The Female of the Species

Author: Nicola
Feedback: Always welcome and appreciated! Pickle_me@hotmal.com
Timescale: Set after The Locket.
Certificate: PG-13
Spoilers: None (I think)
Disclaimers: I don’t own any of these characters (with exception to the ones I created) Though I sure wish I did!
Summary: Whilst stuck on a commerce planet with a unique population John disappears. (Sounds crap I know)

 

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 “Ok.” John put his hands on Aeryn’s, breathing out loudly. “Do your stuff. Just be careful with her alright?”
 “Your modules in safe hands John,” ‘Safer than yours,’ she added silently. Manoeuvring the small white craft smoothly she executed a series of perfect combat and defensive manoeuvres circling the pod around in a wide arc before turning her head back to John.
 “Did you feel that?”
 “My whole damn body felt it Aeryn!”
 “I meant in your hands John.” She sighed, placing his hands on the controls hers gripping strongly over the top. “You have a go.”
 “Alright.” He flexed his shoulders, “but don’t butt in if I go wrong.”
 Easing his fingers around the grip he surged the pod forward cutting a tight angle, leaning the module into it, trying to echo Aeryn’s movements he made the arc to small and the controls began to fight against him.
 “You’re too tight,” Aeryn observed. Crichton did not respond. “John, ease off or you’ll lose control.”
 “I know what I’m doing Ae-”
 “I said ease off.” She was not prepared to sweet talk his stubborn side and her voice was authoritative, angry. Grudgingly he did as she ordered, his voice a bitter growl.
“Thank you. So much.” Damn he hated it when she was right all the time. Gliding round on a rounded arc he cut upwards then dived down in a diving attack. The ease and fluidity of his movements surprised even him and for a moment a fleeting smile kissed his lips.
 “Not bad,” Aeryn muttered unwilling to acknowledge and give praise to his good move after the terrible mistake he had made earlier.
 “Not bad?” John was incredulous, “That was damn near perfect!”
 She was unable to hold herself back from making her little dig. “If you hadn’t have pulled out when I said you could have lost control of the craft.”
 “It’s space out there, Aeryn. Space! Nothing for me to hit, nothing to hit us. Just a big black nothingness.” He shifted uneasily an angry tension building up in his muscles. “Quit hassling me.”
 “If you don’t learn to take criticism you’ll never improve.”
 John seethed inwardly. She never gave her did she? Frelling bitch. Mentally he slapped himself, he hadn’t just said that; thought that. Aeryn might be a bad teacher but that was all. She wasn’t a bitch. She wasn’t. Flexing his hands he awaited her next instruction with gritted teeth, his eyes fixed on the starry void ahead, a massive expanse with a few small planets clustered around a youthful looking sun. A red planet. ‘Like Mars’ he thought absently. Then there was a gas giant. ‘Saturn.’ And a blue green planet. ‘Like earth.’ He sighed sadly burying his head into Aeryn’s hair in front of him, lost momentarily in his own reflection.
 “John?” Suddenly he became aware that Aeryn was talking to him. “John? Are you even listening to me?” Her voice was stern yet managed to betray some concern.
 “Yeah, sorry,” John snapped back, “I was…someplace else.”
 “One of the thrusters isn’t firing correctly. She flicked over a switch. “In fact, it’s not firing at all.”
 “Which one?”
 Aeryn pointed to the readout and John groaned. “That was due for an overall in a week. Seems that was a bit too late.”
 “Clever.”
 He ignored her sarcastic remark. “How far is it back to Moya?”
 “Too far. The increased strain on the other thrusters could cause that to give out too.”
 “What about one of those planets?” John leant over Aeryn’s shoulder. “The readouts and my intuition-”
 “Which is always flawless…”
 “And my intuition,” John repeated impatiently, “both show that the small blue on has an atmosphere that we can breathe.”
 “It is closer than Moya.”
 “Have we enough power for re-entry?”
 “I should think so,” Aeryn mused. “We’d better contact Moya.”
 
