TITLE: "FOR THE LOVE OF MOYA"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "Farscape"

PAIRING: JOHN/CHIANA

RATING: PG-13

STATUS: New.

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed

SERIES/SEQUEL: SEQUEL to "BENEATH THE MASK"

The usual disclaimers apply. No infringement of copyright is intended.

"FOR THE LOVE OF MOYA"
A "Farscape" story
Written by Alison M. DOBELL

It was getting harder and harder to breathe yet Nerri resisted the urge to power up the module. A little longer. He would hang on just a little longer. He could not have said what instinct guided him, warned him, or held him in thrall but whatever it was the implication of moving too soon was death. Not simply his own. Lights danced before his eyes. He risked a small torchlight and viewed his readout on the suit. He was on reserve oxygen. He could not remember how long ago the warning beep had sounded. Was trying to remember what Crichton had once told him about the time limit left on the last remaining air. Did he carry a backup in the module? He doubted it. Nerri sat carefully, his back against the outside of the module near the cockpit. Close enough to lean in and flick a switch, not so close that if he slipped he would activate it by accident. His people knew where he was. If any of them could reach him in time he could yet live. If not then he was content. He had led a full and rich life.

No light leaked through to illuminate his chosen prison. Nerri concentrated on lowering his lifesigns, sending himself deeper and deeper into trance to conserve what air he had left.

* * * * *

Aeryn was on the verge of passing out. The woman had a tight seal over her mouth, her lips became coarse and ugly as they fastened like genkas trapping the air in her lungs and forcing her to breathe only the foul despoiled air that Shoni gave her. It was obscene, it disgusted her. While
being free to think sporadically she was not free to act, her thoughts a disordered rabble running around in panic inside her head. Sometimes making more sense than at other times. She had no command over her motor functions and was fast losing the ability to order her thoughts.

She was not aware of D'Argo bursting into her quarters or the qualta rifle discharging, but some instinct kicked in as Shoni suddenly eased her hold on her mind and body. With a sudden surge of energy Aeryn put every atom of strength into moving and brought her head forward as quickly and as hard as she could heat butting Shoni on the bridge of the nose. She heard a loud crack and then a cry but it seemed to come from so far away. There was blood in her eyes and phlem in her mouth which she spat out as she gagged and retched. Her stomach heaving, her body rebelling, her mind screaming, she fell to her knees, strong arms reaching for her and holding her as she cried. D'Argo was gentle, lifting Aeryn in his arms while Chiana checked on what was left of Shoni. Rygel and Stark ran into the room just as Chiana got to the fallen woman. It was Rygel's quick action that prevented Chiana from sustaining injury herself when the body of Shoni began to twist and warp as she reached out to touch her. Quickly Stark grabbed her and pulled her back at the Dominar's insistance.

"Trat! It's a frelling Zarabund!" Warned Rygel.

"What the yotz is that?" Asked Chiana.

"It's a shapeshifter." Said Stark. His face almost as white as the Nebari's.

"I thought...she said she was Patri's sister."

"Hrrmph," Grumbled Rygel. "Did Patri even *have* a sister?"

Chiana was confused. Felt a vague stab of guilt for taking the woman at her word. "I don't know. It never occurred to me to check, you know? But hey, what was it doing here? And why was it trying to rape Aeryn?"

"It was not trying to rape her," Said Rygel with a shudder in his voice. "What that Zarabund was doing was far worse than that."

Chiana went cold. "W...worse?"

D'Argo settled Aeryn in his arms. Reassured that he had cleared her airway and she was now breathing properly on her own. She was unconscious. "I am taking Aeryn to the apothecary."

Stunned, the others parted to let him go. Stark tried to change the subject but Rygel and Chiana ignored him. Both of them had their eyes glued to the body of Shoni which already seemed to be going through changes which would give them both nightmares for weekens to come. "The Zarabund was ready to feed." Explained the Dominar. "Had we come a couple of microts later all you would have found of Aeryn would have been a gelatinous wet patch oozing its' way across the floor." He paused a microt, his voice dropping another octave. "Looking for another victim."

"Uggghhh!" Responded Chiana. She looked down at the collapsing physical form. Fumes starting to hiss off the decalcifying body as the flesh turned to a weird translucent jelly and the bones melted. Chiana put a hand over her mouth and nose and stepped back. Gagging on the smell. "What're we gonna do with it?"

"Shove it out of the nearest airlock and good riddance!" Said Rygel.

"I agree," Said Stark in a shaky voice. "It must not be allowed to stay aboard."

Chiana's head jerked round. "I thought it was dead? D'Argo killed it right?"

"D'Argo slowed it down." Corrected Rygel. His voice was serious. "It is a shapeshifter, Chiana. We have to get it off the ship before it takes another form."

The Nebari thought her heart must have stopped beating. Either that or her ears were not working. "Huh, I could have sworn you said we had to move the body. I mean, I think we should get the DRDs to do it."

