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Season 1 (A nine part round robin silly ficlet)
Valkyrie II - The Wrath of John, by PKAmmoTroop
Valkyrie III - Battle of the Sexes, by MannyCalavera
Valkyrie IV - A Whole Lotta Rosie!, by Blind_Dentist
Valkyrie V -The Visitor, by Jules
Valkyrie VI - Dead Again by unohoo
Valkyrie VII - Blimp Takes Off by unohoo
Valkyrie VIII - Feel My Pain by unohoo
Valkyrie IX - Send in the Clones, by Jules
I owe Runnik many thanks for Beta reading this ficlet and his suggestion I include the foreword for clarification.
Disclaimer: They’re not mine, I don’t own ‘em, just please let me use your characters for a little while and I promise to return them as well as they began this ficlet. Thanks in advance.
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
“Well, Lt. Braca, it appears the fifth wing was able to bring in a new species for us. It’s getting translator microbes now.” Scorpius was rubbing his hands together in anticipation of using his beloved Aurora Chair.
“I think they are here now, sir.” Lt. Braca said.
Two guards, but no Valkyrie greeted Scorpius and Lt. Braca. “Sir, she won’t move from the infirmary.”
“You will bring her to me now!” Scorpius growled.
“Sir, let me see to it.” Lt. Braca said.
______________________________
Lt. Braca staggered in, the Valkyrie in tow. She was bound. Four guards had to carry her. Scorpius had never seen anyone this magnificent! He could not take his eyes off her. “What is her name?”
“Zavtig.” Lt. Braca said.
“Well, well, Zavtig, listen to me carefully. You will be put into this device behind you. It can probe your mind and reveal your secrets to me. You will suffer great pain if you try to conceal anything. Is that clear?” Scorpius spoke to Zavtig, as she was strapped into the Aurora Chair.
Zavtig nodded.
“Yes. Guard, remove the gag.” Scorpius said.
The chair began turning slowly, tracing a counter-clock wise spin, Niem was at the controls. “Sir, I am not getting any readings at this time. We should be seeing something; the chair has completed two complete cycles. I am now doubling the intensity.”
“Zavtig, if you resist, it will get painful. Please just relax and let my Aurora Chair do the work.” Scorpius maintained his patience.
The chair made another three cycles, and still there was nothing to show Scorpius. “I am increasing the intensity by another factor. You are now at the top of the non-damaging range of this device. If you do not cooperate, you will feel pain.” Niem said.
“Do it, I don’t have much more time to waste on her” Scorpius was being forceful in his statement, but his thought were still on the Valkyrie’s magnificence.
Niem moved the slider to the next level, the first level of pain. As soon as the chair locked into the new setting the Valkyrie did not scream, but sang out a single sustained pure C sharp above high C.
Niem and Scorpius covered their ears and cried out in unison, “Stop! Please, make it stop!”
Little wisps of smoke began rising from the Aurora Chair’s circuitry and the chair stopped spinning. The straps holding Zavtig down, released. Zavtig stood up, took a deep breath, and sang her second, and more hideously painful note. Before either Scorpius or Niem could stop her, she walked out.
It took both Scorpius and Niem a full six hundred microts before they could do anything after the second paralyzing tone. Scorpius called to the guards to find her and hold her for questioning. Clearly, she was beyond the capabilities of the Aurora chair, if it could be fixed. * But she could be useful. * Scorpius thought.
“Niem, did you manage to get any readings from the chair before it failed?” Scorpius asked.
“No sir. Did you detect anything from her mind?” Niem countered.
“No. That is strange. I could detect nothing.” Scopius said. “Start the repairs on the Aurora chair as soon possible, Lt. Braca.” Scorpius left the room, leaving Lt. Braca to pick up the pieces.
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
Scorpius fumed and began pacing; these test flights took so long! It seemed like arns since the prowler launched into the wormhole. The program director, Scorpius couldn’t remember his name - they come and go so quickly now, stood a respectful distance away and cleared his throat timidly. “What is it?” Scorpius hissed.
“Sir, the prowler has automatically initiated the return wormhole and is entering it now…” his voice trailed off to a hesitant whisper.
Scorpius growled and strode past the incompetent twit and marched toward the landing reception bay to witness the results of the test flight. The entire program was falling apart right before his eyes. The test flights were losing ground rather than gaining it. All flights were done automatically due to the lack of qualified volunteer test pilots. The test subjects now were prisoners bound into the prowler cockpit while the entire flight is controlled from a series of research stations.
As Scorpius strode into the control room he suddenly felt light headed, the control room swirled around him and he found himself standing in a darkened office filled with wooden furniture and filing cabinets. The only illumination came from the city lights outside the rain spotted window and the reading lamp on the desk. Scorpius saw lettering on the window in an alphabet he was unfamiliar with but somehow he knew that he was seeing the lettering backwards, it was meant to be read from the other side of the window, and that it said: J. Crichton Private Investigator. “What is the meaning of this little pretense John? I’m a busy man.” Scorpius hissed.
