Title: Always Hope
Author: stella_pegasi
Rating: K+
Genres: Action Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship
Word Count: 28,165 (8 Chapters)
Spoilers: None (set after Season Five)
Warnings: Brief sexual situation, implied non-con;
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne, OC's
Summary: Another routine mission to open up relations with new worlds in Pegasus goes awry. SGA-1 discovers their friendly new allies are hiding a dark secret that could cost them their lives.
Disclaimer: I do not own them; I would have treated them better.
Author's Notes: Written for the sga-genficathon on Live Journal. Will post one chapter per day until story is complete. Hope you enjoy. (There is Shep Whump, I promise!)
Always Hope
by stella_pegasi
Chapter 1 All is Not as It Appears
"Rodney, get down!"
Dr. Rodney McKay swerved in the direction of the familiar voice. Lt. Colonel John Sheppard was a few yards behind him, jumping over a fallen tree trunk; gesturing for him to drop to the ground. Sheppard looked pretty serious; and Rodney decided to comply, he crouched behind a large rock.
Sheppard jogged up to him, dropping to his knees, and peered around the rock that Rodney had hidden behind. The forest in front of them was clear; Sheppard turned, sitting on the ground next to his errant teammate. The colonel was breathing hard, and it took a few seconds for him to speak.
His voice quiet, but obviously agitated; Sheppard chided McKay, "I told you to stay in Felan. You could have been hurt. Why the hell did you come out here?" Sheppard pulled his scanner from his pants pocket, checking for signs of anyone, or anything, apart from them, in the vicinity.
"There is something wrong here, Sheppard. I don't care what you and Teyla think; these people are hiding something. I don't trust them, and I don't believe their warning that we can't come into these woods without getting killed."
Shaking his head, Sheppard looked over at McKay, "Your spidy sense telling you that?"
"Make fun of me, colonel, if that makes you feel better. The Camati are lying to us about the grave danger outside of the city walls. I am positive they are lying, and I believe you sense it, as well.
"I would love to discuss this now, Rodney, but I think the smart thing to do is to return to the city before it gets dark. We'll discuss this after the evening meal." Sheppard quickly glanced at the scanner, and cautiously rose to his feet. "Come on, let's get back."
He extended his hand to help Rodney up. Throwing a disgusted look at the tall man with the rumpled dark hair, who was staring down at him, Rodney didn't move for a moment. Then he gave in, and grabbed Sheppard's hand, letting the colonel pull him up.
"I don't know how to explain it, but I think they're hiding something and that something has me worried."
"Keep walking and be quiet; I told you, we'll discuss this after dinner." Sheppard motioned for Rodney to take point. They walked the half-click back to the city in silence.
Darkness had fallen as Sheppard and McKay passed through the city gate of the capital, Felan. They headed into the center of the walled city toward the Government Center. The multi-building complex housed the parliament of Camati Plain, one of three regions that divided the one large continent on the planet Rienor. The palatial building was also the residence of Regent Mecos Halkan, leader of the Camati. The Regent and his daughter, the Lady Elradia greeted them as they entered the reception room in the private residence.
"Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, we were becoming worried about the two of you. I was about to send the Regent guards to search the city for you." Regent Halkan smile was thin, and the hair on the back of Sheppard's began to prickle. The Regent's attitude seemed a bit disingenuous.
"Dr. McKay was strolling around the grounds, admiring your lovely gardens. I went to find him to make certain he was on time for dinner. It would be a shame to miss a morsel of your wonderful meals." Sheppard was a bit wary of the quizzical look on Halkan's face as he answered.
Smiling at the two men, the Regent gestured toward the gathering room. "Please come with me, we are having a bit of libation before dinner."
Sheppard replied, "We will be happy to join you, Regent." He took Rodney by the arm, "Come on, Rodney." Reluctantly, Rodney moved forward into the room. Sheppard started to follow him when Elradia grabbed his arm.
