Farscape: Earth's Children
Title: Earth’s Children
Fandom: Farscape
Character(s): John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Zhaan, Chiana, Rygel, Pilot, OCs
Length: 4,747 words
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't know you. You don't know me. Let's keep it that way.
Summary: Out on a routine supply mission, John and Aeryn discover something that shouldn’t exist.
Notes: I began this years and years and years ago - probably some time around season 2. Every now and then I pick it up again and add a paragraph here, do some editing there, but I don’t think this will ever actually be finished. My policy is usually not to post permanent WIPs but, what can I say, I really like this tidbit of a story.
Earth’s Children
“And what exactly do you call that?!” Aeryn Sun asked, angrily getting out of the prowler on unsteady legs.
“A landing?”
Aeryn scowled at the human in front of her. “If you had been a Peacekeeper surely someone would have killed you by now and put me out of my misery.”
“Well,” John Crichton answered, looking over his shoulder, “then it’s a good thing I’m not a Peacekeeper, isn’t it.”
Aeryn mumbled a disagreement.
“Aeryn, John,” a voice came through their combadges, “are you all right? Pilot says Moya detected a--a hazardous landing.”
John tapped his comm, “Yeah, we’re okay Zhaan.”
“No thanks to Crichton.”
The two could hear the blue priestess’ smile. “So long as you’re both safe. Any sign of habitation yet?”
“No,” Aeryn answered. “Is Pilot sure about those coordinates.”
There was a slight pause before Zhaan answered. “Pilot says Moya is accurate within a hundred klicks, but that you have landed off the prospective target. He can’t be sure whether you are any closer or farther than you should be.”
Aeryn scowled at John again. He gave her his ‘What’d I do?’ face, complete with upturned palms. “Yes, well, I guess we’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t forget the specimens I asked for.”
“I won’t. Anything else?”
“No, nothing. Goddess go with you.”
“Thanks. Aeryn out.” The former Peacekeeper tapped her comm badge, turning it off. “Hey, hey! Where do you think you’re going?” She yelled.
John turned. “I’m going looking for stuff. You know, edibles so we can lay off the food cubes for a little while, Zhaan’s plant friends, people...and I use the term lightly.”
“You were just going to just go off without saying anything?” she asked incredulously.
“You saw me, didn’t you?”
Making a sound of exasperation, but refusing to get any closer to the human for fear of doing bodily harm, she said, “After that landing I think I should decide which way we go.”
John half-turned, as if ready to go with or without her. Instead, he trudged back. “All right, where do you want to go. Let’s just boogie, okay?”
Packs on, she chose a direction. “What’s with you today? Hormones or some other human related problem, that monthly thing you were talking about -- PMS?”
“No!” John refuted, making a face. “Only women get…that.” He ran a hand through his hair, obviously shaken by Aeryn’s implied statement. She couldn’t fathom why. “I’m just a little edgy...”
“Well get over it, will you. If you hadn’t noticed we have absolutely no clue where we are, and is it just me or does this look nothing like the lush verdant planet Pilot promised us?”
John stopped and looked around for the first time. Yes, he’d been about to leave the Cebacean woman, but he wasn’t really thinking. Instead he been watching his good friend Scorpious -- so not -- twirl locks of Aeryn’s hair, caught in a ponytail, between his claw-like fingers. The bit about going off in search of...whatever it was he’d said was a complete lie. He was just trying to get away from old Scorpy. Again. “It is kind of deserted, ain’t it?”
“Wonderful sense for understatement Crichton. There’s more dust and boulders and rocks,” she kicked the aforementioned rock out of her way, “than trees.”
“There are some trees.”
Aeryn snorted. “You call those spindly little things trees? I thought you said Earth had trees that grew hundreds of meters high.”
“Nooo,” he said, rolling his eyes, “I meant those.” He pointed off to their right. In the distance a green canopy undulated in the snapping wind.
The Peacekeeper opened her mouth to say something, but wisely shut it.
§§§
“We’ve got enough here to keep Blue Girl busy for a couple of arns, don’t you think?”
“Hmm?” Aeryn was busy making short work of their midmorning snack, a piece of fruit that vaguely resembled a raspberry except for it’s jewel-like colors -- the seeds reminded John of gold teardrops -- and it’s immense size. They’d shared one between them and Aeryn was contemplating offering to share another.
“I was saying, I think we’ve done enough for today, why don’t we--”
Aeryn stilled him with her hand. Tapping to her ear she motioned ahead and to the right of them. “Do you hear it,” she whispered.
John listened for a moment. “Yeah. It sounds like,” the sounds had died again, “I don’t know.”
It crescendoed. “Sounds like laughter. Like children laughing.”
“The settlement Pilot mentioned?”
“Has to be.”
John stood. “Let’s go check it out.”
They followed the laughter as it rose and fell, sometimes dividing or moving but always in the same southeastern direction. If it was southeast. Crichton found it hard to tell with the thick canopy overhead. Not that he was complaining. He definitely preferred the deep green to the burning sun. And that was the other thing, those spindly wanna-be trees had been silvery, but the further they went into this oasis, the greener they got.
“So what,” Aeryn said. “It’s probably a sign that these trees are better nourished than the others. We’re probably closing in on the water source. Makes sense to build a settlement there.”
Brushing a branch out of his path, Crichton agreed. Didn’t stop it from bothering him, though.
The laughter was becoming stronger, and more distinct. Aeryn thought she heard at least three, but the echoes made it hard to determine anything else about them. Suddenly they were in a clearing. John came around her, inspecting the place.
“Holy Mother of God. It’s a picnic site.”
“A what?” Aeryn asked, confused.
John ran a hand through his short hair. “A picnic site. You know, where you go with your family, or some friends and a bring a bunch of food already cooked or to bar-be-que and...” he trailed off at her blank stare. “Okay. Picnics, something else Peacekeepers don’t do. Right.”
He walked around. Over a hundred meters in all directions were open space. A picnic table lay three meters or so ahead, the remains of lunch being picked over by some kind of small ground animal. At the furthest edge of the clearing, where the forest encroached once more, was a kind of house. It seemed to be built from the hull of something, it certainly wasn’t made from any of the wood there. A kind of canopy rested over the closed entrance, the whole of it in shades of cream, white and honey brown. Actually, it looked as if the -- house, was built back into the trees. The grounds were neatly kept, though the grass reached well up their calves, had they not had boots on and had the grass not been lying down. A sharp breeze picked up, making the stuff undulate in green and silver waves, bringing the sound of laughter back to them, louder than it had been since they arrived.
