Stargate Atlantis: Fool's Gold
"Sheppard?"
Ronon Dex's question was left unsaid, but John Sheppard understood all the same. He gestured and the Satdedan nodded, flanking right as Jason Reynolds, a marine who was temporarily assigned to the team flanked left. As the wormhole dissolved behind them John shrugged and stepped past the DHD. It was a beautiful day. Bright blue skies gleamed above verdant fields and whispering grains. Not far from the Stargate a village stood, smoke curling from several chimneys.
It was idyllic. It was peaceful. It made John suspicious.
"What?" he asked, seeing Teyla Emmagan's scowl. Unlike the men she had neglected to draw her weapon, and stood with empty hands.
"We are in no danger, colonel. These are my people." At last the dialing system on Atlantis was fully operational, and they were able to get a lock onto New Athosia.
"It never hurts to be cautious. Remember our last encounter with so-called friendlies?" John recalled.
"These are my people," Teyla reiterated, as if that negated their previous bad experience. "This way. I am sure my people are already heading for the Stargate to welcome us."
John nodded and followed Teyla down the hill towards the village. They followed a pathway between waving fields of grain, beyond the trees that towered like sentinels in the distance. Birds were singing and the sun was shining and a mild breeze blew. Yet John could not dispel the feeling of unease and his fingers imperceptibly tightened on his P90. He could have attributed the feeling to not having Rodney on the mission. The physicist was still in mourning for his almost fiancée, and John thought it best that Rodney stay in the city for a week or two.
John considered. It wasn't the lack of Rodney's continual talking that had him on edge.
It was something else. Something he couldn't identify yet.
"Teyla!"
A joyous shout greeted the team as they reached the edge of the village. People were rushing towards them. Men, women, and children all united in surprise and happiness as they smiled and shouted and gestured.
Teyla smiled, glancing at John to give him an I-told-you-so look before being engulfed. She greeted many by name and exchanged formal forehead to forehead acknowledgements before hugs replaced them. Ronon and Jason joined them, relaxing at the friendliness until a hush fell upon the Athosians and the all parted, leaving Teyla standing alone.
John took a step to be next to her as Halling emerged. The tall Athosian man was growing out his curly hair, and it fell in amber waves around his stern expression. He stepped to Teyla. The two formally greeted each other, Halling having to bend down quite a ways to touch his forehead to Teyla's. It was almost comical, and John felt a smile forming on his lips.
Until Halling straightened to his full height and slapped the smaller woman across the face.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Carson Beckett was shaking his head over the microscope. "You're right. The chemical reaction is the same, but it's not. There's a striking difference after the initial burst of adrenaline that led to the extreme reaction of complete and utter dehydration. The biochemical makeup of the enzyme has been significantly altered."
"Closer to that of the Iratus bug," a woman next to him said, also staring into a microscope.
"Yes, exactly, but not exactly either," Carson mused, rubbing his chin as he sat back from the microscope. His blue eyes narrowed in thought. "It does explain the way he fed, however, and his increased speed and abilities, to a point."
"Let me run a cross comparison to what little we have left of the bug's DNA sequencing," the woman said. She stood, grabbed a data pad and moved to leave. "Where's an entomologist when you need one?" she jested.
Carson smiled. "That's why you're here, love."
"Thanks, Carson," she griped, but smiled at him. "More bugs," she sighed.
"Afraid so, love. Just the enzyme this time, however. Let me know what you find. The…" He broke off, turning to see Rodney McKay standing near, staring at him. "Rodney? What is it?"
"How long were you planning to keep me trapped here?" the physicist demanded, glancing at the woman as she passed before returning his glare to the doctor. "Grounded like a little boy!" he fumed. "As if I wasn't mentally competent enough to go on missions and make vital contributions to the survival of this city and to conduct important physics experiments that may or may not but probably will prove the existence of dark matter and the practical applications of cold fusion and the—"
"It's only been a few days," Carson reasoned, quickly interjecting as words flew from Rodney's mouth, unstoppable.
"It's been a week, Carson! What if my team needs me? I'm fine! I can return to active duty, damn it! I don't need to be coddled like a child!"
"Very well. Give it one more day and I will inform Woolsey you are fit for active duty," Carson decided, seeing his friend's utter determination.
