Gladiators part 1 of 4
2 weeks before Insurrection

*Warning, the last scene is very violent and kind of disturbing Moya closed on the large glass like sphere. A cylinder like station went through it like poles through a planet. 4 metallic ramps extended from the sphere. A wide variety of ships of all sizes orbited the huge complex. 2 small, gray shuttles left a large, tan colored ship and blasted away towards the station. The sphere blistered with transmitter dishes.

The entire crew of Moya was assembled on the bridge, looking at the amazing sight. "What is it?" asked Crichton. "I have no idea", said D'argo. Pilot broke in. "Scans show massive amounts of people and at least 100 transmitters and I am reading a small amount of weapons fire", "It appears to be a duel", he continued. "Well, it could be a city, and a shoot out is going on", said Crichton. "All the transmitters are sending signals," said Pilot. "I know what this is, its an arena", said Crichton. "Incoming signal" said Pilot. A strange human like alien with nasal ridges appeared. He looked middle aged. "Welcome to Reeghammond Arena", he said. "Here you can buy tickets, or get the receiver needed to pick up our 24 arn a day fighting" he added. "There is nothing interesting here", said Rygel. "Did I mention unlimited betting?" said the Alien. Rygel looked at the crew. "6 tickets please", said Rygel.

"Exactly, how much of our stuff did you have to pay to get the 6 tickets?" asked Crichton. "Well, until I win enough in betting, the arena gets Aeryn's Prowler," said Rygel. "You what!" she screamed running at Rygel. Crichton grabbed her and stopped her charge. "And to get the loan for the bets, I used your Module for collateral", said Rygel. He let her go and he ran at Rygel. "You son of a....." he was stopped by Zhaan. "The shuttle has arrived", she said.

The crew stepped out of the small shuttle and into the sterile shuttle bay. Announcements were radiating through the room. Changing add posters changed from company to company. A small tram pulled up, letting off a menagerie of aliens. The crew boarded the tram. "Betting office' said Rygel. The magnetic tram zoomed through the tight metal passages. People walking beside them were blurs. The tram stopped at a large room with many monitors. Metal clanked under their feet. Rygel hovered over to a monitor. He pressed an arrow button and the cursor went down. As it highlighted a name, a picture of a fighter appeared. The ranking boxes were empty, since the real tournament had yet to begin. He stopped at a name that puzzled him. "What kind of name is Riplous?" Rygel asked a passer by. "He's an Allyviperian*, a brutal reptilian warrior race from another galaxy that has made war a religion, and their extremely devote", said the man. "He's 3 times stronger, 2 times faster, and 10 times more aggressive than any Sebascean", he added. The image almost appeared to be a Sebascean. However, his eyes were golden without white and fangs could be seen in his cruel smile. Rygel turned to the bookie. "1000 on Riplous", said Rygel with confidence.

Crichton and Aeryn found the seats on the first row. The others were out looking around. D'argo and Zhaan had gone to the bar next to the betting office. Crichton looked around the arena. "Where's the beer, er razlak man?" he asked. Aeryn was focused on the dirt filled pit. The seats were above a 4-foot wall. A scoreboard was on top of a pole in the middle of the arena. The seats were in 4 decks of 30 rows each.

Inside the ring a Urvidian and a Tavlek were facing each other bare handed. The Tavlek was bleeding from his head and looked weak. The Urvidian used a sloppy double sidekick to bring down the Tavlek. He bounced a few feet away from the Tavlek, waiting for him to get up. After 10 seconds, the announcer came in. "And the winner is Garek!" he exclaimed. A combination of cheers and boos went up from the crowd. Aeryn shook her head. "I could beat him", she said.

Crichton was now looking at a manual, the basic rules of the arena. "Fighters have no idea who their opponent is", said Chrichton. "They have a program that shifts a monitor from red to green 725 times in 2 microts" he said. "It runs until a button is pressed, the color determines the match", he added. "Green is a fight like we just had, but a red uses red and is to the death", he said. "And were depending on Rygel to win our ships back", she said. "Where's Chiana with that razlack?" asked Crichton.

D'argo and Zhaan sat in the bar surrounded by aliens. They had noticed a man watching them. When Zhaan went to get another drink, the man walked over to D'argo. "Do you have a son named Jothee?" asked the man. "How did you know?" asked D'argo. "I'm a freighter Captain, and I gave him and his adopted family passage to one of my ports of call, he carried a holo image of you with him and told me all about you", said the man. "Do you know where he is?" asked D'argo. "Yes, but you see, I have run into debt here, and I can't leave" he said. "My names Jarek", he said. "The owner noticed you when you entered, he said that if I convinced you to fight he would call off my debt", said Jarek. "If you fight, I will give you the coordinates for your son's world", said Jarek. D'argo didn't hesitate. "I'll do it!" he said.

Aeryn, Crichton, Chiana, and Rygel all sat in their seats. Chiana was showing Rygel what she snurched. This included a wallet with 500 credits. Crichton sipped his razlak, while Aeryn waited in anticipated the next fight. It featured Riplous, and her Prowler was riding on this fight. The announcer broke in. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this day's fights", he said. "Our first warrior used to be the commander of the Zenetan Pirates, Kcrackic!" exclaimed the announcer. The slightly over weight pirate walked out in a jump suit. He was met with boos, not all because he was going against their bets. This number of boos triggered something in his mind. He must be going against someone popular. Suddenly, a chirping war cry came from the other entrance. His heart sank into his stomach and his eyes glazed over with fear. "Oh God, please don't be the red!" he said under his breath. The announcer exclaimed. "Trained as a warrior since he was 3, now 28, the Allyviperian beast, Avrand Riplous!" The well-muscled Allyviperian entered in all black full body armor. He looked around the arena to the rhythmic cheers of "Riplous, Riplous". A long disrupter pistol hung at his side and a strange box on his other hip. A forked tongue lashed out like a snake. He saw everything in infrared. (think predator vision) He saw body heat, he saw in a wash of blue; his opponent was a splatter of red, orange, and blue.

They met in the center of the ring. A control descended and Kcrackic took it. The monitor was a blur of green and red. He pressed the button. The monitor stopped on red. "Oh God!" thought Kcrackic. He drew his blaster and waited. Invisible fields of energy rose around the spectators. He looked up nervously at the red on the scoreboard. "What's the matter heathen?" asked Riplous in a hissing, deep voice. The buzzer sounded and Kcrackic began firing his blaster immediately. Riplous easily dodged the red blasts. He rolled quickly and drew his own pistol and let a single green disrupter bolt fly, hitting Kcrackic in the shoulder. He dropped his gun, looking at Riplous. He crawled back, trying to surrender. He sighed as relief as he put away the disrupter. Riplous then grabbed a sharp disc from his hip. The disk began to spin around his fingers. A laser beam shot out from the disc, pointing to the pirate's neck. A small monitor on the back of the disc showed the pirates heat signature. The triangle cursor looked on to his throat and beeped. Riplous drew his arm across his body and threw the disc violently. It sounded like a circular saw as it flew through the air. The Pirate screamed as the disc hit his neck. Several people in the crowd turned their heads as the scream was silenced. The blood covered disc hovered in front of Riplous, until he grabbed it. He licked the blood off the disc and put it back into his holster. He let loose a war cry as the crowd called his name.

