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Jane found Chiana rummaging through the food stores. She thought she knew what had just happened, but never having directly experienced these sensations she needed to talk to someone about it. She hoped Chiana would be able to help her. Before she could say anything Chiana scrunched her nose up, “Phew, Jane! You’re all sweaty. Aren’t you going to shower?”
Caught off guard by Chiana’s reaction, Jane sniffed under her arm and wrinkled her nose. “In a microt.” Not bothering with any preliminaries, Jane launched right into her question, “Something happened just now with John. He pretended to attack me and I threw him to the floor, but our legs became entangled and I was brought me down on top of him. We were both hot and sweaty from exercise, but then he seemed to get hotter. Also, I felt something, right around here.” Jane pointed to her crotch.
“Eh – heh – heh - heh. Was that John or you?” Chiana knew immediately what had happened, but she was really surprised that Jane was asking this question. “Didn’t you experience anything through John?”
“It was me and it was John. I need... confirmation.” Jane said. Edging closer to Chiana she continued, “Much of what I could experience through John was filtered. He was able to keep me from experiencing the intimate and what I did experience was in a male’s body.”
“Ya know it was sex that you felt, dontchya?” Chiana said. “So, dijya like the feeling?” Chiana had stopped looking for whatever it was she was looking for and gave Jane her full attention.
“Yes. I want more now that it is real; now that I am real.” Jane said and sat down. “I want to experience everything!”
“So let me get this straight, you sorta had sex through John, but not really.” Chiana said, shaking her head. “Now you want to see what it is really like.”
“Yes.”
“As a man or as a woman?”
“Ultimately, as a man,” Jane replied. “But it would be interesting for me to experience these sensations now.”
“Are ya interested in John?”
“I don’t know,” Jane said and rested her chin in her hands, a dreamy look came into her eyes.
“I think yer outta luck, he only wants Aeryn.” Chiana said, looking directly into Jane’s light brown eyes. “Go wash up then help me with the midday meal. We’ll see what we should do.”
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John was experiencing his own confusion. How he could react like that to ‘Harvey’? He quickly showered and went to the lab to resume his neglected research. He found Sikozu studying some equations. “Hey.”
“Crichton, there is something wrong with this set of equations, but I don’t see what it is. The flaw eludes me.” Sikozu turned the screen towards the empty stool.
John sat down and stared at the equations, but he was too distracted to really see them. “I dunno... They’re not making a whole lotta sense to me. Nothin’s making sense to me right now.”
“Whatever.” Sikozu turned the screen back and resumed working through the equations.
John watched her for a few microts and then decided he would only waste her time by staying. He left the area and commed Pilot. “Pilot, where’s D’Argo?”
“He is in his ship, Commander.” Pilot said.
‘Of course, where else would he be?’ John thought.
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John peered in through Lo’La’s hatch. “Hey Big D. Can I come in?”
“Sure John. What do you want?” D’Argo asked turning away from the console.
John was embarrassed, and he knew it showed. He plunged right in, feet first. “I was showing Jane some self defense moves, and I pretended to attack her. She managed to throw me to the floor, but our legs got entangled and she landed on top of me. I got aroused and I don’t know what to feel anymore.”
“Gasp! Not Harvey! Hah, hah, hah. I met Harvey through the Hangi. Hah, hah, hah.” D’Argo gasped for breath, when another round of laughter suddenly hit him. D’Argo caught his breath, and laughing said, “John, stop! Tell me you are joking!”
John found the laughter infectious. “Hah – hah – hah. D’Argo, she doesn’t look like Harvey, she looks like a beautiful Sebacean woman; she looks like Jane.”
“What about Aeryn? I thought you were still stuck on her.” D’Argo rested his hand on John’s shoulder.
“Aeryn left.” John said. He studied his hands to avoid direct eye contact. “Uh, ya know what they say, D, if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.”
“Hah – hah – hah! I’ll have to remember that one myself.” D’Argo said, punching John’s upper arm. “But HARVEY? And I thought Jane was going to get a sex change five or six monens from now.” D’Argo said.
“Yeah, what was I thinking? It’s almost like I miss having Harvey in here.” John tapped his forehead.
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Chiana ran up to John just as he was about to enter his chamber. “John, I gotta talk to you.”