~

 “So that’s the idea Pilot.” John concluded. “It should only take us a day to fix it. Tops.”
 “Tops?”
 “At longest.” Aeryn translated, proud to be in the understanding of one of John’s bizarre earthisms.
 “I understand. If the module is irreparable I will send a transport pod to pick you up.”
 “Transport pod? That won’t be necessary, my module will fine,” he turned to Aeryn, “Don’t go getting any ideas.”
 “We’ll repair the module and return to Moya as planned.” Aeryn said, her eyes never leaving John’s.
 “Understood.”
 Aeryn ended the contact and prised John’s hands from the controls. “I'm making the entry.”
 John sighed, tearing his eyes away from her face. When she was in this mood it was best not to argue.

~

 John struggled out of the module, taking Aeryn’s hand to pull himself out of the cramped cockpit. Thumping beside her on the rough ground he attempted to rub the life back into his legs.
 “Where are we?” he asked. “This sure is no commerce planet.”
 “Theirs is civilisation here, that’s all I know.”
 “Intelligent life?”
 Aeryn eyed John deprecatingly, “Depends what you call intelligent life.”
 “Don’t mock me Aeryn, I’m not in the mood.
 “Ok.” She shrugged nodding towards the rise of buildings, her confident stride leading her toward the settlement. “Let’s go.” Slowly she became aware that her footsteps were solitary and that John was not with her. Hands on hips she turned back to him, her face filled with impatience.
 “What is it now?”
 He shook his head, banging his hand against his ear, ignoring Aeryn as he tried to clear something.
 “John!? What’s wrong?” Aeryn’s impatience mounted, frustration sharpening her voice. Pacing back to him she repeated her question.
 “S’nothing.” He replied, still shaking his head, “my ears are ringing, that’s all. S’no big deal.”
 “Then why are you wasting time?” Turning on her heels she marched back on course forcing John to jog to catch up with her. Arriving at what appeared to be the town’s entrance, they slipped in through the gates, stepping cautiously inside.
 In front of them a wealth of creatures milled happily around, clothed in varying shades of dark colours. The natives all seemed to have dark skin. Black, but blacker than the Africans on earth, less of a brown and more of a black their dark clothes seemingly bright against the black depth of their skin. John cleared his throat uncomfortably and shrugged his shoulders, his hands found his waist and he stared at the people around them, something not quite right.
 Silently Aeryn’s eyes scoured the street searching for the problem. Something was not right. No one paid any attention to the two offworlders stood in the shadows of the walkway; indeed, nobody had even noticed their presence they just moved normally about their business. Uncomfortably John cleared his throat again causing Aeryn to look across at him.
 “Um,” he shifted uneasily, the old confusion returning to his pale eyes. “Do you get the feeling I’m a minority here, Aeryn?”
 Glancing around once more it hit her. That was what was wrong. That was the problem. The entire population, all the people in front of her, all of them, regardless of species or age, all of them were all women.

  *  *  *  *

 Cruising through the corridors Rygel surveyed his surroundings. Moya’s gentle hum – a sound he had lived with for many cycles – followed him relentlessly on his travels, accompanied by the jerky whir of his throne-sled. It seemed to be playing up a little. He would have to make Crichton look at it when he returned from his flying lesson. Humming tunelessly to himself he rounded a corner banging sharply into Chiana’s chest.
 “Can’t you watch where you’re going?” He spluttered.
 “No.” Chiana replied sharply. “What’s the word on John and Aeryn?”
 “I don’t know. Have they got it together yet?” he replied, his voice loaded with sarcasm, “As if I’d care anyway.”
 “You know what frog-boy? I don’t care. That’s their business. But seen as you don’t seem to know, I’ll inform you. Aeryn took John out for an advanced flying lesson and now they’ve had to land on the nearest planet because the module developed a fault.”
 “How fascinating.”
 “Just thought you might like to know. That’s all.” Slouching away she tossed her head, shaking strands of hair out of her eyes. “Pilot?” The symbiont’s hologram appeared on the clamshell as she entered the command. “Where’s Zhaan?”
 “Pa’u Zhaan is still in her chambers, deep in mediation.”
 “Oh frell I forgot. Did she say when she’s likely to stop? It’s been 7 solar days now, surely she has to come out soon.”
 “She gave no indication as to when she was likely to break commune with the goddess.”
 “Great.” She sighed. “Any news on Aeryn and Crichton?” She smiled inwardly; it seemed strange how those names fitted so well together.
 “None since their last contact to inform us of their safe landing.”
 “Let’s hope everything’s alright then.” Chiana groaned hoisting herself into a sitting position on the table.

