Date: Fri, 15 Jul 1994 09:10:45 EDT Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "(Nancy Cleveland)" Subject: Re: Aloha II (part 2) If you didn't get all seven parts of Aloha, you can E-mail me at NancySSCH@AOL.COM. Aloha II is in process. Please send me comments on one or both. Thanks. Ko's island had been the third the ship had stopped at, each one giving up a tribute of beautiful young women, strong men and boys, destined for the slave markets of the Americas and a life of misery and early death. Duncan was disgusted and angered, but was helpless to interfere. All the crew had been promised a share of the profits, as a way to cement their support for the scheme, and to keep them off the bodies of the captives. They watched one another like hawks, eager to preserve the value of their wares. He stood by, sick with misery, as the happy, laughing Islanders were lured aboard the ship, with promises of a tour of the islands, or just to see the ship itself, and were jumped, beaten and led in chains to the lower hold, hidden from the next unsuspecting group to follow them aboard. Duncan began to take water to the hold where the Islanders were chained, and learned a few words of their language. Enough to be moved to pity and to make him commit to helping them. The night his ship was to leave Ko's island, by far the largest one they'd set down at, he vowed to free them. He was in the hold and cutting through the leg irons of the first man, the other crew members on board passed out drunk from doped wine he'd offered them, when the captain and his slaving crew returned. They'd caught him unawares, and in a short brutal fight had beaten him unconscious, slashed his throat and tossed him overboard, food for the sharks. The ship pulled up anchor and was far away before Duncan came to his senses. Lucky for him, no sharks had come looking in the mean while. < Maybe Immortal blood doesn't taste the same?> When he was able, he'd swum to shore, unsure what reception he'd get once on land. The family of the chief, Lananuka, had welcomed him. According to Lananuka, the village believed the ones who had left with the boat were going on an adventure, to travel to other islands and see the world. At least that was the chief's official line, as he'd looked at Duncan, his sharp eyes testing Duncan for his reaction. Duncan, sitting borrowed clothes, eating in Lananuka's home, sleeping in a borrowed hut, had kept silent, pretending to not understand the question, if indeed it was one. When Duncan got to know the people in the village better, and understood more of their language, he discovered that several persons with claims on the throne, or who'd been in conflict with Lananuka or his advisors, had all 'coincidentally' been in the group that had left with the ship. He still wasn't sure if the chief understood entirely what he'd done, as they had no concept of slavery in this island culture. But he didn't feel secure enough in their society to challenge Lananuka's decision openly. There were still plenty of relatives of the departed, left in the village, and he didn't want to start an intra-tribal war, either. And then there was Ko. Beautiful, bold and laughing Ko. Ko, Lananuka's only daughter. So he'd kept quiet, and courted her, salving his conscience with the promise that if another ship returned, he'd speak out. After all, why should they believe an unknown castaway. Now, he was a man of status in the village. A married man. With a brilliant, respected, and loving wife. All he needed were children, tumbling around his feet, to secure his position. Of course, that would never happen. Not unless Ko... but no, that was unthinkable. But right now, he had another, more immediate problem. Manu. Son of Lananuka, brother of Ko. Angry and resentful at Duncan's conquest of his sister and the cautious but growing friendship with his father, Manu had been spoiling for a fight for weeks. Perhaps there was more to Manu's jealousy than Duncan had understood. Perhaps, this was becoming a possibility to Duncan, Manu's relationship with his sister was far different than Duncan had expected, based on his own culture, his own values. He was only learning slowly just how different custom and culture could be, here on these islands. Perhaps Manu and Ko had been lovers....he didn't want to examine the idea too closely, but he'd seen others, other couples who were clearly intimate and had been tied that close by birth as well as love, since he'd arrived here and learned more of the village and its people. He'd heard it whispered about, when he'd been in Scotland. Incest. A taboo, in his own land. But not so, here. He'd never had a sister, never knew what it was like to be attracted to someone of his own blood, from the same womb. Certainly they were well matched. Manu shared the the sharply chiseled features, the sensual and sculpted lips, the long limbs and clean, well muscled build and utter ease in his physical being that had so attracted Duncan to Ko. He also shared her quick wit and sharp temper, and that wit and temper had been pointed at Duncan almost since the day he'd arrived. Duncan's every stumbling attempt to learn a new word, understand a concept or idea, had been greeted by patience, smiles and assistance, from most of the other villagers. Not so Manu. He mocked Duncan's accent, his mispronunciations, his ignorance of village custom and behavior, at every