TITLE: "THE PACT"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "Farscape"

PAIRING: JOHN/CRAIS series

RATING: PG-13.

STATUS: New.

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed

SERIES/SEQUEL: SEQUEL to "NOT NEGOTIABLE"

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

"THE PACT"
A "Farscape" slash story
Written by Alison M. DOBELL
* * * * *

His head was aching. Coloured lights danced before his eyes but at least he was conscious. Aeryn looked at him anxiously. Zhaan waited until he opened his eyes before speaking. "How do you feel, John?"

He tried to focus. It took him three attempts. "What the hezmana happened, Zhaan?"

"Moya received a transmission from Talyn and went to immediate StarBurst."

Crichton held his head in his hands and closed his eyes again. "Damn, I need to get the number of that truck."

"Truck?"

He lifted his head at the sound of Aeryn's voice. His eyes found hers. She was relieved to see that he was alright. Her puzzled expression reminded him of his last words. "Um, it's just a saying Aeryn. I feel like I've been hit by a truck - a large heavy land vehicle. On my world trucks have
licence plates, numbers unique to each vehicle so you can trace them and find out who owns them."

Not even a ghost of a smile touched her lips. <Great. Just great> He felt as if he had been knocked into next Tuesday and Aeryn was not in the mood for levity. Okay. Fine. Neither was he. He just did not want to start off pissed and feel the rest of the day go downhill after that. Life
in the Uncharteds had few enough highs as it was. He was sitting on the examination table in Zhaan's apothecary. Carefully he eased himself back and leaned on the wall, closed his eyes again. Gathering his thoughts and his scattered wits. He really did not feel up to another head to head with Aeryn. And not just because that part of him was still sore.

"John."

He opened his eyes reluctantly, surprised to see that she looked concerned. He forgot all about being pissed off at her. "What's up, Aeryn?"

She looked awkward. Embarrassed almost. Zhaan hid a smile and made herself scarce. Crichton's frown deepened. What had he done wrong now?

"I'm sorry."

<Excuse me? Had the crack ex-Peace Keeper just said sorry to an inferior lifeform? This was a joke, right?> "Sorry? What for?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "It's my fault you got injured."

"Aeryn, Moya went to StarBurst not you. You may be many things but last time I looked you were no leviathan."

She pointed to his right leg. It was swollen and had turned an interesting shade of black and blue beneath a thin membrane of healing gel. "If I hadn't injured you when we were training you would have been able to find something to hang on to in time."

"Woah, woah, right there. Are you forgetting Rygel?"

She frowned. "What the yotz does this have to do with him?"

"Sparky was thrown and slammed about same as me, Aeryn, and last I recall he wasn't sparring with you first so quit with the guilt trip. It doesn't become you."

Aeryn was starting to get annoyed. Before she could say anything a couple of his fingers drifted lightly up to her lips. She froze at his touch. He enjoyed the startled look on her face.

"It's okay, Aeryn." He said quietly, for her ears only. "I'm gonna be fine."

She looked at him for a moment then nodded once. Message received and understood. He took his hand away and smiled at her. She glanced at his leg. "Does it hurt much?"

He shrugged and carefully turned himself forty five degrees so he could swing his legs off the table and stand up. He was alright until he put his weight on it. Pain shot up through his leg and made him shift his weight quickly to the other leg while hanging on to the table to stay upright. He closed his eyes as his head swam. Aeryn looked anxious. He sucked in a couple of breaths laced with some good old fashioned earth cuss words. "Damn that hurts a bitch." He braced himself and opened his eyes. Gingerly shifted his weight so he could put a little on his right leg, testing his reaction to the pain level now that he was prepared for it. His leg was humming. Now that he was expecting the pain it was not so bad but it was still an unwelcome shock. Zhaan chose that moment to come back into the apothecary. Quickly she hurried over to him.

"You must not put your weight on that leg, John."

He allowed himself to be berated and sat down carefully. Perspiration forming on his forehead with the pain dancing up and down his leg in sharp spikes of agony. He gritted his teeth.

"You need to stay off that leg for a few days. I recommend you stay in your quarters and rest. I will give you something for the pain in your head and some more gel for your leg. It needs to be massaged in twice every solar day, just before you go to sleep and again when you wake."

