The Elephant Ep2.6: Frelling Babies

The gammek base floated dead in space besides the giant science vessel. Aboard the Artanis, Lt. Ness sat at his console and waited for his captain to return. "Are you alright sir?" He turned suddenly and found one of the teks looking over him. "Is there something wrong?" Ness shook his head and waved the man away. "No, I'm fine." The truth was that he had no idea what was going on. Inside of him, a feeling was stirring. One that he had never felt before. Standing up, he walked closer to the glass windows and tapped his forehead against them. "Let me show her to you." He jumped back and stared at his reflection. "Blue?"

The console beeped and broke whatever strange vision he was seeing. Ness returned to it and pressed the comm button. "Yes, what is it?" His subordinate answered back right away. "We're having a problem with one of the experiments sir." He glanced back at the empty captain's chair and sighed. "Why are you telling me this? I'm not a frelling tek." There was a slight pause as the voice considered what to say. "Number six has asked for you." Ness frowned and rolled his eyes. "Very well. I'll be right there."

The cell door marked six stood away from all the other ones in this particular section of the ship. The other experiments, unwilling test subjects, went farhbot whenever they were brought near it. Whatever was in there, Ness did not want to see it. "What's the matter?" The tek nodded nervously and motioned for him to look at the computer. "His output levels have been dropping continually over the last few days." Ness almost hit the man. "So go in there and make him do it." The tek fidgeted from side to side. "That's just it sir. None of my men have been able to get inside. He's threatened to kill himself if you don't go." The Lt. turned to look at the cell door. "I'll end this."

It was merely a boy. No more than fifteen or sixteen arns of age. He was curled up in a ball against the back side of the cell. "You asked for me?" The boy looked up, revealing cold dead eyes that made the Lt. squirm. "Yes I did." Ness advanced forward and turned on the overhead lights. The black device on the boy's head, a control collar, allowed him to relax. "Have you seen it yet?" He did not understand. "See what?" They boy smiled and stood up. "The blue woman. You've seen her." Involuntarily, Ness's eyes shot down to his arms. "What the frell?" His black uniform had been replaced by blue scales. "Part of her is in you."

"Why?" Ness pulled his eyes away and focused on the boy. "What does she want me to do?" They boy smiled again. An expression that seemed to emanate warmth. A feeling that Ness was not used to. "My name is Kithara, and it is I who wants something from you." They walked up to each other slowly and the soldier took the boy's hand. "You need to get me out of here." Ness couldn't believe what was happening. "I will get you out right away." The words came from his lips but he didn't remember thinking them. "Follow me." The two of them walked out of the cell and into the bright hallway. Kithara shaded his eyes and continued forward. "Sir, what are you doing?" The tek ran up to them with a look of confusion. "Taking care of the problem." The man could only stare as they walked away.

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Night had descended over Southern California but Rachel Wells was far from sleep. She sat quietly in her kitchen watching the two new arrivals. John Crichton, the supposedly dead astronaut, was sleeping soundly on her couch. His mouth opened and closed with each breath, making odd sounds against the leather. Tom, her son, stared back at her from his seat on the floor and nodded. "You going to tell me the truth now?" She said the words with more anger than planned. The look of hurt on his face was familiar. It was an expression he had used to get out of trouble far too many times. "You going to believe me?" Rachel didn't know if she could.

Tom stood and walked over to his sleeping companion. He pulled the pulse pistol softly from its holster and placed it on the table in front of his mother. "Do you know what that is?" She shook her head and tried not to look at the horrid black thing. "A ray gun?" He laughed and it felt good to hear that again. "It is mom. And it can prove that I'm telling the truth." Rachel sighed and picked the gun up. "So I can kill you with this?" Tom nodded. She pointed at the carpet behind him and fired. The pulse blast shot from the barrel and burned into the white floor. A line of smoke rose from its destination. "Oh God."

John jumped off the couch and went directly for his pulse pistol. It wasn't there. "What the hell?" He looked up and saw Tom's mother holding it with a look of shock on her face. "You could of told me before doing it." Tom shrugged and glanced back at her. "We were in outer space mom. Just like in the movies." Rachel's mouth hung open as she started to shake her head again. "No, it's not possible." An idea occurred to Tom. "Remember when I was little? You used to speak french to me even though I couldn't understand." She smiled and nodded her head. "It made you so angry." Tom continued. "Well, say something to me now."

Uncertainly, Rachel searched through her memory for something that her son would never be able to understand. She wasn't sure what this had to do with his story but whatever. "Je pense que tu as perdu ta tete." Tom nodded his head as she spoke with a goofy smile that only a mother could appreciate. "I haven't gone crazy mom. It's all true." He pointed at his neck. "They injected something in me. So I could understand all the different languages." John sat down beside her. "Translator microbes. We all have them." Rachel turned to him. "We?"