"And the winner is, Riplous, by decapitation!" exclaimed the announcer. Crichton was pale and turned his head away from the headless corpse. He looked at Aeryn. She was smiling! "John, I want to fight too", she said.

* The Allyviperians are the bad guys of my original story, the Owlman. They use a fleet of cloaking ships, mostly, Birds of Prey, one of the things that inspired me to make Crichton's ship a Bird of Prey.

Gladiators part 2 of 4 The Prequel to Insurrection
I made it 1 episode longer so that I wouldn't have to take 3 hours on 1 episode.
Warning violent as hell!
Also has violence towards animals, but even a hardcore PEDA member wouldn't want to save this animal.

"You what!" exclaimed Crichton. "I want to fight," said Aeryn standing up. "Aeryn, you saw what happened to that guy, he just lost his head!" said Crichton. "That's because he was slow and weak", said Aeryn. Crichton blocked her path to the stairs. "You aren't going!" said Crichton. She palm struck him in the face, knocking him down. She hurtled him, and ran for the stairs. Several in the crowd watched their little tussle. A frog like alien looked at Crichton's face. He saw him get up and chase after Aeryn. He pulled out a comm. and spoke into it.

Crichton chased Aeryn through the crowded promenade. He couldn't close the gap because of the large crowd. She boarded a tram, just as he reached it, the doors shut. He smacked into the side of the tram as it sped away.

He staggered away from the tracks and leaned against a pillar. He wiped some blood from his nose. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "Are you John Crichton?" came a deep voice from behind him. He turned to face a large Luxan (Bigger than D'argo) and a cruel looking Sebascean. "Yeah", he said. The Luxan punched him in the face and everything went black.

Aeryn and D'argo sat across from the arena owner, an old Sebascean named Jonis. He looked at them with a smile. "So, both of you want to join the tournament?" asked Jonis. "Yes", said Aeryn. "You do know that joining up this late, you will have to face a prize less trial?" he asked. "We know, we read the rule book", said Aeryn. "Then you know it will be a difficult battle?" he asked. "Of course", said D'argo. "Also, you know that if you don't kill in a red match, you will be shot by our sniper, and not be given medical treatment?" asked Jonis. "Yes" she replied. "Are you also aware that we request that you kill your opponents in such a way that they can be revived?" he asked "Yes!" exclaimed Aeryn, growing impatient. "Since your so gun-ho, your trial will be in an arn, and I have the perfect opponent for you", said Jonis. "Who?" she asked. "Actually, its a what", he said. "An animal?" she asked. "One like you've never seen", said Jonis with a smile.

The room slowly came into focus. Everything was either a blur or was in triple vision. Crichton stirred as his vision returned to normal. He tried to move, but his hands and feet were strapped to the chair. The Aurora Chair came to mind, but he was in an office not a torture chamber. He noticed the 2 that grabbed him and a frog like alien. The looked at him. "Ah, Commander Crichton", said the frog man. "Who the hell are you?" asked Crichton.

"Names Zek, I am a fight promoter", he said. "I read your record, Peace Keeper most wanted" "A count of terrorism, 64 counts of killing a Peace Keeper officer, destroying a Peace Keeper facility, and a whole lot of other charges", said Zek. "And, a 2 million credit bounty if taken alive", said Zek. "You see, that's wrong", said Crichton. "Oh, what's that?" asked Zek. "I am worth way more than that!" he said kidding. "What do you want from me?" he asked. "Simple, you fight in a special event", said Zek. "My 2 men and 4 bounty hunters will be in the ring against you and 2 more gladiators of your choosing". "If your team wins, you get 1/3 of broadcast profits divided among you" said Zek. "We sold thousands of dishes to the Peace Keepers, we will charge 3 times the normal price for your fight", he added. "Also, the other team has strict orders to disable you", the person who does, gets 1/3 of the bounty, and you go to the Peace Keepers", said Zek. "And if I refuse to fight?" asked Crichton. "Your friends fighting will face some problems", said Zek. "In fact, one of your friends has her trial in 15 minutes, I will take you to the fenced viewing area used by the gladiators", said Zek.

Crichton looked out at the empty pit through the chicken wire. Zek's goons stood behind him. He stood next to a green skinned gladiator. The gladiator had no hair and a small horn over each eye. Crichton scanned the crowd for Zhaan or Chiana. He saw Aeryn carrying her pulse rifle, heading for him. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Crichton spotted the Luxan with a pistol pointed at her back; he put a finger to his mouth. "Just came to wish you luck", he said. She checked her rifle and walked out the metal door to the ring, which quickly closed behind her.

The announcer came on. He had already explained the rules of the "trial". Now he was introducing her. "Give a big hand for PeaceKeeper turned fugitive, cohort of the infamous John Crichton", "I Present, Aeryn Sun!" he said. Boos came from most of the crowd. People in this area weren't found of PeaceKeepers. Chiana's and Zhaan's cheers were drowned out by the din of the boos. "And her opponent, one of the most feared animals in the Galaxy". "Luxan's call them demons, Delvians call them Devils, but most call them Hunters!" he exclaimed with a loud cheer coming from the crowd. "By the Goddess!" exclaimed Zhaan. "What, are these things that bad?" asked Chiana. "They are powerful and cruel creatures, they like to decapitate their opponents or gut them", said Zhaan. Aeryn was even worried. She remembered the bodies of the commandos sent into to a jungle to rid it of them. It was the only scene of gore that made her sick to her stomach. She took the safety off the rifle and waited.

A door 20 yards away from her opened. A high-pitched screech came from the dark entrance. She heard rapid, heavy footsteps on the concrete floor of the entryway. Suddenly, it emerged. It looked like a cross between an amphibian and a gorilla. It had green, scaly skin. It was slightly shorter than Aeryn, main due to the fact that it was slightly hunched over. It's head looked like a cross between a frog's and a snake's. It was pure muscle, and weighed about 400 pounds. But its size wasn't what scarred Aeryn; it was its claws. Each hand had 4, 1-foot long claws. The hunter quickly scanned the arena, then ran at amazing speed at Aeryn.