John leaned into the light. “My ol’ pal Scorpius. Have a seat Scorpy, I’ll be with you when I’m through here.”
“You ARE through here.” Growled the half-breed and he turned to leave but found he was facing John again.
“Annoying, isn’t it?” grinned John. “I’ve been doing some digging around and it appears you haven’t been quite honest with me. Or anybody else for that matter.” John’s slight southern drawl was becoming more pronounced with every word.
“What ever do you mean?” asked Scorpius as he sat in a creaky uncomfortable chair.
John lifted a piece of paper and pretended to read. “Says here that you weren’t quite totally honest with me or anyone about your… physical condition.” John slapped the paper down on the desk and leaned forward. “Give me some cock and bull song and dance sob story about how your momma was raped and abused by the Scarrans.” John tapped an angry finger on the paper. “Says right here you’re a self-made man… critter… whatever. Did a little self-medicating a few years ago, some DNA games trying to become a Super PeaceKeeper. Going to kick the Scarrans butts, right Scorpy?” John leaned back in his chair and grinned a smug, self-satisfied grin. “I should have figured that out myself. That’s the only way the xenophobic Sebaceans would even consider looking at you! If you had REALLY shown up at PK Central claiming ‘Ooo my mommy was attacked by a Scarran’ they would have tossed your eema into a log chipper!”
Scorpius clenched his teeth in purest anger. His deepest secret known to only a few highly placed persons at Central Command, now in the hands of this… human. “How did you find out?” he growled.
“Did a little digging around, read the sign boy, I’m a Pea-Eye, you got no secrets from me.”
“Get out of my head John, I’m warning you.”
“No Scorpy, I’m warning YOU. I’m dead now, so you can’t hurt me.” John came out from behind the desk and leaned into Scorpius, his nose denches away from the Scarran/Sebacean nightmare. “It’s called pay back Scorpy, and it’s a bitch.” John said softly. “What your neural clone did to me is only the start of what I have planned for you. I only wish I had a modem or a sound card to stuff inside your skull like you did to me.” John slapped the side of Scorpy’s head. “But considering this hardware you’re lugging around, you’d probably like it.”
Lt. Braca screamed in pain as he removed the overheated cooling rod from Scorpius’ cooling system and slapped a new one in place allowing it to spin into position.
The shriek brought Scorpius back to the control room. His teeth were clenched and he was hyperventilating rapidly. He fought to bring him self under control. He heard Braca gasp. He looked over at his aide to find out what surprised the lieutenant so much; he saw Braca staring down at the control panel in shock. Scorpius looked down and saw that he had his own hand was on the control that remotely shut down the phase stabilization device on the prowler. In his panic at John’s intrusion to his mind he had inadvertently shut down the phase stabilizer on the prowler while it was inside the wormhole.
Long silent moments passed. No one in the control room spoke. Remotely piloted, the Prowler landed in the bay outside the control room. The engines hadn’t completely spooled down when Scorpius and his scientists entered the landing bay, opened the prowler’s cockpit canopy, and looked down into the now familiar pool of ooze that filled the cockpit.
Scorpius sighed as he looked down into the ruined cockpit. They would have to review the flight data to see if the flight was successful up to the point where the phase stabilizer shut down. That would take time and they were falling further behind schedule with each passing day.
Just as Scorpius opened his mouth to give an order it happened, that sound! The pure clean note: C sharp above high C! The sheer intensity of the sound startled Scorpius causing him to fall forward into the pile of goo that was once a prisoner. Scorpius wiped the gunk off of his face and whirled around and there she stood: Two metras tall, her mass equivalent to two brawny peace keeper guards, long golden braids, helmet, weapons, armor! Zavtig! Scorpius could only drink in the sight of womanly grace and beauty. She raised her arms and opened her mouth and out came another note: C sharp above high C. The pure intensity of the note caused all in the landing bay to cover their ears, the glass between the control room and the landing bay shattered. The indestructible canopy window on the prowler was crazed with cracks and Scorpius fell backwards into the cockpit and was now covered with the slime that was once a Sebacean.
Then suddenly she was gone. “Guards!” yelled Scorpius as he struggled to free himself from the prowler. Ignoring the sickeningly sweet organic smell of the goop, Scorpius looked right and left desperately for Zavtig. “Guards! Bring her to me!”
Suddenly Scorpius heard the sound of John laughing and paper rattling in the back of his head. “Whoo-ee! Gotterdammerung Scorpy! Says right here you got the hots for that big ol’ girl!”
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
Scorpius stared after Zavtig’s immense retreating frame before scrambling after her. As he left the hangar, he realized he should have commed more security to head Zavtig off. *Oh well, too late now.* Scorpius thought as a piercing shriek came roaring back at him…a piercing D. *Zavtig’s highest.* Scorpius thought with delight.
