TITLE: "WELCOME TO THE ZOO"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

FANDOM: "Farscape"

PAIRING: No specific pairing

RATING: PG-13

STATUS: New.

ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.

FEEDBACK: Welcomed

SERIES/SEQUEL: SEQUEL to "SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED"

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


"WELCOME TO THE ZOO"
A "Farscape" story
Written by Alison M. DOBELL

Commandant Darikos had not wanted to put Crichton in the same cage as the gorilla but the human had insisted. He had also asked that the Hynerian share the same quarters. Rygel would no doubt complain about the noise, the smell, everything in fact. But Crichton wanted his friends where he could see them so if they got the chance to escape he did not have to hunt all over the frelling base to find them. Darikos glanced at Crais as if for some guidance. The Sebacean gave him a shrug and a dark look. "He is human. It is not possible to contaminate him any further. Do with him as you please."

Darikos hid a shudder at the mention of the word contamination then had Crichton and Rygel thrown into the ape's cage. He did not have them untied. Let them struggle to untie themselves. It would be entertaining to see how they accomplished that. He was also curious about the strong bond that appeared to exist between the human and the ape. Interesting. Crichton landed in a heap and grunted painfully, Guy rested a hand gently on his head as if to tell him not to move. He made no attempt to do anything else but was looking back through the grill as if waiting for the guards to go. Rygel rolled about on the floor, his little legs kicking furiously until he too went still, realising his actions did him no good. The Commandant smiled disingenously at Crichton.

"Enjoy your new quarters, John Crichton. Rest while you can. I will speak to you further tomorrow."

Darikos spun round and walked briskly down the hall, Crais and the clash troops following him. They left no guards. A fact which Crichton found odd until he rolled on to his side and noticed the discreet cameras. He probably would not have noticed them had he been standing. Frell. They were going to have to be even more careful than he thought. As soon as the Commandant and his entourage had gone, Crichton gave a tiny jerk of his head. Guy knew what that meant. Pressed his face close to Crichton's, eyes wide and alert. "Guy, I need you to untie me."

The gorilla stroked his hair then pulled back a microdench, watching Crichton's face carefully. Trying to pick up clues from his tone of voice as well as his expression. Crichton tugged at his bound hands. Guy peered over his shoulder and realised what he wanted. He rolled Crichton onto his stomach and looked at the way he had been tied. Crichton huffed quietly, "I really could use a hand right now, Guy."

He wiggled his fingers by way of illustration. The gorilla gently touched his bound hands, moved the fingers slightly so he could see how the rope was fastened then began to work at the rope. Crichton bit his bottom lip and lay as still as he could. He was still feeling sore where the
blisters were healing but what was a little discomfort after all the things he had already been through? The gorilla was a lot more patient than most people would have been and was careful not to hurt his friend. It took half an arn for him to figure it out but at last he worked the rope loose and Crichton was able to do the rest. Once his hands were free he sat up and rubbed his wrists then hugged Guy. On the monitor in his office Darikos shook his head. Amazed. He looked at Crais.

"I do not understand how he can bond with a beast."

Another shrug from Crais. "He is Crichton."

Something dark flickered in the Commandant's eyes. "I am fast losing patience with such reasoning."

Crais gave a sigh as if the whole thing was far too boring. "I have delivered my cargo as instructed, sir." He stood, bracing himself. "With your permission I will take my leave now."

Darikos was mildly surprised. Crais had made no attempt to look around the base. Asked no questions about what was going on. Nor did he want anything for his *trouble*. Perhaps Crais was exactly what he said he was? A highly trained and high paid delivery boy for Special Directorate. He did not want to antagonise the paymasters of his own little universe. Not with a
project of this magnitude to fund. "Thank you for your *assistance* Captain."

There was no emphasis on his rank this time. Crais knew he had been accepted. He gave the Commandant a curt nod and Darikos waved a couple of guards to show him back to his leviathan gunship. He then turned back to the monitor and went back to observing his latest additions.

* * * * *

Aeryn was surprised to hear from Crais. Moya was relieved to see Talyn again. Crais's return to Moya was a mixed blessing to her crew.

"What happened?" Blurted D'Argo impatiently.

Crais bit back his annoyance at the Luxan as he stepped aboard Moya. He knew they were all anxious. Aeryn looked worried. "Yes Crais, how is John?"

"And Rygel." Added Chiana.