  *  *  *  *

 John stared in disbelief at the Mayoress, shaking his head subconsciously in an attempt to remove the constant ringing that sang irritatingly in his ears.
 “So you’re telling me there are no men in this town whatsoever?”
 “None at all.”
 “What about the rest of the planet?” Aeryn asked curiously.
 “There are very few settlements of this nature, others do not look on our choice of life so favourably.” She smiled proudly, “We are an independent town. We grow all our own produce, provide everything we need, we function without the unnecessary help from other settlements. We prefer living this way. It allows feminine liberties that would otherwise be denied. It allows us to maintain the purity that is poisoned by the presence of the opposite sex.”
 “Cheers.” John muttered. “Nice to know where I stand.”
 The Mayoress turned to John. “I see you do not approve of our way of living and I see why. You are male. You are threatened by our way.” She eyed him carefully. “You are a fine specimen.” Her black eyes glowed in her dark skin, the whites of her eyes bright against the black velvet of her face. “Strong.” She smiled. “But also handsome, you would be a distraction among our society.” She stared at John her smile freezing cold on her lips. “I trust you will not be staying long?”
 “Not at all.” John faked a smile back to match hers. “We wouldn’t want to interfere.”
 “All we ant to do is fix our module.” Aeryn interjected. “With your help we can do this quickly and leave before any problems are caused.”
 The Mayoress nodded. “ I’ll speak to our top mechanics to see if they can help, meanwhile I suggest you,” she gestured towards John, “remain indoors. We will provide temporary accommodation.”
 “Thanks.” John could not keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “You’re so kind” Turning away he walked to the door following the slender woman who appeared at the exit to guide them to their accommodation. She eyed John curiously as he slowed self consciously to allow Aeryn to fall in step beside him.
 “I didn’t like her.” He whispered in her ear.
 “Why? Because she has an aversion to men?” Aeryn cut back.
 “She gives me the creeps Aeryn.” He shook his head, “This whole place gives me the creeps.” He shook his head again; the ringing had not subsided, in fact with the fading light it had increased.
 “Your ears still bothering you?”
 “Yeah.” He rubbed his ear. “It’s probably just the change. I haven't been off of Moya for quite a few weeks now, that’s all.”
 They followed their guide out across the street to a small wooden building that reminded John of the houses he had seen in westerns, a small where a high backed chair rested and a low first floor. Sat in the chair was a middle-aged lady, her dark hair woven into many braids that hung thick from her scalp, shining in the fading sunlight. Greedily she eyed John as he mounted the steps.
 ‘Yes, he is strong. A good labourer.’
 “Varala sent these two to stay at you barding house,” their guide said smoothly, the sound of her voice resembling the rich tones of a black American woman, “they are to stay her until their craft has been repaired.”
 The woman’s eyes shifted between her guests. “Take them to the second room.” She said simply, folding her arms across her chest. Nodding their guide escorted them to their room in brisk silence, closing the door behind her as she left, the soft click of her heels dying away, leaving the two in an abrupt silence. Staring around the room their eyes settled on the large double bed in the centre of the room. Turning to each other their eyes met and thoughts collided clumsily.
 “Um, you know what, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
 “Don’t be stupid.” Aeryn blustered. “You’d be far too uncomfortable.” ‘And we have shared a bed before.’ Walking to the windows she changed the subject. “Don’t forget what Varala said about the cycle of this planet.”
 “Varala-? Oh right the Mayoress. See you pair got on friendly terms. First name terms in fact.” He growled bitterly. He’s never been a fan of sexism and now it was directed towards him…well, he liked it even less. “Refresh me. What did she say?”
 “Crichton! Didn’t you listen to anything she said?”
 “Not really, no.”
 “Oh for – Crichton!” Aeryn tried to smooth the smile off her lips. “Varala said that this planet rotates fully every 16 arns, so we are going to experience shorter days and nights than we are used to.”
 “Oh great. Less sleep. This place gets better and better.” He paced to the door. This whole town made him feel uneasy. It was probably just the female population, the lack of men. He shrugged his shoulders. Chewing nervously on his thumb he joined Aeryn at the window watching the sun melt into the horizon. Seating herself on the wooden bench beside the window she rested her elbows on the flat sill, her head lolling lazily in her hands.
 “I'm gonna-” John paused to bury his hands in his pockets. “I’m gonna go outside, take in some air, I’m not tired yet.”
 “Of course not, by our standards there is plenty more of the day to be had.”
 “Yeah, whatever.” John waved her comment away with his hand approaching the door irritably; “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
