CHAPTER 9: Just Out of Reach

Teyla did not give up. It simply was not an option. From the first Wraith attack she had ever witnessed, she had learned what it meant to be a survivor. She had learned to fight for life because it was a fragile gift.

Teyla had sensed from the beginning that the Heracs had not come off easily after the Ancients had left the Pegasus Galaxy. She could relate to what they must have endured in surviving without their assistance all that time afterwards. From what she had seen thus far on this mission was disheartening. The Heracs were losing their battle to survive. They had given up.

Another hour had passed. There was about half a canteen's worth of water left. The shadow of the only mountain on this continent crept up on her. Teyla had been so careful navigating her way over rocky terrain littered with sand constantly berated by thrashing waves that she had not noticed right away. It was only when she realized she no longer had to squint against the glare of white sand that she looked up.

The wind whipped her hair, momentarily blinding her view. When the wind shifted, carrying the strands of sandy hair away from her eyes, she gasped.

There was a faint swirl of smoke rising from the western flank of the mountain, opposite the great dome they had encountered at the beginning of this mess. Her heart skipped a beat then began to race, as if to make up for it.

"Oh no…."

She raced forward, in hopes that the worst had not come to be.

-------o-------

Now that he was properly alert, Ronon was able to assess the damage tolled upon his body. There were long scratches covering his body glistening with drying blood. His pants and shirt were torn almost to shreds that seemed to cling to his sweat-drenched skin. His tack vest had been shredded as well and discarded during the attack.

Large ugly purple bruises were beginning to form around his torso and he was sure there were a few on his face as well. His knuckles on both hands were swollen and caked in dried dark blood. Every breath he took was a fresh wave of sharp pain concentrating around his entire rib cage. It felt as if every bone had been shattered. He was fortunate, he realized, that none had thus far punctured a lung. His left shoulder throbbed immensely and the tips of the fingers on his left hand were beginning to grow numb. He was sure there was nerve damage but he did not think the shoulder was dislocated or he would be in much worse pain.

If he shifted too far to the right or left, a sharp twinge sparked at the lower portion of his spine and his body would stiffen. His legs tingled from time to time and he was sure that the two were related. There were occasional black spots in his vision and every time he moved his head too fast, his vision was slow to catch up, blurring and sending him into a dizzying spin. Even though he feared very little in life, Ronon did not look forward to the vehemence of Dr. Carson Beckett. Witnessing just one tirade the doctor had over Sheppard's last run-in with danger had been enough to abstain one from the threat of injury.

Ronon would have laughed but he just didn't have the energy at the moment. It would seem he had finally managed to get into as much trouble as Sheppard.

And what of Sheppard? Both he and Ronon had been overwhelmed by a large group of ravaged men. Ronon could only recall flashes of fists, snarling teeth, and mad eyes. He remembered Sheppard trying to crawl towards him at one point, but then a foot slammed into his already damaged shoulder and he only saw red. A moment later, he heard an agonized cry from the colonel, and then nothing. That had been the last he saw or heard of Sheppard. Was he dead?

It was best not to dwell on the subject.

He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible, leaned up against a rough tree his legs lay sprawled out before him. A small wooden bowl filled with refreshingly clean water lay beside him. He had taken a sip or two before, but he was still weary. He took in shallow breaths as best he could and focused his tiring eyes on the gentle waves of the ocean through the thin line of trees separating him from the beach.

Ronon worried about Teyla. He knew the Athosian could take care of herself, but the way their luck had played out thus far, he was beginning to second-guess everything. He remembered briefly her soothing face hovering over his, her hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that all would be well soon enough. She had informed him that Rodney had been taken to Risha and that she trusted him to be in good hands. Ronon hoped for Rodney that this Risha could tolerate the incessant chattering of the scientist.

For once, Ronon was helpless. He could not move very far. He could not even protect himself. The feeling was quite unsettling.

He had sensed it for quite some time but only now did he acknowledge the presence of three crazies lined in a row upon a solid upper branch of a tree just to his right. They were staring at him owlishly. Fear consumed them as they twitched at every little flutter of leaf or crash of wave. Ronon would have relished in a little game of intimidation, but he just couldn't summon up the energy.

Ronon found he almost wished Rodney were there to ramble on about anything. Unfortunately, all he could do was sit and wait for Atlantis to send a rescue team.

Ronon chuckled to himself, despite the crazies comically starting out of fright. What he wouldn't give for a hive ship and an army of hungry Wraith right about now!

-------o-------

Rodney was getting pissed.

Risha was playing games.

This woman knew things. More to the point, she knew what had happened to Sheppard and quite possibly his whereabouts. He also had a sneaking suspicion that she knew more about the history the Heracs suffered after the Ancients "disappeared" than she was willing to divulge. Particularly when it came to ZPMs and any other such technology they had supposedly been in possession of. However, it was like pulling teeth to get her to actually admit to anything.

Risha smiled devilishly at Rodney from her comfort zone within the cove of black stone. With her pale features and golden hair, she appeared angelic in contrast. Rodney did not smile back, instead staring intently at Risha before speaking his mind.

"The water…whatever is in it…it's not there by nature, is it? Roshan and the others…you've all been poisoned, right? I mean it makes sense really. You came up with a water purification system, quite ingenious I might add, but still, you suffered." Rodney narrowed his eyes, his brain processing at near warp speed to figure this little mystery out. He snapped his fingers and again, Risha startled. It was brief however as she had begun to pick up on his little quarks and even expect them. She adapted fast.

"They tested it on you, didn't they?" He asked, horrified. This was why the crazies, and especially Risha, were the way they were: an experiment gone horribly wrong. Rodney shivered.

