XOVER: Betrayal - part 4 of 5
Dawn341@AOL.COM
Thu, 11 Jul 2002 18:37:56 EDT
Betrayal - part 4 of 5
For disclaimers and warnings, see part 1.
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There were still two people - although one was so alien, Crichton had a
hard time thinking of him as a person - in the lab. "We can't wait any
longer," he insisted.
"All right. Let's do this." Aeryn led the way into the lab, her pulse
rifle ready for anything.
"You can't be in here!" the alien-looking one said, distress evident in
his tone.
"Be quiet!" Aeryn ordered. "Move over there," she added, motioning with
the rifle.
Crichton hurried over to the console and set to work. Hopefully, his
time spent studying Moya's systems would help out here, but it was
taking longer than he'd thought it would.
"How much longer?" Aeryn hissed.
He ignored her, and kept working. Finally, he found what he needed.
Equations started displaying on the panel in front of him. "Here it is.
Now I just need to delete it."
"No! You can't do that!" the alien cried out, rushing forward.
Crichton jumped as the pulse rifle was fired once, then again. The two
scientists were lying on the floor with Aeryn standing over them.
"I didn't have a choice!" she insisted, angrily when he glared at her.
"Hurry up before someone comes to check it out."
He went back to his work, deleting all the data that he could find.
"Damn! We've got problems, Houston."
"What is it?" Aeryn asked. "Can't you delete the data?"
"I can delete some of it, but the entire command carrier is part of the
experiment. We'd have to blow up the whole ship to stop them."
"We don't have enough explosives to do that," Aeryn snapped back.
"I know that. This will at least slow them down a little bit." Crichton
went back to deleting what he could. He also turned loose a computer
virus that Pilot had helped him with. He didn't know whether it would be
successful or not, but it couldn't hurt.
"Let's blow this joint," he said as he stood up.
Aeryn passed him a bag full of explosives, and turned away to plant her
own devices. It took almost no time at all, then they ran out of the
lab. Crichton knew they had to get far enough away before the bombs went
off, otherwise they could get caught in the backwash of the explosion.
Plus, they didn't want to be captured by the troops who would swarm down
here after the bombs exploded.
"Let's find Richie!" he yelled at Aeryn as they ran down the corridor.
*****
"Sir! There's been an explosion in the lab!"
Scorpius spun around. "What?"
"There's been an explosion in the lab!"
"I heard you the first time. How bad is it?"
"I don't know, sir. There seems to be some confusion."
"I'll check it out myself. He can wait until I get back," Scorpius said,
glancing over at the young man in the chair.
Richie couldn't stop the sigh from escaping. He felt like he'd been in
the chair for days, but he knew it hadn't been that long. He couldn't
stop the shudders that ran through his body, or the little hitches in
his breathing as he struggled to fill his lungs. His brain felt like it
had liquefied in his skull, and he was having a hard time concentrating.
Maybe Scorpius would be away long enough for his immortal healing to
make him feel better. Richie could only hope so. He'd been so close to
telling the Peacekeeper everything just to stop the pain. He let his
eyes drift shut as he tried to calm his body and his mind.
The sound of weapons fire interrupted his brief nap. His eyes flew open
and he saw two commandos wearing full body armor and helmets in the
room. The man who'd been running the controls was slumped over his
console. While one of the commandos waited by the door, the other one
went over to the console, and pulled the body away from it.
Richie wasn't quite sure what was going on, but a moment later, the
metal bands holding him to the chair popped up. He reached up and pushed
away the headpiece, then tried to stand. Unfortunately, his legs refused
to cooperate, and he crumpled to the floor.
The commando rushed over to him, and Richie couldn't help but cringe
back, wondering what was going to happen next.
"Richie, it's me, John," the commando said, reaching up to rip off his
helmet. "Just take it easy."
"You're late," Richie said, somehow managing a grin.
"Sorry. Got caught in traffic. Let's go." Crichton helped Richie to his
feet, then over to the door. "We need to get to the hangar bays."
Richie didn't remember much of their journey. He vaguely recalled
hearing weapon fire, and being pushed up against walls several times.
His first clear vision was after they'd somehow gotten away from the
command carrier. Crichton was in the seat in front of him, flying the
Prowler. He looked out the window and saw another one nearby.
"We made it?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Not quite yet," Crichton replied. "If we can get back to Moya, she can
starburst us out of here, but the bad guys are catching up." To prove
his point, a small explosion near the left wing made it clear that they
were still in plenty of danger.
"Where's Han Solo when we need him?" Richie quipped.
An explosion behind them caused both of the humans to swivel around,
trying to see what had happened.
"Yes!" Crichton yelled out. "Way to go, Crais! Good shooting, Talyn!" He
turned and threw Richie a big grin. "Just like Star Wars - except Han
Solo was more trustworthy than Crais."
A voice crackled over the intercom as another explosion lit up the sky.
"That's the last one. And you're almost to Moya."
"Thanks, D'Argo. You and Crais did a great job. Pilot, do you have the
docking web ready?"
"Yes, Commander. And Moya is ready for an immediate starburst once you
are all back onboard. Did you rescue Richie?"
