*Whose mind is it anyway?*
by,
The Scaper Scribes

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 1
Guinan wrote:

"Rygel... I'm not kidding here."

"Good because I am not amused."

"They belong to me and I want them BACK!"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, and I don't like your tone. I
don't have to listen to this, I am Rygel the XVI, Dominar..."

"Listen here you Felonious Furby..." John interrupted, moving
menacingly towards the diminutive dictator. "...You have 10
microts to give them back to me or else I'll.."

Just then they were interrupted by Pilot. "Sorry to interrupt, but
I'm afraid we have a problem."

Throwing a disgusted look at Rygel, John replied, " What's up Pilot?"
turning back slightly to Rygel "9 microts..." he hissed, then he
headed towards the command center.

"Moya has received a transmission from Talyn, he has been in a minor
battle and sustained damage."

Aeryn's voice came over the com, "Is he alright Pilot?"

"Yes, Talyn's damage is minimal, DRD's could repair him easily... if
he had any. Baby leviathan's usually dependent on their mothers for at
least 2 cycles, which is when they develop their own DRD's. Talyn requests
that Moya give him enough DRD's to repair and sustain him until his own
develop."

John entered the command center along with Aeryn just as Zhaan was
asking "So what is the problem here Pilot?"

"It seems Crais is also injured, Talyn fears he is critically wounded
and asks we supply medical aid to him as well. Moya understands that
Crais is now Talyn's pilot, and the bond between them. However Moya is
still very upset at Crais for taking Talyn away. She is unsure as what to
do."

Aeryn looked at John, he could see her fears for Talyn as he asked "
Pilot... if Crais were to die what would happen to Talyn?"

"I do not know. In theory, nothing. While a Pilot's life is directly
connected to the leviathan, it does not work in reverse. However
Talyn is young, and confused..."

"And if we *let* Crais die?"

"Talyn may react... badly."

John looked around at his friends as he carefully replied. "So, if
we with hold aid and Crais dies Talyn could get really pissed, at us. If we
help Crais and he lives... things go on as before Crais has control of
Talyn..."

"But" Aeryn interrupted "If we aid Crais and he still dies, what then?
Would we be at Talyn's mercy? Or would he understand we did the best
we could and stay with his mother?"

"It would be traumatic for him, but I do think he would understand."

John looked around for any dissent. Not seeing any he knew they had
to try, even though every instinct he had screamed to let Crais die.

"Set course Pilot, tell Moya to signal Talyn that Mom's on her way to
kiss it all better."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 2
Vicki wrote:

Aeryn remained long enough to ensure that Moya had changed course
before she whirled around and left command at a run.

John and D'Argo exchanged looks of concern. "I'm going after her,"
John advised as he too exited the chamber at a hurried pace.

He found her on the terrace, as he suspected he would. Either here or
in a cargo bay beating the crap out of a punching bag - figuratively
beating up herself. He was relieved to find her here.

She stood stock still except for her fists which clenched and
unclenched repeatedly. Her back was to him, her head bowed.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Go away," she hissed, not moving except to curl her hands to fists
once again.

"Talk to me, Aeryn," John entreated.

"If you're not going to leave then I will." Aeryn turned and marched
past him, heading for the door.

John caught her by the arm and spun her back around.

"Let go of me!" she growled out, her eyes flashing with anger.

"What, so you can go and beat on something until your body's sore and
your hands are bleeding? Yeah, that'll help."

She twisted away, trying to escape his grasp but he threw his other
arm around her and hauled her closer. She was pinned with her back to his
chest, his two strong arms wrapped around her, effectively locking her own
arms to her sides.

Aeryn kicked out, her legs dancing so wildly in the air in front of
her that John was forced to lean back and suspend her feet from the
ground to keep his shins clear of her boot heels.

"Crighton, put me down or I swear I will frelling kill you!" she screamed.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he ground out through clenched teeth. "Not when
you're in a mood like this."

Suddenly Aeryn changed tactics and threw herself forward, letting her
body go limp in John's arms. Unprepared for the swift shift in weight, he
fell to his knees. Aeryn broke her fall with her hands and quickly pulled
free of his grasp. She rolled to her back, preparing to jump to her feet but
John was quicker, throwing a leg astride of her to sit on her thighs,
grabbing her flailing arms by the wrists and pinning them to the deck at her
sides.