"So what did I do to it Zhaan?"

"The bone is fractured and the knee has been twisted which is why it is so painful. The fluid forming in the knee is the reason your leg is so swollen."

"Who says Mama Nature doesn't know best?" He mumbled.

"Pardon John? You said something."

"Zhaan, we have to find out what's wrong with Talyn. I don't have time for this."

Aeryn looked at him. "Zhaan's right. You need to keep on that leg. We'll find out what's wrong. When we know I will tell you so there's no need for you to go anywhere."

He looked from one to the other then shook his head. "Just my luck for you two to choose now to sing from the same song sheet."

They exchanged a baffled look. He gave a tired smile. "Okay. I promise to rest but you remember you made a promise too. I expect to be kept informed of what's happening. Deal?"

Both of the women nodded at him. Crichton looked down at himself. All he was wearing was his boxer shorts and a t-shirt. He wanted to at least get back to the comfort of his room. "Where are my pants?"

For the first time Aeryn smiled at him. It made him immediately suspicious. Like being invited to tea by a crocodile. "You won't need those where you're going."

He looked at Zhaan but she was no help at all. He gave a sigh and was going to try to stand again but Zhaan shook her head and activated her com. "Pilot, can you ask D'Argo to come to the apothecary for me? I will not keep him more a couple of microts."

* * * * *

It was so beautiful it took Mirkot's breath away. The young leviathan stretched out before him, a swirl of colours gleaming along the sleek smooth lines of its' biomechanoid hull. Raknor had two of his Scarran lieutenants waiting for them alongside the ship. He watched the Captain's face
intently. "Come. It is time you saw what will be the fruit of your efforts." <And ours> he added silently to himself.

Almost in a daze the Captain entered the leviathan. He had met the ship once before when they had first acquired it. He knew not the ship's name. Only when he bonded with it would the name be given to him. From the leviathan to him. A link that would be added one on one to many others until the chains that bound them were complete. Inidivisible. He could not help sighing as his hand touched the side of the ship. It seemed to him that she responded, varying the temperature in her skin to add comfort to his touch. He smiled. Her. The ship was female. How did he know that? Raknor watched him carefully as he toured the vessel, the ship automatically opening all her doors to him as he approached. It did not seem unusual to be accorded such a
response. His eyes drank in her beauty, the additional tech that modified and harnessed both Scarran technology and the best that the Peace Keepers could provide. The ship had no collar and that impressed Mirkot most of all. That she could stand to be here in their presence without being
forced into blind acquiessence.

"The ship may still reject you." Said Raknor, though the way he said it made it seem unlikely. "Have you appointed your successor?"

The Captain tore his eyes away from the ship. Not being able to bear the thought of being parted from her even for a microt, yet he knew he would have to sever his ties to his crew before he could commit himself to the leviathan. He nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Then it is time to begin."

He nodded numbly and dismissed Plessy. The man was nervous and anxious. Loyal as they came of course and right now that was all he needed to be. Mirkot knew he would say nothing of his real mission. Simply open the sealed orders once the leviathan was clear and they had gone to StarBurst. The crew would accept it as they would accept his second as their new Captain. He had prepared them well. Having a defined chain of command had advantages. This bonding he did not need to see. Did not need to be aware of.

Raknor took him through to the empty Pilot's chamber. The leviathan had modified its' layout to accommodate him. To give him comfort and make the merging as close to perfection as possible. He climbed carefully over the control console. From the edge of the console he could look down
many metras into the heart of the ship. His ship. The thought gave him a thrill. The leviathan seemed to hum in response. He lowered himself into the special support. Not a chair exactly, more of a harness. The composite was biomechanoid like the ship. It would mould to his body and as he accepted more and more of the ship's connections he would never need to leave this
chamber again. Part of him was riven with excitement, anticipation. Part of him was terrified. He found his clothes restrictive, they kept rucking up and rubbing. Getting in the way of the tech.

