The Elephant Ep2.7: The Earth Stood Still

Pilot sat nervously in his den as everything went insane once again in the tiers below. He shook his head in confusion at the news that had been delivered by his scan. Zhaan had freed Scorpius and escaped with him in a transport pod. "No, I don't believe it either." Moya was asking even more questions than usual. "Yes, I know it's not like her." He grumbled something to himself that he hoped she didn't hear. Then something caught the leviathan's attention. "Where?" Pilot scanned the area she was talking about. "Meryl?" He called her comm but their was no answer. "Is there a problem Pilot?"

Rygel cursed himself for asking the question. Now he was down in the deepest parts of the ship. Each cell he passed only reminded the Hynerion more of his own imprisonment. A low moaning sound could be heard repeatedly off in the distance. "Meryl? Is that you?" There was no response. He sped up his throne and turned a corner. A cell door hung ajar in the hallway in front of him. Darkness covered the ground, blocking his view. "Lights." Brightness filled the room instantly, burning his eyes and illuminating the fallen Sebacean. "What's wrong with you?" She turned her head slowly to look at him. "Frelling Hynerions."

Directing his throne over her, Rygel studied Meryl's tortured form. Her body was covered in sweat and a dark bruise wrapped around her neck. "I need food Rygel. Now!" He turned his head slightly and laughed. "Don't we all?" She was not amused. "Food." Touching her skin with the tips of his fingers, he felt the heat radiating off of her. "Does this mean that whole screaming thing is over?" Meryl nodded and finally smiled weakly. "Very well." Rygel reached down and grabbed the collar of her shirt. Fixing it to the side of his throne, he sped back the way he had come. Dragging one ex-peacekeeper close behind.

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Grisham entered his private quarters and walked over to the window. The destroyed gammek base was just now leaving the range of his ship's view. Deep space was all that they would be seeing for a while. Behind him, Zelaya stepped inside and sat down in the captain's chair. Her eyes followed him curiously around the room. She laughed to herself. The man was doing everything in his power not to look at her. "I don't frighten you do I?" Grisham jumped. He shook his head and tried to hide the look of surprise. "No, of course not." He straightened his face and glanced at the mini-computer in her hands.

"You want the wormhole technology?" She slid it from the case and looked up at him. "There are some conditions that go along with this." Grisham nodded several times as he reached forward to grab it. Taking the machine in his hands, he tried to pick one question out of the millions that swirled in his head. "This is it?" The words seemed silly out loud. Zelaya smiled, revealing her pointed teeth. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" She slid off the chair and went towards him.

"This is a starting point, nothing more. It's your job to find the right sequence." Slightly disappointed, Grisham smiled anyway. This was still farther than he had ever gotten before. Seeing him relax, Zelaya continued her speech. "There is one condition. No exceptions whatsoever." The captain nodded rigidly and waited for her to speak. "This is for you alone. No one else must work on this." Grisham froze as she finished. A glazed look of terror filled his eyes. "Something you should know." She sighed. The man was even more of an idiot than she had anticipated. "There are five other facilities currently running wormhole projects." He walked over to his computer and brought up the data. Zelaya looked down at the information. Five sets of coordinates. Somewhere in space, several brown ships changed direction.

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Scorpius turned in his seat and looked at the unlikely accomplice. The Delvian sat quietly beside him. Her eyes had softened slightly but the coldness was still there. It didn't really matter to him why she had done it. He was free now. Soon he would have the comforts of another gammek base. "Why?" The hybrid couldn't hold back the question any longer. Despite his thoughts. Zhaan glanced over at him and smiled. "Just doing my job." Scorpius had no idea what the frell that meant. "Where are we going sir?"

His eyes widened as he heard the words. "Did you just call me sir?" Zhaan nodded curtly. Scorpius shrugged and pointed towards the console. "There is a base not too far from here. No more than a few days." There was something else on the scanner. The leviathan, Moya, was following them. Just far back enough to avoid being seen by other ships. "Will they be a problem?" He smiled devilishly. "Probably."

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Aeryn turned towards the doorway as the sound of footsteps hit her ears. Meryl walked in with Rygel by her side. Both of them were gorging on food cubes of every color and shape. "What the frell happened to you?" Despite the ex-captain's content smile, she still looked like a mess. "Just getting something to eat." Aeryn shrugged and glanced back at D'Argo. He was ignoring the scene and keeping his eyes glued to the space outside. "There is a vessel approaching." Pilot's voice broke the awkward silence. "What kind?" He didn't have an answer for her.

"I'm not sure. It could be anything." Aeryn and D'Argo looked at each other with similar expressions. Moya was no match for any peacekeeper ship. And if they stayed on this course, that was exactly what they would run into. "Just be ready to starburst Pilot." He acknowledged her request and left them alone. They waited like that for several microts. Finally, after a long silence, something crashed against the window. "Forgive me. It's only space debris." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Aeryn, we can't keep moving towards Peacekeeper territory like this. Sooner or later, something's going to happen." She knew D'Argo was right. "Fine."

