The Elephant Ep2.11: All Of Her

"Crichton! Are you awake?" John snapped his head off the pillow and looked around. His sight was still blurry and he had to stumble awkwardly out of bed. "Yeah Pilot. I hear you." Rubbing his eyes, he glanced over at Aeryn. She wasn't there. No matter how far along their relationship had gotten, the ex-peacekeeper still couldn't relax completely with him. John saw the impression of her body beside his mess. On top of the blankets. "What's the problem?" Pilot seemed to be embarrassed about waking him up. "You'd better get up here John." Aeryn was standing at the door.

The two of them entered command and found everyone else already there. Well, not exactly everyone. Tom was still down below trying to coax his mother out. "Moya has received a message from Crais." Pilot's face projected on the clamshell as he spoke. Aeryn gave John a look before answering. "What was the message?" The creature down at his claws. "He wishes to speak to you Officer Sun." She was surprised. "So why doesn't he?" Pilot raised his eyes to meet hers. "He wishes to speak to you on Talyn." John interrupted. "Am I the only one who finds this a little suspicious"

D'Argo nodded his head in agreement. "You cannot go alone Aeryn. He might try something." She looked angrily at them both. "When did you come under the impression that I couldn't handle myself?" John put his arm on her shoulder. "We can't trust him. You know that." Aeryn frowned at him but agreed. There were too many past instances to account for. "Why doesn't he want to come here?" Rygel floated over to them. "I don't know. He was very adamant about meeting elsewhere."

Aeryn climbed into the transport pod with a pulse pistol strapped to her belt. Behind her, she could hear two men debating. "I'll go with her. You have to stay here and look after the others." D'Argo growled at John. "You and Crais don't exactly have a great relationship. If this is a trap, your presence could make things worse." John refused to consider that. "If she's going, then I'm going. We're a package deal." Aeryn let a smile cross her lips momentarily as he said the words. "Are you coming John?" He ran over to board.

<<<<>>>>>

"Mom, I live with these people. They're my friends." Rachel looked up at him and shook her head angrily. "I can't even speak their language. Why should I go up there?" Tom fought to keep from yelling. He had explained the translator microbes to her a thousand times. The woman would not listen. "It won't hurt. The DRD just injects them and that's all." Alarm ran through her. "DRDs? Inject me?" Rachel stood from the bed and walked away from him. "No, I won't do it." The sound of boots hitting the floor made them both stop. Meryl stepped into the doorway. "Tom, I-." The two women spotted each other and froze. The ex-captain turned on her heels and left.

"She's the one isn't she?" Mother looked at son with daggers in her eyes. When the two women had come aboard earlier, he had said nothing. "Yes, that's her." Rachel took the woman's features in and stood quietly for a moment. "What is her name?" Tom spoke cautiously. "Meryl." She spoke the name several times to get a feel for it. "Older than you?" He glared at her. "Only by a few cycles." Rachel shook her head. "What the hell does that mean?" He had forgotten that she didn't know all the terms. "Cycles are years." She was not pleased.

<<<<>>>>

"There he is." Aeryn pointed from her seat in front of the console. The huge black and red ship loomed in the distance. "He's targeting us." John wanted to something but kept his mouth shut. "Just a precaution Aeryn. Forgive me if I startled you." Crais's face appeared on the screen. He still wore his captain's uniform. A look that inspired fear in those he dealt with. "You didn't startle us." He caught the last part. "Us? I asked you to come alone." John moved into the man's view. "Terribly sorry."

The transport pod entered Talyn's hanger doors and moved swiftly towards the landing area. Aeryn opened the hatch and stepped outside. There was no one there to greet them. She beckoned for her companion to follow. John looked around with suspicious eyes. Despite having been here before, the ship still put him on edge. "Are you sure he's not going to shoot me?" She shook her head at him. "No." They proceeded into the ship and headed towards command.

Crais watched them enter with more than a little annoyance. "Are they carrying weapons?" Talyn responded quickly but he already knew the answer. She would never come to meet him without one. "Very well." The sound of a door sliding open came from behind. He turned to it. John and Aeryn stepped into command and found Crais standing there. "It is good to see you again officer Sun. He turned to John. "You as well Crichton."

