Return to Kill Furlow Index
Spoilers: Through Fractures (with some liberties…maybe…)
Disclaimer: I don’t, they do. Keine gelt fur mich. (Hey! It’s been over 10 years since I took my last German class. Don’t yell at me!)
Hey, Kernil, thanks for the look-see :)
The meeting place was unusual, but these were unusual times. There was a war coming and it was time to pick sides. She just happened to choose the side of profit. No politics in profit. Sure, there was risk, but where there was risk, there was the potential to make money...and plenty of it. She could live without lots of things--looks, companionship; even food for a little while--but money was her reason for being. Without it, what was there? If you can't buy it, it ain't worth havin'. That was her motto.
Despite the fact that her garage and shop had been blown to scrap metal by that Peacekeeper bitch of Johnny's almost a cycle ago, Furlow still managed to get away. She was nobody's trelkez...she had a ship in storage just over 500 metras away, hidden away in another facility she kept on the sly. It hadn't taken her long to get to it, but long enough to watch the spectacle above as John created a wormhole that disintegrated the Scarran Dreadnought she was planning to join.
"Time to find another buyer," was all she had thought as she watched the Dreadnought disappear into the flaming chunk of star that had reached out from the wormhole to consume it.
"No reason to stick around this dump," Furlow had said as she checked the bag of her belongings waiting for her in the back of the ship. It wasn't just any ship though. She had built two copies of John's module-this was her back up. She wouldn't risk having just one when she knew she couldn't trust those Charrid blotchers not to frell up her chance at getting rich.
She heard poor ole Johnny-boy had bitten it after his little escapade--too bad, she had thought at the time, they would have made a great team. But life went on, and Furlow had deals to make and riches to procure. She had cruised around the Keriilas system since then doing odd tech jobs and getting a feel for who might be interested in what she had to offer. Because she had what everyone else wanted. Wormhole knowledge.
And that’s what brought her to this little corner of hezmana. She landed her module on the outskirts of the desolate and deserted village of Valesh. Piles of rubble and burned out buildings lay scattered about a circle of land that was once a quaint park for the residents of the town. It was now over-grown and scattered with debris. Furlow eased her doughy body down to rest on top of the remains of a decrepit lounging chair. It creaked and sunk into the soft ground under her weight, but she didn't care. Wouldn't be there long enough to get comfortable anyway. Furlow was used to meeting her potential business partners in more...formal settings, but for the amount of money at stake here, she was willing to forego protocol.
"Why don't you make yourself at home?" a serene voice said from behind her.
Startled, Furlow hopped up from her seat and put her hand on the butt of her gun. Once she saw where the voice came from, she let out a deep breath, and smiled graciously at the Nebari coming towards her.
"I was beginnin' to worry about ya. Glad you could make it. Strange place for a meeting though, don't ya think?"
The Nebari smiled vacantly at her and shrugged. "It was of utmost importance that this meeting be secret. No one has been to Valesh in hundreds of cycles. They say it is a land of ghosts now."
Furlow gave a small chuckle. "Well, I'm not a superstitious woman, and unless they got cash, they aren't invited to participate. So I guess we have nothin' to worry about."
"You're right," the Nebari said through the small smile on her gray face.
Giving the monochromatic woman in her long, charcoal colored coat the once-over, Furlow said, "Ya know, you're a bit young to be an emissary."
"Age is not a factor when you have negotiating skills like mine," she replied evenly.
"Well, let's put 'em to the test. How much are ya willing to pay for a weapon that will let you mind-cleanse the entire frellin' universe?"
"My people are prepared to offer you eight billion in borinium ingots."
Before Furlow could respond, the sound of a small craft landing behind a near-by building interrupted the pair. The Nebari's mild façade began to crack into slight irritation at the intrusion. Within moments, heavy booted footsteps could be heard echoing throughout the streets.
Furlow checked her timepiece and nodded. Right on time. She glanced at the Nebari and said, "I think I'll reserve judgement until I hear what he has to say."
The Peacekeeper captain strode stiffly toward them, black and red overcoat flapping in the breeze behind him. "What is going on here, Furlow?"
Leaning back against a crumbling stonewall, Furlow put her arm out with her hand up. "Ahh ah ah...stop right there. Show me you have no weapons first." The captain opened his coat and showed her he had nothing strapped to him or concealed within the confines of his coat. Satisfied, Furlow crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "Afternoon to ya, Captain! Bidding for the wormhole technology just started at 8 billion in borinium...Care to counter-offer?"
The Peacekeeper looked at the Nebari and then back at Furlow, the anger visibly rising in his face. "This is completely unacceptable. You brought me here to hand over the data, not haggle. What is this Nebari doing here?"
"She's about to buy the information you want, ya welnitz. You better come up with a better offer or you lose. And it won't just be this deal you lose either. I hope you look as good in gray as you do in that fetching uniform...So, how much are you going to cough up?" Furlow asked.
She loved days like this. Just one surprise after another. When the Nebari requested this location, Furlow was able to use it to her advantage. She had received contact from a Peacekeeper contingent not long after and figured she could pit them against each other and drive the price up. She was right.
"We'll pay 10 billion," the Peacekeeper said, glaring at the Nebari woman.
