The Elephant Ep2.5: Down That Road Before

The sun shone brightly upon the desert sands as two weary travelers made their way down a lonely stretch of highway. They had been walking so long that the hours seemed to blend together into an endless parade of heat and dust. Neither of them wore a watch or carried any means of communications. One was dressed in heavy leather, sweating like an animal. The other had a pair of stolen jeans with a hospital gown covering his upper body. John Crichton and Tom Wells were a sorry sight to see. "Why didn't we just take the module?" The older man glanced over at his companion and shot him an angry look. "You think it's a good idea to fly space ships where people can see." Tom frowned and nodded his agreement.

"Wait, I think I hear something." Both of them turned simultaneously to look back in the distance. A tiny black dot on the horizon continued to grow bigger as they waited. John recognized the vehicle immediately. "No way." Tom didn't understand but followed him down the road anyway. At this point, he was prepared to take whatever he could get. The truck roared past them without any indication of stopping. John waved his arms wildly in the air as his companion eyed him with amusement. "I don't think he saw you." The eighteen-wheeler stopped suddenly and the door slid open. "You two again eh? What a coincidence." The driver smiled and motioned for them to climb aboard.

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D'Argo opened his eyes and glanced around the room through tear-filled eyes. Every movement of his body sent another shock of pain rolling through him. Zhaan had said he was lucky to be alive. That the wound had hit several vulnerable spots. Then again, the Delvian hadn't seemed to be her usual calm self. "Feeling better already?" She entered the room and began checking him over. A hint of red still flashed in her eyes. Zhaan turned away when she caught him noticing. "It's nothing." The Luxan preferred not to talk and simply blinked. "Then I will leave you to your rest." She walked out of the room just as Aeryn was coming in.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." The ex-peacekeeper sat beside her shipmate and looked over the bandages that were stained with clear blood. He grunted a reply and turned his head slightly. Aeryn understood and tried to appear calm. "Chiana did a brave thing. You should be proud of her." D'Argo didn't respond at all to that. He nudged her with his foot and tried to display his need to be alone. She seemed to get the picture and stood up. "I'll be around later if you want to talk." Aeryn sighed to herself when the stubborn brute didn't reply. If he wanted to ignore what was going on, who was she to say otherwise?

Meryl was doing considerably better than D'Argo. She sat quietly on her bed now, taking in the remains of Tom's valuables. He hadn't left much for her to take hold of. For now, a simple pen and paper would have to suffice. She considered writing him a note. "Frell." She threw it against the far wall and slipped down into a sleeping position. Peacekeeper captains weren't good at writing letters. Before she could think to do anything else, the reminder came again. Meryl felt the familiar strain on her body and then let out a piercing scream. "Ahhh!" Repeating the shout several times, she fell to the floor and smacked her head against the hard ground.

<<<<>>>> The Artanis soared through space on its return trajectory to the destroyed gammek base. After the Taos 7 incident, it was now time to focus on the task at hand. Grisham sat at his chair and pondered what had happened on the commerce planet earlier. Something about it was bothering him. The woman, Officer Crichton, had disappeared after going into the building alone. He had his men search the place but no trace of her was found. "Computer, I need a background check." The machine in front of him beeped to show its understanding. "Process Officer Crichton." A list of names ran down the screen as it tried to match the name to a file. "There is no Officer Crichton listed sir."

The captain frowned but quickly thought of something. He reached down and pulled the pin he wore off. It had the peacekeeper insignia on the front and a tiny camera on the back. Inserting the memory chip into the computer, he scanned through the images. Finally, the woman's face appeared on the screen. "Find facial match." This would take slightly longer. "Captain, the base is within sight. Scan?" He nodded at the tek and looked back at the computer. The word match flashed repeatedly on the screen. "Go ahead." Beside Officer Aeryn Sun's picture, a data file came up. Grisham was most surprised by the note at the bottom. "Irreversibly contaminated?"

He did not have much time to take in the information. After sending out the laser scanning line, an analysis of the base came through. Sitting at his post, Lt. Ness looked with confusion at the results. "Sir, we're registering one life-sign." Captain Grisham stood from his chair and walked over to him. "That's impossible. We sent two marauder teams." Ness pointed out through the glass windows. "Yes, both marauders showed up on the scan. But no crew." The lieutenant waited patiently for his superior to come up with a plan. Finally, Grisham nodded and turned back towards his chair. "I'm going down."