"What do you want?" Aeryn walked up behind the man and looked over Talyn's consoles. Everything seemed to be doing fine. The worry never really went away though. "There have been some developments that you need to know about." John looked up from his place across the room. "What kind of developments?" Crais nodded and flipped a switch on the control panel beside him. The sound of gunshots filled the room. Instantly, John and Aeryn both had their guns out and pointed at him. The captain was unsettled. Not because of their action but that Talyn had made no move to target either of them.

The guns were put away as they saw what was going on. The screen behind Crais had lit up and was showing some capture footage. "A marauder squadron?" Aeryn was alarmed at the large numbers of them. Apparently, Talyn had been chased by the group. "Yes. Talyn is a formidable ship, but there were too many of them even for him." Crais shut the video off. "Squadrons don't out this far unless something important is going on." Aeryn made the connection before John did. "A convoy?"

John didn't understand. "We've seen convoys before. They can be avoided." Crais shook his head. "These numbers are too large for only a convoy. That can mean only one thing." Aeryn finished his thought. "Someone important. A High Counselor?" John watched the two of them work together. It was more than a little disturbing. "Possibly. There is nothing in this sector of great value to the peacekeepers." Aeryn wasn't so sure. "There is one thing." Both of them looked at John. "What?"

<<<<<>>>>>

Rachel followed her son into a room that she had not seen before. A long table sat in the middle with plates of food scattered on its surface. The very people she had been trying to avoid were now sitting there. D'Argo was the first to notice her. The woman's fear of him had been amusing at first but this was getting ridiculous. The Nebari beside him shook her head. "Don't let it go to your head. I don't find you frightening at all." He brushed off the comment and stood up. "You may have my chair." He still had manners. Rachel stared at him blankly. "She still hasn't gotten them?" Tom shook his head.

"Pilot! Send a DRD down here now." The creature replied from his den. "I'll do it right away." Rachel turned to her son. "What did he just say?" Tom nodded. "He asked Pilot to send the translator microbes." She glared at him in alarm. "I told you no!" He tried and failed to hold back his anger. "They're not dangerous Mom." Rachel was fuming. "Yeah? Well that's what they said about airplanes." Tom stopped her from continuing. "We're not getting into that again."

"Look at these people. How do you know they haven't been affected somehow?" Rachel pointed at all of them. She didn't know what the aliens were supposed to look like but they did look odd. "John, he looks much older than when he was on tv. How do you know it's not because of those things?" Tom shook his head. "He's been through a lot up here." Rachel continued. "Look at you. You've got scars all over the place. They should be healed by now." He tried to say something but she ignored him.

Rachel looked around for another example. Someone walked into the room behind her. Meryl smiled wearily at everyone and took a seat at the table. "Her! She looks human. What happened to her?" Tom froze in place. His mother had picked the wrong person to investigate. Meryl did look tired and worn out. Her eyes were red-rimmed with bags under them. "Why, she looks like she's pregnant-." Rachel stopped talking and looked at her son. "Tom?"

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John sat down and watched the other two whisper to each other across the room. The console beside him beeped. "My thoughts exactly." This was followed by more beeping. Suddenly, Crais turned towards him and yelled. "What did you do?" John looked shocked. "I didn't do anything. It just started going off." The captain rushed to the console. "Talyn, what is it?" The sounds continued. "Where?" Aeryn glanced at John with a confused expression. Their host was acting very strangely.

Crais ran to the window and looked outside. "I see it. Can you avoid?" Talyn answered him immediately. "It's aiming for us?" At this point, John was tired of waiting. He walked up next to the captain and followed his gaze. Off to their right, an odd-looking grey cloud was moving towards them. "What the frell is that?" Aeryn saw it too. Crais shook his head. "I don't know. But Talyn can't avoid it. The front edges of the cloud touched the leviathan and everything heaved.

John hit the floor hard and felt someone land on top of him. "Get off of me!" Crais pushed himself away and stood. "Talyn, return fire!" Above them, the ship's main gun turned on and pointed itself at the cloud. Bursts of pulse fire erupted from it and punctured the object and then passed right through. Aeryn pulled herself off the sparking console and looked up. "It's not working." Crais motioned for them to follow him. "Come, there is somewhere safe we can hide." A round metal door outside command waited for them.