  “What about Varala’s-” Aeryn turned to find herself speaking to a closed door, “instructions.” She muttered completing the sentence John had not stayed to hear. Sighing she made her way to the bed and seated herself on it; she was not prepared to chase after him, if he wanted to sulk that was up to him, it was his fault they were here. But for the bed the room was nearly bare: a washbasin in the corner, a chest to store possessions and a hard seat at the foot of the bed. Relaxing onto her back she scanned the high ceiling above her head. There were no lights there. It seemed, as it got dark, it got dark. Nothing could be done about it.
 Sitting on the steps of the porch John sighed heavily drumming his fingers on the dusty grey wood beneath him. Grey wood. An interesting twist on the original. He sighed again watching the glimpses of the sun ebb away beneath the horizon. All around him the town was silent, no animal noises, no people noises. The air was warm, dry and breathless. The dusty streets were deserted. Like a western town before a show down. Damn people took curfews seriously here.
 A board creaked behind him and he inclined his head slightly. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed the tough figure of his landlady, robust, hands on hips. Well if this was the show down this sure was an anticlimax.
 “Hey.” His voice was empty and uninviting; he hoped she would get the hint.
 “Varala said you were to stay inside.”
 “During the day, she never mentioned night.”
 “I shall be locking up in an arn, curfew will be sounding soon. Make sure you’re in.” She turned away curtly and shut the door. Moments later there was the whisper of a curtain and John felt the stare of prying eyes.
 “Fine.” He muttered his voice low so she wouldn’t hear. “I’ll go elsewhere then.” Rising to his feet he strode down the street, passing the enclosure where they had brought his module. Smiling he ran his hand over her smooth white exterior. A sudden noise caught his attention and he froze. Silence.
 ‘Great now I’m imagining things.’
 Strolling around the module he patted her nose cone affectionately and peered inside her. So many memories. So many memories. Scuffle. The noise caught his attention again. Someone was following him. Standing up straight he let his hand slide down the white painted side of his module to his thigh, resting on his pulse pistol stepping away from his cover into the dusty street. Silence. ‘So you wanna play cat and mouse. Fine, I’m great at this game!’
Setting off at a swift pace down the street he walked in big strides forcing his pursuer to run to catch up. Oblivious to their detection their feet pattered along the dusty ground behind him. Turning a sharp corner he ducked into the shadows and waited till his follower came past, catching her in his strong arms and pressing her against the walls. Quivering she raised her hands protectively to her face. Cocking his head at her he relaxed his grip. She could barely be twenty cycles old; the smooth skin on her cheeks was taut whispers of black hairs drawn out of her tangled hair. Her skin was lighter than the others had been, more of a chocolate brown, less of the indistinguishable black/brown he had seen before. Eyes wide with fear she lowered her arms blinking in amazement and awe as she regarded John.
 “Why are you following me?” He asked releasing his grip on her shoulders and stepping away.
 “Two cycles.” The girl whispered. “I didn’t dare believe the rumours, but its true. You’re true.”
 “What are you on about? Two cycles? What two cycles?”
 “You,” reverence filled her voice, “You are the first male I’ve seen in two cycles, the first since...” She bit back her tongue, holding back the words as if she would be punished for saying them. “Go.” She shoved him away. “Go now, go before you are taken too. Go.” Dodging his arm she evaded his grasp and ran, the streaming ebony of her waist-length hair reflecting the softly fading light.
 “Hey!” John called, but to no avail. She was gone. Making his way back to his accommodation he rubbed his hands thoughtfully, her words perplexing him. ‘Go before you are taken too’ taken where? What did she mean?
 The streets were now a sombre grey and the chill of the night had begun to set in. Climbing the steps he made his way to his room treading carefully so as not to attract undue attention, the girl’s words still ringing in his ears. He was glad he would not be alone. Slipping into his room he closed the door quietly.
 Creeping towards the bed he whispered to Aeryn’s curled-up figure. “I just had the weirdest thing happened to me, “this kid just told me to go,” he paused, “Aeryn? Baby, are you awake?”
 “Mmm,” She moaned back, “barely.”
 “Alright.” He sat on the smooth mattress, easing off his socks and shoes and rolling under the covers. “We’ll talk tomorrow, but I swear Aeryn, there’s more o this single sex shit than meets the eye.” Burying his head into his lumpy pillow he groaned. “Several of the jig-saw pieces don’t seem to fit…I’ve dais it before and I’ll say it again. This place creeps me out.”
 “John?”
 “Yeah?” He could feel the warmth of her body next to his.
“Shut up and sleep.”
 “G’night Aeryn.” Spreading himself out in the bed he sighed, closing his eyes to the welcome oblivion of sleep.
 
