Chapter 9 Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis.

I want to thank to Scarbantia for her/his reviews:)

This story is beta'd by Amaruk Wolfheart of the Wraith.

Warning: contains spoilers and an AU version for Season 4 and the episode Reunion.

Almost the whole surface of M12-578 was covered with an ocean. Near the equator was the place that Atlantis had landed a month ago. The weather was sunny and warm. The City on the blue sparkling water was like a picture of idealistic peacefulness.


"I don't believe it!" McKay said irritated staring at the crystals, covered with disgusting slugs. He, Miranda and Zelenka were in the Control Room for one of the docking ports of Atlantis. Their laptops were hooked up to the just-cleaned controls.

'There is something strange to see a Control Room with glistening sluggish walls,' thought Miranda looking around.

"At least this is the last Control Room we shall have to clean, Rodney" Zelenka tried to bring a sense of optimism to the situation.

McKay threw an angry look at the Czech scientist and start working on his laptop."If you had activated the force fields over the hatches, these things wouldn't have spread out everywhere!"

"It not my fault you chose that planet! The Ancients avoided it because of the slugs! But you said that wouldn't be a problem!" Zelenka exclaimed with a heavy accent.

"Look!" Miranda was listening to this conversation for the 10Th time. "This is the last one! Let's cleaned it and try to calm down. Shall we?"

The door opened and Davidson entered, carrying a case with cleaning products. Behind him Ericson with a bunch of mops in his hands and annoyed expression on his face, who looked at the loathsome slugs and signed.


"We cleaned all the controls. The force fields have been activated," reported McKay.

The three scientists, Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon, Teal'c and Carter were in the Conference Room.

"And we cleaned the slugs from the stores," Sheppard announced, looking at Carter. "The only little problem is that these things have contamined everything in the stores except the vacuum-sealed emergency rations."

"So we have food for 10 days." Carter was thinking out loud. She looked at them. "What about the water?"

"The bottled water is polluted but we figured out how to produce drinkable water from the ocean" Zelenka smiled, ignoring the bitter expression on Rodney's face, which was going to explode.

"Colonel Carter," Teyla's low voice interrupted the coming argument between McKay and Zelenka.

"Yes, Teyla?" Carter said looking relieved at avoiding the quarrel.

"We could go off-world and buy food. I know some planets with decent traders," Teyla said, smiling reassuringly.


"I really can't understand why all planets with fare traders are so primitive!" Miranda exclaimed trying to find a way through the street which was covered with trash and mud. A dirty chicken crossed the poodle in front of them, sprinkling Ericson with the repulsive liquid from the plash.

"Yyycks! I hate that planet!" Ericson shouted cleaning the spots on his uniform.

The town was near the Stargate and to Miranda it looks like a picture of a medieval city from the history books. A few meters away was the market with hundreds of cattle and buckets of grain. All of the traders were men, and all of them were staring at her with strange looks. Miranda ignored them and continued to the place where McKay and Ronon were standing with bored faces and Teyla was smiling to a disgusting man, who probably hadn't bathed in years.

"How is trade going?" whispered Miranda to McKay.

"This ….man wants all of our antibiotics for four tons of grain," he said, not hiding his frustration.

Teyla and the dirty man shook their hands. She turned to them, not losing her smile. "Cron agreed to trade the grain for two thirds of the cures. There is a custom here to celebrate the good deal with a drink. We are invited to the pub."

She, Ronon and the man walked into a clay hut that had to be the pub.

"Oh, great! Now we have to drink some unknown alcohol. I won't be surprised if we go back with a new found allergy," said McKay tetchily, looking at the pub.


An hour later they were still in the dark pub. Teyla and Ronon were taking a drink with another trader. The smell in the room was terrible and the smoke from the fireplace made the eyes of Miranda, McKay, Ericson and Sheppard water. Miranda hadn't touched her cup, filled with greenish local beer.

Suddenly the door of the pub opened and three men entered the room. They were tall, with dark hair and leather clothes. The group headed towards a table and one of them called for the waiter.

Hearing the voice of the man, Ronon froze. He stopped drinking the beer and turned to the group. He glared at the men and stood up. The other men had also noticed him and stopped talking.

"Ronon!" the man that had called for the waiter said, a stunned expression on his face.

"Tyre!" yelled Ronon, and he hugged the man. He began to hug the other two men "Ara! Rakai!"

