Title: Rystal

Author: DOKChairman

Time/Spoilers: I really have no idea when this takes place, but if I had to say, it takes place before John was twinned, but after Zhaan dies.  Everything before that is fair game.

Summary: After a disastrous fight with Aeryn, John is abandoned on a strange planet.  He soon discovers an ancient and mysterious prophecy that leads to open warfare with the Peacekeepers, and maybe a way home.

Disclaimer: "Farscape", its characters, and its situations don't belong to me - they are the propertyof The Jim Henson Company, Rockne S. O'Bannon, the Sci-Fi Channel, Hallmark Entertainment, and Nine Network Australia.  The only thing that belongs to me are the original characters and story.

Author's Note: I'll try to make this brief.  This is my first ever story, so please forgive me for it.  I am only writing this story because the idea has been plaguing my mind for months, and putting it on paper was the only way to stay sane.

"Perhaps you can.  You have every incentive.  The welfare of Earth hangs on your doing so and, as you have told me, your own career."

            "What good is incentive?  If you ordered me to fly by flapping my arms and told me further that if I failed, I would be promptly killed by slow torture and that Earth would be blown up and all its population destroyed, I would have enormous incentive to flap my wings and fly-and yet still be unable to do so."

- Isaac Asimov, The Robots of Dawn

Chapter 1: Misperceptions of the Mind

            For most everyone in the Uncharted Territories, the planet Rotar would have been considered just a normal commerce planet.  But for the human astronaut John Crichton, visiting a planet was still an extraordinary experience even after a little over two cycles in the Uncharted Territories.  It was the first time in a long time that a planet reminded him of his home, Earth.

            The planet was covered with large grassy plains, lush, green forest, and cool mountain areas.  There were large oceans with warm, sandy beaches.  The planet also had large, sprawling metropolitan areas as well, just like Earth.  And with a mild, temperate climate, the planet was perfect.  The only differences between Earth and Rotar were the enormous spaceport near the capital city, and of course the many alien species inhabiting the planet.

            The spaceport was a marvel of construction and ingenuity.  As large, if not larger than the capital city it was constructed next to, you could land a full command carrier in the space designated for landing.  Thousands of ships, of a multitude of different races and species, traveled to and fro from the spaceport daily.  The spaceport on Rotar was one of the largest and most heavily trafficked spaceports in the whole Uncharted Territories.  Fortunately, that meant that practically any part or item you could possibly need, could be found in the confines of the spaceport.  Unfortunately, being one of the largest spaceports in the area also meant that there was a large Peacekeeper presence on the planet.

            It is because of that Peacekeeper presence that gave Rotar its rather unique situation.  Rotar was not only the largest but it was also the only trade outpost in two sectors, not to mention the fact that it was within spitting distance of the Scarren's territorial boundaries, Rotar was very important to the Peacekeepers.  It was essential that they controlled the planet.  Unfortunately for the Peacekeepers, Rotar was well known for its hatred of the Peacekeepers, and there was a growing resistance movement amongst the more militant of the inhabitants. 

Yet despite the resistance movement, the Peacekeepers had not squashed it like they would for any other planet.  It was important that they maintained good relations with the planet's populace.  Despite their claims of technological superiorority and racial purity, the Peacekeepers needed the Rotarians to maintain the spaceport.  The Rotarians were well known for their shipbuilding skills, and the Peacekeepers needed those skills to repair and build their ships.  That was the reason for so many Peacekeepers; at any time there could be over 30,000 troops on the planet.  Most of them were stationed in garrisons across the planet, the largest one being in the Ryota Mountains, just a few metras south of the capital city.  The majority of the population hated the Peacekeepers but they didn't dare do anything against them.  They knew the Peacekeepers were just itching for a chance to increase their hold on the planet.  Which is why most of them don't care if a few of the Rotarian rebels are killed, but if the Peacekeepers ever tried anything major, the people would be up in arms.  That was something the Peacekeepers couldn't afford.

So the Peacekeepers patrolled the planet, always looking for some reason to increase their control over the planet.  They hated having some upstart, technologically inferior, alien race defying them.  Never mind that half of the rebels were Sebacean.

            The Peacekeepers had been a big worry for the crew of the Leviathan Moya, understandably John thought, when they were deliberating whether or not to come down to the planet.  Under most circumstances they would have hauled ass out of there faster than Rygel could have eaten a plate of Hynerian marjoules.  But they were in desperate need of fresh food, spare parts, and most importantly of all: replacement parts for Moya's amnexus systems.  They had been damaged over two weekens ago, and while Pilot thought Moya could successfully starburst one more time, he did not want to risk it unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.  So Moya had arrived at Rotar, and after the crew decided which was more dangerous, the populace that hated Peacekeepers or the Peacekeepers themselves, they decided that John and Aeryn would have an easier time trying to pose as Peacekeepers, or at least risk looking like them, than sending someone else down.  While they knew that there were many different aliens on the planet, they figured that the two Sebacean looking crewmembers would find it easier to blend into the crowd, than a Luxan Warrior and a Nebari.  The crew had thought it best that they go because the large number of Sebaceans living on the planet.

The one characteristic that truly set the planet apart from all the other planets that John had been to though was the alien species that lived on the planet.  While it is true that John had been to many planets where there were multiple species, he had never been to a planet that had an indigenous population that cohabitated with Sebaceans on an equal footing.  The indigenous species on the planet were extraordinary themselves.

Walking through the spaceport, John had seen many of the humanoid looking aliens.  Ranging from anywhere between six and nine feet tall, but only weighing, from what John could guess, about 200 pounds, the Rotarians had very lithe and slim bodies.  The Rotarians almost looked like they could be distant cousins to Wookies.  But if John had learned anything from the Uncharted Territories, it's that looks can be deceiving.  After careful study of the Rotarians, John determined that while they looked skinny and week, the aliens were actually quite strong.  If you looked past the short, colorful fur that covered their bodies you could see that they were rippling with muscles.  Muscles, John could only guess, capable of doing some serious damage.  The Rotarians were very imposing, with their solid black eyes and some truly wicked looking retractable claws on their forearms that came out of their wrists. 

