"Well I think the main question is, is how the hell are we going to feed her?" Caldwell asked. Upon returning in the Daedalus, he went straight to Weir to ask why he was hearing outlandish rumors that a tiger was being kept in a holding cell. "This isn't a goddamn zoo!" he had yelled.
"Well tigers are carnivorous, yes?" Teyla asked.
"That is correct." Weir said.
"Well then, she can hunt in the forests of the mainland, there are plenty of deer and other wildlife for her to hunt." Teyla suggested.
"And have children go missing? I don't think so." Caldwell said with a snort.
"Besides, I'm not all that excited to be cooped up with a hungry tiger for three hours in a small puddle jumper." Sheppard said.
"Then perhaps Ronon would go with you? His presence seems to calm her." Teyla said and they looked around for the said Satedan. "Where is Ronon?"
Ronon sat against the wall opposite of the holding cell, his head leaning against the wall. The tiger was still asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily with her breathing. She opened one bleary golden eye as the door opened and got up when she saw them enter.
"Ya hungry?" Sheppard asked and she yawned, showing her teeth. She stretched with her body bowed down and her front paws extended.
"She is." Ronon said from the floor and he looked down at him.
"Knew you'd be here. Come on, we're going to the mainland, and she's coming with us."
"Why we going to the mainland?" he asked as he got up.
"She's gotta eat. We decided that we're gonna let her hunt in the forests." John swiped his hand across the sensor and the shield shone for a moment before falling. The tiger walked out of the holding cell leisurely and up to Ronon. She looked up at him for a second before going to the door and looking back at them.
People gave them wide berth as they made their way to the docking bay, but she gave them no mind and walked beside John and Ronon almost lazily. She stopped only once to growl at Rodney, letting him know that she remembered who shot her before padding ahead of them. When they got the docking bay, she instantly ran up into a puddle jumper and hopped into the captains' chair.
"That's my chair." John said and she pushed the chair around with her paw against the center consul to face the main controls. She looked at them and they came to life, a holograph of the base coming up in front of them. The controls came out and the engines started up, the back hatch raising. John and Ronon took seats and stared in wonder as the tiger piloted the puddle jumper out of the docking bay and out onto the ocean.
"John, its Elizabeth." John got out of his chair and went to the comms.
"Sheppard here." he said.
"Who's piloting the jumper? I had a technician just come to me and say that you and Ronon were at the back of the jumper when it started up."
"The tiger is piloting."
"The tiger."
"Yes ma'am. Is it possible for an animal to have the Ancient Gene?"
"I don't know, when you get back Becket can run some tests…" the tiger gave out a low growl. "Or maybe not." Weir said, her voice tight.
"Maybe there's something in the archives, like an Ancestor started to do animal testing. Have him search them and see what he can find." Ronon said.
"Sounds like a good idea Ronon." She said and John gave out a small yell. "John? What happened?"
"She's making jumper swing from side to side, I swear she's smiling." He said.
"Miss Tiger, please try to bring them back in one piece." Elizabeth said, amusement accenting her voice.
"I don't like the look in her eyes. I'm gonna sit down now. Sheppard out." John said and the tiger looked at the comms, they went dark. John strapped down in a seat just as the jumper accelerated and went into a barrel roll, skimming the water. It ascended suddenly and then dove down, pulling up just before it hit the water. "You know those roller coasters I told you about Ronon?"
"Yeah?"
"It's kinda like this."
"This is fun!" the puddle jumper stayed steady long enough for him to go up to the front and sit in the co-pilots seat, strapping himself down again. He looked over and noticed the tiger's body was tense, her claws dug into the seat. He unstrapped himself and very cautiously strapped her in, watching her body relax. She ran her wide, rough tongue along his cheek as he secured the harness and let him pet the top of her head before he went back to the co-pilots' chair and sitting back down, strapping back in. The jumper went into another roll and he gave out an excited yell. It gained altitude before heading down at a steep dive, it pulled up and did a large loop in the sky, the bottom skimming along the top of the waves. She calmed down after a while and the rest of the trip was mercifully uneventful. She landed the jumper in a clear field and the back hatch descended as the engines were powering down. The moment Ronon unstrapped her she was out of the hatch and loping into the surrounding forests.
"Think we should wait here?" John asked as they leaned against the outside of the jumper.
"You can wait here, this is something I want to see." Ronon said and ran into the forests before John could warn him that a tiger when it's hunting is probably when it's most dangerous.
Ronon ran silently through the thick trees, catching glimpses of orange every now and then through the foliage. He also saw deer running through the trees as they sensed that something deadly had entered their area. Then, near a watering hole, a large male deer was drinking, its head down and eyes closed. Ronon silently climbed the tree overlooking the hole and looked down, seeing the tiger slinking silently through the brush. The deer froze, its head coming up and ears perking. The tiger stilled, her body down low to the ground. The deer bent its' head back down to continue drinking and Ronon watched as the tiger did a weird sort of wiggle and pounced. The deer tried to take off at the sound but the tiger was already on it, her jaws clamped around its neck and claws dug into its back, bringing it down the ground.
The deer made several strangled bleating sounds, its' legs kicking in futile attempt to free itself. Its eyes glazed over as it died and the tiger loosed it grip on its neck and began to feed, ripping open the stomach and pulling out the internal organs. It had been all over in only a couple moments, but left him with his eyes wide and his chest heaving. He hadn't been prepared for the raw savagery of the kill. He could have dealt with her ripping the deer's throat like she did the Wraith's, but she had suffocated it with her own jaws, crushing its windpipe with her teeth. He hadn't been prepared for the slow, silent death.
The sound of tearing flesh jerked him back to his senses and he climbed down from the tree, walking slowly back to the jumper, breathing deep even breaths. Sheppard was still leaning against the side when he got back and sat down on the ramp, his elbows resting on his knees.
"You all right?" John asked, but Ronon didn't look at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said and went silent.