Ten minutes later the three men and the Atlantis team were sitting at the table and were drinking. Tyre was telling their story.

"So after the beginning of the attack we were sealed in the caves under the Command Centre. It took us weeks to dig ourselves out. When we were free, the Wraith had gone. Since then we are travelling from planet to a planet." He sipped the beer and smiled at the happy Ronon. "We thought you are dead!"

Miranda had a feeling that this man wasn't telling the truth.

"And how did you leave Sateda?" she asked.

The three men looked at her and Tyre answered, "Through the Gate of the Ancestors"

"Really? And how did you do it after the Wraith had blocked the Gate before they left Sateda?" she noticed an angry sparkle in the Tyre's eyes.

He looked at Ronon and asked "Why do you allow that woman to bring a suspicion and ruin our reunion?"

The word 'woman' was pronounced like something dirty and cheap. Miranda frowned.

"Listen, you fucking looser.." She was just to put the idiot in his place when Ronon stopped her.

"Dc.Langner, there is no need to question my friends. They were my fellow soldiers. I thrust them!"

Ronon turned to the amazed Sheppard and said "Sheppard, I want to invite them to come back with me"

"Hey! We can't do such a thing! " McKay's face was red again. Twice for the day.

"No need to force them to welcome us to the City of the Ancestors, Ronon," said Tyre, catching everyone's attention. Sheppard's eyes widened and he and McKay exchanged looks.

"Yes, we know that the City is again populated. We heard stories about the humans that are fighting the Wraith and about you, Ronon." Tyre's smile didn't reach his eyes, Miranda noticed. "A Runner that has joined them, a warrior said to be seven feet tall who has killed a hundred Wraith!"

'Why I don't believe him?' wondered Miranda, listening to the insipid story.


"I am sorry, Mr. Dex, but IOA has decided. We can not reveal the existence of Atlantis to these men" said Richard Woolsey, looking a little self-satisfied.

He and Carter were in the Conference Room with a silent Ronon.

"Then am I allowed to take a good bye to them?" he asked.

"Of course, you can!" answered Carter, smiling at him

He didn't smile back.


"Your place is with us, Ronon," Tyre said, staring at Ronon "With the City of the Ancestors being less than welcoming to us, you must make a decision – to join us or stay with them." He threw a weird look at McKay and Davidson, standing near the Stargate.

Sheppard had been sent with Teyla on another world to negotiate for food, so only McKay accompanied Ronon to say good bye.

Ronon took a deep breath and decided.

"I am coming with you!"

"What? " McKay shouted.

"I made my decision, McKay!" Ronon said with a blank expression on his face. Tyre nodded to one that Ronan had called Ara and he dialed the Stargate.

They looked how Ronon and his friends walked in.

"This is just a fine end to this disgusting day!" exclaimed McKay.


"A beauty like you have to wear something attractive, not these gray clothes" said Cron, revealing two rows of yellow teeth with his smirk. Miranda tried to breathe through her mouth because of the nauseating odor that came from the man.

"I am not here to discuss with you my clothes, Mr. Cron. Where is the grain that you have promised?"

"It's all here, honey tart!" Cron nodded to one of his assistants who start carrying buckets filled with grain. Lieutenant Taylor and few of the marines loaded the buckets onto a portable transport. After the grain was on the transport and the marines headed to the Stargate, Miranda gave a box of antibiotics to Cron.

"This is what you wanted," she said and waited. He opened the box and inspected its contents. Looking satisfied, Cron closed the box and again the yellow-toothed smile appeared on his face. A lustful sparkle glistened in his eyes "You know if you ever decide to change your job, I am looking for a lovely woman like you"

Miranda tried not to vomit. "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Cron. Now I have to go…"

Cron interrupted her. "I really like you. So, free advice from me - beware of Ronon's friends!"

She stopped and studied the dirty face of the trader. "Why?"

"Because a beauty like you have to be cautions with Wraith worshippers." He looked at her like a hungry child in front of a pastry shop.

Miranda felt how her face pale. 'Wraith worshippers?'

She headed to the Stargate, activating her radio "Rodney!"


Near the Stragate, McKay was eating a chocolate bar, watching the cargo with the grain enter the Stargate.

"Yes, Miranda?"

"Is Ronon still there?" she asked.