*  *  *  *
 Chiana rolled over on her bed singing the soft melody of a song that reminded her of family. Of  Nerri. Of fond memories. Scrunching the covers in her gloved hand she buried her face in the crushed material. Sleep was far distant yet, arns still to pass; unlike the planet, ship-time night was not be upon them for another full four arns. Humming quietly she slid to the floor and left her room, the covers still creased on the bed.
 “Pilot?”
 “Yes Chiana.”
 “Where are the others?”
 “Zhaan is meditating in her quarters, scans show Rygel and D’argo also in their quarters where they have been for the past few arns and Stark is in command.”
 ‘Wow. What a choice of conversation.’ A sudden thought sprung to mind.
 “Pilot, are you busy right now?”
 “I am always busy Chiana, why do you ask?”
 “I just wondered, you got time for a chat?”
 The symbiont was taken aback. “You wish to taken to me?”
 “Yeah,” she reached his chamber stopping outside the door, pausing before she entered. “Unless you don’t want me to.” She slid round the door.
 “Of course not,” Pilot replied hurriedly, “your company would be welcome.”

  *  *  *  *
 Aeryn stirred. Not quite sure what had woken her. She stretched sleepily, rolling over to rest against the warmth of John’s back. He wasn’t’ there. Combating the waves of sleep she forced herself to it upright glancing blearily around the room. The dim haze of morning was creeping in through the small window. She squinted to peer through the haze. Empty. Her hand searched the empty bed. It was cold. He had been gone a long time.
 “John?” She called quietly. “John are you there?”
 There was no reply.

To be continued…