Wormhole – I'm glad it was worth the wait, thanks for the review.
Kuroima – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter so much and you'll get to find out about Teyla in this one, I hope you enjoy it.
Steph – I'm glad you liked the beginning of the story, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Belanna30 – Sorry to have kept you waiting but I'm glad you liked the first chapter, hope you enjoy this one too, thanks for the review.
Jammeke – Yes you spelt it right lol, I'm glad you like the new enemy and again, sorry about the wait for this. You're pretty close with your idea about Teyla, thanks for the review.
Bite Beccy – After being locked away in prison I don't think I'd be that co-operative either lol, especially not with Teyla's feelings about the Alliance. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Jessy Luke – I'm glad you enjoyed the first part and I hope you enjoy this one too, thanks for the review.
Chapter 2
Halon was about a five hour journey from Atlantis at top speed; the women's prison here was probably the most secure in the galaxy. The most dangerous prisoners were sent there along with the ones most likely to be broken out, with all the security measures in place, breaking in or out was damn near impossible. The prisoners were allowed out for an hour a day, released in small groups into the fenced off, heavily guarded yard at the back of the prison. Meals were brought to their cells and other than their hour of exercise and fresh air inmates were not allowed out of the cells except for trips to the infirmary and the very rare visits of family and friends. This wasn't a place for rehabilitation, the people there were in the there for life, never to see anything beyond the walls of the prison again.
After leaving their shuttle in the space port a mile from the prison John and Elizabeth had taken a car the rest of the way. The prison was huge, housing over a thousand inmates and staffed by 300 workers, 200 of which were armed guards. They showed their Alliance ID's to the guards in the bullet proof booth at the front of the prison. Their names were checked against the list of authorised visitors before they were even able to enter the prison. They walked down a short hall towards a heavy steel door, a red light on the camera above them blinked several times before the door lifted allowing them into yet another corridor.
The room at the end was similar to a reception area, they both handed over their weapons, exchanging them for prison passes that would allow them to access to the main part of the prison. Two guards were stood in front of their next doorway; they entered their pass code into a small panel, opening the door to allow them entry. Another guard waited on the other side for them, there to escort them to the visitor's room where they'd meet Teyla.
Elizabeth knew she should feel bad for Teyla, forced to live the rest of her life in a place like this but she couldn't find it anywhere in her. Teyla may have come through in the end but she'd committed horrible crimes before that; had killed a lot of innocent people and Elizabeth still wasn't sure why Teyla had chosen to help her. After spending months with the Vernai, training to help them destroy humanity and starting on the path to do that, why did she suddenly turn around and help her to destroy the cloud.
After passing at least twenty more armed guards, several steel doors and a dozen security camera's Elizabeth and John were finally led into the visitor's room. It was small, there were no windows and the walls and floor were concrete, not the most comfortable place to enjoy visits but them the people here generally didn't deserve comfort.
Teyla was already there, sitting at the opposite side of the wooden table and eyeing them with curiosity. She didn't look much different to when they had last seen her six months ago, she was wearing a faded blue top and worn looking jeans, her hair was partly tied back out of her face. Apart from the scruffy looking clothes, she didn't look like a woman who had spent half a year in a maximum security prison.
"Hello Teyla," Elizabeth greeted flatly as she moved to sit at the table. Beside her John motioned for the guard to leave, the other guards could keep an eye on things from the security room down the hall.
"Didn't expect to see you again," Teyla replied, her expression completely neutral, whatever Teyla was feeling, Elizabeth couldn't tell anymore. John sat down in the chair next to her, keeping quiet for now and allowing Elizabeth to do the talking, this would probably go better that way, as better as this situation could get.
"I didn't expect to be coming here," Elizabeth stated and the corner of Teyla's lips twisted up in a small smile.
"Well now that you are here, why don't you tell me what you want, I doubt it was to see me," Teyla responded and Elizabeth sighed inwardly, looking at them now you'd never guess they had once been like sisters.
"The cloud wasn't destroyed," Elizabeth informed her, allowing that to sink in before she explained further. Shock crossed Teyla's face along with a look of annoyance that Elizabeth could identify with, they'd both thought the prophesy was over with. "We didn't destroy it we only shattered it, according to the prophesy it has become 8 shadow warriors, only we can kill them but this time we have no control over them."
"Shadow Warriors?" Teyla questioned and Elizabeth nodded her head.
"I don't know much more than you, I was only told about this yesterday but it sounds like they're creatures with the appearance of shadows, just as lethal to humans as the cloud was but without the destructive capabilities," Elizabeth explained as Teyla looked down, taking in everything she was being told before she looked back at Elizabeth, her eyes locking onto hers with a serious expression.
