Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
“You don’t know how you got here
You just know you want out
Believing in yourself
Almost as much as you doubt”
U2, “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me”
For a long moment, all Aeryn could do was stare. “What did you say?”
“We’re on Earth, Aeryn. Earth in my century, that is.” Antandra looked around the auditorium then started for the far side, to a narrow staircase. “Welcome to Tempe, Arizona, by the way.”
Aeryn hesitated for a microt, then started after Antandra. “If we’re here, then where’s John? He was standing next to me when your portal went fahrbot.”
“I know. Wherever he is, Parsifal’s with him. He’s completely cut off from me.” Antandra reached the staircase and took the steps three at a time. Aeryn had to run to keep up with her. “Which leads me to believe they’re either still on Moya or are somewhen else in time. If Parsifal were anywhere on the face of the Earth in this time, he’d be able to contact me.”
At the top of the stairs, Antandra stopped and held up a hand, blocking Aeryn’s path. Aeryn leaned to one side and saw two armed guards, their rifles pointed at her. As she reached for her pulse pistol, Antandra said, “No, Aeryn! What is the meaning of this, Clement?”
Aeryn saw a black clad man approach from the far side of the balcony, maneuvering through an array of consoles with the ease of a reptile. “The meaning, Archangel, is that you have brought an armed, potentially dangerous alien to a secure government installation.”
Antandra glared at the man. “I thought the Seraphim had been disbanded. Aeryn may be an alien, but she is not dangerous. She’s my friend.”
“Your friend. Really. And how do we know if this…friend can be trusted?”
“I trust her. That should be more than enough for you. Come on, Aeryn.”
As they started across the balcony, the man…Clement…said, “How much are you willing to invest in that trust, Archangel?”
Antandra turned back to him. Her voice was cold as she said, “Shakespeare: My life upon her faith.” When Clement didn’t respond, Antandra and Aeryn started walking.
“He’s going to be trouble,” Aeryn whispered.
“He’s always trouble. God alone knows why Mathias keeps him around.”
The room Antandra led Aeryn to was a small conference room, with metal chairs arranged around a long table. Several of the people from the auditorium were there, each looking anxious. Antandra went to the man she had hugged before and leaned forward, until her forehead was against his head. “Things are still screwed up, Mathias.”
The man patted Antandra on the shoulder and nodded. “I know, Antandra. Doctor Graff has Angelina working overtime trying to locate Parsifal. As long as he’s still functioning, she’ll find him.” Mathias glanced at Aeryn out of the corner of his eye. “Are you going to introduce us?”
“Yes. Aeryn Sun, this is my husband, Mathias Crowe. Two of my closest friends, Moses Palmer and Zoe Baird.” Antandra turned to an older woman who bore a striking resemblance to her. “And this…this is my mother, Athena Curtis.”
Aeryn looked over the four and saw both acceptance and caution in their eyes. “Good to meet you,” she said.
“What was that,” Palmer asked. “She can understand us, but she speaks a different language?”
“It’s a long story, Moses. Suffice to say that I can understand her. You’d better get comfortable, there’s a lot to talk about.” As the four settled onto the metal chairs, Antandra turned back to Aeryn. “Have a seat, Aeryn, and relax. You’re among friends here. Anything you need? I’m not quite sure what you require…”
Aeryn sat slowly. “Well, there is something that John used to talk about when he first arrived on Moya. Some kind of food item. To hear him talk about it, it was some kind of delicacy. If you have any, I’d like to try it.”
Antandra frowned. “John’s from the twentieth century, so I don’t know about that. The main goal of the Arch Complex is rebuilding our knowledge of that time, so maybe we do. What was it?”
Aeryn thought, trying to remember back two and a half cycles. “What did John call it? Choc-a-lat?”
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Command disappeared in a flash of blinding white light. The deck disappeared and he tumbled through what felt like thick syrup. His arms flailed about, trying to find a handhold, but he found none.
John gasped for breath and fought back vertigo. “Parsifal…”
“We’ll be through momentarily, Mr. Crichton! Brace yourself!”
There was another flash of white light, followed by darkness. John now found himself tumbling through cool, damp air. As he landed and rolled on what felt like wet pavement, he heard two women’s voices
“What the hell? Where did he come from?”
“What in God’s name is that?”
John rolled onto his back and looked around. Wherever he had landed, it was night. He was lying on a sidewalk, stores to one side, empty street on the other. There was something almost familiar about the design of the buildings, but John didn’t want to admit to himself that what he suspected was true.
He heard footsteps behind him. Standing, he saw two women coming toward him. Both were conservatively dressed, but while one was tall with straight, shoulder length white hair, the other was not as tall, with short red hair. The taller woman looked deadly serious, while the shorter was grinning broadly.
John thought, Well, I guess Sebaceans could start dressing like business executives.
“Where the hell did you come from,” the taller woman asked.