It was with that thought in mind, that John became extra careful as he walked through the spaceport.  Being separated from Aeryn and on his own always made him a little more paranoid than normal.  He had uncharacteristically breezed through his part of the shopping assignment and dropped his purchases off at the pod.  He wanted to look around a little more, experience the Earth-like planet, but he knew that he didn't have the time to do any major sight seeing.  So he decided to find himself a bar.  He knew that that might not be a good idea, with his track record for attracting trouble and all, but a little more than one arn was just too long to wait in a transport pod.

            After ten minutes more of wandering, John decided that he had had enough and began to walk back towards the pod.  He remembered a bar that he had seen earlier when he first arrived and wanted to check it out.  It was near where they parked the transport pod, so if John got into trouble, he wouldn't have very far to run.

            As John stepped through the entrance to the bar he was struck by a sense of déjà vu.  All around the bar were aliens from different species.  John could see Delvians, Sebaceans, Rotarians, Sheyangs, and even some Luxans.  There were even some species that John had never seen before.  The air was smoky and the place smelled, badly.  The bar reminded him so much of the Mos Eisley Cantina scene from the movie Star Wars, it wasn't even funny.  They were even playing music that sounded like the music in the movie.

            Unfortunately, John was once again reminded of how alone he was out here in the Uncharted Territories.  No one on this side of the universe would ever understand any reference to that movie.  John just shook his head and laughed quietly to himself.  He searched the bar for a good table, one where he could have a good vantage point of the whole bar and where he wouldn't have to watch his back.  He saw the perfect table; it was nestled in a corner, and from there he could see the whole bar.  Finally, John thought, I can relax and have a beer.  He signaled a waitress, ordered fellip nectar, and waited for it to arrive.

            Former Peacekeeper Disruptor Juli Fallon could not believe her luck.  John Crichton, the most wanted man in the Uncharted Territories, had just walked into the bar she was currently visiting.  She had heard a rumor from one of her contacts that said the human might be on the planet, but she didn't think much about it.  She didn't think that John Crichton was the kind of man that would be stupid enough to come to a planet with such a large and heavily fortified Peacekeeper presence.  Obviously, she was wrong.  Or maybe not, if what her contact said was true.  He had said that he had overheard Crichton and his Sebacean companion discussing the situation of their Leviathan and its poor status.  They must be really desperate, she thought.

            Studying and learning all she could about the human had become somewhat of an obsession with her when she was still with the Peacekeepers.  After the incident on the Royal Planet, where John had met another Disruptor, Peacekeeper High Command decided that it would be a good idea for all their other agents to have a brief history of the human, in case any of them ever came into contact with him in the future.  She had taken her brief lesson and expanded it.  She just found him completely fascinating.  Because of her rather high status in the Peacekeeper hierarchy, she was able to gain access to all the information on John Crichton without garnering too much unwanted attention. 

Growing up in the Peacekeepers taught her to look down on deficient beings, yet her whole life she never really believed any of the dren they were telling her.  She had been exposed to too many different cultures, peoples, and ideas during her training to let the propaganda really sink its teeth into her.  She never thought that she was better than other people simply because she was a Peacekeeper and a Sebacean.  It must have been something wrong in my genetic makeup, she thought with a shrug.  Not that no longer being a Peacekeeper bothered her that much.  In the end that failure to embrace her Peacekeeper upbringing, cost her an old life but brought her a new one on Rotar.

They had trained and taught her how to be the perfect soldier, so fighting and surviving came naturally to her.  She wanted to know how a man who was supposed to be a deficient and primitive being had managed to evade capture for more than two whole cycles from the Peacekeepers.  She wanted to know how he thought, how he fought, how he survived, in short she wanted to know everything about him.  Most importantly of all, she wanted to know if he would help the resistance.  She knew that the odds of him actually helping were very small, but it was too good an opportunity not to ask him.  She knew that his hatred of the Peacekeepers was legendary, and that if any one would know how to evade and defeat the Peacekeepers, it would be John Crichton.  She knew that before the day was over, she would get some answers.

            I wonder what the frell he could possibly be doing here, she thought.  And if that is him, then where are the rest of his friends.  She knew, from reading the Peacekeeper intelligence reports that he rarely, if ever, traveled without the female Sebacean and the Luxan warrior.  She scanned the bar from her table and did not see the aforementioned aliens.  Interesting, she thought, very interesting.

            She discreetly began to move closer to him so she could study him better.  The physical description given by the intelligence briefings did not do him justice, she thought.  He was much more attractive.  She could see that despite the long, black duster that he wore, that he had a very well muscled body.  Power and intelligence just oozed out of him in waves as she studied him.  He was easily one of the more attractive men she had ever seen.  The fact that he was an alien intrigued her even more. 

            She was also impressed with his ability to look relaxed and harmless, yet still manage to convey a feeling of alertness.  She could see how his eyes would scan the bar every few microts, looking for possible threats.  He definitely cuts an imposing figure, especially with the black, Peacekeeper like uniform he's wearing, she thought.  Unfortunately for him, the bar they were in was well known for its anti-Peacekeeper patrons.  And he certainly looked like a Peacekeeper, especially with that pulse pistol strapped to his thigh.

            She was going to have to talk to him, warn him about the aliens before anything bad happened.  The last thing she wanted was to have some drunk pick a fight with him because he looked like a Peacekeeper.  Any confrontation would surely chase him away before she got a chance to talk to him.  However, if she did talk to him, she knew her cell leader, Kwami, was not going to like it, but she didn't really care.  She knew Kwami would not want her to expose herself, but for some weird reason that she could not explain, she just felt that there was a connection between John and her and she had an overwhelming feeling to protect him.  And she admitted to herself with a smile, she also had an intense desire to do things to him, which had nothing to do with wanting to protect him.  With that last thought in mind she began walking to his table.

