Disclaimers: Farscape is the property of Rockne S O'Bannon, Jim Henson Company
et al. I make no claim on them. I borrow only. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Rating: PG
Summary:  An encounter with a Metaxan ship means trouble for Aeryn and Crichton.
Spoilers:  None to speak of.
Archiving: You're welcome to it; please tell me where it's at.
(louiseboyden@earthlink.net)
Acknowledgements: Thanks as always to Quilt Lady for her great suggestions and
criticisms.

Enjoy

Part 1 of 4

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
John Crichton, IASA astronaut and scientist, raced through the corridors of the living ship
that had been his home for more than a cycle now. On his way to the Command he was
joined by his fellow fugitives, a Luxan warrior and an ex-Peacekeeper.

"What's the problem, Pilot?" he demanded as the trio made their way through Moya's
passageways to the Command where the Delvian priest Zhaan awaited them, with the
Nebari Chiana and the Hynerian Royal Rygel at her side.

Pilot's image appeared on the viewscreen. "We are being approached by a very large
and heavily armed vessel."

D'Argo was the first to reply. "Can you identify it, Pilot?" he demanded.

"Yes,"Pilot said, then his head rose in shock. "It's Metaxan."

Aeryn gasped audibly at the name. D'Argo and Zhaan both turned to her in concern.
 John and Chiana watched in confusion as some unseen signal passed between the
three of them.

"Are you sure? " Aeryn asked, her voice tinged with an edge that John had never heard
before. It sounded almost like fear.

"Yes, Aeryn, there can be no mistaking the markings now. It is definitely a Metaxan ship,
and a well armed one at that."

"Well Pilot, starburst us out of here!" Zhaan said.

"I can't. Moya has not yet recovered her strength from her last starburst. It will be at least
an arn more. And the ship will have intercepted us long before that."

D'Argo cast a look of near pity at Aeryn who had visibly paled at Pilot's words. Zhaan
 stepped forward to reassure Aeryn. "Don't worry, my dear. We will not let them take you."
Aeryn looked at Zhaan, relief mixed with concern on her face.

D'Argo placed his hand on Aeryn's shoulder briefly. "I agree. No one deserves the fate
the Metaxans offer. I remember Lo'Laan's terror at the very mention of the name. We will
fight them."

Aeryn looked at her ship mates in gratitude. "I thank you for your support. But I will not risk
your lives for mine."

She turned away to meet John's confused gaze. He exchanged a look with Chiana who
was equally confused. "Does someone want to fill me in here? What is going on?
Aeryn?"

Aeryn turned away from John in despair. He was very worried. He had never seen her in
such a state before. Even when Nam'Tar had injected her with Pilot's DNA. ''Ever since
the incident with that frelling security tape,'' he thought, casting a dark look at Rygel.
''She's been so subdued. And now she looks like she's ready to give up, without a
fight.''"Aeryn?" he repeated, very afraid.

"Don't worry, John," D'Argo said, a careful look at his Sebacean comrade. "We won't let
anything happen to Aeryn."

"What's going on?" John demanded in exasperation. "What are you not going to let
happen to Aeryn?"

Aeryn looked at him with a wistful smile on her face. "The Metaxans. They are ancient
enemies of the Sebaceans," was all she said.

D'Argo snorted derisively at her choice of words. "Ancient enemies?! More like
predators." Zhaan quickly nodded in agreement with his correction.

"Okay! Enough! Tell me what's going on!" John cried.

"I'm with Crichton. Enough of these cryptic clues!" Chiana seconded. "Tell us what the
danger is from these Metaxans."

Aeryn walked over to John, standing close to him as if for reassurance but not touching
him. "The Metaxans are genetic cousins of the Sebaceans, much the same as Illonics
are to the Luxans," she said with a confirming nod from D'Argo. "About five hundred
cycles ago, the sun of their planet began to deteriorate, throwing off excessive amounts
of radiation. The Metaxans were subjected to extreme levels of radiation which rendered
their females permanently sterile and unable to carry a child to term. It sterilized the entire
female population." Aeryn stopped her explanation, overcome by fear. John started
towards her in concern.

"The Metaxans fled their system in massive settlement ships, but the damage had been
done. They found themselves unable to reproduce in the conventional way." Zhaan
supplied while Aeryn tried to get control of herself.

"In the conventional way?" John asked, his heart pounding at where he was starting to
see this go. "So how do they reproduce?"

"As I said, they are genetic cousins of the Sebaceans. They discovered that Metaxan
males could fertilize the eggs of Sebacean women. They genetically manipulate the
zygote so that the Metaxan genetic traits breed true, subverting the Sebacean
characteristics. The egg is implanted into the Sebacean woman who then carries the
child to term. We became the perfect breeding stock for their race." Aeryn continued
bitterly.

"I'm sure the Sebaceans and the Peacekeepers have something to say about this." John
said. "You guys are fanatical about racial purity."

"Yeah, and the women must have  some objection as well." Chiana added.

Aeryn smiled at Chiana's naiveté. "Yes, the women do indeed object. But the Metaxans
found that they can overcome those objections by inducing the Living Death. A perfectly
healthy and controllable womb without a resisting mind. The child incubates comfortably
and the woman does not fight. Unfortunately, the woman can only give birth once in that
state. So the Metaxans perfected a method of producing multiple offspring from one
mother. A female could be made to carry as many as eight fetuses. After the birth, her
body does not produce any further eggs. The Metaxans mercifully kill her then."

Chiana gasped at the implication of Aeryn's words. John stepped closer to Aeryn.
 "That's despicable," he said, looking at the approaching ship with disgust.

Aeryn sighed, "That's called survival. Without us, the Metaxans would be no more. That's
how they justify it to themselves." She looked at the approaching ship, shivering with fear.
John put his arm around her to comfort her. Aeryn looked into his eyes, her own filled with
an ancient fear. She laid her head on his shoulder and uncharacteristically let him comfort
her, uncaring of who was seeing them. John began to get even more frightened at her
reaction.

"I won't let them have you," he said, pressing his lips briefly to her forehead. Aeryn smiled
at him wanly.

"Neither will I," Chiana said, startling them all with the conviction in her voice. Aeryn
looked at the Nebari thief with surprise and then gratitude.

"Thank you, all of you. But I will not risk your lives for mine." She nodded at the heavily
armed cruiser. "Once they determine that there is a Sebacean female on board they will
hound us until they catch us. Peacekeeper High Command has been particularly vigilant
for the last twenty cycles, hoping to prevent the Metaxans from taking any more females.
From what I heard before leaving Crais' ship, their vigilance is paying off. The Metaxans
have been able to capture only fifty Sebacean women in the last three cycles. Not nearly
enough to replenish an entire race.You will find them more motivated to capture us than
even Scorpius," she said with a shiver.

"Then we will have to keep them from finding out that you are here," Chiana said. "I can
help you hide. You know that I am an expert at that."

"And I will have the DRD's remove any sign of your presence from the ship. The
Metaxans will do a very thorough search, particularly on a ship such as ours. We need to
scour every inch of Moya," Pilot said.

"Then let's begin," Zhaan said. "Chiana, you and Aeryn go hide. D'Argo, you be here in
Command to receive the inevitable hail. John and I will scour Aeryn's quarters."

"What about my Prowler?" Aeryn asked.

D'Argo piped up, "My battle prize. Taken during our escape. Pilot, alter our ship's log to
erase any trace of Aeryn. And create a scenario in which I captured a Prowler, killing its
pilot."

"Right away, Ka D'Argo." Pilot's sorrowful eyes met Aeryn's. "Don't worry, Aeryn. Moya
and I will not let them take you."

"Thank you, Pilot." Aeryn said, reaching out imperceptibly to his image on the
viewscreen. She was very touched by the new understanding between them, born as it
was of such wrenching memories. Then she turned to the rest of her crew mates. "And
thank you all. But know this; if it comes to a choice between my life and yours, please
honour me by saving yourselves."

For a moment, they all stood there, staring at each other. "Promise me!" Aeryn
demanded fiercely.

"We promise," D'Argo said.

Aeryn turned to Zhaan who nodded. She got the same response from Chiana and Rygel,
then she turned painfully to John. "John, please, promise me. I could not live with myself if
I was the cause of your death. And they will kill you to get at me." She reached out and
placed her hand palm to palm with his, her eyes pleading. "John?"

"I promise," John agreed reluctantly, to ease her mind.. "But I won't let it come to that," he
added, lacing his fingers with hers, then raising her hand to his lips before Chiana came
over and led her away.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Excuse me, my Lord, but Command has just signalled that they have sighted a
Leviathan transport approaching from deep within the Uncharted Territories." The young
Lieutenant approached the royal cautiously, interrupting his reverie.

Prince Eth Grato, heir apparent to the Metaxan throne, raised his head and met the
officer's gaze, then smiled to ease the man's obvious nervousness. "And why is that of
importance to me?" he asked.

"Sir, our initial scans indicate scarring on the Leviathan's outer hull; scarring consistent
with that caused by a Peacekeeper control collar."

Grato sat up, his interest peaked. "And?"

"The ship matches the description of a Leviathan that is being pursued by Peacekeeper
forces. It is an escaped prison transport. There have been numerous, if unclear reports
that it carries several escaped prisoners. And a Peacekeeper female."

This last statement had Grato rising from his chair and heading towards Command. "And
have you been able to confirm this last piece of information? Is there truly a female
Sebacean aboard?"

"Unknown at this time, but the prospects look good. Several of our contacts in the
Uncharted Territories have reported that she travels with the prisoners, an Hynerian, a
Luxan and a Delvian, and two other members of unknown races. She was apparently
deemed irreversibly contaminated by her captain, a Bialar Crais."

"Crais? Yes, I know of this one. Vicious by even Peacekeeper standards," Grato said as
they marched quickly down the passageways towards the Command. "So he cut her
loose to fend for herself with a bunch of escaped prisoners."

"Not exactly. It appears that the Leviathan is being hounded from planet to planet, by
Crais and his Command Carrier. Or at least was. Our intelligence reports that Crais was
himself recently declared contaminated."  Eth allowed himself the luxury of a bitter smile
at the news. ''So you finally got what was coming to you, Crais.'' Then he turned to the
Lieutenant. "And the pursuit?"

"Taken over by a Scarran named Scorpius. Reason unknown."The Lieutenant
respectfully stepped aside to let his Prince enter the Command ahead of him. The tall,
dark-haired man smiled briefly at him then walked into the Command to be met by a
sudden rigid stance and salute from the Command officers. His eyes trailed around the
Command and settled in distaste on a younger version of himself lounging negligently in
the Captain's seat. "Fallor, my beloved brother," he said, his anger at the young
Metaxan's demeanor barely in check. "Have you taken command of this vessel?"

