Title: Bitter Water
Author: imskysmom
Author's e-mail: URL: www.imskysmom. January 25, 2006
Feedback: yes please but be nice and constructive please
Archive: SGAHC, Atlantis GenGate, Fanfiction, anyone else please ask first
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Category: Gen
Rating: K+
Summary: While investigating some Ancient ruins, Sheppard and Teyla hear an interesting myth, or could it be true?
Beta: Dragonfly Tammy, bless her heart!
Season/Episode: Any
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the rights to "Stargate: Atlantis" or the characters but I can dream
Teyla glanced around the ruins, looking for Sheppard. The air was starting to cool as the sun went down and the breeze off the sea was salty and fresh. He stood by a column covered in dried white sea spray, McKay beside him, gesturing vigorously as always.
"Colonel," she called as she approached, old shells and sea wrack crunching under her feet. "There is a villager with a story you may enjoy hearing."
McKay rolled his eyes. "You run along and talk to Captain Ahab. I'm sure it will be fascinating." He immediately began checking more Ancient symbols against the scanner he held in his hand.
"Be ready to go soon, McKay," Sheppard replied, ignoring the snide remark. "I've got plans for this evening and I can't really see any reason to hang around much longer."
"What?" said the scientist, never lifting his eyes from the device. "No buxom Rapunzel's waiting to be rescued from a tower here?"
Sheppard smiled lazily and slid his sunglasses into his vest pocket. "Now why are you so well versed in fairy tales, Rodney?"
The scientist's head snapped up, blue eyes bulging slightly in indignation and he spluttered as Sheppard sauntered away beside Teyla. She covered her smile with a small brown hand.
"At least I've just read the stories, not …." McKay's voice died away.
Sheppard glanced back, one eyebrow quirked. "Yes?" he drawled.
"How do you expect me to finish if you keep bothering me?" snapped McKay. Teyla struggled not to laugh and when she looked back at the doctor, he had turned his back but his ears and neck were flushed with red. She looked back to meet the colonel's curious gaze.
"So a villager has a story, huh?"
She nodded. "It is very interesting and I think, perhaps useful. I must tell you the man is elderly, so it might just be a legend…"
Sheppard shrugged. "Anything to pass the time while McKay finishes…, doing whatever he's doing."
Teyla led him through the small village over to where a stooped little man sat hunched on a footstool. He reminded Teyla of Dr. Zelenka vaguely.
"Good uncle, I brought my friend to hear your story," she said, settling herself at his feet on a woven grass mat. She arched an eyebrow at Sheppard. The colonel got the message and folded himself down beside her far more gracefully than she would have expected.
The old man looked from one to the other. His eyes were surprisingly bright for one who appeared so aged. It reminded Teyla of a recent loss and her throat ached briefly with grief.
"This happened many, many years ago," the man began, his voice crackly and wheezing. He paused to take a long pull on a flask and belched loudly. Teyla caught the faint but unmistakable tang of alcohol. She flushed slightly, glancing sidelong at the colonel. To her surprise, he was grinning broadly. The old man went on, his voice stronger and more clear.
"My friend and I were out fishing far off one of the small islands, almost out of sight of the land. It had been a long day and we were weary and ready to return to our home. We heard saw an explosion in the sky and heard a loud noise. Soon we saw fire and smoke streaking through the sky towards us. We paddled our karuk as fast as we could but it seemed to follow us. It came closer and closer, until we could see it was a Wraith dart.
Sheppard's eyebrows shot upward and he looked quickly at Teyla. She nodded once in his direction, but kept her eyes on the old man.
"The ship slammed into the water very close to us, and swamped our karuk and threw us into the water. The water boiled and steamed around us, and I was very frightened." The old man's eyes were lost in the distance and he absently fumbled for the flask and took another long draw. "My friend," and he stopped again. "My friend did not come back to the surface," he said softly. "I was able to flip the karuk over and climb back in, though it was very difficult. When I looked around, I could see the hatch to the dart was open, and the pilot, a Wraith, was standing in the ship, watching me."
Teyla shivered involuntarily but didn't speak.
"I did not want to leave because of my friend." For the first time, he met Sheppard's eyes. The expression on the colonels face was a mix of empathy and understanding. He nodded. The old man nodded back. "Yes, you understand. The Wraith called to me, ordered me to bring the karuk to his ship, to take him to land.
"But I had been cut when his ship landed in the water," he said obliquely. "Cut quite badly, and I was hurting very badly. The saltwater had cleansed the wound, but it burned. It filled my mind; it was all I could think of."
Teyla's eyes opened wide. "He could not control your mind because you were in pain."
The old man nodded. "Yes, and all the while he was talking, his ship was sinking into the water. I wondered why he did not get out, why he did not get out and at least try to get to the karuk. He was uninjured and could have swum the distance quite easily."
Sheppard's eyes were intent on the old man's face, curious. "Not like there was a Y for him to get swim lessons at," he muttered, almost to himself.
"When the water finally reached the top of the dart and began coming in the top, then I thought surely he would get out." The old man leaned forward, his face close to Sheppard's. "But he didn't. He started screaming for me to obey him, to come."
Sheppard eased back onto his hands, away from the old man. "Pretty pissed he was getting soaking, huh?" but the old man was shaking his head.
"They were not screams of anger. They were screams of pain."
Sheppard sat back up straight. "Was he really injured? Without a food source he wouldn't have been able to heal himself."