            Finally, John thought, I can relax and just drink a beer.  No Harvey, which was a rare enough occurrence that John wanted to savor it, to worry about, no Moya to worry about, at least not for the time being, and no Aeryn getting on his ass about this or that.  Nothing to worry about except running out of fellip nectar.  Speaking of which, I need another one.  He raised his hand to signal one of the waitresses to come over, but they ignored him.  Hey!  What gives? He asked himself.  He wasn't really in the mood to make a scene, so he decided to go up to the bar itself and order another round.  As he was standing, a woman suddenly appeared in front of his table.  His hand immediately slid down to the hilt of his pulse pistol, Wynonna, as he studied the girl.

            Standing at just about eye level, the Sebacean girl, and she was a girl, she could only be about 20 cycles old, had shoulder length, dark blonde hair.  With strikingly beautiful facial features, large, expressive green eyes, a slim and lithe figure, and an air of confidence permeating her body, she was easily one of the most attractive women John had ever seen.  Her beauty momentarily stunned him.  Damn it John, snap out of it!  You can't let yourself be distracted and misled by a pretty face.  She just snuck up on you out of nowhere, which takes skill.  Skill a normal, harmless, girl shouldn't have, John berated himself.  While John was certainly no soldier, he had learned more than enough things in the Uncharted Territories to keep himself alive.  One being an acute sense of your environment, and this girl had just completely overruled that sense.  Be careful John, he warned himself.

            "Damn it kid!  Don't sneak up on people like that, it's a good way to get yourself killed," John said in a tight voice.  He began to scan the room, looking for possible escape routes if the situation suddenly went sour.

            Juli looked chagrinned as she apologized for her sudden arrival, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, but I thought you saw me, you were looking in my direction."  Juli could tell that John did not believe her, as he had yet to move his hand away from his weapon.  She realized that she needed to calm John down and get him to listen to her.  "Look, I notice that you're almost out of fellip nectar.  Why don't you let me buy the next round as a way of apologizing?"

            John, never one to pass up a free beer no matter what the situation, reluctantly acquiesced to the girl's proposal.  "Sure kid, fine.  Then maybe you can tell me how you managed to come out of nowhere like you did."

            Juli gave John a big smile as she saw him agree to her placating gesture.  John gave her a little smile in return as he sat back down.  Juli turned to a nearby waitress and ordered two fellip nectars. 

As she was turning back towards John, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, an unusually large Rotarian male coming through the bar's entrance.  Frell!  What is Kwami doing here?  She wondered worriedly.  Kwami must have followed me here.  It is the only way that he could have found me so fast.  If John found out about everything too soon, she knew he would not agree to help them and he would leave the bar, and soon thereafter the planet.  She needed him to trust her first, and then she could tell him about the resistance.  Kwami was going to ruin everything; he was going to blow her cover.  She began to panic as Kwami started walking right towards her.  Of course anyone looking at her would not have seen any emotion cross her face, she was too well trained to let that happen.

She could see that Kwami was very angry as he looked at John and then as he looked at her.  She could see his talons extend out of his wrists as he walked towards them, a sure sign that a Rotarian was very upset.  Frell!  She needed to get him to leave.  John was already wary enough after she surprised him, the last thing she needed was for him to see an angry Rotarian stalking towards him. 

Unfortunately for Juli, John did see the large, very angry Rotarian coming towards him.  You would have to be blind not too.  He could see that the Rotarian was looking at the girl standing next to John, and for some reason that was angering the Rotarian.  John carefully released Wynonna from her holster as he eased out of his chair.  John quickly looked towards the bar and saw a door that John could only assume led to a kitchen.  And if there's a kitchen, there's a good bet that's its got a door that leads outside.  John shifted his balance to the balls of his feet, prepared to run at the slightest aggressive action.  John had no desire to test his theory about the strength of the Rotarians firsthand.  John did not know why the Rotarian was so mad at him, and he did not want to wait around to find out.

John stole a quick glance toward the girl that was still standing next to him.  He could see something in her eyes that told him that the Rotarian and her were not strangers.  John immediately got angry, thinking that this was some kind of setup.  When the Rotarian was about fifteen feet away, John turned to the girl and asked her in an accusatory tone, "What the hell is going on here?"

The girl turned her head away from the oncoming Rotarian, and gave John a sad and pleading look.  "Uh…. I can explain everything.  Just put your gun away and relax."  She paused for a second as she looked back to the oncoming alien.  "Whatever you do, don't make any sudden moves, it'll only make him madder."

John got an incredulous look on his face as he looked at the alien who was only about six feet away now.  "Madder!!  Kid, the only way that guy could get any madder is if his face gets all red and smoke starts coming out of his ears.  And seeing how we ain't living in a cartoon, I don't see how that's gonna be possible.  But I'll trust you and take your word for it."  John had no intention of relaxing and letting down his guard, but something in the girl's voice made him hesitate.  With a loud sigh and the thought that he was probably really going to regret his decision, John sat back down.  But he did not put his gun away.  He wasn't that trusting.

Juli visibly relaxed when she saw that John had actually listened to her and sat back down.  She was actually mildly surprised, and she could see that John was surprised at himself, when he had sat down.  She noticed that he still had his gun out.  She wanted to tell him again to put it away, but she knew pressuring him into doing something he obviously didn't want to do would only make the situation worse.

  With one problem taken care of, she reluctantly turned towards the oncoming Rotarian.  She began to move towards Kwami, so as to move out of John's hearing range.  She definitely did not want him to hear what she was about to say, at least not yet.  It was a very delicate situation she was about to get herself into.

Rotarians have a very different social structure than most species.  Their society is based on an individual or group that dominates everyone else.  In Juli's case, Kwami was the dominant personality in her organization, the resistance, or Rystalva, as the Rotarians called it.  It was one of the few things that Rotarians respected over all other things, strength.  Juli knew she was going to have show strength in order to calm Kwami down, or he would never listen to her when he was this mad.  It was not something she was going to relish, she really liked Kwami and hated having to use her old skills as a Disruptor, but it had to be done if she was going to get John to trust her.  Luckily for her, showing strength doesn't always mean physical violence.

