The Last of Their Race:
The Ship:
The shuttles docked in the shuttle bay. Ronon was offered a lean on the woman's shoulder as she moved him out of the shuttle and into the ship. He gazed around as he was walked to what looked like an Infirmary. He let himself be led to a bed and pushed onto it. The woman smiled before moving towards someone that looked like a doctor. Ronon distinctly remembered getting shot, so maybe they were going to remove the bullet and get him patched up. The woman and the doctor talked in low tones before the woman came back, smiling of course.
"I am Captain Mariala Skystar. And this is the Starburnner. We saw that you were having trouble and came to help. When you were wounded, we knew you wouldn't last much longer so we intervened. They are scared of us, but we knew you would appreciate the help."
"I am Ronon Dex. My team and I were exploring the planet after learning that a once powerful race had lived there thousands of years ago."
"So you are from the Pegasus Galaxy then?"
"Yes, another of my team members is as well, the rest of my team are from another Galaxy."
"Would that be the Milky Way by any chance?"
"How'd you know?"
"Rumors have been spreading across the stars of the humans that ventured through the Stargate and found the lost city of Atlantis. Rumors also said that the city was destroyed by wraith and then there was the rumor that said that the city wasn't destroyed but only made to look like it had been destroyed so that the wraith would stop their assault."
"So you know of the wraith?"
"Yes, but we will talk of that later. This is Dr. Jostin Skystar. He is my brother. He will take the bullet out of you. He will take good care of you. I will return later with some food. Your weapons will remain by your side. I have instructed him not to touch them."
"Thank you Captain Skystar."
"You can call me Mariala. Only my crew calls me Captain."
"Alright, thank you Mariala."
Mariala left and Ronon lay down to let the doctor take the bullet out of his shoulder. He was given a light sedative to relax him for the procedure, which did wonders on his tired body. Ronon woke up three hours later to see Mariala sitting on another bed talking to the doctor. He moved a little which got her attention. She walked over.
Trust Thy Friend:
"It is good to see you awake. Jostin was worried when you didn't wake up after the sedative wore off but I assured him that you were probably tired from fighting. If you're up for it, I've brought some food and a little light reading. You will be given a guest quarters once you are out of the Infirmary. But for now, if you like, we can talk."
"Talking sounds good. I'm not much into reading."
"I see, well I figured you wouldn't mind reading this as it has to do with my people's history. You see, we are the Race you were talking about before Jostin took the bullet out of you. We used to live on the planet. But when the wraith attacked and then the Menace showed up, we knew that we could not stay on the planet anymore. We built ships, those that were left of us anyways, and took to the stars, to stay one step ahead of those that wished us dead. We have disabled the gate and put a force-field around it so that no one can come through."
"But what about my team members? The people I work and live with will be worried about me."
"We will take you home. We have something we need to talk about with the people of Atlantis and it must be decided immediately."
"I see. So you are probably wondering about my story."
"A little yes. I have never seen a man like you before."
"Your brother won't be furious that you are talking so personal about yourself in front of me?"
"Oh, Jostin can be a pain sometimes, but we are all that is left of our family. Sure he has a family of his own, but I haven't settled down yet."
"Well, as you know, I am Ronon Dex. I was a Specialist on my home world of Sateda before it was destroyed by the wraith. The wraith culled all of my people. Instead of eating me like they did the rest of my people, they turned me into a Runner. If it hadn't been for the Atlantis Expedition, I'd probably still be running."
"What is a Runner?"
"Simplest way to explain it is that I was the mouse and the wraith was the cat."
"I am sorry to hear about your people and about the life you have had to live. But you are happy now?"
"Yes, well as happy as one can be. We are in the process of fighting a war against the wraith and trying to find suitable trading partners."
"We are always looking for people to trade with, if your people do not mind."
"You'll have to ask them. So, tell me about this Menace you spoke of before."
Know Thy Enemy:
"We do not know where it came from but we believe that it was an experiment that the wraith had with them when they attacked us. We believe the monster was left on the planet to root out all those that were hiding but when we built the ships after the wraith left, we figured that it would eventually die. There was never really any animals that lived on our home world so it couldn't eat them. We figured it would die off sooner or later but it has been thousands of years and it is still around. In fact, it has been able to multiply in the recent years. I guess it sensed you and your team in one of our abandoned villages and figured it was us returning for something we had forgotten and decided to attack. We know for a fact that there is one main leader and that the others are like mini versions of itself. We have never been able to catch one so we do not know how they are able to multiply or anything like that."
"I see, well, what would you do if you were able to catch one of these things?"
"We would study it. We have a cell waiting for it so that it will be contained. It was built especially for one of them and is too small for it to multiply. If we were able to catch one of them, then we would definitely know how to beat it once and for all."
"So, say I was able to help you catch one by being the bait? Would you be able to catch it?"
"Not now if that is what you were suggesting. They know that we are here. It would be better if we came back at a better time. That way they won't know that we are coming and we can surprise them. Your team and friends will be worried about you and we must get to Atlantis before they try to send search parties through the gate and are unable to connect. Hopefully they will realize that the gate has been disabled."
"How did you disable to gate from in space? According to one of my team members, the only way to disable a gate is to blow it up, bury it or disable it remotely, as in on the ground."
"We have a scientist who was able to configure an algorithm for disabling the gate from space so we would not have to go to the surface."
"Well isn't that convenient."
"Are you ready to get out of the Infirmary?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright, just lean on me, you may still be a little groggy from the sedative or just from the fight in general."
"I bounce back quickly," Ronon stated as he stood up, then set back down as a wave of dizziness hit him, "but I wouldn't mind a lean on your shoulder. How are you able to handle my height and weight?"
"Most of my men tend to get drunk on planets we trade with and it is always me bringing them back up sober and ending up helping them into their quarters."
"If I were you, I would learn how to discipline them once they sobered up."
"I already have. Come on, up you get."
Ronon let Mariala help him up and to the guest quarters he would be staying in. She stayed a few more hours before heading back to the bridge with instructions for him to get some rest, that she would come get him before they reached the quadrants that Ronon had given her as to where Atlantis was located.
More to come in next chapter…
Please Review…