The red head sounded like she was about to start laughing as she asked, “Are you all right?”
John stared, not believing what he was seeing or hearing. The women spoke English, plain, unadorned English, no lag or delay as his translator microbes converted languages for him.
“Where am I,” he asked, sounding like he was in a daze.
The women exchanged confused looks. “You’re standing on the sidewalk, in the middle of the city of Oneonta, in Upstate New York.”
John stammered for a moment, not believing what he’d just heard. “New York? Did you say…New York?” He stepped back and looked around. “My God, I’m home. Parsifal, I’m home!” John threw his arms out, let his head fall back and he started laughing hysterically. Nearly two and a half cycles of anxiety and fear drained from his body and for the first time in a long time, John felt himself relax.
“Mr. Crichton, there is one other question you should ask.”
John looked at the portable and nodded. “Yeah, there is.” He looked at the two women, who were watching him with a combination of amusement and caution. “Um, this is going to sound a little odd, but could you tell me what year it is?”
The red head’s smile grew a little. “2190. March 17th, to be exact.”
John stared then shook his head. “It’s not fair. It’s just not fair.” He turned and started walking away. The two women exchanged looks and started after him.
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John walked slowly down the quiet city street, his mind trying to deal with the absurdity of the situation he now found himself in. He thought, Yeah, it figures. I finally make it back to Earth, but it’s nearly two hundred years after I left. What the hell good is that?
“Mr. Crichton?”
John touched the portable, now clipped to his belt. “Parsifal, call me John.”
“All right then, John. This is not the worst situation to find yourself in. You are, after all, home.”
“But it’s not my home, Parsifal. Look, one of the main things that kept me going over the last two and a half cycles was the knowledge that my family and friends were still alive and well. Now, everyone I care about, my Dad, my sisters, DK and the rest of my friends, Buffy The Vampire Slayer…they’re all dead. On top of that, if I stay here, there’s two hundred years of history and technological advances to catch up on. I’d be as out of place here as I was on Moya.”
“I suppose that is true,” Parsifal said, trying to sound reassuring. “However, I should also remind you that you managed to survive in an alien environment for an extended period of time. That must…”
“Don’t, Parsifal. Just don’t say anything. I didn’t have a choice when I arrived on Moya. Besides, Aeryn’s not here. She kept me going, too. I always said I didn’t want to go home without her.”
John spotted a bench on the other side of the street, and crossed to it. As he sat, John saw the two women approaching. “Great, attracted the attention of the locals. Isn’t there some kind of rule about that?”
“It’s not a good idea, but if handled properly, it isn’t a problem.”
The tall, white haired woman looked down at John. “Okay, mister. I think you owe us an explanation or two.”
John looked up at her. “Who are you?”
Both women reached under their jackets and pulled out official looking identification. “I’m Agent Caralynn Adrasteia, this is Agent Alexandra Sinclair. We’re with EarthGov Security, Division 5.”
“Security. Great.” John buried his face in his hands and was relieved he left his pulse pistol on Moya. “If I tell you the truth, you’re probably gonna think it strange, unbelievable and you’ll probably want to lock me up.”
Alexandra sat next to John. “I don’t know about that. We’re with Division 5, after all; we deal with security problems outside of the system. Believe me, strange and unbelievable are daily occurrences for us. So why don’t you start with your name?”
John looked at her, reassured by her constant smile. What the hell, he thought. What do I have to lose? “My name is John Crichton.”
As her smile slipped a little, Alexandra turned from John and stared into the distance. “Carly, there was an account of one Commander John Crichton. On a shuttle mission, he was testing an experimental module, in an attempt to use Earth’s gravity like a booster. Apparently, something went wrong, because the module, Farscape 1, disappeared in some kind of radiation wave.”
John blinked. “You’ve memorized history?”
“Actually, I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything I see and hear, to the finest detail. Now, are you the same John Crichton?”
“Yeah, that’s me. I’ve spent two and a half years living somewhere on the other side of the universe. I’ve been trying to stay alive and find a way back home. It figures that when I finally do get home, it’s two hundred years after I’ve left.” John’s head fell back and he stared into the night sky. “God hates me. That has to be it.”
Carly looked around and sighed. “This is going to be a long story, isn’t it? Let’s get off the street. Come on. Our offices aren’t far from here. You can tell us there.”
A look of suspicion crawled onto John’s face. “Your offices? Am I under arrest?”
“No, you’re not,” Alexa said. “Would you rather sit out here on a bench? Don’t worry about it; we’re a bit more open-minded than other divisions of EarthGov. If you’d been found by agents from Division 4, you would have been in trouble. They don’t trust their own parents. Besides, I really need a cup of coffee.”
“Coffee? Man, I haven’t had coffee in…” Despite himself, John smiled, nodded and stood. “Why the hell not? It doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere real soon.” He glanced back down the street, where the portal had once been. He sighed and followed Carly and Alexa down the street.