As soon as Juli stopped right in front of Kwami, he hissed out in his low, gravelly voice, "What are you doing here?  You were supposed to be meeting our contact in the spaceport's advisory council."  Kwami then looked over to John, still sitting at his table facing them, "And what the frell are you doing talking to that Peacekeeper?  You know you are not allowed to talk to any Peacekeepers without permission from me first."

Juli was a little shocked and hurt that Kwami had come to a conclusion so fast on her reason for being in the bar.  Her shock soon turned to anger, however.  Juli began in an accusatory tone, "You were following me.  Why the frell would you do that?"

"Do not try to change the subject Juli Fallon.  Our contact on the advisory council went to great lengths to arrange a meeting with our group, and now you have not only jeopardized him but our entire group by not meeting him."  Kwami paused to gather himself.  He did not want to become too angry that he made an even bigger scene than he already had.  Unfortunately, he could feel himself losing control over his emotions.  "Toben said that you could not be trusted.  He said that you would betray us.  I stood up for you and defended your honor.  I told him that you were the most loyal and honorable Sebacean I had ever met."

The entire time during Kwami's speech, Juli's resolve to explain her position weakened.  She began to feel guilty that she had missed the meeting.  She had no idea that so much time had passed since the human came into the bar.  When Kwami started to talk about her loyalty, she had to speak up.  "Kwami, I have not betrayed your trust, or that of the group's.  I am as loyal to you as I have been since I first joined you over half a cycle ago.  I can explain everything.  That man …"

Juli never got a chance to finish her sentence as Kwami interrupted her.  "Enough!  I do not want to hear your excuses.  I swore on the soul of the Rystal that you could be trusted.  I chose you to join us.  Do you have any idea what kind of position you have put me in?  I am no longer worthy enough to be Prime.  My honor is now worth as much as yours.  Toben was right about you Peacekeeper!"  With that epitaph, Kwami struck Juli across the face, knocking her to the floor. 

Kwami did not know what had come over him.  Seeing Juli with that Peacekeeper had made him so angry.  That she would carelessly ignore her duty and obligation to the Rystalva, in order to talk to some…frelling Peacekeeper, made him angry enough to kill.  He would never kill Juli, he owed her too much, but he had no problem with killing the Peacekeeper.

During the entire confrontation between the Sebacean girl and the male Rotarian, John had been warily watching the scene unfold.  He had still yet to put Wynonna away, and for good reason.  Any one watching the Rotarian could see that he was a powder keg just waiting to explode. 

From the body language of the two individuals he could tell that their argument was about him.  John immediately felt guilty that the girl was getting in trouble for talking to him.  He also felt guilty that he had initially thought that there was some sort of set up between the two, but he realized that there is no way the Rotarian could be acting with all that anger coming out of him.

John was torn.  He wanted to help the girl, yet he didn't want to get involved in anything.  He knew the others would not be very pleased if he got into any trouble, especially Aeryn.  She had practically ordered him not to do anything stupid and unnecessary.  Fortunately for John, or unfortunately depending how you look at it, the decision was taken out of his hands.  When the Rotarian hit the girl, John's southern sensibilities instantly kicked in.  His father had taught him that you never hit a woman, and there was no way John was going to let this girl get beat just because she talked to him.

Kwami was still towering over Juli, when the full weight of what he had just done hit him full force.  He immediately became ashamed.  No matter what Juli had done, it was dishonorable and cowardly to strike a defenseless and unequal opponent.  Juli was also a friend, and to strike a friend was a very dishonorable act.  He also knew that he had overreacted to the whole situation.  He was about to apologize, and help Juli back to her feet, when he felt the barrel end of a pulse pistol pressed against his lowered head.

"Look buddy, unless you want a hole in your head the size of a grapefruit, I suggest that you leave the kid alone.  If you want to hit somebody it should be me."  Kwami did not dare to turn his head to see who is assailant was, but he had a good idea of whom it was.  It had to be the Peacekeeper that Juli had been talking to.  Kwami was not only surprised that the Peacekeeper had come to Juli's defense, most wouldn't have cared, but also surprised that the Peacekeeper had just offered himself to take Juli's place in his anger.  Kwami was more than willing to oblige him.

"She is no child!  She is a Peacekeeper Disruptor.  Why do you defend her?"  Kwami growled out.

John was shocked speechless.  That girl is a Peacekeeper Disruptor?  No way could she be a Disruptor.  She was too young…  Yet he could tell the Rotarian genuinely thought the girl was a Disruptor, and she did sneak up on him.  Maybe he's right.  Without really thinking, John shifted his gun towards the girl, subconsciously thinking her the more dangerous target.  "Whoa!  She's a Disruptor?"

Kwami was confused.  The man sounded as if he did not know of Juli's background, yet why would he be talking to her if he did not know.  Kwami let the tension ease out of his body as he slowly turned to face the Sebacean.  He could see that the gun that was previously pointed at him was now pointed at Juli.  This confused Kwami even more.  "You did not know she was a Disruptor?"

John still kept his gun leveled at the girl as he turned his head towards the large Rotarian.  "Know?  Hell no I didn't know.  Believe me if I had known that she was a Peacekeeper Disruptor the last thing I would have done is sit down and have a drink with her.  In fact I should get the hell out of here right now.  There is no telling when more of them might show up.  Damn Peacekeepers are like cockroaches, no matter how many you squash, more just keep on comin'."

"I do not understand.  You are Sebacean, are you not a Peacekeeper as well?"

John let out a harsh laugh, "Me, a Peacekeeper?  Hell no.  Can't stand the bastards."

