SURVIVOR by, ISIS 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: PG13 Category: Drama Summary: Just as the title says. The Uncharted Territories version of Survivor. Spoilers: Everything up to and including A Clockwork Nebari 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. Note from Ally: Please, please, please... Feed the Fic Authors! Drop them a line and let them know how much you enjoyed their words. Beg 'em to write more! You can reach the Author right 'chere! Comments? E-mail the author: ISIS SURVIVOR PART 1b/5 "The Game" by, ISIS ~~ * ~~ * ~~ "What do you mean, we don't have enough money?" Aeryn screamed, slamming Rygel's thronechair up against the bulkhead of the transport pod where the crew had met after their first foray into the markets of the decidedly seedy commerce planet of Adhafera Minor. "We've bartered everything we have! We even put up my Prowler!" "I'm sorry, Aeryn, but it's still not enough. Othelymon is very expensive. Apparently, it also serves as a high-end hallucinogenic, prized by the wealthiest nobles in the Uncharted Territories." "Then we'll steal some," Aeryn shouted, looking over at Chiana. "Hey, don't look at me! I've seen some of the security for this stuff. It's impenetrable!" the Nebari thief protested. Aeryn looked skeptical. "Don't tell me you've finally met a security system you couldn't best!" "Well, you better believe it, PeaceKeeper!" Chiana declared, shaking off D'Argo's restraining arm. "I wouldn't go near the place!" "Not even for John?" Aeryn asked softly. Chiana's heart broke at the pain in her voice, a pain she was feeling also. Chiana looked at the rest of her shipmates. Her gaze finally fell on Rygel, her usual partner in crime. "Okay, we'll see what we can do. But I'm not making any promises, Aeryn!" Rygel exclaimed. "Yes, but I did," Aeryn said cryptically before exiting the transport pod. The ex-PeaceKeeper marched through the disreputable market place, lost in her pain. She had meant what she said back at the transport pod. She had promised John that she would make things right and that was what she meant to do. But she felt so helpless, unable to fight her way to a solution as she had been trained to do. Aeryn wandered aimlessly down street after street until she realised she wasn't exactly sure where she was. She cursed herself for letting her emotions distract her. Then she noted several figures moving in the darkened alleys around her. Her hand hovered over her pulse gun. She made several deliberate turns, noting that the figures shadowed her every move. When one of them leaped in front of her, his pulse rifle aimed at her, she rolled out of the way of his shot. She continued to roll towards him, taking him out from below before he could fire again. The highly trained ex-PeaceKeeper easily recovered her opponent's rifle. Two more of her assailants went down before they had time to think. Aeryn sprang to her feet in time to fire at a fourth figure lurking in the shadows. Her shot missed when the badly maintained rifle jammed. She had only a microt to register that fact before an arm encircled her throat from behind and a knife pressed into her side. The one she had fired at stepped out of the shadows, grinning triumphantly. He was Sebacean, his tattered uniform marking him an ex-PeaceKeeper like herself. He raised his gun to fire at her head. Aeryn suddenly let her weight sag into her captor's arms. He gasped, then screamed as his associate's shot struck him square in the face. Aeryn fell forward, then somersaulted, coming up with her pistol aimed right at the unkempt deserter. Her shot hit him in the chest and he toppled to the ground, a look of disappointment on his face. Aeryn kept her gun raised, waiting for more attackers. Suddenly a voice rang out. "Cut!" Great! I think we've found our final contestant!" Aeryn stared in disbelief as several aliens moved out of the shadows towards her. She spun around, trying to determine who best to aim her pulse pistol at. A couple of hovering vidcams flew out from the alleys as well. Aeryn backed up against the wall, preparing to defend herself. One of the aliens moved forward, riding in some sort of an open land vehicle. He was talking incessantly into a comm unit. Aeryn stared at him in shock as his vehicle came to a stop right in front of her. The creature was a short, fat individual with an extended lower jaw graced with two very sharp tusks. His small piggish eyes gleamed with avarice and speculation as they studied the attractive PeaceKeeper female in front of him.Then the alien stepped out, seemingly ignorant of the deadly pistol trained on him, his attention more focussed on the conversation he was having in the comm. "No! No! Only ten contestants! Right, different races, different skills!" He listened then spoke again. "Yes, only one of them will win. I'm telling you, it will be a success. Viewers will tune in all over the Uncharteds." He glanced at the Sebacean holding her gun aimed at him, finally realising his danger. "Look, I've got to go. Yeah, the PeaceKeeper. She's a real looker. The viewers will eat her up." He snapped the portable comm shut and stood facing the obviously nervous Sebacean female in front of him. "Aeryn? Aeryn Sun, right?" He stepped forward