IRREVERSIBLE CONTAMINATION

A response to another challenge by CrystalMoon

Requirements: at least one element from the following categories

- Characters : Jool, Chiana, Rygel, D’Argo, Stark, Crais, John, Aeryn, Pilot

- Things : Hunk of Jool’s hair, helium, drannit, boolite parts

- Sentences : “After the bars closed, things got strange.”

“Do you like my new shirt?”

“That tastes like creamed spinach.”

“Bite me.”

Disclaimers: Sincerest apologies to some of the characters borrowed for this fic, you’ll know which. I’m really really sorry and I promise I won’t write such stuff again.

Timeline: shortly after Fractures

// stands for italics – characters’ thoughts

Grateful thanks to Atana_Mirtai for the betareading.

*****

Jool adjusted the garment over her body, pulling at it a little, she had not expected it to be so shapeless. She watched her reflection in the mirror with a dubious pout, putting the eyepatch away for a better look. //It certainly looked better on Crichton// she mused then heaved a deep sigh, at least she was clean now and dressed with clothes she had no qualms about dirtying. She had recovered Crichton’s discarded green shirt in Command, glad to have finally found something that she could wear to clean her room without fearing to ruin it. Her own clothes were far too precious and difficult to come by. She glanced one more time in the mirror. //The color suits me rather well// she noticed with pleasure then pulled the eyepatch back on, gathered the tiny Boolite parts that had clung to her clothes after the explosion and went back to the lab.

Crais looked at the mess that lay before him with deeply furrowed brows and growing despair, slightly sickened by the sporadic soft gurgles emanating from different spots on the table. //It can’t still be alive// he mused //after all that it’s been through// He sighed deeply, his gaze going back and forth between the table and the Boolite part in his hand, feeling totally alone and helpless at this moment. Somehow he wished that the Scarran would still be there, but Jool had considered him well enough to leave the lab and he had gone away to settle in an unused cell until further notice. He pushed the magnifying goggles up on his forehead. //Why in hezmana did I tell Jool I would help her with it?//

“Soooo, any luck figuring out what goes where?” Jool asked with a slight smirk as she entered the lab.

“Not much,” Crais mumbled back dejectedly, not even looking up.

“Let’s see,” she continued gaily. Fresh clothes had always had a lifting effect on her mood.

He glanced at her, surprised by her cheerful tone and kept his eyes locked on her, dutifully following her breasts wherever they went.

“Hmm,” she murmured absently as she started a thorough examination of the butchered mess on the table, running her fingers along the biological puzzle, unaware of Crais’ stare.

//What’s different? It’s not like I haven’t seen them before…//

She kept mumbling for herself, either nodding or shaking her head at what she saw, sometimes picking up a part to place it elsewhere.

//Well, not exactly seen them but usually there’s a lot more exposed…//

She carefully handled what passed for the head of the Boolite, turning it on each side for a better view.

//It must be that shirt. How can it completely cover them and yet reveal every line and curve?//

“It’s really starting to take shape,” she stated happily, striding to the chair over which her medical gown was draped.

//…roaming free underneath…//

“You’ve done a really good work,” she added appreciatively, looking at him.

“Thank you,” he coughed up, his eyes fluttering away frantically. //Triple dren! She noticed//

Jool only had the slightest hesitation before resuming her casual attitude. She thought she had caught him staring at her breasts but needed some sort of confirmation. “We’re not finished though,” she sighed as if in anticipation of the work to come and approached the side table where parts were still awaiting their assignement, holding the medical gown in one hand. She brought her arms up, pretending to rearrange her hair while eyeing him under lowered lashes. //Definitely!//

“Crais?” She started as she left the side table to stand before him.

“Huh,” he blurted out, his heart starting to race at her unexpected closeness.

“Do you like my new shirt?” She asked with arms akimbo that brought out her bosom right under his nose.

He tried his best to look her in the eye, which would have been easier had her eyes been located on her breasts. “Well… hum…it’s… it’s… green…” He gave himself a mental smack on the head. //Stupid!//

Her lips narrowed into a seductive curve, she felt flattered by the desire in his eyes. She had always had a soft spot for men with long hair and the tight fitting uniform was quite a bonus.