Scorpius rounded a bend in the narrow corridor just in time to see Zavtig enter the defense screen room. *Frell...that magnificent voice among such delicate equipment…we’d surely be destroyed by any chance Scarran attack.*
He heard John’s voice in his head say mockingly, “And just think, Scorpy, there aren’t any other couples running through the wood with you…”
Scorpius passed a long length of wiring. Calling upon his Scarran strength he ripped it out of its casing and pounced Zavtig. Using the short time he knew he had, he quickly gagged her and just barely managed to tie the knot about her head when Zavtig rolled over, pinning Scorpius to the ground.
Scorpius marveled at Zavtig’s beauty in her two metra frame, her shining silver armor, her helmet, and her golden hair…her whole body enraptured him. *Yea she’s like Furlow, she’s sexy.* John’s voice said, showing Scorpius an image of the Dam-Ba-Da mechanic.
*That Furlow isn’t half as beautiful as Zavtig.* Scorpius thought furiously.
Struggling against a weight even he could barely handle, Scorpius finally reached his comm and activated it. “Lieutenant Braca.”
“Yes sir?” came the automatic response.
“Defense screen room, with a contingent of guards. Now.” Scorpius ordered.
“Yes sir.” Braca answered. Scorpius looked up and saw, running into the room, Braca and enough guards to subdue even Zavtig.
As the guards carried Zavtig off to a more secure cell Braca turned to Scorpius. “Sir, the techs have just reported the completion of the new Aurora Chair. Its main circuitry is under 10 metras of thick metal plating.”
“Excellent.” Scorpius said. “Have the guards take Zavtig to the new Aurora Chair. I will meet you there.”
Scorpius barely saw a flash of Braca’s nod and salute before finding himself in a plush room filled with circular tables and chairs. Looking down, he saw a strange brownish material that felt quite soft.
“Comfy, isn’t it?” Scorpius quickly glanced up to see John, PI, across from him, wearing a brown trench coat over a white shirt and tie, a strange brown cap placed jauntily on his head.
“You know, Scorpy, your files are all very interesting. However, I haven’t been able to find any dental records among them…you do know there’s something called a dentic in these parts, right?” John looked at Scorpius’s teeth with a slight smile. Scorpius merely stared back, too angry to speak.
“Cat got your tongue? You are not getting rid of me, you can’t ignore me.” John leered at Scorpius much the same way he was tormented by Scorpius’ neural clone.
Scorpius distractedly waived his hand before speaking, “It is difficult for me to think of you as John Crichton. You are but a shadow of him.”
At that, the conscientious that once was John Crichton laughed and said, “Here’s Johnny! And you will see, I’m much harder to get rid of than you can imagine.”
“But what is this, now?” Johnny held out a strange, almost wooden like material with a drawing on it. “What you see here is a diagram of your head…here is your coolant rod and other appliances…but they’re right where the normal heat regulation section of a Scarran’s brain is, which all analysis showed you have-I mean had. Why did you get rid of it?”
“I have no need to explain myself to you, Johnny, especially when you apparently have access to my own memories!”
“And look at these…” Johnny continued, pulling out even more sheets.
“No.” Scorpius interrupted. “This interrogation is over.”
With that he stalked out of the lounge. As quickly as he had left it, he found himself back in the defense screen room onboard his Command Carrier. *So it is to be a test of our wills Johnny. Make no mistake. If you attempt this, I will fight you, and I will win.*
Scorpius walked out of the room heading for the Aurora Chair, all too aware of Johnny’s silent laughter.
****************************** Disclaimer *******************************
The Jim Henson company owns "Farscape" and related characters concerning Farscape. Channel 9 Australia and the Sci-Fi channel do whatever, for whatever, but they feel they need mentioning so here is saying their names. Bask in it.
I certainly do not own the characters, nor am I trying to turn a profit off someone else's work, as a lawyer would. I am simply borrowing the characters, as one tries on clothes. When I am finished enlightening, entertaining, and/or simply droning, I will return them to the shelves where I found them. They will be returned unbent, unmolested, and un-perverted, a condition unlike a lawyer.
In most cases, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, a validation of success, or at least an ego boost. Nevertheless, if this is not the case and one feels they lack sense of the humor, the heart, or creativity to enjoy mere differences of opinion, then that individual should have became a lawyer. However, if the need arises where one feels that litigation is the answer, one should have wisdom enough to realize a dren-sucking lawyer must have asked the question.
**********************************+************************************
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
The Aurora Chair, the pinnacle of interrogation and the primary tool of Scorpius' interrogation, lay in charred ruin. Sitting in his quarters, elbows firmly on his desk as his interlaced fingers supported his head, Scorpius violently shook in fear. Never had terror gripped him, been so complete, and all consuming. Living for cycles upon cycles feeling nothing but revenge, Scorpius was unaccustomed to feeling any other emotion. Vengeance was his life and his blood; it was his heart and his mind. Without the thought or feeling of revenge, Scorpius was naked, he was exposed, he was vulnerable, and he was afraid.
