XOVER: Going Home Again - part 4 of 7
Dawn341@aol.com
Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:49:31 EST
Going Home Again - part 4 of 7
For disclaimers and warnings, see part 1.
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"C'mon, Mac, there's nothing to it," Richie coaxed. He'd noticed that
Duncan seemed to be a little reluctant to have the translator microbes
inserted. The older Immortal had hung back and let the rest go first.
"It's just a little shot - you're a big, brave warrior. You're not
afraid, are you?"
Duncan scowled at the younger man. "Of course not. I'm just... waiting
for my turn."
Richie snickered, then dragged Duncan forward. "One last one to do."
The DRD rolled over to Duncan and injected him.
"See, that wasn't so bad," Richie said with a smirk. "I'd give you a
lollipop but I don't have any here."
Duncan made a fist and lightly punched Richie's arm. "How long does it
take for these things to work?"
"Just a few microts," John said.
"How long is that?" O'Neill asked.
A holographic image of Pilot appeared in the clamshell. "Welcome to
Moya," he greeted the newcomers.
"Hey, he speaks English," O'Neill stated, a surprised look on his face.
"Well, if he did, I didn't understand a word of it," Jackson said. "I
guess those microbes must work."
"That's how fast a few microts are," John said with a grin. He
introduced the visitors to Pilot, then asked, "Where is everyone?"
"Aeryn is in command, Chiana is in her quarters, and Rygel is in the
center chamber eating."
"All right. I'll give our guests a quick tour, then we'll get down to
business."
"I will unload the supplies, then meet you on command," D'Argo said.
*****
"Moya is absolutely amazing," Carter gushed, as they headed for command
after leaving Pilot's den. "A perfect mix between biology and mechanical
engineering. Fully sentient and capable of independent action, yet she
has a symbiotic relationship with Pilot. And she's willing to devote her
life to her passengers."
"Yeah, she is amazing," John agreed.
"But she has no weapons, right?" O'Neill asked.
"That's right."
"Do any other... uh... leviathans have weapons?"
"Only one. Moya's child, Talyn. The Peacekeepers tampered with Moya and
she gave birth to a ship with weapons."
"Gee... that's too bad."
"Hey, Crichton, aren't you going to introduce me?"
John turned and saw Chiana standing in the corridor. He quickly
introduced the Nebari to everyone, then watched as she moved closer to
both Jackson and MacLeod. She seemed undecided for a moment, then
concentrated on Jackson.
"What are these?" she asked, reaching up and tapping a lens on his
glasses.
Jackson sent a confused glance to Crichton, who interpreted for him.
Once he realized what she was asking, he took off his glasses and let
her have a closer look at them while explaining their use to her.
"You mean your eyes are even more inferior than Crichton's?" she asked
as she studied the glasses.
Everyone who understood what she said laughed. Teal'c and Jackson just
looked confused.
"What's wrong, Daniel?" O'Neill taunted his friend. "Did we find a
language you can't understand?"
He put his glasses back on. "There are some similarities, but I would
need more time hearing her language to see if there is a relationship to
any of Earth's languages."
Chiana grabbed his hand, and tried to pull him down the corridor. "We
can go to my quarters, and you can listen to me all you want."
"Not now, Chiana!" John stopped her mid-step. "Why don't you go prepare
a meal for our guests. I'm sure they'll like something to eat after we
finish in command."
"You always ruin my fun," she said with a pout, but released Jackson's
hand and headed toward the center chamber.
"Well, now there's only two more crewmembers for you to meet," John
said, as he started moving on to command.
As expected, Aeryn was there, and he made introductions again. He wished
that she'd had a chance to meet his father when there wasn't a crowd
around so that they could get to know each other. He'd just have to find
a way to arrange a more private get-together.
They had just moved over to the strategy table when D'Argo joined them.
"Pilot, please show us a command carrier in relationship to Moya," John
asked. A moment later, a holographic image appeared above the table, and
Pilot started explaining technical details.
Richie tried to stay interested, but knowing the actual dimensions of a
command carrier was not the most exciting thing to listen to. He noticed
Duncan's attention was also wandering, and he caught his eye, gesturing
for him to back away.
Before he had a chance to say anything, Rygel zoomed into the room on
his throne sled. "Why wasn't I notified that you were having a strategy
session? I hope you haven't made any decisions without my expert
advice."
John performed the final introductions, only to have Rygel correct him.
"I am Rygel The Sixteenth, Dominar to over six billion subjects!"
"I'm pleased to meet you, your... uh... Highness," O'Neill greeted him,
managing to keep a straight face.
"It's good to see at least *some* humans know how to respect their
betters," Rygel stated imperiously. "Now, let's start working on our
battle plan."
"Right," Jack said, turning back to the strategy table to hide his own
smile. He was sure that any strategy that Rygel came up with would have
him ensconced in a safe location, and doing the least amount that he
could get away with.
Richie moved closer to Duncan. "Do you want to listen to all this?" he
whispered in his ear.
Duncan shook his head, and Richie pointed toward the door. Quietly, they
left the command center, and the younger Immortal led the way down to
his quarters.