By this time both John and Kwami were ignoring Juli, who was still lying on the floor of the bar.  Juli was lost.  She did not know what to do.  If she wanted she could probably leave, the two males were so engrossed with each other they wouldn't have noticed if a frag grenade went off right next to them.  In a way that was good, it meant that Kwami and John were somewhat getting along.  It was bad as well, because the conversation was certainly not in her favor. 

However, Juli knew that if she left, her life on Rotar would be over.  She would always be remembered as a traitor to the resistance.  She would have to move on, and Juli hated having to change her life.  She was just getting used to this planet.  She would just have to wait until Kwami calmed down and plead her case.  With a course of action chosen, she stood up and turned her concentration back over to the two men beside her.

            John was putting his pulse pistol away.  Juli could tell from the way they were acting that they had come to some sort of understanding.  She heard John speak up, "Look Chewy, can I call you Chewy?  Anyways, I don't want any trouble.  I just have a problem with guys who hit women.  I blame it on my Southern upbringin'.  Whatever your business is with the kid, is just that, your business.  I'm sorry for butting in.  I just want to sit at my table for the next few minutes and relax before I have to leave.  So I'm just going to mosey on over there ok, and leave you and the kid alone."  With that said, John slowly began to walk towards his table.  He was still a little wary around the Rotarian.

            John had taken about two steps; when the Sebacean girl blurted out, "Wait!  John Crichton!"

            John instantly froze.  How the hell did she know my name?  It was at that instant that Harvey decided to make his first appearance of the day.  Harvey was dressed in an outfit very similar to the outfits one of his old college professors used to wear.  Harvey started making a tut-tut sound as he circled John.  "Really John, I am rather disappointed in you.  I would think it rather obvious how she knows who you are.  She is a Peacekeeper, a Disruptor at that.  I'm sure that after your little adventure on the Royal Planet, High Command made it mandatory for all Special Directorate personnel to know who you are.  Besides, you must not forget.  You are the most wanted man in the Uncharted Territories.  I am sure she is not the only one in this bar that knows who you are."

            John was not in the mood for Harvey's typical unique perspective on things.  "Shove it Harv.  I'm not in the mood for your usual antics.  Like my grandmother used to say, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.'"

            "Oh!  I'm sorry John.  How could I have been so rude?"  Harvey gave John a lascivious smile, and John frowned in response.  Harvey, seeing that John really was not in the best frame of mind at the moment, decided to get while the going was good.  "I see that you are obviously too busy to bother with me, so I'll leave.  But one more tidbit of advice before I go, don't trust that girl John.  She deceives people for a living."  With that last kernel of wisdom, Harvey disappeared.

            John sighed in relief.  He really didn't have time to deal with the hybrid.  It was bad enough that he was in the middle of an argument between a Disruptor and a Wookie wannabe; he really didn't need to deal with a reject from a bad 1950's horror movie as well.

               While inside John' head the conversation with Harvey may have seemed like it took minutes, really only a few microts had gone by.  Which was good for John; he couldn't afford to be seen as crazy right now.

            Now that his conversation with Harvey was over, he turned towards the girl that had called out his name with an icy glare.  He stalked up to the girl and growled out, "How do you know my name?  Are you really a Disruptor like Chewy said?  I do not like it when strange people know who I am; they're usually trying to kill me."

            Kwami was intrigued by this turn of events.  The John Crichton?  Kwami was surprised.  He had thought for sure that the most wanted man in the Uncharted Territories would have been more…formidable.  He had never actually seen a picture of the man before, he was more interested in resistance tactics than interstellar politics, but he had heard many of the deeds perpetrated by the man standing in front of him.  He could not believe that this frail looking individual was the one responsible for destroying an entire Peacekeeper Gammak Base and a Shadow Depository.  However, if this man was indeed the real John Crichton then he could be of monumental assistance to the Rystalva.

            First things first though, Kwami had a subordinate to take care of.  However, Kwami thought with some humor, the human was doing a rather good job of that himself.  Kwami looked at Juli, and for the first time since he has known her, he saw panic and fear in her eyes; which surprised him.  He could see that it had nothing to do with her being harmed, he knew Juli more than well enough to know that she did not fear death, but more to do with rejection.  He could see that she was genuinely afraid of being rejected by the man standing in front of her.

            Juli could not believe how quickly things had gone wrong.  One microt John was defending her, the next he was threatening her with a gun.  This was definitely not the way she wanted her first impression to go.  She looked into John's blue eyes and saw nothing but anger.  She quickly needed to regain John's trust.

            "Kwami is only partially correct John.  I used to be a Disruptor, but I left the Peacekeepers six monens ago.  That is how I know who you are.  I sort of made it my goal in life to learn everything I could about you."  Juli could see John begin to waver a little, so she pressed her advantage.  She gave John a look that in the past had weakened most men and made them do what she wanted. It was a very handy tool in her former line of work.  "Please John you have to believe me.  I am not a Peacekeeper anymore."

            John wanted to believe the girl, he really did.  But he had been through too much in the last two cycles to believe her.  His mind had been frelled with too much already.  "I'm sorry Kid, really I am, but I don't believe you.  You don't expect me to actually believe that a Disruptor would ever leave the Peacekeepers, do you?  If you really had studied me then you should know that I would not believe a word you just said." 

            Juli felt like she was drowning.  Things just continued getting worse.  Not only had her usually potent charms failed to even get John' attention, but now it seemed that John would refuse to even listen to any thing she said.  Fortunately, Kwami came to her rescue.

            "Juli is telling you the truth, John Crichton.  I was confused and angry when I said she was still a Peacekeeper.  I misspoke.  I see now that I was wrong to question her loyalty.  She was right to speak to you, for we could use your assistance."

            If possible John was even more confused than before.  "Wait.  Now you're saying she's not a Peacekeeper."  At the large Rotarian's answering nod, he continued.  "Okay, let me get this straight.  She used to be a Peacekeeper Disruptor, but she left them six monens ago and joined up with your group that is rebelling against the Peacekeepers.  Does that about sum it up?"