She fired once, striking the hunter in the chest. The creature lurched back for a second, then charged again. She aimed but just as she fired, the hunter leaped 10 feet in the air. She readjusted her aim as the hunter descended towards her. She squeezed off 2 more shots into its chest before it hit the ground in front of her. She ducked and rolled away just as it's right claw swiped where her head had been. She targeted the confused hunter's back. 3 shots tipped the hunter over. The dying creature labored to breathe. She stepped over it and fired twice into its head. The massive animal went limp. She raised her rifle as a sign of victory against a fury of boos. The sound was deafening. Suddenly, the crowd went silent. This spooked her. Suddenly, Crichton's voice broke the silence. "Aeryn, behind you!" he yelled. She heard a screech behind her.

She rolled, but it was too late. The tips of the second hunter's right claws raked across her back, splattering blood in a horrid torrent. The crowd's noise must have covered up the sound of the door. She hit the ground and rolled on her slashed back. She saw the hunter in mid-air, heading for her. She spread her legs, just as the hunter landed between them. If she hadn't, her legs would have been broken. As the creature swiped, she raised her rifle horizontally. The razor sharp claws slashed into the plastic rifle. The hunter pulled its paw away, with the rifle stuck to it. It drew back, trying to get it off. She staggered to her feet and grabbed her pulse pistol from her leg. She tried to aim for its neck, but she couldn't find one. She shot the pulse pistol twice into its chest, but the power setting was too low to do any damage. Plus, it was hard to aim because of the wounds on her back. The blasts only enraged the hunter. As she flipped up the power setting, the hunter leaped at her. It slashed her bicep as it descended. Her pistol, as well as a hunk of flesh went flying. She screamed in pain, as she hoped back from another swipe. The tips of 2 claws raked her chest.

She fell right in front of the chicken wire. Crichton put the knife that the gladiator had given him through the wire. "Stab it in it's leg, press the button, and get away from it, you will have 3 microts", he said. The hunter stood over her, claws raised. She jabbed the knife into its lower leg, and pressed the button on the handle. As the hunter bellowed, she crawled to her feet and ran for a few yards before she collapsed. She rolled over, and saw the hunter leap into the air and head strait for her. Suddenly, the hunter exploded into a hail of blood, muscle, fire, and bone. Aeryn tried to stay conscience through the pain.

The door opened and Crichton and a middle aged Sebascean woman ran out to her. They picked her up from the large pool of blood that had formed under her. She was barley conscience as they entered the room. Zek stopped them. "Are you going to fight?" he asked. "Don't ask me now!" Crichton exclaimed. "If you don't fight, she won't get medical treatment", he said. "Sir!" exclaimed the woman. "Quiet Shaleena!" Zek barked at the doctor. "You wouldn't do that", said Crichton. "Yes he would", said the gladiator that helped Aeryn. "Alright, I'll do it!" said Crichton. As they put Aeryn on a gurney, Crichton leaned down to her. He had never said this, and he didn't know how she would react. He kissed her lightly. "I love you," he said in a whisper.

*To all PEDA members, if you would like to join the adopt a Hunter program please call 1-800-you-crazy*
*Also, hunters are based on monsters of the same name from Resident Evil

Gladiators Part 3, the Prequel to Insurrection
*Warning this fic contains scenes of explicit violence and gore*

"Don't worry, Shaleena is a good doctor, she's brought more than a few fighters back from the dead", said the gladiator. "Good", said Crichton without emotion. "What's wrong?" asked the gladiator. "That's the first time I told her that I loved her", said Crichton. The gladiator starred at Crichton's coat. "You Peace Keeper?" he asked. "No!" exclaimed Crichton. "Sorry, just saw your uniform and you have eyes like a soldier", said the gladiator. "Yeah, I used to be a scientist, now a fugitive", said Crichton. "I only have 1 fight, something called the gauntlet", said Crichton. "You got a team yet?" asked the gladiator. "Nope", said Crichton. "Count me in, names Maxis", he said. "Names John Crichton".

D'argo came up to them. "Crichton, how's Aeryn?" he asked. "She's cut up pretty bad, but she'll be ok" he replied. "Where you going?" asked Crichton. "I have a green match against two gladiators for my trial", said D'argo. "How come you get a green match and Aeryn gets 2 Hunters?" asked Crichton. "Jonis doesn't like her very much", said D'argo leaving to be introduced.

D'argo stared at the 2 Sebasceans advancing towards him. One was huge; the other wielded a chain. They were both nervous. D'argo could tell this would be an easy fight. The smaller one whipped the chain of D'argo. D'argo caught it and pulled the Sebascean towards him. He grabbed the Sebascean and threw him head first into the arena wall. There was a loud crack as the impact dislocated his shoulder. The big man jabbed D'argo in the mouth, knocking him back. D'argo slammed his fist into the man's stomach, making him slouch over. Next, he punched the man in the back, knocking him to his knees. Finally, he axe-handled the man in the back of his head. The man drooled a little blood and pasted out in the sand. D'argo raised his hands and screamed.

The pain in Aeryn's right arm was almost unbearable. She looked at Shaleena as she was squeezing a tube of clear gelly into the large cut in her bicep. She was lying on her left side; the only side not cut up. She was in her bra; several bronze color regenerator strips were on her chest. "What is that?"asked Aeryn. Shaleena jumped startled. "Your awake, sorry, you were in such bad shape that I couldn't give you any pain killers", said Shaleena. "What's in the tube?" asked Aeryn. "It's a substance designed to kill the bacteria some Hunters have on their claws", said Shaleena. "How bad are my wounds?" asked Aeryn. "Not bad for a Hunter attack, most of the time if a Hunter gets close enough to claw you, your dead", said Shaleena. "Don't you try to save everyone killed?" asked Aeryn. "Yeah, but I can't fix a decapitation or disembowlment", said Shaleena. "Good point", said Aeryn, relaxing as the pain faded.

Crichton and Maxis sat on separate bunks in the 2-bunk room. "Thanks for sharing the room", said Crichton. "No problem, sorry you couldn't room with your girl friend", said Maxis. "She's not exactly my girl friend", said Crichton. "I looked up your profile on the fighters data base, it listed your profession as a terrorist, and Peace Keeper most wanted", said Maxis. "Actually, I'm a pro-criminal, even robbed a shadow depository once" said Crichton. "I have only committed 1 act of what you would call terrorism", he added. "What you do?" asked Maxis. "I blew up a Gammick base and burned an entire moon to cover my friend's retreat", said Chrichton. "An oil covered moon?" asked Maxis. "Yeah", said Crichton.

"How'd you know?" asked Crichton.