then retreated as Aeryn levelled her gun at him. "What do you want?" she demanded, her eyes going from him to the rest of his crew. "It's not what I want, honey. It's what you want." He smiled insincerely at her. "Can we talk?" ~~ * ~~ * ~~ "No! Absolutely not! Tell Aeryn to get her eema up here so we can starburst away!" D'Argo shouted into the comm. Zhaan winced at his imperious tone, but forgave him, knowing the pressure he felt to get to his son Jothee's auction in time. However, the rest of the crew gathered in the Command was more inclined to agree to Aeryn's plan. "But, D'Argo, think of the money! One million credits!" Rygel enthused, practically salivating with greed. Even Chiana was impressed. "It would more than pay for the Othelymon!" "But ten solar days! What about my son? What about Jothee?" D'Argo cried, slamming his hand down on one of Moya's consoles in frustrated anger. Zhaan took pity on her Luxan shipmate. "D'Argo, I know how anxious you are to get to Jothee, but what about John? He needs our help right now." She looked up into the Luxan's eyes, shocked at the depth of pain his internal battle was causing him. "Besides, Luxan, how do you expect to pay for Jothee at the slave auction? If Aeryn wins, we will have the money to save both Crichton and your son!" Rygel added reasonably. D'Argo looked at his fellow crewmates and then hung his head in defeat. "Okay, tell Aeryn I'm with her," he said. "With her on what?" a voice asked. The crew turned around, with varying degrees of guilt on their faces to confront their Human shipmate. John grinned at their shocked expressions then looked around for Aeryn. "Where's Aeryn?" he asked innocently. Suddenly, Aeryn's voice came over the comm. "Okay, Zhaan. I'm in. Wish me luck!" She broke the connection almost immediately. John stared at his friends with growing suspicion. "Okay, guys, tell me what's going on. Where is Aeryn? Why does she need you to wish her luck? What the hezmana is going on?" Behind him on the screen the scene shifted. "Tomorrow night, an Adhafera exclusive! Ten desperate contestants! One hostile environment! And one million credits to the ...Survivor!" The screen shifted through nine alien faces until the image froze on Aeryn's. "Survivor. Beginning tomorrow night at sixteen arns. Don't miss it!" John hit the console in front of him, isolating Aeryn's face on the screen. "What the frell is going on?" he demanded, staring in horror at the image in front of him. "What is this about a survivor?" Rygel glided forward, "She did it for you, Crichton! The medicine you need is too expensive!" John groaned in despair. "Desperate contestants! Hostile environment! How could you let her do it?" John turned to D'Argo. "D'Argo?" The Luxan dodged his Human companion's stare guiltily. "Oh, God! D'Argo, how could you?" "We need the money, John! For you and for Jothee!" John turned away from his friends, shaking his head from side to side in denial. "No, no, no, no! I won't let her do it! No! It's too dangerous! No, Aeryn, no!" he muttered to himself. Before anyone could stop him, John had raced from the Command. ~~ * ~~ * ~~ "So, folks, it's really great to have you on board for our first ever Survivor," the annoying alien Aeryn had met in the alley was saying. Named Fulax, he was short and extremely overweight, his tusked countenance reminiscent of the wild boars on Kreplos 9. The ex-PeaceKeeper surreptitiously checked out her competition as the producer of the 'show' (as he called it), droned on about market shares and something called ratings. The group of 'lucky' finalists represented an amazing assortment of races. Looking around the room, Aeryn identified them all.There was a young Tavlek male called Greshak who reminded her of the young warrior that Zhaan had tried to turn from his race's violent ways. A voluptuous Illonic female stood next to him, her fleshy tentacles tattooed and held back in an elaborate clasp. She caught Aeryn's assessing gaze and glared. Aeryn glanced down at her list and saw that her name was Ramala. A young Sheyang, named Bron, sat next to her, seemingly inoffensive, but Aeryn remembered her encounter with his fire-breathing race on board the derelict Zelbinion. The final member on Aeryn's side of the room was a Delvian of indeterminate age named Zenya. Aeryn shuddered as the redness of her eyes proclaimed her descent into madness. Across the room sat the others. They consisted of an older Scarran named G'Maz who glared at his Sebacean rival; a Scorvian female named Urba, whose mottled external carapace pronounced her to be well past the first blush of youth; and three youngsters: a very nervous Ja-Kench called Nopo, a tattooed Zenetan (female?) named A'Nara and a Nebari female who introduced herself as Hedyona. Aeryn eyed them all suspiciously, judging their abilities, their strengths and especially their weaknesses. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Fulax stopped his largely ignored speech and waddled towards the door impatiently. There was a great deal of angry hissing. Aeryn tried to move closer to hear what was going on, but she found her path blocked by the Scarran, heat radiating off him in dangerous waves. Fulax stepped back from the door and suddenly several planetary guards burst into the room. The Ja-Kench squealed in terror and tried to leap out the window, but was soon overcome and detained by the guards. As the small green creature was led away in handcuffs, Fulax pulled out his comm and contacted someone urgently. "Frell! We've lost the Ja-Kench! Something about an extortion charge and suspicious death!" He listened for a microt then relaxed a bit. "Okay, send him along! Yeah, that's even better. We bill him as a member of the race that invented the game in the first place. Love ya, babe!" Aeryn listened with disgust as the alien dramatically kissed into his comm then snapped it shut. "There's been a slight change of plans," he announced. The other contestants snarled and began to protest. Aeryn remained silent, continuing to size up the competition. "Nothing major, just a replacement for Nopo. He should be here in a few microts." "He better be," the Scarran threatened in an ugly tone of voice. When the door opened again, the Scarran was in a position to see the replacement contestant. Obviously whatever he saw did not bother him too much as his grotesque mouth stretched into a triumphant smile. Aeryn's expression did not match his as the new competitor entered. John moved carefully into the room, feeling the hostility of its occupants wash over him in waves -- particularly from a Sebacean female whose glaring blue eyes he studiously avoided. The producer shuffled forward again, smiling as best his tusked mouth allowed. "Everyone, meet John Crichton, Human. It was transmissions from his homeworld that gave us the idea for this contest!" John spun around to stare at the porcine alien in astonishment as the rest of his rivals sized him up. The Illonic was the first to react. She sidled over to the attractive Sebacean-looking creature and pressed herself against him seductively. John started to back away, then thought better of it. He smiled confidently down into the female's decidedly alluring gaze. "Human, you say. I've never heard of such a race. And I'm sure I would have if they are all as attractive as you." She smiled up into his eyes suggestively. "I'm Ramala," she breathed. John smirked at her attempts to seduce him. "John Crichton, Human. We're new on the scene," he explained. "Not Sebacean?" the Scarran G'Maz growled, his hot breath washing over John deliberately. "Too bad!" He looked over at Aeryn, who stood apart from the group, with a look that made John very nervous. Ramala gasped as she was pushed roughly out of the way by John's fellow contestants. John felt uncomfortable under the lustful gaze of the Zenetan A'Nara, even though he repeatedly told himself that despite his (her?) appearance, she was the female of her species. Of the Nebari, however, he was in no doubt. Hedyona pressed against him, allowing him a full view of her decidedly abundant charms. Remembering the knowledge he had gained from his last encounter with others of her race, John tried not to shudder at her possibly contaminated touch. "Your race invented this game? I'm impressed!" She leaned closer. "You must have valuable information about how to win the contest. I would be ... exceedingly ... grateful if you chose to share that information with me." John smirked down at her, "Hey, honey, that's for me to know and you to find out, if you catch my drift?" John watched the Nebari pull away from him, a typically confused look on her face. John finally allowed himself to look at Aeryn. His Sebacean shipmate was deliberately avoiding looking at him but he could tell from her stiff posture that she was angry. John closed his eyes and groaned inwardly.*Dren!* He opened his eyes in time to see the Delvian studying him carefully. Her madness-reddened eyes slid from him to Aeryn and back again. Then she smiled archly and turned away. He didn't even notice the Scarran watching him carefully. Fulax moved into the centre of the room and cleared his throat. "Okay, now that everybody is here, let me just go over the rules again. You will be taken tomorrow to a derelict freighter. It has a breathable atmosphere but little else. Parts of the ship are in danger of decompression, but, hey, that's what makes the game exciting!" He allowed himself a hearty chuckle, ignoring the fact that none of the contestants joined him. "You will each be given one knapsack of food and water, but only enough to last you for two days. After that you will have to beg, borrow or steal to stay alive. You will also be able to take one weapon of your choice. Choose carefully, as that will be your only defense against the predators that are roaming the ship." When the others looked at him in surprise, he smirked. "Oh, did I forget that part? The ship was abandoned because it was infested with some sort of alien predator, small but lethal. The original crew did not escape." He smirked again at the looks of consternation on the faces of his players. He waddled over to the table that held refreshments and served himself a cup of ras'laq before continuing. The others continued to size each other up with hostile eyes. After taking a hearty gulp and smacking his lips together in satisfaction, Fulax went on. "Now, to win the game, you must first be alive." He laughed again at his own joke. "The ship has been fitted