Crais rushed to the hatch and swung it open. "Whatever that thing is, it won't get in here." John looked at him. "Airtight?" The captain nodded. Aeryn was still coming towards them as they slid inside. John went first, followed by his ex-nemesis. "Aeryn, hurry up!" She nodded and ran forward. The ship lurched without warning and threw her to the ground again. Rolling along the floor, Aeryn managed to spot the hatch before it slammed shut in her face. "Frelling!"

John pushed his companion out of the way. "Why the hell did you do that?" Crais was just as worried. "I didn't. The hatch shut on its own." The pushed up against it but the cover did not move an inch. "This compartment is designed to stay closed until the danger is over. We won't be able to open it." John sank to the ground. "Is there anywhere else for her to go?" The look on Crais's face said it all.

Aeryn slammed herself against the door to no avail. It would not move. She grabbed on to the handle just as Talyn shook to all sides again. The sound of a window smashing inward caught her attention. "Oh frell." Shards of glass flew across the room and over her. She dove to the ground and covered her head. Something thick and icy cold slid over her and she blacked out.

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"You weren't going to tell me where you?" Rachel had him pinned against the wall. Stumbling over his words, Tom tried to find something smart to say. Nothing came to mind. "Eventually." She growled. "I can't believe this. How could you let her do this to you?" Meryl stood from her chair. "If anyone did this, it was your son! I never asked for this frelling thing." Rachel turned to Tom. "What did she say?" He swallowed involuntarily. "She hopes you two can be friends." The ex-captain was beside them in a second. "I did not say that."

Rygel and Chiana watched with great amusement from the table. The Hynerion turned to her and laughed. "I think I'm going to like this one." D'Argo smacked him from behind. "This is difficult for all three of them. Be considerate." Rygel spat back. "When have you ever known me to be that?" Chiana came in between them. "Let's just shut up and listen." She slipped a food cube into her mouth and sat back.

"Your father would be furious." Tom looked back at his mother. "He's not here and he wouldn't be if he was." Rachel shook her head. "Of course, because you are the authority here on your father." Meryl watched the two of them with a confused expression. "You two are both insane." Tom turned to her. "Sorry about this." His mother nodded this time. "You should be. What kind of responsible man impregnates an unmarried woman?" Tom sighed. "Things don't work that way here. She doesn't even know what marriage is." Meryl grabbed his arm and squeezed. "Of course I know what marriage is you yotz."

"What did she say?" Tom stood between the two women and suddenly felt very claustrophobic. "She knows what marriage is." Rachel smiled. "Yes, and you know what that means don't you?" Tom shook his head. "What does that mean?" Meryl smiled as well. "I think she means we have to get married." He turned to her. "Do we?" Meryl didn't answer.

<<<<>>>>

A beeping sound from outside caught the two men's attention. "Did you hear that?" John nodded and moved towards the hatch. He started to pull the handle when Crais stopped him. "Wait, let me check with Talyn." They waited for the ship to respond. "Are you sure about this?" The look on Crais's face was not making John feel good. "What?" The captain turned to him and shrugged. "According to Talyn's sensors, Aeryn is still out there." John did not understand. "And?" He waited for something terrible to be said. "She's everywhere."

The hatch slid open and two very confused men walked out. Sitting on the floor in front of them, Aeryn looked up and smiled. "Something's wrong." Crais glanced at him. "What do you mean?" John pointed at her. "She doesn't smile like that." Aeryn stood and walked over to them. "Did you guys feel that! It was amazing! She paced back and forth between them with astounding enthusiasm. "Let's do it again." Crais was shocked. "They've turned her into an idiot?" John shrugged.

Crais left the two of them standing there and walked out into the hallway. Someone was kneeling in front of a sparking panel up ahead. "Who's there?" He raised his gun and stepped forward. Aeryn turned away from the mess and nodded at him. "I think I've fixed everything." She stuck her hand back into the panel and pressed a button. The lights suddenly came back on and the ship stabilized. "How did you know how to do that?" Aeryn stood and gave him a confused expression. "I just know."

John watched her move in front of him and studied every step. It was her. Aeryn looked and moved the same way. But her attitude seemed to have changed. "What are you looking at?" She moved in closer to him and spread her arms. "Is this better?" He backed up slightly. "Crais! What the hell is going on?" John turned and saw him enter with someone else. "Aeryn?" She nodded and walked up to him. "What is the problem?" He stared at the both of them in disbelief.