"Before I came here, I was a mercenary", said Maxis. "We were hired by this Peace Keeper Colonel named Tavek, to go deep into the uncharted territories and steal a virus from a Hynerian scientist', said Maxis. "Was her name Zot?" asked Crichton. "Yeah, you met her?" asked Maxis. "What she turned into anyway", said Crichton. "We were to optain something called the Sentient Virus, and another virus called the Space Fairer's death" said Maxis. "We were then to deliver the viruses to a Serpent Order agent on the base name Scorpious", said Maxis. "However, Zot didn't have the Sentient Virus", said Maxis. "I know, we killed the B.C.F. that was transporting it to Scorpious, and destroyed the Virus", said Crichton. "Scorpious was in orbit when we destroyed the base", said Crichton. "On the way back, there was an accident, and the virus escaped", said Maxis. "The virus only kills Sebasceans and drives them insane in the process", he added. "After the 8 Sebasceans died, my partner, a Scarren, tried to kill me, I got away in a shuttle and found this place", said Maxis. "But it was no accident, Tavek rigged one of our containment canisters to release the virus and hired the Scarren to kill any survivors", he asked. "So you see, you are kind of a hero to me Commander, I only hope that Colonel Tavek died in that explosion", said Maxis.

"Sorry, I know that Tavek wasn't on the planet, the highest ranking officer was a commander", said Crichton. "Damn!" said Maxis. "Also, I contracted Cirus, a brain eating fungus, at Zot's base", said Maxis. "I will be dead in 2 months", he added. "So I came here to in the hopes that I will die quicker". "I prefer decapitation by a hunter or Riplous to dying slowly of insanity" he added. "I'm sorry", Said Crichton. "It's all right, I have had a full life, lived 20 cycles", said Maxis. "20 cycles, but you look middle aged", said Crichton. "That's because all Jem'dar are put into maturation chambers as soon as were born, were 20 cycles old in 1 month", he said. "We used these special injections to let us learn at an exponential rate, you can learn to read, write, or learn a martial art in a week", said Maxis. "Do you know any martial arts?" asked Maxis. "Yeah, Aeryn is teaching me Peace Keeper", said Crichton. "You want to learn Jem'dar Special Forces?" asked Maxis. "Hell yeah", said Crichton. Maxis walked up behind Crichton and injected the needle into the base of his skull.

"Riplous! Riplous!" chanted the crowd as Riplous smacked a helmeted Sebascean to the ground with his spear. The man tried to raise his blaster. With a quick motion Riplous severed his arm with his wrist blades. The man's screams were covered up by the crowds "ewww!!!" Riplous brought him to his feet. He threw the man's riot helmet off, revealing a bloody face. "Please don't!" squeezed out the man. The crowd began rhythmically chanting "Kill! Kill! Kill!". "Enjoy hell heathen!" said Riplous as he plunged the spear into his chest. He held the man up in the air on the spear with one hand. He brought the still struggling man to his face. With a swift stroke his slashed the man's throat with his twin wrist blades. Blood gushed onto Riplous, who drank some as it fell to the ground. The turned his back to the closest spectators and hurled the body over the wall. The blood mess landed in someone's lap. The laughed with delight.

He raised his bloody weapons into the air and gave another chirping war cry. His named was being chanted with ferocity as he exited the arena floor. Shaleena stopped him. "I can save him you bastard!" she exclaimed. "Good", said Riplous exiting, licking his blood covered lips.

36 hours later

Crichton stood weary eyed in front of Maxis. Crichton learned faster on the drug than Maxis had. He could have learned all that Maxis knew in 2 more days, but the only had 10 hours till the fight, and he had to sleep. They had met the third member of their team, a young Sebascean named Terile. He was very inexperienced, and didn't seem like a killer. Aeryn had stopped by to report all that happened. She had killed the Urvidian they saw on the first day, and beat a Sebascean bounty hunter in a green match. She also said that D'argo and Riplous both won 2 red matches. Everyone fought 2 times a day. Now, 16 fighters were left.

Crichton had been explained the gauntlet by Maxis. They entered the arena with only hand weapons (like knives) and had to fight their way to their guns. But the other team couldn't use their guns till his team did. Crichton stared at the combat knife given to him by Maxis. It was made of 2 blades that came together at the tip., with a space in the middle. 2 small blades on the hilt helped protect the hand. He also checked the silver short axe in his other hand. The guns available to them were Terile's pulse rifle, Maxis' plasma rifle, and Crichton's pair of pulse pistols. Crichton had learned how to use the knife and axe combination like an expert. He had also chosen a helmet. It was silver, and looked like a hunter's head. A mask that looked like a man's face with one tear under the right eye fit between the crafted jaws. The face had to eyeholes and the mouth was a slit that let in air.

The trio stood nervously in the gladiator viewing area as their opponents were being introduced. Crichton and Maxis stood up front with matching combat knives; Crichton also carried the axe in his left hand. Terile was behind them with a bo staff made of black metal. Crichton was so focused that he didn't even here name on the announcements. He only cared about winning. He heard the door buzz and swing open.

Maxis ducked a barb-covered chain as soon as he exited the room. He charged the Scarren with the whip, which was now stuck in the wall. He drove the combat knife into the gladiator's chest, and shoved him to the ground. A Sebascean in full riot gear got behind Maxis, and raised his baton. Crichton ran in with a roundhouse to the Sebascean's throat. He collapsed to the ground. Maxis got off the dead Scarren, and gave a nod to Crichton. The downed gladiator hit Crichton in the knee with his baton, knocking him down. Terile got behind him and tripped him with his staff. He kept beating the back of the Sebascean's helmet till he stopped moving. Terile then ran at a halberd armed Sebascean. The weapons collided horizontally. Crichton looked and saw one of Zek's goons pointing a gun at Terile. They weren't supposed to have guns yet.

A net with barbs on it flew pinning Terile to the wall, just after he knocked the halberd carrier. He struggled to free himself from the barbs. The Luxan ran up and slashed his Qualta blade down the young man's chest, letting loose a river of blood as he screamed. "No!" exclaimed Crichton about to throw his knife. Suddenly, another riot geared Sebascean hit Crichton from behind with a riot shield almost his size. He also held a tazer. As Crichton stood, he was hit but the shield again. He sprang to his feet with his back to the wall. When the gladiator charged again, he ran up the curved wall, and then dropped on the Sebascean, forcing him to the ground. He held him down and began violently stabbing the man in the back. He then smashed the axe on the back of the man's helmet, penetrating and drawing blood.

