Web hosting
Custom Email
SiteBuilder
Wrong Turn by: Travis Anderson
"Where the hell did they come from?" Crichton hissed. Crouched beside him, Aeryn shook her head. They?d landed on this world in order to peruse the bazaar near the main spaceport. With dozens of alien ships and freighters in orbit, the last thing they expected to find was a group of Peacekeepers strolling through the market. "If I frelling knew that," she whispered angrily, "I wouldn?t have agreed to come here, now would I?" She stole another glance over the countertop of the booth they hiding behind, Shiznit! They?re coming this way!" Crichton?s face twisted into an expression of amused fascination, "Shiznit wouldn?t happen to be the Sabbacean word for excrement would it?" She blinked at him in surprise. Her mouth dropped open, but no noise came out. Her eyes were filled bafflement as she stared at him as though he were demented. She physically shook herself as if to shake his question off of her person. "You are, without a doubt, the oddest person I have ever met." Aeryn informed him disdainfully. At least I rate person now instead of creature, Crichton mused, That?s one huge leap for mankind. "Move!" Aeryn barked quietly, "They?re coming this way." Staying low, they scuttled off to another booth. Crichton could hear the Peacekeepers voices as they perused items in nearby booths. They sounded relaxed and jovial. There was no indication they were searching for him or any of his comrades. A female voice rose above the others, "Rhian here." She went silent as a minute voice transmitted her comm badge. The transmitted voice was too quiet for either Aeryn or John to hear from their hiding spot. All they could make out was Rhian?s grunts of acknowledgement. "Understood, sir." Rhian said at last, "We will rendezvous with you at Point Nine." Silence, then, "You heard the Captain. Move!" Their exit from the market was much swifter then their arrival. Aeryn and John slowly rose to their feet. Aeryn had her pulse rifle at the ready. She quickly swept the square with her eyes and the barrel of the rifle. "It?s clear." She announced, "They?ve gone." "Really, Aeryn?" Crichton asked sarcastically, "Maybe their leader telling them to move out followed by loud tromping footsteps would have told you that." She gazed at him with a clinical detachment as she answered, "And maybe they left a rear guard that would blow your frelling head off if you didn?t confirm their supposed withdrawal." John shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, "Yeah, you?re right. Sorry." Her expression softened. She looked almost embarrassed. "It?s done now, just do what I tell you." "I can take care of myself, y?know." Crichton protested, "I did manage to fool Larraq." "Only because I was distracting him." She asserted. "Speaking of which," Crichton said, "you didn?t have to make goo-goo eyes at him." Her head jerked back in surprised confusion, "Goo-goo eyes? My eyes never lost material solidity." "That?s not what I?m saying." Crichton informed her testily, "You didn?t have to come on to him." She placed her arms akimbo, fists on both hips, with her rifle slung, "Are you saying I was trying to seduce him?" John could hear the implied threat if that?s what he was implying, "That may be too strong of a word, but you certainly spent enough tine with him!" "I was gathering information you requested!" she snapped. "Maybe," John sputtered, "but you didn?t have to like it!" "Did you like spending time with that tech?what was her name?" Aeryn said looking towards the sky. She snapped her fingers, "Galina! That?s it!" Her stare became accusatory, "Well, did you?" "That?s different." Crichton protested weakly. "How is it different?" Aeryn asked pointedly. "I don?t know." Crichton snapped I frustration, "It just is." Aeryn?s look was one of victory?and of quiet sympathy, "You are confused." "Tell me about it." He remarked sourly as he scratched his head. Aeryn pulled at her vest, granting her clearer access to her comm badge, "Aeryn to D?Argo." The Luxan?s resonant voice came back, "D?Argo here, what is it?" "We?ve just encountered Peacekeepers." Aeryn informed him, "You may want to exercise extreme caution while trying to get back to the transport pod." A series of hisses and growls came over the comm before D?Argo?s voice returned to normal, "I understand. How many of them are there?" Aeryn shrugged even though D?Argo couldn?t see it, "A standard Expeditionary Forces squad is sixteen persons." "Rygel and I will proceed immediately to the pod." "Crichton and I are proceeding there as well." Aeryn agreed, "Contact us of there is any more trouble." "How do you know they?re Expeditionary Forces?" Crichton asked. "Did you notice that they are wearing green and black like Larraq and his team?" John nodded, "Yeah, so?" "That?s the uniform of the Special Ops Brigades. The Expeditionary forces are the scouts for the Brigades." "Oh, shit." Crichton muttered. "If