"Aeryn, don't do this," John softly pleaded. "Let me help you through
this."

She lay still, her breaths coming rapidly, her chest rising and
falling from exertion. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Get off of me," she finally said. Her tone was flat, lacking the
rage that had been in her voice before.

She gazed up at him then, and John was startled, and more than a
little concerned, to see the expression in her eyes had gone from looking
feral to looking wounded.

She moved her arms and raised her hips slightly, no longer fighting
him but simply seeking her freedom.

"John, please," she asked quietly.

He rolled off of her and she remained where she was, staring at the
overhead bulkhead. Trusting she was not about to bolt, John stretched out on
the deck to lay on his side facing her, propped up on one elbow and
supporting his head in his hand.

"I'm angry," Aeryn offered. "I'm frustrated with Talyn for not
realizing what he's doing bonding with Crais. And I'm so very frightened for
him." The last comment was said in little more than a whisper. "I don't know
why I'm experiencing all these emotions."

John reached over to take her hand in his own, slowly rubbing the
back of her palm with his thumb.

"Maternal instincts," he offered.

"Maternal...no. Peacekeepers do not have maternal instincts."

"You're not a Peacekeeper anymore," John pointed out.

"I'm not his mother."

"No. But you have a special relationship with Talyn. You care about
him, which is why you're feeling the way you do."

"I *had* a special relationship with him," said Aeryn bitterly. "That
honor belongs to Crais now."

"Crais is injured. When we rendezvous with Talyn we will do what we
can to help him," John reminded her. In an acerbic tone he added,
"As much as *that* goes against my grain."

He continued, "Talyn has asked Moya, and us, for help. Who knows?
Maybe he's going through some weird leviathan teenage rebellion thing
already. But Talyn needs the DRDs, and he needs us. He needs Moya,
and he needs you. Especially if we can't save Crais."

Letting go of her hand and placing his palm to her cheek to gently
turn her head towards him, he repeated, "Talyn needs you, Aeryn."

A hint of a smile flirted with Aeryn's mouth. "It's an odd feeling,
being needed like this," she whispered.

"Get used to it," John said in a voice, which matched her hushed tone.
His thumb moved across her lower lip, tracing its fullness. "Talyn's not
the only one around here who needs you."

Aeryn reached up to grasp the back of John's head, pulling him
towards her.

"Creighton! Aeryn!" Pilot's voice communicated suddenly, urgently. "We
need you in command immediately. Something is very wrong..."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 3
Leah wrote:

John and Aeryn hit the hallway running before Pilot had even
finished speaking.

"...Crais has lost consciousness. Talyn is going to attempt
to starburst in order to rendezvous with Moya sooner."

Aeryn gritted her teeth and pushed herself even harder,
pulling slightly ahead of John. He put his head down and
increased his pace until he was again equal with Aeryn. He
matched his strides to hers and offered a reassuring smile
when she cast a worried glance in his direction.

Zhaan's voice echoed calmly over the comm., "Will Talyn be
able to starburst with the damage he has sustained?"

There was a brief pause as Pilot checked his sensors,
"Talyn's damage will not impair his starburst ability. He
will rendezvous with Moya in approximately one thousand
microts."

As they neared one of Moya's main intersections, they turned
away from Command in tandem and sprinted down the hallway
towards the docking bay.

"Commander, perhaps you and Officer Sun should adjourn
immediately to the docking bay -"

"We're one step ahead of you, Pilot." John skidded to a halt
and propped his hands on his knees to catch his breath as
Aeryn readied her Prowler for flight. Though he was in the
best shape of his life after the months of relentless
pursuit, Aeryn's conditioning and endurance still amazed
him.

Sooner than he thought possible, John found himself wedged
behind Aeryn in her Prowler, watching as her restless
fingers tapped out commands and adjustments. As they waited
for Moya to open her outer doors, he brushed the backs of
his fingers against the side of her neck. She started a bit
at the contact, but relaxed as he leaned forward to speak
into her ear, "Take it easy. He'll be all right."

Aeryn stilled her nervous movements, laying her cheek
against John's hand, "He will be if I have anything to say
about it."

She allowed herself the brief luxury of his warmth as she
automatically guided the Prowler out of Moya's docking bay.
Though extremes of heat were deadly to her Sebecean
physiology, Aeryn had found that the heat radiated by John's
slightly higher body temperature was decidedly soothing.