"No, brother." Fallor looked up at him and smirked impudently. "I was just hanging
around, looking to improve my command skills."

"Then I suggest you stand up, and look like a proper officer, not the spoiled royal that you
are!" Grato snapped. "I need the Captain in his proper place." The Prince turned to his
ship's Captain. "Captain, fill me in. The Lieutenant tells me you believe the Leviathan is
carrying a Sebacean female? Have you been able to confirm it?"

"Not yet, my Lord. We are approaching cautiously so as not to startle the creature into
starburst."

"Captain!" the young Lieutenant interrupted. "The latest scan shows the Leviathan is
building energy, but will not be able to starburst for at least another arn."

"There, Captain!" Grato said in satisfaction. "You have your confirmation. Only
Sebaceans would have need to run from a Metaxan ship. We pose no threat to anyone
else. Approach immediately and inform them that we intend to board, with or without their
permission."

"Right away, my Lord."

There was a rustling of fabric behind them and a flushed and disheveled female raced
into the room. Her hastily arranged garments and hair, and her smudged make-up
suggested that she had recently been engaged in activities of a rather intimate nature.
The sudden entrance of an equally disheveled junior officer confirmed it.

Grato looked at his brother's wife in disgust. "Ah, Qaadzhi, my dear. I'm sorry you were
interrupted." He turned and looked back at his brother who regarded his adulterous wife
calmly.

"Is it true?" she asked breathlessly. "Have you really found a Yadhza?"

Grato snarled at her," Don't use that term!" ''Disposable one'' he thought, his memories
causing him pain.  "Yes, we seem to have found a Sebacean female."

Qaadzhi grinned at his anger,"Ah, my Lord, ever the gentleman. I know how much you
despise the breeding programme. Too bad your continuance as heir apparent depends
on your ability to produce an heir yourself. Before other members of your family," she
added with a sly glance at her husband. "Well, congratulations. This female should
guarantee your position and inheritance."

"My Lord," the Captain interrupted, nervously watching Qaadzhi . "We have hailed the
Leviathan. They have indicated they will not resist our boarding. We are in contact with a
Luxan named Ka D'Argo."

"Any sign of the female?" Fallor asked eagerly.

"No, but I suspect that they will try to hide her from us. Our reports indicate that they have
inexplicably worked together in the past."

Grato turned to the Captain, "I will accompany you to the Leviathan. I wish the female to
be taken without bloodshed if possible."

"But my Lord, this is highly irregular!" the Captain objected. "Your person is too precious
to risk in such a way."

"Indeed!" Fallor murmured. Qaadzhi cast him a quelling glance.

"Still, I insist!" Eth commanded. "Our invasion of this ship is one of necessity, nothing
more. I wish the rest of the ship's crew to be made aware of that in person."

The Captain acquiesced. "At least, take some sort of security -- your personal
bodyguards."

"Indeed I will" Grato smiled in gratitude at his Captain. "I thank you for your concern." He
cast a last look of disgust at Fallor and Qaadzhi then turned and left the room. The
remaining officers watched the royal pair nervously. Qaadzhi signalled to her husband
and walked out. Fallor followed her languidly, stopping briefly in front of the junior officer
with whom his wife was currently dallying. At the man's shiver of fear, Fallor smirked and
exited without a word.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

After a frantic arn, Zhaan, Rygel and John stood waiting for the arrival of the Metaxan
transport. Outside, the heavily armed battleship loomed large over the Leviathan. Pilot
reported Moya's nervousness. Zhaan tried to say something to calm the Leviathan but
her own fear prevented her words from being convincing.

"There must be someone of great importance aboard that ship," Rygel said, his voice a
frightened whisper. "Most Metaxan raiding vessels rely on speed and maneuverability,
not size and heavy armament."

Zhaan nodded her agreement,"You're right, Rygel. I've never seen such a large Metaxan
vessel. And in the Uncharted Territories."

"They must be seeking the Sebacean colonies that Aeryn asked Nam'Tar to locate,"
John reasoned. Then all conversation halted at the sound of a transport entering Moya's
hangar.

"Chiana? Are you there?" John said quietly into his commlink.

"Yes, I'm here."

"They're docking now. Are you safely hidden?"

"Yes, they'll never find us." Chiana's voice was confident.

"Aeryn?" John said, his voice filled with worry.

"Yes, John."

"Aeryn, I just wanted to say ... to tell you ... " John stammered.

After a long silence, she said quietly, "I understand, John. We... we need to cut off
communication."

"Right," John said. "Everything will be okay."

There was another slight pause, then comm silence.

John sighed, then turned to meet the Metaxan contingent.

Moya's crew waited until the delegation approached through the open doors of the
docking bay. Each carefully sized up the approaching threat. The Metaxans appeared to
be led by a tall, dark-haired Sebacean-looking man in what John would have termed his
middle forties. He was elegantly dressed in a somber yet well-tailored militaristic
manner; a dark green uniform complete with epaulettes and brass-like buttons.
Diagonally over his right shoulder, he wore a rich bright red and gold sash denoting his
obvious leadership. His carriage and manner indicated someone who was used to
giving commands and having those commands obeyed. The rest of his group, heavily
armed but with their weapons at ease, moved as if they would gladly give their lives for
the man leading them. All except the pair who brought up the rear. One was a youth, a
good twenty cycles younger than the leader but in appearance so obviously related to
him, whose dress and manner denoted a dissipated and self-indulgent character. He too
wore a uniform, similar in style and color to that of the others, but overly-decorated with
medals and tassels. The young, voluptuously attractive woman at his side was also richly
dressed, in flowing if revealing robes, her blonde hair elaborately dressed and her face
overly made-up. Her eyes took in the beings before her, dismissing Zhaan and Rygel
quickly before settling hungrily on John.

"We thank you for allowing us to board your vessel without incident." The leader's voice
was rich and deep. "I am Eth Grato, Prince of the Metaxans." He bowed deeply and
formally to the waiting crew of the Leviathan. "To whom do I have the pleasure of
speaking?"

Zhaan stepped forward and bowed, passing her hands over her head and neck. "I am
Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan of Delvia. This is his Eminence, Rygel the Sixteenth, Dominar of
Hyneria  and Commander John Crichton, Human,  of the planet Earth." Rygel
harrumphed regally at his introduction. John gave the Metaxan a stiffly formal bow, his
eyes wary.

Sensing their tension, Eth smiled and indicated his group. "My personal guard and
Captain Acco of the battleship Ton'rey." The Captain bowed at his introduction. Eth
turned, catching sight of the over-dressed pair at the rear. "Ah, and my brother, Prince
Fallor and his lovely wife, Qaadzhi." Fallor executed an elaborate if insincere bow and
Qaadzhi stepped forward, her attention focussed on John.

"A Hu-man? Earth? I'm afraid I have not heard of such a place, or such a race." Her eyes
studied John until he felt extremely uncomfortable. "A failing I will enjoy rectifying," she
murmured.

A look of disgust flashed in Eth's eyes before he quickly intervened. "There will be plenty
of time for ... research ... later, Qaadzhi, my dear. First, to the business at hand." He
turned back to Zhaan. "We understand that you have a Sebacean female aboard, a
former Peacekeeper. Aeryn Sun?"

The trio worked hard to control their features, each feeling fear at the extent of the
Metaxan's knowledge. Rygel was the first to recover from his shock."You thought wrong,
my Lord. We once carried one of those abominations, a Peacekeeper drawn into Moya's
starburst by accident. But we soon solved that little problem. She was spaced shortly
after her capture." Rygel spat on the ground to indicate his hatred of the Peacekeepers.
"I'm sorry now that we were so hasty. I would have enjoyed seeing her fear as we turned
her over to you."

Zhaan nodded her agreement. "I hate to say that I too shared Rygel's satisfaction at the
Peacekeeper female's death.  But we did not engineer this escape to share quarters
with our former captors. Our only aim is to return to our homes, safe from Peacekeeper
interference. You would not be in a position to help us, would you? Our Leviathan's map
fibers were destroyed during our escape. Could you provide us with the maps we need
to return to our home worlds?"

"I may be in a position to give you what you require," Eth said smoothly, clearly not
believing their story. "But I am curious. Are you three the only ones aboard this
Leviathan?"

Zhaan bowed again ingratiatingly. "Only we three, Ka D'Argo, whom you spoke to earlier,
and of course Moya's Pilot."

"Interesting. I am surprised that our intelligence was so far off," Eth said, looking at the
Captain as if in accusation. "Our spies are usually more accurate."

"I will investigate their failure to the utmost, my Lord," the Captain replied, bowing.

"Well, since our trip here has been in vain, I would at least request that you give us a tour
of your most interesting Leviathan. I have long been fascinated by biomechanoid
technology. And of course, I wish to meet her Pilot. Such an intriguing species," Eth
enthused, his tone false and menacing.

Zhaan bowed once more, trying hard to hide her dismay. "This way, my Lord," she said,
indicating the door. "Rygel, perhaps as the most preeminent among us, you would do the
honors?"

Rygel puffed up at Zhaan's deferral. "Certainly. My Lord, it will be a pleasure to converse
with one who is on the same social plane as myself. I have been truly bereft these
hundred and fifty cycles." He swung his throne chair over to hover at the Prince's side.
"And perhaps we could discuss your offer of map fibers as well?" he said with a smile.

Eth started through the door, then stopped. "Oh, I had heard that you had another
unknown species aboard. A Nebari?"

From her vantage point high above the docking bay, Chiana gasped. ''They know way
too much,'' she thought. ''This is never going to work.''

"Ah yes, we once had such a one aboard. For a short time. But she was so unreliable,
and dishonest. A definite liability," Rygel replied, without a pause. "On top of that, she
was being pursued by her own people. Too dangerous to keep aboard, so we left her
behind at one of the backwater planets we visited. Some royal cemetery planet I
believe."

Chiana knew that Rygel was only bluffing. But still, it hurt to hear it put so callously into
words. Especially after all that had been happening between the crew lately. Behind her,
Aeryn moved forward. She laid her hand gently on Chiana's arm, but said nothing. Then
with a silent nod of her head, she indicated that she wished to move with the group, to
remain in contact with her fellow crew mates as much as possible. Chiana nodded and
pointed down another air duct that would lead them to Command.

As the group moved out of the docking area, Qaadzhi quickly latched on to John. "So, tell
me more about your race."

"There's not much to tell," John said, in an effort to be boring. "I'm from a planet that has
no inter-planetary travel, or even contact with other races. I'm only here because I was
caught in a spatial anomaly. I've spent every moment since I got here trying to get home."