A girl burst out the trees, her back to them as she turned towards to the dense growth. “I’ve won!” Arms thrown above her head, brown hair flying about her face, she crowed her victory. A boy soon followed her. He was about to say something when he saw John at the entrance of their home.
“Ave,” he said.
The girl stopped, as if suddenly aware of a presence other than their own and turned. The four stared at each other for a long moment. “Who are you,” she asked from across the clearing, “what are you doing at our home?” John moved away from the building, back to Aeryn.
Another boy, younger than the other two by some years it appeared, ran out the wood. “Hey,” he said slowing, “let’s play again. This time you...” the words died on his lips as he beheld the adults. His face quickly darkened, making him look older.
“Salohcin, go check on Lyrehs,” the girl ordered without turning. When he was gone she questioned them again.
“My name is John Crichton and this Commander Aeryn Sun --”
“You are Peacekeepers,” she asked, eyeing their clothing critically.
The adults exchanged a look. Aeryn spoke up, “You could say that. And you are...?”
The girl stepped forward, “I am Ave,” she said extending her hand to Aeryn. The Peacekeeper was unsure of what to do. John stepped in and took the girl’s hand before awkwardness could ensue. “This is Yrret and Salohcin is inside. He should be out shortly.”
“Where are your pa--” Aeryn descended into gibberish. The three around her looked at her curiously. Her face asked they were looking at her that way, but her words made no sense.
“Aeryn, what’s wrong,” John asked, concerned. She only gave him a confused look.
The children stepped forward. “I thought you said you were Peacekeepers, Commander Crichton,” Yrret said.
“What?”
“Can’t you speak Cebacean?”
“Can’t you?” He wondered why he was arguing with a ten year old. “You mean to tell me that she’s speaking Cebacean?”
The two gave exchanged a look, reminiscent of the one John and Aeryn had shared. Ave answered. “Of course.”
“Wait, she’s always speaking Cebacean, why aren’t those little parasites in the back of my skull translating.”
Yrret brightened. “Oh, so you do have those, those, what are they called again?” Ave shrugged her shoulders. “Anyhow, we would have told you to modify their frequency earlier but we figured if you’re both Peacekeepers then it wouldn’t matter.”
Meanwhile, Aeryn was busily trying to follow what was going on to no avail. “Don’t worry,” Ave said, “soon we’ll be able to translate for you.”
“Translate? Translate how?”
“Our, uh, things, adapt themselves to the frequency changes.”
“Is that how I’m understanding you now? You’ve adapted?”
Ave shook her head. “No, you must be speaking our language, because if we had adapted to yours we would have adapted to hers too.”
Yrret had taken Aeryn’s hand and was trying to lead her to the picnic table. She was having none of it. “If you can get her to sit down,” the boy told John, “we can help her.”
Processing too much information to fully grasp what the children had told him, John motioned Aeryn to sit. They didn’t notice Ave stare intently at the house for a moment before turning back to them.
The third child, Salohcin, came out, carrying an instrument in his hand. Ave took it. Holding her hands out so Aeryn could see she meant no harm, the girl approached her. She lightly ran the instrument over her own skin, again trying to prove it was safe. Motioning Aeryn to tilt her head down, the child went to work.
“This will only take a moment,” she said, staring intently at her work. Looking up suddenly she added, “Then I can do you.”
“Wait, what? Didn’t you just say we’re speaking the same language?”
Yrret answered for them. “Yes. We must be. Are you not a Peacekeeper then? Don’t they all speak the same thing?”
“No, I’m human, from a planet called Earth. And yeah, I guess they speak the same language.” John’s head was spinning. “Hold on a minute, are you saying you guys are from Earth?”
“Yes.”
John turned. The other boy, the one who’d brought the girl her tool, had spoken.
“Whoa, you kids must be a little screwy. Hey,” he finally asked what should have been his first question, “where are your parents?”
Ave looked up from her work. Yrret gave her a long look before turning his gaze to Salohcin.
Aeryn said something. “Oh no, it’s almost done, I promise,” Ave answered. She looked at John, “We’ve adjusted, and your friend is all patched up. It’s your turn, unless you don’t want to know what she’s saying.”
“What I want to know is where are your parents.” He looked at the boys. Yrret shrugged, Salohcin returned his gaze with a measured on of his own.
Apparently, Aeryn asked Ave the same question as the girl did not answer. “There, all done. Commander Crichton, your turn.” She walked over to him, gently tilting his head forward and down. Off to his left, he could hear Aeryn and one of the boys talking, though he could only understand the child’s side of the conversation. The silver backs of the grass, his legs and the girl’s shoes filled his field of vision.
“We have no parents,” Ave stated simply, calmly. For a moment, the commander almost forgot her age. “We are the only ones on this planet, besides some natural fauna.” Suddenly, Aeryn’s end of the conversation became clear. “There, you’re all frequencied in. Not that it matters to me and the boys, but you might have wanted to talk to Officer Sun sometime,” she said with a smile.
“Okay, so you mean to tell me that you have no parents at all.”
Aeryn looked up. “Good to understand you again Crichton, strange gibberish that it is anyway. It seems our little friends here are parentless.”
“I know, I heard.”
Aeryn addressed the children, “Who’s in charge here?”
Ave, still working on the back of Crichton’s neck, said, “I am,” without looking up.
“You are?” Crichton jerked his head up, “Ow!”
“Just because you can understand Officer Sun doesn’t mean I’m done,” the girl sounded older than she looked. “But, I’m almost done, if you’ll let me finish.” John, consented to her ministrations. He didn’t really have much choice. “Oookay, done. You can raise your head without fear.”
He did, into her smiling face. “Where are your parents?” Her smile faded.
Ave turned away from them and walked a little bit away. “I told you,” she said, facing the forest around them, “we don’t have any.”
“Are there any adults here at all?”
She shook her head.
“The only adults ever here just come to trade,” the often silent Salohcin offered, “then they go.”
“So,” Aeryn took up, “you don’t have any parents and there are no adults. Did you crash land here?”