His mind reeled slightly under her lengthy perusal. She felt so close that he could smell the perfumed scent of her skin.

She brought her hand on his cheek and kissed him tentatively, feeling the unexpected softness of his mouth as he responded to her kiss. She quickly broke free though. “Are you sure about this?” She murmured, herself suddenly hesitant, “I thought Peacekeepers had strong regulations against…”

“I had a different upbringing,” he stated tonelessly, resting his hand on her hip beneath her shirt, relishing the feel of her soft skin and womanly curves. //And very early on, I stopped counting the Peacekeepers who tasted local offerings during their missions//

They held each other’s gaze for a suspended microt before engaging in a sudden frantic embrace, that sent them crashing against the side table, spilling Boolite parts all over the floor. Losing their footing, they rolled together on the floor.

Jool’s eyes rounded in surprise. She tore her mouth away from his. “I did not realize there was such Boolite strength in you,” she whispered seductively.

“What?! Oh, sorry.” Crais squeezed his hand between their bodies and removed the part that had clung to his clothes when they had slammed on the side table. The long thick purplish feature went squishing against the wall.

It started out as a low hum that sent the DRDs on a frantic run for protection to the deepest parts of Moya. Chiana nearly tripped on one, cursing it as it sped on, heedless of what was in its way.

“What the hezmana…? Pilot?”

“Yes, Chiana?”

“What’s wrong with the DRDs?”

“I’m not quite sure, I think it’s coming from the lab.”

“Jool!” She fumed. //I’m gonna get her this time even if it means climbing five tiers just for that//

John looked up from the conduit he was busy fixing and cocked his head, brows furrowed, trying to determine what it was exactly that he was hearing. He glanced at Aeryn to see if she was hearing it too but she was still concentrated on her welding, her back slightly turned to him as she had taken the habit now. The hum then turned into what sounded like a low-pitched scream. John shook his head, disbelieving, an amused smile slowly forming on his lips. Aeryn’s head snapped up.

“What…?”

She turned to John and discovered with a pang the smile that had lit his whole face. It had been a while since she had seen him smile like that.

“I think some people are having a good time,” he told her, still amused.

They held each other’s gaze. His smile faded. This time, it was him who turned his back on her to resume his work, unaware of her painful expression as she observed him.

The Scarran turned in his drug-induced sleep, unconsciously burrowing his head further into the pillow.

Rygel frantically got hold of a bucket, seized by a sudden fit of the intons. //Bodybreeders!// He thought with a shudder before throwing up in the bucket. //There goes my first stomach//

“Aaargh!” D’Argo growled with his hands on his ears, unable to keep his much needed concentration as the scream intensified one more notch. Even from inside his closed ship, he felt as if he was standing right beside the source. “Will someone please tell that girl to shut the frell up?!”

Sudden silence answered his plea. He took his hands off his ears.

“THANK YOU!”

“Crichton! Aeryn!” Pilot shouted agitatedly in their comms.

“What?” They answered simultaneously.

“Talyn just starbusted away all of a sudden.”

“What?!”

“Where’s Crais?” Aeryn asked.

“I don’t know, his comms aren’t working. His last known position was in the lab.”

John burst into a laughing fit. “Oh boy…”

“Crais, get up!” Jool whispered urgently. “Somebody’s coming.” Getting no response, she started shaking him. “Hurry! Get up now!” She pushed him over as he scrambled on his feet with difficulty, shaking his head from side to side.

“What?” He shouted.

“Shhhhhh, somebody’s coming,” she urged him as she attempted to get up too, idly wondering why her hair seemed to remain on the floor along the discarded eyepatch. Her hands flew to her head in panic and she saw her feelings mirrored in Crais’ horrified features. “Frelling dren,” she muttered, fighting to suppress a scream of terror as tears threatened to spill out.

“Wh… What…?” Crais stammered in a loud voice, pointing at her pristine skull.

The footsteps grew closer and she swiftly picked up his clothes and stuffed them in his arms. “You have to go,” she repeated, trying hard to keep her lower lip from trembling.

He gave her a puzzled look and started for the door.

“Not this way! It’s too late,” she hissed, propelling him toward a recessed corner. “Hide over there.”