<Remove them> Sang the ship. <You will not be cold for I will keep you warm>

He felt uncomfortable undressing in front of the Scarrans but the ship was right. He undressed and got it over as quickly as he could, sighing inwardly as he dropped into the waiting traces like taking to a lover's arms. It felt so right. The harness warmed to his skin, adjusted to his temperature and sealed itself to him. He wriggled a little in the harness to get comfortable, the harness adjusting to his wants and desires until he stopped moving. Content. <What now?> He thought.

<We bond> Sang the ship.

Connections rose beneath him and he felt his body jerk as they fastened on to him. Pain like he had never felt before raced through him and plied him with agony. Eddies of conflicting emotions spiralled through his mind and body, more connections snaked up from the pit beneath him. He
was sweating profusely now, aware of nothing but the ship, nothing but her energy singing in his veins and making them pathways to her own. Her senses merging with his. Her wants and desires his wants and desires. A connection fastened on to the base of his spine and her energy shot up his spine like a lightening bolt and snapped his neck. His eyes began to bug, he was breathing with difficulty, his heart labouring to adopt the alien rythym that would now affect the beat of his own heart. His heart began to beat in tandem with hers. The long slow breath of a leviathan was changing his lungs. Microbes swam in the air he breathed. Fine sharp tendrils invaded his flesh and kept dividing inside his body, swarming like a spider's web and colonising his muscles, neural pathways and up into the base of the cerebal cortex. A knot of them settled in his brain stem then radiated out in a dark seductive network that fed him every thought and feeling coursing through the leviathan. She was pleased with him. Accepted him.

DRDs fussed over the connections beneath him cauterising the wounds where he was bleeding and making the seals perfect. Cleaning him up. He was barely aware of them. Something crawled over his skin, tending to the wounds and ragged tears in his flesh from the price he had paid. He felt the sting then the pain was abated. Not gone but bearable. An irritation that would heal quickly now and be gone. His thoughts had another focus. His attention keen and bright and open to whatever she would give him. The concept of sharing all with her taking over every element left of his free will. He wanted only one thing from her before he would serve her with utter
devotion. Her name.

<Aylsa>

He savoured the name in his mind. Let it sing in his veins as her song filled him. He closed weary eyes and gave himself up to her. Raknor watched, saw that the Sebacean was not rejected. A hideous smile peeled back black chitinous lips. Dark rumblings fired in his lungs, heat building with his anticipation. He was pleased. This ship would be the first of many. A fleet that would breed and grow and enable the Scarrans to dominate the Uncharted Territories and beyond. He would have preferred a Scarran Pilot but the leviathans would not tolerate that. So they had made a pact. A compromise. He turned to one of his lieutenants and instructed him to let the ruling council know. The ship was theirs. Once the bonding was fully complete they would leave. Behind him his Dreadnaught was disposing of the Pilots they had taken from the planet surface. Dissected and examined by his technicians until they had a rudimentary grasp of how they bonded with the leviathans, their fragmented carcasses were jettisoned into the cold darkness
of space. From the first tentative experiments it had been a matter of trial and error to find the right subject to take over that role. A subject they could manipulate to their own ends. He threw back his head and laughed. Even though Mirkot's eyes were closed and he was only semi-conscious, Aylsa shared his hatred of the Scarrans. He trembled and Aylsa soothed him. Sharing his natural distrust of them as a species. In this as in all else, they were now of one mind.

* * * * *

Nothing anyone could do or say held any sway over Moya. She was responding to her son's cries of distress. His agony was her agony. Reason had nothing to do with it. D'Argo watched the screen as they emerged from StarBurst, Aeryn taut and anxious at his side. Zhaan's eyes widened
as she saw the Peace Keeper Command Carrier with the injured leviathan listing at an odd angle by its' side. The Carrier was big enough to take the leviathan inside its' vast transport hangar. That it was outside could mean only one thing. They wanted Moya and her crew to see it. That meant it had to be Scorpius. Chiana kept tilting her head in quick jerky bird like movements, a sign of her growing agitation. "It's Scorpius, isn't it?"

D'Argo expelled a great breath of air in a slow measured exhalation. "Yes."

Aeryn frowned at the screen. "What's the matter with Talyn? Pilot? Does Moya know what happened to Talyn."

Pilot echoed her concern. "Moya does not know but says his outer skin has been burnt off and many of his systems are badly damaged."