Considering the wide chasm in their experiences, let alone
genetic structure, it was strange how quickly Aeryn had
learned to interpret his silences. "What?"

"What what?"

"What do you want to ask me?" He withdrew his hand from her
neck to rest on the back of her seat and she quelled the
urge to sigh at the loss.

"I know you're concerned for Talyn, but -" For once his
trademark glibness seemed to fail him as he searched for the
right words. "Crais is one of the few Peacekeepers who could
understand -"

"John," She interrupted him gently. "If you're asking if
Crais' injury upsets me, the answer is no. I won't lie to
you, though. Beyond Talyn's well being, a part of me was
tempted by Crais' offer. You're right; he is one of the few
Peacekeepers who could understand my situation, but he could
never understand me."

He leaned in close, his cheek brushing her neck and his
breath stirring the loose hair near her ear and shivering
down her spine. With Talyn's docking web engaged, Aeryn
removed one of her hands from the Prowler's control panel
and reached back to gently caress John's face before needing
both hands to power down the Prowler.

As Talyn's hull doors slid shut behind them, and the
atmosphere equalized, the depth of his agitation became
obvious. The lights throughout the bay were flickering madly
and there was a constant, nearly inaudible keening that
seemed to be emanating from the very walls.

John and Aeryn exchanged a look as they took in Talyn's
panic. They headed towards the command deck without a word.
As they neared their destination, the flickering began to
take on a pattern, the lights chasing towards Command. They
quickened their pace, at a dead run by the time they
stumbled over the threshold to Talyn's Command.

"Oh, crap." From his slumped position on the floor, Crais'
sightless eyes stared up at them.

John scanned Talyn's ceiling, knowing the young Leviathan
was not going to react well to the news. "Is he -"

Aeryn straightened from her examination of Crais' body,
"He's dead."

The force of Talyn's starburst threw John headlong into the
main control panel.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 4
Cloud Dancing wrote:

"John, a doorknob is an inanimate object, it can be neither alive nor
dead" remarked Aeryn in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"Never mind the frelling doorknob!" rapped John angrily, a little too
angrily for Aeryn's liking.
"I was merely pointing out..." began Aeryn only to be interrupted by
a curt shake of John's head.

"Yeah well maybe you do just a little too much pointing out Officer
Sun! And I'm getting pretty damn tired of it" growled John as he leaned
against the command console.

"What's the frelling matter with you?" demanded Aeryn, as she squared
her shoulders and moved menacingly towards Creighton.

"Well maybe the fact that I've just had about enough of being told
what a complete fuck-wit I am, by some tight arsed peace-keeper bitch, is
what's the matter with me." Retorted John, taking a step towards the
oncoming Sebecean.

"Truth hurt does it arsehole?" spat Aeryn, as she swung a fist in
John's direction. John attempted to dodge the blow but was only partly
successful; it glanced of the side of his head, causing him to rock
backwards against the console. He tried to clear his vision by a shake of
his head.

He glanced up to see Aeryn grinning at him; he pushed himself of the
console and lunged at her. The force of John's body hitting hers caused
Aeryn to stumble and eventually fall to the deck; John's own momentum
brought him crashing down on top of her.

The pair became locked in a struggle for supremacy, rolling across
the deck, arm and legs flailing, punches were thrown but proved ineffectual
given their entangled bodies. Suddenly they were pulled violently apart,
as Crais grabbed each of them by the collar and hauled them to their
feet.

"As much as I'd like to see you kill each other, we have work to do,
Talyn needs help to repair the damage caused in the attack, what are you
two going to do about it?" asked Crais, still keeping his grip on both John
and Aeryn.

"And when did you get to be so considerate about other beings'
injuries Crais?" sneered John.

Crais released them both, and sat down at the console, he remained
silent for a few minutes then spoke, "Damned if know Creighton, the only
thing I ever cared about in my whole life was my brother, so I'm frelled if
I know why I'm bothered about this ship, but I do!"

He gave himself a quick shake, and then began to communicate with
Talyn.

"He's in some pain, but mostly he's scared" Crais told them, as he
began to manipulate the young Leviathan's controls. "He needs the help of
DRDs, did you bring any with you?" demanded Crais.