Looking up at him, she pouted, "Colonel, I believe you promised to escort me to dinner this evening. Surely, you remember." She squeezed his upper arm just a bit tighter. She clearly had no intention of letting go of his arm, or anything else she could grab.
Sheppard took a deep breath, and realized there was no way out of this situation. He had promised to accompany her to dinner, only to get her to stop pestering him. Since they first met the Regent and his daughter, his teammates had teased him about the lovely Elradia. She had immediately taken a liking to the colonel that she made no attempt to hide. Her father seemed to take amusement in her antics.
Elradia was certainly pretty; barely twenty years old with long, dark red hair and piercing, pale blue eyes. However, as the Atlantis representative, Sheppard needed to maintain a professional decorum. Also, he was twice Elradia's age, which apparently wasn't a concern of either, hers or her fathers. Even so, he was having a minor personal crisis dealing with that fact, in addition to, his growing uneasiness regarding the Regent. He hadn't told Rodney yet, but there was something about these people that didn't sit well with him either.
Putting on his most charming grin, "I did promise. I would be honored to escort you to dinner." In reply, Elradia giggled, and drew Sheppard closer as they walked into the gathering room.
Teyla noticed his predicament as he walked into the room with the Regent's daughter on his arm and arched her eyebrow at him in question. He shrugged slightly, and steered Elradia to a chair.
"Please have a seat, Lady Elradia; what would you like to drink?"
She pulled his head down, whispering in his ear, "Whatever you would like to bring me, colonel. I am sure you know what I like."
Sheppard straightened up, "I'll be back."
He walked over to the long mahogany bar where an attendant was pouring drinks. Teyla walked over with an empty glass, joining him. He glanced over at her, and very quietly said, "Help."
She laughed, "Oh, you appear to be doing just fine on your own, colonel."
"You're not helping." Turning to the bartender, he asked, "Could I have whatever Lady Halkan likes?" The servant nodded, and began to prepare a drink.
"After dinner, we need to talk." He was speaking softly and not looking at her. "Tell Ronon and Rodney; I think I am going to be preoccupied for the evening."
She smiled and said, "Let's meet in my room; it is more isolated." He nodded, took Elradia's drink, and returned to where she was sitting.
"Your drink, Lady Halkan; I believe this is your favorite." Elradia looked up at Sheppard and smiled shyly. She was dressed in a long, form-fitting dress made of a silky material, the greenish-gold color contrasted with her red hair. She was well aware that she had a strong impact on the men in the room.
"It is most pleasing to know that you will do my bidding, colonel. You may address me as Elradia; may I call you John?"
"I think, Lady Halkan, that until we have finalized our trade and alliance negotiations that we should keep using our formal titles. I wouldn't want to upset your government by becoming too familiar." He was really hoping she would buy that lame argument. She didn't.
"You are being quite silly, col…John." Her smile was wide, but her eyes were expressionless and frigid, she continued. "If I insist you call me Elradia, you will do so. I will call you, whatever, I choose. Do I make myself clear, John?" He nodded, but he was becoming convinced that Rodney was right; these people are hiding something.
Elradia turned her attention to two women, who had approached her. While she was distracted, Sheppard took the opportunity to observe the others in the room. Ronon was standing in a corner of the room, hand on his blaster. The Camati had allowed them to keep their weapons, and Ronon seemed never to remove his hand from the gun's grip, ready for whatever occurred. Teyla was engaged in conversation with a Camati senator, who had been asking many questions about the other worlds in the Pegasus coalition. Now that the Wraith had taken the gene therapy, and were no longer feeding on the galaxy's human population, many planets were emerging with technology that had been hidden for generations. The colonel was thankful they were not all like the Genii.
Rodney was talking with a Camati scientist, a shorter, younger man who had taken a great liking to Atlantis Science Director the day before. Rodney appeared to be alright, but Sheppard knew him well enough to know he was anything but alright. He seemed to be asking a lot of questions. As Sheppard watched, the scientist motioned for Rodney to follow him, and they walked back into the reception area. Sheppard was very interested to know what the two scientists were discussing so intently. He started to slip away to speak to Rodney, but was interrupted by the call to dinner.
