she wasn't exactly sure where she was. She cursed herself for letting her emotions distract her. Then she noted several figures moving in the darkened alleys around her. Her hand hovered over her pulse gun. She made several deliberate turns, noting that the figures shadowed her every move. When one of them leaped in front of her, his pulse rifle aimed at her, she rolled out of the way of his shot. She continued to roll towards him, taking him out from below before he could fire again. The highly trained ex-PeaceKeeper easily recovered her opponent's rifle. Two more of her assailants went down before they had time to think. Aeryn sprang to her feet in time to fire at a fourth figure lurking in the shadows. Her shot missed when the badly maintained rifle jammed. She had only a microt to register that fact before an arm encircled her throat from behind and a knife pressed into her side. The one she had fired at stepped out of the shadows, grinning triumphantly. He was Sebacean, his tattered uniform marking him an ex-PeaceKeeper like herself. He raised his gun to fire at her head. Aeryn suddenly let her weight sag into her captor's arms. He gasped, then screamed as his associate's shot struck him square in the face. Aeryn fell forward, then somersaulted, coming up with her pistol aimed right at the unkempt deserter. Her shot hit him in the chest and he toppled to the ground, a look of disappointment on his face.

Aeryn kept her gun raised, waiting for more attackers. Suddenly a voice rang out. "Cut!" Great! I think we've found our final contestant!"

Aeryn stared in disbelief as several aliens moved out of the shadows towards her. She spun around, trying to determine who best to aim her pulse pistol at. A couple of hovering vidcams flew out from the alleys as well. Aeryn backed up against the wall, preparing to defend herself. One of the aliens moved forward, riding in some sort of an open land vehicle. He was talking incessantly into a comm unit. Aeryn stared at him in shock as his vehicle came to a stop right in front of her. The creature was a short, fat individual with an extended lower jaw graced with two very sharp tusks. His small piggish eyes gleamed with avarice and speculation as they studied the attractive PeaceKeeper female in front of him.Then the alien stepped out, seemingly ignorant of the deadly pistol trained on him, his attention more focussed on the conversation he was having in the comm.

"No! No! Only ten contestants! Right, different races, different skills!" He listened then spoke again. "Yes, only one of them will win. I'm telling you, it will be a success. Viewers will tune in all over the Uncharteds." He glanced at the Sebacean holding her gun aimed at him, finally realising his danger. "Look, I've got to go. Yeah, the PeaceKeeper. She's a real looker. The viewers will eat her up." He snapped the portable comm shut and stood facing the obviously nervous Sebacean female in front of him. "Aeryn? Aeryn Sun, right?" He stepped forward then retreated as Aeryn levelled her gun at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her eyes going from him to the rest of his crew.

"It's not what I want, honey. It's what you want." He smiled insincerely at her. "Can we talk?"

***************

"No! Absolutely not! Tell Aeryn to get her eema up here so we can starburst away!" D'Argo shouted into the comm. Zhaan winced at his imperious tone, but forgave him, knowing the pressure he felt to get to his son Jothee's auction in time. However, the rest of the crew gathered in the Command was more inclined to agree to Aeryn's plan.

"But, D'Argo, think of the money! One million credits!" Rygel enthused, practically salivating with greed.

Even Chiana was impressed. "It would more than pay for the Othelymon!"

"But ten solar days! What about my son? What about Jothee?" D'Argo cried, slamming his hand down on one of Moya's consoles in frustrated anger.

Zhaan took pity on her Luxan shipmate. "D'Argo, I know how anxious you are to get to Jothee, but what about John? He needs our help right now." She looked up into the Luxan's eyes, shocked at the depth of pain his internal battle was causing him.

"Besides, Luxan, how do you expect to pay for Jothee at the slave auction? If Aeryn wins, we will have the money to save both Crichton and your son!" Rygel added reasonably.

D'Argo looked at his fellow crewmates and then hung his head in defeat. "Okay, tell Aeryn I'm with her," he said.