“Okay, come in.” John said and sat down on the bed. “Shoot.”
“What do you feel about Jane?”
“Jane told you? Oh man! Does the whole galaxy know now, too?” John said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, she told me.” Chiana said. “ Do you like her?”
“This is Harvey we’re talking about Chiana.” He sighed and asked, “What’d she say?”
“Uh, she wants the experience and I know she likes you John.”
“Chiana, whaddya have in mind?”
“Why don’t you show her some things? You might like her, ya know.” Chiana remained standing while she spoke, her hands on her hips, her body slowly pivoting back and forth.
“No way!” With a sigh, he added, “Look, Chiana, this is all just very confusing for me too.”
“Yeah, just how confusing is it for Jane?” Chiana asked. She left allowing the question to hang.
John pondered this last bit. He was so fixated on himself; he never gave a thought to what Jane might be going through. He needed to correct that.
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John found Jane on the terrace. It was as though she read his mind. He found peace here, and he liked it for the privacy it afforded in spite of the large open space. “Jane, I’m glad you’re here. I’d like to talk with you.” John walked up behind Jane and put his hand on her arm. When she spun around and glared at him, he could see anger in her expression, her eyes pierced his. “What’s wrong?”
“I never experienced emotion directly. It suddenly overwhelms. I do not know how to handle it.” The anger dissipated as Jane spoke. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You. What you want,” John said, looking directly at her. “Do ya think you’re Jane or Harvey?”
“I’m not sure,” Jane said. “Chiana thinks I am sexually attracted to you, and I might be. I have never been a woman before. I have always thought of myself as male as I was a male construct inside another male’s head.”
This was more the Harvey John remembered than the one he had witnessed for the past week and a half. “Whaddya see when you look in a mirror? Do you see Jane or do you see Harvey?” John asked.
“At first, when I would look in a mirror, I would shake my head to get this female body to disappear. It never did. To answer your question, I see Jane.” Jane moved closer to John as she spoke.
“And do you want to remain a female?” John asked, backing away slightly.
“Probably not. I still think of myself as Harvey.” Jane said. “But, what is the expression you have used? Ah yes... Strike while the iron is hot. That is good advice. I want to experience much more before I become a male, and I have nearly six months to do so.”
John found this unsettling. But to be fair to Jane/Harvey he had to persist. “Jane, if I didn’t know you’re Harvey, I’d find you attractive. We’ll just have to be friends, okay? So tell me, how can I help you?”
“We’ll be at another commerce planet in about a week. I want to go there and learn about men and women. I want to experience... life.” Jane said. “Until then, you can continue with my lessons in self defense.” Jane left the terrace.
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John stood by the transport pod with Jane, waiting for D’Argo and Chiana. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you? Chiana and D’Argo can get what we need.”
“I am sure John. Think of this as ladies night out.” Jane teased John. “After all, it is your turn to do the shopping. Maybe you will get lucky and find some chocolate. I would love to really taste it.”
“Humph.” John grunted. He looked up to see D’Argo and Chiana entering the bay, joking and laughing. It had been a long time since he saw them that easy with each other. “Okay, let’s get going.”
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“Jane, you did very well, I’m proud of you.” Chiana practically gloated. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Yes, yes I did, and you are an excellent teacher, Chiana” Jane said. She winked at Chiana as they walked. “Do we have time to get a Fellip Nectar before we have to return to the pod?”
“Yeah, we can go to that bar across the square.” Chiana said, pointing at a building. She grabbed Jane’s hand and hurried he into the bar, unaware of what was about to greet them there.
Scorpius sat alone, in the shadows, contemplating his future. He had been very lucky to escape from Grayza’s prison physically intact. Her particular brand of torture still made him shudder. He was having a hard time differentiating her from the Scarrans he so loathed. But the worst thing she did was to make him doubt his allegiance.
“Is this what the Peacekeepers have become?” Scorpius looked up with this thought in his mind and thought he saw the ghost of his mother. He gasped “Rylani.” He then noticed that she was with the Nebari that was with John Crichton. She was very much alive. His skin, pale by even Peacekeeper standards, went paler still, his heart pounded in his chest. He held his breath.
Chiana and Jane turned towards the cry and simultaneously whispered, “Scorpius”.