that?s anything like shiznit, I agree." Aeryn and John moved quietly through the back streets. The planet was very damp and the streets were made of thick, clay-like mud. The walls of every building were covered with brown and purple algaes. Aeryn took point. Crichton followed behind and tried not to touch anything. They?d gone about three blocks (as best as John could figure, seeing as how the streets didn?t divide up at regular intervals) when he saw a shimmer appear in an alley stretching away from the street he and were traversing. He stopped and peered down the alley for a closer look. It was darkened by shadows and hanging moss. He couldn?t make out what was in the alley, but he could definitely see movement. "Aeryn." He hissed. He turned to his left and saw that she?d continued further down the street. "Aeryn!" he whispered more loudly. She was too far away. Tittering noises that sounded like laughter drew Crichton?s attention back to the alley. He stepped forward slowly. He held his hands up, palms out. He glanced side to side, wondering if he?d imagined seeing someone or something down here. He heard another burst of high-pitched noises. Sounds like a buncha squirrels, he thought, aloud he said, "Take it easy. I?m not here to hurt anybody." He hoped his voice sounded calmer than he felt. The noises sounded like they came from just ahead. All he could see was a moss and algae shrouded shape that he guessed had been a table once. It was fungal soup now. On top of the table were two figures. Crichton stopped and slowly lowered his hands. Before him stood the smallest humanoids he?d ever seen. They stood about twelve centimetres tall. They were dressed in gold and bronze coloured armour. Their heads, however, were bare. They had ovoid heads that crowned in points. They had black, almond shaped eyes and a round little mouth. They had no discernible ears. Two vertical slits between their eyes and mouth served as a breathing orifice. "My God. Crichton barely breathed, "It?s little green men. I can?t believe it! They actually exist." The two aliens exchanged glances. A burst of chitters and squeaks followed. One nodded to the other and raised a gauntlet-clad hand towards Crichton. He returned the gesture. A burst of phosphorescent orange energy discharged from the alien?s gauntlet. The burst caught Crichton in the chest and bowled him over. He flew backwards in a summersault. As he fell prone on the street, the aliens disappeared in a shimmer of light. "Crichton, can you hear me?" Aeryn?s voice resounded in his dreams. She floated above him clad in a flowing black gown. Her voice and expression radiated concern. Her eyes shone with much more. He came awake as he was roughly jostled. "Crichton." Aeryn?s voice again, but definitely not warm, "Are you still alive?" A harsh cough racked him as his eyes fluttered open. He was lying on his stomach, face down in?what the hell was he in? He tried to push himself up but was having trouble finding a purchase. His hands kept sliding across the mud and algae. Aeryn grabbed his shoulder and rolled him over. "Well, you?re still alive." She observed dryly. "Thanks." He croaked. He looked down at his garments and saw that they were covered with some kind of slime. "God, no. What is this stuff?" he moaned, "It?d better come out." Aeryn smiled, "It would be rather amusing of you were locked in your cabin while waiting to find clothing." "There?s always my Peacekeeper uniform." He suggested. She shook her head adamantly, "No. Not again." "Then you?d better hope it comes out, ?cause I ain?t runnin? around B.A.?d for the world to see." She looked at him sceptically, "B.A.?d?" He waved it away, "Never mind. Just trust me in that you don?t want it to happen." "Of that, you can be certain." She assured him. "You don?t even know what it means." He complained. "If it involves you, I can be certain that I don?t want it to happen." "Yeah, whatever. Help me up." He regained his feet with a helping hand pulling him, "What happened to you?" He shrugged, "It was weird. I came down here and there was these little green men." "Little green men?" she asked cynically. "Yeah, about this high." He held his hands approximately twelve centimetres apart." "That?s smaller than Rygel." She commented. "Yeah, but these guys wear armour." He warned her, "And they got a ray gun that packs a hell of a punch." Her eyebrow rose, "Then where are they?" He shook his head, "I dunno. Just before I passed out, there was this shimmering light. It?s like they beamed out or something." She blinked, "Beamed out?" "Never mind." He muttered. There was no way he?d be able to explain that one. "Good." She said firmly, "We need to get moving. D?Argo spotted several more Peacekeepers headed our way." Her expression became stern, "And we need to discuss your tendency to wander away." His shoulders slumped in surrender as he followed her out of the alley. "There!" Rhian said excitedly. She