Title: Back to the Uncharted Territories
Author: Paradox761
Email: Paradox761@mail.com
Website: members.tripod.com/~Paradox761
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns Buffy; SFC, Jim Henson Productions, and Rockne S. O’Bannon own Farscape; and Universal Pictures owns Back to the Future. No copyright infringement is intended, so please don’t sue. I don’t have any money anyway.
Summary: Sequel to “A Sympathetic Ear”, John Crichton finally makes it home only to discover that the life he left behind is no longer there. His father, DK, and Xander Harris are all dead. Then he meets an extraordinary man in a bar, a time traveler, with an extraordinary proposition. Will John risk it all to go back in time to save his father’s life? And what happens when the consequences are much worse than he ever could have imagined?
Author’s note: Takes place directly after the third season of Farscape, after that it’s an AU. Also, for the sake of this story, Farscape takes place in the near future (2017), and some of the modifications made to the DeLorean in the second movie, namely Mr. Fusion, came from further into the future then when the movie took place (2015). Also, some dialogue has been lifted directly from the Buffy episode “Grave”, no plagiarism intended.
Dedication: To Jordan and Jessica, my angels. May they rest in peace.
Special thanks to A. Grandt, greywizard, Wayne, Rob Clark, Danielle, Goblin, Calen, DaBear, Obi, Gareth, Troy, David, and Lafe for the feedback and support.
(Farscape/BtVS/BttF, Xander/Chiana, John/Aeryn)
Rated R for language and violence
Guest Cast:
Guy Pearce as Dr. Julian Martin Brown, PhD.
James Remar as Lakas

“Captain LaRack, I assure you, you are in no danger inside my establishment,” Lakas said, annoyance clear in his voice.

“And how can I be sure of that?” John asked.

“My security is quite competent.”

It was a fine line, John knew. He had to make enough of a scene to get everyone’s attention, but if he went overboard, they might not be allowed in. He had a feeling that he was approaching that line. He just prayed that he had given Xander and D’Argo enough time.

“How can I be sure that our weapons will not be tampered with?” John asked.

“If you’ll follow me this way,” Lakas said, leading the way to what looked like a vault door in the wall next to the entrance. “Our weapons vault is very secure, I assure you. Only myself, and a few of my key security personnel know the code to open it.”

John pretended to think it over as he examined the vault door. “Very well,” he said. “We will comply.”

Lakas nodded to one of his men, who turned and entered a code into the keypad on the vault door, careful to block John’s view with his hand as he did it. The door swung open, and the guard turned with his hand out.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll put it in myself,” John said. He drew Winonna and turned the pistol around in his hand. He reached into the vault and laid it inside. He turned and motioned for Jool to give him hers. She feigned reluctance as she handed him her pistol, and then the Qualta blade on her back. John propped the Luxan weapon against the side of the vault, leaning forward ever so slightly. It started to fall forward a little, but John closed the vault before it could fall out. He knew that inside, the blade now rested in the corner between the side of the vault, and the door.

“Come now, my dear,” John said, extending his elbow for Jool. She took it, glaring at the guards one last time before John led them into the casino.

“Do you think it worked?” Jool asked once they were far away enough not to be heard.

“I don’t see D’Argo or Xander. I’ll take that as a good sign.”

“What do we do now?”

“We wait until it’s time to cover their exit,” John answered. “And we pray.”

*

Xander and D’Argo skulked quietly through the corridors and back rooms of the casino. Luckily for them there weren’t very many people roaming the halls, and it wasn’t too difficult to remain unseen. They passed offices, storerooms, even a count room. There was no sign of Chiana, and no sign of any extra security personnel or devices. In fact, the only security they had come across was two guards sitting in what Xander assumed was a break room, eating and talking.

They had explored every hallway that branched off from the main corridor, and now they were almost back where they had started, coming full circle. Xander ducked down one last hallway, only to come to a dead end two meters in. “Damn it,” Xander cursed under his breath. “I don’t get it, she has to be here.”

“Perhaps Lakas is smarter than we gave him credit for,” D’Argo said. “He may have her hidden someplace else.”

“Where? We checked, he hasn’t traveled off world since Chiana was taken. From what we heard he hardly ever leaves the casino, he practically lives here. He’d want to keep her close. She has to be here.” The situation was becoming increasingly frustrating for Xander. He closed his eyes and let out a strained breath. “A fine rescue attempt this is turning out to be, we can’t even find the person we’re supposed to be rescuing.”