He took a deep breath and walked with them from the docking bay in the direction of Pilot's den. It had become their unacknowledged War Room. "Crichton is well, so is the Dominar."

"Tell us exactly what happened." Urged Ka D'Argo.

He looked at all their faces. It never ceased to amaze him how Crichton managed to touch so many lives. Bind so many disaparate beings to his dubious cause. The man was weak, certainly, but more resourceful than any other being he had ever encountered. He made a worthy adversary. "The plan worked, the Commandant allowed me to land in Talyn. But Commandant Darikos is a very astute and careful man. He must not be underestimated." He cautioned gravely.

Chiana jerked her head to one side. "Yeah? Well we're astute and careful too so maybe he's the one who shouldn't underestimate *us*."

"We do not have two hostages." He said heavily.

Chiana's bravado vanished as he knew it would. Her concern for Crichton and Rygel uppermost in her mind. "Did you find out what they wanted with them?"

"He wanted Crichton but not the Hynerian. I had to insist he took them both or he would get neither."

"How did you do that?" Asked Zhaan, curious despite her concern.

"It wasn't difficult. I told him I wanted the Hynerian desposed of and that handing over Crichton would be worth it if it also relieved me of the Dominar."

Chiana hissed at him. D'Argo restrained her, knowing that Crais enjoyed baiting the Nebari. He seemed to enjoy baiting them all. He did not trust Crais. Now even less than before.

"What does he plan to do with John?" Asked Aeryn.

"I honestly do not know, Aeryn. At Crichton's insistence he did put him and Rygel in the same confinement as the beast." He was careful not to mention that it was a cage or that there were other *specimens* from Crichton's home world held captive. Information was power and while Crais might occasionally share what he knew he never just gave it away. Not unless it served his own circuitous ends.

"His name is Guy." Growled D'Argo bristling.

"Yeah, and he's *intelligent*." Added Chiana. "Unlike some species I could mention."

Zhaan inclined her head towards the Nebari. "Chiana..."

The softly spoken word stopped her continuing. Crais seemed not to notice.

"How is Guy?" Asked Aeryn.

"I did not see him for more than a few microts but he appears unhurt and healthy."

"And John?" Asked Zhaan softly.

"He is well, Zhaan. I had Talyn use some of his resources to heal the blisters on the journey to Trilon. He may not be comfortable but he is healed and not in pain."

Aeryn was surprised he had gone to so much trouble. Heard Zhaan thank him. D'Argo wanted to move on. "Very well, Crais. John and Rygel are on the base. How in hezmana are we supposed to get them and Guy out of there?"

Crais slid his hand inside a concealed breast pocket and removed a small clear square the size of a foodcube. "I brought back the access codes to the gammak base."

* * * * *

Crichton almost regretted freeing Rygel. As soon as he had taken the plaster off his mouth the Hynerian started to complain. Guy looked at Crichton, his eyes seeming to sympathise. Crichton tried not to lose his temper with him, knew Rygel had volunteered for this bartantic scheme of his. That had to account for something. Rygel stopped complaining to catch his breath. The human turned to look at him and saw the Dominar's expression grow glum. "We are not going to get out of here are we, John?" He asked quietly.

"Hey, never say never Sparky." He paused a microt. "I wanted to thank you for coming along. That was a brave thing you did."

"No it wasn't, it was fahrbot. Magra fahrbot!" He paused and sighed. "You are rubbing off on us John Crichton and ..."

Crichton made a little hand sign and Rygel changed what he was about to say.

"What do you suppose they want with us?"

A nod told him he had made the right choice. "Who knows? Peace Keepers aren't exactly chosen for their intelligence."

"Crais..."

Crichton cut him off before he could infer that Crais was anything more than their captor. "Is a blood sucking piece of dren!"

Rygel grinned at him. He liked this game. Crichton rubbed a hand on top of Guy's head, the ape turning his head slightly and leaning in to the caress.

"We have to find a way out of here, Sparky, before they decide to use us as the main ingredient in chop suey."

The Dominar frowned, not even attempting to say the odd words. "What is that?"

"It's a Chinese dish composed of bits of things."

"Bits of things?" He was not sure he liked the sound of that.

"Okay, okay, so I don't know exactly what they put in it but there's definitely noodles and sometimes chicken and stuff."

"What is chicken?"

"Um, a fowl. Bird. You know? A creature that flies through the air and lays eggs."