opportunity, loudly, and in public, gathering the other, more impressionable men and boys around him in a circle of jeering faces, as they discussed the latest idiocy of the white skinned fool from the ship. At first, Duncan hadn't realized what was happening, he knew too little of the language and of what ordinary behavior on the island was. But it was impossible to miss the intent when Manu would secretly trip him as he worked with the other men to build a hut, then point and laugh at the sprawling Duncan, calling him a clumsy child, that he was not fit to be considered a man. Not fit to wed Ko seemed to be the hidden message, to Duncan's ear. The other names Duncan wasn't sure of, but he could hardly miss the acid in Manu's tone. There were other incidents as well, some involving other villagers, some goaded to harass and tease Duncan by Manu, others just taking advantage of a chance to torment someone with no real way to fight back, at least short of violence. Duncan studied the language harder, determined to learn how to communicate clearly, to win these people as friends, before they were all turned into his enemies. He didn't know how long he'd be on this island. According to the chief, the ship he had come on was the first in more than 20 years. And before that, there had never been one, not in the oral traditions of these people's history, at least. It could be a very long wait, and he didn't want to spend it hiding in the jungle. He wanted to spend it with Ko. Manu's attacks had backfired, if he'd meant to separate Duncan and Ko. She'd been intrigued by the pale man who'd been following her, talking to her in sign language, bringing her small gifts of woven flowers, choice fruits, but this was nothing new for her. Men followed her everywhere. Her father had refused more than twenty suitors for her hand already, indulging his only and favorite daughter in her choice. None of those men had attracted her, stirred her. None were even close to Manu in their wit, their warmth, their physical attraction. She had the most comely, the funniest and the brightest man in the village to compare them to, and they didn't measure up. Until Duncan, that is. He had been different. Ko couldn't hold him to the same standards as the others, he was from another world, the exotic, unknown west. That alone was enough to pique her interest, spark her curiosity, and Manu's increasingly obvious attacks on Duncan just made her more interested in him, in helping him to learn so he could stand speak in his own defense. Manu hadn't counted on Ko's sense of justice, her strong belief in fairness, coming to Duncan's aid. And the more Manu teased and tormented Duncan, the closer Ko and Duncan became, as Ko saw herself in the role of defender, then friend, then lover. She had gone to her father, to tell him who she would choose for her mate. She had chosen Duncan. Lananuka had not been overly pleased, but as he thought on it, he had agreed. Matters of policy made it far easier to have an outsider for a son in law, then another challenger to his throne. Manu's succession would be guaranteed, this way. Ko explained it all to Duncan, later, telling him how lucky he was that he had no relatives, no land, no claim to royal blood. "I know now he probably would have sent me to another Island for a mate, if you hadn't come first." She grinned. "You know how much I love this island.You've been the way I can stay here, and still have a family." She snuggled closer, nuzzling his chest, then tickling his stomach with quick sharp darts of her tongue. Duncan pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as she murmured, "I can hardly wait to have children. I wonder what they'll look like." Duncan held her close, his passion suddenly cooled by the realization that this woman would never have children with him. Ko had only smiled when Duncan told her they could never have children. She had touched his lips with hers, and told him to hush. She would have children, she insisted, and they would be accepted as his. He'd understood, and agreed. This was the only way he could keep her, and still live with himself. So the wedding was on. Manu had come up to him at the wedding feast, a smile on his face, his hand out and open in what Duncan thought was finally friendship, and acceptance. Duncan had taken Manu's hand, and found himself sprawled on his back, Manu's knee on his throat, his contorted face glaring down at him with unmistakeable hate. The other guests had pulled him off, helped Duncan to his feet, held the two of them apart as manu spat out the words that Duncan could not ignore. Words calling him "not a man" and not fit to wed or bed a woman of the village. Ko told Duncan that he must defeat Manu decisively or all the other disappointed suitors would think he wasn't man enough to hold her and would challenge him one by one until he was utterly worn down. He and Duncan had fought, wrestled in traditional island style, sweating and grunting in the sand, rolling into the water. Duncan still could see the killing rage in Manu's eyes, as they'd grappled for holds on each other's throats. Duncan had won, he'd choked Manu to unconsciousness, the only way he could get the man to give in. He wondered if Manu had been the victor, if he would have stopped at taking Duncan's consciousness, or if Duncan would have awakened at his own funeral, instead. Manu's pride did not recover even after