"That's not all you've need doing, I hear," Qaadzhi said, linking her arm with John's. He
looked around to find her husband, who met his troubled gaze blandly. "I hear you spent
some time annoying a certain Captain Crais? And a Scarran scientist called Scorpius?"

John was too shocked to be cautious. "Man! where do you people get your information
from?"

"Oh, here and there. We have a vested interest in things Peacekeeper." Qaadzhi leaned
into his arm, pressing her ample bosom against him suggestively. "Listen to me. Eth
knows that Aeryn Sun is still aboard. He will not leave until he has her. He needs her to
solidify his position in the royal succession." She looked around and then whispered. " I
can help you. I can help her. But you have to trust me." Qaadzhi caught Eth watching her
closely, and smiled up into John's face. "Perhaps we can finish this discussion in a more
private place," she said out loud, running her hand up his arm.

John looked at her, not knowing whether to trust her or not. Then he caught sight of Eth's
 dark scowl. He gently squeezed her arm to indicate his willingness to talk. Qaadzhi
smiled up at him more radiantly. Out of John's sight, she turned back and caught the eye
of her husband, who winked at her encouragingly.

Once the group reached the Command, things quickly got out of hand. At a nod from Eth,
his bodyguards fanned out around the room, effectively sealing it and restraining Zhaan,
Rygel, John and finally D'Argo. The four of them stood with guns now pointed at them. Eth
moved to stand in front of John and Zhaan, where Pilot could also see and hear him.

"I regret the necessity of this, but circumstances leave me with no choice. Where is the
Sebacean?" he demanded.

Rygel flew forward."My Lord, we have told you the truth. Aeryn Sun is dead. We killed her
shortly after our escape. Check the ship's logs. It's all there!"

"Ship's logs can easily be altered. Enough fiction!" Eth cried. "And the Nebari. Is she
dead also?" He turned and pointed a gun at Rygel's head. "The truth now, Your
Eminence."

Rygel cringed at the threat, but before he could answer, a gray-clad figure dropped from
the ceiling, despite Aeryn's attempt to stop her. "Looking for me, My Lord?"  she said,
giving him one of her patented come-hither looks.

"Under different circumstances, most definitely." Eth replied smiling. Then he reached
over and ran his hand through Chiana's soft white hair. "A most appealing female. Nebari
you say? Certainly worth further investigation." He turned suddenly and reached out
towards John, plucking something from his grey shirt.

"Hmmm? White hair," he said indicating Chiana. "No hair," he said, turning towards
Zhaan. "Red hair."  he said, smirking at D'Argo. "So whose hair is this?" he said, holding
up a long strand of black hair. He turned and deliberately aimed his pistol at John, who
met his gaze defiantly. "Whose hair is it, Human?" He charged the pulse pistol, its
readiness a whine in the otherwise silent room.

"It's mine," Aeryn said, dropping down behind him from the ceiling as Chiana had. "I'm
Aeryn Sun. Let the others go."

"Aeryn! No!" John said, leaping forward. Eth raised the pulse pistol even further then
turned to face the object of his hunt. His expression registered unbelievable shock at the
sight of the beautiful ex-Peacekeeper in front of him. "Mardyn?" he said softly, forgetting
himself in his surprise. Then he shook his head. "Very wise, Officer Sun. I was quite
prepared to kill them, starting with the Human here. Our intelligence was correct. You do
stand up for each other. Quite an unusual trait in a Peacekeeper."

"I am no longer a Peacekeeper!" Aeryn declared.

"Quite right, my dear. You are now Yadhza!" Fallor smirked from the corner. Aeryn went
pale at the term. Eth glared at his brother, then turned and indicated Aeryn. His
bodyguards quickly had her cuffed and held between them.  John and D'Argo both tried
to stop them but they were out-numbered and out-gunned, and restrained in their own
handcuffs. Aeryn stood defiantly between the Metaxan soldiers. Eth came up to her and
gently raised her chin with his hand, gazing into her sorrowful but resigned blue eyes.
"Don't worry. I will make sure you feel no pain," he said, his hand slipping from her face in
a near caress. Aeryn watched him back away from her, her eyes confused. Eth nodded
and the guards began to lead her away.

John suddenly broke from his own guards and raced over to stand in front of Aeryn.
"Aeryn, no! Don't give up! Eth, you can't do this to her! " he shouted. He reached up with
his own cuffed hands and placed his linked arms protectively around her. "No!" he cried
desperately, fighting the guards who sought to pull Aeryn from him. When one of the
guards pulled out a stick and was about to strike the Human with it, Eth stepped forward.

"Stop!" he ordered. Then he turned to address Aeryn. "I will kill them if they resist, Aeryn.
Or if you do. Come quietly and I assure you, your friends will go unharmed. I will even give
them the map fibers they can use to return home." Eth looked at Aeryn then at John's
defiant face.

Aeryn looked into John's eyes, pleading for his understanding. She cupped his face
between her cuffed hands, "Please, John. Don't fight this. I will feel nothing. Don't let my
last arns be spent mourning for you." She reached up and kissed him tenderly. "Let it go.
Live, for me." Her eyes glistened with tears, fearful despite her brave words.

John's arms tightened around her and for a moment she thought he would resist. Then he
bent down and kissed her desperately. "Aeryn, I love you," he whispered against her lips.
"Don't give up. We'll get you out of this. I promise,"  He kissed her again then let the
guards drag them apart. When one of the guards shoved John roughly, Aeryn turned and
struck out at him, knocking him to the ground with a savage kick. The remaining guards
pulled out their sticks, this time to subdue the Sebacean, but she stood and stared at the
Prince, daring him to order them to hit her.

"You promise me, they will be safe and free? I have your word?" she demanded.

Eth's eyes studied her face as if he was looking for something. Then, with infinite
sadness he smiled at her. "Yes, you have my word." He raised his voice and repeated
his pledge to his troops. "The Leviathan Moya and her crew are not to be harmed, by my
ship or any other in the Metaxan fleet." He turned to address the Captain. "Acco, make
sure that all ships in the fleet know this, as well as all our operatives in the Uncharted
Territories and beyond. And prepare to transmit whatever information we have on the
Uncharted Territories to Moya." He turned back to Aeryn who eyed him suspiciously.
"Satisfied?" he said, smiling.

Aeryn searched his face for any duplicity. Finding none, she finally nodded. Eth reached
out to her and she tensed at his touch. But all he did was remove her handcuffs. Then he
offered her his hand. "Come."

Aeryn's eyes met John's pained gaze. ''This is still not good-bye,'' he mouthed to her. She
smiled weakly then accepted the Prince's hand and let him lead her off the Command.

The rest of the Prince's bodyguard followed, clearly confused at their leader's unusual
compassion for a mere Yadhza.

Captain Acco met the stunned and saddened gaze of the remaining fugitives. "I will
proceed with the Prince's orders. Have your Pilot prepare to receive the data in a few
arns. I think you will be pleased. Our operatives in the Uncharted Territories have
succeeded in gathering quite a bit of information." When they did not respond the
Captain had the grace to look uncomfortable. He signalled to Fallor and his wife to follow
him. Fallor moved to join him. He paused once, to toss a key onto the floor behind him.
"Remember, she bought your lives with her own. Do not resist or it will go badly for her,"
he threatened, then turned to wait for his wife.

Qaadzhi slipped over to the clearly devastated Human. "Follow me down to the hangar. I
will endeavor to get you on board our ship. I will help you rescue your Aeryn," she
whispered to him as she passed. Then she regally gave her hand to her husband and
swept out of the Command.

Chiana grabbed up the key and freed her fellow crewmates. John stood still for a microt,
as did the rest of the crew, stunned at what had just happened. Then he sprang into
action, Zhaan's voice calling his name in confusion behind him, as he raced after the
Metaxans and Aeryn.  D'Argo was faster and caught up with him in the passageway just
outside the hangar, grabbing his arm.

"What are you doing, John? What did the Metaxan woman say to you?"

"Let me go, D'Argo. I have to get to the docking bay before they leave. Qaadzhi
promised to help me rescue Aeryn!" John cried, throwing off the Luxan's restraining
hand.

"Then I'm coming too."

"Me too!" a voice said behind them with determination. Chiana slipped from the
shadows. "I won't let any one be used in such a manner."

Throwing off D'Argo's slackened grip, John was already moving. "No! Just me! I can fit in
on the ship. And Qaadzhi might not help us if we all suddenly show up." He raced away.
"Stay here with Moya. Be prepared to get us out of here the microt I come back with
Aeryn!" he called back, with a confidence he was not feeling.

He tore through the passages to the docking bay, slipping through the doors as they
closed. The Metaxan transport was beginning to fire its engines when John noticed a
small open hatch on the underbelly of the transport. Grabbing a space suit from the rack
he hurried over to the open hatch and boosted himself up inside the small space. He
reached down behind him and sealed the hatch then struggled to climb into the space
suit and helmet, as he felt the ship lift off, guided out by Moya's docking web. He had just
managed to seal the helmet when he felt the ship fly free of Moya's hangar and fire its
engines again for the return to the massive Metaxan battle ship.

He huddled in the small enclosure, numb with cold until there was a bump and the ship
landed in its own hangar. The voices around him told him that the normal docking
procedures were being performed. He hoped those did not include a thorough search of
the ship. He remained where he was, afraid that he was going to be stuck there and
worried about Aeryn. His heart pounded in fear at what they might already be doing to
her. When the noises outside fell silent, John reached down and very carefully unsealed
the hatch. He let it fall open and sat still, waiting for some alarm to be raised. When
nothing happened he cautiously poked his head out and took a look around.

For a moment he was stunned at the sheer magnitude of the ship's hangar. Moya could
easily have docked within its confines. Row after row of attack ships were waiting ready
to defend the Prince, or attack a Sebacean colony. He lowered himself gently to the
ground, keeping hidden and looking around for any sign of guards. But there was
nothing. Moving from hiding place to hiding place, John made his way over to what he
believed must be the door into the bowels of the ship. How he was going to find Aeryn in
a ship this size, he couldn't figure out. All he knew was that he had to try.

When the sound of voices reached his ear from the passage outside the door, he dove
back for cover behind some fuel cells stacked against the wall of the hangar. The door
opened and Qaadzhi came in, followed by an obviously amorous Metaxan guard about
John's size. As soon as the door closed behind them, the guard grabbed the female
Metaxan, pulling her into his arms and kissing her roughly. Her hands clasped around his
neck and she pressed herself into him. He groaned and ground his hips into her, his
hands all over her. Qaadzhi turned so that she was leaning against the wall and let him
trail his mouth down her neck. She lifted one leg and wrapped it around his hips. The
guard groaned again and reached down to begin undoing his trousers. John stood
stunned at the sight until Qaadzhi frantically signalled to him over the shoulder of her
erstwhile lover. Grabbing a wrench from the toolbox beside him, he crept up behind the
hapless guard and hit him over the head. The man groaned again, this time in pain and
fell unconscious to the floor.

