B7: The Definition of Peace - Chapter 17

[kalinda001]

Genre: PGP
Rating: Gen
Sequel to Wants and Needs (3rd story in the Perceptions series)

 

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Chapter Seventeen

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Jenna had woken up angry. And she had a headache. The drugs which Avon had Cally administer had put them all out until the next morning. There was no way to track Avon now.

 

She was not about to give up though. Tancit had contacted his main group and was going to arrange some additional help.

 

You're not going to get away that easily, Avon.

 

Jenna picked up the comm unit which she had taken from the others. She regretted that they were now in conflict. She had never intended for it to get this far but this had been building for along time. Jenna hoped that they would understand eventually.

 

After Avon had been rescued from Servalan, Jenna had stayed away from him. As it was, just seeing him everyday made it difficult for her. Each time she saw him, she remembered Blake. The feelings of anger and guilt which she thought she had gotten over, had begun to surface again the moment Avon came onboard.

 

While the others tried their best to help Avon, she hadn't. The others had been so preoccupied with Avon that they didn't even notice her lack of participation. Their sympathy for the man who killed Blake had increasingly filled her with anger.

 

She was returning to the state she had been in when Argus first accepted her into his group. Jenna had been so blinded by hatred and guilt that everyone else shunned her and refused to help her in her quest for vengeance. Argus had wanted to give her a chance.

 

He forced her to see that her actions were only hurting herself and those around her and that if she was going to stay in his group, she had to get past her obsession. Argus had tried to help her by keeping her busy. It had worked for awhile.

 

Until Avon came back.

 

Being on this planet and seeing Avon almost helpless and without Argus to get in the way, Jenna had seized the opportunity.

 

You fooled us all, Avon. Lulling us into thinking you were helpless. You were never helpless, were you? With your devious and ruthless mind. How could you be?

 

Blake trusted you. You made him trust you. You made him think you were his friend. And now he's dead. Blake should have only trusted me.

 

You hunted him down and killed him, Avon. Now I am going to hunt you down and make you pay. I am going to make you scream. I am going to make you sorry that you betrayed the only good man.

 

I should never have left you, Blake. But I'm going to make it up to you by killing the man who betrayed you. Who betrayed all of us.

 

**********

 

Argus paced the flight deck like a caged panther. He was normally a still man; a man not given to nervous movements. But he had been pacing for the past hour.

 

Argus wasn't nervous, he was angry. He was trying to convince himself that he was attempting to make a difficult decision. The truth was that he had already made his decision; had already made it when Servalan first offered him the deal.

 

He was trying to come to terms with his own decision.

 

Damn you, Servalan! I played right into your hands.

 

He wanted to kill her.

 

If you break any of the terms. I will kill you, Servalan. I promise you that. Agreement or no agreement.

 

Argus took a deep breath. His life was already burdened by a heavy debt of guilt. He was a man who longed for peace; he doubted if he would ever find it again.

 

Reya, I wish you were here. I need you.

 

He wasn't sure why he was doing this for a man he had only known for a short while. Argus only knew that he had to.

 

"Zen, initiate contact with Servalan's ship. I want the log coded under my own personal security access."

 

"Confirmed."

 

Servalan immediately appeared on the main viewscreen. She was wearing a simple, elegant white gown and had a radiant smile on her face.

 

"Commander Argus." Her voice sounded as if she had won a great victory.

 

"Don't be so pleased yet, Servalan. If you break this agreement, I will kill you."

 

"I don't doubt it."

 

Argus took a deep breath again. There was no turning back.

 

"Very well. You have an agreement," he told her.

 

He felt ill.

 

**********

 

Cally sighed as she looked down at Avon. He had obviously fallen asleep while working on her teleport bracelet. That also meant that he had not used the drugs. He was moving restlessly in reaction to whatever nightmare was filling his mind.

 

She put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

 

"Avon. Wake up."

 

Avon instantly straightened up and backed away from her. For a moment, Cally wasn't sure he recognized her. Then he asked, "What's wrong?"

 

"Nothing's wrong. You fell asleep. You were having a nightmare."

 

Avon grimaced. His back hurt from moving too quickly. He rubbed his sore right shoulder. Other parts of his anatomy also seemed to be hurting. Most likely a result of sleeping in an awkward position. He was tired.

 

"Does your shoulder hurt?" asked Cally with concern. "I've been noticing you rubbing it lately. Let me take a look at it."

 

Avon nodded. She helped him take his jacket off and began feeling along his neck and shoulder area.

 

"You're very tense. The muscles are tight. It's probably a result of the use of the cane. Does your whole right side hurt?" she asked.

 

"Yes."

 

"Unfortunately we don't have a muscle relaxant in our supply of drugs."

 

"I knew I had forgotten something," said Avon with light sarcasm.

 

"I can give you something for the pain. How would you like a massage to work out the tension?"

 

"Do I have a choice?" he asked in jest.

 

"You could suffer in silence," suggested Cally.

 

"That doesn't sound very appealing."

 

"Let's get that shirt off then."

 

As Avon removed his shirt, Cally could see some of the residual scars left by the years of torture. The medical equipment on the ship had been able to remove most of the marks but not all.

 

Cally touched one of the scars, tracing it lightly. "Do any of these still hurt?" she asked.

 

Avon turned to look at her. He removed her hand from where she had been touching him. "Don't do that, Cally."

 

"I'm not Anna Grant," she told him.

 

He reacted in surprise and let go of her hand. "I know."

 

"And neither was she."

 

Avon's jaw tightened. "No she wasn't."

 

"I've been waiting along time, Avon."