handed the sensor gun to Tullik. He was the squad?s sensor specialist. She was a damn fine Science officer, but he was a wizard with a scan board. She smiled at him as he read the read-outs form her portable unit. "There was a slide microns ago." He confirmed, he looked up and met her eyes, "Good work Lieutenant." She glowed inwardly at the praise. Although she out-ranked him, he was a verified legend in his field. Carrier Captains quaked in fear of Tullick?s assessment of their sensor data. He?d ended the career of more than one officer by proving that their data records had been falsified. In the Peacekeepers, the end of the career was also the end of a life. The Specialist was known for his irreverent disregard for higher authority and protocol. His ability had saved him thus far. Rhian also knew that would only protection for so long. Since embarking on this expedition with her squad two cycles ago, she?d tried to convince him to moderate his views. She hadn?t had much success, but he was listening. "Can we determine their emergence point?" she asked. The muscles in his jaw flexed as he focused on the instrument readings. He finally shook his head. "No." he said grimly, "We were too far away from their jumpoint." "Hopefully it won?t be far from their original position." She said, "We?ll head that way and see if we can find their trail." She turned and motioned for the rest of the squad to follow. The golden rings of her hair swayed across her shoulders as she did so. Tullik noticed but returned his attention to the scanner without comment. He took the lead. Unlike the five others, he only wore a sidearm. He kept it clipped to his right thigh. His light, sandy hair was still regulation length, although he hadn?t shaved for days and his face was covered with stubble. His dark brown eyes were sharp and focused as he watched the sensor readings and his surroundings. He ignored the Luxan and the Hynerian that his sensor revealed were nearby. They weren?t his quarry. His only concern was two Poolquens. No other species mattered. "How dare they." Rygel grumbled, "We come here for a vacation, and they arrive to spoil it." "This wasn?t a vacation Rygel." D?Argo replied dryly, "It was a supply run." "It was a vacation to me!" Rygel declared, "Any place that we can find Oslutuju fruit is a paradise to me." "Your stomach will get you killed." D?Argo told him, "You try thinking with another part of your body for a change." "Well, it certainly won?t be with my reproductive organs, if that?s what you?re hoping!" D?Argo looked at him with disgust, "Trust me, I?m not." "Good." Rygel declared, "I?ve heard about you Luxans." "What have you heard?" D?Argo growled. Rygel glanced about nervously. He realised that there were no witnesses about in case D?Argo decided to harm. They probably wouldn?t try and stop him any way, he thought miserably. He vectored his hoverthrone away from the towering Luxan and began scooting down the street towards the pod. "Come back here and answer my question, you coward!" D?Argo yelled as he followed. "How much further?" Crichton asked impatiently. "Not far." Aeryn replied wearily, peering around a corner. "I wouldn?t have to ask if I knew where we were going." "We?re going back to the ship." She answered evenly. "This wasn?t how we got to the market." John replied, "How do you know this is the way back?" "Because I have an infallible sense of direction." Crichton?s head cocked back a little, "Oh, yeah?" "Yes." She replied, "It?s one of the reasons I?m such a good pilot. I never lose my bearings." "So which way is the pod?" She pointed to three a clock, "There!" she declared confidently. "So why don?t we get going?" "Are you trying to get killed?" she asked harshly, "Is that it?" "No." he said with forced patience, "But you?re also not the one with ooze in your shorts. I?d like to get out of here as fast as possible." "So would I." She assured him, "But only when I am certain that we won?t get killed in the attempt." "When do you think you?ll be certain?" She sighed and peered around the corner, "I think it?s clear." "You think?" he asked sarcastically, "You mean you aren?t certain?" "Shut up and keep up." She said turning the corner. They walked down the entire street unmolested. There were no creatures of any description to be seen. The planet?s axial spin was moving the continent away from the solar bombardment from the system?s primary. If they didn?t reach the pod soon, darkness would overtake them. They were reaching a "T" in the street. Aeryn considered backtracking, but rejected the idea. She wanted to reach the pod before sunset. She had no idea what kind of predators might arise out of the city?s nooks and crannies after dark. She held her rifle across her chest as she stepped around the corner to the right. Crichton followed. They travelled several metres before the saw the figures coming towards them. Six Peacekeepers were advancing towards them. "Another