            Kwami responded, "You are correct in your assessment, John Crichton."

            John let out a loud sigh as he began walking back to his table.  The whole time muttering to himself, "I can't believe this.  Why does this stuff always happen to me?  What did I ever do to the Universe?"  After he reached his table, he sat down still muttering about how much the Universe hated him.

            Kwami and Juli exchanged a look as they stared at John's strange behavior.  Kwami turned to Juli and said, "He seems…mentally unstable.  Is he supposed to act like this?" 

            Juli's face had a small grin as she replied to Kwami's question.  "I don't know.  The reports never mentioned that he might be fahrbot." 

            Kwami shrugged the question of John's competence off, his fur rippling across his body like small waves.  "It does not matter.  We must talk to him about gaining his assistance.  He could be of great value to the Rystalva."  He saw Juli's affirming nod and they began to move towards John and his table.  Halfway there, Kwami reached out his hand and laid it gently on Juli's shoulder.  At Juli's questioning look, he began to apologize for his earlier actions.  "I am sorry I questioned your loyalty and that I struck you.  You are a trusted ally and a friend.  My actions were dishonorable and I ask for your forgiveness."

            Juli smiled at Kwami, letting him see with her eyes as well as her words that she forgave him.  "It is alright Kwami.  I forgive you and I apologize for missing the meeting with our contact.  It's just when I saw John, I…"

            "It is okay Juli, I understand.  You were right to want to talk to him.  Come let us go talk to our new friend."

            Aeryn Sun, former Peacekeeper Commando, was not happy.  In fact if one were to take a close look at her, they would probably say she was downright miserable.  She was not miserable because the spare parts needed for Moya to become fully functional were difficult to acquire, and she was not miserable that she continually received rather nasty glares from the various aliens in what could only be assumed was a very unfriendly, to Peacekeepers at least, part of the spaceport, she could even say she was not miserable because of the unusually warm weather the planet of Rotar seemed to be having, but what was making her miserable was that she was very worried about her human companion, John Crichton.  And that worrying irritated her more than any heat could.

            Ever since they had come down to this Peacekeeper infested planet, she had had what John called rattlers in her stomach.  Peacekeepers would have called this feeling her body's well-trained instinct for seeking out danger, but she liked John's description better.  She couldn't explain this feeling, and that only added to her frustration.

            She would deny it to John until the day she died, but she absolutely hated being separated from him when they were at places like this commerce planet.  Since the first day she had met him, she saw it as her personal obligation to protect him and watch out for him.  And the fact that he seemed to get into the most trouble whenever she wasn't around only added to her desire to accompany him whenever he went someplace. 

            Of course she knew that her need to protect John wasn't entirely for John's benefit.  Keeping John safe was just one of the many defense mechanisms that she used to protect herself.  It was because of John that she even had the urge to protect somebody in the first place.  The thought never would have even entered her mind if she were still a Peacekeeper.

            It was times like this when she was bogged down by worry and her still new emotions threatened to overwhelm her that she almost wanted to hate John.  Of course she knew that she could never do that.  She was completely in love with him, and she needed him like she had never needed anybody before in her life.  She just wished John were with her, so that she could make sure he was safe.  It was with that thought in mind that she began to hurriedly walk back towards the docking area with the transport pod.

            "You want to me do what?" John exclaimed as he looked at his two companions incredulously.

            "We want you to help us fight the Peacekeepers," Kwami stated as if it was the most normal thing a person could say in a conversation.

            "You're crazy, you know that.  You're frelling crazy!  I don't know what kind of things you have been hearing about me, but there's no way having me help you is going to do you any good.  Trust me, I'll only make things worse for you guys."

            Kwami finally began to become more passionate as he began to question John.  "Are you not the John Crichton who destroyed a top secret Gammack Base?  Are you not the John Crichton who destroyed a Shadow Depository?  Are you not the John Crichton that has defied all the odds and evaded capture by the Peacekeepers for more than two cycles?  If you are not this man than we have been wasting our time."

            John could see what Kwami was trying to do.  He was trying to appeal to his pride.  "Look, I am the guy you're talking about."  Kwami began to open his mouth to speak but John raised his hand to quiet him.  He continued, "Did I do all those things?  Yes, I did.  But I'm not Rambo and I didn't do all those things alone.  I had a Luxan warrior and a former Peacekeeper Commando to help me.  They are the ones who might be able to help you, not me.  They are soldiers; I'm just a scientist."  John hoped that was enough to put these people off.  Unfortunately, as usual, he wasn't that lucky.

            Kwami studied John carefully.  He could see in him that despite John's claims to the contrary, he had a warrior's spirit.  Kwami knew he had to, or else he would not have been able to survive as long as he had.  Normally, Kwami would have stopped trying to convince any other person to join the Rystalva long ago.  He did not want unwilling or undedicated people in his group.  However, John was different.  He was too valuable to let go and he believed that John was not as reluctant as he claimed to be.

            Kwami decided to change tactics on John.  "Do you not hate the Peacekeepers?"

            John was surprised by the Rotarian's question.  He was expecting more arguing.  "Of course I hate the Peacekeepers.  They have done nothing but make my life a living Hell since the first microt I got here."

            For the first time since sitting down with the human, Juli opened her mouth to speak.  "Then help us John.  Please!  You're assistance to the resistance would be invaluable.  Not only are you a scientist but you also have practical knowledge on how to fight the Peacekeepers."

            John did not like how Juli kept calling him by his first name.  It was unnerving how she seemed so familiar with him, since they only met three quarters of an arn ago.  He had more important things to worry about though, like getting these people to leave him the frell alone.

            "I sympathize with your cause.  Really, I do.  And I wish I could help you, but I can't.  I am not a fighter and I don't like killing people.  I have a home on Moya, with friends and a woman that I love very much.  A woman, by the way, who would probably kill me if she knew I was having this conversation with you right now."