D’Argo growled in agreement. “We’ll just have to keep looking.”

Xander opened his eyes and was halfway through a nod when a thought struck him. He looked around where they were standing. “Wait a minute, something’s not right here.”

“I know, that’s what we were just talking about.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I mean here, where we’re standing. This dead end, why is it here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why build a hallway that doesn’t go anywhere?” Xander stepped back into the main corridor and looked back the way they came. “The last hallway on this side of the corridor had a storeroom attached to it, on this side, remember? It was about…eight meters by ten meters.”

“So?”

“So, look. That hallway is at least fifteen meters away from this one. That leaves a lot of empty space behind this wall right here.”

D’Argo seemed to think for a moment. “A hidden room. Are you sure?”

“I used to work construction, I know a thing or two about floor plans. I’m telling you, there should be a room here.”

D’Argo examined the wall closely, looking for any signs of a hidden door. “So how do we get in?”

“What about that?” Xander asked, pointing to a small control panel on the wall at the end of the hall.

“That’s just a lighting control.”

“And doesn’t that seem like an odd spot for a light switch? Do you remember seeing any of those at the end of any of the other hallways?”

D’Argo nodded with realization. “You’re right, the lighting controls were at the beginning of each corridor, not the end.” D’Argo drew the short sword he was carrying and started for the control panel.

“Wait a minute, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to smash the control panel.”

“And how do you know that will open the door? What if you destroy the door mechanism, or set off some kind of alarm?”

“Well what do you suggest?”

Xander thought for a moment. “We find someone who knows how to open it.”

“The only person who knows for sure is Lakas.”

“Right. That office in the back is the biggest, that has to be his. Do you think between the two of us we can persuade him to cooperate?”

A feral smile crossed D’Argo’s face. “Let’s go.”

Xander reached into his coat and drew his sword, following D’Argo as he led the way back to Lakas’ office. They had tried sneaky, and it didn’t work. Now it was time for the not-so-subtle approach.

*

“Blue card high! No winner, no winner!” the dealer called out.

“You’re losing!” Jool hissed through clenched teeth, standing next to John at one of the gaming tables.

“Of course I’m losing, this is a casino,” John returned in a hushed tone. “Not to mention the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing. This isn’t exactly Blackjack.”

“We’re running out of currency.”

“We have to give them more time.”

“Yes, but do you have to keep gambling?”

“We’re supposed to be the distraction, remember? We’re not going to be too distracting sitting in the corner and nursing a couple of drinks.”

“Yeah, well we’re not going to be too distracting sitting outside because we ran out of money either.”

“Relax, I think I’m finally getting the hang of this game. Besides, I’ve been losing for the last half an arn. I have to start winning soon.”

“Green card low! No winner, no winner!”

“You’re right,” Jool said, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have any idea what you’re doing.”

*

Xander and D’Argo were rounding the last corner toward Lakas’ office, when they ran into the two security guards they had seen earlier coming out of the break room.

“Hey, what are you…” one of them started. The rest of his sentence was cut off though when his face was intercepted by the back of D’Argo’s hand, sending him crashing into the corridor wall.

The second guard started to draw his sidearm, but it hadn’t even cleared the holster all the way when it was met by a swipe from Xander’s sword. Sending it, along with a few of the guard’s fingers, skittering across the floor. He followed with a kick to the stomach, and a left cross, knocking the other man to the ground. He cast a quick glance toward D’Argo to see how he was doing with the other guard. He saw the Luxan pick the guard up and throw him against the opposite wall, head first. He hit with a thud and sank to the floor, not moving. Xander didn’t know if he was dead, and frankly he didn’t much care.

He turned back to the other guard just in time to see him pressing a button on his belt. A second later, an alarm klaxon echoed through the corridor. Xander silently cursed himself for becoming distracted. He stepped forward and swung his blade upwards, slicing across the man’s throat. He collapsed on the ground, his good hand clutching at the open wound across his neck. The only sound he made was a gurgling noise, as the blood poured out from between his fingers.

Xander could hear what he assumed was the sound of automatic doors closing throughout the back of the casino. He and D’Argo double-timed it to Lakas’ office, knowing that they didn’t have much time now. As they got closer they could see the door starting to slide shut. Xander lunged forward with his sword, getting it inside the door before it closed all the way. He pulled the handle back as hard as he could, using Hero as a lever to pry the door open. He could see D’Argo’s fingers around the edge of the door, pulling it along with him. The door moved slowly open again under their combined effort, and after a few seconds the pair charged into the room.