Rygel eased his thronesled close to her and shook her arm. "I did. We must do it NOW, Chiana. Later will do none of us any good. Caw matan? The DRDs can scrub this place from top to bottom once we get it off the ship! Any delay would be a death sentence for ALL OF US. Do not forget, Moya is a biomechanoid as are the DRDs."

She gave him a blank look. "So?"

"So the Zarabund feeds then takes on the form of organic lifeforms. Anything with cells will do, Chiana. We get it off this ship and we get it off now, before it has a chance to absorb itself into Moya!"

A look of horror stole over Chiana's face. "Oh frell, you mean this thing could EAT Moya?" She paused a microt, her eyes widening further with realisation. "Frell, frell, frell! We have *got* to get it off the ship!"

Rygel spun his thronesled round in time to block Stark's retreat. "Where do you think you're going?"

"H...help D'Argo."

The Hynerian Dominar's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't, you're going to help us remove this trat off the ship."

Stark began to panic. "Unclean, unclean, no, no, no! Can't, can't, can't do it!"

"Either you help us," Said Rygel in a dark sly threatening tone. "Or you will go out of the airlock FIRST!"

Stark's eye widened in fear but he nodded his reluctant agreement. If anyone was likely to make good on such a threat it was the Dominar.

"Now," Said Rygel taking control. "We need something non porous to put the frelling slime in."

Stark and Chiana exchanged equally horrified looks. Chiana put her revulsion into words. "You expect US to touch THAT?"

* * * * *

Lt Braca was ready to call a halt. They had searched the miserable planet for arns without any sign of Crichton or his module. Nothing was being picked up on any of their scanners. He opened a channel to Scorpius.

"Yes, leiutenant?"

Lt. Braca swallowed hard. "We can find no sign the module ever landed, sir. He must have used the mass of the planet to hide the fact that a ship was waiting to pick him up."

"Perhaps, but that is not my immediate concern right now."

"Sir?"

"You will continue to sweep the area. Three Nebari ships have just come out of StarBurst. We will come back for you. IF we can."

Lt. Braca opened his mouth to say something but the com was already cut. He glanced nervously at his men. They had all heard the communication and knew what it meant. Scorpius was effectively leaving them on this squag hole to die. If the Command Carrier was facing three Nebari ships the chances of him surviving the encounter to pick them up was less than slim. Lt Braca bit back his anger and snapped at the men to spread out. They were going to search this frelling cesspit one last time. And hope and pray that somehow, Scorpius would fight off the Nebari and come back for them. He could not afford to entertain any other outcome.

* * * * *

Esak had tried everything he could to deter the human but Crichton was even more stubborn than he had been led to believe. Didn't the bartantic greebol know he was signing his own frelling death warrant? He tilted his head at a jerky angle reminding Crichton of Chiana when she was nervous.

"Why do you want to die so badly? We have poisons on board that will do the job quickly and virtually painlessly."

He laughed almost nervously. That was when Esak saw the pain dancing deep in his eyes and realised the human did not *want* to do this. He was looking at a driven man.

"Believe me Esak, I know how crazy this sounds."

Sensing an opening Esak lowered his voice to a conspirational whisper. "Then why do it, John? Why open yourself to more grief and pain? We can destroy him and his Command Carrier without putting you or anyone else at risk."

Crichton was almost crying. But the tears were trapped deep inside, only glimpsed like water reflecting off glass. "You don't understand and I don't have the words or the time to explain." His voice almost broke. He took a microt to steady himself. "All I can tell you is I have to do this, Esak. Ne-gar boda-nig, sa?"

Too moved to reply, Esak nodded once. Slowly. Crichton was asking him as a matter of honour in the Nebari way. It was something most other species would not have known about still less cared about following. That the human both knew and understood what it meant was not lost on Esak. He bowed low. "Eri-car do-na-girdi. Through fire and storm, ask and it will be yours."

Once he had the Nebari's agreement, Crichton outlined his plan to him. If Esak thought he was fahrbot before he was now totally convinced he was beyond help. Totally tinked. As his eyes widened in suprise and disbelief Crichton chuckled. He had seen that look on too many other faces to be put off by it now. "Just trust me, Esak. Scorpy owes me and it's time he paid up."

Esak shook his head. "Let me go with you."

Now it was Crichton's turn to shake his head. "No. This is between the two of us."

"John. You once offered me the hand of friendship."

Crichton paused, nodded, and waited.

"Then you invoked Nebari honour to get me to agree to this death-wish of yours."

Crichton held his breath.

"There is no price on my friendship but there is a price on my honour."

For several microts neither spoke. Crichton looked deep into Esak's eyes and felt too moved to speak. Esak offered him his hand. "If you will not let me go in friendship, let me go in honour. Do not shame me by refusing John Crichton."

"You could die." He said in a hushed voice. The pounding of his heart loud in his ears.

Esak smiled slowly. "Then, my friend, your bartantic plan had better work!"

Crichton laughed, clasped Esak's hand firmly in his. "Come on Esak, you can help me gather the things we are going to need. Then we must choose a small transport before making contact with the Carrier."