"Well, it's so good to see you again, John Crichton," Qaadzhi purred. "Quickly, get your
clothes off!" John's face registered his shock. Qaadzhi laughed then pointed to the
guard. "Change clothes with him," she instructed.

"How do you know they will fit?" John said, removing the space suit and hiding it behind
the fuel cells.

Qaadzhi's expression was more come-hither than Chiana could ever accomplish. "I
checked you out while we were on Moya." She moved closer to him. "Thoroughly!" She
bent and without batting an eye, stripped the guard of his uniform, then smirked and
dressed him in one of her robes. The rest of the robes she wore covered her, but just
barely. Then she passed the uniform to John. Knowing that asking her to turn around
would be a waste of breath, John turned his back to her and changed into the uniform as
quickly as he could, pointedly ignoring her suggestive comments on Human anatomy.
Then they headed out the door.

"What about the guard?" John asked, looking back at the door to the hangar. "Won't it
raise an alarm when they find him without his uniform?"

"When I'm on the ship?" Qaadzhi laughed. "No, I have quite a reputation. Well deserved, I
might add."

"But I thought you were married?" John commented.

"So, I am married. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing," John replied. "Just more culture shock." He looked around. "So how do we
rescue Aeryn ... ?"

"Shh! Someone's coming!" Qaadzhi said suddenly,  looking around. She grabbed John
and pinned him up against the wall, kissing him fiercely. She sighed in disgust at his lack
of response and deliberately grabbed his arms and placed them around her waist. She
pressed herself up against him, pushing him harder against the wall. Then she pulled
away and looked up at him with a small smile on her face. "Oops, sorry. False alarm."
She stepped back and led him once more down the passageway.

John felt his anger and frustration grow. He grabbed the Metaxan female's arm and
pulled her around to face him."Okay, Lady. Enough games. I'm here for one thing and
one thing only. And that's to get Aeryn away from you people. So, tell me. Where is she
and how do I get her out of here?"

Qaadzhi smirked at his outburst then said in resignation, "She's being held in Eth's
quarters, under guard."

"Why so much security? He knows she won't risk our lives and try to escape."

"It's not her he's worried about. Sebacean females are a precious commodity to my
people. Once word gets out that we have captured one, there will be several attempts to
take her from him. The fact that Eth is the Prince won't prevent that. Even members of his
own family would steal her from him."

John had a thought, "Would Fallor?"

Qaadzhi laughed a little too brightly, "Hezmana, no! Fallor is still too young. And be the
Prince? Too much responsibility. Being the heir apparent's younger brother is better."

''But is it good enough for you?'' John wondered, not altogether believing her denial.
"Okay, so what's the plan?"

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Eth had retreated to his quarters with the Sebacean and doubled the guard outside his
rooms. He showed her to a room of her own and left her abruptly, locking her in. Then he
returned to his own private sitting room, alone with his painful memories.

''I can't do this,'' he thought in despair. ''I can't use this woman to ensure my own
succession. Even if it is for the good of my people. She looks so much like ... her. Like
Mardyn.''

His mind went back to his tour of duty aboard the doomed raider Lokkara.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Twenty-one cycles earlier

They had successfully raided a Sebacean colony and had taken several Peacekeeper
females as well. Twenty-five fertile Yadhzai in all. The Sebacean females were huddled in
misery in the cells of the ship, the sounds of their weeping filling the cellblock. The
Peacekeeper females tried to hide their fear behind their training, but he could tell they
were desperately afraid as well. One in particular tried to hide her fear by alternately
consoling the others and cursing the guards vehemently. Her bright blue eyes flashed and
her long black hair flowed around her as she flung some of the most vile epithets that the
Metaxan had ever heard at the young guards, himself in particular as the Lieutenant in
charge. He watched her strong, slim body as she paced around the room like a caged
wild animal. He found himself spending more and more time in the cells, observing her,
coming to think of her as more than a mere object, a prize to be sold to the highest
bidder.

Finally he mustered up enough courage one night to ask her her name.

"Why should you want to know my name? I'm just a Yadhza to you, a Disposable One!"
she flung at him.

"Just curious, that's all," he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"It's Mardyn. Officer Mardyn Ransa, Grovo Regiment. And who are you?"

He smiled at her, his innate politeness coming to the fore. "Eth Grato of the House of
Ymor."

"The House of Ymor? Are you related to the Monarch?" she asked.

"My uncle," he said with a courtly bow.

"Did you hear that, ladies?" she tossed over her shoulder. "We've been privileged to be
served our dinner by no less than the Monarch's nephew himself." Her eyes and words
mocked him.

Eth's face burned at her tone. Mardyn grew suddenly serious. "And are we destined to
become the Monarch's Yadhzai?" she asked, unable to hide her sudden fear.

Eth looked down, inexplicably upset at the fate that awaited these woman and this vibrant
Peacekeeper in particular. "Some of you. Others will be sold at auction to the heads of
the other ruling Houses. Their need for heirs is great. Especially the Monarch's."

"What's wrong with you?" Mardyn asked.

"I am too far removed from the throne. The younger son of a younger son," he laughed.
"Thankfully! Otherwise I would be somewhere learning diplomacy rather than serving
aboard this vessel."

Mardyn did not point out that it would have been better for her if he were learning
diplomacy. His unit had been responsible for her capture. "But I thought that the Monarch
already had an heir?"

Eth looked uncomfortable. "He has proven to be sterile and has removed himself from
the succession in disgrace."

Mardyn brightened. "So the genetic programme is finally breaking down!" She whistled
happily. "It's about time!"

"It is not breaking down!" Eth denied, though he knew that there was some truth to her
words.

Mardyn looked him over speculatively. "How would your race know? Your females are
notoriously promiscuous because they cannot get pregnant. Your males can only
procreate in test tubes." She laughed harshly at his suddenly flaming face. "Why don't you
come on in here and show me how manly you are!" she challenged him raucously,
pushing her face at his through the bars of her cell.

Before he could answer, there was a sudden lurch and the sound of several explosions.
Eth hit his commlink. "Report! What is going on?" The ship lurched again. "Report!"

"Sir, we are under attack. A Peacekeeper battle cruiser appeared out of nowhere. There
are too many Prowlers ... " Eth could hear the panic in the young officer's voice. There
was another violent crash and screams could be heard over the comm. "We're hit ...
losing pressure ..." then the comm went dead.

Before he could react there was another violent explosion. A volley of blasts from the
attacking Peacekeepers had shorn off the outer hull, opening a massive breach in the
cell containing the Sebacean women. Their screams mingled with the shriek of the
atmosphere as they were blown out into space. Eth was pressed up against the bars of
the cell. He looked into the terrorized eyes of Mardyn, who was holding onto the bars of
the cell for dear life. Her body was drawn out parallel to the floor, as the decompression
pulled her inexorably towards the gash in the ship's hull and death. Eth heard the awful
crack as one of her arms ripped from its socket. She lost her hold with the damaged arm
and struggled to hold on against the terrible depressurization with her good arm. Eth
reached through the bars and grabbed her, anchoring her with his own body. He
struggled to find the key with his other hand. All the while, her startling blue eyes bore into
his, pleading with him not to let her go. It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe as
the atmosphere quickly dissipated. When the gale eased somewhat, Eth managed to
find the key and open the door, but not before Mardyn's other arm was also dislocated.
Eth reached around the cell door and pulled Mardyn free of the cell, slamming the door
shut behind her. Then he half carried, half dragged her down the passageway. The exit
was cut off, filled with debris and molten metal. It was a scene from the most gruesome
battle epic, bodies and parts of bodies strewn everywhere. Beyond that, was the faint
glow of fire. Eth turned back down the passageway and found an undamaged escape
pod. He set the Peacekeeper down and swiftly unsealed the outer hatch. Then he
reached back and dragged Mardyn inside before jumping in after her and resealing the
hatch. He lay for a time gasping for air. Then he pushed them both through the inner hatch
and sealed it, turning to the release valve to jettison the pod into space.

"No! Don't!" a faint voice stopped him. Eth turned to face his former captive. Mardyn's
voice was soft, her eyes dark with pain. "Don't eject. The Prowlers will only shoot us out
of the sky. Remain with the ship."

Eth took his hand from the control and moved over the prone body of the Peacekeeper to
look out the hatch window. The cell block atmosphere had disappeared entirely. The
window outside quickly frosted over as the chilling temperatures of deep space filled the
passageways of the dying ship. Debris flowed freely, along with the bodies of Eth's
 former unit. Eth watched until the frost filled the window, then he turned back to his
reluctant companion.

"What the hezmana were your people thinking?" he demanded. "They destroyed the
ship, killing everyone aboard! They must have known you and the other women were in
custody. But they fired to kill anyway!"

Mardyn looked at him with eyes filled with a mixture of sadness, fear, pain and some
amusement at his ignorance.

"It was not a rescue mission," she said with a sigh. "As soon as you brought us aboard,
we were dead to them, irreversibly contaminated." She shifted and hissed with pain. "It
was a search and destroy mission."

Eth looked around apprehensively. "So will they fire to finish us off?" he asked.

Mardyn smirked again, then grimaced in pain. "No, they will let this lifeless shell drift into
Metaxan territory, as a warning to your people against further raids."

Eth brightened in hope at her words. "Then we may still survive this."

"Only if they don't find us. Before they leave, they will search. To kill all survivors," she
said meaningfully.

Eth looked at her again, their eyes meeting in understanding. "They will kill you as well as
me."

"Probably me first, in case they run out of ammunition," Mardyn said with resignation.

"Well, I won't let it happen!" Eth declared.

Mardyn smirked at his tone. "Why? Because I'm too valuable a Yadhza to lose?" she
said bitterly.

Eth met her bitter gaze, but did not answer her. Mardyn shifted again and this time a cry
of pain escaped her. Eth reached down and started to tear strips from his uniform.
Mardyn watched him prepare the restraints, her negative impression of him proven. Eth
turned towards her once more and whispered, "I'm sorry." before grasping one of her
arms.

There was a sickening crunch as he forced her shoulder back into its socket. Mardyn
screamed and nearly fainted with the pain. Eth quickly bound the injured arm to her side.
Then he met her gaze again with remorse and turned his attention to her other dangling
arm. This time the pain overwhelmed the Peacekeeper female and she fainted. The rest
of the torn cloth found its way around the other arm and her waist. Eth searched inside
the capsule and found the emergency first aid kit and supplies. He gave the injured
Sebacean a quick shot of painkillers, and then covered her unconscious form with a
blanket, leaving her to sleep.

