Return to Bermudas Index
by wordboy
Chiana lay back on Pilot’s console and stared at the far off ceiling. Though she would have never admitted it to Pilot or anyone else, she was beginning to feel hopeless. It had been at least two arns since she’d heard someone rummaging around on the tier below Pilot’s den. Since then, nothing.
She glanced at Pilot, who was passively watching Traven pace. “You’re making Moya nervous,” he said.
Traven turned. “I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood you. What did you say?”
“Your pacing, it’s making Moya nervous.”
“The Leviathan is nervous? Impossible. It’s just a ship. How can it be nervous?”
Chiana sat up. “A ship? Yeah, a ship. A living ship.” As Traven dismissed her with a wave, Chiana leaned forward. “What? Just because a being doesn’t have arms, legs and a head it can’t be alive?”
“The Leviathan is only a ship! It is not alive!”
“Really? How many ships do you know of that have given birth?” Traven stared, apparently not believing her. “Ever hear of Talyn?”
“No.”
“You should get out more.”
“Talyn is a hybrid,” Pilot said. “A Leviathan gunship. Being young, he is more impulsive than Moya, more prone to strike. Particularly with Crais as his captain. If you harm Moya, it would be safe to say that Talyn would hunt you down.”
“Should I be concerned?”
“Talyn leveled a Shadow Depository.”
Surprise drifted across Traven’s face. “That actually happened? I believed it just a story.”
“Now, it really happened. We were there. Aeryn and D’Argo were actually inside the Depository when it came down.”
Traven stared at them then stepped away, shaking his head.
Chiana was about to continue, but Pilot stopped her with a gentle touch. She turned to him, then followed his gaze down. Chiana frowned and leaned forward. Several DRDs were working on the explosives, gently digging into them.
“Pilot, what are they doing?”
Pilot glanced at Traven, then whispered, “According to Moya, the DRDs are trying to disable the detonators. It would appear Officer Sun has a plan.”
“Should I be concerned?”
“Be ready.”
The den’s main door swung open and Stark stepped in. He looked around. “Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking all over Moya for you!”
“What do you want, Banik?” Traven sounded disgusted. “I have neither the time or the will to explain my actions to you.”
“No, no, no, no! I don’t want an explanation. I want to help you pass over!”
“Pass over?”
“Yeess! We’re all about to die! I can help you pass beyond! I’ve already helped Aeryn and D’Argo. I’m Stykera; I can ease your journey.”
“Ease my journey? Do you mean my journey to death? Unnecessary. I do not fear death, and I do not believe in an afterlife.”
“You don’t? Then what do you have to look forward to at the moment of death…”
Chiana watched Start rant and lead Traven away from the console. “He’s finally lost it. He’s completely fahrbot. We’re dead.”
Pilot looked up at her then tilted his head to the right. Slowly, Chiana turned and saw a tall shadow slip in through one of the side doors. She watched for a microt then looked down. She could hear someone – Aeryn – making her way across the lower tier. Chiana looked back at Pilot and saw her own growing concern reflected on his face.
Across the den, Traven apparently had enough of Stark. He growled something that sounded vaguely obscene and knocked Stark aside with a sweep of one arm. Traven raised the cylindrical device that hung from his shoulder and aimed for Stark.
Chiana started to stand and was about to call out to D’Argo. Motion from either side of the den stopped her. Chiana watched for a microt, her jaw hanging open.
“What the frell…”
DRDs began to file out of access ways, forming lines behind Traven. Chiana felt her eyes go wide as she realized all the DRDs had their micro-pulse cannons raised. She watched Traven glance back at them, apparently amused. He touched one end of his cylinder and seemed to waver for a microt.
Movement on the other side of the console attracted Chiana’s attention. Aeryn looked out from behind the console. She watched Traven, then touched one of Pilot’s arms. She handed him her pulse rifle then pointed at Chiana.
As he passed the rifle, Pilot whispered, “We may have a problem, Officer Sun.”
“I don’t want to hear about any more problems today, Pilot. What is it?”
“Traven has activated something on his device. The internal sensors are picking up an energy field surrounding him. Perhaps it is some kind of defensive shield.”
“Well, that’s just excellent, Pilot.” Aeryn looked toward D’Argo and nodded. “All right. We’re probably only going to get one chance at this.”
Chiana shifted position on the console. “Then why are we sitting here talking about it?”
“Right. Chiana, you protect Pilot. D’Argo and I will take care of Traven.” Aeryn took a deep breath, readied herself and tapped her comm. “Now, D’Argo.”
Aeryn stood as D’Argo stepped from the shadows. She raised her pulse pistol and took aim. “Traven!”
The Rolvarian turned. He glanced again at the DRDs, the looked from D’Argo to Aeryn. “I expected you to make a foolishly heroic stand such as this.”
D’Argo said, “Deactivate the explosives. Otherwise this will get ugly.”
“Uglier than you, Luxan?” D’Argo’s only response was an angry growl.