Aeryn strapped herself into the prowler's front seat and nodded to her friends down below. "I'll follow the signal until they stop." D'Argo did not seem sure. "And if Zhaan does not come peacefully?" She smiled wickedly. "Who said I was going to ask?" A loud thump caught her attention. Meryl jumped into the backseat and started to put on the seat belt. "Where the frell do you think you're going?" The pregnant woman smiled. "Stop me, I dare you." Chiana ran into the hanger and tossed a bag in. "Don't forget this." Meryl gave her thanks. It was filled to the brim with food cubes.

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Rachel was ready to throw the phone against the wall. She had been trying for days now to get a hold of one man. "Hi, you've reached the offices of Jack Crichton. I'm not here right now so if you leave a mess-." She slammed it down on the stand. That same line had been repeated in her ears so many times that she was starting to hear it in her sleep. Looking back at the computer screen, she tried the IASA web-site. Sure enough, the former astronaut's name was present under personnel. Rachel's heart almost skipped a beat. An e-mail address was listed there as well.

<<<<>>>>

Jack beside his son's best friend as the man raced his fingers across the keyboard. DK had been trying for quite some time now to the get the sequence just right. "How much longer?" The younger man glanced up at him with an angry expression. "Every time I stop to answer that question, it takes a little longer." Crichton got the picture and stepped back. On the screen, he watched a map of the space around Earth. Plotted there was an estimated guess of where John's transmission had come from. As the signal moved across the sky, DK tried to find a pattern of direction.

Watching the genius at work, Jack felt the familiar tug of sadness inside him. John and DK had been friends since they were old enough to walk. Their great science experiment had made both families equally proud. That was why this was so difficult. The supposed destruction of the Farscape module had taken something from the young scientist. He had quit his job months later and retreated to the family farm. Jack hadn't heard from him since. It was just too painful for the both of them. "I'm sorry about getting you into this. I know how much it hurts." DK looked up at him again and smiled wryly. "You should see what I usually do."

A beeping noise interrupted the conversation before it could begin. The space map minimized on the screen. Revealing the picture of a mailbox. "What happened?" DK lifted a hand to shush him and clicked on the incoming message. "Your office just got a personal e-mail. Janis rerouted it here." Janis was Jack's secretary back at IASA. They didn't like each other very much but apparently she was still doing her job. He didn't think he needed a secretary. "Just store it for later." DK ignored him. "Look at the name. Rachel Wells. Where do I remember that from?" He clicked the on it. "Jack, you better take a look at this."

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John opened his eyes carefully and looked around the dark room. He took in a breath of stale air and coughed as tiny dust particles flew around. There was someone else in here with him. Taking off his vest, he grabbed onto one end and launched the other towards the object. "What the hell are you doing?" The lump turned around to reveal itself as Tom. The younger man shook his head and stood up slowly. "How long do you think we've been in here?" John shrugged and pointed to the wall. The only opening in the cell was a small slit on the door. "I think they're listening to us."

Beyond the door, a massive amount of activity was going on. Legions of soldiers and a few chosen scientists roamed the halls. The shipment had come in only hours before. Something that would put the whole program years ahead. A small brown, unidentified object. Recovered in the California desert and believed to be of alien origin. Not too far from the cell, a vast room had been set aside for the thing. Watching it from his seat at the control panel, Doug Milton felt goose bumps. "I still can't believe it." The nearest soldier turned slightly towards him. "Didn't y'all have that Roswell thing back in the forties?" Milton shook his head and laughed. "You watch too much sci-fi. This is the real deal."

Unfortunately, the real deal was refusing to cooperate. Several attempts had already been undergone to break the force field. Nothing had worked so far. The only thing that they had managed to do was activate some sort of car alarm. "Please step away from the craft or I will be forced to annihilate you." The message had come in some sort of alien language at first. Finally, after sending a lone soldier in to reply, the ship had altered the words. Milton was still having trouble believing it. Sure, IASA had been funding a program for years to search for extra-terrestrial life. To his knowledge, this was the first find. "Sir, we have a call for you." He picked up the phone. "Sam? Where are you?"

John walked over to the door and tapped lightly on the frame. The tiny slit moved to the side and revealed a pair of cold brown eyes. "What?" He put on his best smile and started to speak. "I think you've made a mistake. See, we're both human-." The lid shut loudly in his face. Tom came up behind him. "So much for your misunderstanding theory." Much to their surprise, the door suddenly swung open. Two soldiers stood there with machine guns trained firmly on them. "No sudden movement." Tom and John glanced at each other and then back at the men. "What? Is there a bee?"