Ave nodded. Slowly, she turned on her heel and faced them. “Why is it important to you?”
“We’re just concerned.”
“And you’re human,” John added.
Aeryn looked at him, then the gangly girl. “Human?”
“From what I can tell.”
“Is that what you three were talking about over my head?”
“Yeah, it seems the planet’s all weird, shorting out --”
“Yes, yes, I got that. What about them being human?”
“Well,” the adults looked up. Ave was sitting across from them. Mentally, Aeryn slapped herself for letting her guard down. She should have noted the child’s movements. “Well, it came up when we realized we all could understand each other, just not you,” she said, jutting her chin towards Aeryn.
Yrret sat next to Ave. “We’ve never met another human before.” He studied Aeryn for a moment, “We’ve met plenty of Cebaceans.” He cocked his head to one side before adding, “They weren’t very nice.”
“We’re not a very nice people,” Aeryn responded drolly. “Where is the other child?”
Yrret gave Ave, who was looking off into the distance, a hard stare. “He’s inside getting us something to eat. We’ve been playing for a while and, well, we’re hungry.”
“You’re free to join us,” Yrret added. Without warning he stood and walked back to the dwelling.
“Of course.” The two boys returned, laden with many of the fruits Aeryn and John had picked themselves. She looked expectantly at the adults. “Would you like some?”
John shook his head. “We just ate, but thanks.” Something occurred to him, “Is this all you eat, no animal proteins or do the fruit’s an’ veggies give you all that? Heck, do you know what proteins are?”
“Proteins are the essential part of all known living organisms formed from long amino acid chains,” Salohcin recited quietly while serving himself.
Ave reached around Yrret and tapped him. “You forgot the organic compound part.”
“Oh, right. They’re organic compounds,” he said before stuffing the flesh of a purplish black fruit in his mouth.
If the children noticed Aeryn and John’s shock they didn’t mention it. “Unfortunately, this stuff doesn’t give us the proper proteins. We have animal traps set up and there’s a little lake three or four kilometers from here where we fish. Sometimes I go hunting. Sal’s too small, but Yrret’s getting the hang of it.”
Crichton was stunned. “How can you kids even talk. Did your parents die....”
Ave shook her head. She stared purposefully at Yrret and Salohcin who returned the look. The adults shared a meaningful glance of their own. “You don’t understand. We’ve never had--” As one, the children’s heads whipped around towards their home. “Sal, check on her please.”
He nodded once before pushing off the bench. Halfway there he ran back for a piece of the purple-black fruit.
“Who’s ‘her’?” John asked indignantly.
“Lyrehs,” Yrret said
“My daughter,” Ave answered with him.
Crichton held his hands up. “Wait, wait. One at a time.”
“Did you say your daughter,” Aeryn cut in.
Ave answered her first. “Yes, my daughter. And her name is Lyrehs. She’s only a few weeks old.”
“Wait! Hold it right there,” the whole thing was quickly descending into madness to Crichton’s already addled mind. “You mean to tell me that you just gave birth a few weeks ago? That’s not possible.”
Aeryn agreed, saying, “You can’t be more than thirteen.”
“I don’t believe you.”
The girl didn’t hear Aeryn. “The first birth or the hatching? Shall I prove both?” Before either could stop her, Ave raised her hand. She pointed it towards John, diagonally across from her, palm forward.
Instantly, he felt a rush of pain in his loins. He was suddenly heavy and tired and in desperate pain. It traveled from his crotch up his back to every limb in his body. He was incredibly hot and would nothing move this thing from inside his belly? Then there was the pain, the incessant throbbing -- it was worse! God, how could he feel this bad. What was making him feel this awful, and WOULD SOMEONE GET THIS THING OUT OF HIM!
“Stop that!” Aeryn yelled as John collapsed falling to the ground. “Crichton, Crichton...John are you all right?”
Clutching his head, he moaned, “Someone get it out of me.”
Leaping up, she leaned over the picnic table, pulse pistol pointed at Ave. “What have you done to him?” she ground out. “Whatever you’ve managed to put in him take it out this instant. I don’t care if you are children.”
With a calm belied by her apparent age, Ave quietly explained. “I’ve done nothing but show him the birth.”
“What do you mean, ‘show him the birth’?” she questioned cautiously.
“Shall I show you also?”
“No! Explain it to me.”
Ave opened and shut her mouth trying to find the words. Fruitlessly, she tried to explain with gestures until she could only shrug. “There are no words.” The girl thought a moment, oddly calm despite the energy weapon still pointed at her. “Perhaps basic pictures. But you are a woman. You should understand.”
Something clicked in Aeryn’s mind. “You mean to tell me that Crichton has just experienced a birth. That you did this?”
Ave smiled and nodded. “I suppose the history logs were right, women are stronger than men.”
“I know that was one experience I avoided sharing,” Yrret mumbled. “The first time was bad enough.”
Aeryn lowered her weapon. The girl came around to John. “He’ll be fine in a moment or two. I didn’t realize he’s never witnessed a live birthing before, only, what did he call them, 'sex-ed crap.'” She looked up at Aeryn. “Do you know what that means?”
“To be honest, I don’t understand half of what he says.”
§§§
“God, how long have I been out.”
“Seven minutes,” a high unisex voice answered. John opened his eyes to the gray ones of the youngest child.
“You’re kidding me. I was...was --” he couldn’t wrap his mind around it, much less say it.
Sal did it for him. “Giving birth?”
“Uh, yeah, that for hours. How could I have been out for only seven minutes. And how could I have given birth.”
The child removed the cloth from his head. “You shared my sister’s experience.” He replaced it with an ice cold one. “Better?”
“Much. So Ave’s your sister and Yrret’s your bro.”
“Yes,” the child answered with grave civility.
“And this other person, Leery, Leelee, Le --”
“Lyrehs.”
“Right, Lyrehs. She’s....”
“She’s Ave’s daughter.”
“Your niece?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s the father?”
“Yrret.”
“Whoa, did you say Yrret? I thought you said you’re all related.” John shuddered. The idea of incestuous relationships, especially among children...something else his mind didn’t want to comprehend.
Salohcin quickly understood the man’s folly. “You have misunderstood me. Yes, Ave and Yrret are my relations but they are married. Ave is my sister-in-law. The only blood relation is between myself and Yrret.”
