XOVER: Betrayal - part 1 of 5
Dawn341@AOL.COM
Thu, 11 Jul 2002 18:36:26 EDT
Betrayal by Dawn Cunningham part 1 of 5
None of the characters in this story belong to me. I'm using them
without permission and receiving no monetary gain.
Do not post or publish this story anywhere else, without my express
permission. Feel free to share it with others as long as the disclaimers
remain intact. Permission is granted to post this story on the 7th
Dimension Highlander fiction archive
Warnings:
This is a crossover story between Highlander and Farscape.
There are spoilers for season 3 of Farscape. However, my universe
separates from the Farscape universe before the last four episodes of
Season 3. Anything that has happened since then has not happened in my
universe (although I reserve the right to use tidbits from anything I
think will fit).
If you like the character of Jool in Farscape, you probably won't like
this story.
Richie Ryan is still alive. Pick your own reason to explain that. I have
my own favorite (see my story Welcome Back), but have made no references
to that story or any other reason why Richie might be alive. The
simplest explanation is that the episode Archangel never happened.
This is a sequel to my story The Farscape Project. I strongly suggest
you read that first. It can be found on my website (see below) or at the
Highlander 7th Dimension Archive. You may also want to read the second
story in the series called Hope, although that is less important.
And finally, this story ends in a cliff-hanger. There is another sequel
coming - I promise. And I also promise that it won't take too long to
complete.
Characters:
>From Highlander:
Richie Ryan
>From Farscape:
Just about everyone in the cast
Acknowledgments:
Thanks go to Judy for her input while I was writing this story. And,
once again, Melanie gets the credit for trying to fix all my typos. I
keep adding more in though. She always improves my stories.
Comments are always welcome at Dawn341@aol.com
If you wish to read any of my Highlander stories, they are archived at:
http://members.aol.com/dawn341/fiction.html. My other universe stories
can be found at: http://members.aol.com/dawn341/fiction2.html
*************
Betrayal by Dawn Cunningham
"He looks happy," Chiana said.
D'Argo followed the direction of her gaze. John Crichton did indeed look
happy as he worked on his Farscape module. While that activity was one
of the human's favorite things to do, there was more to it now. And that
more was Richie Ryan, who was working right alongside him.
"It's having Ryan here," D'Argo said. "Crichton finally has someone who
can relate to his life before Moya. Someone he can talk to in a way he
can't talk to us."
"Well, it's been good for him," Chiana replied. "It's taken his mind off
Aeryn for a while."
"Yes. Unfortunately, there's little we can do about that situation."
As they watched, Aeryn Sun approached the two humans.
"I'm going over to Talyn to do some maintenance. Do you want to help me
out, Ryan?" she asked. It was hard to ignore the hurt expression on
Crichton's face, but she refused to get involved with him again.
Richie was surprised to be asked, but quickly agreed. He'd only been on
Moya for about three months, and sometimes he got the impression that
Aeryn didn't trust him. He'd earned her respect when it came to hand-to-
hand combat, but that was about it. If they were going after Scorpius
and his command carrier, they would all need to trust each other.
Based on Crichton's stories, Richie had really expected to have run into
some aliens by now. But the past three months had been quiet - almost
too quiet. While he had a lot to learn, sometimes it was hard to keep
boredom from settling in. It didn't help to know that there were all
kinds of alien worlds out there that he had yet to see or experience.
His only hope was that supplies were starting to run out. They'd have to
stop someplace for replenishment within the next month. Maybe he'd be
able to go down to the planet to help out.
Aeryn let him pilot the transport over to Talyn, although she looked
like she was ready to wrest control back at any moment. It didn't do
much for his confidence. Richie heaved a huge sigh of relief when he
successfully docked on Talyn.
Of the two ships, Richie liked Talyn much better than Moya. He wasn't
quite sure why. Maybe it was because it was smaller, and he had less
trouble finding his way around, although he knew Talyn would probably
grow to be bigger than his mother, Moya. Maybe it was because Talyn was
a warship, whereas Moya was basically a cargo carrier. Or maybe it was
just a case of Talyn being another male.