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Rachel almost jumped with excitement as her e-mail was answered. She was surprised to have it return so quickly. The heading on the message confirmed her biggest hopes. Jack Crichton understood what was going on. The mail opened up and she read it:

Dear Mrs. Wells,

I must admit that your story does seem a bit far-fetched. If not for the strange events that have been going on down here lately, I might have dismissed it outright. Here is what I know of the situation. Several weeks ago, a burst transmission was intercepted at IASA headquarters at Cape Canaveral. I was there to see it with my own two eyes. My son was on that transmission and I have been searching ever since for more proof. Apparently, you have delivered it. That both our sons found each other way out wherever they were is amazing. I'm sure you are just a happy as I am to learn of their survival. Hopefully, we can get together soon to discuss our next move.

Rachel felt the familiar sinking feeling in her stomach as she read the letter again. The excited tone in his voice made her regret what she had just done. The key bit of information that his son had been taken was left out. Cursing herself, she began to type a reply with the terrible news. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this..."

<<<<>>>>

The Regulator escape pod stood majestically in the middle of the room as they were escorted in. John glanced back at his companion with a worried expression. Tom didn't feel any better about what was going on. There was a shout from across the room as a short man in a black suit ran towards them. Doug stared into the hard eyes of a man he had believed dead until only hours before. "John Crichton, it's a pleasure to meet you." John was confused. "Yeah, great." Tom walked up next to him and looked at the IASA official. "You're not going to autopsy us are you?"

Before anyone could say anything else, a familiar robotic voice broke the silence and startled the surrounding soldiers. "Welcome Tom. Are you well?" He turned towards it and smiled weakly. Milton, along with every other person in the room put their eyes on him. "It knows you?" Any attention payed to astronaut John Crichton was immediately transferred to Tom Wells. Creative Writing student and milk carton face. "I wouldn't say it knows me. We're acquaintances." No one laughed at his bad joke. "Guards!" Two soldiers ran up to their little group. "Ok Tom. Open it."

Tom looked to his more experienced companion. His face seemed to cry out, "Tell me what do you." John nodded slightly and waited for him to do something. The young man turned back to Milton and shook his head. "It'll take the two of us." Doug narrowed his eyes and glanced from one to the other. The demand seemed more than a little suspicious. "Fine. But we'll be watching so don't try anything." Tom frowned as if defeated and motioned for John to follow him. Together they walked slowly towards the ship. "Do you wish to deactivate countermeasures?"

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The doorbell rang just as Rachel was about to finish the letter. She glanced over at the pulse pistol that John had left behind and went for it. Tucking it under her shirt, she walked over to the door and unlocked it. The man standing there looked more than a little familiar. "Hello Mrs. Wells. Do you remember me?" Rachel nodded suspiciously. "Sam right?" He smiled and moved forward. She blocked his passage. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Sam continued to smile as he pulled the silenced gun from its holster. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with me." She considered struggling but ultimately decided against it. No matter what happened, she still had the ray gun.

DK and Jack stood frozen over the computer screen as they waited for Mrs. Wells to reply. Neither of them heard the door slam open. The sound of heavy boots hitting wood floors did not alert them either. What finally caught them off guard was the sound of a gun being discharged. "Hands up now!" The first soldier to enter the room barked orders and moved to the computer. He blasted a whole through it before returning his attention to the two men. "Is this about my son?" Jack's question went unanswered.

As they were dragged out into the front yard, a green truck pulled up and several more soldiers jumped out. A man in a black suit stepped out of the driver's seat and handed Jack a small cell phone. He took it and waited for the other line to speak. "Hello Jack. Do you know who this is?" The former astronaut growled. He knew exactly who it was. "Sam, you have him don't you?" There was only a laugh from the phone at first. "Yes, I do."

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Tom almost whispered his reply to the computer. He was suddenly very aware of how small objects could tear through a human's soft skin. "Go ahead." The low humming sound that had gone on continuously without notice immediately stopped. There was a wave of released breaths around the room as the force field shimmered slightly and disappeared. He felt John tap him from behind as discretely as possible. "When I tell you, jump forward." Tom let their shoes smack together as a sign that he understood. "Computer, open the door."

Milton watched in amazement as a section of the brown spaceship detached from its home and slid down to the floor. From his vantage point, incredibly complex looking machines blinked repeatedly inside. "My God." One of the nameless scientists stepped up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We've done it." An ominous silence followed as no one dared speak a word. The ringing of Doug's cell phone finally broke it. "Yes?" A familiar voice came through. "I've picked up everyone. What's going on down there?" He relayed the current situation as clearly as he could manage. "You idiot!" Doug had to pull the phone away to keep from hurting his ears.

Seeing the soldiers distracted, John lunged forward and crashed into his surprised companion. Both of them went sprawling into the ship's open doorway and landed on hard ground. "Close the frelling door!" Tom's voice came out weakly under the pressure of another body. It didn't matter. Sensing the anxiety in his voice, the computer reacted quickly and slammed the door shut. The two men grinned at each other and moved to the console. "Get us out of here." They waited excitedly for the computer to respond. "I'm sorry Tom. Flight is currently unavailable." Tom almost cried out in anger. "Why not?" John answered the question for it. "We're in a big, closed off room. There's no way out."