Something else for his mind to puzzle: the incredibly good vocabulary of these kids.
"Okay, let me get this straight. You kids are on this nameless planet, by yourselves, with no adults --"
"You said that already."
"Yeah, yeah," he held up a hand, "let me finish my thought. All right, by yourselves, no adults, no parents, never had any parents to begin with, correct?"
"Simply put, but yes."
John made a face. This kid was worse than Zhaan. "Right, so you guys are all, what, thirteen and down?"
"Something like that."
"Yet two of you are married and have a kid of your own. Somehow, I'm no comprende, if you catch my drift."
Salohcin opened his mouth then shut it. Brows furrowed he said, "Actually, I don't. But perhaps Ave can explain better. She, Yrret and your companion are in hydroponics." He held out his hand for the older man, "If you'll come with me?"
§§§
Laughter drifted down the hall, as well as male grumbling. "Really?" Aeryn's voice. "That's quite interesting. How have you been handling traders, especially other Cebaceans. Crichton's the only human, besides you four, in this sector."
"Speaking of John, Sal's bringing him, Ave," Yrret said.
The girl stood and walked beyond the threshold, rounding a corner. "You look much better, Commander Crichton." Taking his other arm, she and Sal helped him into the greenroom.
"Yeah, well I still feel like crap."
"That's funny, after I gave birth I felt a warm glow, then I felt like crap," she said in a straightforward manner. "Then again, I think I was on drugs." She smiled. "No matter."
Salohcin offered John a glass. "What's in it?"
"The juice of those big black berries. After it sits it looks milky blue. We don't know why." He watched as John took a tentative sip. "Doesn't taste like them either, but it's still good."
"Thanks. Now can somebody please explain what happened to me before I go stark raving mad?"
Ave and Aeryn shared a look. Taking a breath, Ave began. "This is going to be a little hard to believe, Commander."
"Call me John."
With a nod, she said, "John then. You're going to have to, as the histories say, suspend disbelief for the moment.
"I'm sure you've noticed I seem to be the leader of this group, but that would make sense because I also look to be the oldest."
John nodded.
"Well, I am oldest, by fifty years or so. Yrret is after me followed by Salohcin and Lyrehs." He looked at her in stunned disbelief. Ave used his shocked silence to plunge ahead, "I am approximately two hundred and six years old as near as I can figure it. Aeryn tells me I appear to be about thirteen or fourteen. Yrret looks to be about twelve or so, but he is, in fact, a little over a hundred. Salohcin is in his fifties."
"And what," John broke in, recovered from the shock, "is the baby really in her mid thirties?"
The girl shook her head. "She's only six months old."
John shook his head in disbelief. "You really expect me to believe that you're over two centuries old? Have you taken a look at yourself recently?" He looked about the room, at the children in different poses and Aeryn across from him. "You don't honestly believe them, do you," he asked lowly.
"I do John."
"But --!"
Ave broke in, "I told you you'd have to suspend disbelief. My little family here are actually clones of real scientists who lived on Earth sometime in your future. They were living on an island doing research for the government, different things each of them, but they needed the isolation. The island's volcano was thought to be dead but it wasn't. We were created with all their knowledge. We are the culmination of their various projects: cloning, terraforming, hydro- and aeroponic work, space travel.
"They sent us off, figuring that at least their projects would live on. Very scientist-y. In the end, they escaped the island with their lives but we are all that remains of their original research."
"You don't really expect me to believe you?" John asked calmly, taking a drink from his glass. When he looked up, Scorpious was standing behind the girl.
"It's possible you know," he said for John's ears only.
John made a face.
"Are you still in pain?" Salohcin asked, misreading his expression.
John shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Not that I believe you. Do you have any proof? I mean, you gotta admit, you look thirteen and you're telling me you're actually a two century old clone of some scientist on Earth."
Ave smiled. "You seemed to have grasped it quite well. I guess the only thing left to explain is, well, us. My name was Eva and I was the leader of the research team. My husband was Terry, now Yrret. About the time of the volcano my progenitor was pregnant with their daughter, Sheryl."
"Lyrehs?"
"Precisely. She gave birth shortly before we were all launched into space. Salohcin is the clone of Terry's brother Nicholas."
"Okay, assuming I believe you, why aren't you old and gray and, well, dead? I mean, cloning wasn't my thing but as far as I know clones start off their lives on their original’s clock."
Ave nodded, agreeing.
"So when you were 'born,' and I use the term loosely, you were already...?"
"Thirty years old."
"Okay," he said, stretching the word out. "So you were thirty years old. That's a nice chunk of your lifespan. What're still doing here?"
"It's the planet itself," she said with a wave of her hand.
Yrret stepped in, "We, or our originals, didn't foresee this kind of, er, problem. We were to be released in a staggered manner, Ave first, so that we could continue the research or at least prove it. No one really expected us to live so long. Our mission was to send back a message or findings or simply proof that our progenitors work had succeeded. What happened to us then," he shrugged, "no one knew or much cared."
"And what about your life spans?"
Ave and Yrret exchanged a look. "We've been theorizing. Seemingly, we'll live forever. It takes us nearly fifteen Earth years to physically age one year on this planet. Certainly, it's not really forever, but it does feel that way. We've been children for, well, ages."
"Sometimes," Ave said, "we think the loneliness will eventually drive us mad. Yet, we're afraid that if we leave the effects of the planet will disappear and we will suddenly revert to our natural ages."
There was a long pause as both adults and children mulled over Ave's theory. Aeryn spoke first, "So, you're trapped here."
"We simply do not know."
§§§
“Hasn’t it been long enough?” Chiana asked.
Rygel snorted. “They’re probably dead.”
“You’re still not getting Crichton’s stuff,” the feline Nebari said with a smile that said she knew exactly who it was going to.
“Enough you two. They are both perfectly fine,” Zhaan said. “Isn’t that right, Pilot?”
“Moya says they have landed safely. There has been no adverse activity on the planet. There is no reason to believe they are not quite well.”
Zhaan smiled serenely.
“On the other hand, there is also no way of knowing exactly what may be happening to them. Any number of things may have occurred that are beyond Moya’s knowledge,” Pilot continued.
“They’re dead.”
“Rygel!”
“Someone’s got to say it Zhaan.”