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Meryl stood up from the sweat-soaked bed and tried her best to stay on two feet. With each attack it got harder and harder to recover immediately. Her body was moving into the next stage. Whatever the frell that was. "Do you need anything?" Pilot's voice came in softly over the comm. She had never realized that he kept a watch on her. "Thank you Pilot. I'm alright. Just need to walk around a bit." He acknowledged her answer and then left her in peace. Meryl opened the doors to her cell and stepped out into the hallway. The floor curved downward up ahead towards the tiers below. "Hmm."

She had been walking in darkness for some time now when the noises started. It had seemed that they were nothing but figments of her imagination at first. But Meryl could not deny their existence any longer. Something was down here with her. "Who's there?" She waited several microts but no one answered. Finally, she continued forward and around a corner. "Lights" The room lit up brilliantly revealing her location. She had gotten lost back there somewhere. "A visitor? How nice of you to come down."

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Ness and Kithara walked into the ship's hanger leaving a trail of confused soldiers. Selecting one of the prowlers, the boy turned to him and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance Lieutenant. It is much appreciated." The confused peacekeeper stared back at him. "How did you know I would help you?" Kithara shook his head and grinned mischievously. "I'm afraid not. That information is for you to discover. The only thing I can tell you is this." He leaned in close to Ness's ear and whispered. "Your part's finished." Then, without another word, he climbed into the prowler and rocketed off into space.

Trying to figure out what had just happened, Ness didn't see the marauder approaching just as the prowler left. The hatch slid open and Captain Grisham stepped out with an odd look on his face. "Who was that Lt?" He turned towards his superior officer and tried to come up with something. "Just running a routine check sir." Grisham accepted the explanation and looked back towards the marauder. A woman was coming out behind him. She had short, wine-colored hair cut unevenly around her neck. Dressed all in black, she had a disturbing air about her. "This is Zelaya Lt. She'll be working with us." Ness watched the two of them walk off together. "Ferrian."

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"So you have a positive identification on the patient?" Sam stood out in the middle of the desert with his headlights shining on the strange brown object. "Tom Wells? Ok, get me a location and I'll have him by tomorrow." He clicked the phone shut and walked out into the sandy area. Some kids had reported whatever it was a few hours ago. "A big brown...thing man." He shook his head as the conversation played back in his head. "Damn teenagers." Sam stuck his hand out towards the object and touched it with the tips of his fingers. "Amazing."

The outer part of it felt like metal. But no kind of metal he had ever seen before. His men would go insane when they saw it. He moved towards what appeared to be the door and tried to push it open. "----------." It was a robotic voice. Like something from one of those computer gone crazy movies. The problem was that he couldn't understand a word of it. "Come on. Just let me in." Sam kicked it with his foot and a clicking sound came out of it. "Thank you very much." He walked forward and was suddenly thrown back. "Force field. It figures." He pulled out his phone again.

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Zhaan felt the presence immediately after it entered the room. She opened her eyes and moved out of the meditative stance. A young boy stood in front of her. His edges ebbed and flowed, making him appear like an apparition. "I am honored to be in your presence." She fell to her knees and bent down to kiss his feet. Kithara almost laughed at her presumption. He shook his head and backed away. "Get up Delvian. I'm not your goddess." Zhaan looked up confused and slowly rose to her feet.

"What are you then?" The boy nodded his head but said nothing. He walked around the room, taking in Moya's features. "If you have come-." He raised a hand to stop her. "I've come to deliver a message to you." Kithara stepped up to her and took her hand. "I would try to stop you, but you're going to do it anyway." Zhaan could only stare back. "Just know that it is not entirely your fault." He nodded once more to her and then disappeared. She still didn't understand. Glancing down at her hands, she was shocked to see them change before her eyes. Zhaan saw black gloves on her hands. Peacekeeper gloves.

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Rachel finally let her son go to sleep. He and John were obviously tired after all they had been through. Unfortunately, she could not go so easily. They had stood by her, retelling the story of what had happened. She had taken Tom into her arms and thanked God that he was still alive. Reassured him that those deaths had not been his fault. But through the explanation, something was wrong. Tom seemed to be leaving something out. Rachel's mind raced through possible reasons for him to hold something back. Then she had seen it.

"Tom, I hope your rooms still-." She had not noticed that he was asleep. Tom had gone off to bed in his old bedroom. Rachel had made sure to leave it just the way he liked it. It was there that she noticed the difference. All of his life, her son had slept one way on his bed. He would lie down and spread his arms and legs out across the length of it. Now, he slept on one side of the bed. Leaving room for someone else. Tom had stirred after she gasped loudly. "What's wrong?" Rachel had trained her eyes on him angrily. "A girl huh? It all suddenly makes sense."