Richie perched on a nearby bench, and Duncan sat down on the bed. The
Scot smiled at his friend. "I can't believe I'm actually in outer
space," he said. "I knew that if I lived long enough, that someday it
might happen, but I never expected it so soon."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sometimes, I think I'll wake up and find
myself back in my own bed."
"Trust me - this would be one hell of a dream."
Richie laughed. "You always said I had a vivid imagination."
"That's true. So, I take it John knows all about your immortality. What
about the rest of the crew?"
"Yeah, they know that I can't die - after all, they saw me come back to
life after sucking vacuum for three years. John's the only one who knows
about the swords, and beheadings. I had to tell him more."
"Sometimes it can't be helped. I've often thought about telling Jack the
truth - especially when he was trying to figure out how come I was
looking for your body at the coroner's office after the space shuttle
had supposedly been found."
"If he's anything like his son, then I know he'd keep our secret, Mac."
"I know he would, but that's not the point, Rich. The more people who
know about us, the bigger the risk is. All it would take would be a slip
of the tongue to the wrong person, and we could all be hunted down."
Duncan sighed. He looked over at his friend. "Have you been keeping up
on your training?"
Richie rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mac. I practice daily. I take showers
daily. I get plenty of sleep. I even eat right."
Duncan's mouth twitched before he asked with a straight face, "Do you
brush your teeth after every meal, too?"
Richie groaned, then laughed along with Duncan. "Actually, I use a
dentik now. They're kind of like slugs that you put in your mouth and
they clean all the bacteria from your teeth."
Duncan's mouth fell open for a moment, then snapped shut. "You put slugs
in your mouth?" he finally asked.
"Yeah, they leave a kind of minty taste. Mac, this universe has all new
ways of doing things. You have to be able to adapt to survive. You've
been doing that all your life as new technology emerged. This isn't any
different."
"I guess not." Duncan looked around the room for a moment before
settling his gaze on Richie again. "Have you run into any other
Immortals out here?"
"Not yet. And none of the crew have ever heard of people who can't die -
which doesn't mean much. There may not be any others out here."
"Is that why you want to stay out here?" Duncan scowled. "Because you
won't have to face any other Immortals?"
Richie jumped to his feet. "That's not why! Besides, there are worse
things than facing other Immortals." He visibly shuddered.
Duncan was on his feet at once, hurrying over to place one hand on the
younger man's shoulder. "What happened, Rich?"
"I was tortured by Scorpius." Richie closed his eyes as the memories
washed through him, pulling him back into that horrific time. Only the
slight squeeze from Duncan's hand on his shoulder pulled him back. He
opened his eyes and faced his friend. "The torture wasn't the worst
part. Somehow, his Aurora chair was able to tap in to other Immortal's
memories. I had flashbacks to Mako, and Kristov, and Carter Wellan."
"Are you sure? Maybe they really weren't flashbacks."
"You tell me, Mac. I saw you and Alec Hill building a house. You were
smoking cigars, and a young woman drove up in a wagon. Then there was
you and Mako and a gunfight in an old west town. Do those scenes sound
familiar?"
Duncan nodded. "You're right. They were flashbacks, but why do they
bother you?"
"Because after John rescued me, I started acting like other Immortals -
and I don't remember doing it. Everyone thought I was going crazy. The
personality shifts didn't last too long, but they kept happening."
"Are they still happening?" Duncan grabbed both of Richie's arms and
stared into his eyes, studying them as if he could see the truth.
"No. I managed to lock them back up, but I know they're there. If Scorpy
got his hands on me again, I'm afraid one of them would take control of
me permanently."
"Then that's another reason why you should come back home, Rich."
"If John decides to stay, then so will I," Richie stated firmly. "I
won't let him go after Scorpius alone. If he doesn't stay, then I don't
know what I'll do." He paused for a moment, then added, "Don't try to
hound John into going home, either, Mac. He needs to make his own
decision."
"I won't, but I'm sure his father will have something to say about it."
"Yeah, he already has. John said they had quite a conversation about it
last night, but he still hasn't decided what he wants to do. I think a
lot will depend on whether Aeryn will go with him, or not."
"It always seems to come down to a woman, doesn't it?" Duncan asked with
a wry grin.
"Of course it does." Richie grinned back at his mentor. "Speaking of
which, how is Amanda?"
Duncan rolled his eyes, then filled Richie in on her latest exploit that
had gotten him sucked into trouble.
*****
Daniel Jackson noticed Richie and Duncan leaving the command center, and
thought about following them. Then he decided that they needed time to
renew their friendship in privacy. He turned his attention back to the
strategy table where interior maps of a command carrier were being
displayed. Aeryn was pointing out various sections, but he couldn't
understand what she was saying.
Quietly, he left the room, deciding to do a little exploring on his own.
If anyone got upset about it, it would indicate that they were trying to
hide something. He hoped not, because in the brief time that he'd known
John and Richie, he had already started to like them.