How long he and the Peacekeeper stayed in the escape pod, he could not be certain.
Every now and then the ship was wracked by further explosions. Any attempts to make
contact with the Command or any other members of the crew were met with silence or an
ominous static. Soon, the time between explosions increased until finally, it seemed that
the battle was over. The Lokkara was dead. Exhausted, Eth drifted off to sleep, beside
the unconscious Sebacean.

It was several arns later that he was awakened by a sound. He awoke with a start to find
the Peacekeeper staring down at him. Her arms were still bound to her sides. She
looked down at his crude field dressing and smiled. He understood that she could easily
have removed the bandages and killed him, but for some reason she had not. He sat up
and went to the first aid kit.

"How is the pain? Do you want another shot of painkillers?" he asked.

"No! The pain is tolerable." she replied. Her eyes met his, questioning. "Thank you," she
said, speaking the words as if they were foreign to her.

Eth crawled over to look out the pod window, but found it too frosted up to see through.
"Have there been any signs of rescue?"

Mardyn snorted,"Rescue? Do you honestly believe there is anyone still alive to perform a
rescue?"

Eth turned and looked at her, his expression unreadable. "I can only hope."

"Hope all you want. Peacekeepers don't leave rescuers behind. In fact, I would prepare to
die. They will probably be boarding the ship shortly to search for and kill any survivors."
she said, bitterness invading her voice.

"Are you prepared to die?" he asked.

"Every day of my life."

"Well, I'm not. Not without a fight!" Eth retorted.

"Very noble of you! I'm impressed. I didn't think the Metaxans were capable of nobility."

Eth turned to meet her bitter gaze. "Look, I don't like the breeding programme any more
than you do. But we're talking about survival here. Survival of an entire race. If your
people were more open to inter-racial breeding, we would not need to raid and force
you." He turned away in disgust. "Your people happily kill their own to prevent
''contamination'' while my people fight to keep ourselves alive."

Mardyn watched him during his outburst. "Inter-racial breeding! When has your kind ever
considered anything but forcing us to breed mongrels for you while in the Living Death,
the most horrible state we can imagine?"

"We have proposed such inter-racial breeding to your leaders many times. But we've
been turned down every time." Eth sighed. "It's probably a useless gesture now anyway.
Your culture has its females so conditioned against bearing non-Sebacean children that
even if we asked for volunteers to be surrogates we would never find anyone. Why do you
think we've had to resort to using the Living Death. It's to prevent the women from taking
their own lives and killing themselves and the children they bear!" he shouted at her. Her
disbelieving expression made him smile without mirth. "Yes, it's true! We are genetic
cousins, nearly the same species. But not close enough for your purist leaders. So we
must die!"

Mardyn turned away from his angry countenance. But he grabbed her arm, forgetting her
injury. "You are prepared to die. You are trained to die. Well, I'm not. My people are not.
So we will do whatever is necessary to survive! I will do whatever is necessary! To keep
myself alive. To keep us both alive." When she gasped in pain at his grip, he let her go in
remorse. "I'm sorry! I forgot," he said sincerely.

Mardyn looked at him in some confusion, clearly not knowing what to say to such an
expression of concern from another.

They sat staring at each other for a time. Then Eth asked, "Are you hungry?" He turned to
the storage bins along the wall of the escape pod and located its food and water stores.
He opened a rations package of food cubes and turned back to give them to the
Peacekeeper. He paused when he realised that her bandaged arms would prevent her
from feeding herself. Awkwardly, he held a food cube to her lips and fed her.

At first Mardyn took a few tentative bites, but her hunger overwhelmed her and she found
herself  allowing Eth to feed her and hold a bottle of water to her lips to quench her thirst.
Despite his care, Eth became aware that the Peacekeeper female was still in
considerable pain from the dislocation of her shoulders. He reached into the first aid kit
and extracted a second injection of painkillers.

"No!" Mardyn objected. "I need to be alert. The Commandos will be landing soon to
dispose of survivors and any other threat before they set the ship adrift."

As if to prove her words, Eth and Mardyn tensed suddenly when they heard the obvious
sounds of a grappling line being attached to the ship. There was a crash as the
Peacekeeper landing party pulled a section from the hull and started to enter the
damaged Lokkara. Mardyn looked at her rescuer with sad eyes. "Be prepared to die,
Metaxan."

Eth quickly pulled out his sidearm and crawled over to crouch at the entrance to their pod.
"Not without a fight!"

Mardyn watched his determination with something approaching admiration. Then she
made up her mind. Silently pulling the bandages from her arms she looked around her for
a weapon. The only thing she could find was the first aid kit, open on the floor beside her.
She stealthily closed it and lifted it up, her arms screaming in pain with the effort. Coming
up behind the Metaxan, she raised it even higher. Eth turned for a brief moment before
she brought it down on his head, knocking him senseless. She checked carefully to see
that he was merely unconscious, not dead, then hunted around and found a space suit
and helmet.
Donning the protective clothing, she crawled over the fallen Metaxan and entered the
airlock of the pod, sealing the hatch behind her.

Once outside the pod she made her way weightlessly through the ruin of the prisoner
cells toward the sounds of the approaching Commandos. She wasn't entirely sure what
she was going to do. All she knew was that for some reason, she had to try and save the
Metaxan as he had saved her. Mardyn chose a position to await the Commandos so as
not to startle them into shooting her first then finding out who she was. She didn't hold
much hope since, as she had told Eth, she was now contaminated by her people's
standards and therefore something to be terminated as surely as any surviving enemy
soldier.

Back in the pod. Eth groaned and rose from the floor, his head pounding. "That little
deceitful ... " he cursed. "After what I did for her, she hits me." Eth was clearly confused at
her decision to escape now. "Probably going to join her Peacekeeper friends." He
groaned again and his hand dropped to his gun. He looked down at the weapon in
astonishment. "Why didn't she kill me? Why did she leave this with me?" He looked
around and saw the kit that she had hit him with. Then he rose slowly to his feet and went
to put on the second space suit, then exited the pod to look for his erstwhile prisoner.

In an artificial gravity once more, Mardyn stood openly in the corridor leading to the
prison section awaiting the Commandos. She was armed with a Metaxan rifle that she
had retrieved from the body of a youthful soldier. Just as the Peacekeeper force entered
the detention area, she heard a noise from behind her. Eth came down the passageway
towards her purposely. His voice came over her helmet's comm as he raised his gun to
point it at her.

"Drop the rifle and turn around!" he ordered.She lowered the rifle but did not drop it. Then
she turned slowly to face him. "What the hezmana are you doing? Trying to escape?"

She smiled mirthlessly at him, "No, I'm trying to save your worthless hide."

Eth lowered his gun slightly in shock at her words, "What?"

"I'm trying to protect you. The Commandos are coming. If they find you, they will kill you.
I'm trying to prevent that." Her voice darkened in fury. "But maybe I shouldn't bother!"

"I thought they would kill you first!" Eth said in confusion.

Mardyn sighed, "They probably will. This is probably a useless exercise. But I have to try."

Eth looked into her eyes, "Why?" he asked gently.

Mardyn met his gaze directly. "I don't really know," she answered truthfully. Any further
conversation was cut off by the sounds of approaching soldiers and the occasionally rife
shot. "Get back to the pod!" she hissed, turning to face the threat.

"But ..." Eth started to protest.

"Now, Metaxan!" she ordered furiously.

Eth retreated unwillingly back to the pod. Then changed his mind and took up a
concealed position just behind the Peacekeeper female. He vowed to protect her from
her own people, at the cost of his own life if necessary. He stopped for a moment,
examining his thoughts. He didn't know where this attachment to the no-nonsense female
had come from, but it was there nonetheless. Before he could consider further, he heard
the sounds of the Peacekeeper Commando unit growing louder.

Suddenly, they burst around the corner, moving in a well-trained invasion pattern. Mardyn
stayed just out of sight, until the group had secured the passageway and relaxed their
vigilance slightly, then she stepped out of the shadows cautiously, the rifle gone from her
hands. She quickly made a gesture that Eth could only assume was a secret recognition
signal when voice identification was impossible. The troops trained their weapons on her
as two commandos jumped forward to take her into custody. A slight adjustment of the
helmet's commline allowed them to communicate verbally. And Eth could hear the whole
conversation.

"Identify yourself!" she was ordered roughly. "Lieutenant Mardyn Ransa, Grovo
Regiment." she answered sharply.

From the rear of the unit, a young Lieutenant of medium build stepped forward. His voice
was harsh. "Grovo Regiment? Your unit was destroyed along with the Thrano colony.
Were you captured?"

"Identify yourself, Lieutenant!" Mardyn said defiantly.

The Commando holding her left arm wrenched it, "You will answer Lieutenant Crais'
question!"

Eth heard Mardyn hiss with pain at the abuse of her injured shoulder. "Yes .... yes, sir. I
was taken prisoner along with five other females from my unit and about twenty other
Sebacean women."

Crais looked around at the destruction of the detention area. "And where are those
prisoners now?"

"They were blown out into space when your ships attacked."

"All of them?"

"Yes, all but me."

Crais looked around at his unit. "Well, that saves us the job of killing them. Their
continued life in such a contaminated state could not be allowed." Then he looked back
at Mardyn. "How is it that you survived? Why did you not let yourself be blown out into
space? It is the honourable thing to do. Now, you have disgraced not only yourself but the
memory of your entire unit by your cowardly actions." He turned away from her in disgust.
"Take her back to the Marauder," he ordered. "She will have to stand trial before she can
be destroyed."

Eth had already started to move forward, seeing where the conversation was leading. He
had found some grenades in an undamaged weapons locker. Moving slowly forward, he
lobbed one over the heads of the Commandos and and it exploded in the corridor behind
them. Mardyn freed herself from her captors and raced back towards the escape pod.
When she was clear, Eth rolled another two grenades down the passageway, and then
grabbing Mardyn's rifle from its concealment, fired at the Commandos, forcing them back
away from Mardyn.

"Filthy traitor!" Crais snarled over the comm. Then he was forced to retreat as the next
explosions cut him off from the detention area. "Retreat to the Marauder. Order the
Prowlers to begin firing. We will destroy this vessel and everyone on board!"

Just then a communication came over the comm from the battle cruiser. "Sir, a large fleet
of Metaxan ships is approaching. We are outnumbered. All ships are recalled to the
battle cruiser. Command is ordering us back."

Crais snarled again and retreated back to his Marauder with his surviving troops as
ordered. "Lieutenant Ransa! I hope you enjoy breeding more Metaxan abominations!" he
said, knowing she could still hear him. Then the commline went dead.