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Scorpius stood at the door staring into the barrel of a pulse rifle. She had not even waited for him to try something. Meryl held the gun out, letting its edge barely touch the hybrid's ugly skin. "Let's get something straight right now. You don't look at me, you don't talk to me. Alright?" He smiled back at her but ignored the comments. The coolant container slid out of the side of his head, startling her. "Interesting fact, miss Raynor. This coolant system, it emits a low level of radiation. Harmless to you and I, but deadly for the child that grows within you." Meryl was surprised that he knew. At that moment, she was very tempted to pull the trigger.

"You dare-." The hand flew down swiftly and slammed into the back of her neck. Meryl gasped for air and then fell to the ground. The attacker gave her another blow to the face that knocked her out. "Who's there?" Scorpius peered into the sudden darkness, searching for the person. Zhaan stepped out of the shadows. "That was a waste of time. She would never have helped you. Not even for that creature of hers." He stepped away from the door and retreated into the cell. At any other time, this would have pleased him. But the fierce, red eyes staring back at him sent chills down his spine.

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The sun was starting to come up, revealing a far more interesting day than the last to Rachel Wells. She awoke only a few hours after falling asleep and decided to walk off the strange feeling in her stomach. Unlocking the door quietly, she slipped out into the front yard and looked around. There was no one around but her. "I'm the one losing my mind." Rachel stepped out into the yard and started walking down the sidewalk. It was then that she heard the footsteps for the first time. The man seemed to come out from nowhere and stop her. He was dressed in a black suit with matching glasses. For a moment, she thought he was going to flash her with one of those memory things from that movie.

"Excuse me ma'am. Are you Rachel Wells?" She wondered whether it was a good idea to answer him but under the circumstances. "Sure, that's me." The man nodded his head slowly and reached into his jacket. Rachel held her breath as he did it but relaxed when he brought the hand out. One of those wallet credentials was in it. "My name is Sam. I'm a federal agent and I need to ask your son some questions." This didn't seem right to her. "Um, he's not here. My son disappeared a year ago. I don't know where he is."

Tom woke up as he heard the conversation through his open window. Looking out, he saw his mother talking to a man. "Frell." He ran out into the hallway and cried out to John. "Crichton, get up. We've got company." John rubbed his eyes and glanced around the room. His friend was moving frantically, pulling on some clean clothes. "What's wrong?" Tom pointed towards the window. Standing up, he went to it and checked outside. "Government guy. Used to see them when I visited my dad as a kid." The realization dawned on him. "Us, out, now!"

Rachel and Sam turned simultaneously as the door to her house burst open. Her two visitors ran down the steps and off in the other direction. "Close them in fast. I want them alive." As he said the words, a helicopter appeared from nowhere and took off towards her son. Police sirens could be heard in the distance. "I thought you just wanted to talk to him." Sam looked at her for a moment and then shook his head. "Something like that." She watched him walk away in the same direction as the others. "I feel like Agent Scully."

The community entrance came into view just as a helicopter roared over their heads. Tom looked at his companion and motioned for him to follow. Just as they arrived at the street exit, a group of soldiers turned the corner and froze in front of them. "Hands up!" John glanced back the way they had come and saw the other man with a gun raised. "John Crichton, what an honor to finally meet you." Tom ignored them and kept his eyes on the soldiers. "Fire!" Five triggers were snapped back and bullets erupted from their cartridges.

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"Aeryn, we have a problem." She heard Pilot say the words and shook her head angrily. "When don't we have a problem?" Making her way towards command, she ran into D'Argo. The Luxan looked equally agitated. Together they entered the room and found Chiana pointing out into space. The transport pod flew by the window in what appeared to be a big hurry. "What's the problem?" The Nebari turned to them and shrugged. "I was able to scan the ship before it left the hanger." They all waited for Pilot to finish. "It is carrying two passengers. Zhaan and Scorpius." Aeryn looked at D'Argo. "How the frell did that happen?" He growled and toward Pilot's image on the screen. "Follow them."

Outside of Scorpius's open cell, Meryl struggled to lift herself off the ground. The blow to her neck had been very hard and perfectly executed. She had not been able to move for quite a while. But something much worse was bothering her now. Maybe this incident had triggered it somehow. All she knew was that it was getting very hot for her. Meryl's entire body was coated in sweat. Not the cold type she had become accustomed to. This one was burning hot and extremely painful. Topping it all was a terrible feeling of hunger in her stomach. "Frelling Zhaan, frelling Scorpius." She closed her eyes and let the pain take over completely. "Frelling babies."