…
Fandom: Farscape
Character(s): John Crichton, Aeryn Sun, Zhaan, Chiana, Rygel, Pilot, OCs
Length: 4,747 words
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't know you. You don't know me. Let's keep it that way.
Summary: Out on a routine supply mission, John and Aeryn discover something that shouldn’t exist.
Notes: I began this years and years and years ago - probably some time around season 2. Every now and then I pick it up again and add a paragraph here, do some editing there, but I don’t think this will ever actually be finished. My policy is usually not to post permanent WIPs but, what can I say, I really like this tidbit of a story.
Earth’s Children
“And what exactly do you call that?!” Aeryn Sun asked, angrily getting out of the prowler on unsteady legs.
“A landing?”
Aeryn scowled at the human in front of her. “If you had been a Peacekeeper surely someone would have killed you by now and put me out of my misery.”
“Well,” John Crichton answered, looking over his shoulder, “then it’s a good thing I’m not a Peacekeeper, isn’t it.”
Aeryn mumbled a disagreement.
“Aeryn, John,” a voice came through their combadges, “are you all right? Pilot says Moya detected a--a hazardous landing.”
John tapped his comm, “Yeah, we’re okay Zhaan.”
“No thanks to Crichton.”
The two could hear the blue priestess’ smile. “So long as you’re both safe. Any sign of habitation yet?”
“No,” Aeryn answered. “Is Pilot sure about those coordinates.”
There was a slight pause before Zhaan answered. “Pilot says Moya is accurate within a hundred klicks, but that you have landed off the prospective target. He can’t be sure whether you are any closer or farther than you should be.”
Aeryn scowled at John again. He gave her his ‘What’d I do?’ face, complete with upturned palms. “Yes, well, I guess we’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t forget the specimens I asked for.”
“I won’t. Anything else?”
“No, nothing. Goddess go with you.”
“Thanks. Aeryn out.” The former Peacekeeper tapped her comm badge, turning it off. “Hey, hey! Where do you think you’re going?” She yelled.
John turned. “I’m going looking for stuff. You know, edibles so we can lay off the food cubes for a little while, Zhaan’s plant friends, people...and I use the term lightly.”
“You were just going to just go off without saying anything?” she asked incredulously.
“You saw me, didn’t you?”
Making a sound of exasperation, but refusing to get any closer to the human for fear of doing bodily harm, she said, “After that landing I think I should decide which way we go.”
John half-turned, as if ready to go with or without her. Instead, he trudged back. “All right, where do you want to go. Let’s just boogie, okay?”
Packs on, she chose a direction. “What’s with you today? Hormones or some other human related problem, that monthly thing you were talking about -- PMS?”
“No!” John refuted, making a face. “Only women get…that.” He ran a hand through his hair, obviously shaken by Aeryn’s implied statement. She couldn’t fathom why. “I’m just a little edgy...”
“Well get over it, will you. If you hadn’t noticed we have absolutely no clue where we are, and is it just me or does this look nothing like the lush verdant planet Pilot promised us?”
John stopped and looked around for the first time. Yes, he’d been about to leave the Cebacean woman, but he wasn’t really thinking. Instead he been watching his good friend Scorpious -- so not -- twirl locks of Aeryn’s hair, caught in a ponytail, between his claw-like fingers. The bit about going off in search of...whatever it was he’d said was a complete lie. He was just trying to get away from old Scorpy. Again. “It is kind of deserted, ain’t it?”
“Wonderful sense for understatement Crichton. There’s more dust and boulders and rocks,” she kicked the aforementioned rock out of her way, “than trees.”
“There are some trees.”
Aeryn snorted. “You call those spindly little things trees? I thought you said Earth had trees that grew hundreds of meters high.”
“Nooo,” he said, rolling his eyes, “I meant those.” He pointed off to their right. In the distance a green canopy undulated in the snapping wind.
The Peacekeeper opened her mouth to say something, but wisely shut it.
§§§
“We’ve got enough here to keep Blue Girl busy for a couple of arns, don’t you think?”
“Hmm?” Aeryn was busy making short work of their midmorning snack, a piece of fruit that vaguely resembled a raspberry except for it’s jewel-like colors -- the seeds reminded John of gold teardrops -- and it’s immense size. They’d shared one between them and Aeryn was contemplating offering to share another.
“I was saying, I think we’ve done enough for today, why don’t we--”
Aeryn stilled him with her hand. Tapping to her ear she motioned ahead and to the right of them. “Do you hear it,” she whispered.
John listened for a moment. “Yeah. It sounds like,” the sounds had died again, “I don’t know.”
It crescendoed. “Sounds like laughter. Like children laughing.”
“The settlement Pilot mentioned?”
“Has to be.”
John stood. “Let’s go check it out.”
They followed the laughter as it rose and fell, sometimes dividing or moving but always in the same southeastern direction. If it was southeast. Crichton found it hard to tell with the thick canopy overhead. Not that he was complaining. He definitely preferred the deep green to the burning sun. And that was the other thing, those spindly wanna-be trees had been silvery, but the further they went into this oasis, the greener they got.
“So what,” Aeryn said. “It’s probably a sign that these trees are better nourished than the others. We’re probably closing in on the water source. Makes sense to build a settlement there.”
Brushing a branch out of his path, Crichton agreed. Didn’t stop it from bothering him, though.
The laughter was becoming stronger, and more distinct. Aeryn thought she heard at least three, but the echoes made it hard to determine anything else about them. Suddenly they were in a clearing. John came around her, inspecting the place.
“Holy Mother of God. It’s a picnic site.”
“A what?” Aeryn asked, confused.
John ran a hand through his short hair. “A picnic site. You know, where you go with your family, or some friends and a bring a bunch of food already cooked or to bar-be-que and...” he trailed off at her blank stare. “Okay. Picnics, something else Peacekeepers don’t do. Right.”
He walked around. Over a hundred meters in all directions were open space. A picnic table lay three meters or so ahead, the remains of lunch being picked over by some kind of small ground animal. At the furthest edge of the clearing, where the forest encroached once more, was a kind of house. It seemed to be built from the hull of something, it certainly wasn’t made from any of the wood there. A kind of canopy rested over the closed entrance, the whole of it in shades of cream, white and honey brown. Actually, it looked as if the -- house, was built back into the trees. The grounds were neatly kept, though the grass reached well up their calves, had they not had boots on and had the grass not been lying down. A sharp breeze picked up, making the stuff undulate in green and silver waves, bringing the sound of laughter back to them, louder than it had been since they arrived.
