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The groaning sounds coming from the basement would have sent Aunt Ruth into a state of shock, John thought with a grin. Unfortunately, it was only the two of them straining to get the door to the bomb shelter open. Years of neglect had it almost fused shut, but it was starting to open up.
"Come on Aeryn. Push harder! If we just put a...little.. more...pressure..."
*Swoosh* There! It was open. The stale air rushed out with a hiss.
"Man!" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "So this is where they put Jimmy Hoffa!"
They entered the room which had obviously seen no disturbance in decades. With John's flashlight they could see cans of food that had rusted through and were rotting on a shelf running the length of the room. The light from the flashlight flickered. If they were going to find what they wanted they'd need more light in here anyway.
"Wait here." He motioned for Aeryn to stay. "I'll be right back." He handed her the flashlight before heading upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. In a few minutes was back, with an oil lamp and his father in tow.
"I still don't believe it. This has been here all this time? Didn't you ever think about opening it up? Come on dad, you couldn't tell us this was here? Oh-ho!" He slapped a fist into his other hand. "Wait till Mary finds out. She's gonna kill you. Why'd you leave all this stuff in here anyway..." John was talking non-stop in Jack's ear. Now this was the son he remembered.
"Actually, I had planned on cleaning it out, but your mother had it sealed up while I was away on a mission. Said she was tired of waiting for me to..." his voice trailed off. "I didn't really want to bring it up again, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah." John knew exactly what he meant.
With the oil lamp lit they could see what was causing the stench. Rotting clothes, boxes full of food and bottled water, emergency radio and batteries. From the pitted floor around them, it looked like the battery acid had leaked out.
Searching further they found the bolt hole opening. It looked just big enough for Aeryn. It was going to be a tight squeeze for John.
The three of them looked at each other realizing that they didn't have much time.
Before John could say anything, Aeryn walked over to stand in front of Jack.
"I would like to have a few words with your father. Alone." Her eyes begged him to have let her have this moment.
He looked from her to his dad.
"Sure. I'll just go make sure the bad guys are still ...bad." He left, leaving Jack unsure of what was going on.
They stood there looking at each other, the light from the lamp flicking over their faces, making the scene seem unreal. But it was real and Aeryn knew that no matter how hard it was she had to do this. She spoke in her own language, knowing he wouldn't understand her, but knowing no other way to tell him.
"Your son, the one who d..died.." She had a hard time getting the word out. "He missed you very much. He always wanted us to meet. Now I know why." Her eyes were shining. "I came to tell you for him..."
She rested her hand on the side of Jack's face. The English words were halting but unmistakable.
"g..goodbye, dad."
Jack had been listening to the rhythms of a speech he couldn't comprehend, but he was sure it was about the other son John had told him about last night. Why else would she want to talk to him alone. He wished to God he knew what she was saying as her eyes filled with tears. At her last words he suddenly realized what it was she was trying to say to him. A final goodbye from the son he would never see again.
Pain flowed through him and he held his arms out to hold the woman both of his sons loved so much. Now he knew why. She was special, this alien woman.
"Thank you, Aeryn Sun." He whispered.
Around the corner John swiped a hand over his eyes, backed up a few steps and began whistling. When he came through the door, Aeryn was inspecting the opening they'd be going through and his dad was carefully examining a short-wave radio sitting on the floor.
"Yep. They're still there and they're still bad." He looked at Aeryn for a moment and said softly "You ready to go?"
Her glance flicked over to Jack and back to John. She nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."
John went to stand next to Jack.
"I wish you could stay son. Maybe we could find a way..."
"There's no way dad. You know that." John sighed as he ran his fingers across his hair. "I don't want to leave, but Aeryn can't stay. He..we..were wrong to ever think she could."
"Will you be back?" The thought of losing John a second time was tearing Jack apart, but he didn't let it show. He wouldn't make it harder on John than he had to.