The Sebascean goon aimed his net gun at Crichton as the halberd man ran at him. Maxis threw his combat knife into the base of the goon's neck. Maxis grabbed the net gun and fired at the halberd man. He fired a little low, and a half of the barbs caught the Sebascean in the throat and face. He hung there, dying. A blue blast hit Maxis from behind, knocking him out. The Luxan held his sword in rifle mode. He would kill Maxis later, after he stunned Crichton. Since he was the last man of his team, he could use his gun. Crichton threw down his axe and picked up the shield and made a break for his guns, held in a class case on the center pillar. The shield blocked several shots as Crichton ran. 1 broke the class case that his pistols were in. A stun blast hit Crichton on the belt line, and he passed out behind the shield beyond the Luxan's view. The Luxan walked over to the downed Maxis and raised his sword.

Suddenly, the shield flopped to the ground and Crichton aimed both guns while sitting. He fired 3 times simultaneously from each gun. Black blood flew from the 6 holes blasted into the Luxan's chest. The Luxan fell to his knees, more than likely dead. Crichton didn't want to take any chances. He put his left gun on the ground and put his right gun to full blast. He used both hands to target and fired at the Luxan's head from 20 feet. The Luxan's head exploded into a giser of black blood. (You were expecting a gory scene weren't you?)

A loud cheer came from the crowd as Crichton staggered to his feet. He breathed heavily, his blood full of adrenaline and anger. He put his guns in his holsters and replace his scanner with the tazer. He raised the facemask. He drew his knife, which had a blast mark on hit where it took the stun shot for Crichton. He cut the bleeding body of Terile off the wall and carried him to the viewing room. The people began chanting Crichton!

Crichton, Aeryn, D'argo, and Maxis all had allot to celebrate about, only 2 teams in the arenas history won the gauntlet, and Aeryn and D'argo were 3 matches away from the final bout. But at their celebration dinner, Crichton wasn't there, but Aeryn knew where to find him.

She found him sitting next to a cryo-coffin in the storage area. Crichton put a small cargo box on top of it. "Hey", said Aeryn. "Hey", he said back. "I'm sorry", she said. "Me too", said Crichton. "You were phenomenal today", she said. "I never seen you fight like that", she said. "We humans become very dangerous when angered", said Crichton. She rubbed his shoulders. "I have given allot of thought to what you said after my battle with the Hunters", she said. "I thought you were going to die Aeryn, I apologize for saying it", he said. "It's all right, just a spur of the moment thing", she said. She looked at the silver helmet that Crichton had worn. "You keeping this?" she asked. "Yeah, why not", he added.

Aeryn, D'argo, and Riplous won both their matches and only a Nebari Martial artist remained. He fought D'argo in a red match that lasted 10 seconds. D'argo shot him through the heart. This meant Aeryn and Riplous were to face each other. This scared both Crichton and Aeryn. If it was a red match, Aeryn would probably die, but she might be able to hold her own in a green match.

The two came to meet in the center of the ring after they were announced. The Crowd was chanting Riplous! Aeryn pushed the button to stop the colors. It stopped on green. Boos came from the crowd, they loved the brutality of Riplous. He shed his armored vest, disrupter, spear, disc, shoulder cannon, and wrist blades. He stood in a black T-shirt and waited, focused on Aeryn. She matched his stare as her rifle hit the ground.

As soon as the bell rang, he charged her. She stopped him with a kick to the abdomen. He swung at her head and she ducked, punching him in the same area. She rose and palm struck him in the face. He lunged again and she hop kicked him in the upper chest. As he made another charge, this time she did a spinning roundhouse, smashing her foot into his left jaw. Blood spilled out of his mouth and he staggered to the right, having to put his arm down. He threw another kick to finish him. He caught her leg in his powerful hand.

His forked tongue licked his blood off his lips. He snapped his multi-jointed jaw back into place, like he did when he swallowed a large piece of food. (Snakes can't chew) He threw her back, but she rolled as she hit the ground. He charged her, catching her unprepared. He blocked a kick, and walked through 2 strait palm strikes to his face. He grabbed the top of her hair. Holding her head still, violently punched her in the face. Blood flew from her face as her nose broke with a snap. She was unconscious before she hit the floor. She laid down spread eagle, her nose bleeding.

"Get up!" he screamed. She leyed motionless. "The winner is Riplous!" exclaimed the announcer. The blood covered Riplous raised his hands and gave another chanting war cry.

The announcer broke in. "Wait folks, I just got a message", he said. "Due to his acts of killing opponents so that they may not be revived, Riplous is disqualified from the tournament, your winner is Aeryn Sun!" he exclaimed.

Aeryn sat in her hospital bed, a regenerator on her nose. Zek and Jonis stood over her. "Tomorrow, you fight D'argo for the championship", said Jonis. "Wrong, I forfeit, I just wanted to see how far I could get, now give D'argo his son's coordinates" she said. "If you don't fight, your friend will go up against 3 Hunters simultaneously", said Zek. "Also, we will schedule a special event, Crichton versus Riplous, red match", said Zek. "If that many Peace Keepers paid that much to see him get hurt, imagine how much they will pay to see him die!" said Jonis. "Then, I will fight D'argo", said Aeryn.

*The Flesh is gonna fly, the Hunters return in the finale, and this time, they aren't just going to wound somebody*
*Who will it be? *
*No, really, tell who you think will meet their fate with the Hunters, then tune in next time to see who it is, and if your right.*

Gladiators Part 4, the prequel to Insurrection
*Warning, this fic contains scenes of explicit Violence and Gore Could also make you cry. But not likely

Zek and Jonis walked to the other side of the infirmary from Aeryn. They stood next to Shaleena's office. "Something interesting just happened", said Jonis. "That Peace Keeper task force that took Nazin, Kentaka, and Draconis, is heading for Servec and the command carrier is heading here to collect Crichton", he added. "They plan to subjugate every Sebascean planet except Skara", said Jonis. "They want us to arrest all gladiators and keep them locked in their rooms", he added. "And all arena personnel are to be detained". "When do they arrive?" asked Zek. "An arn after the final match", said Jonis. "Dren!", exclaimed Zek as they left. Shaleena ran over to Aeryn and told her everything she overheard.

"Oh crap!" said Crichton and D'argo almost in unison. They were in Crichton's/Maxis' quarters. Aeryn sat next to Crichton. "Scorpious?" asked Crichton. "Almost defiantly", said Aeryn. "How could he subjugate worlds, he had only a hand full of ships", said D'argo. "Not to mention that the Scarrens would declare war if they invaded the Uncharted Territories", said Crichton. "It could be Ryken", said Maxis. "Who's Ryken?" asked Crichton. "Commodore Ryken, a member of the High Council", said Aeryn. "A few cycles back, the Scarrens planed a suprise attack on the Peace Keepers, but the Serpent Order had broken the Scaren's communications codes", said Aeryn. "Ryken lead a task force on a preemptive strike, and wiped out their force in a matter of minutes", she added. "Now, they almost fear Ryken", she said.

