XOVER: Going Home Again - part 3 of 7
Dawn341@aol.com
Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:48:33 EST
Going Home Again - part 3 of 7
For disclaimers and warnings, see part 1.
*****************************************
"What kind of problem?" John asked, throwing an apprehensive look at
Richie.
"Except for Jack Crichton, and Duncan MacLeod, everyone else thinks the
two of you are dead and buried. We felt it was the best way to handle
the situation when we found the burial site of the other members of the
crew. Since the Stargate project is classified, there was no way we
could divulge where or how we found the bodies."
"So, what does that mean?" Richie demanded. "Are we going to be kept
prisoner here so that your secret doesn't get out?"
"Of course not! We have several options. We can create new identities
for you so that you could live a normal life. You would, of course, have
to agree to never reveal any information about the Stargate project, or
your time in outer space."
"And we'd never be able to see our old friends again," John pointed out.
"And I wouldn't be able to go back to the space program."
"Yes, that would be true."
"And what about my dad?" John asked. "Will he know my new identity?"
"It would be better if he didn't. However, you could probably keep in
contact by phone and email. And as long as you didn't make it too
obvious, you could probably arrange meetings - as long as you didn't
meet anywhere in public."
"No deal. I'd rather go back to Moya and take my chances there."
"What about you, Richie?"
The young man shrugged. "I could probably live with that." After all,
he'd had to assume new identities before. And since Duncan would know
the truth, they could still stay in contact. "However, I'm still
thinking about going back to Moya, too."
"I've been briefed on that situation. I can understand your desire to do
that. If you choose that option, we would provide you with instructions
on how to operate the Stargate. You would not be able to return through
it, but you would be able to contact us. We would send a team out to
bring you home."
"And would you provide support and help to stop Scorpius?" John asked.
"I can't answer that at this time," Hammond replied. "I would need more
information on what would be needed. Plus, I would need authorization. I
have a boss to report to, just like everyone else."
"Fair enough. Are there any other choices?"
"I have been authorized to offer you positions here at the SGC. You've
already had contact with alien races, and I think you would both be
assets to us. You would still have to restrict your contacts with old
friends, but you could continue your research into wormholes. In fact,
since the whole Stargate project is based on wormholes, you might find
it quite useful to work here."
John sighed. "That does sound appealing, but I need some time to make a
decision. I want to talk to my father about my choices. Is that allowed?
Or can't he know about this?"
"Of course you can. The same goes for you, Richie. I know you were very
close to Duncan MacLeod, and might want to seek his advice."
"Yeah, I'd like to do that."
"One more question," John said. "I'm...involved with another member of
Moya's crew. While she's an alien, she looks as human as the rest of us.
Would there be any way she could come to Earth? Be with me here? She
would also be an asset to your project here. She has a lot of knowledge
about other races that we might encounter. Plus, she was born and bred
to be a warrior. She could probably take on your SG-1 team by herself,
and come out the winner."
"I'll second that," Richie added. "Aeryn and I have sparred many times.
She can take care of herself, and would be an asset to any military
operation. Plus, she's intelligent, and can think on her feet, and under
pressure."
"I would have to meet with her before I could promise anything, However,
if she is everything you say she is, I'm sure something could be
arranged. Obviously, until she has been acclimated to this society she
would have limited freedom. After that, there shouldn't be a problem."
"I don't know if I should thank you for that or not. It definitely means
making a choice will be a lot harder."
"I understand," Hammond said. "Now then, we need more information on the
races you've met, and the planets you've been on."
O'Neill started. "How many different races have you encountered in the
last four years?"
"I couldn't even begin to guess," John said. "I'm not even sure what
some of the aliens were called. The same goes for the planets. Sebaceans
look just like humans, but they're different inside. Nebari are
humanoid, but they're...obviously different. Luxans and Hynerians are
obviously alien. Interons are close to humans, but there are still
differences - like their screams can bend metal."
"Did you ever meet any aliens with glowing eyes?" Jackson asked.
"Not that I can remember."
"What about Stargates? Did you ever see any of those?" Carter asked.
John shook his head. "Of course, we weren't looking for them, either."
"Would there be any race that we could make an alliance with? Trade
technology - both military and other types. New energy sources, things
like that," Carter continued.
"Peacekeepers - a subset of Sebaceans - and Scarrans are definitely more
advanced than we are in weapons, and space technology. Peacekeepers are
born on a ship, and never set foot on a planet until they are adults. In
fact, I bet some of them have never been on a planet. However, I don't
know if we could make an alliance with either of them."
"Why not?"
"Rumor has it that the Scarrans are getting ready to go to war with the
Peacekeepers. My few run-ins with Scarrans have been violent encounters,
and I barely survived them. As for the Peacekeepers, they can't be
trusted. They think nothing of torturing people - even their own people.
