* irreversibly / contaminated

john couldn’t help his short laugh. now his module was being deemed worthless? well, he’d take that as an improvement! at least he wouldn’t have to worry about her mentioning selling the damn thing again. probably.

he swallowed thickly, not outright denying that he was hiding. john was, in truth, feeling rather homesick. he didn’t exactly have a lot with him from earth. he could only talk into a tape recorder for so long- could only dwell for so long- before listening to himself grew irksome. the module was one of the few other things he had, and one that made john feel like he was working towards his goal of returning home.

“ oh, i don’t know. the company’s not so bad, ” he said softly. this time, there was nothing painting his tone except honesty. somehow, john was sure he could have ended up with worse. so, sure, they were all a bit wacky. d’argo was kind of scary, zhaan was a bit of a mystery, and rygel was a nuisance. and aeryn…

aeryn was another case altogether. she was so frustrating sometimes, and yet-

“ and what are you doing down here? hiding from the others, or did you decide you missed little old me? ”

for a microt, she pretended she hadn’t heard him. it gave her a chance to stall -- to come up with an explanation for trudging all the way down to the maintenance bay. it wasn’t an explanation she had readily on hand. and that fact irritated her considerably more than she was willing to admit. 

at last, her eyes landed on something in the corner of the room -- a stack of the munitions they’d purchased during their last stop on a commerce planet. she’d found her excuse. anything else was buried far deeper than she was willing to probe...

“  hardly,  ”    she said at last, rewarding him with a smirk.    “  i need to change the chakkan oil cartridge in my pulse pistol.  ”    she gestured to the weapon that was constantly strapped to her thigh. her brow lifted slightly, an ounce of humor in her expression.    “  at least one person aboard this vessel ought to be prepared...  ”

“ thank you, aeryn, for the vote of confidence, ” john huffed. it was certainly no secret what aeryn thought of his module; she’d made her opinion on it quite clear, after all. she’d even suggested that they sell it once, much to his offense! one day, he’d prove her wrong. one day.

unfortunately, fact was that today was not that day. he’d spent a few arns working, just to put his mind to something, and at this point the interruption was welcome. john had reached his limit with working on the ship, at least for now. the tool in his hand was set aside, his focus now completely on aeryn. “ if you’re here to suggest we sell it again, we’re seriously going to have to talk. ” the start of a smile was on his lips, his tone teasing. well…mostly.

she returned the smile, but there was an unpleasant edge to it.    “  no, i think selling it might be pointless after all.  ”    she strode towards the module, trailing one hand along the outer hull as she circled it.    “  even if we stripped it down to its parts, i’m not sure it would be worth anything...  ”   she glanced at him, doing her best to contain her wicked smile.    “  whatever this is --  ”    aeryn tapped her knuckle against the metal.    “  it’s not half as durable as what the peacekeepers use...  ”

“  surely you know by now that that won’t do any good.  ” 

she’d entered the maintenance bay silently and now stood in the doorway, watching as crichton tinkered with his module. it was a heap of dren, she’d always thought. taking up more space than it was worth. she’d recommended once that they sell it for parts, but the suggestion hadn’t gone over particularly well with the human. at the memory, something almost like a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. she’d be lying -- and it was a lie she told often -- if she said she didn’t find him at least somewhat... interesting.  

the hair on the back of her neck was raised in warning, but she kept walking. the streets of the commerce planet’s market place were crowded, and for the most part, aeryn felt safe in the assumption that she would slip through largely unnoticed. but that’s when she’d realized it -- she had a shadow. someone was following her. aeryn kept her pace steady. speeding up or ducking suddenly down an alleyway would only alert whoever it was that she had noticed them. shoulders squared and back ramrod straight, she continued on as she had been, mentally rerouting her path to somewhere more secluded. all the while, the shadow followed. 

frell. aeryn stopped in the clearing, once again tapping her comm badge in the vain hope that someone aboard moya might respond. but she was only met with the sound of wind in the trees and the call of some species of bird she didn’t recognize. her jaw tightened as she looked around her -- as much as she hated to acknowledge it, the truth was she was very, very lost. she, crichton and d’argo had come down to the planet in search of supplies. moya’s stores were running worryingly low, but the closest commerce planets were well-known for their strict peacekeeper patrols. the crew had decided they’d rather forage than starve. although -- aeryn thought grimly -- the second option was seeming more and more likely.