"With her on what?" a voice asked. The crew turned around, with varying degrees of guilt on their faces to confront their Human shipmate. John grinned at their shocked expressions then looked around for Aeryn. "Where's Aeryn?" he asked innocently.

Suddenly, Aeryn's voice came over the comm. "Okay, Zhaan. I'm in. Wish me luck!" She broke the connection almost immediately.

John stared at his friends with growing suspicion. "Okay, guys, tell me what's going on. Where is Aeryn? Why does she need you to wish her luck? What the hezmana is going on?"

Behind him on the screen the scene shifted. "Tomorrow night, an Adhafera exclusive! Ten desperate contestants! One hostile environment! And one million credits to the ...Survivor!" The screen shifted through nine alien faces until the image froze on Aeryn's. "Survivor. Beginning tomorrow night at sixteen arns. Don't miss it!"

John hit the console in front of him, isolating Aeryn's face on the screen. "What the frell is going on?" he demanded, staring in horror at the image in front of him. "What is this about a survivor?"

Rygel glided forward, "She did it for you, Crichton! The medicine you need is too expensive!"

John groaned in despair. "Desperate contestants! Hostile environment! How could you let her do it?" John turned to D'Argo. "D'Argo?" The Luxan dodged his Human companion's stare guiltily. "Oh, God! D'Argo, how could you?"

"We need the money, John! For you and for Jothee!"

John turned away from his friends, shaking his head from side to side in denial. "No, no, no, no! I won't let her do it! No! It's too dangerous! No, Aeryn, no!" he muttered to himself. Before anyone could stop him, John had raced from the Command.

***************

"So, folks, it's really great to have you on board for our first ever Survivor," the annoying alien Aeryn had met in the alley was saying. Named Fulax, he was short and extremely overweight, his tusked countenance reminiscent of the wild boars on Kreplos 9. The ex-PeaceKeeper surreptitiously checked out her competition as the producer of the 'show' (as he called it), droned on about market shares and something called ratings. The group of 'lucky' finalists represented an amazing assortment of races. Looking around the room, Aeryn identified them all.There was a young Tavlek male called Greshak who reminded her of the young warrior that Zhaan had tried to turn from his race's violent ways. A voluptuous Illonic female stood next to him, her fleshy tentacles tattooed and held back in an elaborate clasp. She caught Aeryn's assessing gaze and glared. Aeryn glanced down at her list and saw that her name was Ramala. A young Sheyang, named Bron, sat next to her, seemingly inoffensive, but Aeryn remembered her encounter with his fire-breathing race on board the derelict Zelbinion. The final member on Aeryn's side of the room was a Delvian of indeterminate age named Zenya. Aeryn shuddered as the redness of her eyes proclaimed her descent into madness.

Across the room sat the others. They consisted of an older Scarran named G'Maz who glared at his Sebacean rival; a Scorvian female named Urba, whose mottled external carapace pronounced her to be well past the first blush of youth; and three youngsters: a very nervous Ja-Kench called Nopo, a tattooed Zenetan (female?) named A'Nara and a Nebari female who introduced herself as Hedyona. Aeryn eyed them all suspiciously, judging their abilities, their strengths and especially their weaknesses.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Fulax stopped his largely ignored speech and waddled towards the door impatiently. There was a great deal of angry hissing. Aeryn tried to move closer to hear what was going on, but she found her path blocked by the Scarran, heat radiating off him in dangerous waves. Fulax stepped back from the door and suddenly several planetary guards burst into the room. The Ja-Kench squealed in terror and tried to leap out the window, but was soon overcome and detained by the guards. As the small green creature was led away in handcuffs, Fulax pulled out his comm and contacted someone urgently. "Frell! We've lost the Ja-Kench! Something about an extortion charge and suspicious death!" He listened for a microt then relaxed a bit. "Okay, send him along! Yeah, that's even better. We bill him as a member of the race that invented the game in the first place. Love ya, babe!" Aeryn listened with disgust as the alien dramatically kissed into his comm then snapped it shut. "There's been a slight change of plans," he announced. The other contestants snarled and began to protest. Aeryn remained silent, continuing to size up the competition. "Nothing major, just a replacement for Nopo. He should be here in a few microts."