with vidcams everywhere to record the proceedings. At the end of each solar day, you will gather in the central chamber which has been made free of any threat from the predators. You will be give enough marbles for each remaining player, all white except for one black one. You will then vote on who will be removed, one each day. In the event of a tie, our viewers will be polled and they will choose who remains. This will continue until only two of you are left. At that point the viewers will again vote on the winner, who will receive the million credits. Is that clear?" The contestants said nothing, merely nodding silently. Fulax rubbed his hands together with delight. "Well then, if you've all signed your waivers, I'll show you to your rooms. Sleep well. You're going to need it." He started to leave, then turned. "Oh, and for tonight, at least, I would request that you refrain from contacting each other. Once on the ship you can form whatever alliances you want, but not tonight." John looked over at Aeryn again, this time catching her eye. He groaned inwardly as she met his gaze with a look of tightly controlled fury. Then he followed Fulax from the room. ~~ * ~~ * ~~ *This is insane,* John thought as he stood alone in the sumptuous hotel room later that night. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, splashing his face. "Indeed, John, I must say this is one of your more unusual predicaments." Scorpius's ugly face appeared in the mirror over his shoulder. John glared at the hallucination and turned to leave the bathroom. "Leave me alone, Scorpy!" "But why are you putting yourself in danger yet again? For what -- a few measly credits?" Scorpius continued. "I can tell you that the drug will do no good. And why risk your life for the Luxan's pitiful son?" Scorpius's image came over and sat down on the bed beside the Human. "It's not too late to back out!" "I'm not going to back out!" "Yes, you are!" A second voice whispered urgently. John turned to where he had last seen Scorpius but his nemesis was gone. There was a rustle and Aeryn climbed in the window. "Aeryn!" John cried, going over and helping her into the room. "What are you doing here?" Aeryn glared at him, "What the frell are you doing, Crichton?" She began to pace back and forth angrily. "How did you let yourself get dragged into this?" "I couldn't let you do it alone!" John said. "Yes, you could, and you are!" John tried to grab her arm but she threw his hand off. "Aeryn ...!" "No, John, don't 'Aeryn' me! You are not well! That's why I'm doing this in the first place -- to get the money for the medicine. What do you think will happen if you start seeing Scorpius up on the ship? Or if the others find out what's going on? You've already had one encounter with a Scarran. If G'Maz realises you're seeing Scorpius, he'll kill you as soon as look at you!" John watched her work herself up into a towering fury. "What if I can't be there to protect you? What will you do then?" She came to stand in front of him, her face right in his. "How could you do this to me, Crichton? Don't you think I'm worried about you enough as it is?" John saw tears of frustration spring into her eyes and his own gaze softened. He was overwhelmed by a colossal need. Before she could back away from him, John reached out and pulled the beautiful Sebacean to him, covering her mouth in an urgent, demanding kiss. She gasped as he crushed her against him, one arm about her slender waist and his other hand holding the back of her head. She moaned softly as his tongue plunged into her mouth. Then her arms slid up to link behind his head and she surrendered herself to his kiss, returning it with her own desperate passion. At a sudden knock on the door, they broke apart, staring at each other in shock. When the knock came again, John quickly motioned Aeryn into the bathroom. Then he went and opened the door. Fulax moved into the room, glancing around suspiciously. He turned to face the Human. "I just wanted to wish you luck tomorrow. And I wanted to thank you and your race personally for inventing this game. We've made a few modifications but the basic idea is still yours. If we hadn't intercepted those transmissions, we would never have learned of this amazing contest." Fulax moved forward and clapped John on the back. "I would be very interested in learning more of your culture. We tried to trace the signal back to its origin but with no luck." Inside, John felt the brief flame of hope, ignited by Fulax's words, die just as quickly. Instead, he played the predatory contestant to the hilt. "And will more information give me an edge over the others?" Fulax stared at the unknown Human, then his face broke into a grin. "I would really love to give you an advantage, but the game is being monitored by the planetary gaming commission. Any hint of impropriety and they shut us down. Sorry." Fulax moved out of the room, turning back to the Human. "You'll just have to play by the same rules as everyone else. I'm pulling for you though." John shut the door behind the porcine producer firmly and then turned back to the bathroom where Aeryn hid. But all he found was an open window and an empty room. "Frell!" ~~ * ~~ * ~~ END PART 1b/5, "THE GAME" PART 2/5, "THE ARRIVAL"