Lakas was standing behind his desk, feverishly pounding on the buttons on his desk. Trying to get the door closed Xander assumed. As soon as he saw them come inside, his hand started to dip below the desk, like he was reaching for something. Xander had the tip of his sword pressed against his neck in a second.

“Not so fast, tough guy. Let me see your hands, nice and slow.” Lakas froze as soon as he felt the cold steel against his neck. He raised his hands slowly, never once taking his eyes off of Xander. “Good boy,” Xander said, pulling his blade away slightly. “Now, let’s…”

But before Xander could finish his sentence, a feral roar filled the room. In less than one second, D’Argo had crossed the room, reached across Lakas’ desk, yanked him by his shirt over the desk, and had his own sword pressed up against his neck. “Where is she!” he roared. “What have you done with her!”

“Whoa, whoa, big guy! That’s not going to get it done,” Xander said. “Let me try it my way first, okay?”

D’Argo looked back and forth between Xander and Lakas for a few seconds before finally letting him go, giving him a shove against the desk.

“Okay,” Xander said, turning back to Lakas. “We don’t have a lot of time here so I’m going to make this fast.”

“Whatever you think you’re doing here, you’ll fail. You won’t make it out of this building alive.”

That earned a growl from D’Argo, but he remained still.

“You’re not helping yourself here, Lakas. You keep that up and I won’t be able to convince him that ripping out your intestines and wearing them as a hat is a bad idea. Luxans aren’t really known for patience, as I’m sure you know.” Lakas remained silent, looking back and forth between Xander and D’Argo nervously. “Good. Now, you give us what we want, and we’ll leave. And all we want is Chiana.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

D’Argo growled and took a step forward. Xander held up his hand, telling D’Argo to stay back. “Nebari girl, about so high, can tell the future. You’ve been using her to cheat the other casinos here. Any of this ringing any bells!”

“You must have made some mistake. I don’t…”

This time Xander didn’t stop D’Argo from charging across the room and pushing Lakas against his desk by his throat. The casino owner struggled to breathe as he looked up at the snarling Luxan above him. A moment later, Xander’s face slid into his view along side.

“I don’t think we’re communicating here, Lakas. You don’t seem to understand what I’m telling you, so I’m going to make this as simple as possible. You show us how to get into your secret room, and you give us Chiana, and we’ll let you live. You try bullshitting us one more time, and I’m going to let my friend here squeeze until your head pops off like a dandelion. You’re call, so what’ll it be?” Lakas struggled to speak. “Let up a little big guy, he’s trying to say something.”

“If you…kill me…you’ll never find her.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You see, we want to keep the authorities out of this just as badly as you do. But if you force our hand, they’ll have no problem searching this place top to bottom once your dead. And we’ll get her back either way,” Xander lied. There was no reason to let him know that the reason they wanted to keep the authorities out of this was because they were fugitives from the Peace Keepers with a bounty on their heads.

Lakas hesitated. After a few seconds, Xander got tired of waiting. “Fine, have it your way. Snap his neck big guy, we’ll find her ourselves.”

“Wait! Okay, okay I’ll lead you to her!”

Xander and D’Argo looked at each other for a moment before Xander nodded, and D’Argo let go of his neck. Lakas immediately started gasping, trying to catch his breath while he rubbed the front of his neck where a bruise in the shape of a hand was starting to form.

Xander turned his face away from Lakas and looked up at D’Argo, speaking low enough so that only the Luxan could hear him. “Where did you learn how to play good cop, bad cop?”

“What’s good cop, bad cop?” D’Argo asked.

Xander just shook his head. “Never mind, we should get moving. You take point, I’ll keep an eye on our friend here,” he said, grabbing Lakas by the arm and shoving him toward the door.

D’Argo kept his sword at the ready, looking both ways out into the corridor before leading the way to where they believed the secret room to be. Xander kept one eye on Lakas, and the other on their rear. They walked past the bodies of the two guards that he and D’Argo had already dispatched. Xander stepped in the growing pool of blood gathering on the floor without even noticing.

“You’ll still never get off world,” Lakas said, looking at his fallen guards.

“You just let us worry about that,” Xander said, silently praying that John and Jool had started Plan B when they heard the alarm go off. Otherwise, he was right. They never would get off world.




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