Quietly whimpering Scorpius remembered all to well what had happened. The prisoner, known as G437739-A48 destroyed the chair. It was not a simple process. It was long, and it was grueling. The female's resistance of the chair proved to be absolute. Scorpius, motivating as in his own inimitable fashion, rode on the back of the chair, taunting, tormenting, and torturing.
For arns, the plump subject remained silent. The vid-screen revealed no information, with Scorpius patiently motivating. The process was futile in retrospect. Testing Scorpius to his limits of patients, endurance, and experience, the chair revealed nothing from the mind of the subject.
Recognizing the complete ineffectiveness of his creation, Scorpius halted the process, turned to Lieutenant Braca, and admitted defeat as he observed the reaction of the subject, "Have the lifeform terminated, it is of no use to me."
The subject heard the words, and Scorpius watched the panic explode from the otherwise fleshy but stoic countenance of the subject. The flabby subject then opened her mouth. Scorpius, puzzled at this reaction, approached the chair to observe this reaction. He turned began soliciting advice from Lieutenant Braca as he realized he was making no sound.
Oddly, all within the room began understanding they were unable to emit sounds as well. The subject with its mouth still open sat rigidly in the chair. Entering the mind of Scorpius was the thought that it was possible the subject was making a sound. He then wondered if they were unable to hear it. Noticing the cuffs of his chair, Scorpius watched the metal beginning to ripple and smear, as circuitry silently sparked and fizzled. As he thought to cover his ears quickly, the undetected but ever present tone became recognized.
All within the room fell to their knees, writhing and screaming in agony from the shriek blast omitting from the subject. As the rotund subject ceased the emanation, the Peacekeepers lay deafened and in pain from the blast. The now brittle cuffs from the chair snapped readily to the surplus wrists of the subject.
Wearing the face of anger and pain, the freed economy sized subject stalked the writhing Scorpius who lay helplessly on the floor. The subject grabbed the aware, yet impotent Scorpius by his arm. Hanging by his shoulder, she effortlessly lifted the fetal commander to eye level.
Was it the pain of feeling his arm separating from its socket? Was it a flaw in his tormented and piecemeal brain? Was it the fear that his life easily could end? Was his genetic tailoring to blame? Might this have altered his otherwise reasonable perceptions? Was it the memory of their two bodies, crushing together on the floor as earlier he subdued her? Simply to spite the neural clone's taunting, Scorpius denied any emotions concerning the subject. However, as he dangled off the ground, like a frail pup by the nap of the neck, dominated by the husky female, shadowed in her girth, it happened.
"!BOING!" the sound effect furnished by the neural demon confirmed his own sexual arousal. Then John added, in a deep caricaturish voice, "Oh Mom-Ma!"
Submissive and helpless, the naughty Peacekeeper commander craved the punishment of the voluptuous goddess. His body ached to be abused her, controlled by her, dominated. Consumed by this totalitarian hunger, Scorpius looked deep into her eyes, awaiting her correction.
"Oh dear god," The neural clone heaved, succumbing to the nausea he felt. Vomiting, the clone gagged "Oh god! She Tarzan - you Jane! She's the greasy mechanic and you're the naive tourist!" Heaving further, John pleaded, "Please make it stop. This is just plain wrong!"
The super-sized vixen looked deep into the eyes of Scorpius and recognized the language of his black heart. Her expression changed. The once rage carved scowl melted into a soft and giggling shy flower. Grabbing Scorpius by the back of the head, she firmly thrust his face to her bosom, as she beamed with joy.
Buried in the soft, milky, sweet smelling flesh of her cleavage, Scorpius melted as his yearning consumed him. As if following the steps of some distant forgotten dance, the object of his affection casually hurled Scorpius to the wall. Crumbling in pile, the captivated Scorpius looked up to see the Valkyrie beam in a silent, internal giggle. The rubenesque angel then turned and gently thundered from the room, pausing briefly at the entrance to return a smile to Scorpius to insure his pursuit. She then disappeared from view, as Scorpius lay shaken against the wall.
Soon after, guards poured into the chamber alerted that the security camera became un-operational. As the nurses then arrived, healing the fallen, they attended to Scorpius. After a small amount of observation and injections, Scorpius returned to his quarters to sort out what happened.
Sitting there, still violently shaking, he desperately fought for an explanation of what he felt and why it dwarfed his revenge.
Confused and afraid Scorpius wrung his hands, as neural demon piped in, "Well, you know what they say... 'The looser the waist band, the deeper the quicksand'... and judging from the size of that cushion, you're just beggin' for some sweet pushin'!"
Seized with sheer terror, Scorpius cringed, desperately wondering what his next step would be.