Still, there was something odd about Ryan's story. They hadn't found the
space shuttle on the planet, but according to his story, they'd barely
managed to land. Was it possible that Ryan and Crichton had had an
ulterior motive when they both went up in the space shuttle? Maybe
creating the wormhole hadn't been as accidental as they'd claimed.
Moya's corridors seemed to go on forever, branching off at what seemed
like random areas. He found what had to be the crew's quarters, but
backed off when he heard voices. He didn't want to intrude on Richie and
Duncan's conversation - even if it meant that he might learn more.
He was just beginning to think he was lost when he entered a large
hangar area. At first, he thought it was where they had landed. However,
when he spotted the Collaroy, he realized that this was a different one.
He quickly examined the exterior of the space shuttle, but could find no
indication of any space battles. The shuttle's door was open, so he went
inside, after checking carefully to make sure no one else was around.
The interior of the ship also belied Richie's story. There was no sign
of any damage in the forward compartment. He seriously doubted they
could have restored the space shuttle to its original condition.
Daniel quickly left the ship, and the hangar, not wanting to be caught
there by anyone. He couldn't help but wonder what else Richie had lied
about. And whether John was involved. He'd have to tell O'Neill about
this as soon as possible.
He tried to retrace his route, but it was difficult since most of Moya's
corridors looked alike. He thought about asking one of the little robots
that kept buzzing around for assistance, but wasn't sure if they would
understand him. Finally, he caught a faint whiff of something good, and
decided to track it down.
Somehow he managed to find his way to where Chiana was preparing some
food. She said something, but he didn't have a clue as to what it was.
She took his hand and pulled him over to a chair, then pushed him down
into it. When he tried to stand up, she pushed him back down again.
"I need to get back to command," he told her.
Her response was just as much a mystery, but her head shake made it
clear that she had no intention of letting him do that. Instead she
straddled his lap, reaching behind him to grab a bowl from the table.
Using her fingers, she scooped up some of the contents and brought it up
to his lips.
"No," he tried to say, only to have her stuff the food in his mouth.
Reluctantly he chewed, and was happy that whatever she had fed him was
very tasty. He swallowed, then said, "That was good, but now I need to-"
Once again she placed food in his mouth. While chewing, he took the bowl
from her and put it on the table behind him. Then he tried to push her
off his lap, not wanting to be too harsh about it. She resisted,
wrapping her arms around his neck, and leaning in to kiss him. Daniel
kept his lips firmly sealed while he continued to try to peel her off.
"Having fun, Daniel?"
Over Chiana's shoulder, Daniel could see everyone else watching them. He
could feel his cheeks turn warm as color rushed into his face. Chiana
looked over her shoulder, but remained glued to his lap.
"Chiana!" John said, exasperation evident in his voice. "Behave yourself
- for once!"
"Don't be such a tralk!" D'Argo added.
"Oh, all right." With a sigh, she stood up, and moved away from Daniel.
"Little slut," Rygel said as he zoomed up to the table. She responded by
slapping the Hynerian on the back of the head.
"Just one happy family," O'Neill said with a smirk as he sat down next
to Daniel. "New girlfriend in your life?" he asked.
"Oh, be quiet," Daniel retorted. "So did you figure out a plan?"
"Well, Carter thinks a Naquadah bomb would be able to blow that sucker
into little pieces. They've been discussing technical stuff ever since,"
O'Neill said pointing toward Carter and John.
"Feel a little out of place?" Daniel asked with a smirk.
"Felt a lot out of place. And I wasn't the only one. So, where did you
disappear to?"
Daniel lowered his voice to a whisper. "Did a little snooping and found
out that Ryan lied about the space shuttle being attacked."
O'Neill's eyebrows shot up in amazement. He quickly schooled his face
into a stoic expression. "Are you sure?"
Daniel nodded, not wanting to go into details where others might
overhear. He turned his attention to the wide variety of foods offered,
and filled his plate. While he ate, he studied the people at the table.
Rygel appeared to be in heaven as he stuffed food in his mouth with his
little hands. D'Argo looked like he was scowling at everyone - it was
hard to decide whether he was upset at someone or if that was his normal
expression. Teal'c was studying everyone at the table while he ate.
Chiana was throwing lascivious looks at all the males at the table -
except for Rygel. John and Carter were deep into technical discussions.
Richie and Duncan were kidding around with each other as the older man
sampled various foods. Jack Crichton was watching his son, a hopeful
expression on his face. He probably thought that maybe Carter would be
the key to getting his son to come back to Earth.
However, the most interesting face was Aeryn Sun's. She had her eyes
glued on John and Carter's discussion, but her expression was one of a
mixture of what he guessed was despair and jealousy. Based on what John
had said, she was a fighter, not a scientist. Did she think that John's
rapt attention to Carter's words was a sign that another woman had
grabbed his fancy?
Moya's crew was an odd mixture of characters. They seemed to have little
in common, and yet they supposedly had spent the last four years
together. It didn't seem possible, but then he remembered that the SG-1
team was just the same. They had become the best of friends, and yet had
little in common with each other.
He knew from experience that adversity could forge strong ties.
***** end of part 4