John and Creighton shook their heads, "They're still aboard Moya, we
need to rendezvous with her soon" John told him.

"I know that you fool," retorted Crais, as he altered course to
bring Talyn back on a heading, which would intersect with that of Moya. As
he did so, Crais murmured words of comfort to the frightened young
Leviathan,
much to the amazement of John and Aeryn, who looked in disbelief at the
"new" Crais.

"What the hell is happening here, we damn nearly kill each other and
Crais turns into Florence Nightingale?" queried John.

"Florence who?" asked Aeryn

"Not now Aeryn not now!"

"You two going to stand there all day or are you going to make
yourselves useful and go check the systems on some of the other decks, some
of Talyn's sensors are down and I cant see the full extent of his injuries"
asked Crais motioning for the two of them to get a move on.

Aeryn and John left the control room, still puzzled by Crais's and to
some extent their own odd behavior. Suddenly John stopped and grabbed
Aeryn swinging her around to face him, "That damn jolt Talyn shot through
us, its done more than let us into each other's heads, god dammit Aeryn
we've both got a part of Crais and his bloody lousy psyche in us and vice
versa"

Aeryn stared at him for a few moments as she allowed his words to
sink in, "Oh frell! You mean we've picked up some of Crais's evil in
exchange for what was decent in us?"

"Looks like that way to me, I mean we don't normally beat the crap
out of each other, well not lately anyway"

"How long?" asked Aeryn

"How long what?"

"How long will it last?" she replied.

"Who knows, maybe we're stuck with it forever!" breathed John!

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 5
Jeanette wrote:

"Forever.... forever..." John's words kept haunting Crais. How long
was forever? Trying to get Talyn back in working order, he had talked to
Pilot and told him he could use more help. Preferably someone who had
not been affected by the jolt as he and Aeryn and John had been.
He needed DRD's.

DRD # 2 along with the other DRD's were being transported
to Talyn. The change would do them all good. She liked Talyn he had
not learned any bad habits yet. He was so sleek and so young. Youth had
it's advantageous.

DRD #2 had been the DRD team leader of the DRD's on the Leviathan
Bomo. Bomo had been killed during the takeover of the Toros 11 sub station
by Crais and the Peacekeepers in his command. Crais had transported the
DRD's that had survived to Moya.

The DRD's who had been transported to Talyn were those same
survivors. They would help to make Talyn strong again. Their dislike for
Crais was quite evident and they would only take orders from Talyn. After
seeing
DRD #2, Crais knew he was in trouble and once more he would need help.
Perhaps this time he could convince Aeryn Sun to come with him, especially
since
he now was aware and quite vividly of Creighton's inner most thoughts.

Back on Moya...

Pilot had been monitoring the conversations between the DRD's who had
been transported to Talyn. Oh my.he chuckled it looks like Crais is
in for a real bad time ahead.

But Aeryn was in even more danger.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 6
Spirit Song wrote:

As soon as the DRD's arrived they became confused.
DRD#2 spun around it couldn't tell who was Crais and
who was John or Aeryn. It began a diagnostic
examination trying to find a malfunction in its
sensors. No malfunction showing up the DRD decided to go
on with its mission and to contact Talyn as to where
the repairs were needed most.

Talyn had the equivalent of a leviathan headache and
thought maybe a concussion was probable since he could
not make out a clear identity of the three humanoids
on board. What was happening?

Talyn and the DRDs decided that the repairs to the
Leviathan were the first priority and sorting out the
other problem would have to wait.

Meanwhile...Aeryn is restless, she realizes that a
part of Crais is in her head and that not only annoys
her it seems to be trying to control her emotions. She
decides to confront Crais and find out just what "he"
is thinking.

On her way to find Crais, Aeryn passes by John who
is engrossed in helping Pilot figure out how to
reverse their situation. She doesn't pause to speak as
she is determined to find out what is in her head.
Aeryn, feels she has been searching the ship for
hours trying to find Crais, in actuality it has only
been less than an hour. Finally in a darkened niche
she spies him deep in thought.

She marches determinedly up to him "Where the frell
have you been hiding?"

Sadly Crais looks up at her, "I know our psyche's
have been mingled together and that you got part of my
dark side and I have been worried about you."