Disclaimer: They’re not mine, I don’t own ‘em, just please let me use your characters for a little while and I promise to return them as well as they began this ficlet. Thanks in advance.
Disclaimer #2: This disclaimer is not mine. I don’t own it, just usin’ it for a little while. The title Valkyrie ain’t mine either, but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound (something else that isn’t mine – frell!)
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
Scorpius’ eyes popped open and he sat up in bed, his chest heaving as he fought to regain some measure of control over his breathing. Surely it had all been a bad dream! Glancing to the side, he drew back in horror. No! The Valkyrie really IS there – the magnificent Zavtig, adorning his bed…!
“NO!” roared Scorpy, as he leapt from under the crumpled sheet and stood, nearly naked and panting in the center of his bedchamber. “Lt. Braca!! Come here, NOW!”
Before he could discover that his ‘comms’ were mysteriously non-functional this morning, Scorpius heard what could only be described as a ‘whistle’ from the other side of the room.
“Hey Scorpy! How’ya doin? Looks like you had yourself quite a night.” John Crichton, P.I. lounged against the window, across from Scorpius. He was dressed in chinos and a white T-shirt, an earth-style revolver riding in a shoulder holster across his chest.
Scorpius gritted his teeth and growled: “Not now, John! I have no time for your foolishness…”
John Crichton, P.I. interrupted him casually: “Now, Scorpy, is that any way to greet your new best friend?” He walked over to drape an arm casually around Scorpius’ shoulders. “The way I see it, Scorp. You’re in a real pickle here.”
Scorpius shook his head in bewilderment. In a pickle? In what possible sense could his present condition be construed as being ensconced in a small, cylindrical green vegetable?
JC, P.I. continued: “Yep, old buddy, old pal, you’ve really scorched yer shorts this time.” John laughed. “The lovely lady…” he nodded towards the loudly snoring bulk on Scorpius’ bed, “…has you dancing to Wagner, and you need a way to stop the music.”
Scorpius sputtered: “Stop this right now, John! If you have something to suggest, get on with it!”
John smiled conspiratorially: “Well, it’s not that I can help you, really, but, well I’ve brought a friend. I’m sure you remember her. You shared unity with her, I’ve been told.”
Scorpius’ face dropped to an ashen scowl as a sweet voice wafted across the room.
“Scorpius, Greetings. May the light of the Goddess find you today.”
He looked up to see a radiant blue face smiling beatifically at him from behind pressed palms.
“John has informed me that you are in need of spiritual guidance, so I of course came immediately to offer the succor of my Goddess. I am a twelfth level P’au now…” her smile assumed a cutting edge: “so you needn’t attempt to over power me again.”
Scorpius turned angrily to JC, P.I. “But…but…but she’s dead! The frelling woman died more than half a cycle ago! A Delvian priest we interrogated last weeken blurted it out. How did you…?”
JC, P.I. patted Scorpius’ shoulder patronizingly: “Not to worry, Scorp. I died too, remember? A couple of times, but that’s no biggie to a neural clone. We seem to have more lives than Felix the Cat!”
Scorpius sputtered: “Neural clone?! That blue excuse for a lifeform can not possibly be a neural clone…”
John Crichton, P.I. and the Zhaan clone looked at each other and smiled. JC, P.I. took his arm off Scorpius and walked over to Zhaan. “Come on, Zhaan. Scorp doesn’t seem to want our help just now. Let’s you and me go check out his wormhole research, shall we?” Zhaan smiled warmly. “Of course, John. Whatever you wish.” They wander from the room, arm in arm.
Scorpius sputters and screams: “BRACA!!! Get in here, NOW!!”
Disclaimer: They’re not mine, I don’t own ‘em, just please let me use your characters for a little while and I promise to return them as well as they began this ficlet. Thanks in advance.
Location: Inside Scorpy’s head on the Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: Highly CLASSIFIED
“John, what is the matter?” John had stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape, staring at Zhaan.
“How did you die? You were fine when I departed.” JC, PI said.
“I died because I resurrected Aeryn. It weakened me to the point where I couldn’t survive. Also, you’re not dead, John.” Zhaan said.
“What do you mean I’m not dead?” JC, PI said.
“The diagnosan, Tocot, was revived, and he saved you, then I saved Aeryn, and then….” Suddenly a piercingly high G sharp above high C penetrated Scopy’s skull, cooling apparatus, sinus cavities, and other compartments to render the neural clones paralyzed. Scorpy fell to the floor whimpering.
”Oh my goddess, ZHAAN, where am I? And what’s he doing here? I thought the other me was safe aboard Moya. In fact, I was counting on it.” A second John popped into view within microts of the Valkyrie emitting the last pure tone.
“Inquiring minds want to know, what the frell are you talking about?” JC, PI said.
“JC, I will never understand your phrasing, but yes, what the frell are you talking about?” Zhaan said.
“Er, John, riddle me this, what is the last thing you remember?” the new John said.