"Ah, a creature."

"You know Ryge, I'm too tired to go through all the things we eat on Earth." He paused and looked for somewhere comfortable to lay down. He really was tired and feeling very sore. He picked a spot that would give him a clear view of the door and protect his back. Guy shuffled over to him and when he lay down the ape lay down with him. Rygel watched their sleeping arrangement, his tone dry.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are decidedly odd, Crichton?"

"Hmm, just about everybody I've met why?"

Rygel shook his head slowly and took up station on the opposite side of the little cell. He closed his eyes slowly, leaving just a tiny crack open. Beneath the lids he peered cautiously, not turning his head, but looking all around the cell. He spotted the first camera quite easily. Noted how it had been camoflaged and the angle. Once he knew what to look for he studied the view in all directions until he had located them all. Six cameras. Rather a lot for one small cage. What was it their captors were expecting them to do? Obviously mating was out as all three of them were male. Did they expect an escape attempt? The thought almost made him smile.

Dominar Rygel XVI had fallen asleep. Softly snoring, his head back against the far wall, he did not at first hear the stealthy movement. It was the gorilla who alerted him. Crichton was in a deep sleep and Guy did not wake him. Instead he carefully rolled away from Crichton towards the
Dominar, as if he were simply changing his sleeping position. He flopped a arm out to his side. The hand knocked Rygel's foot. It twitched and he jerked awake. "What...what...what's going on?"

Guy did not move. Feigned sleep. Crichton did not have to pretend. Rygel opened sleep bleary eyes, immediately realising the three of them were no longer alone in the cage. He yawned to get a better look through his fingers as he covered his face with his hands. Whatever it was it was
extremely stealthy. Blending well into the darkest shadows. Frell. He could not see a thing. He closed his eyes and leaned back again, letting himself give the appearance of falling back to sleep only now he was wide awake. Guy watched the little Dominar, knew he was only pretending to be asleep. He kept his eyes half closed, his breathing deep and even, his senses on full alert. Then suddenly all the lights came on and something dropped down on them from the ceiling. Guy cried out in startled pain then anger. Crichton sat up and gave himself a shock on the energy net. Rygel
remained frozen in place, only his eyes opening in surprise. The net missed him but had knocked both Crichton and Guy out cold. He flicked his eyes over to the hidden cameras watching to see what would happen next, whether the cameras would move to zoom in on specific targets. They did not. That meant they were fixed which at least explained why there were six of them.

Microts later he heard the thrum of boots coming down the corridor. The guards. He closed his eyes again and just lay quiet. His superior hearing stretched to pick up every tiny sound. He heard the door being unlocked and several men darted into the cage. First they checked on the ape, made sure the creature was not hurt. Then they dragged Crichton out of the cell and carried him off, the last one out carefully locking the cell and resetting the electrical charge on the bars. No one had even bothered to check on the Hynerian. Interesting. He tucked that little fact away in his head and worried about what they intended to do with Crichton.

* * * * *

Crichton woke in what looked like a laboratory of some kind. He had been stripped naked and was tied to an examination table. He could feel runnels beneath his back and thighs as if to drain away fluids. He did not like the way his thoughts were going. Terror building up in him as he thought of all the things they might do to him. What they hell was going on? Had Guy and Rygel been taken to similar laboratories? What indignities would be visited on them next? He tried to turn his head but his view was limited and his head hurt. That was when he remembered the shock. Everywhere the net had touched him had scorched him. He groaned and closed his eyes. The sound alerted his captors that he was awake. A figure in a kind of shiny blue robe stepped into his field of view. It was bidpedal but no race he had ever seen before. It opened its' mandibles and clicked at him. Either his translator microbes were on the blink or he was speaking in a language not covered by the little microbes. The unsung heroes of the Uncharted Territories. Now *that* was a scary thought.

"Who are you? What the frell do you want with me?"

The creature clicked at him again then poked his chest with his long thin bony fingers. The pressure hurt. Still sore it was not comfortable being poked and prodded. The alien clicked at him again, and again prodded him. Crichton gritted his teeth angrily.

"Will you STOP frelling poking me?"

The alien looked at him then looked down at his chest. Crichton did the same, wondering what the hell he found so fascinating then saw for himself. He was covered in angry red welts that looked for all the world like sucker marks. Well that was weird even for him. How did they get there? Obviously the alien was asking him the same question.