He obediently followed her lead, completely at a loss.

“Jool! What the yotz were you thinking?!” Chiana fumed as she strode determinedly into the lab. “This is a closed space, can’t you have any respect for the others?”

“Like you’re the quiet one!” Jool snapped back, frantically attempting to secure her hair back on her head with the eyepatch. She emerged from behind a shelf, trying her best to present her usual regal composure.

“That’s Crichton’s shirt!” Chiana cried out in despair, not believing her own eyes. //Oh, please, not Crichton!//

Her comms buzzed to life. “Pip?”

“Crichton?” Relief seeped through her veins.

“Where are you?”

“In the lab.”

Jool’s eyepatch suddenly snapped under the strain and her hair fell in a heap on the floor. Chiana’s jaw dropped in shock.

“Good, we’ll be there in a mic… Oh my!” Crichton exclaimed from the threshold, discovering Jool’s new hairdo or more precisely, the absence of it. Aeryn nearly bumped into him as he stopped short in his tracks. Her eyebrows shot up at the sight of Jool’s gleaming bald head.

“First things first,” John said, taking a close look at Jool, “keep the shirt.” He glanced around him. “Now, where’s Crais?”

“I don’t know,” Jool replied as innocently as she could. She straightened herself, folding her arms defensively.

He eyed her suspiciously. “D’Argo?”

Chiana nearly choked at the thought. “NO!!” She exclaimed in indignation, earning surprised glances from the others. “He’s playing with his ship,” she added more calmly, though unable to hide a bitter undertone. D’Argo was paying all his attention to his ship nowadays.

“Sorry Pip,” John sympathized in more ways than one.

An outraged gurgle coming from the Boolite drew their attention. They stepped toward the table to discover quite an ugly sight. The different parts had been fused together as the metallic content of the Boolite had slowly melted, presumably from Jool’s scream. He looked as if he had dripped on the table.

“Butchers!” The Boolite gurgled over and over, his eye opening and closing at a frantic pace.

“Right,” John mumbled, chewing on his thumb, slightly sickened by the sight. He glanced at Jool, looking quite uncomfortable then went deeper into the lab, struck with a sudden thought. “CRAIS!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, startling the others.

A thump and a muffled grunt brought a victorious smile to his lips. He took another step and looked around a bend. Crais was there, rubbing a painful spot on his forehead, his uniform only halfway buttoned and his disheveled hair spilling on his shoulders.

“Crais! What a surprise! Didn’t expect to find you here,” John exclaimed in forced humor.

Crais looked up at his appearance, seemingly startled to see him so close. John leaned toward him. “I know what you did last summer,” he whispered in his ear.

“Pardon me?” Crais asked a bit loud.

“Yeah, I figured that much,” John sighed and took Crais by the arm toward the others. “Jool? Could you check out his ears? He’s practically deaf. If we could avoid shouting, that’d be great.”

Jool awkwardly turned toward Crais, her gaze flipping to the others, embarrassed by their presence, especially John’s look of total disbelief as he stared at the pair.

“Oh, sorry. Girls? Let’s give these two some much needed privacy,” John stated deadpan, turning his back on Jool and Crais.

Chiana imitated him with a conniving glance. Aeryn did not budge one inch, leaning against the threshold, she kept her gaze fixed on Crais, her lips set in a fine line of disgust. Crais kept his gaze to the floor while Jool attended to him, unwilling to meet Aeryn’s gaze. Jool set out to fill a syringe with a green liquid, rubbing each ear after the injections.

“Better?” She asked him.

“Better,” Crais confirmed loudly. The injections had taken away the constant ringing. Sounds seemed still a little muffled though.

“It may take a few arns before it returns to normal,” Jool warned him.

John wheeled on his heels, facing Crais again. “Talyn’s gone AWOL,” he informed him. “Starbusted away without warning,” he amended before Crais’ perplexed expression. “Any idea why?”

“He didn’t tell me anything,” Crais replied with a perplexed shrug, “My neural link is functioning…”

“Bingo!”

“You think…?”

“Yep.”