"Are y'all forgetting the problem at hand?" asked Crichton. "You have to fight D'argo tomorrow!" he exclaimed. "If it's green D'argo knocks me out", said Aeryn. "And if it's red?" asked Crichton. "That's the problem", said D'argo. "If we refuse to fight, we will have a sniper and several Hunters to deal with, and D'argo won't find his son", said Aeryn. "So what, you die?" asked Crichton. "He kills me in a way that Shaleena will be able to bring me back", said Aeryn. "And what if she can't, what am I supposed to do without you!" he exclaimed not thinking. An awkward silence filled the room. Maxis broke it. "What if the Commander and I find this Jarek and force him to give the coordinates?" He handed a small chip to each of them. "This is a 2 way radio, I will connect to D'argo, the Commander will be connected to Officer Sun", he said. "We'll take out the sniper, and also find a way from the floor to Shaleena's shuttle", he said. What about Chiana and the others?" asked D'argo. "Shaleena warned them to leave before their arrested", said Aeryn.

"Even if you take out the sniper, we still have the Hunters to deal with", said Aeryn. Maxis opened a suitcase and pulled out a black gun. It looked like a cross between a rifle and a pistol. Its front end was like a large pistol and it had a rifle stock. It also had a scope on it. It reminded Crichton of a Calico M-100P. "What is it?" asked Aeryn taking it. "Hand cannon, fires explosive tipped bullets", said Maxis pulling a bullet from the clip. "Looks like a magnum round", said Crichton. Maxis threw the clip to her. The gun felt awkward, she was used to light chackan oil, not bullets. "One shot will take down a hunter, guaranteed", said Maxis. "Better get out of here before they begin the lock down", said Crichton.

Suddenly, the door flew open and 3 shield carrying riot-geared guards rushed in, flanked by 4 more with white pulse rifles. The trio leveled their weapons at the guards. "Drop your weapons!" came a Scarren voice from behind the troops. A large Scarren wearing a security uniform walked in. "Ah, Maxis old friend", he said. "What the frell are you doing here Bordo?" asked Maxis. "I am the new chief of security", he replied. "And Scorpious hired me to take you back to Colonel Tavek after his carrier arrives", he added. Crichton noticed that Aeryn shuttered at Tavek's name. "Ka D'argo, will you please follow this guard to your new room, and give me your weapon", said Bordo. "I will take Officer Sun", he said. The guard Sargent walked to Crichton as Aeryn left with Bordo. "I must confiscate a Jem'dar plasma rifle, 2 PeaceKeeper pistols, and 2 combat knives", he said. Maxis handed over his AK-47 like rifle, which included a scope. All the weapons were handed over but 1 knife. "It's still stuck in some mercs neck", said Maxis. All the guards left except the Sarge. "Yes?" asked Crichton. "Commander, I'm a big fan, I wondered if you would sign my holster?" asked the Sarge. He handed over an empty holster and a pin. Crichton signed it and the Sarge left.

The guards stood outside another room. The Sarge stared at the door nervously. "Be careful, Riplous is frelling crazy", he said. The shield men busted in first into the darkened room. (Since Riplous sees in infrared, he can't see light, so he doesn't use the switch) The Sarge flipped the light switch and the 1 cot room lit up. It was empty except for a refrigerator and a religious statue, a golden cobra over a bowl, which was stained red. "Check the ceiling!" he ordered looking up. All that was up there was a cord. He opened the fridge and looked in side. He saw viles of blood in side. "Sick bastard!" he exclaimed. As they left, he told to riflemen to stay behind and wait for Riplous to return.

They were both facing the door when a loud thud came from behind them. They turned to an empty room. "What the frell?" one said. They turned back to the door. A barley viable, shimmering figure, slowly crept behind them. Riplous faded into visibility as his spear and wrist blades extended. The door muffled the to guards' screams and the sounds of blades cutting flesh. Riplous exited the room, then faded into a blur as he pushed a button on his wrist.

Crichton pried open the panel by the door with his combat knife that he had concealed in his jacket. Maxis studied the blue prints for the arena. "An air duct at the back of weapons storage should give us access to floor hall way 4, which has a ladder to the main storage room, which has a ladder to the catwalks, the sniper uses the 3rd story catwalk", he said. "Then we take the elevator on the 3rd to the control room, and open the door from the floor to hall way 4 and Shaleena's shuttle is in the airlock at the back of the hall", he added. Crichton looked at the wires. "I can short out his with the tazer and the door should open, then we find Aeryn and D'argo and bail", said Crichton. "No, our plan is for during the fight, we will stick with it Commander", said Maxis. "Maxis, call me John", said Crichton. "Alright, John, get some sleep", said Maxis lying down. "I'm guessing that Bordo is your partner", said Chrichton. "Yeah, now go to sleep", said Maxis. Crichton jumped into bed.

In the morning, Crichton sat with his ear against the door listening to the guards outside. It was a shift change. "You hear, Riplous killed Tanger and Belek last night", said one. "Yeah, and Saram is missing too", said the other. "Aeryn's voice came over the radio. "Fights in a few minutes", she said. "Well get going in a few ourselves", said Crichton. "Good luck", she said. "You too", he replied.

Maxis stood right behind the door with a detached leg from the cot. Crichton counted down silently, then jabbed the tazer into the wires. The unsuspecting guard got only half turned before Maxis disarmed him with the leg, then hit him over the head. Maxis grabbed the rifle and rounded the corner.

He quickly shot the 2 guards protecting the weapons storage room. Crichton grabbed a rifle and tried to open the door. "Key card required!" exclaimed Chrichton. A guard came up behind them. "Drop your weapons", he said. Just as he said it, a shimmering form stepped in front of him. Riplous appeared and cut the guards hand off with his disc. Another pass on the man's chest stopped his screaming in a splatter of blood. The laser came out of the disc and targeted the door. The thrown disc shattered the door into pieces, then returned to Riplous. "Riplous, free the other gladiators", said Maxis walking into the room.

Crichton found his pistols and loaded them, taking a few extra clips. He gave his knife to Maxis you put it in his belt and he put his own on his rifle like a bayonet. Several gladiators came in. "Peace Keepers are coming, get your guns and get out of here", said Maxis. He threw open an air duct and crawled in, Crichton right behind.