"Look, I don't know, okay? Maybe you guys did something, how should I know? You knocked me out, remember?"

The being made some weird noises in its' throat or thorax or whatever the hell the piece of anatomy was that was capable of making sound. He watched it pick something up. A shiny metallic instrument. Fear pooled in his belly. He did not want to be cut open or have pieces removed from him just to satisfy some sick bastard's curiosity. If they wanted to know something
why couldn't they just ask?

"Hey!"

The alien paused and looked at him. A total lack of emotion stared back chilling the human with every secret fear he had ever harboured about alien life. Shit. He was trapped in an "X-Files" nightmare with no Mulder or Scully to pull him out of it. He knew he should not have seen "Fire In the Sky" more than once. Then the pain hit him. The object the creature was using was not a knife but it was no relief to him whatsoever as screams tore out of his throat, his body tensing at the invasion of the strange cutting tool. More like a laser than a blade. His tormented mind pictured images of exsanguinated cattle, their organs clinically removed with edges so neat no human agency could replicate how the frell it was done. Now he knew. Mercifully he blacked out as the pain inched down his abdomen carrying him to some place way beyond Hell.

* * * * *

Rygel heard the pain filled screams echoing down the corridor to his cage. Quailed, winced and trembled as he recognised Crichton's voice. What the frell were they doing to him? Looking at Guy he realised the gorilla knew it was him as well, the grief on the creature's face was painful to see. He watched helpless as the ape threw himself at the bars, his fur and flesh sizzling as the current sent shocks through his enraged body. Too angry to feel the concomitant pain. Rygel tried to stop him but he was going bartantic trying to get out of the cell and find Crichton. It was doubtful if the gorilla even heard him. Rygel yelled and called out for someone to help, to switch off the frelling current. Suddenly the current went off. Rygel felt a surge of relief but it did not calm the gorilla down nor did he stop throwing himself at the bars of their cage. His obvious distress starting off the other occupants until the cacophony was truly dreadful. Then all of sudden Guy stopped. Stock still, head at a very slight angle, every muscle and nerve taut. Rygel listened, his sensitive hearing picking up the sounds of something coming down the corridor. Something or someone. The screams had stopped which meant either Crichton was dead or had passed out. The Hynerian hoped for the latter.

He could now hear boots clicking with militaristic zeal, dragging something. Getting nearer but not close enough for him to see anything yet. A soft cry of pain and sorrow slid out of Guy's mouth telling Rygel it had to be Crichton. The animal had an almost unnatural sixth sense when it came to the human. A hyper sense like a form of radar. Perhaps the human had been right, perhaps the species was a distant ancestor.

Rygel felt his mouth go dry when the guards dragged the inert body of John Crichton up to their cage. Guy started keening, rocking from side to side in distress at the sight of their unconscious friend. They had dressed him and now returned him with no more thought than if they were throwing out waste materials. One of the guards rattled a shock stick through the bars to get the gorilla to move back. Guy did not move a microdench. Ignored the guards, ignored everybody but the figure that hung limp between them.

"Get back!" Snarled the Peace Keeper.

Worried that the guard would hurt Guy, Rygel gently spoke to the ape and urged him back. His eyes pleading, his little hands making the discreet sign for stepping back. He hesitated then did as Rygel asked. The door was opened quickly, Crichton was thrown through the opening then the door clanged shut and was relocked. One of the guards sneered then flicked the switch to turn the power back on. Rygel sat down next to Crichton, his tiny hand feeling for a pulse. Guy was crying, such a mournful and sad sound that it made the Hynerian want to cry. Guy stroked Crichton's hair in a calming motion the human had used so often on him when he was upset or frightened. Rygel found the pulse, a lot stronger than he had expected. He sighed with relief. The human was alive, his heartbeat was strong. He smiled at the ape. It was their first bit of good news since this frelling nightmare had begun. "He's going to be alright, Guy, caw matan?"

He made a little gesture with his hand. Guy bobbed his head and dragged Crichton carefully back to the far side of the cage, as far away from those who had tortured him as he could get. Rygel did not have the heart to tell him it did not matter. All they had to do was what they had done in the night. Knock them all out then take whoever they wanted and do their worst. It was not as if they could do anything to stop them. But Rygel had a plan. If it worked they would not be spending another solar day in this frelling squag hole.

* * * * *
END