the bruises from the fight were long gone. He'd been the strongest man in the village, and the best fighter. Now he was second, and it rankled at him every day. He sought refuge from the sting of defeat in the bottle. When the bottles ran dry, Duncan didn't' t know what Manu's next escape would be. The island was too small to move to another village, there were no other villages, it was leave the island, or confront each other every day. Manu didn't seem to want to leave the island and leave his place as heir to the chief. Duncan wondered how long the two of them could remain, the sullen resentment growing stronger in Manu every day. The snoring stopped. Manu sat up, his eyes focusing on Duncan's form, sharpening as he made out the features of the man before him in the dim green light filtering through the jungle canopy. "You." The word held a universe of emotion, an endless depth of hate. Manu's fingers tightened on the bottle and suddenly he threw it, directly at Duncan's face. Startled, Duncan barely blocked its flight, the heavy glass impacting on his forearm, and shattering. Breaking glass..... Duncan blinked. The wino had dropped his bottle of Ripple. The tinkling crack of glass brought Duncan back to the present. The same problems, still persisted. Men insisted on destroying themselves, for drink, for women, for gold, for power. Nothing had changed, only the costumes and the actors. The plot was the same. He glanced at his watch. Raven should have had enough time to get his ticket by now. Duncan stood, stretching. He slipped a $10 under the wino's slack fingers.The man snored, uncaring. Duncan picked up his bag and walked slowly into the terminal. This was going to be tricky. He didn't like being unprotected, but there was no time to arrange any alternative. He stepped up to the sleepy eyed clerk at the counter. She had soft blonde hair that curled just to her chin, and pale, pale blue eyes. "Cartwright. Reserved a coach seat to San Francisco. One bag to check." Duncan scribbled the address of a small hotel he usually stayed in, in San Francisco, on the luggage ticket. He put the bag down on the metal stand. The clerk tapped the keyboard and looked up. "Window or aisle, sir?" "Aisle will be fine." The printer hummed and spat out his reservation. The girl glanced at it and handed it over. "Everything is paid for already. Just go right to gate 27. It's up those stairs, past the metal detectors." Duncan smiled, and the clerk smiled back, warmth creeping into her eyes. "Have a good trip, sir. Come again, soon. Aloha." "Aloha." Duncan strode towards the gate. Of course,it was the furthest one from the entrance. The metal detector hadn't even peeped. He felt the buzz. Raven must be just ahead. He was nowhere in sight, though. The brightly illuminated corridor had a scattering of variously clad airline staff moving briskly to or from their shifts, and a few straggling business travelers, suited up for the expected chill of the mainland. A dark haired, uniformed guard stood up the hall, next to a door marked "Security." Duncan quickened his pace. The guard stepped forward. The buzz intensified, screaming in his head. The guard had his gun out, a flash of a tanned hand and he pressed it against Duncan's ear. "Step inside the office, now. " The man spoke in a low tone, his voice for Duncan only. The Immortal shoved the door open with his foot and half dragged Duncan into the office. The door closed automatically behind them. The whole thing had taken maybe five seconds. Duncan used the forward momentum the Immortal had exerted to get him inside, and kept on going. He twisted his body, ducking and reaching for the Immortal's groin with one hand, shoving the gun up and away with his other. The barrel exploded next to his ear, the bullet burning a searing path along his temple. Duncan grabbed the man's crotch and pulled, hard. The Immortal cursed and groped for Duncan's eyes with his fingers, clawing at his cheeks, smashing at him with the gun. Duncan bit down on the web of flesh between thumb and finger that found its way near his teeth. He tasted blood. He butted his head into the other man's nose, hearing the bones crack, feeling teeth cutting into his scalp. The Immortal staggered back, his arms flailing, red splattered across his face. Duncan braced on the wall and turned, thrusting a lethal kick at and through the man's neck. He felt the windpipe collapse. The man folded suddenly and was on the floor, twitching, as his skin turned blue and he fought for breath, his hands clutching at his own throat, his mouth open in a surprised "o", his eyes wide and frantic. Duncan looked quickly around the room. The walls were lined with swords. Dozens of swords. Each of a different make, different age, and style. * But here? Now? * The door was heavy, reinforced. The room was sealed. < Immortals have died here, before. One last death and it will be over. > Duncan strode to the wall, wrenched a huge scimitar off its elegant hanger, and raised it above his head. "I am Duncan MacLeod. There can be only one." He swung the sword. * * * * * Jonathan settled into his seat, and set up his Laptop on the drinks tray. He glanced at the clock on the screen. MacLeod was late. Boarding would be over in a few minutes. What was keeping him? < Maybe he decided I didn't need a wet nurse after all.> =========================================================================