Right now, he turned his attention to Aeryn's directions. He'd been
taking a lot of directions from her as he learned how to live and
survive in this new universe. She was teaching him how to fly a
transport pod, as well as how to operate Talyn's systems. He, in turn,
was honing her fighting skills.
Aeryn wasn't the only one teaching him. He spent a great deal of time
with Crichton, as well. He took his turn teaching Richie how to fly not
only the transport pod, but also the modified Farscape module. He just
wished Crichton would dedicate more time to learning hand-to-hand
combat. It might keep his friend alive.
Richie tried to concentrate on the work he'd been assigned, but he kept
being distracted by Aeryn. He wasn't sure if the woman was deliberately
trying to be provocative as she would reach around him for a tool, or
whether the way she would brush up against him was accidental. Either
way, his body was noticing.
There were times when he hated being frozen forever in a nineteen-year-
old's body. It had a tendency to pay too much attention to any good-
looking female - just like it was doing now.
But what did he say? What if he was misreading the signals? What if the
contacts were accidental? Even worse, what if they weren't? He knew
Crichton was seriously in love with this woman, and there was no way he
could make a move on her.
Richie almost jumped when Aeryn's hands came down on his shoulders, and
she started kneading the muscles there.
"You're so tight," she murmured, applying more pressure.
It felt good, but he squirmed away from her touch. "What's going on,
Aeryn?" he demanded.
"It's important that... pressures are not allowed to build up," she
said. "Even the Peacekeeper High Command understood that. It's quite
common for two crewmembers to recreate with each other."
Recreate. What a bland word to describe what could be the most wonderful
thing to happen between a man and a woman. As for her tone, she could
have been suggesting that they go for a walk together. "Thanks, but, uh,
no thanks, Aeryn."
"You don't find me attractive?" she asked, somewhat angrily.
"No! That's not it," Richie hastened to reply. "You're a very beautiful
woman, Aeryn, and in any other situation I'd love to, uh, recreate with
you, but I can't. John loves you, and I can't betray him."
"This has nothing to do with Crichton!"
"I think it does. You love him."
"No! I don't love him! He di..."
"He died. And you had to watch that happen. I know that couldn't have
been easy on you. And now you're back here, and there's John again, and
he's not dead, but you're afraid of it happening again."
"It was the other John that I loved."
"No, you loved John, then that psycho split him into two identical
parts. You went off with one, and finally gave in to your feelings for
him, but he died. Well, you are the fortunate one, Aeryn, because you
still have John - the very same man you fell in love with. Most people
don't get that chance." Richie sat down on the deck and patted the floor
next to him. "Let me tell you a story about a good friend of mine."
It was clear that she was reluctant, but Aeryn finally joined him.
"My friend is over four hundred years old - make that four hundred
cycles old. He's like me - he can't die. He doesn't age. Over the years,
he's uh... recreated with many women, but he was a lot like you. He
wouldn't let any of them get too close because he knew they would grow
old and die, and he wouldn't. But then one day he met Tessa.
"He tried to keep from loving her, but he couldn't. They finally moved
in together. He loved her so much that he was willing to risk the pain
of her death. I met Tessa after they'd been together for twelve years,
uh, cycles, and their love for each other was just so obvious it wasn't
funny. Mac used to look at Tessa the same way that John looks at you."
Richie sighed as he remembered those days.
"They loved each other so much, that Tessa didn't say anything - well,
at least not when I could hear her - when Mac brought home a thief and
told her that he was moving in with them. That was me. Their love
changed me into a better person. I was there the night she died - killed
in a random act of violence." Richie brushed away the tear that rolled
down his face. Even years later, that night still affected him.
"Mac was devastated. I wasn't sure if he was ever going to be able to
recover from her death. And then one day, there she was again - just
walking down the street. Except it wasn't Tessa. It was a woman who had
surgery to look just like her. If it had been me, I would have run in
the opposite direction. I couldn't understand why Mac would open himself
up to that kind of pain again, but he did."
"Because he was a fool."
"No, because he wanted to feel again. He wanted to have Tessa to love
again. Because life without love is just survival. He was willing to
risk everything in the hopes of having that kind of love again." He
looked directly at Aeryn. "The kind of love that you and John shared -
and could share again."