Eth dragged Mardyn back to the safety of their escape pod. Once the hatch was sealed,
they both waited to see if Crais' order was to be carried out. But obviously the
Peacekeepers retreated. There were no further explosions. The two unlikely allies
removed their helmets and lay back exhausted.

Mardyn was the first one to speak. Her eyes blazed with fury. "What the hezmana did you
think you were doing?" she raged.

"Saving you!" Eth flung back. "Your own people were going to execute you!"

"I did it to save your sorry life! I have no future anyway. I'd rather die at the hands of my
own people than face the fate that your people have laid out for me." For the first time,
Eth saw fear in her eyes. "I had no idea that Crais would extend my disgrace to my entire
regiment." She bowed her head in sorrow. "My friends, I'm so sorry!"

Eth sat watching the beautiful Peacekeeper mourn. He wanted to comfort her but didn't
know what to say or do. Finally he reached over and raised her face to look at him with a
gentle finger under her chin. "I don't know what to say, Mardyn. I'm sorry for all of this." His
eyes were full of compassion.

She met his gaze directly, her eyes still full of fear. "Thank you," she said, hesitantly, as if
she was not used to saying the words.

 Eth wanted desperately to remove the fear. "I won't let them make you a Yadhza," he
said firmly.

Mardyn looked at him in shock, then sorrow. "You won't have any say in the matter, Eth.
You know that."

"I won't let it happen, Mardyn. I promise you."

She smiled at his determination. "Don't make promises you can't keep." He started to
protest again, but she silenced him. "I know you are connected, but you yourself said that
you are only the younger son of a younger son."

"Mardyn, I ... "

"No! Let's not say anything more about it." The sounds of new grappling hooks attaching
to the wreck of the ship were heard. Eth turned to the comm system inside the escape
pod to signal to the fleet. Then he hesitated, turning back to look at Mardyn. She smiled
sadly at him.

"Do it. Let's get out of this death ship," was all she said.

Prince Eth stirred in his chair. While he had been lost in thoughts of the past, someone
had brought in his dinner. It sat untouched in front of him. He looked at it with a heavy
heart. Tears misted his eyes as he thought back to the last time he had seen Mardyn.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

As Mardyn had predicted, he had been unable to keep his promise to her. She had been
dragged from the escape pod and transferred immediately to a ship for transport to the
main breeding ship. Eth had protested to every official he knew, using his family name
with reckless abandon. But all to no avail. He was reassigned to another raiding ship and
sent back to capture more Yadhza.

Using every means at his disposal, he tried desperately to trace Mardyn. Finally, he
found out that she had been impregnated and forced into the Living Death by his own
father. That night, he got very drunk and destroyed his quarters in fury and despair. His
bender lasted more than a weeken. When he sobered up, he requested leave and went
to see the Peacekeeper who had touched him so strongly one last time.

By the time he reached the correct breeding vessel, she had already given birth. His
father was pleased to see him believing that he had come to celebrate the birth of the
eldest son,  his younger brother Fallor. Eth excused himself from the festivities and went
down to the medunit where Mardyn lay awaiting death. He stood looking down at her for
a long time, memorizing her face. He took her limp hand in his, his heart heavy at his
failure to keep his promise to the vibrant woman who had been willing to give her life to
save him. When the medtech came forward with the merciful injection, he signalled her to
wait a moment. The medtech watched in confusion as the young Lieutenant inexplicably
bent down to press a tender kiss to the forehead of the Sebacean. Then he nodded and
turned away.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Eth looked at the door to the room in which he had locked the Sebacean female. He
sighed, knowing he had to make a painful decision. Since Mardyn's death, Eth had
studied the breeding programme very carefully. At first it had been his intention to try to
find an alternative. Then he had discovered that the system was failing. As Mardyn
herself had pointed out, more and more Metaxan males were being born sterile. The
constant genetic manipulation was weakening his race. That, and the increased scarcity
of Sebacean females had started a panic among the surviving Metaxans.In-fighting
between the Houses had led to armed conflicts and civil war. The stigma of sterility had
caused more than one Metaxan male to take his own life.

Eth had become involved secretly in a movement to change the process. The Metaxans
still needed Sebacean females, but the movement was looking to breed with them
naturally, taking them as mates rather than using them as Yadhza. Understandably, the
anti-Yadhza movement was unpopular, both with racial purists and with the female
population. But Eth was convinced that the future of his people depended on it.

When the destruction of his House's main vessel left him in the position of Heir Apparent,
Eth felt that he could make the difference that was so desperately needed. If he could
demonstrate that the movement's ideas were valid, then he felt that it would receive
legitimacy and acceptance. That was why he had ordered his ship into the Uncharted
Territories. He had hoped to find Sebacean females in the rumoured colonies out here,
who would be willing to volunteer to mate with Metaxan males and produce a new
generation of fertile Metaxans, both male and female.

The problem was that now he needed an heir, one born in the generally accepted
fashion. And that meant turning Aeryn Sun into a Yadhza. Quickly. He had planned that
this one last act of piracy would be the last. It was to be both his legacy to his people and
his monument to Mardyn. But now, faced with the decision to turn the woman who looked
so much like his Mardyn into a Living corpse, he wasn't sure he could bring himself to go
through with it.

He considered his options. When he had undertaken this journey to the Uncharted
Territories, he had made sure that his crew was picked from the members of the
anti-Yadhza movement. He had placed his strongest supporters in key positions in the
command and medical staff, both to reinforce his position and to recruit new members to
their cause. However, Fallor's decision to come along had weakened his plan. Fallor and
particularly his wife Qaadzhi were the leading purists. Eth strongly suspected that Fallor
and Qaadzhi knew of his involvement with the anti-Yadhza and were moving to stop him.
He already had reason to doubt the loyalty of some of his personal servants, his Head of
Security and several new medtechs, who had come aboard when a mysterious virus
swept through the medical staff, leaving many of his friends unable to make the journey.
This new development made the natural breeding he had planned impossible.

He sighed again. His eye fell on his untouched meal and he realised with a start that his
Sebacean captive had been offered neither food nor drink since he had brought her
aboard. He signalled for refreshments for himself and the ex-Peacekeeper and then went
to unlock the room he had placed her in.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

John followed the Metaxan female through the long twisting corridors of the massive ship
to the opulent suite of rooms assigned to the Prince's brother and his wife. He noted with
some concern the guards outside the suite's entrance. But they were obviously quite
used to Qaadzhi's extramarital activities, since they didn't even bat an eye as the
voluptuous royal wife led yet another junior officer into her quarters.

John stood in the middle of the huge bedroom that was so clearly Qaadzhi's. Her overly
embellished taste in clothing ran to her interior decorating as well. The room was
cluttered with draperies, lamps, pillows and frills. A cloying perfume filled the air. The
chamber was dominated by an enormous bed to which Qaadzhi went immediately,
lounging back and patting the space beside her invitingly.

John pointedly ignored her and repeated his question. "So what's the plan?"

Qaadzhi pouted and then sighed at his single-mindedness. Sitting up, she still took the
time to remove her outer robe, leaving her clad in only a very sheer, skimpy shift. Then
she looked at the Human for a reaction. Seeing nothing but annoyance, she replied, "My
husband and I have managed to place several medtechs who are sympathetic to us in
key positions in the medunit and the lab." She rose from the bed and crossed past John,
brushing up against him as she went to pour herself a glass of what looked like wine from
a decanter on a tray with several goblets. She raised the decanter, silently offering John
a drink, which he refused. Returning the stopper, she sipped from her drink then
continued. "When Aeryn is taken down to the medlab to be impregnated, our people will
inform me. I will then create some sort of a diversion and you can sneak in to rescue your
friend. You can use the airshafts to get back to my room, which is not too far from the
medunit."

John looked at her, then said. "That will get us out of the medunit, but how will we get
back to Moya?"

"Don't worry. The Head of Security is also in our employ. I will arrange for you to meet
with him here. He will see that you get off the ship and back to Moya safely. It will be up to
you and your Leviathan to starburst out of here as soon as you have returned. Eth needs
Aeryn very badly. He will chase you endlessly."

John grimaced and replied. "Yeah, we all know what that's like." He looked at the
Metaxan who smiled at him over the rim of her goblet. "It sounds like a plan. But can you
trust all these people? Aeryn is worth a lot of money to them as a commodity. How do you
know that they will not double-cross you?" Qaadzhi looked confused at his words, "I
mean, cheat you."

Her eyes hardened dangerously. "They wouldn't dare!" Then she saw that her reaction
had made John suspicious and she smiled to ease his concerns. "We pay our people
very well, more than enough to compensate for the loss of such a commodity, as you put
it."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Eth's heart twisted as he looked in and found Aeryn Sun asleep. Her lovely dark hair was
spread over the pillow and she curled up clutching a second pillow like a lover. At the
sound of his entrance, she awoke with a start and sat up, clutching the pillow to her as if
to shield herself from him.  Her sapphire eyes watched him warily and she backed away
slightly as he approached.

''She looks so much like Mardyn,'' he thought in anguish. ''They must be related
somehow.'' He knew that he would never get an answer to that question, since he knew
that Peacekeepers seldom if ever knew their own family origins. He smiled at her to
reassure her as best he could under the circumstances and reached out a hand.

"Come with me."

Aeryn's eyes filled with fear, then resignation, believing that he was taking her to turn her
into a Yadhza. "Is it time?" she asked, hating the quiver in her voice that she could not
control.

Eth looked at her sadly, but shook his head. "No, not yet. I realised that you have not had
anything to eat or drink since you got here. Will you join me for dinner?"

Aeryn looked at him, stunned. Then she tentatively reached out and placed her hand in
his. She let him help her from the bed and lead her out into the sumptuous Royal
quarters. At the sight of the mouth-watering meal spread out on the table before her, she
let her hunger overcome her apprehension and began to eat as soon as the Metaxan
Prince had seated her.

He watched, amused, as she dug into her meal, devouring it as if she hadn't eaten in
days. She looked up finally and caught his eyes on her. Feeling bolder, she even grinned
sheepishly. "It's very good," she said by way of explanation. "Especially when all you've
had for the last monen is stale food cubes."

Eth grinned. "Then by all means, eat up." He watched his beautiful captive polish off
enough for three Sebaceans. When she seemed close to full, he asked, "I'm curious.
How is it that you came to be a part of such an unusual crew aboard Moya?" Aeryn
looked at him warily. "I mean, I know a bit of your history. We have been hearing stories
about you all over the Uncharted Territories. That's actually how we came to capture you,"
he said regretfully. "But I would like to hear the truth. From you."

Aeryn looked at him in disbelief. "You are planning to turn me into a Yadhza, but you
would like to engage in polite conversation first?" She snorted. "You sound like John."