Dinner was excellent as it had been the night before; the Camati's hospitality was certainly gracious and abundant. The table groaned with several meats, vegetable dishes, and desserts galore. Sheppard thought that Rodney should be ecstatic about the desserts, but he was sitting uncharacteristically quiet. Throughout dinner, he watched Rodney when he could, that is when Elradia wasn't demanding his attention, and putting her hands all over him. Regent Halkan kept them entertained with stories about Camati folklore, and was quite generous in keeping the wineglasses filled.
As they were finishing, the Regent turned to Sheppard, who was sitting directly across the table. "Colonel, our meeting tomorrow is very important. We are very interested in finalizing our treaty, and getting this alliance underway. We may become closer allies than you imagine, Colonel Sheppard." As he uttered those final words, the Regent smiled broadly at his daughter, who responded by squeezing Sheppard's thigh. All Sheppard could think, as he slowly moved his leg away, was, 'crap'.
Dinner was finally over four hours after it began. The Camati's loved to stay at the dinner table for hours. It was nearly 0100 hrs, before Sheppard managed to escape from Elradia by explaining he was very tired and needed to sleep. Reminding her that tomorrow's meeting with the governing council was important for both of their people, and he needed to be well rested. She pouted, which seemed to be her favorite method of getting her way, but relented. However, she gave Sheppard a clear warning; do not think he would be able to use that excuse a second time. Her ice blue eyes had turned cold once more, as she informed him, he would do her bidding. With that she had turned and walked down the hallway toward her chambers. Sheppard headed toward the guest quarters wondering just how he was going to deal with the Lady Elradia.
The hallway outside of his room was deserted; he continued down the corridor toward the quarters that had been given to Teyla. The room was at the end of a short hall, which branched off from the main corridor. He rapped on the door, and Teyla quickly let him inside.
Teyla's quarters were large and quite girlie, Sheppard thought, but not as large or as opulent as his. Neither Rodney nor Ronon was given a room larger than his. Great, he thought, he was definitely receiving special treatment. Teyla had a huge canopy bed with lots of lace and flower prints all over the room, a private bath, sitting area with a fireplace, and a large balcony. Ronon was leaning against the wall next to the balcony doors. Rodney was sitting in a chair next to the fireplace.
"Nice digs, Teyla." Sheppard headed for a chair across from Rodney, sighing as he sat down. Teyla wily replied, "I think, colonel, the Camati's like to impress their guests in order to control them."
Rodney gave a quick laugh, "Control seems to be one of their modus operandi, Sheppard. And they are controlling more than you think."
"I saw you talking tonight to a Camati scientist we met on the tour of the learning center; you left the gathering room with him. What did he tell you?"
"He told me he was scared. His name is Banar Lemér, and he is from Teraus, one of the neighboring regions. He, his parents, and younger sister moved here three years ago when he took the position on the science council. His family has a small farm in a village called…uh" he snapped his fingers, "…Elaia; it's located about six miles from the city. Until the past year, he could come and go as he wanted to visit them." Rodney paused, collecting his thoughts. "That's when the government issued a decree forbidding travel outside the city gates after dark. During the daylight, the city dwellers are restricted to only the river to the north, the forest on the west, and the barrier erected to the south. That means that the stargate is inaccessible to anyone in the city."
Sheppard interjected, "The Camati's informed us that the restrictions are for the safety of the people. There is some unknown danger lurking after dark; people that venture outside the city gates, disappear."
Rodney nodded, "That's what they say."
"And you think that they are lying."
"Yes, I know they are."
Teyla spoke up, "Rodney, how can you be so certain the Camati are lying?"