A girl burst out the trees, her back to them as she turned towards to the dense growth. “I’ve won!” Arms thrown above her head, brown hair flying about her face, she crowed her victory. A boy soon followed her. He was about to say something when he saw John at the entrance of their home.
“Ave,” he said.
The girl stopped, as if suddenly aware of a presence other than their own and turned. The four stared at each other for a long moment. “Who are you,” she asked from across the clearing, “what are you doing at our home?” John moved away from the building, back to Aeryn.
Another boy, younger than the other two by some years it appeared, ran out the wood. “Hey,” he said slowing, “let’s play again. This time you...” the words died on his lips as he beheld the adults. His face quickly darkened, making him look older.
“Salohcin, go check on Lyrehs,” the girl ordered without turning. When he was gone she questioned them again.
“My name is John Crichton and this Commander Aeryn Sun --”
“You are Peacekeepers,” she asked, eyeing their clothing critically.
The adults exchanged a look. Aeryn spoke up, “You could say that. And you are...?”
The girl stepped forward, “I am Ave,” she said extending her hand to Aeryn. The Peacekeeper was unsure of what to do. John stepped in and took the girl’s hand before awkwardness could ensue. “This is Yrret and Salohcin is inside. He should be out shortly.”
“Where are your pa--” Aeryn descended into gibberish. The three around her looked at her curiously. Her face asked they were looking at her that way, but her words made no sense.
“Aeryn, what’s wrong,” John asked, concerned. She only gave him a confused look.
The children stepped forward. “I thought you said you were Peacekeepers, Commander Crichton,” Yrret said.
“What?”
“Can’t you speak Cebacean?”
“Can’t you?” He wondered why he was arguing with a ten year old. “You mean to tell me that she’s speaking Cebacean?”
The two gave exchanged a look, reminiscent of the one John and Aeryn had shared. Ave answered. “Of course.”
“Wait, she’s always speaking Cebacean, why aren’t those little parasites in the back of my skull translating.”
Yrret brightened. “Oh, so you do have those, those, what are they called again?” Ave shrugged her shoulders. “Anyhow, we would have told you to modify their frequency earlier but we figured if you’re both Peacekeepers then it wouldn’t matter.”
Meanwhile, Aeryn was busily trying to follow what was going on to no avail. “Don’t worry,” Ave said, “soon we’ll be able to translate for you.”
“Translate? Translate how?”
“Our, uh, things, adapt themselves to the frequency changes.”
“Is that how I’m understanding you now? You’ve adapted?”
Ave shook her head. “No, you must be speaking our language, because if we had adapted to yours we would have adapted to hers too.”
Yrret had taken Aeryn’s hand and was trying to lead her to the picnic table. She was having none of it. “If you can get her to sit down,” the boy told John, “we can help her.”
Processing too much information to fully grasp what the children had told him, John motioned Aeryn to sit. They didn’t notice Ave stare intently at the house for a moment before turning back to them.
The third child, Salohcin, came out, carrying an instrument in his hand. Ave took it. Holding her hands out so Aeryn could see she meant no harm, the girl approached her. She lightly ran the instrument over her own skin, again trying to prove it was safe. Motioning Aeryn to tilt her head down, the child went to work.
“This will only take a moment,” she said, staring intently at her work. Looking up suddenly she added, “Then I can do you.”
“Wait, what? Didn’t you just say we’re speaking the same language?”
Yrret answered for them. “Yes. We must be. Are you not a Peacekeeper then? Don’t they all speak the same thing?”
“No, I’m human, from a planet called Earth. And yeah, I guess they speak the same language.” John’s head was spinning. “Hold on a minute, are you saying you guys are from Earth?”
“Yes.”
John turned. The other boy, the one who’d brought the girl her tool, had spoken.
“Whoa, you kids must be a little screwy. Hey,” he finally asked what should have been his first question, “where are your parents?”
Ave looked up from her work. Yrret gave her a long look before turning his gaze to Salohcin.
Aeryn said something. “Oh no, it’s almost done, I promise,” Ave answered. She looked at John, “We’ve adjusted, and your friend is all patched up. It’s your turn, unless you don’t want to know what she’s saying.”
“What I want to know is where are your parents.” He looked at the boys. Yrret shrugged, Salohcin returned his gaze with a measured on of his own.
Apparently, Aeryn asked Ave the same question as the girl did not answer. “There, all done. Commander Crichton, your turn.” She walked over to him, gently tilting his head forward and down. Off to his left, he could hear Aeryn and one of the boys talking, though he could only understand the child’s side of the conversation. The silver backs of the grass, his legs and the girl’s shoes filled his field of vision.
“We have no parents,” Ave stated simply, calmly. For a moment, the commander almost forgot her age. “We are the only ones on this planet, besides some natural fauna.” Suddenly, Aeryn’s end of the conversation became clear. “There, you’re all frequencied in. Not that it matters to me and the boys, but you might have wanted to talk to Officer Sun sometime,” she said with a smile.
“Okay, so you mean to tell me that you have no parents at all.”
Aeryn looked up. “Good to understand you again Crichton, strange gibberish that it is anyway. It seems our little friends here are parentless.”
“I know, I heard.”
Aeryn addressed the children, “Who’s in charge here?”
Ave, still working on the back of Crichton’s neck, said, “I am,” without looking up.
“You are?” Crichton jerked his head up, “Ow!”
“Just because you can understand Officer Sun doesn’t mean I’m done,” the girl sounded older than she looked. “But, I’m almost done, if you’ll let me finish.” John, consented to her ministrations. He didn’t really have much choice. “Oookay, done. You can raise your head without fear.”
He did, into her smiling face. “Where are your parents?” Her smile faded.
Ave turned away from them and walked a little bit away. “I told you,” she said, facing the forest around them, “we don’t have any.”
“Are there any adults here at all?”
She shook her head.
“The only adults ever here just come to trade,” the often silent Salohcin offered, “then they go.”
“So,” Aeryn took up, “you don’t have any parents and there are no adults. Did you crash land here?”