“I was on the operating table. I thought I died.” JC, PI said.
“So you’re a neural clone, just like Harvey.” The new John said. “Okay, here are the cliff notes. I got twinned shortly after you died, Zhaan. Then Aeryn and I went off with Crais and Talyn leaving the other John on Moya. Then I died from radiation poisoning. I’m guessing that creature Scorpy found made me appear from those sounds she makes.”
“So there’s another one of me out there? Oh, this is good. I mean; if we have to be stuck here in Scorpy’s head, we may as well have some fun. What do you say team?” JC, PI said.
The three nodded in unison.
“Oh Scorpy, ol’ pal-o-mine!” JC, PI called out, “There’s someone here you should meet.” * snerk *
_________________________
“BRACAaaaaaa” Scorpius cried.
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
“Braca, that’s what you’re here for, to manage the budget and keep those frelling bureaucrats off my back. I am not questioning your loyalty, you’ve more than proven yourself, BUT, do your job and don’t come whining to me.” Scorpius had no patience for paper work.
“But sir, the High Commander herself is going to arrive within an arn. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. They’ve noticed the very high turnover of personnel with this wormhole project. Plus, one of the pilots we’ve lost is the son of the second in command. That caught their attention.” Braca looked like he was going to throw up.
* Hee hee hee, Scorpy! It looks like you’ve stepped in dren up to your, er, nose. * JC, PI was taking particular glee in tormenting Scorpius.
* Not now John, I need to concentrate. * Scorpius grabbed his head.
“Sir, is anything the matter?” Braca was not used to seeing Scorpius anything but decisive. And Scorpius did not look decisive, having stopped mid stride, holding his head.
“Stop the next launch, I will be in my office when the commander arrives. And Braca, I want you alone to meet her.” Scorpius said.
__________________________
“Scorpius, we have been very patient with your experiment. But we can ill afford to lose this many peacekeepers. How many troops have you liquefied in the past three monens?” Things did not look good for Scorpy’s project. Not good at all. And the High Commander knew exactly how many troops were lost, right down to Qustal’s son. “I’ll tell you how many! You’ve lost one hundred and nine troops, and that’s not counting the prisoner’s you have used. Not all those prisoners were to be executed, either. You are to stop using Peacekeepers immediately, prisoners or not.”
“Yes sir. We have someone else in mind for our next experiment. We’ve modified the phase shifters according to these equations, and I have someone who is not a Peacekeeper. She is not even Sebacean.” Scorpius was desperate. He knew if he didn’t produce something soon, his funds would be cut off, and his own fate would be less than certain. * And I’m doing it to protect the Peacekeepers from the Scarrans. * Scorpius thought.
* No! No! No! You are not going to get away with that. * John’s ghost said. * The Scarrans aren’t nearly the threat you make them to be. Oh yes, we have met the enemy and they are you. *
Scorpius was standing and staring stupidly at nothing, the very High Commander looked at him, “Scorpius, you must justify these expenditures. And who will pilot your test now?”
Braca walked in with Zavtig bustling behind him, slightly flushed. Once she saw Scorpius she flashed him the most radiant smile and was about to burst into a joyous note. Fortunately for the extremely High Commander, Zavtig saw Scorpius’s signal, and stopped, mouth puckered, chest inflated to full capacity.
“Eminent High Commander, this is Zavtig. She is a Valkyrie and she will be my next vict… er pilot.” Scorpius looked at Zavtig and thought, * Oh you are lovely, but I must take care of business. * Scorpius then flashed Zavtig the most brilliant smile his teeth would allow, “Zavtig, I want you to fly this next mission, just nod if you agree.” Fortunately for Scorpius, Zavtig nodded.
__________________________
“I don’t see how you are going to fit Zavtig into this Prowler. She looks bigger than the compartment.” The incredibly highly ranked High Commander said.
“They are loading her now, she will fit.” Scorpius spoke while two voices in his head said, * Blimp takes off. * Simultaneously.
__________________________
* Scorpy, look at the bright side. You get to spend another blissful night with your Wagnerian Princess. How could you know she would sing the one pure tone that would stop the wormhole and the phase shifter? Zhaan, do you think Scorpy would like to learn some of the one thousand fifty Delvian positions? * Ghost John and Neural John said.
Scorpius sat down by the radiant Zavtig and put his head in his hands.
Thanks to Runnik, for doing the beta reading, as always, without any notice, and as always for promptly replying.
Location: Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
Scorpius fell into a fitful sleep next to his radiant Zavtig. Things were not going well for him, not well at all. The wormhole research was in shambles, his superiors were seriously questioning continuing his funding, and there were more personas crashing around in his brain than he could count. And the strangest of all was he felt more content when he was with Zavtig than he did apart from her.
”Scorpy, Scorpy, Scorpy. I do believe that boy’s in love. What do you think John?” The neural John turned to the ghost of John, recently of Talyn.