"I don't know. I've dreamed about coming home for the last three years and now..." His voice lowered "..now I'm only sure of one thing. Home is where she is." He nodded in Aeryn's direction. "Everything is screwed up, and I don't know how things are going to work out between us, but I can't leave her."
He moved closer.
"There's a whole other universe out there dad. It's, it's... like Lost in Space meets Rocky Horror.. only weirder." He shook his head with a rueful grin. "But it's totally amazing and I've made friends there." John's gaze turned intense, willing his father to understand. "Friends who are counting on me to get them home. And we still haven't stopped the war up there. It's still coming, we've just delayed it a little." John's hand gripped Jack's shoulder. "I don't know if I'll ever be back, but I promise you, I'll try."
John reached for his dad to give him the goodbye he had never gotten the chance to give three years ago. He held on tightly trying to imprint this moment on his brain. He'd need it in the years to come.
"I love you, dad." The whispered words were bittersweet. Who knew when they'd see each other again.
"I love you too, son."
Aeryn cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt but..."
John turned to her. "Yeah. I know. Just a second."
As he turned back, Jack reached into his back pocket for a map.
"Here.." He unfolded it and pointed to a spot on the map. "This is where you'll come out at. Follow this.." his finger traced a line "..until you come to the beach...here. While I was calling the tv station I called in another favor. A friend of mine is going to meet you there and he'll get you to Farscape1. That beach is a place we both know." A faraway look came over his face as he remembered why. "I didn't give an exact location over the phone, but he'll know. You'll have to give him the coordinates."
"You trust this guy?"
"With my life, son. But more importantly, with yours."
John nodded.
"You know dad, you're going to be even more famous after this." John grinned.
Jack shook his head. "More than likely with you and the module gone, the military will say I'm just a washed up old rocket jockey who's seeing things after my son died and there was a perfectly reasonable explanation why they were out here. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Shoot, son, I'll be lucky to make it onto the back page of the Chronicle."
They grinned at each other.
Then, with a sigh, John walked over to the bolt hole. They had to leave. With a last look at Jack, Aeryn entered the tunnel.
John started in, but turned suddenly to look at Jack.
"You gonna be okay?"
Jack smiled. "I'll be fine son. Oh, but about that thing you have to work out? I have a feeling it will be easier than you think. Trust me." He smiled at John's bemused look and pushed him into the opening.
"What the hell was that all about?" he asked himself as he moved to catch up with Aeryn.
As they moved down the tunnel, their flashlights were the only thing between them and total darkness. It was cool and damp but he was beginning to feel hot. It was a good thing this wasn't gonna last more than a few yards, he thought.
John had never been claustrophobic, but there's always a first time. Only by hunching his shoulders could he navigate the narrow passageway. Aeryn, being smaller, was moving much faster. They inched their way along, with short stops to catch their breath. This is what he imagined it was like to be buried alive. Not a good feeling.
"Aeryn, you getting enough air?" He hissed between clenched teeth. "I don't think there's enough air in here. Maybe we should go back."
Aeryn heard the slight panic that was creeping into his voice.
"Shhh. There would be plenty of air if you'd quit talking!"
Her exasperated voice calmed his nerves. She wouldn't be talking to him like that if he were dying. Would she?
"There it is."
They had finally reached the bolted hatch leading to the storm sewers.
"Can you turn the handle?" He hoped it was a rhetorical question. If she couldn't they would be totally frelled.
He heard her struggling with the handle and was just about to say something stupid when it opened with a whoosh. The rush of air hitting him was the best thing he'd felt in a long time.
Dropping down into the wet darkness they made their way through a maze of tunnels trying to find the opening his father had told him about. It was almost completely dark but light would occasionally appear when they passed a grate leading to the street. Hopefully his dad had been right and no one would be expecting them to come waltzing out ‘behind' them. He just hoped somebody didn't spot them. He figured his and Aeryn's Peacekeeper clothes would be a good clue they weren't from around here.
"Well, we could always say we were just looking for the Hell's Angels convention." He said under his breath.