“Can we start searching now?” Aeryn interjected, somewhat infuriated by John’s apparent flippancy regarding Talyn’s disappearance. He was actually having fun about it. “Or perhaps you’d like to continue chatting over some raslak while Talyn errs in total confusion?” She closed the space between them in two long strides, forcing Crais to sustain her scornful stare. “You are right about finding a different Captain for Talyn. He doesn’t need someone, discarding his very existence, his vulnerability and deepest emotions over a recreational interlude. You completely forgot that his attachment for you runs deeper than a simple pilot and ship relationship and for what? Sex.”

“And you never did?” Crais growled, his earlier embarrasment turning into irritation.

John’s heart felt crushed under the implications of Crais’ words. Pain shot through his body.

“You acted in a completely selfish and irresponsible way,” Aeryn plowed on through gritted teeth.

John caught her arm in a strong grip, spinning her on her feet, their faces only inches apart. “Give the man a break!” He hissed. “We don’t know what’s awaiting us in the near future.” He released her arm. “We’ll find Talyn, he probably didn’t go very far.”

That said, he stalked to Command with Crais in a forceful tow, leaving her quite disturbed by his sudden flare of anger. Her gaze met the accusing stares of Jool and Chiana, which sent her stalking to Pilot’s den, Command was out of the question.

Chiana sighed sadly and gave Jool an appraising look. “Strong emotions, huh?”

“I won’t tell!” Jool snapped at the sight of her raised eyebrows.

Chiana smirked. “No need to, Princess, we all heard you loud and clear.” She looked at the heap of red hair on the floor. “At least, now, we won’t have to worry about you shedding.”

Crais braced himself for what he knew was to come. His uniform was again neatly buttoned up to his neck and his hair held tight but he still felt completely exposed. D’Argo was laughing so hard that tears were spilling out of his eyes. He didn’t know exactly what Crichton was telling him, his hearing was still slightly impaired, but he pretty much guessed the gist of it. He decided to concentrate on the task at hand, fidgeting with the command panel before him.

“Any luck Pilot?”

“MOYA HAS SENT DIFFERENT SIGNALS,” Pilot replied in clearly enunciated words that made D’Argo double over in renewed laughter, “WE ARE FOLLOWING THE ROUTINE PROCESS OF THE…”

Crais tightened his lips. “I’m only partially deaf, Pilot, not dumb!”

D’Argo got up from his position, still hilarious. Crais hardly suppressed a grunt when he gave him a powerful pat on the shoulder on the way out.

“Commander?”

“Yes Pilot?”

“Talyn just responded to Moya’s signals. He seems quite agitated. He wishes to come back but fears… another round…”

John guffawed heartily.

Crais shot him a murderous stare.

“Sorry Crais,” John tried hard to suppress his laughter, “I guess I really needed that kind of distraction.”

“So did I,” Crais thought he had murmured for himself, not realizing that his speech volume was still higher than normal.

John felt a sudden sympathy for the other man. “Me and D’Argo are having a lonely hearts anonymous meeting tonight, if you’d care to join us…”

Crais silently made his way into the lab where Jool was trying to re-weld the Boolite properly. The sleep cycle had begun and things had finally settled back to normal, though he figured he would hear about it for a long time to come, if not from the others then certainly from Talyn. The young gunship had bombarded him with questions he had tried his best to answer. He stood on the other side of the table, watching her work, lips pinched, gaze resolutely focused on the Boolite.

“I have something for you,” he said with a gentle voice.

She looked up, surprised.

He carefully extracted a small bundle from his breast pocket and handed it out to her.

She pushed away her goggles and stared at the colorful piece of material in his hands, slightly confused.

“It’s a scarf,” he explained, “for your head. I didn’t have anything to wrap it in,” he apologized.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you,” she murmured earnestly, looking at him with suddenly bright eyes. A lovely tentative smile graced her features as she took the scarf.

He returned her smile, relieved in a way he did not quite understand. They stared at each other, their expressions growing more serious.

“I’ve got something for you too,” she told him, touched by the sincerity in his eyes. She moved to the side to open a drawer and retrieved two tiny objects that she placed in his palm. He stared at them in confusion.

“What are those?”

“Infra-sound earplugs.” She gave him an infectious impish smile. “Unless you think you can kiss me quiet…”

THE END