<<<<>>>>

The truck rolled to a stop outside the entrance to a large residential community. "No trucks over three tons." Tom read the sign that he had seen thousands of times as a boy and forgot to breathe. The driver looked from him to John with a questioning look on his face. "You can drop us off here, thanks." The man nodded and watched as they climbed down to the street. He waved goodbye. "Nice knowing you." the door slammed shut and he sped off. John and Tom stood quietly on the sidewalk for a moment considering what to do next. An elderly woman walking past them stopped as the truck disappeared down the road. "What language was that?" They stared at her, not knowing what to say. "The truck driver, what was he speaking?" The two of them glanced at each other warily.

Rachel Wells stepped out of her small kitchen and sat down at the leather couch she frequented so often lately. Picking up the remote, she flipped through the television channels and sighed to herself. "So quiet." Two words that had been haunting her for months now. With no husband, no son, and no pets, it was just her now in this big house. Rachel finally settled on the six o'clock news and took a sip of her diet coke. "Police officials in Palm Springs today found the body of Dr. Michael Gutierrez. The man was apparently shot to death in his hospital office a few days ago. Police say the motive appears to be burglary as several of the doctor's files are missing. This man, a John Doe patient, is said to be wanted for questioning."

The aluminum can dropped from her hands and hit the ground. Its contents spilled out and stained the newly washed carpet. "What the hell is this?" The wanted picture on the screen was her son. Tom's beaten face looked back at her. He looked older than when she had last seen him. Something about they eyes was different too. Rachel picked up the phone but put it down seconds later. Who could she possibly call? "I'm losing my mind here." Just as she was standing from the couch, the doorbell rang.

<<<<>>>>

Doug Milton stood up from his wooden desk as the news report came on. The same account of a murder in Palm Springs had just finished showing. He was about to leave the room when a ringing sound jolted him. Someone was calling. Picking up the receiver with shaking hands, he answered. "Sam?" There was some static from the other line. "Yes, did you see the news?" Doug gulped involuntarily. "You killed that man?" A cold laugh came through. "Of course not Doug. I'm not a murderer. John Crichton did it. I just helped myself to some files." The IASA flight director tried to remain calm. "Did you do what I asked?"

He nodded his head. "Everyone in the room has been spoken to. No one thinks the transmission was real." Sam relayed his appreciation. "That's good Doug. So there's absolutely no chance of this getting out?" Milton felt the breath leave his lungs in one quick rush. "Jack Crichton hasn't shown up for work in a week. No one knows where he is." Hearing the words, Sam tossed the phone down and stood to walk out the door. "This could be a problem."

<<<<>>>>

Chiana watched the others come and go from D'Argo's room but didn't move one step closer to doing it herself. She sighed and considered what had happened between them lately. After the unpleasantness, there hadn't been any hope of something being salvaged. The Nebari blamed herself completely for everything. She just wasn't ready to settle down. Was she now? There was only one way to answer that question. The letter she had found gave her new confidence. Perhaps now was the right time.

Aeryn walked by the Luxan's cell but steered clear of it. She knew that he did not want to be disturbed by anyone right now. The ex-peacekeeper was about to continue forward when her instincts told her someone was there. Turning quickly, she threw her hands out and pulled Chiana out of her hiding place. "What are you doing?" The girl smiled sheepishly and pointed at the room. "I'm not sure if I can do it." Aeryn almost laughed. "The audacious Chiana not up to a challenge. Shocking." Chiana scowled at her and stepped forward a bit. "He can't talk much right now." She turned back to Aeryn and shrugged. "Maybe that's a good thing."

D'Argo heard the door slide open and footsteps smack loudly against the hard metal floor. By the sound of it, only one person could be walking in. "Chiana?" He forced the words out and groaned when the pain came again. She leaned over him and tried a half-smile that quickly faded into a frown. "Hi." Neither of them said anything beyond that. Both too scared of what the consequences might be, albeit for different reasons. The Nebari forced all her bravado to the surface and kissed him lightly on the lips. Because of his condition, she could not tell if he had responded. D'Argo felt the warm touch of her mouth and wanted desperately to return the gesture. Yet there was more than pain keeping him away.

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Grisham lifted the dead soldier's head and noted the slash wounds on his neck. It almost looked as if something had taken a bite out of the man. "Who's there?" The noise had come from somewhere down the dark hallway. Too distant for him to tell from what. Despite him being alone there, an entire detachment of men waited patiently in the hanger for his word. Whatever killed him would not get out alive. "Why would I want to kill you?" The words caught him by surprise. She appeared out of nowhere. The woman in black smiled maliciously at him, revealing her pointed teeth. "You are a captain aren't you?"