            Kwami saw an opening in John's argument and decided to exploit it.  "What about my home John Crichton?  Do I not deserve to live in peace with my friends and my mate as well?"

            John was caught off guard by Kwami's question and sputtered, "Of course you do.  That is the right of all intelligent life."

            Kwami's passion and anger increased as he continued.  "What right?  The Peacekeepers have taken that right away from me.  They enslave my people, they force us to work on their ships and build their instruments of death and oppression.  They killed my mate and stole my child away from me.  They oppress my people and kill us without cause.  They lie to the people and blame the deaths on the Rystalva, but we know the truth.  They must be stopped John Crichton, and you can help end their rule over us."

            Frell!  Frell!  Where is he?  Aeryn could not find John, and she was really beginning to worry.  She had made it back to the transport pod expecting John to be there, but he was nowhere in sight.  Normally, this would not have worried her as much, but the bad feeling she had been having all day was getting worse.  She was actually beginning to panic. 

Frell Crichton and these damn emotions, she thought angrily.  Panic was something she would never have had to deal with if she was still a Peacekeeper.  "Why does he always do this me?"  She muttered to herself as she searched the area around the pod.

Think, Aeryn!  Where could he be?  Did he say anything about going someplace last time you spoke?  Aeryn could not think of anything, and this frustrated her even more.  If only I could talk to him.  Oh, frell!  Of course, the comms!  Frelling idiot; should have thought of that from the beginning.  That's what panic does to you though.  Takes away your ability to think rationally.  She should have recognized the symptoms right away.

Take deep breaths.  Calm yourself.  Aeryn took four or five deep breaths as she waited for herself to calm down.  Once she was finally calm, she reached for the comms badge that was attached to her vest.

She spoke into it as calmly as she could.  There was no reason to embarrass herself any further.  She definitely did not want John to worry about something being the matter with her.  "John, are you there?  John?"

After a brief pause, a pause that seemed to last forever to Aeryn, John answered her call.  "Yeah, baby, I'm right here."

Aeryn let out the breath she had been holding.  Thank Hezmana.  Just hearing John's comforting voice calmed her fears.  She hoped that she would never stop hearing that voice.  However, after her fears were placated, she began to get angry at John for not being at the pod and making her worry.  "Where are you John?  I'm at the pod and you are not here."

John responded to her question with a somewhat strained voice, "I'm sorry baby, but I kind of got…sidetracked."  Aeryn could hear a voice interrupt John and ask a question.  The voice was female.  Aeryn immediately felt a pang of jealousy as she realized John was talking to a woman.  Stop it Aeryn!  You trust John; you know he would never do any thing with another woman.  

She didn't know what was wrong with her today, she was more tense and nervous than she had been in monens.  Not since John's mind had been taken over by Scorpius had she been this worried.  It had to be those damn rattlers that were causing her extreme emotions and moods.  She needed to find John and get off this frelling planet as soon as possible before she went completely fahrbot. 

Aeryn came out of her thoughts when she realized John was talking again.  "…not now Juli.  I told you already that I am not interested."  There was a brief pause and then John continued.  "Aeryn, I'm at some bar.  I don't remember the name, but it's only about a quarter of a metra from the pod.  You can't miss it.  I've got some business to finish, but I should be done by the time you get here.  I'll probably be waiting outside."

"Okay John.  I'm heading over there right now.  I'll be there in about 500 microts."

She heard John's distracted acknowledgement as she heard him begin to argue with the woman again.  Frell, she just hoped Crichton wasn't getting himself into trouble.

"You can't leave John,"  Juli said with determination, "I won't let you."

John immediately got angry.  "Like Hell you will!  If I want to leave, there's not a damn thing you or your talking carpet can do to stop me!"  John's hand slid down to the butt of his pulse pistol, just in case he had to use it.  Both Kwami and Juli noticed his little gesture.

John continued on his rant.  He was sick and tired of having aliens wanting something from him.  He was tired of being threatened and he was tired of being ordered around by them.  "I've sat hear and I've listened to your sob story, and I told you I sympathized with your cause, but I'm not interested.  So far I've tolerated you two, but my patience is wearing thin.  Leave now before I really start to get angry."  By the time John had finished he was standing up and drawing a lot of attention to himself.

John realized that he was making a spectacle and immediately began to calm himself down.  While he was still standing he felt a very strong grip on his arm.  He looked down to see Kwami's hand on his arm.  He was surprised by the strength.  He could tell that Kwami was barely squeezing, yet it felt like his arm was being crushed in a vise.  I was right about the Rotarians being so strong after all.  John didn't bother trying to get loose; he knew Kwami could break his arm without very much trouble.

Kwami growled at him in his gravelly voice.  John could tell he was not happy.  "Please sit down John Crichton.  Now!  You must sit down, Peacekeepers have just entered."

John's anger immediately vanished at the mention of Peacekeepers.  He sat down quickly, and looked at the bar's entrance.  Kwami was telling the truth; four Peacekeepers in full body armor had just come through the bar's entrance.  They seemed to be scanning the bar, looking for something… or someone.  Frell! 

John looked to his two companions and saw that they were as concerned as he was.  Damn, he was going to need their help if he was going to avoid capture.  Fortunately it's in their best interest to help me.  They are being hunted by the Peacekeepers, just like I am. 

Allright, John think of something.  Come on man, think of something.  Plan.  I need a plan.  Frell!  For one of the few times in his life, John could not come up with any ideas. His mind was drawing a blank.  The only thing he could think of was that Aeryn was going to kill him for getting himself into this situation.

John was still trying to come up with an idea when Juli decided to solve the problem herself.  She quickly rose out of her seat and promptly sat down on John's lamp, straddling him and effectively blocking the view of both of their faces.  It was needless to say that John was very surprised and was about to tell her to get off him.  Juli could sense his tenseness and so she moved her mouth to whisper into John's ear.  "Relax John.  With me sitting here, the Peacekeepers can't see you face.  And were not drawing attention to ourselves.  To them we are nothing more than a drunk couple, enjoying themselves."  With that said, she began to kiss and nuzzle his neck.