"No. He decided to join his friends. I am sure he will be back …" McKay couldn't finish.

"Rodney! Cron just told me that Ronon's friends are Wraith worshippers!"

The chocolate seemed to stick in his throat. Rodney tried to say something but Miranda was faster. "Contact Carter and tell her. Do you know where Ronon has been taken?"

He gulped the chocolate and answered, "I saw the address…" He switched to Atlantis "Samantha, did you hear that?"

"I heard it, McKay. We have to stop Ronon. Atlantis will be in danger if he shares information about us. I am ordering you and Dc.Langner to go after him. I will alert Sheppard. They have probably not dialed a planet with Wraith and will try to convince Ronon first. Take the remaining marines with you and stop them. "

"But.." He looked nervously at the Stargate.

"McKay! I won't repeat myself. Carter out." The transmission ended, leaving McKay to glare at the silent radio.

"But I am not a hero! Why do these things always happen to me?"


"Did you see anything?" McKay whispered, looking around.

He, Miranda, Ericson and Davidson had dialed the address, arriving in the night of that world. Following the life signs detector, they reached an artificial hill.

"There are lights near the entrance," Ericson said, looking with field glasses at the hill.

Silently the group walked through the entrance. In front of them, the blinking of the controls lit an organic door.

"A Wraith door!" McKay said, panicked. He tried to manipulate the controls but they were not responding. His panics mixed with frustration and he pulled out a pistol and fired at the console.

Viscous fluids leaked out and he fiddled with a scream. Suddenly the lights in the room went out.

"What's happened?" Rodney's voice thundered.

Miranda felt the point of a blade at her chest. The lights came on and she saw that Tyre and three Wraith drones had surrounded them. The blade that she had felt was the one of the spear like guns that the Wraith drones carried.

"I was sure you will come, Dc. McKay," smirked Tyre, looking at the stunned scientist.

He moved his stare to Miranda and ordered, "Take the men to the Interrogation Hall. I will deal with the woman." Miranda didn't like the way he said woman. His look was like Cron's, but while the lustful eyes of Cron were full of admiration, the eyes of Tyre stayed motionless.

The drones herded McKay, Ericson and Davidson to the corridor.

"Dc.Langner!" Ericson tried to resist but was hit by a blast from the Wraith stunner and dragged away.

Tyre grasped her shoulder and pulled her to another corridor. From nowhere a Wraith drone appeared and followed them. Drawing her into the tunnel, obscured by mist, he whispered in her ear."You know, I think that a beautiful woman like you deserves a little lesson on how to behave with me!" She tried to jerk back from his wet mouth but he suddenly stopped.

She noticed they were in a corridor with prison cells on both sides. Tyre pulled her to the one at the end of the corridor and shouted, laughing. "Are there hungry?"

At first, Miranda thought he would put her in the cell but after his words she saw motion in the darkness. She made out one, then two shadows in the corners. Tyre touched the controls and a flashing light lit the room. He opened the cell and walked in, dragging her with him. The drone left to the door.

Three Wraith were standing in the far corner. The light sparkled on their white hairs. Suddenly Miranda felt a well-known sense.

Tyre looked at the Wraith standing ahead of the others and said mockingly, "What? You are not hungry?" He pointed to Miranda "Even for something delicious like that?"

Wraith snarled at the man but said nothing.

'I can't believe it' thought Miranda, looking at the leading Wraith. The greenish face with a tattoo like a wave with three lines seemed sick. He was staring at her like she was an erupting volcano.

'He is here?'

She was forced to focus her attention elsewhere when Tyre spoke.

"If you choose to share information, I will let you feed upon this candy," he said teasingly.

The Wraith and Miranda locked eyes. She felt his mind touch hers and then drift back. He looked at the man and his hoarse voice filled the cell.

"Very well."

Tyre nodded to the Wraith drone to enter the cell and tear her T-shirt, showing the white skin of her upper chest.

"Let's see if you will be so arrogant, woman, when the Wraith sucked the life out of you."

"This will not change the fact you are an idiot!" she cried out. His fist slammed into her face, forcing her to shut up.

He pulled her to the Wraith and stood aside to enjoy the view. The drone took a position on the other side.

"Just scream when you decide to submit to me, woman," he smirked, crossing his hands over his chest.

The Wraith stepped closer to her and, stretching out his hand, he plunged it toward her.


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