"And your council sent you here to ask for my help, they want me to save humanity again even after they locked me in here," Teyla stated, there was no question in her tone, she was simply stating what she figured to be true.
"Teyla you killed a lot of people, you used your abilities to destroy entire populations. You can't do something like that and get away with it, you have to face the consequences," Elizabeth replied, her serious tone matching Teyla's and any sisterly feelings that had crept in throughout the conversation were gone again now.
"I'll telly you what, I will help you on one condition, both Ronon and myself are released from prison, all charges against us dropped," Teyla informed her, leaning back in her chair as if to say there would be no negotiation.
"The council will never go for that," John said as he joined the conversation. "You were both arrested for treason; they won't just let you out again."
"Then I won't help," Teyla stated, standing up and walking over to the door behind her. She knocked on it, waiting for the guard to open the small rectangular window. "I'm ready to go back to my cell now."
Teyla was led out of the room, the steel door closing with a metallic clang that echoed around the room. Elizabeth sat there in silence, trying to figure out if any part of the Teyla she had once known was still alive.
"The council won't let her out," John told her and Elizabeth sighed as she stood up to leave the visitor's room.
Teyla paced back and forth in her cell, her mind spinning with unanswered questions and doubts over her decision. Over the last six months she'd had little to do, exercises, a few crosswords, I spy with the woman in the next cell which was made harder by the fact that she couldn't see the woman or any of the things she was looking at, it was more lucky guesses than anything else. Mostly she just sat and stared at the walls, thinking about everything that had happened.
She had accepted months ago that perhaps what she had done with the Vernai was wrong, she had killed innocent people and no matter which way she looked at it, she couldn't justify that. She'd been angry, hurt that Elizabeth and the supposed good guys had left her to her fate at the hands of the Vernai which would have been ugly had Ronon not been given custody of her. Angry as she had been, those people had nothing to do with it; they were innocent bystanders, caught in the battle Teyla had chosen to wage against Elizabeth and any remnants of the naive, vulnerable girl Teyla had one been.
Going back was impossible now; she was a changed person, nothing like the young woman who had been taken from Corlain. She was still angry with Elizabeth and the Alliance and that would probably never change, the bond that Elizabeth and Teyla had once shared was damaged beyond repair now. They didn't even know each other anymore; Teyla knew nothing about the woman that had come to visit her today, only her name and a part of her past.
They had destroyed the cloud together and that was it, Elizabeth had left her to her fate once again, to suffer through whatever the Alliance decided to do with her. If the cloud had not returned in the form of these Shadow Warriors, her former sister would probably never have come here, never once visited her. Innocent lives were at stake here, she wanted to help, would do it if she could but this was the only chance at freedom she would ever get, the only chance at freedom Ronon would ever get. She hadn't seen Ronon since the trial, brief as it was, it had been more like a sentencing than a trial really, they'd already been determined to be guilty.
She missed him, more than she cared to admit to and she refused to even consider why, why she risked everything to sleep with him whilst they were with the Vernai, why she had risked even more to leave the Vernai with him, why it hurt not to be able to see him now. She knew the answer would hurt her even more, if she looked too deep, she might find something that would shatter the peace she had made with her fate.
As much as she hated the idea of putting more innocent lives on the line she couldn't give up on her only chance of seeing Ronon again. Sooner or later the Alliance council would have to give into her demands, the more lives that were lost the less choice they would have, they wouldn't just sit by and watch innocent people die just to keep two people in prison... would they?
Elizabeth had been quiet all the way back from the prison; she'd spent most of the five hour return journey in her room, staring out of the window at hyperspace. John had left her to it, he knew her well enough to know when she needed to talk about something and when she just needed a little time alone to get her thoughts straight. Now back on Atlantis she seemed more like her usual self, only now with the weight of the prophesy once again settling on her shoulders.
They left the space port intending to head straight for John's room, it being the closest and both of them needing the sleep. The last couple of days had been rather stressful for both of them, her more than him and sleep sounded like heaven at that moment. That plan was thrown out of the window when a familiar voice called to them from down the corridor, turning around they saw Marcus, standing with Laura and Carson, waving them over.
"Hey," Elizabeth greeted as they joined the group.
"So we got back from the aid mission on Galia and the council called us in before we could even get our feet off the shuttle," Marcus began and John had a feeling he knew where this was going. "They said the Cloud wasn't destroyed, started talking about Shadow Warriors and the prophesy."
"I think we should talk about this away from here," John stated with a look around the corridor, the Council wanted to keep this quiet for now and there were too many people walking around, they would be too easily overheard and gossip around here moved at a speed hyperdrive would be jealous of.