"Oh just don't you worry the frell about me! I just
want to know what the dren is inside of me? It isn't
human." The fight was going out of her.

"Its a long story" Crais sighed wanting to tell her
the truth but hating for anyone to know.

Aeryn could see the pain in Crais and couldn't help
but feel sorry for him. She walked close and put her
arm across his shoulder as he sat leaning forward in
despair.

She could feel the pain inside his very soul and her
heart reached out to him. He turned to look into her
eyes wanting to see the compassion there before he
told her his story.

Their closeness and intimacy of the moment seemed to
bond them in ways that would never have happened in
other circumstances.

Their eyes met and Crais drew Aeryn to him and they
passionately kissed. Their tongues entwined as their
heart beat out a strong rhythm. Suddenly Crais broke
the contact. "I can't do this" he stammered.

He couldn't believe he was pushing her away. He had
wanted to possess her body from the first time he saw
her and now he wouldn't or couldn't do it.

"What's wrong?" she finally got her breath enough to
speak. "I thought this is what you wanted?"

"It is.... it was" he managed to say. "But I can't do
this to you, now that you are a part of me."

"What do you mean?" she was feeling some of his pain
already. "Tell me what is wrong?"

Crais took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright its a
long story and one hard for me to tell so if you have
any patience at all ...."

"You see the leviathans weren't the only beings that
were experiments with. Some of the peacekeepers were
asked to volunteer for DNA altering that would make
them stronger, smarter and more powerful than ever
imagined. I was one of the first to volunteer.
I didn't realize what was involved and how it would
change my life forever or believe me, you must believe
that I would not have volunteered." he continued
"I don't know exactly how it was accomplished but they
took DNA samples from all the strongest, smartest, and
even the most vile creatures they could capture and
somehow blended it together and grafted it into our
DNA and slowly we began to evolve into different
beings according to our own DNA strengths."

Aeryn was becoming frightened, was this inside her
now? "And now its a part of Me." she barely managed to
speak.

"Well I don't think any of it has transferred to you,
it seems only the psyche part of us has been
scrambled" let me go on or I will never be able to
finish this its so hard, knowing how you will feel
about me when I am done."

"It turns out," he continued, "That I became sort of
a soul reaper, that is to say when I kill someone, I
reap their soul, it becomes a part of me. That is one
reason I will not kill John now that I know something
of him. For the souls torment me day and night seeking
release. It was thought that by reaping the souls of
the dead that their strengths would become mine, that
part is true but what they didn't know or maybe didn't
care is that the souls strive to get me killed so that
they can find peace." Crais could barely continue,

"There is little left to tell, except that were I to
make love to you I fear the closeness of our split
Personalities would draw your soul into me forever."

Tears filled Aeryns eyes as she spoke "Crais I don't
know what to say, I am so sorry, I will see if I can
think of anything that can be done to reverse not only
what the electrical surge has done but also what has
been done to you." with that she walked away.

Pilot had given John a lot to think about. There
might be a way to reverse the effects using the DRDs
but could it be done? John sought a place of comfort
and peace where he could think.

On her way back to the command post on Talyn, Aeryn
passed John reclining, and deep in thought. She
wondered how much of Crais was in him and how much of
her own psyche had become a part of John also.

Aeryn sat beside John he could see she was
distressed and sought comfort in his arms. He knew
that sex was a part of release for Aeryn and he also
knew that he loved her. Would making love with him be
relief for her Excedrin headache #9 or would it be a
joining of lovers?

John kissed her gently on the lips, tasting the salt
from her tears, as her lips parted to receive his
tongue. She sucked softly on his tongue as he felt the
pangs of arousal beginning to stir in his loins. He
moved slightly and began to nibble on her ear and
slowly trailing his tongue down her neck. He sucked
lightly on her neck and felt the shiver flow through
her body as she gave in to passion.

She was hungry for his body and rough love making as
she ripped off Johns shirt. She greedily suckled on
his nipples while unfastening his pants. Reaching
inside she pulled out his throbbing man hood. A drop
of semen had formed at the tip. Her tongue thirsty for
it lapped it up as she took him full in her mouth.