"We sure did. And we've slowed Scorpius down on his wormhole technology,
too. Now we'll have time to plan a bigger and better attack on him."
In the distance, Richie could see Moya. He couldn't stop the tears from
running down his face as he realized he was safe again.
*****
Richie's legs refused to cooperate as he climbed out of the Prowler once
they had landed on Moya. It took all of his concentration to keep from
sliding to the floor in a heap. He was afraid to let go of the ship in
case that was the only thing really holding him up.
"You all right, Rich?" Crichton asked, placing one hand on the
Immortal's shoulder.
"I'll live," he replied, pulling away, although he wasn't quite sure why
he had. "I need a shower."
"Can you make it to your room alone, or do you want some help?"
"I don't need your help!" Richie snapped back, then was instantly
contrite. "Sorry, man, I guess I'm still a bit tense."
"It's okay, I understand. Go clean up, and then come out to the center
chamber. We'll fix something to eat and have it ready."
Richie nodded, then headed out of the docking bay. He walked past
D'Argo, Aeryn, and Chiana, who had just joined them without saying a
word. The Luxan called out Richie's name, but the Immortal kept going.
"What is wrong with Ryan?" D'Argo growled as he joined Crichton. "You'd
think he be grateful that we rescued him."
"He's just spent arns in the Aurora chair," Crichton reminded them. "He
just needs some time to recuperate. Where's Crais?" he asked as he felt
Moya starburst.
"He and Talyn have already done their own starburst," Pilot said.
"Damn! Crais has run off with Talyn again. I *knew* I couldn't trust
him!" Crichton fumed.
*****
Everyone worked together to create a small feast to welcome Richie back,
as well as to celebrate their small victory against Scorpius. But when
the young Immortal showed up in the center chamber, he didn't look like
he was in the mood to party.
Crichton almost dragged Richie to a chair, and pushed him down into it,
before sitting down next to him. He quickly started passing dishes
around the table, and everyone helped themselves to their favorites.
Once everyone had their plates full, he raised his glass of reslak.
"A toast," he announced. "Here's to our first step in stopping Scorpy."
"Hear, hear!" everyone else called out, raising their glasses, too.
"And here's to us all being back together, safe and sound!" Crichton
added.
"We're not all back together," D'Argo growled, glaring at Richie. "What
about Jool? What happened to her?"
"The bitch betrayed me," Richie snarled back, one hand coming up to rub
at his forehead. "She deserved what she got."
"What do you mean? What happened to her?" D'Argo asked, shooting to his
feet.
"Scorpius ordered her execution. She had to face what she had done."
Crichton glanced at his friend in concern. Richie sounded totally
unconcerned with Jool's fate at the hands of Scorpius. Even knowing that
the Interon had turned in the Immortal, it still didn't sound like his
friend.
"So, what did you do to Scorpy?" Richie asked, sounding more like
himself.
"We deleted as much of his data as we could, blew up his lab, and killed
several of his scientists," Aeryn explained. "That should slow him down
for a while."
"You killed people?" Richie jumped to his feet, his chair falling back
to the floor with a crash. "You're all a bunch of murderers and thieves.
I'm going to do everything in my power to see that you all get what you
deserve! You will see your day in court! You have to follow the letter
of the law, even if you don't like it! Just wait until we get to another
planet where there are Peace-"
D'Argo's tongue lashed out and stung Richie's neck. The Immortal slid to
the floor, unconscious.
"Why'd you do that?" Crichton demanded.
"He was being obnoxious," D'Argo replied. "I think that Aurora chair
must have messed with his mind even more than it did with yours."
Crichton couldn't help but wonder, too. Richie definitely hadn't sounded
like himself, but wouldn't it have taken longer for the symptoms to
manifest themselves? It had taken months before he'd started noticing
the effects after his bout with the chair.
A low moan brought his attention back to his friend. Obviously, his
healing power made him more impervious to D'Argo's knockout venom.
Richie was already stirring and trying to sit up. He reached out a hand
and helped the Immortal back to his seat.
"What happened?" Richie moaned, resting his head on his hands.
Crichton exchanged looks with the rest of the crew. "You were... uh...
getting a little excited and D'Argo decided you needed to calm down a
bit. Do you remember what we were talking about?"
Richie lifted his head and frowned at the other human. "Um... you were
making a toast, I think. I remember my head hurting, then I woke up on
the floor. Did I pass out?"
"Something like that," Crichton said, not wanting to start a feud
between Richie and D'Argo. "Let's eat, and we can talk later."
It was one of the most uncomfortable meals that Crichton could ever
remember. No one seemed to know what to say - too worried that they
would trigger another outburst from Richie. It was no longer a festive
occasion, and everyone just concentrated on eating.
When everyone had finally finished, Crichton decided to try talking to
Richie again. Maybe with a full stomach he would be more reasonable.
"Do you want to tell us what happened?" he asked Richie.
The Immortal sighed. "Everything was going great, then Jool led me into
a trap, and five Peacekeepers jumped me. I was just about to make a run
for it, when Jool took one of their rifles and shot me. They were a
little surprised when I came back to life, and they threw me in a cell.