"You look just like me!" Aeryn turned to look at herself and nodded. "Yes, we must have split somehow. The chemicals in that cloud must have-." As they neared each other, something happened. John watched the edges of their forms blur and mix together. "What the frell are they doing?" Crais walked up beside him and watched. "They joined." There was only one Aeryn now.

"On the ground now!" That was their only warning before the room was riddled with pulse blasts. All three of them dove to the floor as someone ran into command. Aeryn stood in the doorway with her pulse pistol in hand. "Don't shoot!" She ignored John's pleas and started firing. Crais shouted as a blast caught him in the shoulder. "Let's get out of here." He followed John and Aeryn out the other way. The woman behind them kept firing wildly.

"Do you understand this?" John and Crais knelt behind a console and looked at each other with the same confused expression. "Ok look. We have a smart Aeryn and a enthusiastic Aeryn. Who's out there?" Crais peeked over the edge and was almost hit in the face. "I would say, aggressive Aeryn." John nodded. "Aeryn, go talk to here." The one beside them smiled. "I don't think that's a very good idea John!" He sighed. "Just do it." She stood and walked over to herself.

Aeryn stopped firing her gun and looked at the woman that walked towards her. "Freeze!" The other Aeryn complied. "Move and I'll kill you." She reached forward to grab her and the mixing began. John stood up slowly and checked on them. Once again there was only one Aeryn left. "It worked." Crais followed his example. "So now what?" Aeryn raised her gun towards them. "Don't move." They dove to the ground amid shots. "Great. You've made the Aeryn trying to kill us smarter." John groaned.

<<<<>>>>

The DRD slid into the room unannounced and headed for the unfamiliar person. D'Argo spotted it first but made no mention of it to Rachel or Tom. He turned to Chiana. "Don't." She nodded and told the same thing to Rygel. "Mom, it's not that simple." Tom's mother would have none of it. "You said that already and it is that simple." I won't let you abandon this girl." Meryl looked up angrily. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Rachel did not understand a word of it. She was about to continue when a soft pricking feeling touched her leg. "Tom, it's done." Rachel turned slowly towards D'Argo. "I understood that."

<<<<>>>>

Aeryn growled as the two men maneuvered out of her line of sight. "I'm going to find you eventually. Let's just end this now." A flash of black caught her attention. She fired but missed John by half a metra. "Frell! I missed you." Behind the console, John continued moving towards the doorway beyond. Just as he reached the edge, something grabbed his leg. "Where do you think you're going?" Crais did not want to be left alone with her. John smiled mischievously. "To find Sexual Aeryn."

John jumped out into full view of her weapon and scrambled towards the doorway. She was about to fire when another figure moved on the other side. "Crais!" The captain spotted her and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Aeryn followed in pursuit. Now sweating, she grinned excitedly. "Your going down!"

He waited behind the door for several seconds. Aeryn had chosen to go after Crais. John breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. The hallway ahead of him looked empty so he continued without much caution. Soon though, the sound of footsteps made him freeze. Pulling out his gun, he asked. "Who's there?" The question seemed stupid out loud. "It's me John." Aeryn walked out and looked around nervously. "Are you ok?" He reached his hand out but she jumped away. "I guess not." John took a step forward and she took one backwards. "I'm not going to hurt you." She shook her head. "You've said that before."

Crais turned a corner and entered the maintenance bay. Two of them were in there waiting for him. "Aeryn? How do you feel?" The first one turned to him and frowned. "Crais? Are you alright?" She reached forward and gently grabbed his arm. "This looks bad." She helped him pull off his jacket. "Sorry about this." Aeryn tore a piece of cloth off and wrapped it around his wound. "Just keep pressure on it." Crais thanked her and smiled. "What about her?" Aeryn looked at herself across the room and shrugged. "She's good."

John allowed for her to get some space. "Have you seen any other you's around here?" She nodded timidly and pointed down the corridor. "One down there." He continued on and quickly found himself facing another Aeryn. She turned to look at him and smiled. "John! I'm so glad to see you." She leapt into his arms and kissed him. "Me too." Aeryn hugged him and put her head on his chest. "Never leave me alone again." John tried to pull away but she wouldn't let him. "Ok, now you're starting to freak me out."