Aeryn and D'argo faced each other in the center of the ring. She pressed the button to stop the colors. She gasped as the color red appeared. The crowd cheered and chanted "D'argo!" The bell rang. She threw down her guns and took out a knife. D'argo swung at her head slowly and she ducked. She tackled him to the ground and was quickly thrown off.

The hall was dimly lit and quiet. Crichton and Maxis walked carefully, weapons drawn. As Crichton rounded the corner, he heard a screech. Suddenly, a Hunter lunged at him from his left. Crichton slid pointing both guns at the beast. Then he saw that the Hunter was behind bars. The massive amphibian beast hung on the door; it's claws and feet on the bars. It jumped down and lunged again at the door. The entire cage shook under the 400-pound plus weight being thrown on it. Crichton thought the door was about to break. "You OK?" asked Maxis. "Yeah, just nearly craped my pants", said Crichton climbing the ladder.

In the control room, Jonis overlooked the techs. "Sir, 5 Hunters standing by at all doors except 4", reported a woman.

Jarek climbed to the sixth catwalk. An announcement said that he won a prize and that he needed to go to the storeroom to collect it. There he found a note to go to the 6th story catwalk. He was greeted by Crichton's pistols. Maxis came from behind and tied a chain around Jarek's leg and threw him over the railing. He hung by 5 feet of chain screaming. "Give us D'argo's son's coordinates", said Crichton. "Their on a pad in my jacket pocket!" exclaimed Jarek. Maxis pulled him up and Crichton removed the pad. . "Don't worry the Peace Keeper's will come get you down in an arn or so", said Maxis. Crichton smacked him in the head with his helmet, knocking him unconscious. Maxis threw him back over the railing.

As they walked the 3rd story catwalk, a pulse blast came from nowhere, striking Maxis in the abdomen. Crichton ducked for cover. He heard Maxis talking to him, but he wasn't moving. "Sniper, 5th catwalk, thinks I'm dead, get to the elevator" He said. Crichton threw on his helmet, lowered the facemask, and ran as fast as he could while blasts hit in front or behind him. He fired back at the sniper, forcing him to back off.

Zek aimed the sniper rifle carefully. It was a long, scoped weapon. He scanned with the black cross hairs. He lost Crichton. Some movement caught his eye. He focused on Maxis. He saw that he was on his side, aiming his plasma rifle. He saw a purple flash for a second.

The plasma blast hit him in the abdomen and he fell over the railing. He fell 2 stories, to a weak spot in the 3rd story catwalk. The catwalk collapsed at that section, which fell and collapsed the 2nd, making a slide to the first catwalk. He slid down and rolled off the catwalk, landing on the dirt floor. His falling rifle barley missed Aeryn. Everyone gasped and looked at Zek. He was still twitching.

"Damnit, that's Zek!" exclaimed Jonis. "Bordo, come with me", said Jonis as he left the control room in his private elevator with the Scarren. "Sir!" broke in a woman. "The gladiators have been freed, the are trying to escape", she reported. "Send a security team to stop them", he ordered as he left with the Scarren on his private elevator.

"Aeryn, he have the coordinates, ad we have taken out the sniper, were going for the control room next", said Crichton.

10 troops in riot gear and the Sarge stood at the exit from the gladiators' dormitories. Six gladiators came around the corner. "Freeze!" ordered the Sarge. Two leveled shotgun like weapons at them, 4 more guards held rifles, 3 more had shields and batons. With a quick flick of his left wrist, Riplous threw a small dagger into a rifleman's throat. "Dren!" exclaimed the Sarge as his men opened fire. They quickly went back around the corner, firing various energy weapons. Riplous took off the tip of his spear and put it into the mussel of his disrupter pistol. He turned the corner and fired. The bullet like tip went through a shield, the shield man, and a rifleman behind him. He rolled away from an energy shotgun blast and got behind a little alcove in the wall and cloaked.

The surviving troops formed 2 columns behind the shield men and began to advance. They advanced strait past the invisible Riplous. He decloaked and smacked the Sarge in the head with the spear. Then stabbed the 2 rear troopers with his spear and wrist blades. One of the shotguners turned and tried to fire. Riplous spun around and smacked him in the helmet. His head jerked back and Riplous drove his spear into his chest. Blood squirted out his back. When the other'' turned the gladiators on the other side fired into their backs. Riplous and the others looked at their fallen opponents, who laid in an enormous pool of blood. Riplous licked his wrist blades and cloaked.

Crichton and a bleeding Maxis burst into the control room. Crichton fired dual shots into the first guard. Maxis threw his knife into the second's chest. Crichton aimed at the third. "Drop it!" he yelled. The guard complied. "Everybody out!" screamed Maxis. The techs and guard left. "Aeryn, we have the control room", said Crichton.

She and D'argo stopped fighting. The crowd booed. The 4th door opened at the back of the arena near the catwalks. "That's our ticket out of here", said Aeryn. Just as she and D'argo entered, it shut behind them.

"Good thing we got here, they have 5 hunters ready to be released into the ring", said Maxis. "Now go, while I cover your escape from here", said Maxis sitting in a chair. "What!" exclaimed Crichton. "Your coming with us, were going to find a cure", he said. "This gut shot will get me anyway", said Maxis. He handed over a pad. "This contains the data you need to complete your training and the formula for the learning drug", said Maxis. "John, I want you to remember what I say", said Maxis.

"The Peace Keepers must not be allowed to take over these worlds", said Maxis. "We've made too many compromises already". "They invade our space, and we fall back". "They enslave entire worlds, and we fall back", "Not again, the line must be drawn here, this far nor further!" "And John, I can see it in your eyes", "You, will make them pay for what the've done!' said Maxis. "Now go!" exclaimed Maxis pointing his gun at Crichton. "All right, but try to make it to the shuttle, we'll wait few minutes for you", said Crichton shaking Maxis' hand.

He descended into the dark tunnel and went past the trapped hunter to the back of the hall. He met up with D'argo and Aeryn. They pointed their weapons at him. He raised his facemask. "Where's Maxis?" asked Aeryn. "He may not be joining us", said Crichton. "He's covering our escape from the control room". Suddenly, he heard a loud metallic clang and fast heavy thuds of footsteps. "Hunter!" he exclaimed.

The huge green beast came racing around the corner screeching. Suddenly, it's chest exploded with a loud boom. Aeryn stood behind Crichton with the hand cannon. "A formidable weapons", she said.

Jonis and Bardo entered the arena floor and ran to Zek. "He's still alive!" said Bordo as the man stirred.

A dying Maxis looked at the monitor and saw Zek, Jonis, and most importantly Bordo. He smiled and blood came from his mouth. "Good luck John", he said. He looked at his 3 enemies on the monitors. "Say hello to my little friends" he said pushing a couple of more buttons before dying.