"Maybe we could share that kind of love," Aeryn suggested.
"Why? Because I can't die?" When she quickly looked away, he knew he was
right. "We don't love each other, Aeryn. Besides, I'd always feel like
second best. You can play it safe, Aeryn, and not let yourself love, but
is that what you want? Think about those days with your John, and how
you felt. Don't you want to feel that again?"
Tears were rolling down her face now. "Getting that involved with
someone makes you weak. Vulnerable."
"Or it can make you stronger. There's an old saying on Earth. The sum of
the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. In other words, fighting
together you are stronger, than if you were both fighting separately."
He rested one hand on her shoulder. "At least think about it. Now, I'd
better get back to these repairs."
Richie moved away from her, giving her some time to compose herself. He
hoped he'd made things better for his friend, but he wasn't so sure. At
least she should stop trying to hit on him.
*****
"I don't like it," Crichton protested. "It's too dangerous."
"We should find another commerce planet that doesn't have a Peacekeeper
taskforce posted on it," Aeryn added.
"But the Peacekeepers aren't looking for *me*," Jool explained again.
"*I* am not in any trouble. It would be safe for me to go down and
purchase the supplies we need."
"They're not looking for me, either," Richie pointed out. "I could go
along with Jool. We can keep each other out of trouble."
Crichton still wasn't happy about the idea. Richie hadn't been on board
all that long, and he had never been to an alien planet - except for the
one where they buried the rest of the Collaroy crew. Richie had no idea
what kind of trouble he could get into.
"I could take them down in my ship," D'Argo suggested. "It would also be
something that the Peacekeepers would not be expecting, whereas they may
be looking for any Leviathan transport pod. And its defense shield would
help should trouble happen."
"But they are looking for you!" Jool protested.
"I will stay on the ship, unless needed," D'Argo stated. "They will
never even know I am there."
John liked that idea much better. While he thought it would be better to
have Aeryn backing up Richie and Jool, D'Argo was the next best thing.
"All right. It sounds like a plan."
"Yes!" Richie exclaimed with a triumphant grin. "Okay, folks, get your
shopping lists ready, and Jool and I will shop 'til we drop."
"Buying supplies isn't that difficult," Aeryn stated with a frown. "You
shouldn't collapse from it, Ryan."
Crichton tried to hide his smile as Richie tried to reassure Aeryn that
he had no intention of exhausting himself. He'd often found himself in
the same position of having to explain some Earth saying.
*****
Crichton watched from the command center as D'Argo flew his ship toward
the planet. A part of him wished he had gone with them, but he knew he
couldn't baby-sit Richie constantly. The man was more than capable of
taking care of himself. He just needed some first hand experience with
alien cultures.
"He'll be fine."
Crichton looked back over his shoulder and saw Aeryn enter the command
center. "Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself. So why do I feel like
I've just thrown him to the wolves?"
"Wolves?"
"Carnivorous critters. Well known for their ability to rip their prey to
shreds," he explained. He turned back to the view screen. D'Argo's ship
was no longer visible. Crichton almost jumped when Aeryn placed a hand
on his arm.
"Ryan is a strong fighter. He's intelligent. With Jool along, he
shouldn't have any difficulty staying out of trouble," she assured him.
Crichton found himself staring at her hand. It had been so long since
she'd touched him - except during their training sessions with Richie,
and that had only been to knock him down. It took some effort to raise
his eyes to meet hers, unable to hide the hope he was feeling.
Aeryn stared back at him, a lost look on her face. It reminded him of
the days right after Zhaan had brought Aeryn back to life. She had been
so determined to fight her feelings for him. Before Crichton could think
of something to say, Rygel zoomed into the command center, and Aeryn
quickly moved away. He could have strangled the little Hynerian.
"How long do you think it will take them?" Rygel demanded. "Our food
supply is seriously depleted."
"And you would know," Crichton muttered, still trying to quell his
disappointment. "They'll be back when they're back."
"Pilot, are you monitoring the Peacekeeper channels?" Aeryn asked. "That
may be our only indication that they've run into some kind of trouble."
"Of course," Pilot stated, his holographic image appearing in the
clamshell. "D'Argo has landed on the planet without any problem."