John released an uncontrolled groan and pushed her
onto her back, jerking her clothes off and tossing
them aside. He reached for her breasts and roughly
squeezed them until the nipples looked as if they
would burst. He sucked first on the left nipple then
on the right as he made his way down to her navel
where his tongue made a swirling motion. She arched
her back letting him know where she wanted him to go
next.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 7
Guinan wrote:

John needed no prompting, his intended target was very clear, slowly
making his way downward, heading for that space between her muscular
thighs where he knew she most needed his attention.
John ran his tongue down slowly around stopping ever so briefly once
in awhile to kiss a spot here and there. Parting her legs gently John
lapped gently at the full lips parting them to taste her sweetness. Aeryn
moaned quietly as John's tongue caressed her lips, the small pink nub at her
core until she cried out as he brought her to the pinnacle of ecstasy.
Moving himself into position he placed the hard tip of his manhood against
the damp warm curls slowly his long thick velvet shaft slid easily
into her silken warmth until he was buried deep with in her. John paused a
moment to savor the feel of Aeryn wrapped around him so tightly... her
slightly elevated body temperature made the sensation all the more
intense.

Slowly he began to move, Aeryn keeping rhythm with him, thrusting
against him. He could feel her walls clench against him each time he
withdrew, he picked up the pace. Aeryn unable to keep the rhythm he
set wrapped her legs around his waist making sure as little loss of
contact possible occurred. John plunged harder and harder into her he
could feel her start to loose control, he knew he was on the edge. Reaching
between them with his thumb John stroked her roughly to bring her
fully to completion, only when he felt her inner walls begin to
contract did he allow himself release, together they let the waves of
ecstasy wash over them.

John rolled slightly off to one-side bringing her into his arms,
kissing her tenderly as she began to drift off to sleep. John too was
beginning to doze off when a odd thought struck him... if they were
all linked, just how much of this encounter did Crais experience.....and
what would it do to his fragile health?

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 8
Jeanette wrote:

Crais was experiencing a very painful erection. Not really
paying attention to anything in particular he had found
himself suddenly and without warning getting a massive
erection. Breaking out in a cold sweat, his hands shook
as he released his organ from the confines of his clothing
and stroked himself to his ultimate relief. Hastily he arranged
his self again and went in search of something to calm his nerves.
Crossing into the main control room he met up with Rygel who he
observed was also sweating and breathing quite heavily.
Not wanting to disturb the little bugger head, as he liked to refer to
him in private he walked back out in the corridor and headed for
Creighton's quarters. Maybe he could explain what had happened
to him. John had managed someway and he was not sure how but he
did pull himself away from Aeryn Sun who had fallen sleep and
got himself into the sonic shower.

Crais entering the quartets without permission saw immediately
the lusciously declivous and very much asleep body of Aeryn Sun.
At this point John who had wrapped a towel around his waste came
into the room and stopped short upon seeing Crais glaring with a
look of pure lust on his face at the luscious woman laying quite naked
on the bed.

"Hey what you want?"

Crais turning his head slightly glared at Creighton said..
"I want what you just had."

"Sorry man, but she is all mine. I have put my mark on her and she
is off limits to you or any other man. No matter what species."

Aeryn had awoken when hearing Crais's voice. Staying perfectly still
so these fool men would not know she listened she could not in a way
but feel thrilled to hear John say what he did. But no way was she going
to let him get away with such an egotistical statement. Even if she did
want it to be right.

Slowly rising from the bed and pulling the sheet up to cover her
nakedness if for only modesty's sake for she cared not who rested their eyes
on her beauty.

"John had dare you make such a statement! I can bed who I wish and
when and where. You do not own me! Crais get out of here. NOW!"

John smiled at his beloved, so beautiful she was. He had known she
would not like what he had said, but he also knew how she had reacted to his
hands, his mouth, his tongue his cock.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 9
Nancy wrote:

Chiana sat in the command room aboard Moya, staring out the large window
that viewed Talyn. What were Creighton and Aeryn doing over there? She
pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting
her
head upon them. "What are they doing?" she finally asked aloud.

"Excuse me Chiana?" Pilot responded.

"Pilot, what the frell could they be doing? I mean... I'm no doctor or what
ever Zhaan is, but I thought Talon said Crais was dead and now he's alive?
So why are Creighton and Aeryn still doing over there?" she stood as she
spoke. She turned to view Pilot in the shell.

"I'm sorry Chiana, but I have no idea. There has been no further
communications with Talyn since he requested the DRDs," Pilot's smooth voice
responded.