Ave nodded. Slowly, she turned on her heel and faced them. “Why is it important to you?”
“We’re just concerned.”
“And you’re human,” John added.
Aeryn looked at him, then the gangly girl. “Human?”
“From what I can tell.”
“Is that what you three were talking about over my head?”
“Yeah, it seems the planet’s all weird, shorting out --”
“Yes, yes, I got that. What about them being human?”
“Well,” the adults looked up. Ave was sitting across from them. Mentally, Aeryn slapped herself for letting her guard down. She should have noted the child’s movements. “Well, it came up when we realized we all could understand each other, just not you,” she said, jutting her chin towards Aeryn.
Yrret sat next to Ave. “We’ve never met another human before.” He studied Aeryn for a moment, “We’ve met plenty of Cebaceans.” He cocked his head to one side before adding, “They weren’t very nice.”
“We’re not a very nice people,” Aeryn responded drolly. “Where is the other child?”
Yrret gave Ave, who was looking off into the distance, a hard stare. “He’s inside getting us something to eat. We’ve been playing for a while and, well, we’re hungry.”
“You’re free to join us,” Yrret added. Without warning he stood and walked back to the dwelling.
“Of course.” The two boys returned, laden with many of the fruits Aeryn and John had picked themselves. She looked expectantly at the adults. “Would you like some?”
John shook his head. “We just ate, but thanks.” Something occurred to him, “Is this all you eat, no animal proteins or do the fruit’s an’ veggies give you all that? Heck, do you know what proteins are?”
“Proteins are the essential part of all known living organisms formed from long amino acid chains,” Salohcin recited quietly while serving himself.
Ave reached around Yrret and tapped him. “You forgot the organic compound part.”
“Oh, right. They’re organic compounds,” he said before stuffing the flesh of a purplish black fruit in his mouth.
If the children noticed Aeryn and John’s shock they didn’t mention it. “Unfortunately, this stuff doesn’t give us the proper proteins. We have animal traps set up and there’s a little lake three or four kilometers from here where we fish. Sometimes I go hunting. Sal’s too small, but Yrret’s getting the hang of it.”
Crichton was stunned. “How can you kids even talk. Did your parents die....”
Ave shook her head. She stared purposefully at Yrret and Salohcin who returned the look. The adults shared a meaningful glance of their own. “You don’t understand. We’ve never had--” As one, the children’s heads whipped around towards their home. “Sal, check on her please.”
He nodded once before pushing off the bench. Halfway there he ran back for a piece of the purple-black fruit.
“Who’s ‘her’?” John asked indignantly.
“Lyrehs,” Yrret said
“My daughter,” Ave answered with him.
Crichton held his hands up. “Wait, wait. One at a time.”
“Did you say your daughter,” Aeryn cut in.
Ave answered her first. “Yes, my daughter. And her name is Lyrehs. She’s only a few weeks old.”
“Wait! Hold it right there,” the whole thing was quickly descending into madness to Crichton’s already addled mind. “You mean to tell me that you just gave birth a few weeks ago? That’s not possible.”
Aeryn agreed, saying, “You can’t be more than thirteen.”
“I don’t believe you.”
The girl didn’t hear Aeryn. “The first birth or the hatching? Shall I prove both?” Before either could stop her, Ave raised her hand. She pointed it towards John, diagonally across from her, palm forward.
Instantly, he felt a rush of pain in his loins. He was suddenly heavy and tired and in desperate pain. It traveled from his crotch up his back to every limb in his body. He was incredibly hot and would nothing move this thing from inside his belly? Then there was the pain, the incessant throbbing -- it was worse! God, how could he feel this bad. What was making him feel this awful, and WOULD SOMEONE GET THIS THING OUT OF HIM!
“Stop that!” Aeryn yelled as John collapsed falling to the ground. “Crichton, Crichton...John are you all right?”
Clutching his head, he moaned, “Someone get it out of me.”
Leaping up, she leaned over the picnic table, pulse pistol pointed at Ave. “What have you done to him?” she ground out. “Whatever you’ve managed to put in him take it out this instant. I don’t care if you are children.”
With a calm belied by her apparent age, Ave quietly explained. “I’ve done nothing but show him the birth.”
“What do you mean, ‘show him the birth’?” she questioned cautiously.
“Shall I show you also?”
“No! Explain it to me.”
Ave opened and shut her mouth trying to find the words. Fruitlessly, she tried to explain with gestures until she could only shrug. “There are no words.” The girl thought a moment, oddly calm despite the energy weapon still pointed at her. “Perhaps basic pictures. But you are a woman. You should understand.”
Something clicked in Aeryn’s mind. “You mean to tell me that Crichton has just experienced a birth. That you did this?”
Ave smiled and nodded. “I suppose the history logs were right, women are stronger than men.”
“I know that was one experience I avoided sharing,” Yrret mumbled. “The first time was bad enough.”
Aeryn lowered her weapon. The girl came around to John. “He’ll be fine in a moment or two. I didn’t realize he’s never witnessed a live birthing before, only, what did he call them, 'sex-ed crap.'” She looked up at Aeryn. “Do you know what that means?”
“To be honest, I don’t understand half of what he says.”
§§§
“God, how long have I been out.”
“Seven minutes,” a high unisex voice answered. John opened his eyes to the gray ones of the youngest child.
“You’re kidding me. I was...was --” he couldn’t wrap his mind around it, much less say it.
Sal did it for him. “Giving birth?”
“Uh, yeah, that for hours. How could I have been out for only seven minutes. And how could I have given birth.”
The child removed the cloth from his head. “You shared my sister’s experience.” He replaced it with an ice cold one. “Better?”
“Much. So Ave’s your sister and Yrret’s your bro.”
“Yes,” the child answered with grave civility.
“And this other person, Leery, Leelee, Le --”
“Lyrehs.”
“Right, Lyrehs. She’s....”
“She’s Ave’s daughter.”
“Your niece?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s the father?”
“Yrret.”
“Whoa, did you say Yrret? I thought you said you’re all related.” John shuddered. The idea of incestuous relationships, especially among children...something else his mind didn’t want to comprehend.
Salohcin quickly understood the man’s folly. “You have misunderstood me. Yes, Ave and Yrret are my relations but they are married. Ave is my sister-in-law. The only blood relation is between myself and Yrret.”