They are also trying to develop a weapon using wormholes. If they manage
to do that, they could destroy a planet with little to no effort. I'm
determined to stop them from doing that."
"What about your friends? This spaceship you've been on?"
"Moya has no weapons. Leviathans have only one defense, and that's the
ability to starburst. It enables them to escape their attackers by...
well, let's just call it going into hyperspace. If we could figure out
how to do that, we would definitely be able to advance into space."
"We already have some access to that kind of technology," Carter
replied. "Although it would be interesting to see how this leviathan
does it. How many crewmembers does it take to run the ship?"
"Just one," John said with a grin.
"So, it's a very small ship."
"Nope. But you'd have to see it to believe it."
"Richie, you haven't been saying much," Jackson pointed out.
The young man shrugged. "John is the scientist. And he's had more
experience with aliens than I have."
"How is it that you're the only one who survived from the shuttle crew?"
Hammond asked.
"Just lucky, I guess. The rest of the crew were in the forward cabin
when we were attacked. We just barely made it to the planet. However,
most of the crew died during the attack. I had the fewest injuries, but
there was little I could do for the rest of them. I wasn't trained
beyond basic first aid. All I could do was see that they had a proper
burial after they died. I was alone for most of the time. John only
found me about four months ago."
"That must have been awful," Carter said, her voice laden with sympathy.
"Yes, it was."
John was amazed at how easily the lies seemed to slip from Richie's
mouth. He almost sounded as if he'd actually lived through it. Of
course, there was an element of truth to the story. The only part that
wasn't true was about the attack, and landing on the planet.
Technically, he'd been alone for that whole time - but he'd been dead so
he couldn't have remembered it. Or could he? He didn't understand how
this immortality thing worked. Had Richie been aware of passing time?
Had he come back to life only to die again? What would that have been
like? He couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought.
He pulled himself back from his thoughts. "How about a tour of Moya?" he
suggested. "Pilot will be able to answer some of your questions better
than I can. Plus the rest of the crew might know something about the
Stargates, or aliens with glowing eyes."
"Sounds good to me," Carter quickly chimed in.
"That sounds like a good plan," Hammond agreed. "If you'd like, you can
take along Jack and Duncan."
"I'd like that a lot," John said. "It might help them understand what
our lives have been like. In fact, they can even stay overnight if they
want. That will give us more time to show them around."
"That sounds like a good idea, but I think it can wait until tomorrow,"
Hammond said.
"Can we leave here?" John asked. "Go outside. It's been so long since
we've been on Earth." A part of him still wanted to make sure they
really were back home again.
Hammond frowned. "That wouldn't be a very good idea. What if someone
recognized you?"
"Sir, what if we take them to my place?" Carter suggested. "As long as
they stay out of public places, there shouldn't be any problems."
"We can pick up some carryout and bring it over," Jackson offered.
"Pizza!" Richie said with a grin.
"And beer!" John added.
"You know, I like these guys," Jack said with a grin.
*****
John took another sip of beer as he stared up at the night sky. There
had been times when he'd thought he'd never see the moon shining down on
Earth. The only thing missing was Aeryn.
He was definitely sure that he was back on Earth. While they'd eaten
pizza, they'd surfed the television channels before settling on a
baseball game. His favorite team was playing, and he recognized many of
the players, but there had been others that he was unfamiliar with. This
was not like the first time, where everything had been taken from his
memories. No one would have gone to that much trouble just to fool him
into thinking he was back on Earth.
He heard the door open behind him, and looked around. His father stood
in the doorway.
"Want some company?" he asked.
"Sure, Dad." John turned around and leaned up against the deck's
railing, watching as his father crossed the deck to stand in front of
him.
"I've missed you, son," Jack said gruffly.
"I've missed you, too." John reached out and hugged his father. "There
were times when I thought I'd never see you again."
"You're back home - safe and sound. It's all over, John." Jack hugged
his son even tighter.
"Is it?" John asked, stepping back from his father, and turning away.
"I'm dead here, Dad. D.K., all my friends - they all think I'm dead and
buried. If I stay, I have to start all over again. No space program. No
research. A whole new life. I'm not sure I can do that." He rubbed at
his burning eyes.
"Isn't that better than going back out there? This Scorpius character
wants to strip your mind of all your knowledge. He's tortured you
before, he'll do it again if he catches you." Jack grabbed both of
John's arms and forced him to turn. "It's not worth it, son."
"Is love worth it?" John asked. "Would you have risked anything to be
with Mom?"
Jack released his son, then placed one hand on his shoulder. "I loved
your mother. I would have done anything to stay with her. When she died,
a part of me died along with her."
"That's how I feel about Aeryn. You haven't met her yet, but I love her.
If she'd come back here with me, I'd be more than willing to start a new
life."
"And if she won't? Then what? You'll follow her to your death?"
"If she'll have me." John sighed.