"Will he live?" Whispered Rygel.

Pilot's voice was hesitant. "Moya thinks he will recover..."

"I sense a *but* Pilot."

Everybody turned at the sound of Crichton's voice. Aeryn swore under her breath. He was walking slowly and obviously biting back a lot of pain to do so. She would frelling well kill him. Why couldn't he just do as he was told for once? "You are not supposed to be walking on that leg." She scolded.

Zhaan hurried to his side. He tried to flap her hands away from him but she ignored his efforts, focused only on the intense pain he was trying so hard to block out. She knew him too well. Zhaan looked to D'Argo for help. "D'Argo."

The Luxan gave a gentle huff and shook his head. Fortunately he kept his thoughts to himself. A microt later and he lifted Crichton off his feet. The human tried to struggle but he was too weak. "D'Argo, will you put me down?"

"I am taking you back to your room so you can rest."

Crichton was going red in the face. Part embarrassment, part frustration. "I am *not* going back to my room. I am *not* a child!"

"Then stop acting like one."

Just at that microt a voice they had all come to dread floated over the coms to them. It was Crichton's nemesis. Scorpius. "Greetings, crew of Moya. This is Scorpius. I want to talk to Crichton."

Crichton opened his mouth but D'Argo put his hand over it to stop him from speaking. "What do you want with him?" Growled the Luxan.

Scorpius's image came up on the clamshell monitor. Crichton stopped struggling. His face had gone very pale. "I want the wormhole technology. I promise none of you will be harmed."

"What about John?" Said Aeryn testily.

"That depends on how *helpful* he decides to be."

"Forget it Scorpius. We are not giving him up."

Scorpius smiled slowly at the Luxan. "That is hardly your decision to make, Luxan." The half-Scarran paused. "I have something Crichton wants."

"I very much doubt that," Said Rygel.

The image of Scorpius vanished off the screen then they found themselves looking at a clear upright cylinder. Everyone held their breath and watched, trying to make out what was in it. Why they were being shown this particular image. The contents were obscured by a greyish viscous liquid. The image was magnfied until gradually the contents came into focus. Everyone gasped
when they saw Crais. D'Argo held the human upright and felt the shock go through him.

"Oh my God! Crais! What have you done to him?"

Scorpius's voice sounded smug. Pleased. "Hello, John."

"You bastard, Scorpy!"

"He is still alive, Crichton." Scorpius paused a microt. "For now."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"That is up to you."

Crichton leaned heavily on D'Argo. "Let me guess, you'll give us Crais if I hand myself over to you? Is that how this goes?"

"I see you have a perfect grasp of your situation."

"What happened?"

"Crais tried to blow up my Command Carrier. The bomb blew up in his face. Literally."

Crichton closed his eyes, tears running down his face. Agony and sorrow tearing his heart into shreds. Aeryn frowned, concerned and filled with anger.

"Come to me willingly and I will let the others go. Including the leviathan."

Aeryn glared. "No! Don't do this John."

He had that look on his face. The one that always stopped her heart and told her this time she might lose him forever. It frightened her no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Aeryn, I don't have much choice."

"Yes, yes you do. You say *no*. Walk away."

"I can't do that. Remember?"

She frowned, angry lines pinching at her anxious face. He was trying to lighten the mood with a little humour but it was not helping. Everybody knew this was no game. There were tears in her eyes.

"You can't trust him."

He nodded. "This isn't about trust, Aeryn. It's about friendship."

She raised her tearstained face and looked at him in disbelief. "Friendship?"

He tilted his head, his look gentle. His beautiful blue eyes holding her in his gaze and reaching right into her soul. "Yeah. Didn't you know, it's the glue that holds the universe together?"

"What the hezmot is glue?" Grumbled Rygel.

"It's sticky stuff, Buckwheat. When this is over remind me to tell you the story of the Tar Baby."

"Tar Baby? What's that?" Said Chiana.

"It's a story from the Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox series. What we humans call a cautionary tale."

D'Argo did not even try to pronounce the word. Scorpius was getting impatient. "You must decide, Crichton. I am not sure your *friend* Crais will last much longer..."

* * * * *
END