"There was no injury on him when first the water poured in. But soon smoke came from the opening, and he screamed until he died, the flesh melting off his bones. After he died I took his hair for an amulet. " The old man sounded grimly satisfied, and he sat back, resting his shoulders against the rough wall of the hut.
Sheppard blinked. "Are you telling me he was killed by the saltwater?"
Suddenly weary, the old man shrugged. "He was dead. I had lost my friend. I turned the karuk toward home."
"Thank you, good uncle, for sharing your story with us. We grieve with you the loss of your companion." The old man nodded once, and closed his eyes against the brilliant sunset. Within moments, he was snoring audibly.
Teyla motioned to Sheppard to move away but before she could say anything, Sheppard spoke.
"Do you think he's for real? I mean, the Wraith do bear a striking resemblance to the Wicked Witch of the East, but melting?"
Teyla blinked at him. "I do not know anything about that, but I do believe his story. It would definitely be something to investigate further. I have not ever heard of the Wraith being affected by water, although when you were, changed," she said carefully, "the Iratus creatures did not like sea water…"
"What about that Wraith that attached Ford? He was still in one piece when we beamed them to the infirmary?"
"Perhaps it is something about the water of this world. I'll talk to McKay about it, see if there's anything weird about it."
"I will speak more with the villager. Perhaps there is more to the story that he will recall if questioned." She returned to the old man who sat fingering a strip of something, Sheppard loping back to where they had left McKay.
"You and your friend, you have fought the Wraith many times?" The old man asked without opening his eyes.
"Yes, our people and the Wraith are enemies."
"I do not know what killed that Wraith. I only know I was glad he died. They have only come here a few times since then. I am old. It will be my turn to die soon. I would pass my amulet on to someone who also has seen Wraith die." He opened his eyes and looked her in the eye, holding out the small strip. She took it a little gingerly. It was hair. Wraith hair. It had been handled a lot and was a dirty white braid with snarled tangles at either end… She managed to not drop it, but couldn't quite suppress a shudder.
He laughed, a dry cackle that wheezed and took another long pull from the flask.
"I am honored by your gift," Teyla said, quickly tucking the braid into her vest pocket.
"What I am telling you," came the acerbic voice of an obviously annoyed Dr. McKay, "is that this is perfectly ordinary seawater. Take all the samples you want, it's not like we won't be surrounded by an ocean or anything when we get back."
"It's worth checking out, Rodney."
"By all means, let's add another pointless experiment to my already crammed schedule! You're absolutely right, I don't have enough to do coming up with brilliant solutions constantly, now I need to carry out sixth grade science fair projects."
"Oh give it a rest, Rodney, or I'll tell Ronon about your secret stash of MRE's."
Despite herself, Teyla had to grin. Sheppard must truly be exasperated if he was reduced to threatening McKay with Ronon Dex.
"That's blackmail!" McKay shrilled indignantly.
"Damn right, now be quiet!"
Teyla turned back to the old man. His eyes were now unseeing as he stared into the sliver of sun, slipping under the ocean. The flask had dropped from his open hand, the contents seeping into the earth. Startled, she touched his shoulder gently, then shook him. Checking for a pulse, she turned, dismayed to the colonel and McKay.
"He is dead."
"Can we leave now?" McKay said, looking hopeful.
Sheppard cuffed him. "Have a little respect," he said, sounding disgusted with McKay.
McKay huffed out a breath. "Look, I'm sorry he died, but I have things to do. The translation on this column could have some incredibly valuable information about a chemical formula that could possibly breakdown Wraith DNA. I'd really like to get it to Beckett, see if there's anything he can do with it."
"Perhaps that was what killed his Wraith," she said, gesturing at the old man and looking thoughtful.
McKay's eyebrows shot up and his fingers started snapping. He turned to Sheppard. "We need to get back to Atlantis and research this. Did you get water samples?"
Rolling his eyes, Sheppard nodded. One of the other villagers approached and Teyla turned to him.
"I am sorry, but it he died just after we finished speaking."
The woman smiled a little sadly. "He was very old. I am glad he got to tell his story to someone new before he passed. He so enjoyed talking about that. Too bad it never happened."
"What did you say?" Sheppard cut through McKay's ongoing monologue and addressed the woman. She looked surprised.
"It truly was just a story," she told them. "Shiff told me he heard it from someone. As he got older, I think he must have forgotten that part and believed it was a part of his own life."
McKay looked crestfallen.
"But what about the hair?" Teyla asked, forgetting her earlier disgust and pulling out the hank of Wraith hair.
The woman looked a little puzzled. "I don't know about that, but Shiff has been unable to go out in the karuks for a very long time. The motion always made him very sick."
Sheppard heaved a long sigh. "Well, so much for that one, boys and girls. Let's head back to Atlantis."
"There is still some very interesting data from that column," McKay said, sounding deflated.
"I'm introducing Ronon to football tonight," Sheppard said, his tone consoling. "Why don't you come, Rodney?"
"And doesn't that just sound like the perfect end to a perfect day," McKay snapped back.
Sheppard grabbed him around the neck and rubbed McKay's head briskly with his knuckles. "Ah, you know you love it!"
McKay struggled free and furiously started berating Sheppard who was grinning like a lunatic. Teyla sighed softly, tuning them out, gazing down at the talisman in her hand. She looked back over at the old man. There, at the edge of his rough trouser, the trailing end of a very bad scar was visible, ending just above the ankle. Smiling a little to herself, she turned and followed the two men.