"Does she love you, son? Are you sure you love her? Or are you chasing
after a dream? Maybe you only think you love her because you haven't had
anyone else to relate to during the last four years."
"It's complicated, Dad. She loves me. I know she does, but she wants
guarantees. She doesn't want to watch me die again, and I can't promise
that won't happen."
"I don't understand. How could she have watched you die?" Jack looked
shocked at the idea.
John scrubbed at his face. "I was twinned. We had the same memories, the
same looks, the same feelings. The other one of me went off with Aeryn,
and during that time they..." He shook his head to fight back the
images. How could he be jealous of himself? "Anyway, he died and she was
there. She doesn't want to be hurt again."
"Then you should both come back to Earth. You could both live to a ripe
old age together."
"Like Mom did? There's no guarantee that something wouldn't happen to
either one of us if we did that."
"It's better than the alternative!" Jack almost yelled. He took a deep
breath, and stepped back. "I'm sorry."
"Dad, I know you want me to be safe, but it is *my* life. I want Aeryn
to be part of it. She's lived her whole life on spaceships. I don't know
whether she could handle living on one planet for the rest of her life."
John sighed again. "And there's more to consider besides just her."
"Such as?"
"Scorpy has to be stopped. If he finishes his weapon he could destroy
planets without thinking twice about it. And I'm sure that Earth would
be one of the first ones he'd go after, especially if I'm here."
"Let the military handle him. They're better trained and have better
equipment to do that."
"And that may be the answer, Dad. I just need to consider all my options
before I make a decision. And it's not like we couldn't keep in touch.
General Hammond said that he would give us instructions on how to
contact Earth."
"Just don't forget to think about yourself," Jack said. "This isn't just
about everyone else. It's also about you."
"I'll keep that in mind, Dad. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but
I'll probably be discussing it with you again."
"I'll be here, whenever you need to talk to someone. And I'll support
you in whatever decision you make - even if I don't agree with it."
John hugged his father in relief. "Thanks, Dad."
*****
Richie sighed in frustration. He wanted to have a private chat with
Duncan, but couldn't seem to find the opportunity. He knew John had
managed to talk to his father the night before, but after they'd come
back inside, O'Neill had announced it was time to go back to the base.
He and John had been assigned a room together, and Jackson had shown
them to it. Duncan and Jack had gone another direction so he had no idea
where their room was.
Now they were waiting for D'Argo to bring a transport pod down so that
everyone could go up to Moya. He thought about trying to sneak away to
talk to Duncan, but General Hammond had arranged for food supplies to be
sent to Moya. Everyone had been put to work to transfer the supplies to
the landing site. They'd just barely got that accomplished when D'Argo
landed the transport.
While John introduced D'Argo to the SG-1 team, Richie, Duncan and Jack
loaded the supplies on the transport pod. Soon, they were all headed to
Moya, and he still hadn't managed to talk to the older Immortal.
Duncan seemed entranced by the sights visible through the view port, and
spent most of the trip standing at the front of the transport. No one
else seemed that interested in the view, especially not John and Carter
who were too busy discussing wormholes to pay attention to the view.
Richie figured it was because Duncan was the only one who'd never been
in outer space.
"Do all the aliens have tentacles?" O'Neill whispered to Richie,
glancing back at D'Argo.
The young Immortal grinned and shook his head. "Nope. And just wait
until you see Pilot, and Rygel."
"Is that Moya?" Duncan asked.
Suddenly, there was a crowd around the view port. John managed a look,
and agreed. "We'll be docking soon."
"It's bigger than I thought it would be," Carter said. "And it only
takes one person to operate the ship?"
"Well, one alien, and lots of DRDs - maintenance robots."
"Can we get copies of the design specs?" Carter asked. "Maybe it would
be possible to build a similar ship on Earth."
"You don't understand. Moya is alive. She's half biological, half
mechanical. I don't think you'll be able to duplicate her."
"Really?" Carter's eyes seemed to sparkle. "I can't wait to see her."
"Okay, everyone. How many people want to get the translator microbes?"
John asked.
No one volunteered.
"C'mon, guys, they're not that bad. Without them, you won't be able to
understand anyone on Moya. You'll have to rely on Richie and me to
translate for you."
Carter stepped forward. "I'll try them."
O'Neill rolled his eyes, and also stepped forward. "I can't let her call
me chicken."
"I think I'll pass, at least for now," Jackson said. "I want to hear
their native language so that I can see if there's any similarity to
Earth's languages. I won't be able to do that if microbes are
translating for me."
"I, too, will pass," Teal'c stated. He offered no reason at all.
"What about you, Mac?" Richie asked.
Duncan sighed, then said, "I'll do it."
"So will I," Jack said.
"Great!" John said. "We'll get you all injected as soon as we dock."
"Which is now," D'Argo said.
***** end of part 3