"He better be," the Scarran threatened in an ugly tone of voice. When the door opened again, the Scarran was in a position to see the replacement contestant. Obviously whatever he saw did not bother him too much as his grotesque mouth stretched into a triumphant smile. Aeryn's expression did not match his as the new competitor entered.

John moved carefully into the room, feeling the hostility of its occupants wash over him in waves -- particularly from a Sebacean female whose glaring blue eyes he studiously avoided. The producer shuffled forward again, smiling as best his tusked mouth allowed. "Everyone, meet John Crichton, Human. It was transmissions from his homeworld that gave us the idea for this contest!" John spun around to stare at the porcine alien in astonishment as the rest of his rivals sized him up.

The Illonic was the first to react. She sidled over to the attractive Sebacean-looking creature and pressed herself against him seductively. John started to back away, then thought better of it. He smiled confidently down into the female's decidedly alluring gaze. "Human, you say. I've never heard of such a race. And I'm sure I would have if they are all as attractive as you." She smiled up into his eyes suggestively. "I'm Ramala," she breathed.

John smirked at her attempts to seduce him. "John Crichton, Human. We're new on the scene," he explained.

"Not Sebacean?" the Scarran G'Maz growled, his hot breath washing over John deliberately. "Too bad!" He looked over at Aeryn, who stood apart from the group, with a look that made John very nervous.

Ramala gasped as she was pushed roughly out of the way by John's fellow contestants. John felt uncomfortable under the lustful gaze of the Zenetan A'Nara, even though he repeatedly told himself that despite his (her?) appearance, she was the female of her species. Of the Nebari, however, he was in no doubt. Hedyona pressed against him, allowing him a full view of her decidedly abundant charms. Remembering the knowledge he had gained from his last encounter with others of her race, John tried not to shudder at her possibly contaminated touch. "Your race invented this game? I'm impressed!" She leaned closer. "You must have valuable information about how to win the contest. I would be ... exceedingly ... grateful if you chose to share that information with me."

John smirked down at her, "Hey, honey, that's for me to know and you to find out, if you catch my drift?" John watched the Nebari pull away from him, a typically confused look on her face. John finally allowed himself to look at Aeryn. His Sebacean shipmate was deliberately avoiding looking at him but he could tell from her stiff posture that she was angry. John closed his eyes and groaned inwardly.*Dren!* He opened his eyes in time to see the Delvian studying him carefully. Her madness-reddened eyes slid from him to Aeryn and back again. Then she smiled archly and turned away. He didn't even notice the Scarran watching him carefully.

Fulax moved into the centre of the room and cleared his throat. "Okay, now that everybody is here, let me just go over the rules again. You will be taken tomorrow to a derelict freighter. It has a breathable atmosphere but little else. Parts of the ship are in danger of decompression, but, hey, that's what makes the game exciting!" He allowed himself a hearty chuckle, ignoring the fact that none of the contestants joined him. "You will each be given one knapsack of food and water, but only enough to last you for two days. After that you will have to beg, borrow or steal to stay alive. You will also be able to take one weapon of your choice. Choose carefully, as that will be your only defense against the predators that are roaming the ship." When the others looked at him in surprise, he smirked. "Oh, did I forget that part? The ship was abandoned because it was infested with some sort of alien predator, small but lethal. The original crew did not escape." He smirked again at the looks of consternation on the faces of his players.

He waddled over to the table that held refreshments and served himself a cup of ras'laq before continuing. The others continued to size each other up with hostile eyes. After taking a hearty gulp and smacking his lips together in satisfaction, Fulax went on. "Now, to win the game, you must first be alive." He laughed again at his own joke. "The ship has been fitted with vidcams everywhere to record the proceedings. At the end of each solar day, you will gather in the central chamber which has been made free of any threat from the predators. You will be give enough marbles for each remaining player, all white except for one black one. You will then vote on who will be removed, one each day. In the event of a tie, our viewers will be polled and they will choose who remains. This will continue until only two of you are left. At that point the viewers will again vote on the winner, who will receive the million credits. Is that clear?"