Jonis looked up as 5 doors opened, all except the one Aeryn and D'argo went through. "Bordo, we have to go!" said Jonis. "Zek needs help, we can't leave", said Bordo. "We have to go now!" exclaimed Jonis. A green blur went through the air in front of Bordo and decapitated him in a giser of blood. A pair of Hunters advanced on Jonis. Another stood over crawling Zek. It grabbed his head and began to drag him. The 2 Hunters closed on Jonis. He backed into the wall next the closed door. He began to breathe heavily as the Hunters ran at him.

From behind the doors, Crichton heard a long painful scream and a screech. He also heard a terrible tearing sound during the scream, which quickly gurgled into silence.

Crichton and Aeryn stood outside he airlock. Crichton looked at the dark hall empty, except for the dead Hunter. Aeryn grabbed his arm. "John, we have to go", she said. "Just a few more microts", said Crichton. She drug him into the shuttle and set him down in a chair in the cockpit while she climbed into the pilot's seat. Crichton began to sob and threw his guns on to the floor along with his helmet. He looked at the arena from the cockpit. "Good bye Maxis", he said under his breath. He sobbed some more. He though about his last words. "You will make them pay for what they've done!" Crichton thought. "It's over", said Aeryn. "No", said Crichton. "Now that Maxis is gone, its up to us to take out the Peace Keepers!" he said sitting back.

About an hour later.

Scorpious and a large group of shock troopers descended onto the arena floor. A decapitated Scarren lay on the floor. A Sebascean's partially eaten body was leaning against the wall, which was lashed up it's self. Then came the truly sickening scene.

*The ground all around was covered with blood and morsels of flesh and bones, but the unfortunate frog like alien's head had been left intact, save for the holes made by the hunter's claws on seizing him and lay a short distance from the other remains, the eyes staring wide open with a startled look in them. The area was considerably cut up and a closer examination, he found that multiple Hunters had been there and had probably struggled over the possession of the body. *

Everything was blue, except for the PeaceKeepers, whose skin was bright orange. This was how it looked to Riplous. He hung by his wrist blades on the scoreboard. An evil smile came over his face as he watched the PeaceKeepers, and he pushed his wrist button, shimmering out of sight.

* Next comes an epilogue that ties into Insurrection Part 1

*The second to last paragraph was a true description by Colonel John Patterson of a victim of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo also know as the Ghost and the Darkness.

Gladiators Epilogue, the prequel to Insurrection
This fic does not contain explicit scenes of violence or gore, well, maybe a little violence.

Scorpious pounded the arena wall in a fit of Scarren rage. Chrichton had escaped again and an operative of the Serpent Order was dead, one of the few Scarren spies. He also knew that Tain would have his head if he failed to capture Chrichton. He could feel in his bones that Tain always had one of his "eyes" on him. That sadist Tavek was probably in the Uncharted Territories right now. Tain would have a much greater chance of winning the war to come if he had worm hole technology. But, he was also doing well. He had subjugated many of the "break away" colonies and could now set his sights on the Urvidians. Plus, Moya was now surrounded by PeaceKeeper bases and he had picket ships all over the area. A female voice came over the comm. "Sir, control room here, there are 5 Hunters in hall 5, we have them contained, but we don't know how long the doors will hold", said the voice. "I want your team to leave last, and release the Hunters before you do", said Scorpious.

"Sir?" asked Braca behind Scorpious. "This place is a valuable source of war materials and food", said Scorpious. "The Hunters will keep scavengers from taking supplies before we can send a team to retrieve them", said Scorpious leaving the arena floor.

The female Pleisar pilot looked out the Marauder's cockpit. With the door closed, it was very cramped. They were the last to leave the arena and were now searching for Moya. She hated Aeryn, even though Scorpious had reinstated them after he took over, she still hated the betrayal. After all, it brought that Serpent Order Colonel with the evil eyes. He was searching the Pleisars for more traitors. He killed her wingman because he made a smart remark.

She heard a lot of commotion from behind the door. 3 more were in the transport with her. She jolted as she heard a pulse pistol and a scream and a ripping sound. The door behind her opened. "What the fell is going on back there?" she asked. She turned around and saw Riplous standing in the doorway with a bloody spear and wrist blades. He knocked her pistol out to the ground. Fear filled her eyes as she looked at the blades on his wrist. "Please, have mercy!" she said. "That word doesn't translate, mercy", he said walking towards her. Her scream rattled the insides of the ship.

Crichton stared at the PeaceKeeper laptop in front of him. A holo image of Moya and a marauder appeared. Moya faded into nothing and the marauder began to scan. Suddenly, a word in Sebascean appeared. Failure. Crichton had learned to read Sebascean, even if the English translation was below it. He checked to see what the failure was. The distortion field has absorbed the scan and bent light to make it invisible, put the power signature was still detected. This was the 30th trial. He hadn't slept in 2 days, barley eaten, and hadn't talked to anyone. His back felt uncomfortable in the chair. He reached behind him and pulled out a pistol from his belt. He examined it and put it on the desk. He couldn't go anywhere with out a pistol now; it made him feel comfortable. He also had one on his hip. "Damnit!" he exclaimed.

"Problems?" came Aeryn's voice behind him. "You could say that", said Crichton. "How is the..." she hesitated picking up the silver helmet that had been lying on the table. "The cloaking the device", he said. "I just have to counter the effects of the distortion field", said Crichton. "What's the problem?" she asked. "The PeaceKeepers can't see us or scan us, but they can detect or energy signature", said Crichton. "So, you need something to block the energy", said Aeryn. Crichton thought for a second. "You're a genius Aeryn!" he exclaimed. "An inverse D.S.", he said. "What?" she asked. "The D.S. blocks energy from coming in right?" he asked. "Yeah", she replied. "So an inverse D.S. will keep the energy from going out", said Crichton. "Where are we anyway?" he asked.

"Just leaving orbit of Skara, Shalenna just left", said Aeryn. "Were heading for a debris field that should give us cover from the Peace Keeper picket ships", said Aeryn. "Then when I get finish with the cloak, we can leave the field", said Crichton. "John, it's dinner time", said Aeryn. "Well, give the others my regards", said Crichton going back to work. "I need the time to figure out the math", said Crichton. "I mean with just me", she said. "I have to finish this Aeryn", he said. She kissed him lightly, then they kissed long and deep. "We can talk about what you said at the arena", she said walking out. "You coming?" she asked. He jumped up and put his pistol in his back holster. "Yes ma'am", he said following her.

He had a feeling that nothing would be the same on Moya after their time at the arena. Little did he know that in a little over a week, things would change more than he could ever imagine.

The End
Up next, "The Legacy of Tain"