Aeryn looked over at him. He was talking to himself again. She had thought that was something induced by the Scorpius chip, but she was beginning to suspect it was just John.
There was just enough water in the tunnel to make a slight swishing sound as they walked. Just when it seemed they would never come to the end Aeryn stopped. "Wait a microt. I think I see light at the end of the tunnel."
She turned to find out what the strange noise was, only to find John with his hand over his mouth, trying hard not to laugh, but not succeeding. What was funny about that? She shot him a nasty look, which only made him laugh more. Aeryn sighed, she would never understand him.
Coming to the opening, Aeryn looked out cautiously. There didn't appear to be anyone around. They came out into the sunshine slowly, back to back, making sure to keep all areas under surveillance. Satisfied that there was no immediate threat, they took off for the stand of trees nearby.
Once they had cover, John pulled out the map and located where they were supposed to meet the helicopter. With any luck, they could be there in a half hour.
"All right. I know where to go." He hitched up his pants, crooked his head and in his best John Wayne voice said.. "Follow me, little lady" before he took off for the beach.
Aeryn thought the Scorpius chip might have been preferable.
* * * * *
"I'm too old for this shit!" That was Daniel Kemper's first thought as he spied the man and woman running on the beach. From his vantage point high above he could see men running after them, heavily armed and apparently with orders to shoot. The beach was devoid of anything resembling cover and he was amazed that the two had made it this far.
As he got closer and witnessed what came next, he realized how they had managed to stay alive. The woman turned suddenly and lifted a gun, but what came out weren't any bullets he'd ever seen. More like little yellow bolts of light. She was hell on wheels with that thing and the men behind them stopped abruptly and dived face down in the sand in an effort to avoid the deadly fire.
She and the man ran on. They were obviously the people he was here for.
"What has Jack gotten me into?" he wondered aloud. Not that it made any difference. The favor he owed Jack Crichton couldn't really be repaid, just given back in installments. It was a testament to Jack that he hadn't called in a favor before now. Daniel had no choice but to help, regardless of the cost.
"Come on old girl." He patted the dash of the helicopter. "Let's show them what you can do." He didn't see a way to land without getting Betsy blown to smithereens, not to mention himself, so he hoped to God the two people below would be thinking on their feet when he went down. If they could grab onto the runners he might be able to get them far enough away to drop them and then land. It was a dangerous maneuver but it's all he could think of right now and speed was obviously the order of the day.
As the helicopter flew towards the pair, sand began swirling, blocking his view and hopefully that of those military guys behind them. As carefully as he could he brought the runners down towards them and hoped they'd know to grab hold and not let go. He stayed that way for what seemed an eternity and then gently lifted up hoping he'd have passengers hanging on when the air cleared.
Betsy moved down the beach still blowing sand and then lifted into the air. They had outdistanced the bullets flying at them and he slowed down slightly. He didn't want to get too high in case they lost their grip. Assuming they were there in the first place. He bent over looking for signs of the two people he'd come to rescue. Nothing. "Damn." He'd have to swing back and...
"Thanks for the rescue!" The voice yelled right behind him.
If Daniel had had a bad ticker he'd be dead right now. As it was he felt his heart scrambling to get out of his chest. The man and woman were sitting in the back of the chopper, calmly shaking sand out of their clothes and hair.
"How the hell did you..?" He didn't finish. Nothing about this was normal and he had already decided the less he knew, the better. He had no illusions about what was coming. There was no way he was getting out without getting caught. He just had to know what to say or not to say. He was an expert at that.
He turned around to get a better look at his passengers when he got his second shock of the day. The man sitting in the back of his chopper was John Crichton. Jack's son.
"I'm John Crichton!" He leaned forward to be heard better as he yelled over the roar of the engine. "So, you're a friend of my fathers?!"
He nodded. "Daniel!" pointing to himself by way of introduction. The man really hadn't needed one.