When Scorpy showed up, I found out that Jool had made a deal to get
passage home in exchange for turning me in. She also told them I was
from Earth." Richie sighed again and shook his head. "Scorpius ordered
her execution. I don't know whether they actually did it or not. They
didn't let me hang around to find out. The lieutenant seemed shocked at
the order, so maybe he didn't follow it. I'm just glad she didn't betray
the rest of you."
"See, I told you the tralk lied!" Chiana exclaimed. "She told us that
you turned yourself in."
"Is that why you didn't try to rescue me?" Richie turned stricken eyes
toward Crichton. "You believed that I would abandon and betray you?"
"No! I wanted to come rescue you, but no one else would believe that you
hadn't done it," Crichton insisted.
"Plus, you were the perfect bait to find out where Scorpius was. We
figured he would either come here to see you, or have you taken to where
he was," Aeryn explained. "That was my idea, so don't blame Crichton. It
worked perfectly. We were able to slow down Scorpius and rescue you at
the same time."
"I'm just glad you were able to rescue me," Richie said, smiling at the
rest of the crew. "And if you slowed down Scorpy, all the better." He
rose to his feet. "I hate to break this up, but I'm really tired. I
think I'll try to get some sleep."
"Sounds like a good idea," Crichton said. "We could all use some rest."
*****
Crichton finally gave up and got out of bed. He just couldn't sleep. His
mind wouldn't shut down long enough for him to drop off. All he kept
doing was reviewing the earlier scene with Richie. His friend just
hadn't seemed himself while he'd been raving about them all paying for
their crimes, and following the letter of the law.
Was this Richie's real personality sneaking out because he'd been too
tired to hide it? Or had the Aurora chair changed him somehow? Richie
was immortal, so maybe it had a different effect on him than it had on
Crichton. It couldn't be a neural chip - that would have taken longer to
have an impact.
With a sigh, Crichton headed up to command. He paused at the door to
Richie's room, then decided to check in on his friend. He opened the
door, and quietly stepped inside. The bed was empty, and he glanced
around the room, trying to see whether Richie was in the room.
Crichton yelled out in surprise as a strong arm wrapped around his neck
from behind. He struggled against it as it tightened, but couldn't get
free.
"You disappoint me, Crichton," a heavily-accented voice stated.
It took him a few seconds to place the accent as Russian - which made no
sense at all. There weren't any Russians onboard Moya. The arm tightened
even more, almost totally blocking off his air.
"Not only did you not crush the life out of your enemy," the voice
continued, "but you let a comrade be tortured. That is not good."
"Richie?" Crichton managed to force out.
The arm tightened for a moment, then relaxed a little bit. "Don't play
dumb. You know who I am. I am Kristov, and I am in charge here.
Therefore, it is up to me to punish you for your failures!"
"Let him go." Aeryn's voice was deadly serious.
The arm loosened, then Crichton was shoved away. After recovering his
balance, he spun around to see Aeryn pointing a pulse pistol at Richie.
The Immortal was just standing there studying her. As he watched, Richie
moved closer to Aeryn.
"You are beautiful," Richie said, his voice still accented. "I will take
you to bed, then paint you as you lay there totally satiated so that all
history will know your beauty." He reached out to brush back a strand of
her hair.
"I don't think so," she replied, stepping back.
"Richie, what is going on here?" Crichton asked, stepping up between the
two of them.
"Richie is-" The Immortal stopped mid-sentence and raised one hand to
his head. He shut his eyes as if in pain, then collapsed to the floor.
"Richie!" Crichton hurried over and knelt down by his friend. He checked
for a pulse and found one.
"What is going on?" Aeryn asked.
"I don't know. Help me get him back in his bed."
Aeryn stared at him in disbelief for several moments, then holstered her
weapon and helped him. Then she walked over and picked up Richie's pulse
pistol. "I don't think he should have this," she said before going out
to the passageway.
Crichton followed Aeryn, and found her waiting for him.
"He's dangerous, Crichton. What are we going to do about him? And who is
this Kristov person?"
"I don't know. For now, we'll lock him in. Maybe this is only temporary.
Maybe he'll be fine in the morning."
"And maybe he'll try to kill us all. You're lucky that I heard you,
otherwise you might be dead already."
Crichton didn't know what to say. He couldn't honestly state that Richie
wouldn't have hurt him. "Let's wait and see what he's like in the
morning. Maybe he'll have a good reason for his behavior."
"And you will probably believe him, too."
"I should have believed in him from the first. Then this wouldn't have
happened. I should have rescued him before Scorpy ever got his hands on
him. It's all my fault."
"No, it's not your fault. It was my idea to use him as bait."
Crichton sighed. "It's no one's fault. It's everyone's fault." He tapped
on his communicator. "Pilot, can you activate the locks on Richie's
room? We need to make sure he doesn't get out and hurt anyone."
"Of course, Commander," Pilot responded. A moment later, the green light
on the door changed to red.
"Try to get some sleep," Crichton told Aeryn.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going up to command for a while."
"Do you want some company?"
Crichton almost said yes, but at the last moment changed his mind. "No,
I just want some time alone. Go back to bed."
***** end of part 4