"Ah, the Human, John Crichton." Eth saw an opening, remembering the way they had
protected each other. And the way they had kissed. "Tell me about him."

Aeryn looked at him again, her expression unreadable. Then she sighed. "John Crichton
is one of the most bizarre, primitive  ... intelligent, loyal, ... loving creatures I have ever had
the pleasure of knowing." Her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and love. "He ended
up in our part of the universe purely by accident. His people have no space flight or
contact with outside races. He's saved my life so many times; he's saved all our lives.
And I would do anything to save his."

"Even give yourself up to become my Yadhza," Eth said quietly.

Aeryn shivered with fear, then took hold of herself and looked at him defiantly, "Yes! Yes!"
Her eyes blazed a brilliant blue. "You told the truth back on Moya. You will help them get
home?"

Eth looked at her, seeing another in the determined set of her mouth and the furious
conviction in her eyes. When he did not reply, Aeryn stood and lifted a knife from the
table, not really intending to use it but feeling more in control with a weapon in her hand.
"Answer me! You will help them?"

"Yes, I promise!" His heart twisted at the word. He met her feeble threat, then reached
out and took the knife from her unresisting fingers. "I do promise, Aeryn Sun. Your
sacrifice will not be in vain."

She looked down, her hair falling over her face to hide it from his gaze, her shoulders
slumped in defeat. When she raised her eyes to his once more, they were filled with
unshed tears. Eth was amazed at the depth of feeling he saw in her, so unusual in
Peacekeepers. "Will you do something for me, my Lord?" she asked softly.

Eth watched her struggle to control herself. "Yes, Aeryn. What is it?"

"When I ... when you ...," She stopped to take a deep breath. "When I'm gone, will you tell
John that I loved him. He said it to me so many times, and I realise I never once said it
back to him. I'm sure he knows, but I want you to tell him from me." She shuddered and
sat back down. She fought the tears valiantly.

Eth turned away to give her some privacy. His mind was in turmoil. After several microts
of listening to Aeryn struggle to fight her emotions, he made his decision. He could not
use this woman. He would put off his plans until he could find another, even though it
meant endangering his chance at the succession. But in his heart he knew he had to fulfill
the promise he was unable to keep all those many cycles before.

Just as he turned back to the ex-Peacekeeper, the door to his chambers flew open and
Fallor entered, with a contingent of medtechs, guards and his Head of Security. He took
in the scene before him with a strangely triumphant smirk.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Eth demanded regally. "Fallor! Explain yourself
immediately!"

Fallor bowed with false obsequiousness. "Only thinking of you, my brother. And the future
of our House. The succession needs to be ensured. I know you are as anxious as I to
begin the procedure." He indicated the medtechs with him, all of whom Eth recognised
as Fallor's own people. "I have only come to tell you that all is ready. The guards and
Security Chief Grasac are here to make sure that the Yadhza -- I mean, Aeryn Sun, is
safely transported to the medunit." He looked at his brother, a nasty challenge in his eye.
"Was I wrong to proceed so quickly? I was only thinking to save you the effort."

Eth's eyes blazed with fury and he turned away. He felt himself overwhelmed again by the
same frustration and powerlessness that had gripped him twenty cycles ago. He
straightened and turned to smile at his brother, momentarily disarming him. His face
betrayed none of the anger he was feeling. "No, Fallor. You were right to initiate the
procedure. I owe it to our entire House to fulfill my duties as soon as possible." He turned
to face the Sebacean woman who was watching the exchange with resignation and
dread. He reached out to her once more, offering his hand. Aeryn placed a cold hand in
his and rose to face her fate.

When she would have walked past him he gripped her hand and stopped her. She turned
to face him in confusion. Eth smiled down at her sadly and said, "I will indeed do as you
have asked. John will get your message." Aeryn smiled weakly up at him in gratitude. Eth
bent and kissed her cheek. "Have faith, Aeryn Sun," he whispered. "I will get you out of
this." He straightened and looked down at her again. Aeryn's eyes flew to his in
astonishment, then she turned and was escorted away. As soon as the door closed, Eth
sprang into action, secretly contacting his most loyal supporters.

Trapped in Qaadzhi's bedroom, John had spent the last few arns pacing, much to the
annoyance of the Metaxan female. She had tried several times to seduce him, but the
Human had rebuffed her advances every time. Finally she had flung herself on her bed
and lounged pouting, watching the Human march back and forth until she thought she
would scream. Suddenly, there was a chime from the door. Qaadzhi moved slowly to the
entrance and signalled to John to step out of sight of the door. She opened the door and
conversed briefly with the person on the other side. Then with a smile she shut the door
again and turned to John.

"Aeryn has been taken down to the medunit. It's time to move."

John's heart started to beat faster. "It's about time!" he said. "What took so long?"

"It seems our dear Prince took the time to have dinner with his Yadhza first."

John looked at Qaadzhi in confusion. "Is that normal?" he asked as they moved out of the
suite and into the thankfully deserted corridor.

"No, but no one would never say that Eth Groto is normal." She shuddered. "I find it a little
sadistic. Like a predator playing with its helpless prey." She watched carefully in
satisfaction as a determined look crossed John's face. She had effectively sown the
seeds of distrust. ''If the Human ends up killing Eth, it will only suit our purposes more.''
she thought.

John and Qaadzhi moved quickly through the passageways of the huge Metaxan ship. It
took them only five microts to reach the door leading into the medunit. The outer door
was heavily guarded, but none of the guards moved to stop the royal princess or her
escort. Qaadzhi smiled at one of the guards and caressed his face suggestively as she
passed. Once inside the unit, John took a few moments to look around. The medunit was
enormous, in all nearly as large as the hangar. The section that he and Qaadzhi were
currently in was obviously the sick bay, with row after row of beds. Some of those beds
were occupied with Metaxans recovering from a variety of ailments and injuries. Beyond
that, John could see areas that were clearly operating theatres and research facilities.
Qaadzhi led him through the section, to a door at the end that was again guarded, this
time by a single soldier.

Smiling at the guard, she asked, "Is my husband still in there?"

"No, my Lady. He brought the Yadhza down and then left while they prepared her for the
procedure," the guard replied.

"Frell! I've missed him again!" she said and stamped her foot. Then she looked
thoughtful. "Do you think I might see the Yadhza? It's been so long since I've seen one.
And I only had a moment to glimpse her when we were aboard the Leviathan."

The guard looked uncomfortable at her request. "I don't know, my Lady. I really shouldn't
let anyone in there."

Qaadzhi moved closer to the nervous guard, leaning slightly to allow him an unimpeded
view of her ample bosom. "I would be very grateful," she breathed. "Very grateful."

The guard looked like he was having trouble breathing. Then he relented. "It should be all
right. There are several medtechs in there with her." He reached down and opened the
door for her. "Go on in, my Lady."

Qaadzhi smiled and turned to John, "Come along, John." When the guard would have
protested again, Qaadzhi smiled again, "My husband won't let me go anywhere without
my personal bodyguard." The guard was not happy, but let them both pass.

Qaadzhi flashed him a last smile as she and John stepped into the medunit. John was
shocked to see that it was nearly as large as the convalescent area outside. "This is all
for breeding?" he asked.

Qaadzhi looked back at him. "Yes. This ship was built to find new Sebacean colonies in
the Uncharted Territories and start producing offspring. Our people have been
diminishing in number alarmingly over the last twenty cycles. The supply of Yadhza has
been nowhere enough to keep our species alive."

John was disgusted by the matter of fact tone of her voice. "You're talking about the
ultimate slaughter of defenseless Sebacean women!" he cried.

A spark of anger lit in Qaadzhi's eyes as she turned to face him. "No, we're taking about
the survival of my race!" She sighed. "Don't you think we would use a different method if it
were possible? We've tried negotiating with the Peacekeepers and the Sebaceans back
in the Known Territories frequently. But they won't listen. All they have done is grow more
defensive.That's why we've come out here. If we can't negotiate something, then at least
we will be able to take several Yadhza by surprise." She watched the emotions pass
across his face as he considered the Catch22 situation, then she turned and led him to
the end of the medunit.

Just as they reached the back of the room, a door to the side opened and Aeryn stepped
through, dressed in a long, voluminous white, vaguely surgical gown. She looked
momentarily shocked at his presence but in true Peacekeeper fashion, kept her feelings
in check so as not to reveal him. Her eyes flew to the couple of medtechs that entered the
room behind her, and she tensed, waiting for John's next move.

One medtech looked surprised and then annoyed to see the princess in the medunit, but
the other tech exchanged a quick glance with Qaadzhi. Shortly thereafter the first
medtech was on the ground, unconscious.

John looked at Aeryn, stunned into stillness. His first reaction was to pull her into his arms
and never let her go, but he refrained, knowing how much she disliked such open
displays of emotion. However, she surprised him yet again, racing forward and throwing
herself into his arms. "John! Oh John!" she gasped, clinging to him like a drowning
person to a life ring.

He tightened his arms around her trembling body and stroked her hair and back in an
effort to calm her. Finally she raised her face to his and he kissed her gently. "It's okay,
Aeryn. I'm here." Turning to Qaadzhi while keeping his arm round Aeryn, he said, "Okay,
you said we get out of here through air ducts?"

Qaadzhi had been watching the couple with a tinge of jealous annoyance on her face.
She met his gaze blandly and indicated a grill in the ceiling. "Through there. You have my
map?"

John pulled the map out of his jacket. "Right here, Qaadzhi." Then he reached up to
remove the grill cover of the air ducts.

While he was removing the cover, Aeryn turned to Qaadzhi, "Thank you, your Highness"
she said sincerely. "And thank the Prince."

Qaadzhi accepted her thanks, her face strangely amused. Then she turned to the
medtech and began to plan the diversion that she needed to let the couple escape. John
climbed up into the ductwork and reached down to pull Aeryn up after him. Before he
replaced the grill he said to Qaadzhi, "We're to meet Security Chief Grasac in your room
and he will get us off this ship, right?"
 

"That's it. Get moving!" Qaadzhi ordered.

John paused and then smiled at  the Metaxan female. "Thank you, Qaadzhi. I owe you."
He pulled his head back and replaced the grill then began crawling through the ducts
towards the princess's quarters.

Back in the medunit, Qaadzhi quickly pulled out a uniform similar to the one John had
been wearing and urged the medtech to put it on. Then the two of them placed the
unconscious medtech in the bed meant for Aeryn and injected her with a drug to keep her
knocked out. When Qaadzhi exited the unit a few microts later, she thanked the guard
profusely for the opportunity to see the Yadhza then signalled to her ''bodyguard'' and
headed back to her quarters.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Eth finished outlining his plan to his assembled personal guard and allies among the
command staff. He was pleased at their loyalty to him, especially when he told them
truthfully of his plan to free the Sebacean female. He had feared that he would lose their
support, but they chose to stand by him. Some of those closest to him, like Captain Acco
knew of Mardyn, but most did not.