slide!" Tullik announced. "Did you get the vector?" Rhian asked quickly. "Yes!" he broke into a feral grin. The display on his sensor showed a city map. "They?ve jumped in this direction the last three times. If we proceed to the red icon?s location, we should intercept." "You?re a miracle worker." She said, then shouted, "How long do we have?" "A quarter arn." "Move people!" She shouted, "This is it!" They humped down the street as fast as they could run. "Where are they?" D?Argo asked angrily. "How should I know?" Rygel asked in return. "You?ve made a speciality of ignorance, Hynerian." D?Argo retorted disdainfully, "You never seem to know anything of surrounding events." "It?s not my fault no one talks to me." Rygel replied in self-pity. Yes, it is. D?Argo thought. "We?re almost there." Rhian gasped. She slowed and her squad followed suit. Tullik retook the lead. He held the sensor gun in front of him as he strode. "We?ve made it." He informed her, "They haven?t emerged from their last jump." "Good." She was tempted to relax out of relief, but there was no time for such luxuries. "Spread out. I don?t want to get caught bunched up. That?s how Malloi?s squad got themselves butchered." The other four positioned themselves in a skirmish line across the street. Rhian stayed close to Tullik. The Specialist had some field experience, but nowhere near her own. She had a vested interest in seeing him safely off this planet. "Sir?" one her men, Licturn, said wonderingly. Licturn was staring further up the street. Rhian followed his line of sight. Two figures were approaching, and one was armed. It took Rhian a moment to realise that the weapon was a pulse rifle. She motioned for her troops to hold position, "You there! Identify yourself." Aeryn and John stood exposed with no visible cover. If a firefight broke out, they were dead. Aeryn?s only hope was to try and stall them long enough to get John back safely around the corner. With luck, and lots of it, he would elude the Peacekeepers long enough for D?Argo to rescue him. "Back away." Aeryn whispered, "Try to get back around the corner." "I can?t leave you." He whispered. "Do it!" she hissed, "Or I?ll shoot you myself." John took several steps back as Aeryn called out, "I am Officer Aeryn Sun, Pilieser Regiment." Rhian looked confused, "You?re a long way out, Officer Sun." "As are you." Aeryn replied. She began moving to her right, towards the entrance of the nearest building. "I was assigned to the Forward Base as security. We were sent out here on a supply run." "Supply run?" Rhian asked. "Yes." Aeryn called back, she could almost make it if she sprinted, "The churnko roots here are excellent." "I?ve never heard of them." Rhian replied, "Then again, I?ve been on-planet for a few arns." Aeryn though it was going well. John was several metres behind her and still creeping towards the corner. The Peacekeepers were edgy, but it didn?t seem directed at her. They didn?t know of her condemnation, but they did now of the Forward Base. She wondered what they were up to when the one with the scanner gun got very agitated. "Transport!" Tullik shouted and ripped the pistol from its latch. Two shimmering lights appeared eight metres to Aeryn?s right. It was atop a flight of stairs. Two armoured, little green men appeared from nowhere. Aeryn was momentarily stunned, Crichton had been right! Both aliens began hurling bolts of energy from their hands. Two blasts caught Peacekeepers, tearing them to shreds. Another was caught in the shrapnel from a blast that caught the side of an adjacent building. Aeryn started to raise her rifle when one of the aliens turned in her direction. The ambush had become a disaster. They were the ones that had been ambushed. Rhian tried to assess a way out of disaster. She couldn?t see one. Licturn, Shalla, and Janos were all dead. Jenna was still alive, but she sported an ugly wound across her cheek. Rhian wondered how much longer she?d stay conscious. The Poolquens? personal shields were deflecting the bulk of the fire they were receiving. Tullik had dropped onto one knee and was delivering a steady barrage. The other Officer Sun and?another Peacekeeper(?) were also engaging the enemy. Maybe she stood a chance. Firing several bursts as she ran, Rhian made it to Jenna. The scout?s knees were buckling as the Lieutenant reached her. Keeping her rifle trained at the Poolquens, she fired off random shots as she dragged Jenna by her battle harness. She managed to get the other woman to an alcove. Aeryn felt a bone jarring impact hit her from behind. An orange discharge sizzled the air as it passed overhead. She felt hands grab her pistol from its leg latch. Pulse fire started flying toward the aliens from over her shoulder. Crichton! She scrambled up onto one knee and added her rifle?s weight to the fire. The gossamer discharge effect surrounding the aliens was diminishing. She launched herself into a roll as another blast