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Ha Ha! I Actually Have Chapter
Titles For The First Time! Aren't You Proud Of Me? Oh Well, It's
A Good Thing I Have Chapter Titles, Because This Story Title
Sucks. I Better Finish Up Now, Because It's 2:00 AM And I'm On
A Train And The Other Passengers Aren't Happy That I Have The
Light On(17)
Last weekend I visited a
friend of mine in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She invited me to her school's
formal dance, and I went and had a wonderful time. Anthony was
glad I left, because he said I'd have a lot of time on the train
to write fic. By hand. In pencil. Ugh. But I did, and this is
the first fic that has been written ENTIRELY by hand before being
typed. Anyway, I have no excuse for this except that I've been
using Bongo as a pillow on the trains and he is Not Happy. When
a muse is Not Happy, we get freakish fic.
Chapter 1: Indy to Chicago
Corde burst out laughing. She
swiftly muffled her snickers until a glare from Aeryn renewed
her mirth. "Aeryn, sweetie, are you okay?" She tried
to ask without giggling and failed miserably.
"No," Aeryn replied
shortly as she put her head back between her knees.
Corde bit her lip. "The
way you pilot your Prowler, I'd have never thought you to get
carsick. Train sick."
Aeryn tried to glare again,
but it came out as a rather pitiful attempt. "My Prowler
does not JERK as this train does. Neither is there a loudly snoring
octogenarian," she moaned.
Corde examined the sleeping
lady in question. "I don't think she's that old," she
mused. "Probably only a septuagenarian."
"Then there's Mr. Coughy
over there," Aeryn continued enumerating her woes.
Crichton's head popped up from
several rows in front of them. "Coffee?" he asked brightly.
"No, you insufferable
dolt," Aeryn said with utter distain. "Not COFFEE.
Coughy. He's coughing."
Crichton shrugged. "They
sound the same."
Aeryn looked at him incredulously.
"This is TEXT! They're spelled completely differently!"
Crichton said, "Whatever,"
and went back to his coloring books. Aeryn moaned and put her
head back between her knees. Corde rolled her eyes.
D'Argo wandered by. "How'd
you get here?" Corde asked, surprised.
The luxan drew himself up with
dignity. "I'm going to visit the aquarium in Chicago,"
he said gruffly. "You're on a train, it's a free ride, and
I wanna see the pretty fishies."
Corde considered for a moment,
then shrugged and said, "Sure. Cool. I'll pick you up on
the way back." D'Argo grunted assent and resumed making
his way unsteadily to the snack machines.
Aeryn groaned with renewed
vigor. "Corde, why are you so chipper? I thought you got
motion sick too."
"Like a fiend," Corde
confirmed cheerfully. "Wonderful stuff, Dramamine. Less
drowsy formula. I could ride a horse. I could EAT a horse. And
I'm bright-tailed, bushy-eyed, wide awa" the rest of the
sentence trailed off in a snore. Startled, Aeryn looked up to
see Corde fast asleep, clutching Bongo and drooling. Aeryn snickered,
her own nausea forgotten. Where had she put that camera? This
would be blackmail material for MONTHS
Chapter 2: The Dance
Aeryn looked around the glittery
ballroom in dismay. "THIS is why you dragged us up here
to Cheeseland?"
Corde grinned, eyes shining.
"Yup. Isn't it great?"
Zhaan and D'Argo waltzed by.
Aeryn sneered. "A bunch
of kids hanging around in $200 outfits they'll only wear once
and acting like fools. How is this fun?"
Corde looked for her date,
who had gone to get her a drink. "Because it is. And isn't
Mike just the greatest guy? I'm so glad Deters got him to bring
me. He even slow-dances! That's so nice of him!"
"Foolish boy," Aeryn
muttered. "He'd get more use out of three hours of target
practice than three hours of 'dancing.'"
Corde poked her in the arm.
"Shush. I'm having fun. And you haven't said how you like
my dress." She pirouetted to show off the bright red formal
gown.
Aeryn eyed her doubtfully.
"That can't be comfortable."
"It's not s'posta be,"
Corde told her, breathing shallowly. "I can hold my breath
for three hours. It's not a big deal."
Zhaan and D'Argo tangoed by.
Corde did a double take. "Hey, I thought he was going to
the aquarium"
Corde's date came back and
handed her a cup. "Thanks, Mike," she said, taking
a swig. "Hey, I want you to meet my friend Aeryn."
Mike raised an eyebrow. "But
Corde, you don't even live around here. How did you meet her?
I don't think she goes to this school." He addressed Aeryn.
"Do you go to Trempor? Or Indian Trails maybe?"
Aeryn drew herself up, affronted.
("What is it with you and 'drawing up' all of a sudden?"
Chia asked. "You have the oddest phrases." "You
wanna write? Be my guest!" said Corde.) "Officer Aeryn
Sun, Icarian Company, Pleisar Regiment."
D'Argo spun Zhaan in a graceful
circle.
Mike blinked. "Whoa."
He turned to Corde. "Your friends are weird." Corde
grinned and nodded. "Let's dance."
"Yay!" said Corde.
They had boogied their way
through "Soul Man," "I'm a Believer," "Time
Warp," "Jump, Jive 'n' Wail," three measures of
Britney Spears before the DJ turned it off, "Mickey,"
"(She's a) Brick House,"and "Everybody (Backstreet's
Back)" before the inevitable Ricky Martin song came on.
Corde and the other girls cheered and shook it for all they were
worth, but Mike stopped dancing. "I don't HAVE a bon-bon,"
he said plaintively. Corde giggled.
D'Argo and Zhaan did an elaborate
spin-and-dip move.
There was a loud crash from
the front of the room, and the music stopped just before Ricky
went "around the world in a day." Everyone groaned
and looked up to see Aeryn standing over the remains of a stereo,
readying her pulse rifle for another shot. She looked up. "
'Genie in a Bottle' was up next," she explained.
Chapter 4: Home Again
"Will you people please
SHUT UP?" Corde snapped. She was uncomfortably trying to
arrange herself on the narrow train seats so she could sleep.
Aeryn was once again moaning about train sickness, and D'Argo
and Zhaan were sniping at each other over who had caused more
bruises on the other's feet. Corde turned on the Amtrak mini-light
above her seat and looked at the miserable crew. Someone was
missing. "Um, was anyone watching to make sure Crichton
didn't get off at that last stop? The shipperswill be very upset
with me if we left him in Dyer."
Aeryn stopped moaning long
enough to say, "He's on the lower level with the snack machines."
D'Argo looked toward Corde
with horror. "You didn't give him any MONEY, did you? He'll
drink a bunch of Pepsi and be up all night!"
"Relax, tentacle boy,
he's just pushing the buttons," Zhaan told him. "But
I'm going to be up all night with aching feet! Could you have
stepped on my more if you'd TRIED?!"
"You're no lightweight
yourself, Blue!" D'Argo snapped back. "And you just
HAD to wear the spike heels"
Corde pointed out the window.
"Look! Snow!" she yelled, then turned off the light
and went to sleep.
Chapter 3: Oops, I Forgot Chapter
3
Chapter 5: Commentary
"I'm gonna hurl,"
said Aeryn, dashing to the bathroom.
"I hope that's motion
sickness and not her literary opinion," said Corde.
"Both," Aeryn yelled
from her kneeling position over the toilet.
"My feet hurt," growled
D'Argo.
"Mine too," said
Zhaan.
"Wanna push the button,"
grumped Crichton.
Corde rolled her eyes. "Look!
Snow!"
THE END
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