"So, now we wait," Crichton said.
*****
Richie tried to keep from acting like a tourist as he struggled to take
in all the sights. The marketplace reminded him of a Moroccan bazaar
that he and Duncan MacLeod had visited during one of their many trips
together. Besides the regular shops, there were sellers hawking their
wares from tables and tents set up on the street. The only difference
was that half of the buyers and sellers didn't look even close to human.
Jool was acting more like a tourist than he was. Or maybe she was just
more nervous because she knew what kind of trouble they could get into.
No matter what, she kept constantly looking around, especially when they
were walking from one shop to the next.
It took them quite a while, but Richie finally crossed the last thing
off his list. Everything had been sent to the landing port, and
hopefully D'Argo would have his ship loaded by the time they got back.
"That should do it," he told Jool. "We can head back now, and get out of
here."
"Clothes! You need to buy some clothes," Jool replied. "You hardly
brought anything with you, and I'm sure you would look wonderful in
something like that." She pointed toward a store window.
Richie walked over and checked out the outfit. Black leather pants, a
short-sleeved blue shirt, and a fingertip-length leather coat. He could
easily picture himself in it, but he turned away. He could manage with
the few pairs of jeans, and t-shirts that he'd had on the shuttle.
"I don't have any credits to buy something like that," he said, pulling
Jool away.
"We have leftover credits from our bargaining. You deserve something for
yourself. Everyone else has something personal, so you should, too."
Richie let her pull him back toward the shop.
"Now, go in there and try it on. I'm just going over to another shop for
some... female things."
Richie definitely didn't want to get involved in that, so he headed into
the shop by himself. By now he felt like an expert at bargaining with
the merchants, and it didn't take long to try on the outfit, then make a
deal with the seller. He wore the clothes out of the store, carrying his
old jeans and shirt in a bag. He looked around for Jool, and spotted her
further down the street. For a moment he wasn't sure it was her since
her hair had turned a bright, flaming, red color. She waved at him, and
he headed in her direction.
"Wait until you see this," she said, grabbing his hand, and pulling him
toward a side street.
"What is it?" he asked, trying to not stare at her hair. He wondered if
she would get upset if he asked her about it.
"A surprise," she replied with a coy look.
The side street had almost no people in it, and Richie wasn't too sure
they should be there, but she kept pulling him along.
"Where are we going?" he asked, slowing down. "I don't see any shops
down here."
"Trust me. We're almost there. It's just around this next corner." She
released her hand, and almost ran around the corner and out of sight.
Richie sighed, but picked up his pace, not wanting her to get too far
ahead of him. He came around the corner, and almost ran into five armed
men dressed in some kind of uniform.
Jool was standing on the other side of the men, and now she pointed at
him. "That's him. That's the human. Scorpius will reward you for
capturing him."
She'd led him into a trap!
The men aimed their weapons at him. "Surrender," one of them ordered.
"I don't think so." Richie said, pulling out his sword. It hardly
matched the pulse rifles they were carrying, but maybe he could do some
damage before they shot him.
"Take him alive!" another man stated. "Surround him!"
"No! No! Shoot him!" Jool screamed.
Richie watched as the men started circling him. He knew his sword was
the only thing keeping them at bay, but it wouldn't last long. Soon they
would rush him, and he couldn't handle five of them at once. He feinted
toward one man, and as the soldier ducked away, Richie quickly turned
and slashed at another. The man fell back, blood pouring from the wound
across his chest.
For a moment, Richie struggled with guilt at harming a mortal, then
reminded himself sternly that he wasn't the only one at risk here. He
knew Crichton would do just about anything to help his friends. He tried
the move again, but this time the soldiers were ready for him, and he
took a sharp blow against his arm.
Three of the soldiers rushed him, and he ducked under the first, slashed
the second in the arm, and hit the third with his fist. For a brief
moment there was no one behind him, and he turned to run.
A loud sound filled the street, and he felt like something had slammed
into his chest. He felt himself flying back, and it wasn't until he
crashed onto the ground did the pain strike. His chest felt like it was
on fire, and he couldn't breathe. He realized he was dying, and his last
sight was of Jool holding the pulse rifle that she'd just fired at him.
***** end of part 1