"Thank you." Rodney hesitated. For all of his blustering and anger he suddenly found himself at a loss as to what to do. "What was that all about? The enzyme? The way that Todd killed, killed her?" He couldn't quite say her name, not yet. The image of Jennifer Keller's emaciated, dehydrated, aged corpse filled his mind but he blinked it away rapidly.
He tried to remember her the way she had been when alive. Beautiful. Youthful. Vibrant.
Compassion filled the doctor's eyes. "Yes. We're only at the preliminary stages of analysis. When we have a fuller picture I will inform you and John and Richard, but right now all that you need to know is that she didn't suffer. It was quick."
It was a partial lie, but Rodney didn't need to know the entire gruesome truth.
Rodney nodded, quickly changed the subject. "It's not like I don't have a million projects here in the city, you know, and I've been busy with the power configurations and the ZPM output and quite frankly Radek couldn't possibly cope without me and there's the whole problem of being completely cut off from Earth but if my team needed me I should be out there with them instead of here don't you see?"
"Yes, Rodney. I am sure that they need you and I am sure that they are fine. They were going to see the Athosians, right? By now they are probably knee-deep in some harvest festival or under the table drinking their specialty, right? And then there will be fields to inspect and the trading of grains and linens and other sundry items to establish good relations."
Rodney snorted. "True. I don't mind missing all of that, actually."
"Oh? Are you sure? I have heard the Athosians can put on quite a harvest festival and grain exchange, for several hours I am sure."
The men exchanged a quiet laugh.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
"Whoa, whoa! What the hell was that?" John demanded, P90 pointed straight at Halling now. Ronon and Jason moved to either side of the pair, weapons aimed at the crowd as well. Tension road the air and cut across the welcome like a knife.
Teyla rocked from the blow but managed to remain on her feet. She raised one hand, halting the members of her team, as she touched the other to her stinging cheek. Tears filled one eye from the violence but she blinked them aside. She eyed Halling as he stood, silent; waiting. "So. Is this the formal challenge?"
"Yes. You have abrogated your right to be leader of our people," Halling informed.
"Huh? What's going on?" John asked, but both Ronon and Jason appeared equally mystified. At a gesture the two men reluctantly lowered their guns, but John kept his trained on Halling, just in case.
"I will not accept that charge. But I will accept your challenge, Halling, as is your right to issue it with the consent of our people." She glanced at the crowd. Many were nodding their heads, expressions solemn. Even the children were hushed now and solemn.
"Teyla?" John asked, baffled.
She glanced at him. "It is all right, colonel. Please, lower your weapon," she insisted, as one side of her face turned bright red from the blow. "This is an Athosian concern, not yours. I am the leader of our people but only by their assent. At any time anyone can challenge that privilege as long as the majority agrees to it."
"You were our leader before you abandoned us," one accused.
"You were our leader before they came," another asserted.
"You have chosen them over us!" a man declared. Several murmured in assent.
John's fingers tightened on his weapon. The mood of the crowd could become ugly very quickly. He had been in situations like this before and knew they were dangling on a knife's edge between violence and resolution. He glanced at Ronon and Jason. They were feeling the same and they kept their gazes locked on the crowd, stepping slightly so the team was not completely surrounded by them.
Making certain an egress point towards the Stargate was available.
Abruptly the tone of the crowd had gone from welcoming to assessing, from warm to cool. It was a disturbing trend, this sudden hostility towards Atlantis and its team. Although this time it appeared to be directed more towards Teyla and was more personal. It was all the more shocking and confusing for that.
"I did not abandon you," Teyla said calmly, her gaze encompassing the crowd. "I went with Atlantis to help them defend their planet, their home world from the Wraith. It was sudden and unavoidable, but I chose to remain with them to aid them, as they have aided us and countless others many times. We have now returned to lead the fight against the Wraith."
"No." Halling glanced at the men surrounding Teyla but he didn't seem daunted. "You abandoned us for them long before you left this galaxy for theirs. You turned your back on us long before this. You had a child among them and have neglected to raise him in the ways of our people. You have tossed away our traditions for theirs. Teyla Emmagan, I challenge your right of leadership," he announced, voice sonorous and full of gravity.
No one spoke. No one stirred.
Teyla nodded. "I accept, Halling."