He nodded slightly and motioned towards the tag on his uniform. The woman smiled again sending shivers down his spine. "My name is Zelaya. I believe we can help each other captain...?" He frowned. "It's Grisham." She was a Ferrian. That much he could tell by her mouth. It also explained the deaths of his men. "Why would I have anything to do with a woman who kills my soldiers?" Zelaya shook her head as if dismissing the question. "I saw your ship captain. You are a scientist yes?" Grisham nodded. "I have something that you would find very interesting." She pulled the mini-computer from her satchel. "Have you ever heard of wormholes?"

<<<<>>>>

Rachel opened the door and had to blink several time before she could admit to seeing what she saw. Tom Wells, her son, was standing on the porch next to a familiar looking man in leather. The boy's face was littered with scars that extended down his arms and hands. He smiled but received no similar expression from her. "You better have a damn good explanation." John looked at her and then at him with amusement. "What the hell are you smiling at?" Rachel backed away from the door and let them in.

They sat next to each other on the couch for several minutes without speaking. Despite her best efforts, the loving mother inside was starting to rear its ugly head. Rachel turned and grabbed her son's large form. Tom hugged her back and almost felt tears run down his cheeks. He had missed her, even if it hadn't been apparent then. "Hi mom." She pulled away and smiled. Her eyes were watering and her voice was cracking up. "What happened? Where did you go?" Trying to come up with a suitable explanation, Tom stumbled over his own words. Finally, he looked to John. "Help me out here."

John Crichton looked into the eyes of his friend's mother and tried to explain it as best he could. Rachel watched him closely with suspicious eyes. He still looked familiar. "My name is John Crichton. I'm an astronaut." The memory snapped inside her and she nodded. "About three years ago, I was shot through a wormhole." He waited for her to ask what that was but the woman said nothing. "I ended up on the other side of the universe. In a world full of aliens and strange ships. Tom got abducted from his apartment building and we met out there." Rachel narrowed her eyes and let her mouth hang open. "That's a wonderful story John." She turned back to her son. "I don't know where you went or why you came back. I'm just glad you're home again." Tom smiled. "But you will tell me the truth young man."

<<<<>>>>

Meryl had managed to crawl out of bed and walk around a little. She had been wanting to see how D'Argo was doing. He hadn't looked so good when they had left the commerce planet. As she approached his cell, the sound of someone running made her stop. Chiana appeared from around a junction and ran past her. The young woman seemed to be very angry about something. "D'Argo, can I come in?" A low grunt came from inside and she took it as a yes. The Luxan was lying face up on his cot with a pitiful expression on his face. "Can you talk?" He nodded slightly. "I don't understand anything anymore." His words were labored but understandable.

"You don't understand what?" He pointed towards the departing Nebari. "I see John and Aeryn, taking it slowly. They move forward and backwards without gaining anything but the bond remains strong." Meryl didn't know what to say to that. She just nodded and kept listening. "Then I see you and Tom. How quickly everything went for you. But you still love each other right?" She frowned. "I can only speak for myself." D'Argo practically ignored her comment. "Neither way seems to work with us. Fast or slow, she confuses me."

The ex-captain felt obligated to say something now. She sat down beside him on the bed and let the air flow slowly out of her mouth. "I'm no expert when it comes to these things. My relationship with Tom is, was difficult. But it was a relationship. You can't stay back because you're afraid." The Luxan almost smiled as she spoke. "Don't give up on it before it has a chance to grow." D'Argo shook his head. "You don't know what happened the last time." Meryl was gaining confidence now. "And I don't need to. You obviously care for her. Do something about it and quit sulking." She patted him on the shoulder and stood to leave. "Thank you Meryl." She nodded and left.

<<<<<>>>>>

Jack Crichton glanced down at the tape that sat in the seat next to him. It bounced up and down as his old truck made its way across the uneven country road. He remembered coming here with John. When his son was still a boy. Those memories were what kept him from turning back and convincing himself that it all had been a prank. A large farmhouse appeared in front of him. Jack stopped the car and grabbed the tape. Walking slowly, he made his way to the thick wooden front door and knocked several times. The owner would not want visitors but this couldn't wait.

Dk opened the door and found his best friend's father staring back at him. He considered slamming it shut and ignoring the angry shouts from outside. He didn't do that. "Hello Mr. Crichton. What can I do for you." Jack shook his head. "Cut the crap kid. Let me in." Dk stepped aside and let him pass through. "There's something you need to see." He followed the older man into his own living room and watched him put a tape in the VCR. John Crichton's face appeared on the screen through static and signal interruptions. "Canaveral, can you hear me? Dad, is that you?" The breath left Dk's lungs at an alarming rate. Jack recognized the feeling. "Tell me about it."