The five of them made their way to John's quarters, out of earshot of anyone looking for something to gossip about. Elizabeth went and sat down on the bed, as comfortable in his room now as she was in her own. "We went to see Teyla," she told them, we just got back from Halon.
"What did she say?" Laura questioned leaning on the wall by the door.
"No," Elizabeth replied, her gaze going to the window.
"She won't help us to destroy the Shadow Warriors unless the Council agrees to release her and Ronon without charge," John explained in more detail when it became apparent Elizabeth didn't want to. "We sent a transmission to the council while we were on the way back; we haven't heard anything yet though."
"Do you think they'll agree?" Carson asked from where he stood beside Laura.
"No I doubt it, they're in prison for treason, there's no way they'll let them out," John told them and could see Marcus nodding his head in agreement. They all looked worried; a familiar tension had settled over the group, one they'd all thought was long gone. The council would only have informed them if they intended to involve them but without Teyla what could any of them do.
"We should let the two of you get some sleep," Carson stated "We'll see you tomorrow."
Laura and Carson left the room, Marcus following them and John turned to look at Elizabeth who allowed herself to fall back against the bed. He walked over to her, lying down beside her and propping himself up on his elbow so he could see her. She looked tired, she hadn't slept much last night, had been too busy thinking about today and tonight she would be worrying too much about tomorrow and the council's decision.
"We can talk or we can make a futile effort to get a decent night's sleep," he said and she smiled slightly, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she fixed her gaze on his, he could see the worry there but he could see the strength as well.
She'd come a long way in the last six months, once life had settled down as much as the life of an Agent could she'd found herself, something he'd been worried she'd lost in the insanity of the months before. She'd gone from being a naive girl on Corlain, sheltered and protected from everything bad to having it all thrown at her at once, she'd handled it extremely well, changing to survive the situation. Once that was over she'd been able to change at her own pace, to find her own strength and she was as good an Agent as any now, better than most.
"We should try and sleep, we can talk tomorrow, hopefully the council will tell us what's going on then," Elizabeth replied and John leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against hers, holding them there longer than was necessary before pulling away to find some clothes to change into.
With a sigh Elizabeth dragged herself from the bed and grabbed her own clothes, there was almost as much of her stuff in here now as there was in her own room, his being closer to the docking bay, the cafeteria, their office and the training rooms, it just made it easier to stay here than in hers. The council it seemed didn't suspect anything was going on between them, there were rumours but there were rumours about every Agent that was partnered with a member of the opposite sex. Laura had nearly hit someone last week for suggesting she was cheating on Carson with Marcus. There would always be rumours and the council knew that as well as him, even still, they were both cautious.
Elizabeth didn't feel much like eating but knowing that she was going to need her strength for whatever was to come she forced herself to eat the slice of toast on her plate. Carson and John kept casting her concerned glances so she made a point of waving the toast at them before she took another bite. Laura was currently threatening Rodney with a lemon, the scientist had been muttering something scientific all morning and apparently Laura had a headache.
Marcus arrived, still looking half asleep as he put his tray of food on the table beside John and sat down. He cast an amused look at Laura before shrugging and digging his spoon into his fruit loops.
"Where's Radek this morning?" Elizabeth asked, the scientist usually had breakfast with them and she'd grown to like the man over the last six months, anyone capable of working with Rodney and his inflated ego everyday for six years without going crazy more than earned her respect.
"He's working in the lab, the Council have put him in charge of the hyperdrive upgrade tests," Rodney stated, a note of annoyance in his voice.
"I thought you were the head of the science department; don't you decide who heads up which projects?" Marcus questioned shovelling another forkful of cereal into his mouth and Rodney nodded his head.
"Usually and I was going to put myself in charge of those tests but Councillor Greaves showed up yesterday and said they wanted Radek in charge," Rodney explained and Elizabeth frowned.
"They didn't say why?" She asked.
"They said they wanted me to be available for something else though I have no idea what, those tests are the most important thing we're doing at the moment," Rodney replied and John glanced at Elizabeth, a knowing look on his face, whatever the council had planned involved Rodney as well. The same group of people that had hunted down the cloud were all being involved again and she wasn't sure how she felt about that, these people were her family and she didn't like them being in harm's way.
"Agent's, Dr McKay, Dr Beckett, the council requests to see you immediately," the young man who had walked up to the table without any of them noticing stated. They all stood up, abandoning their breakfast, apart from Rodney who brought his toast with him.
"I guess we're about to find out what the council decided," Marcus said, a slightly nervous edge to his voice as he spoke.
"Decided about what?" Rodney questioned being the only person who didn't know what was going on yet.
TBC