“Hee hee, I do believe you are right ol’ buddy. Why Scorpy, you old charmer you, it looks like your about to get the girl of your dreams.” Ghost John said.
Scorpius sat bolt upright. Sleep, fitful as it was, was no longer. * John! That’s impossible, I can’t be in love with that. * Scorpius’s rebuttal fell on deaf ears, Zhaan smirked in the corner of his mind, near an overheating cooling rod.
“Now, now, now, don’t let little ol’ me get you all hot and bothered. You’ll burn out that rod faster than a greased pig in a county fair.” Ghost John smirked.
“BRACA!” Scorpius called out.
__________________________
Braca stood in the shadow watching the nurse clean up after replacing the third rod in as many arns. He noticed a palpable change in his master’s demeanor. There were bags under his eyes and something indefinable about his mien. It was as though Scorpius was being humbled. Braca thought this was beyond possible. But the most surprising of all, was Scorpius’s tolerance, no more than tolerance, of Zavtig. What could this giant of a woman, a woman without speech, offer an intellect like Scorpius?
Braca was about to follow the nurse out of the room when Scorpius stopped him. “Has the commander returned to the presidium yet?”
“She is due to leave in eight arns. Why?” Braca said.
“I need to see her before she goes. Arrange it.” Scorpius dismissed Braca.
__________________________
As soon as Braca left the room, Zavtig grabbed Scorpius and dragged him to their bed. She snuggled up with him and held him lovingly. Scorpius fell asleep in Zavtig’s arms. It was becoming one of his favorite places to be. He had never known such peace. Scorpius remembered his awful childhood, remembered his triumph with the peacekeepers, remembered Natira, remembered Zavtig defeating the unstable wormhole, and a single tear fell.
Disclaimer #2: This disclaimer is not mine. I don’t own it, just usin’ it for a little while. The title Valkyrie ain’t mine either, but what the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound (something else that isn’t mine – frell!)
Oh, and once again, a multitude of thanks to unohoo for Beta Reading and generally kick-starting this whole project. Although, why she thinks Valkyrie 8 was the LAST of the season is beyond me. 3:0) LOL!
Location: Hell, Michigan and a Gammak Base
Grid Coordinates: CLASSIFIED
“I’ve GOT to get this installment finished. I promised Unohoo weeks ago, and I can’t seem to get on track.” Jules muttered to her still blank computer screen. “Something or someone always seems to get in the way. And that TITLE! How moronic can it get?”
“I wouldn’t worry about moronic, duckie.” Jules swung wildly around in her chair and jumped to her feet, trying to see where the voice had come from. There wasn’t SUPPOSED to be anyone else at home today!
“Lookin for me?” Lounging against the back of the livingroom couch was none other than John Crichton, P.I., white t-shirt, chinos, hat and all. “You looked like you could use some help with that story, so I thought I’d stop by.”
“Whew! Thank god it’s you, John! For a minute there I thought I’d lost it!” Jules exclaimed with obvious relief.
“Why? Is it better if a SHARED hallucination visits you, rather than one you just thought up on your own?” JC, P.I. looked quite amused.
“Now that you mention it,” Jules muttered, “I guess it’s not THAT much better. So, since you’re here, you gonna help me with the story, or just take up my precious time?”
”Tsk, tsk, Toots. Don’t get bitchy with ME! You’re the one having the hallucination after all. Suppose you tell me what you’re SUPPOSED to be writing about and we’ll see if I can help you.”
“Okay, here’s where the story stands to date.” Jules sat back down at her keyboard. “Scorpius appears to have fallen in love with Zavtig, the Valkyrie, and Lt. Braca thinks he’s gone soft in the head. Which he probably has. Anyway, the Commander of the Special Forces is visiting the base, trying to decide whether to cut off Scorpy’s funding and well, Scorpy’s holed up in the sack with the singer!”
“Snort!” A rather ungraceful sound exploded from behind Jules’s head, in the kitchen this time. “I can just IMAGINE old gator jaws in bed with ANYONE!”
“John?” John Crichton, P.I. peered down the hall, towards the kitchen. “T-John, as I live and breathe...”
”Oh, can it, cliché breath. Since you neither live NOR breathe, you might as well shut up and let someone who KNOWS what’s going on have a shot at it.” TalynJohn was INDEED in Jules’ kitchen, and for once, she found herself speechless. For, standing next to TJ was the spitting image of Zhaan. And, flanking her, were Stark and Aeryn.
“Well. Don’t everyone just stand here gawking. Let’s get what we came for and get the frell out of here.” Aeryn looked as impatient and stern as her PK persona allowed.
“Aeryn, Stark, Zhaan…How did YOU all get here?” Jules was obviously out of her depth with this group.
“Just be thankful we convinced D’Argo and Chiana to stay behind. We’d NEVER finish if those two had come.” If it were possible, Aeryn looked even more annoyed than she had a moment ago.