"Eleven billion," a gravely, rasping voice called out.
"Finally," Furlow said, sighing and rolling her eyes. "What took you so long?"
The Scarren slowly made his way over, his reptilian-like head swaying back and forth as he plodded forward. Once again, Furlow motioned him to stop. "You can stay right there and bid, big guy. Don't want you too close. Can't stand the heat, myself. How 'bout you, captain?" she asked sarcastically.
The Peacekeeper merely snarled at her. This was working out just the way she had planned. Roughly about the time the Peacekeeper contacted her, the Scarrens were hot on her trail again, so she decided it was time to renegotiate the terms of their previous agreement.
Furlow looked at all three of the competitors in turn, her pale eyes practically shining with delight as each of the representatives began offering larger and larger sums of money. This was too good to be true. She momentarily tuned them out thinking about where she would go once she had the currency in hand. Had to be as far away from these thoddoes as the module and some wormholes could take her. That she was sure of.
As the voices of the three began to rise, one voice seemed to cut through all of that and pull her from her reverie.
"Hello, Furlow" he whispered in her ear. Suddenly the arguing stopped, and all eyes locked on to Furlow's unmoving mass. Her head twitched in the direction of the voice and she turned around slowly.
"John! You're not dead!" she said feigning happy surprise. Her heart was pounding like a damaged hech drive. "Right?" she added.
"Nope. Not dead."
"Glad to see you took my advice. Told you being a dead hero ain't what it's cracked up to be."
Furlow noticed that the Sebacean woman who was practically joined at his hip was with him still. She also noticed Aeryn's jaw twitch and her eyes harden at her words. "When are ya gonna lose that frigid pile of dren," she nodded towards Aeryn, "and come work with me, Johnny?" she asked.
John put his hands on her shoulders, looked her square in the eyes, and said, "Never." As he did this, Aeryn reached over and removed Furlow's weapon then roughly patted down as much of the bulk as she could. She pulled two more small pistols and a knife, before walking back over to John.
"Where's the data, Furlow?" John asked.
Furlow tapped her misshapen head stuffed underneath the hard beanie. "Right here, fly-boy."
With a nod, John sighed and gave a tight smile. "I was afraid of that." He motioned toward the three negotiators behind him. "Naj Gil, Crais, would you please escort Furlow to the transport pod? We'll be taking her back to Moya for the time being. Chiana, you and Aeryn can follow me. I'll fly Furlow's module."
"Wait a microt..." Furlow stuttered. "YOU set me up?"
"Yes...Well, not just me..." he admitted, glancing over at Aeryn.
"Impressive...didn't know you had it in ya, Johnny."
"Learn somethin' new every day, that's my motto," John replied.
Crais and Naj Gil each grabbed an arm and led Furlow away.
Once aboard Moya, Furlow was brought to a cell where she was locked in and left alone. This situation would be easy to get out of she thought. John's no killer. Furlow lay down on the bunk, hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling and whistling. She heard footsteps coming down the corridor and stopping in front of her cell.
"Hey, Johnny!" she said, not looking up.
"Furlow."
"So, what are ya gonna do with me, hmm? Need a mechanic? You let me stay here, and I won't try to sell the wormhole stuff to anyone. You can keep an eye on me. Whaddaya say?"
"I don't think so, Furlow. One of us on board with this information is enough." He said. "No, we have another plan."
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Well, while we were waiting to meet with you, we received a distress signal from a dead Peacekeeper transport. Turned out a former acquaintance of ours had been captured and was the only person left alive on the ship."
"What's that got to do with me?"
"You're going to help our friend...relocate to a new home. We'll be there in about 2 arns. So, get some rest."
"I don't work for free, ya know. It'll cost ya."
"We're going to get you out of harm's way, Furlow. You and I both know the Scarrens are going to hunt you down and kill you eventually. So we are doing you a favor. We're leaving you on the planet once we land. It's out of the way, you won't be able to leave, and no one will be coming to visit. Not even the Scarrens."
"Whatever you say, Johnny-boy." Furlow said. She figured as long as she was alive, she'd be able to get off that place and back into business.
John walked away. He returned, like he said, in two arns, and opened her cell door. He lead her to D'Argo's ship where she boarded, guarded by Naj Gil, and sat down next to a petite creature.
"Who's the new kid?" Furlow asked, as John made sure they were secure.
"Furlow, meet your new roomie, M'Lee. M'Lee this is Furlow."
M'Lee looked at John, then at Furlow. She licked her lips and smiled showing off a mouth full of sharp teeth. Looking back at John, she said, "Oh, thank you, Crichton. You are truly a friend to me."
John patted her hand. "It's my pleasure, M'Lee. Just make this one last."
"Oh, I will, I will," M'Lee gushed as her head began to faintly glow.
John left the ship and returned to command where Aeryn was waiting for him. He sidled up to her and put his arm around her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled.
"She's going to die, isn't she?" John asked.
Aeryn shrugged, "Eighty, maybe ninety percent chance. I would say probably."
"Your mind works in devious ways, Aeryn Sun. Remind me not to cross you."
“I will,” she snickered. After a moment’s thought, Aeryn said, "What was it I heard you say once? A mind is a terrible thing to waste? That's my motto."
