XOVER: The Farscape Project - part 4 of 5
Dawn341@AOL.COM
Sun, 20 Jan 2002 18:09:07 EST
The Farscape Project - part 4 of 5
For disclaimers and warnings, see part 1.
*****************************************
It had taken some time, but they were finally done. John stared down at
the seven fresh graves, with nothing but rough crosses to mark them. The
dog tags from each astronaut hung from them, marking their final resting
place.
D'Argo and Aeryn had stepped back, leaving John and Richie to say their
final good-byes.
"I feel like I should say something, but I don't know what to say," John
finally admitted.
"Neither do I. They were brave people, and faced death head-on. They
deserve more, but all I can think of is 'rest in peace'."
"Maybe that says it all. Rest in peace."
Together, they turned and headed back to the transport pod. When they
got back to Moya, John led Richie down to a room near his. "You can bunk
here. There's not a lot of privacy, but it's better than nothing. Get
cleaned up, then get some rest. I'll stop by later and bring you up to
speed on the rest of the crew, and what you need to look out for."
"Somehow, that doesn't sound too great."
"Well, they don't know about you yet, so at least you won't be tracked
down by bounty hunters, but if you join our battle, all bets are off."
John knew he had to give Ryan the chance to choose his own destiny. Just
because they were from the same planet didn't mean he'd risk anything to
help him.
Richie came over and put one hand on John's shoulder. "We're a team,
John. Whatever you're facing, I'll be there with you. No matter what."
"Thanks, Rich." John struggled to get his emotions under control. "Now,
get cleaned up."
"Only if you tell me how the controls work."
With a laugh, John went over to the bath chamber and demonstrated the
equipment. He also forced a dentik into Ryan's mouth, holding a hand
over his friend's mouth while the slug-like creature cleaned his teeth.
"Get used to it."
"Yuck!" Ryan said once he'd spit it out. "I'll use a toothbrush."
"Don't have them. Don't need them."
"Oh, maaaaaan!"
John couldn't help but laugh as he left Ryan's room.
*****
"Okay, let me see if I got this right," Ryan said as he leaned back on
his bed. John had been trying to bring him up to date on all the crew
members. "Chiana is the gray one with the white hair. She used to be
involved with D'Argo until she slept with his son. She's a thief as
well. It sounds like we should get along just fine."
"What would you have in common with a thief?" John asked.
"Been there, done that. In fact, I first met my mentor when he caught me
breaking into his antique store," Ryan recalled with a smile on his
face. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It turned me
around. Mac got me off the streets, and taught me about being immortal."
"Wow. I never realized you had that kind of life, Rich. It makes what
you've accomplished seem even more incredible."
Ryan shrugged. "Okay, moving on. D'Argo is the guy with the tentacles,
and he's got a little temper problem. I'll try to stay clear of him -
especially since he has a sword."
"Why does that bother you? Aeryn's pulse pistol can do more damage than
D'Argo's, and from a greater distance."
Ryan stood up and walked over to the doorway. After making sure no one
else was in earshot, he went over to his flight bag, and opened it.
"Well, I didn't quite tell you the whole story about Immortals. You see,
we can die permanently - if our head is chopped off." With those words,
he pulled a sword out of his bag.
"How did you get that on the space shuttle?" John asked, totally
surprised. "No, never mind - I don't want to know. Do I want to know why
you carry a sword around?"
"Immortals are engaged in something called The Game. We fight one-on-
one, using swords. You chop off the other guy's head and you get his
Quickening - all his knowledge and power. The last remaining Immortal is
supposed to have enough power to rule the world for an eternity."
"Information overload!"
Richie slid his sword back into the bag. "Relax, John. I don't even know
if it's true. Anyway, I tend to get nervous around people who carry
swords. Back to the lesson plan. Jool is the one with the curly hair,
who can bend metal when she screams, and it sounds like she is a major
whiner. Rygel is the little guy who flies around on that sled chair.
He's a domino of 600 billion people."
"Dominar," John corrected. "Mostly we just ignore him, but he can be
useful. Just watch your possessions around him. He has a tendency to
appropriate things."
"Right. Crais is the male Sebacean and you don't trust him, especially
since he vowed to kill you because of his brother's death. And he more
or less hijacked Talyn. That leaves Aeryn - she's the hot chick in the
black leather outfit."
"Rich..." John almost growled at his friend.
"And you love her. Got it. Hands off. No problem. Except you were
twinned, and the other one of you went off with Aeryn and Crais, and
then he died, and she won't even talk to you."
John sighed. Ryan had picked up on more than he'd realized.