John was trying to relax, he really was, but it was increasingly becoming difficult to do so.  Juli was making it very difficult not to be tense.  John was finding it difficult to control his body's reaction to what Juli was doing to him.  He wanted to tell Juli to get off him, but he knew Juli was right, the Peacekeepers would never care about two people just making out in the corner of a bar.  Unfortunately, his body was betraying him.

Sure, John knew he would never let the girl go any farther than what she was doing.  He loved Aeryn way too much to betray her like that, plus she was the one he wanted to be doing this kind of activity with.  But John was a man, and it had been so long since he had even been this close to another woman, that his body was responding on its own.  John knew he had to just try and ignore what was going on.

John moved his own mouth next to Juli's ear and asked her a question, "What about Kwami, won't they notice him?"

Juli meanwhile was thoroughly enjoying what she was doing to John's neck.  The sensations she was feeling from him responding to her and the way his breath and heart sped up were really starting to overwhelm her.  She had to remind herself to not think too much about this.  But it was so hard for her to do so.  She had no idea she was so attracted to him, until she started to kiss him.  She was so wrapped in what she was doing that she almost didn't hear what John asked her.

"No, they won't bother Kwami.  They try to avoid the native Rotarians as much as possible, especially the males.  Most of the Peacekeepers aren't stupid enough to bother them, because they know that most Rotarian males anger so easily.  And an angry Rotarian male is something no sane person would ever want to confront even when the Rotarian is outnumbered."

Juli heard John mumble a response but she didn't care.  She had long forgotten about the Peacekeepers and any flimsy excuse she came up with that allowed her to do what she was doing.  This was something she had thought about doing since the first time she read about John Crichton.  She knew that John did not care about her the same way she thought she cared about him, but that didn't concern her at the moment.  There would be plenty of time to change his feelings later, she thought with a smile.  And there would be a later, she would do everything she could to make it happen.

Aeryn walked as quickly as she could towards the bar, without drawing attention to herself.  She just wanted to find John and get off the frelling planet.  She knew she would feel so much better when she did.

As she was walking through the spaceport, she couldn't help but notice how diverse the planet was.  There were different aliens all over the place.  She couldn't believe that so many Sebaceans lived on this planet.   Most Sebaceans can't even stand being in the same room with a different species, let alone sharing an entire planet with them.

Aeryn was reminded of how much she had changed in the last two cycles.  All thanks to John.  Being amongst so many diverse species no longer bothered her at all.  In fact she actually enjoyed being exposed to so many different peoples and ideas.  It helped her to become a better person.  Something she was constantly working on.

Aeryn finally spotted the bar she was looking for across the street.  She was about to turn to cross to the other side, when she noticed four Peacekeepers come out of the bar and join three others that were waiting outside.  Peacekeepers, dren!  All the worry that had slowly begun to drift away suddenly came back to Aeryn in full force.  She immediately began to wonder if these Peacekeepers being so close to John were what were causing her rattlers.

She just hoped John was all right.  She saw the seven have a brief conversation, and then they left heading towards the landing pad.  Aeryn let out a sigh of relief that they didn't have John, and didn't seem to know where he was. 

Aeryn set off toward the bar with a determined pace.  She was going to grab John and leave.  She was not going to risk being detected by the Peacekeepers anymore.  It was already becoming too dangerous.

At reaching the door, she automatically slid one hand down to her pulse pistol, as her other hand opened the door. 

John was having trouble concentrating.  Juli was very distracting.  Fortunately for him, the Peacekeepers soon left after coming in.  They seemed to only make a cursory exam of the bar, which surprised John.  Usually Peacekeepers were more thorough than that.  Maybe they weren't looking for me after all.  Although, with John's paranoid nature, he didn't believe that for a microt.

John needed to stop what Juli was doing.  He moved his mouth to her ear and whispered that the Peacekeepers were gone and that she could stop.  With that said, he lifted his head to look at Kwami, and saw a very amused look on his face.  John knew that he thought that what Juli and him were doing would probably have been comical if he had seen someone else doing it.

Juli had yet to stop, and it was becoming annoying.  John was going to have to be more forceful.  "Juli, stop it now!  The Peacekeepers have left, you can stop."

Juli suddenly froze and she looked up at John with a very embarrassed look on her face.  "I'm sorry, I guess I just got too involved.  It was so much fun."  She gave John a very devilish smile as she said the last part.

Now it was John's turn to blush.  It wasn't very often that a beautiful woman was that into him.  He only wished that Aeryn could act like that sometimes.

"It's all right I understand.  I enjoyed it too, but it needs to stop."

Juli was a little disappointed that John didn't want to continue, but it wasn't unexpected.  He had a woman on board his ship after all, that he said he cared about.  It must be the Sebacean woman, she thought.  The reports briefly described their relationship.  She remembered reading that they were very loyal to each other.

It was as she was thinking about John's companion, that she was looking at the mirror over John's shoulder.  She noticed the door to the bar open, and saw a Sebacean female dressed all in black enter the bar.  She was worried that she might be another Peacekeeper, and was about to tell John because he could still not see the bar, when she thought she recognized the woman.  She studied her closely and it suddenly became clear to her that the woman was John's companion.  What was her name?  Aeryn…Aeryn Sun, that's right. 

Juli suddenly got an idea in her head, an idea that might help her and Kwami get what they wanted.  She was still sitting on John's lap, which was perfect for her plan.  She waited for Aeryn to look in their direction, and when she did, she immediately began to kiss John on his lips.  She could tell that John was very surprised and wasn't kissing her back. 

After about 10 microts, John pushed her off his lap and onto the chair next to him.  He looked at her with a very angry expression on his face.  "What the hell do you think you were doing?"

It was at the exact moment that John made his remark, that Aeryn made her presence known, except Aeryn made hers a lot louder.

"Crichton, what the frell are you doing?"