Zhaan patted Aeryn’s arm: “There, there, dear. I don’t think Jules is worried about how many of us there are. I just think she’s wondering how you and I and Stark managed to enter her hallucination. Isn’t that it, dear?” Zhaan tried to look reassuringly at Jules.
“Yes, exactly. How did you all GET here? I mean, I know about Neural Clone John giving up the ghost and TalynJohn dying and leaving a remnant in Stark’s mask, but Zhaan? Aeryn? Stark???? Stark isn’t even dead. Nor is Aeryn as far as I know. Is there something you all aren’t telling me? Did the show get canceled and no one TOLD us? Did Season 3 really end with “Everyone’s Funeral” like Froonium Ricky said?” Jules sounded quite upset at this point.
JC, P.I. came over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He gently lowered her into her computer chair. “Can’t any of you see that you’ve upset this kind lady? Here, she’s let us into her stories and her head and her home. I think it would be nice of US to at least give her a little breathing room here. Stark, make her a cup of tea, will you?”
Stark bustled around the kitchen, banging pots and cups and cursing under his breath, while Zhaan, Aeryn and the Johns gathered around the computer, trying to read over Jules’ shoulders.
“Here’s the deal, guys. Scorpius has put himself out on a limb by becoming involved with one of his test subjects. And SHE has managed to foul up the entire experiment single-handedly with her singing. All this, plus an audit by the Commander. I see a chance for Lt. Braca to make his move and unseat the old goat, what do you all think?” Jules rapidly hit keystroke after keystroke, opening several “windows” on her monitor screen showing the various Valkyrie chapters, ending with Scorpius’ musings at the end of Valkyrie VIII.
“Well my dear, I supposed we COULD help you out here.” Zhaan folded her arms across her chest. “But no foolishness this time. I refuse to perform any unnatural acts with that “animal”, whatever you might LIKE to write.” She was obviously still upset by the abortive attempt at unity that she unwittingly performed on the neural clone of Scorpius named Harvey. “By the way, has anyone SEEN that no good, lying, scheming….” Zhaan sputtered…”since HE died? I don’t suppose we know what HE’S up to now, do we?”
“I have no idea, Zhaan. Since I’m just a remnant of Aeryn’s spirit leftover from her death on the Ice Planet, I haven’t even SEEN the Scorpius Clone. As a matter of fact, this trip is the first I’ve seen most of YOU since my death. How do you all keep in touch, anyway?” Aeryn asked.
“Oh, no worries, baby. Jules or one of the other fanfic writers brings us to these get-togethers fairly often.” T-John moved closer to Aeryn. “They just can’t seem to let go, you know? I think they’re hoping you and I will …. You know.”
”I most certainly do NOT know what you are talking about, John Crichton. I probably shouldn’t even be speaking to you, since, in effect, it was you who caused my death in the first place.” Aeryn crossed her arms in a huff and turned her back on them all, especially TalynJohn.
“My tea, your tea, my tea, your tea…” Stark appeared in the doorway with a tray full of steaming mugs. “Would anyone like sweetener in their tea? I have sweetener here, I think, as well as a whitish fluid that smells like it might be an acceptable addition to this “tea” stuff.” He looked around at his friends, a smile fading from his face as he noticed the obvious divisions amongst them. “Oh dear. I hope I’m not too late with the tea. We’re not fighting, are we?” Stark hurried up the stairs with the tray only to ….
“Wait a minute!!” Jules hollered in her best “mom” voice. “We’re NOT tripping and spilling tea in MY house. If you want to make a mess, you can just go BACK into the story and mess up Scorpius’ Gammak base. You leave MY stuff alone!” She stood up and glared her best glare at each of the clones in turn. “For that matter, I think it’s time you all left anyway. The Commander will be leaving soon, and Lt. Braca needs to wake Scorpius up now. Don’t you all have JOBS to do??? Hmmm??” The look on Jules’ face left no room for argument.
“Since you put it that way…” Stark’s face was downcast as he backed out of the room, tea tray intact in his hands.
“Yes, yes. We’d best be going.” Zhaan pulled her shawl around her shoulders and followed Stark.
“We were just about to go,” TalynJohn put a hand under Aeryn’s elbow and steered her towards the door.
“Yes indeedy, little lady. We’ll just mosey along over to Scorpy’s now. Don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll get that story all fixed up for you in no time. OH, and Happy New Year, darlin.” John Crichton, P.I. was the last to leave, tipping his hat and whistling “Auld Lang Syne” as he left.
“Whew! I thought they’d NEVER leave.” Jules muttered to her still blank computer screen…
*************************************************************************
“Lt. Braca, get in here!!” Granny Crais exclaimed. Having entered Scorpius’ quarters and found him asleep in the arms of the voluptuous Zavtig when he SHOULD have been hard at work in the research center, the Commander was ready to terminate more than the wormhole project….