"Okay, so that's the list of good guys. Who are the bad guys?"
"The biggest and baddest is a guy called Scorpius. He's half Sebacean,
half Scarran. There's a major war going on between those two races. The
Sebaceans just barely come out ahead as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I
first ran into Scorpy when I was trying to get some medical help for
Aeryn. He was able to recognize that I wasn't a Sebacean, and had me
arrested for questioning. Let me tell you, you don't want anything to do
with his Aurora chair. We're talking top of the line Marquis de Sade
here. He managed to find some information in my brain that even I didn't
know I had. Info about wormholes."
"If you didn't know you had it, where did it come from?"
"It was implanted in my brain by a race called the Ancients. They were
looking for a new home and wanted to know how humans would react if
aliens landed there. So they tricked me into believing I was back home,
then used my mind to extrapolate what other humans would do. That
included dissecting Rygel." John shuddered. "Anyway, they gave me all
this info to help me get back home, but I can't access it directly."
"So, this Aurora chair did manage to access it."
"Not exactly. Scorpius put a neural chip in my brain. I thought I was
going insane. I kept seeing Scorpy everywhere. Eventually, it started
controlling me. I almost killed - well, I did kill Aeryn while under its
control, but Zhaan brought her back."
"Zhaan?"
John smiled. "She was one of the original prisoners when I first came on
board. Very spiritual. Very blue. And she was a plant." John almost
smiled at Ryan's reaction. "Honest, she was a plant. She did something
called Unity, and brought Aeryn back for me. I think she's dead now, but
that's another story."
"So, the chip was controlling you, what happened next?"
"We found someone who could take it out. Unfortunately, Scorpy showed up
and snatched the chip before we could stop him. He's got it now, and
he's going to be trying to create wormholes." John looked down at the
floor. "I still hear him sometimes. He's still there in my brain."
Ryan shifted closer to his friend, and placed one hand on John's arm.
"Is he trying to get control of you again?"
John shook his head. "No, he's just a nuisance, but I wish he was gone.
Anyway, my twin met up with the Ancients again, and learned just how
deadly wormholes could be. Apparently they used one to grab a star and
plowed it into a Scarran dreadnought - a very big, very bad spaceship."
"Whoa. Makes all of our nuclear weapons look like toys."
"That's why we have to stop him. I can't let him have that kind of power
over the rest of the universe."
"Then I guess it's up to us to stop him. Batman and Robin to the
rescue."
"As long as I get to be Batman."
"No way. I'm Batman!" Ryan protested.
"I was here first, I'm Batman," John insisted. "Be careful, Aeryn has
been teaching me how to kick ass. I could demonstrate if you'd like."
"I might just let you. Did I mention that my mentor also owned a dojo?
And I managed it for him. Oh, and he was an expert in martial arts as
well as swordwork? And that he taught me everything?"
"On second thought, maybe some paper, rock, scissors should decide it."
"Oh, puh-leaaaase. Don't tell me you're still doing that."
"Of course I am. What's wrong, Ryan? Afraid I'll beat you like I usually
do?"
"Okay. Fine. You be Batman. I never liked purple tights anyway."
"No! No! No! I'm thinking George Clooney Batman, not Adam West Batman."
"Hey, that works for me. Besides, everyone said I looked a lot like
Chris O'Donnell."
John studied his friend. "I don't see it. Who told you that?"
"Oh, Melanie... and Judy... and Sue...and-"
"Never mind. They must have been desperate for some topic that they
thought you would understand."
"You wish."
"I'm glad you're here, Rich," John said, suddenly serious. "I wish you
were safe, back on Earth, but I'm glad you're here."
"Hey, this is a big adventure!" Richie replied, refusing to follow
John's lead. "Who knows, maybe I'll find out something about Immortals
while I'm out here."
John stood up, and headed for the door. He stopped and looked back. "You
do realize that you may have to kill people? Scorpy won't give up
easily. This could get bloody."
Ryan walked over to his friend. "It won't be the first time. I've killed
before, John. More times than I want to think about. And it was up close
and personal. I didn't like doing it, but it was either me, or the other
guy. I'm a survivor."
John almost shuddered at the cold look in Ryan's eyes. How had he missed
that before? There was more to this man than he'd ever realized.
*****
Aeryn spotted the newest addition to their group wandering around Moya's
corridors carrying the long bag that he'd removed from the shuttle. She
still didn't trust him, and had a hard time swallowing all the dren
about him being immortal. He might be looking for some way to sabotage
Moya. "Are you lost?" she asked.
Ryan gave her a small smile. "Kind of. Actually, I was looking for
someplace where I could do some exercises. Someplace private, but with
plenty of room to move around."