Something else for his mind to puzzle: the incredibly good vocabulary of these kids.
"Okay, let me get this straight. You kids are on this nameless planet, by yourselves, with no adults --"
"You said that already."
"Yeah, yeah," he held up a hand, "let me finish my thought. All right, by yourselves, no adults, no parents, never had any parents to begin with, correct?"
"Simply put, but yes."
John made a face. This kid was worse than Zhaan. "Right, so you guys are all, what, thirteen and down?"
"Something like that."
"Yet two of you are married and have a kid of your own. Somehow, I'm no comprende, if you catch my drift."
Salohcin opened his mouth then shut it. Brows furrowed he said, "Actually, I don't. But perhaps Ave can explain better. She, Yrret and your companion are in hydroponics." He held out his hand for the older man, "If you'll come with me?"
§§§
Laughter drifted down the hall, as well as male grumbling. "Really?" Aeryn's voice. "That's quite interesting. How have you been handling traders, especially other Cebaceans. Crichton's the only human, besides you four, in this sector."
"Speaking of John, Sal's bringing him, Ave," Yrret said.
The girl stood and walked beyond the threshold, rounding a corner. "You look much better, Commander Crichton." Taking his other arm, she and Sal helped him into the greenroom.
"Yeah, well I still feel like crap."
"That's funny, after I gave birth I felt a warm glow, then I felt like crap," she said in a straightforward manner. "Then again, I think I was on drugs." She smiled. "No matter."
Salohcin offered John a glass. "What's in it?"
"The juice of those big black berries. After it sits it looks milky blue. We don't know why." He watched as John took a tentative sip. "Doesn't taste like them either, but it's still good."
"Thanks. Now can somebody please explain what happened to me before I go stark raving mad?"
Ave and Aeryn shared a look. Taking a breath, Ave began. "This is going to be a little hard to believe, Commander."
"Call me John."
With a nod, she said, "John then. You're going to have to, as the histories say, suspend disbelief for the moment.
"I'm sure you've noticed I seem to be the leader of this group, but that would make sense because I also look to be the oldest."
John nodded.
"Well, I am oldest, by fifty years or so. Yrret is after me followed by Salohcin and Lyrehs." He looked at her in stunned disbelief. Ave used his shocked silence to plunge ahead, "I am approximately two hundred and six years old as near as I can figure it. Aeryn tells me I appear to be about thirteen or fourteen. Yrret looks to be about twelve or so, but he is, in fact, a little over a hundred. Salohcin is in his fifties."
"And what," John broke in, recovered from the shock, "is the baby really in her mid thirties?"
The girl shook her head. "She's only six months old."
John shook his head in disbelief. "You really expect me to believe that you're over two centuries old? Have you taken a look at yourself recently?" He looked about the room, at the children in different poses and Aeryn across from him. "You don't honestly believe them, do you," he asked lowly.
"I do John."
"But --!"
Ave broke in, "I told you you'd have to suspend disbelief. My little family here are actually clones of real scientists who lived on Earth sometime in your future. They were living on an island doing research for the government, different things each of them, but they needed the isolation. The island's volcano was thought to be dead but it wasn't. We were created with all their knowledge. We are the culmination of their various projects: cloning, terraforming, hydro- and aeroponic work, space travel.
"They sent us off, figuring that at least their projects would live on. Very scientist-y. In the end, they escaped the island with their lives but we are all that remains of their original research."
"You don't really expect me to believe you?" John asked calmly, taking a drink from his glass. When he looked up, Scorpious was standing behind the girl.
"It's possible you know," he said for John's ears only.
John made a face.
"Are you still in pain?" Salohcin asked, misreading his expression.
John shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Not that I believe you. Do you have any proof? I mean, you gotta admit, you look thirteen and you're telling me you're actually a two century old clone of some scientist on Earth."
Ave smiled. "You seemed to have grasped it quite well. I guess the only thing left to explain is, well, us. My name was Eva and I was the leader of the research team. My husband was Terry, now Yrret. About the time of the volcano my progenitor was pregnant with their daughter, Sheryl."
"Lyrehs?"
"Precisely. She gave birth shortly before we were all launched into space. Salohcin is the clone of Terry's brother Nicholas."
"Okay, assuming I believe you, why aren't you old and gray and, well, dead? I mean, cloning wasn't my thing but as far as I know clones start off their lives on their original’s clock."
Ave nodded, agreeing.
"So when you were 'born,' and I use the term loosely, you were already...?"
"Thirty years old."
"Okay," he said, stretching the word out. "So you were thirty years old. That's a nice chunk of your lifespan. What're still doing here?"
"It's the planet itself," she said with a wave of her hand.
Yrret stepped in, "We, or our originals, didn't foresee this kind of, er, problem. We were to be released in a staggered manner, Ave first, so that we could continue the research or at least prove it. No one really expected us to live so long. Our mission was to send back a message or findings or simply proof that our progenitors work had succeeded. What happened to us then," he shrugged, "no one knew or much cared."
"And what about your life spans?"
Ave and Yrret exchanged a look. "We've been theorizing. Seemingly, we'll live forever. It takes us nearly fifteen Earth years to physically age one year on this planet. Certainly, it's not really forever, but it does feel that way. We've been children for, well, ages."
"Sometimes," Ave said, "we think the loneliness will eventually drive us mad. Yet, we're afraid that if we leave the effects of the planet will disappear and we will suddenly revert to our natural ages."
There was a long pause as both adults and children mulled over Ave's theory. Aeryn spoke first, "So, you're trapped here."
"We simply do not know."
§§§
“Hasn’t it been long enough?” Chiana asked.
Rygel snorted. “They’re probably dead.”
“You’re still not getting Crichton’s stuff,” the feline Nebari said with a smile that said she knew exactly who it was going to.
“Enough you two. They are both perfectly fine,” Zhaan said. “Isn’t that right, Pilot?”
“Moya says they have landed safely. There has been no adverse activity on the planet. There is no reason to believe they are not quite well.”
Zhaan smiled serenely.
“On the other hand, there is also no way of knowing exactly what may be happening to them. Any number of things may have occurred that are beyond Moya’s knowledge,” Pilot continued.
“They’re dead.”
“Rygel!”
“Someone’s got to say it Zhaan.”
…