* * * * *

Aeryn could not stop vomitting. The vile gelatinous sludge was caught in a metal bowl by Ka D'Argo. Chiana had warned him over the com about the properties of the substance and the need to make sure it did not come into contact with any other living organisms. That had actually been the easy part. Getting Aeryn into the shower and making her strip off her clothing into a metal receptical had been harder even that pulling teeth from the struggling human. "Aeryn!" He growled in frustration. "If you do not co-operate I will render you unconscious and strip you myself!"

"On your death bed, Luxan!"

He almost felt like laughing. The return of Aeryn's spirit raised his hopes that she would come through this in one piece but time was running out and Aeryn was still partly covered in the treacherous slime. "Then if I must die so you can live, I will do so!"

Aeryn opened her mouth to protest then realised that he was right. She felt overcome with shame at her ingratitude. To D'Argo's surprise she nodded meekly and started to strip off her clothes without any further argument. Quickly she filled the receptical and D'Argo jettisoned them out of the nearest airlock. He did not dare let Aeryn dress in clean clothes or wash. First the rest of the substance had to be removed without any of it getting into Moya's system. Aeryn was shivering by now. "D'Argo, what the frell are you waiting for?"

"We have to get the rest of that gel off you, Aeryn, and I can't wash you down because the water will be absorbed back into Moya's waste system which means the microbes from the organism will gestate inside Moya."

Aeryn went pale. "Frell!"

"There is however, another option."

Aeryn looked at him expectently but he did not explain. Instead he left her for a few microts and came back dragging a cryogenic pod behind him. "What in the name of Cholok is that for?"

"I want you to stand in this Aeryn, then I will wash you down. The water will collect in here, it is watertight and airtight. Once we are sure you are free of the gel we will seal it and dispose of it."

"A good idea D'Argo but what happens if someone finds it and opens it? We could be seeding a plague among the Uncharted Territories."

"Unlikely Aeryn but not impossible, which is why I shall have Moya fire the cryogenic pod into the nearest available sun."

Aeryn looked at it, shivered then sighed. "If we're going to do this let's get it over with before I change my mind."

D'Argo grunted then dragged it beneath the shower tube and watched as Aeryn stood in it. He handed her one of Zhaan's synthetic scrubbers and gripped another in his hand. "Pilot, I need warm water but a slow fall please."

The water sloshed over Aeryn and the grim work began. Within a couple of microts any embarrassment either of them might have felt vanished under the pressure of the clock ticking. At last they finished. D'Argo checking they had not missed anything, insisting that Aeryn wash out her mouth thoroughly and spit the water out into the pod. When he was sure they had been as thorough as was possible he allowed Aeryn to step out onto a non-biomechanoid panel. "I cannot allow you to dry yourself off Aeryn. You must dry naturally otherwise anything left behind as residue will migrate to the cloth and we will have to do this all over again."

Aeryn nodded, too cold to argue and too frightened of the consequences should they miss anything. The thought of infecting Moya was enough to keep her compliant. She watched D'Argo seal the pod and put it on a hoversled so that he could get rid of it as quickly as possible. Closing her eyes, Aeryn tried to banish the one thing from her mind that D'Argo could *not* do for her. The taste of that creature's lips on her, the hands on her body. The dark slithering evil of a mind so alien that it made her shudder with dread just to recall it. She opened her eyes slowly. Trembling. Where had it come from? And if the creature had been able to hide among the Sebacean colonists was it the only one? The thought filled her with a terrible fear. "Pilot?"

"Yes, Aeryn?"

"Pilot, can you ask Moya to check that there are no signs of this creature elsewhere on the ship?"

There was a pause then Pilot's voice sailed back to her. "Moya had checked her systems thoroughly. Chiana, Rygel, Stark and D'Argo have been very thorough. This was the only such organism on the ship."

"Then it's gone? *All* of it?"

"Yes, it is completely gone now."

Aeryn was so relieved she allowed herself to slide to the floor, her arms hugging her legs as she cried.

* * * * *

Scorpius could not believe his ears. Crichton! What was he doing on a Nebari ship?

"John, what are you doing here?"

The answer threw him completely. "Coming to see you, what else Scorpy?"

He frowned at the three Nebari Capital ships and wondered why they had not opened fire. They formed a ring around his Command Carrier, just out of his weapons range. "Why would you wish to do that?"

"Come on now, Scorpy, admit it. You missed me."

A shudder went down the half-breed's back. The human was up to something. But what? "What is it you want, John?"

"Just a little tete-a-tete, a little face to face."

Scorpius frowned. "I am listening."

A pause. "Okay. Fine. This is how it's gonna be. You stand down your trigger happy guys, recall the troops you sent down to Rydex, and I'll come aboard. Got a few things I need to say before I bid you adios."

"Why would I agree?"

There was a pause before the smooth mocking voice of John Crichton sailed back across the com channel. "How about curiosity?"

* * * * *
END