"Banar overheard two of his superiors on the Science Council discussing a "treatment" of some sort that all the city dwellers are taking. They were concerned about serious problems that had developed. He didn't know he was taking anything remotely dangerous, but realized that the healers had prescribed a "vitamin" for everyone, many years ago. The government health officials told the people they were missing an important molecule for enzyme production. Now everyone takes their vitamins, every day; all regulated by the government. Banar tested the pill to see exactly what they were taking, and he discovered it wasn't a vitamin at all." He stopped, looking at Teyla and Ronon, and then, at Sheppard.
"They are taking an enzyme to stop aging, and have been taking it for many years. Banar thinks that government officials take a stronger dose than the general population. They don't care about the people staying young, just not noticing how little the others are aging."
"What is this drug?" Sheppard asked.
"An herb that grows on earth called astragalus, produces an enzyme is telomerase, it can be purified and concentrated. The enzyme is purported to prevent telomeres from shortening, causing the aging process. It's been used by the Chinese for centuries."
"Dr. McKay, these telomeres; am I correct, they are what caused problems with Dr. Beckett when he was cloned?" Teyla asked.
"Exactly."
Ronon spoke up, "Is this…uh… astragalus stuff here on Rienor?"
McKay shook his head, "I don't think so, but they don't need it. They can harvest what they need from immune cells, human eggs, and sperm. Banar thinks they have been doing just that, harvesting the enzyme from the population outside of the city, starting when the city dwellers began taking the 'vitamin'."
Sheppard dropped his head in his hands. "Haven't we had enough enzyme problems to last a lifetime?" He asked to no one.
"Ronon was puzzled. "I don't get it; what does this pill have to do with the danger they claim is outside the city?"
"Banar thinks that something has gone wrong. They are experiencing serious side effects in the people who have been taking the stronger drug for years. From the data, he briefly reviewed; he thinks that cells in some people begin to regenerate at a very rapid rate, causing tumors and deformities. He knows that some of the city dwellers have disappeared for weeks at a time. He suspects they are receiving treatments, or transplants. Banar said the medical staff had been doing transplants on animals for many years, and had begun transplanting human organs."
Rodney fell silent, and his teammates waited on him to continue. "Banar believes they are harvesting organs from the people outside of the city. That's why they prevent the city residents from leaving; they might find out what is really happening."
Teyla was shocked, "That is barbaric; Banar believes that the Regent, and this government, condone this?"
"Yes, he does; but that's not all." Looking at Sheppard, he was, if anything, paler than before.
Sheppard asked softly, "Rodney, what else." He saw that Rodney was struggling with telling them.
"Banar discovered they are also experimenting with another reagent that they hope will solve the problem. They have some of Michael's hybrid's captive here; they are experimenting on them to discover what Michael used to change them. Banar says the head scientist, a Doctor Maxea, seems to think that the enzyme Michael used will help with the rapid growth by moderating the rejuvenation process. If they can separate component that rejuvenates tissue from the component that turns people into Wraiths, they think might allow them to cut the dosage of the telomere enzyme. That would solve their problems, or so they think. This is voodoo to me; I wish Carson was here."
"The Camati's have hybrids here? We suspected there might be more of Michael's hybrids out there. Where in the hell did they find them?" Sheppard stood up, pacing the small area. "We need to discover what is happening outside these gates. Ronon, you're with me; Teyla, you stay here with Rodney. I'm going to my quarters to get my P-90 and vest; I'll be back in a minute. Ronon, scout around for the best route we can take once we've cleared the balcony; I'd prefer to remain unseen. We're going to go find out what's going on here."
Sheppard left Teyla's room, heading to his quarters. He was completely unaware that Elradia was watching him over a closed circuit camera. The Lady Elradia was extremely displeased that he had gone to Teyla's quarters after dinner, instead of his own, as he had told her. She decided that the lovely Athosian was a threat, and she eliminated threats. She was plotting personal revenge against Teyla, when Sheppard left his chambers again, and headed back toward Teyla's quarters, carrying his weapon. She realized at that moment that all the Atlantians were threats."
Elradia touched a tiny button on the small device attached to the view screen. "Father, I believe there is something you need to know."
End of Chapter One