Unless you'd been living under a rock, everybody knew John Crichton. His face had been plastered on every newspaper and tv story for months. It hadn't taken long for the military to start trying to take over and put a lid on things, but the news media had been merciless for a while. Until the next big thing came along. He never could figure what was bigger than somebody being sucked into a giant wormhole, but he guessed it was them pretty fellers in Hollywood.
The one thing he had never expected, was to find him in the back of Betsy. This wasn't just big, it was huge. He'd be lucky to get out of this alive.
His passenger handed him a slip of paper. Nodding, he set the coordinates into the onboard computer, and turned his attention to getting there as quickly as possible.
While he was flying he kept an watchful eye on his passengers. The woman had not spoken yet, but the man kept up a running commentary for her of places that they passed and sights she should see. If he hadn't known better, he'd have sworn that they were tourists going out for a sightseeing jaunt.
"Aeryn! Hand me Wynona for a second!"
What the...! Daniel turned around, not knowing what he'd see next, but all he saw was the woman handing John the strange gun. Wynona? The light bulb went off. He knew there was something about this guy he liked. He noticed John looking at him and pointed to the helicopter. "Betsy!"
Grinning, they looked at each other in perfect understanding.
John was still checking the gun out, when the woman spoke.
It wasn't clear over the noise, but Daniel heard enough of the strange language that he sent Betsy into a momentary dip. He recovered quickly, hoping that his passengers hadn't noticed. He'd heard a lot of strange things in his lifetime, but this took the cake.
"Yeah, I know! We'll be there soon! I just wanted to make sure she wasn't damaged!" John handed the gun back to...what had he called her? Erin?
Daniel leaned back in his seat and settled in for their, hopefully, short flight to...to where? Oz? He was getting the strange feeling he wasn't in Kansas anymore. Who was this woman, and where had John Crichton been these last three years?
* * * * *
As they neared the site where John's module was hidden, John gave Aeryn the sign to be on the look out. He knew the military had to be searching this area by now. He just hoped they hadn't found Farscape1 yet. If only his luck would hold for a little bit longer, they might actually get out of here in one piece.
The thought had no more than crossed his mind, when he saw them. Military choppers coming straight for them.
He tapped the pilot and pointed so he would see the danger. Once he did, Daniel put on a burst of speed, almost flinging them back in their seats.
Okay, okay, they were almost there. He could barely make out the outline of his module up ahead. Oh boy, this was going to be close.
"Hey!" Once he got the pilot's attention he pointed to where the module was until he nodded his head that he'd seen it.
The pilot was unhappy. "There's no way to land near that!"
"That's all right!" John reassured him. "I have a plan!"
"What are you talking about?!" Aeryn shouted. "What plan?!"
She noticed the pilot looking at her in confusion, but it couldn't be helped.
"He can fly us over the module and we'll jump!" Both Aeryn and the pilot were looking at him like he was crazy. Boy, the UT wasn't so different from Earth after all.
"No, really! I've seen this a thousand times in the movies! It'll work! Trust me!"
He saw Daniel glance over to Aeryn and her answering shrug. It was so much like the looks he got from D'Argo and her that he had to laugh. Which just earned him another look. Okay, he'd be good. Just get to the module.
"How close to the ship can you get us?!"
"As close as you want, if we have time!" He nodded at the aircraft gaining on them.
"As close as you can then! Right over the top!" He motioned for Aeryn to be ready.
Water and brush went flying as the helicopter went down slowly over the module. The module itself was rocking from side to side but otherwise was just as he'd left it.
Closer, Closer.... Almost....
John turned to his dad's friend one last time. "Thanks, man!"
"Good luck, son!"
John turned and with a signal to Aeryn, they jumped.
Ah crap! That was his last thought before he went under the water. He'd missed. Shaking the water from his eyes he saw their helicopter speed away, drawing a couple of choppers with it. Which still left two with them. They were hovering overhead, with a loudspeaker, yelling something that John couldn't make out through the noise and water in his ears.
He was right by the module and looked up to see Aeryn on top with the hatch open and arms stretched to pull him up. Nothing like being useless, he thought as he grabbed her hand and scrambled up.