Aeryn ran into the room and started firing. The first thing she noticed was another of the copies standing there. The pulse blasts went right through her. "Why won't you frelling die?" The other her walked up and pulled on the gun. "I want a gun!" She smacked her across the face. "Don't touch the gun." A sound behind her stopped the exchange. Aeryn turned just in time to see Crais shove something at her. All three of them collided and mixed in together. "Aeryn?" She looked up at him and raised her gun. "Don't shoot!" She stopped. "I can't do it."

John managed to pry her off. "Don't you love me?" He sighed. "Yes, yes I do. And if you love me, come here." She followed him down the hall to where frightened Aeryn was. "Shake hands." Aeryn obeyed immediately and stuck out her hand. "Get away from me!" It was too late. The two of them mixed in together. "You ok?" She looked at him nervously. "Fine, just stay back." John nodded. "Wait here." She made no move to disobey.

"Talyn, can you hear me?" The ship replied immediately. "Start locking down the different areas. I want you to box them in together." The two doors beside him slammed shut and the same sound could be heard throughout the ship. "Ok, how many are there now?" The numbers came through. "Only a few, that's good." Crais moved towards Aeryn and motioned for her to follow. "Come on. We're going to find the rest of you."

John slid around the door just as it was about to close on him. The room must not have been in use because all the lights were off. The sound of someone breathing heavily came from somewhere in the darkness. "Aeryn, is that you?" He heard movement and then footsteps. "John, are you alone?" She stepped out from her hiding place and smiled at him. "I'm very happy to see you." There was something odd about the way she moved. "That's good because-." She shoved him against the wall. John watched in amazement as Aeryn pulled down the zipper on her vest. "I was getting anxious."

Crais had found several more on his trek around the ship. One very confused Aeryn walked silently beside him. She had been very talkative after they had found her wonder side. Going crazy over every new part of Talyn she saw. Then thankfully they had found serious Aeryn. Now all was quiet. "Talyn, open the door." The leviathan complied and the door opened. The room was dark but he could see the shadow of two people on the floor. "Lights."

<<<<>>>>

The transport pod made its trip back to Moya in complete silence. John had sat at the controls with a huge smile on his face while Aeryn knelt on the floor with her head in her hands. Despite his initial attempts at conversation, she had refused to answer any questions. Especially those that John had about certain "Desires" as he had put it. "Pilot, would you mind opening the door for us." The creature complied and the outer hanger opened out to space. "We're here." Aeryn grunted something from behind him.

D'Argo looked up as John entered the dining room. "What did Crais want?" The human sat down beside him. "Looks like we're going to have plenty of pk company soon." D'Argo shook his head angrily. "And?" John looked up at him in surprise. "That's it. Crais thought it might have something to do with the wormhole technology." The Luxan thought about that for a second. "Or maybe that brown ship you brought aboard." John shrugged. "We'll see."

Aeryn ran into her cell and closed the door. Falling down on the bed, she closed her eyes and tried to focus. It was impossible. The delicate balance of her emotions and personality felt completely off. "I'm bi-frelling-polar." In the transport pod, one microt she had felt like killing John. The next she had wanted to hug him. A knocking sound from outside stopped her thought. Meryl was standing there with a worried expression on her face. "I suppose this isn't a good time to talk." Aeryn shook her head. "Ok, I'll see you later."

John passed Meryl on his way down the hallway and noticed her worried expression. "How is she doing?" She shrugged. "I don't know." He continued forward towards Aeryn's cell. "She's resting. You might want to give her some time alone." John nodded. "What happened earlier? D'Argo said something but it didn't really make sense." Meryl waved him off and walked away. "Later."

He stopped in front of her cell and looked in through the doorway. The privacy curtain had not been pulled so Aeryn was in plain sight. She sat quietly beside the bed with a painful expression on her face. John knocked. "Go away." Aeryn looked up and realized who it was. "Sorry, I thought it was Chiana again." He nodded and sat down across from her. "How do you feel?" She frowned. "Like a dozen different voices in my head are shouting at the top of their lungs." John tried to hide the amused expression on his face. Aeryn narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't say a word."