Aeryn took a step forward. “You have one chance, Traven. Deactivate the explosives and stand down. There is no need for violence.”
Traven looked surprised. “You want to find a non-violent way to end this? How very intelligent of you, Sebacean. Too bad it came to you too late.” He held out the death switch. “May you find peace.” Traven smiled broadly, opened his hand and released the death switch.
There was a moment of silence that lasted an eternity.
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Jool’s incessant tapping was beginning to grate on John’s nerves.
“Will you for God’s sake stop with the tapping!”
In her seat next to John, Jool flinched like she’d been hit. “Will you calm down, Crichton!”
John glanced down at the transport pod’s controls. “I’ll relax when we’re back on Moya and starbursting away from here.” Calm down, John, he thought. Whatever Traven tries, you know Aeryn and D’Argo will handle it.
Movement at the front of the cockpit attracted John’s attention. Looking up, he saw Rygel’s throne sled drift by the forward console. “Sparky, fire up the sensors. Try and get a lock on Moya.”
As he started to work, Rygel shook his head. “Why would they want to destroy Moya? It was a minor infraction. It’s a bit of an extreme reaction.”
John couldn’t keep a smile from his face. “Yeah, well, people with delusions of grandeur are all over the place, Ryg.”
Rygel glanced back at John and muttered something under his breath. He tapped the controls and watched information fill a secondary screen.
“Oh no…”
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A microt later, the silence was broken by Stark.
“Are we dead?”
From where she stood on Pilot’s console, Chiana looked around. “If this is the afterlife, I want to go back. No offense, Pilot.”
Traven frowned. “Oh my, how inconvenient. How did you manage to do this?”
Aeryn exhaled, relieved. “Well, you know those DRDs. Industrious little creatures.”
“What?”
D’Argo began to approach Traven. “If you’re going to use explosives, perhaps you should make sure the detonators can’t be tampered with. Now, put that thing down…”
Traven considered. “Well. It appears I must do this the hard way.” He brought up the cylinder, touched another part of its surface and began to fire.
Aeryn, D’Argo and Chiana began to return fire, but the pulse blasts simply splashed across the energy field that surrounded Traven. The Rolvarian laughed and turned his weapon toward the DRDs. The service drones began to scurry away, trying to avoid Traven’s blasts, but several were hit, exploding in showers of sparks and debris.
As Aeryn watched, Traven flinched as he was hit by debris. She thought, Pulse blasts aren’t getting through, but debris from exploding DRDs is? Aeryn considered her pulse pistol and frowned. Maybe…
Quickly, Aeryn tapped a control on the side of her pistol. As the weapon began to hum, she called out, “D’Argo! Cover me!” Aeryn took a moment to register the confused look on D’Argo’s face as she rushed toward Traven.
As soon as he saw her approach, Traven swung his weapon around. Aeryn dodged quickly, dove over the DRDs and rushed forward. The pistol’s hum had become a loud shriek. Aeryn glanced at it and let a grim look cross her face. “Traven! Catch!” She tossed the pistol, turned and started running. “Down!”
Instinctively, Traven caught the shrieking pistol. He glanced at it and frowned. “Oh my…”
The den rocked as the pistol exploded.
Aeryn staggered as the shockwave struck her. She slammed into Pilot’s console then turned and looked back at where Traven once stood. There wasn’t much left of the Rolvarian.
“Never stand next to an overloading pulse pistol,” she muttered.
D’Argo came up next to her. “And what would you have done if that hadn’t worked?”
Aeryn looked up at him. Good question, she thought. “Improvised,” she said quietly.
“Pilot!”
Aeryn and D’Argo turned at the sound of Chiana’s panicked voice. There were two wounds on Pilot’s chest, near his left arm. His eyes were closed and his head tilted forward.
Aeryn scrambled onto the console and began to examine the wounds. They didn’t look serious, but she wasn’t a medic. “Pilot? Pilot, can you hear me?”
Pilot took a deep breath and his head came back up. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Aeryn. “Did we survive? Ah!” He winced as he tried to move his arm.
Aeryn felt herself relax and she gently caressed his cheek. “It worked about as well as the rest of our plans.”
“And we still survived?”
The comm clicked and John’s anxious voice was heard. “Pilot! Watch out for Traven! He’s…”
“We know, John,” Aeryn said as she leaned back against the console. “He’s been dealt with.”
“Well, then I suggest Moya get ready to starburst. The other two Stooges are coming up fast behind us and they ain’t happy.”
“We’ll get underway as soon as you’re onboard.”
D’Argo helped Chiana down and watched Stark make his way past Traven’s remains. “It’s a good thing the Rolvarians are isolationists. I don’t think the rest of the galaxy could live up to their standards.”
Aeryn nodded slowly. “Well, if they think that highly of Rygel, I’m not sure I want to live up to their standards. Here, let me help you, Pilot.” She leaned forward and reached for the controls for the docking web.
Microts later, as the small transport pod slipped into the landing bay, Moya began to move. The space ahead of her parted and the great Leviathan was gone.