Now he could hear what they were saying. Like hell they'd give up now! In one motion the two of them jumped into the module bring the hatch down over them.
John began powering up the module and hoped that the shielding modifications would hold under fire. It wasn't long before he found out. No sooner had power come on line and the shielding up, than a volley of bullets began raining down on them. They bounced off harmlessly, but John knew they wouldn't be firing those little bullets for long. Soon, they'd go for the big stuff. They needed to get out of here.
The ship rocked as the suction from the swamp tried to hold it, but it was only temporary. Once they were up, it was just a matter of tripping a few switches, and a parting salute for the other pilots, before they were off. The military helicopters didn't stand a chance of catching them. Even the scrambling jets could only watch as the blip on the screen moved away.
They were free, but he was not ready to go too far yet. Before they left John had one more task to complete. He turned the module around.
"What are you doing?" came the confused question from behind him.
"Just hang on a minute, Okay? I just want to, no...need to tell them."
He looked down at the planet beneath them. They were so helpless and they didn't have a clue.
He bent over and turned the comms on full so that he could broadcast to as many places as possible. One way or another, someone would hear him. He had to do this. For his father. For Earth.
"Hey, down there! This is John Crichton, astronaut."
Down on the surface, the static radios everywhere had been experiencing, was replaced by the sound of a man talking and people stopped, unsure of what was going on, but they listened.
"You might remember me. I know everyone thinks I died, that I was lost in a wormhole. I know it sounds crazy, but I was sucked into some distant part of the universe. For the last three years I've just been trying to stay alive. It's a strange place out there, people! Full of strange life. Living ships, aliens."
At military headquarters the General was furiously trying to stop the broadcast, but the techs just shook their heads. There was no way to cut it off. At least not in time. They listened.
"But there's a battle brewing up there and Earth has to beware. You're not prepared for the nightmares I've seen. I'll try to protect you, not show them you exist. But there are no promises. Not in this life. Use any technology you get from the ship you've got and use it well. And stop..fighting..each other." He drew a long breath. "If the war gets here and you're not ready, you won't have anything left to fight over.
He paused for a moment, before speaking in a softer tone.
"But you know, I wish you could see it. I wish you were ready. Because you'll never know the wonders I've seen."
John grinned, there in his module, high above Earth. That ought to give them something to talk about.
"And if you don't believe me? Look up." He turned to Aeryn, who had been listening in silence. "Hold on!"
And with a "Woo Hoo!" he plunged the module down towards Earth, pulling up hard as he began to hit the atmosphere.
The fiery trail could been seen far and wide, even in the daylight. He made a few dips and turns before he thought the module had had enough. No point in damaging his only way home. Especially now. He flew it up into orbit and they took a breather.
They'd done it. John watched the blue planet beneath them turning. Now all they had to do was rustle up a wormhole. Fortunately, the sun was just one solar flare after another. Shouldn't be too hard, not with what he'd learned from Scorpy and the Ancients.
"Can you make a wormhole to get us back to Moya?" He turned to find Aeryn looking at him with a stange expression on her face. She probably thought he was crazy, but then, didn't she always?
Now that the adrenaline rush was fading, he could feel her next to him. Arms touching, her breath on his neck. It was a tight squeeze with both of them in his module, but if he could have asked for anything, this would have been it. To have Aeryn close to him.
Without thinking, he answered. "Yeah, baby. I'm pretty sure I can get us back." As soon as the word came out of his mouth he regretted it. Things were better between them and he didn't want her to go back into deep freeze because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
He looked back with the start of an apology, but she silenced him with a shake of her head. She smiled then. That glorious smile that put his pyrotechnics to shame and made his heart ache. And for the first time in a cycle he felt that familiar feeling of being connected to her, the feeling that no matter what happened, all was right with the universe.
Aeryn looked at John. What she saw was more than the face of her dead lover. It was the face of the man she loved. There would be time enough later to sort things out. To.. talk. For now though, all she could do was touch his face and say..... "Let's go home."
The End.