 

There was a pause. Then he said, "I know."

 

"Why did you come and rescue me? Why did you let this happen to you?" She reached out to touch one of his scars.

 

He stopped her. "It's not the time."

 

"Will it ever be?" she asked.

 

"I don’t know," he told her.

 

This was not what Cally wanted to hear.

 

"At least you're honest," she said.

 

"Will you wait?" he asked her. The words came out before he realized what he was saying.

 

"I don't know."

 

"Well, at least we're both honest," said Avon.

 

"But are we both fools?" asked Cally.

 

"That remains to be seen. I think you had better just give me something for the pain," he told her. Avon put his shirt back on.

 

**********

 

Argus sat at the teleport controls. He activated the comm.

 

"Avon. This is Argus. Respond only if you are ready for teleport."

 

He waited for an answer.

 

Even though he had an agreement with Servalan now, Argus still didn't trust her. He needed to contact the crew himself and he was not about to let Servalan know where they were.

 

"Avon. Jenna. Vila. Cally. Respond if you are ready for teleport."

 

There was still no response.

 

Either Avon has not fixed the teleport bracelets yet or they're not in a position to use them.

 

There was one other possibility. For some reason, Avon and the others had not connected. That meant that Avon was on the run since Servalan was still looking for him.

 

Argus activated the comm for the flight deck.

 

"Zen, do you still have the frequencies for the multiple relay channels Jenna used to contact us before?"

 

"Confirmed. The frequencies were retained."

 

"Good. I want you to send my communication along those channels when I contact Jenna."

 

"Confirmed. Communication lines open."

 

"Jenna, this is Argus. Respond."

 

Argus listened for an answering response.

 

"Jenna, this is Argus. Please respond."

 

There was still no answer.

 

"Zen, boost the range of the signal."

 

"Confirmed."

 

"Jenna. Cally. Vila. This is Argus. Respond."

 

He was answered with silence.

 

Damn. What is going on down there?

 

It looked as if he had no choice except to wait for Servalan to find Avon. It would be the ultimate test of whether she would honour their agreement and let Avon go once she found him.

 

There was no way that he was going to leave the ship even if he could figure out a way to activate the teleport remotely. He doubted if Servalan would be able to resist the temptation if he left it.

Must ask Avon if he can rig that up when he gets back. I still need to find the others though.

 

**********

 

"What do you want now, Servalan?" Argus asked with irritation.

 

"Now. Now. Argus. Is that the way to start our new relationship?" asked Servalan with deceptive sweetness.

 

"Don't flatter yourself. Our arrangement does not require me to treat you as anything other than a devious snake."

 

"Such flattery."

 

"Stop wasting my time and get to the point," he said gruffly.

 

"You're angry," she noted.

 

"I don't see where that's your concern."

 

"The decision was yours to make. And you are getting what you want."

 

"And you're getting what you want. Though I still don't understand why you would be willing to let Avon go."

 

"You still don't trust me?"

 

"Never."

 

"I do have my reasons. But as you said, they are none of your concern."

 

"Personal reasons?" Argus asked, trying to push her.

 

"As I said, the matter does not concern you."

 

Argus nodded thoughtfully.

 

"What do you want, Servalan?" he asked.

 

"You're a cautious man. You tried to contact Avon and the others without revealing where they are."

 

Yes. I knew you would be monitoring those.

 

"I don't trust you," he told her.

 

"That doesn't make for a good working relationship."

 

"We don't have a relationship, Servalan. Just a program of useful hatred." Argus was tired.

 

She studied him across the distance separated by their screens.

 

"I will find Avon for you. And I will deliver him in good working order. Then you will start doing what you agreed to," she told him.

 

"He's not a machine, Servalan." His said angrily.

 

"You're right. He's not."

 

**********

 

The guards returned Sester to the cell which masqueraded as a living quarters. They removed the restraints and pushed him inside.

 

Reya was standing by the window again. This time she had a datapad and a stylus in her hand and was busy writing something. She turned around as he entered the room.

 

"What would you do if there wasn't a window in this room?" Sester asked as he came up to her. He looked down at the datapad she was holding. It was a drawing of the view outside the window.

 

He reached for the datapad, "May I?" She let him take it from her hands.

 

Sester studied it for moment. It wasn't a simple picture. With just a few lines, she had been able to convey the beauty of the natural surroundings and at the same time it also evoked a feeling of sadness.

 

"This is beautiful," he told her.

 

"I was bored."

 

He gave it back to her and then put his arms around her. For a moment they kissed each other.

 

"I'm sorry. But we have to keep this up," he expressed his apology when he pulled back.

 

"Its fine," she reassured him.

 

Its not fine, thought Sester. He really hated that they had to continue doing this.

 

"Let's talk about something else," she told him. Reya noticed the mark on his neck. "What happened?"

 

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

 

"There's a bruise on your neck. It wasn't there before you left the room."

 

Sester put his hand to where it was still sore.

 

"Oh that. It's nothing. I had a slight disagreement with the management," he said jokingly.

 

"Don't joke about it. They're hurting you."

 

"I can take care of myself," he told her.

 

"I think you've been around me too long," she remarked.

 

He changed the subject. "Dayto has agreed to give you an hour outside each day."

 

"Good. Hopefully we can get out of here soon," said Reya.

 

"Yes. We have to escape. I've found out that the Federation troops are looking for Avon."

 

"That's not good."

 

"No it's not. It means that Servalan knows he's here."

 

For the next few days, Reya gathered information and made preparations for their escape while Sester continued stalling with Dayto. At night, Sester taught her to enjoy the pleasure of each other's bodies.

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