scorched where she?d been microns before. She carried her roll until she regained her feet. She snapped her rifle back into position and resumed fire. Crichton had her pistol in a two handed grip. He hit the alien to the left three times. It staggered backward. It loosed a shot at Aeryn while he stabilised himself. John was grateful to see her get out of the way. He jumped to his right as another burst was loosed towards him. Tullik concentrated his fire on the stairwell itself. The constant barrage of shrapnel caused the alien?s shield to collapse sooner. After seeing the discharge effect disappear, he aimed squarely for the alien. The shot made it?s armour glow briefly, but did not disintegrate it. Out if the corner of her eye, Aeryn recognised Tullik?s tactic. She levelled a volley at the stairwell?s surface. Combined with Crichton?s shots, the shield dropped in short order. It collapsed next to its fellow. Crichton let out a whoop of victory and jumped up and down. Tullik slowly rose to his feet. He recovered his sensor as he did so and approached the downed aliens. Aeryn stood and kept her rifle ready in case one of the Poolquens twitched. "Officer Sun." Rhian?s voice caused to spin towards the sound. Rhian stood there smiling. Aeryn saw something else in her light blue eyes: gratitude. Rhian saluted her. "Thank you for the assistance." Aeryn felt simultaneous rushes of prise and embarrassment. She returned the salute. "It was the least we could do." She managed to say. "I?m forever in your debt." Rhian insisted, "If you ever require assistance, of any kind, I?ll shall provide it." "I hope that won?t prove necessary." Aeryn replied. "As do I." Rhian agreed, "But the debt stands." "Thank you." Aeryn mumbled, then pointed down the street awkwardly, "Can you handle it form here on? We need to get back to our Leviathan with the supplies." "Oh, certainly." Rhian replied with a wave of her hand, "Tullik has the situation under control." "Very well." Aeryn replied, she motioned for Crichton to follow her. Rhian wen tot confer with Tullik as he placed the aliens in restraints of some form. Crichton followed Aeryn silently. After they were out of the Peacekeepers? sight, he moved alongside her. He held her pistol out to her. "I think this is yours." "Thank you." She said quietly and took the pistol. "What?s wrong?? he asked, "We won, we got away, and you even got accolades from a Peacekeeper officer." "Yes." She said, her voice and eyes filled with sorrow, "But only under false pretences." "Aeryn." John?s voice was gentle, "The reason she thanked you is still the same. You saved their asses. Whether or not your on Craises? good side or not doesn?t factor into it. You?re a hero because your damn good at what you do, and you did it to the best of your ability." She stopped and faced him. Her eyes bored into his. She could see the respect and concern for her in them. She remembered her earlier thoughts and how her only priority had been his safety. Not sure of how to respond, she nodded. "Thank you. That means a lot right now." "Happy to help." He replied happily, "Now do y?think you could use that ?infallible? sense of direction of yours to get us to the pod?" Despite herself, Aeryn laughed and pointed out the direction they should go. The following day, Moya had left both the system and the Peacekeepers behind. John finished pulling his boots on. He was wearing the Peacekeeper Captain?s uniform again. He didn?t know if he?d ever get his own clothes clean again. He turned and found Aeryn standing in his doorway. She wore a smirk on her face. "What do you think?" he asked, splaying his arms out. "I think it needs something." Aeryn commented. "What?" he asked, turning around in a circle, "I put all of it on." "Not quite all of it." She said with an enigmatic smirk, she held out her hand, "It needs this." In her hand was a pulse pistol. He glanced first at the pistol, then at her, then back at the pistol. "Are you sure you want to give me this." "I saw the way you handled yourself with my pistol." Aeryn said, "It was?impressive." "That had to be a hard admission." "Very." Aeryn replied with a straight face. Then her expression became curious, "Where did you learn to shoot like that?" "My dad used to take me to the range." John admitted, "I even competed a little as a kid." "I never realised." Aeryn said softly. "Just because I don?t like to wave weapons around doesn?t mean I don?t know how to use them." He told her with a wry smile. "So it seems." She turned to walk away and stopped at the door. Glancing over her shoulder, she spoke again, "I seem to constantly underestimate you. I apologise. I?ll try not to in the future." "Promises, promises." He said teasingly. Although Aeryn was unfamiliar with the phrase, she was intimate with the tone, "Exactly." She said with a wink. John nearly fainted as she strode away.
web hosting
•
domain names
web design
•
online games
Back to the Fan Fic Page