Chiana sighed softly, "I just hope they are okay."

"I know you are concerned, I am as well, but from what I gathered, they are
well," he lied. He did not want the young girl to worry much more than she
already was.

"Pilot?" she suddenly asked, her black eyes twinkling with an idea, "Are
there more DRDs being sent over?"

"Yes, why?" Pilot asked.

"Just wondering," she smiled.

Chiana wiggled into the pod with the other DRDs making their voyage over to
Talyn. If John and Aeryn were in trouble, she could help, especially with
Crais. He wouldn't be expecting her. And if not, well, at lease she would
see for herself that they were indeed fine, plus she could look around
Talyn. She just wished they would have left Crais to die he deserved it.
But no, they had to help because if they didn't Talyn would throw a fit.

"We could have dealt with Talyn," she said aloud only to the DRDs.

One of them responded to her, his little lights flashing at her.

"Well we could have," she told it as if it told her they couldn't.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 10
Sharon wrote:

D'Argo stopped in the doorway and watched as Zhaan carefully measured a
smokey liquid into a number of smaller vials. He sifted impatiently,
anxious to speak with her but hesitant to interrupt her work. After a few
moments, she set down the mixture and looked up with a questioning smile.

"And what has you so restless, D'Argo?"

He cleared his throat self-consciously as he strode forward. "Well, uh,
nothing in particular. Its just that..I was wondering. ah, have you seen
Chiana lately?"

Zhaan straightened and folded her hands gracefully in front of her. Tilting
her head slightly she took in D'Argo awkward concern.

"No, I haven't seen her since this morning." She watched as D'Argo frowned
slightly. "It is not unusual behavior for her to avoid us and disappear for
arns at a time if she is not needed."

"True." He looked around, his fingers twitching nervously as if they wished
they had a weapon to grasp. "But she doesn't answer her comm badge and I
just have this bad feeling."

Zhaan stepped forward and laid her hand gently on his arm. "Have you asked
Pilot to locate her?"

D'Argo shook his head. "I have no reason to contact her, much less check up
on her."

"Yes, you do, Sweet D'Argo. The concern of a friend is reason enough." She
smiled to herself as the tall Luxan suddenly flushed with embarrassment.

"Pilot," she called out, raising her voice.

Immediately, his image shimmered into focus in the corner monitor.

"Yes, Zhaan."

"Would you please locate Chiana for us? We wish to speak to her and she
isn't answering her comm."

Pilot looked down at the main communication screen. His brow furrowed in
puzzlement as his pointed claws tapped along his console. "Her comm badge
is on," he said slowly. Looking up, he stared at Zhaan and D'Argo in
surprise.

"But she is not on Moya!"

"What?" D'Argo growled. "Where could she be?"

Pilot's arms moved swiftly, pulling up additional monitors as he searched
for
the whereabouts of the young Nebari.

"She appears to be on Talyn!" he announced.

"Talyn? How did she get there?" Zhaan asked, turning to D'Argo her deep
blue eyes wide with concern.

"How, is not the question," Pilot interjected in his clipped tones. "This
morning she was asking me about the pod transporting the DRDs to Talyn."

"And she is certainly small enough to squeeze herself into the pod," D'Argo
added. "But why?"

"She's been very concerned about John and Aeryn. And with Crais dead and
now alive.." Zhaan spread her hands expressively.

D'Argo grunted decisively and turned to leave. "If Crais is involved, she
May need help."

"Wait, D'Argo," Zhaan said, reaching for her medical bag. "I'll go too."
Smiling up at him she added, "Chiana is my friend too."

A wide smile flashed across his face and he nodded his head. "Pilot.
Prepare a pod. Zhaan and I are going to pay Talyn a visit."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Part 11
Cloud Dancing wrote:

John and Aeryn reached the docking bay just as the pod carrying the
second batch of DRDs reached Talyn. Both were taken by surprise when
the first thing that tumbled out of the pod was not the familiar
scuttling DRDs but a very stiff and disheveled Chiana.

"What the frell are you doing here Chiana?" yelled John, hauling
Chiana roughly to her feet.

"I came to see how you guys were doing, but maybe I shouldn't have
bothered," answered Chiana as she pushed away John's hand.