The contestants said nothing, merely nodding silently. Fulax rubbed his hands together with delight. "Well then, if you've all signed your waivers, I'll show you to your rooms. Sleep well. You're going to need it." He started to leave, then turned. "Oh, and for tonight, at least, I would request that you refrain from contacting each other. Once on the ship you can form whatever alliances you want, but not tonight."

John looked over at Aeryn again, this time catching her eye. He groaned inwardly as she met his gaze with a look of tightly controlled fury. Then he followed Fulax from the room.

***************

*This is insane,* John thought as he stood alone in the sumptuous hotel room later that night. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, splashing his face.

"Indeed, John, I must say this is one of your more unusual predicaments." Scorpius's ugly face appeared in the mirror over his shoulder.

John glared at the hallucination and turned to leave the bathroom. "Leave me alone, Scorpy!"

"But why are you putting yourself in danger yet again? For what -- a few measly credits?" Scorpius continued. "I can tell you that the drug will do no good. And why risk your life for the Luxan's pitiful son?" Scorpius's image came over and sat down on the bed beside the Human. "It's not too late to back out!"

"I'm not going to back out!"

"Yes, you are!" A second voice whispered urgently. John turned to where he had last seen Scorpius but his nemesis was gone. There was a rustle and Aeryn climbed in the window.

"Aeryn!" John cried, going over and helping her into the room. "What are you doing here?"

Aeryn glared at him, "What the frell are you doing, Crichton?" She began to pace back and forth angrily. "How did you let yourself get dragged into this?"

"I couldn't let you do it alone!" John said.

"Yes, you could, and you are!"

John tried to grab her arm but she threw his hand off. "Aeryn ...!"

"No, John, don't 'Aeryn' me! You are not well! That's why I'm doing this in the first place -- to get the money for the medicine. What do you think will happen if you start seeing Scorpius up on the ship? Or if the others find out what's going on? You've already had one encounter with a Scarran. If G'Maz realises you're seeing Scorpius, he'll kill you as soon as look at you!" John watched her work herself up into a towering fury. "What if I can't be there to protect you? What will you do then?" She came to stand in front of him, her face right in his. "How could you do this to me, Crichton? Don't you think I'm worried about you enough as it is?"

John saw tears of frustration spring into her eyes and his own gaze softened. He was overwhelmed by a colossal need. Before she could back away from him, John reached out and pulled the beautiful Sebacean to him, covering her mouth in an urgent, demanding kiss. She gasped as he crushed her against him, one arm about her slender waist and his other hand holding the back of her head. She moaned softly as his tongue plunged into her mouth. Then her arms slid up to link behind his head and she surrendered herself to his kiss, returning it with her own desperate passion.

At a sudden knock on the door, they broke apart, staring at each other in shock. When the knock came again, John quickly motioned Aeryn into the bathroom. Then he went and opened the door. Fulax moved into the room, glancing around suspiciously. He turned to face the Human. "I just wanted to wish you luck tomorrow. And I wanted to thank you and your race personally for inventing this game. We've made a few modifications but the basic idea is still yours. If we hadn't intercepted those transmissions, we would never have learned of this amazing contest." Fulax moved forward and clapped John on the back. "I would be very interested in learning more of your culture. We tried to trace the signal back to its origin but with no luck." Inside, John felt the brief flame of hope, ignited by Fulax's words, die just as quickly.

Instead, he played the predatory contestant to the hilt. "And will more information give me an edge over the others?"

Fulax stared at the unknown Human, then his face broke into a grin. "I would really love to give you an advantage, but the game is being monitored by the planetary gaming commission. Any hint of impropriety and they shut us down. Sorry." Fulax moved out of the room, turning back to the Human. "You'll just have to play by the same rules as everyone else. I'm pulling for you though."

John shut the door behind the porcine producer firmly and then turned back to the bathroom where Aeryn hid. But all he found was an open window and an empty room. "Frell!"