Arming himself for the expected battle ahead, he led his men out of his quarters and
down to the medunit to stop the abomination from happening to yet another Sebacean.

The guard at the door to the breeding section was shocked into attention at the sight of
his Prince and several armed guards approaching with determined looks on their faces.
he stood aside as they entered the inner lab. The lab was strangely empty. The guards
spread out and searched the adjoining areas, fruitlessly. Then Eth saw the figure on the
bed and his heart contricted in fear that they were too late. Pulling the sheet aside, he
was relieved to find the unconscious medtech. But his relief soon turned to fear when they
could find no trace of Aeryn Sun. Eth ordered his men to bring the guard from outside
before him. The young man cringed at the rage on his Prince's face.

"Where is the Sebacean?" he demanded.

"She's not here?" the guard asked feebly, obviously confused.

"No, she's not. Fallor did bring her here, didn't he?"

The guard looked sick, "Yes, not half an arn ago. Then he left while the procedure was
being performed. I don't understand..."

Eth was furious at the guard's incompetence. "Was anyone else in here?"

"No, my Lord, only the Princess and her bodyguard ...But they left, just the two of them ..."

Eth pushed past the man and ordered his men to search the ship.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Behind him, in the air shaft, John heard Aeryn curse again in frustration as she got
tangled up in the long maternity shift she was wearing. He turned back to stop her, but
she motioned him on. "I'm all right. Keep going."

They crawled on through the dusty passageways, following Qaadzhi's map until they
came to the grill that opened into her rooms. Before she could stop him, John had pulled
the grill aside and dropped into the room.

Right into a circle of guards, led by Security Chief Grasac, and medtechs, armed with
equipment similar to that he had seen in the lab. Over in the corner was a bed with
restraints, its purpose clear. John realised in a split second that he had been tricked and
screamed out, "Aeryn, Run!"

Aeryn took in the scene below her and turned and crawled back the way she had come.
Her stomach twisted in fear for John, but she knew that if she could get back to Eth, he
would help them. Behind her in the shaft she heard the unmistakable sounds of pursuit.
She crawled desperately on and would have made it, but she became entangled once
more in the shift's folds and sprawled in the passageway. Strong arms quickly
overpowered her in the confined space and she was dragged unceremoniously back to
the open grill and pushed in the room to fall roughly beside John. He lifted her up and
wrapped her in his arms protectively.

"What the Hezmana is going on here?"John demanded, going on the offensive.

The door to the room opened and Fallor came in followed by a smirking Qaadzhi.
"Qaadzhi?" John asked, though her double-cross was plain.

"I'd like to thank you, Human, for bringing the Yadhza here to me." John's arms tightened
around Aeryn. "I have managed to steal Eth's precious little succession right out from
under his nose, on his own ship." Fallor leaned over and gave his wife a very passionate
kiss. "Thanks also to Qaadzhi, here. The best wife any Metaxan could ever have. Eth was
a fool to refuse you." Qaadzhi caressed him rather intimately, oblivious to the room full of
guards and medtechs. "Later my dear. We have heirs to create." he nodded at the
guards and the medtechs who dragged Aeryn roughly from John's arms and wrestled her
struggling form over to the bed. She was soon tied down and the medtechs turned back
to their equipment to prepare the next stage.

John fought valiantly against the guards retraining him, "No, Fallor, don't do it. Let her go!
Aeryn!" he cried with a voice full of anguish. He watched in horror as the medtech
prepared the implantation and turned back to the helpless Sebacean, followed by a
second medic with the injection that would bring on the Living Death.

Fallor stopped the techs with a wave of his hand at John's words. "Actually, Human, I
think I will do it. If you please?" he said to the startled medtech, holding out his hand for
the instrument. Then he turned to Qaadzhi, "Do you want to do the honours with the
injection, my dear?"

Qaadzhi smiled at him wickedly, "Why, Fallor, what a novel idea! I will enjoy putting the
Yadhza to sleep, so to speak."

John's eyes met Aeryn's. He could see her struggling to keep her fear in check, but it was
a losing battle. "John!" she cried out to him and his heart twisted in despair at his inability
to help her. Fallor grabbed her ankle and started to push the voluminous folds of fabric
out of the way.

Suddenly the door behind him opened and Eth burst into the room, his guards training
their weapons on the group in the middle of the chamber. John wrenched himself from
Fallor's guards and raced over to Aeryn, knocking the instrument from the younger
prince's hand. As he struggled to untie the restraints, Fallor quickly recovered and
grabbed the injection from Qaadzhi's hand. Leaning over Aeryn from the other side of the
bed, he looked directly into John's eyes and held the needle against her throat. "What are
you going to do now, Human. If I inject even a small amount of this into her system, she
will succumb to the Living Death. There is no antidote. We've never needed one." He
raised his voice to address his brother. "Well, Eth, my dear brother, what's it to be? Does
she die right here? Or do I go free? " There was a gasp from Qaadzhi as she realised
that Fallor had not included her in the bargaining.

Still holding the injection against Aeryn's neck, Fallor nodded at John to finish untying her
restraints. Then he pulled her from the bed and up against him as a shield, still menacing
her with the needle. he moved so that his back was against the wall, where he could see
both Eth and John. The Human and the Metaxan Prince exchanged worried glances.
Aeryn's eyes were frightened but growing increasingly calmer. John could see her
relaxing imperceptibly in the Metaxan's grasp. He nodded ever so slightly at her, to
indicate he knew what she was doing. But he was very afraid. The injector in Fallor's
hand was poised right over the vein in her neck.

Qaadzhi watched the interchange between the Human and the Sebacean, realising that
they were planning something. Her indecisive glance passed from her treacherous
husband to her brother-in-law and back again. With a sigh, she made her decision.
"Fallor, watch out! She up to something!" she shouted.

Fallor was startled by her cry, enough to allow Aeryn to let herself become a dead weight
and throw him off balance. When he stumbled, she simultaneously elbowed him in the
stomach and twisted her bared foot around his leg, knocking him gasping to the ground.
However, her plan failed. She gasped herself as the needle plunged into her neck, and
she felt the injection burn as it entered her bloodstream. She fell forward into John's arms
in horror.

"Aeryn! Oh God, No!" John cried as he lowered her to the floor as gently as possible.
After ordering his guards to take both Fallor and Qaadzhi into custody, Eth joined John to
hover over Aeryn. Already the injection was taking effect. Aeryn's temperature soared
and she was losing consciousness. Eth placed his hand on John's shoulder to reassure
him. Then he signalled to his medunit. A couple of techs moved to lift Aeryn from the floor,
but John stopped them, taking her into his arms himself, then turning defiantly to the
Prince. Eth opened his mouth to try to get John to let her go, but stopped at the
determined look he saw on the Human's face.

"This way, quickly." The group raced down to the medunit where John laid the now
convulsing Aeryn on the nearest bed. Around them, convalescing Metaxans looked on
curiously. A medtech came forward with a second injection. John looked like he would try
to intervene, but Eth placed a hand on his tense arm. "Fallor lied. We do indeed have an
antidote. Trust me."

The Human studied the Metaxan's face for a microt then relented. Aeryn's convulsions
ceased soon after the antidote was injected. After a few more microts she opened her
eyes, though they were still unfocussed. "John?" she said weakly, and reached out her
hand.

John took her hand in his and smiled down at her, "Yeah. Aeryn, I'm here. It's going to be
all right." He lifted his head and looked stonily at Eth. "Isn't it?" he challenged.

Eth smiled sadly. "Yes, it is." He took Aeryn's other hand, causing her to turn to watch him
curiously. "I promise. Rest now."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

John and Aeryn remained on board the Metaxan ship for another two solar days until Eth
was assured by his medical staff that Aeryn was fully recovered from the Fallor's
injection. John had communicated their status to Moya and Pilot had informed him that
the information on the Uncharted Territories had been duly sent by Eth's Captain Acco. It
was not a map back to the homes of the crew but it would help them with supplies and
avoiding Peacekeeper interference. John thanked Eth on behalf of the crew for his
kindness.

On the night before their departure, John tucked Aeryn into bed and then returned to Eth's
quarters to join him for dinner.

When the meal was finished, John could not contain his curiosity any longer. "Why did
you help Aeryn?"

Eth poured him the Metaxan equivalent of a brandy and leaned back into his chair,
smiling sadly. "She reminded me of someone I knew long ago, another Peacekeeper."
Eth sat back, taking a long sip from his glass. "I made a promise to her that I was unable
to keep. Aeryn has allowed me to fulfill that promise in a way."

John looked at the Prince with understanding in his eyes. "They can be quite compelling,
can't they? Peacekeeper females, I mean."

Eth looked over at him, connecting with the Human as he had never been able to connect
with anyone from his own race before. "Yes, they are." Eth raised his glass in an obvious
salute, which John met with a grin.

"So what will you do now?" John asked.

Eth sighed, "Well, I have instructed my medical staff to input Aeryn's medical data into the
records. The Pilot DNA you told me she carried will give me a perfect reason for not
having used her as my Yadhza." He smiled at his new Human ally. "In the meantime, I will
continue to search for the Sebacean colonies."

"And will you negotiate or attack?" John asked, seriously.

"Negotiate, I hope. Attack?" Eth sighed. "I hope it will not come to that."

John looked at the Metaxan prince. "I don't envy you the decision."

"It's a matter of survival." Eth looked at John with renewed understanding. "I think you're
coming to realise what that means out here."

John looked back at Eth intently. "I am indeed."

The next morning, Aeryn and John waited with Eth in the docking bay of the massive
ship. Aeryn was pale from her ordeal but stood stiffly beside John. He wanted to support
her but knew that now was not the time. They both watched in relief as the transport
pilotted by D'Argo was guided into the bowels of the Metaxan ship. When the Luxan
opened the hatch and stood waiting for them to join him, Aeryn turned to Eth and held out
her hand. John smiled at her use of a Human custom. Eth looked at her in surprise then
accepted the gesture. With a quick pull, he brought her forward so that he could place a
gentle kiss on her cheek. When she leaned back, he looked at John and then back at her
intently. "I'm glad you will be able to deliver your message to the Human in person." he
said quite deliberately. John was surprised to see Aeryn actually blush at Eth's words,
then reach up and kiss his cheek in return. She turned from the Metaxan abruptly and
headed for the transport. John looked at Eth who was watching Aeryn with amusement in
his eyes, then followed her to the transport. Eth smiled as the last words he heard were
John's.

"What message was he talking about? Aeryn? Aeryn, what was he talking about?"

"Later, Crichton."