"Well we're just doing fine Chiana, Crais is alive and well, the DRDs
are fixing Talyn and me and Aeryn have got a piece of Crais stuck in
our brains, that satisfy your curiosity, Chiana?" growled John,
striding off towards the command center. Chiana and Aeryn followed
him.

"What do you mean a piece of Crais stuck in your brain?" queried
Chiana, as she tried to keep pace with the long striding John and
Aeryn. Before John or Aeryn could answer her question they were
joined by Crais.

"Well now here's another one, isn't this nice quite a little party
we're having" Crais said cheerfully, he continued; "And to what do we
owe this unexpected but nevertheless pleasant visit my dear?"

Chiana looked from Crais to John and then to Aeryn, before whispering
to the latter, "Is he for real, I mean a 'nice' Crais!"

"That's part of the problem, we seem to have got stuck with some of
the nasty bits of Crais and he got some of the better parts of John
and I," explained Aeryn.

"Is it permanent?" inquired Chiana, idly wondering if a 'bad' John
might like to 'fool around' a little more than the usual good guy
John did.

"Better damn well frelling not be!" yelled John; "I don't want this
creep inside my head for one more minute than is necessary."

Crais shouted, "Quiet, Talyn say's there's another transport arriving
from Moya."

"Jeez its like a High School Reunion, who the frell is coming over
now!" thundered John heading back towards the docking bay, trailed by
the other three.

His question was soon answered as Zhaan and D'argo stepped out of the
pod.

"Hello everyone, we got worried about you all and decided to come and
see if there was a problem." said Zhaan.

Chiana answered for them all, "Hey its neat, John and Aeryn have a
piece of Crais in their brains and Crais has got a piece of John and
Aeryn in his."

A startled D'argo asked, "Is this true John?"

"Yep."

Aeryn again explained what had occurred and it's consequences. Zhaan
considered their predicament for a while then requested that they
all go to the command center as she believed she may have a solution
to the problem. With no other alternative being proposed they
agreed. Once at the command center Zhaan had Crais request Talyn to
give them a report on the state of the neural interface at the moment
that Crais, John and Aeryn suffered the power surge. The resulting
report showed that there had been a temporary break in the connection
between Crais and Talyn however Crais's terminal had been functioning
at that moment in question.

"Well it would appear that somehow the interchange of neural patterns
between Talyn and Crais was short circuited and John and Aeryn
received some of patterns from Crais and vice versa." summed up
Zhaan.

"Well what can we do about it?" queried Aeryn.

"Try and get Talyn to re-calibrate the interface to reverse the
effects, Crais can you explain the problem to Talyn and see if he can
attempt the reversal procedure?" inquired Zhaan gently.

Crais did as she asked and reported, "Talyn thinks it is possible, I
will need to be connected directly through the interface conduit for
a moment of two, with both Officer Sun and Creighton linked to me
physically."

"This gonna hurt Crais?" asked John, wincing at the prospect.

"It may!" snapped Crais.

"Well let's proceed, I don't want Crais inside my head one second
longer than I have to," stated Aeryn.

Crais took up a position directly inline with the interface conduit,
parting his long hair to expose the neural interface terminal
embedded in the base of his skull. He gripped John's shoulder firmly,
who in turn clasped Aeryn's hand. Crais commanded Talyn to commence
the procedure. Once again the conduit snaked up from the deck to
make a direct connection with Crais, all three gave a grimace of
pain, but after only a couple of seconds the link was broken and the
three people broke apart.

"Now get the frell of my ship before I change my mind, Talyn and I
don't need your kind of dren onboard, and don't expect me to return
the DRDs either, we're keeping them!" yelled Crais, obviously fully
restored to his usual nasty self.

"Well Daddy Crais is calling the party off folks, lets all head on
home, can't say it's been fun Crais cos it hasn't!" snarled John,
taking Aeryn's hand and heading for the docking bay closely followed
by the rest of Moya's crew.

Once aboard the Prowler, Aeryn and John lost no time in heading back
towards Moya. As they neared the female Leviathan, John leant close
to Aeryn and whispered, "Now admit it Aeryn didn't 'bad-boy John'
start your motor just a little?"

Aeryn half turned to look at him, "if I understand the question
correctly my answer is...."

"Yeah?'

"You're just going to have to wait a while to find out, John boy!"

Finis.