This was her chance. Maybe if she pushed him hard enough, he'd reveal
his true self. Just like Matala had. "I usually use the cargo bay," she
said. "I haven't done my physical conditioning today... May I join you?"
"Of course. John said you'd been teaching him how to fight. Maybe you
could give me some pointers." He smiled at her again.
"I would be happy to." Aeryn led the way down to the cargo bay without
saying anything else.
"Do you mind if I do some warm-up exercises before we start? There was a
limit to what I could do on the orbiter."
Aeryn nodded, and waved toward the open area. "Go ahead."
Ryan dropped his bag next to her, then moved out to the center of the
room. He started off with simple stretches, trying to limber up muscles
that had not been used in a long time. Once he was satisfied, he started
into a kata designed for hand combat. While he would have preferred
using his sword, he didn't really want to reveal it to Aeryn yet.
When he had finished, he turned to face Aeryn. "Okay, I'm ready. How do
you usually work out?"
"Full out. No punches pulled. I'll try not to hurt you too much."
"Don't worry about it. I'll heal." Ryan moved into a defensive position.
He'd have to be careful. She wouldn't heal so fast.
He let Aeryn strike first, but easily deflected it with an arm block.
While she was still off balance, he grabbed her arm and flipped her to
the mat. He winced as she landed with a thud.
"Sorry about that," he said, standing back as she got to her feet.
Aeryn attacked more aggressively than before, but he was able to block
her blows. She wasn't a bad fighter, but she was no match for someone
who'd been studying martial arts for as long as he had. However, he
didn't expect the head butt that she gave him, and it caused him to see
stars for a moment. She followed it up with a kick to his chest that
sent him crashing back to the floor.
"Had enough?" Aeryn taunted him.
In reply, he reached out with his hand, and grabbed her foot. Jerking it
up, he sent her to the floor, as well. In one lithe movement, he was up,
and leaning over her, poised to strike down. "Never stand that close to
an opponent unless you're sure he's dead." He backed away.
"I'll remember that." She reached out a hand, and he took it to pull her
to her feet.
He hadn't made that kind of mistake since he'd first started training.
Aeryn brought her foot up and sent him flying over her head. He landed
hard, but quickly rolled to face his opponent. She was still on the
floor, and grinning from ear-to-ear. "Okay, I deserved that one," he
said, returning her smile.
"What the frell is going on here?" John's voice demanded from behind
Ryan.
"Relax, John. We're just having a little workout." Ryan climbed to his
feet, then walked over to help Aeryn up. This time, she let him.
"You're a much better fighter that Crichton is," she pointed out.
"I had to be." Ryan had no intention of explaining why at this point.
"That thing you were doing beforehand, what was it? I've never seen
anything like it before."
"It's called a kata. It's a combination of physical and mental exercise.
You're supposed to be fighting an imaginary foe, and teaching your body
the moves to combat his. The theory is that when it comes time to do it
for real, you'll remember the moves without thought."
"Will you show me another one?"
Ryan debated with himself for a moment. He knew that John loved and
trusted this woman. Maybe he should, too. "My favorites are with a
sword." He went over to his bag and pulled his out. It was a braided
handle katana. He'd started using one several years earlier, and found
it much easier than the hand-and-a-half sword that Duncan had given him.
"Stand back," he warned. He took a deep breath, then started one of the
more complex katas. He knew without looking that his sword was almost a
blur of movement as it flashed through the air. He knew he was showing
off for John and Aeryn, but hoped it would help them trust him. He
wanted to prove to them that he could hold his own in a fight.
By the time he had finished he was breathing hard, and he wiped away the
perspiration on his forehead with his arm. He saluted John and Aeryn
with his sword, then flipped it back to a resting position.
They both looked awed. "I've never seen anything like that before,"
Aeryn finally said. "Do many humans fight this way?"
"Not really, although there are a lot that study martial arts, and are
quite good at it. However, they only use it to make movies, or to
perform in competitions. I had to use my skills to stay alive, and it's
a mixture of styles that I've picked up from various people."
"Can you teach me?"
While Ryan was willing, he wasn't sure if John would be so happy about
it. "I can teach both of you, if you want," he offered as a compromise.
"Thank you." Aeryn started over to join him, but John grabbed her hand.
"Starting tomorrow. I need to show Rich around Moya. Try to get him more
familiar with the ship," he said.
"Can I shower first?"
"I would hope so," John said. "Tomorrow you can start beating us up. And
you can start your flight lessons."
"Sounds like a plan."
***** end of part 4