"They poisoned you to see if it worked. Unfortunately, they were a little out of their league and you guys ended up with scrambled brains. Pity really. You seem quite bright for your, um…er…well, what I mean to say is, you all function…well."

Rodney trailed off then, thinking hard. Risha had taken a few timid steps forward, watching his twitching face in absolute wonder. She was fascinated by the man who, as of yet, had failed to notice.

"I just don't understand. From what I've seen so far, there are four hierarchies in your society." Rodney held out his hand, fingers spread wide so he could count down his reasoning. "First there are the governors who oversee everything. Second, the protection: the fighters. Then, I'm thinking the women and children of the plantations…the 'caretakers' if you will…they harvest whatever the hell it is you grow there. I'm guessing good ol' coffee and cocoa beans from the information we found in the database on A….er…and finally there's you guys. I haven't quite ascertained your purpose yet, aside from being unwilling test subjects."

His voice trailed off once again as he sat to mull things over. Risha watched him with a small smile upon her crooked lips.

"John Sheppard is angry."

The statement came out of the blue really. Rodney glanced up with round eyes and his mouth paused open in mid-sentence.

"Ah, sorry?" His brow crinkled in confusion. Was she purposefully trying to distract him?

"He bites." Risha giggled softly.

Rodney remained silent, staring at Risha in bewilderment. There was no question in his mind that this woman possessed absolutely no marbles in the sanity department.

"Um, yes. Sheppard…bites. Yes, well, um…where was I?" Rodney scrunched up his face, thinking back to his previous train of thought. Risha took another step forward.

"We all drank the tainted water, Dr. Rodney McKay. Only some of us drank before others." Risha said in a deep tone, her eyes staring deep into Rodney's before shifting and clouding over. She huddled back into her safety amongst the rock face and stared back at him.

Drank before others? Rodney puzzled over this for a moment or two before he came to a realization.

"They didn't stop after you guys, did they? They just kept going until they got it right. Whatever that was supposed to be. That's why there are such variations in social status…the four different hierarchies. The poison affected you in different ways, probably depending on the potency. But what could they possibly hope to achieve? And just who did this to you anyway?"

Risha remained silent, watching him intently. She knew he had the capacity to come to his own conclusion without her assistance.

"Let me guess: the government…yes. Just perfect. For as insane as they seemed, it only makes sense that insanity is a natural occurrence for them." Rodney replied in full-blown sarcasm. Then he became troubled again. "Why, Risha? Why did they do this to you?"

Risha's eyes were downcast. She curled further into her crippled self, if that were even possible for as crooked as she already was. A shiver passed down her spine and her solemnly clear eyes met Rodney's.

"Bitter."

And suddenly, Rodney knew why there were no ZedPMs or any other evidence of technology supposedly gifted to these people. Out of spite, hatred even, the Heracs had destroyed it all.

Damn. They had been doomed from the start.

-------o-------

Teyla sank to her knees, tears stinging her eyes. The smoldering charred remains before her resembled the carcass of one fed by a wraith: except this was made of glass and metal and not of flesh and bone.

The Jumper had been burned in their absence. The surrounding vegetation of the clearing was still a vibrant green. The fire had been deliberate. The culprit had not meant for them to leave.

It did not matter now who may have committed such a terrible act. It only mattered that their only way off this planet, their only way to contact Atlantis and warn them, had been effectively eliminated. A rescue team would eventually come but Teyla knew deep down that it would be too late. The fires had grown larger as she had climbed the steep trail back up the mountainside from whence the team had descended so many fateful hours earlier. Her teammates were in the madness blanketed by a sea of green below her: the calm of the world above was as heartbreaking as that of the chaos below the canopy of trees.

Teyla had felt utterly hopeless not just for her teammates but also for every single soul upon that planet. Thousands of years had undone the fate of these people: thousands of years to engrain a bitter hatred in the wake of apparent abandonment. The Heracs held a grudge that could not have been eased less the Ancients returned in the flesh. And even then, Teyla feared they would have retaliated and struck down those they had stood amongst as equals. Perhaps it was a genetic disposition that had been the Heracs' downfall.

Teyla rose then, breathing in a shaky but solid breath. She would not allow defeat to bring her down just yet. Not until the claws of death had sunk into her very skin. No, Teyla was a woman of action. There was still time to do something. She turned away from the Jumper, heading back the way she had come with renewed haste.

Thousands of years could not erase the pain suffered by the Heracs. But just one day could bring hope that could extend thousands of years into the future.

-------o-------

"Twenty-four."

It had become evident to Rodney that Risha was queen of single-word sentences. Ones so heavily laden with meaning it could take Rodney years to interpret.

"Hours in a day? Well, on Earth terms, anyway…. Favorite number? What?" Rodney cocked his head in exasperation as he rolled another small reed between his shaky fingers. During his earlier unconsciousness, Risha had arranged a neat pyramid of the sugary treats at his side, along with a hand-carved wooden bowl filled halfway with crystal clear water. Untainted water.

"One hundred chosen. Twenty-four lived. Natural deaths they were not." Risha stared meaningfully into his eyes. The gaze was fierce and Rodney found himself wishing to look away. But he couldn't. He was finally getting somewhere with Risha and she seemed willing to give him the information he desired. So far so good.

"Murder?"

"Not all."

That little admission sent a few chills down Rodney's spine. So some of the test subjects had been driven to either murder or suicide. What kind of government would ignore such drastic test results and continue the work they were doing?

"Risha, why are the governors bitter? Why do you think the Ancients abandoned you? Do you not know that they were losing a war to the Wraith?"

Risha perked up at the name Wraith, but there was no fear in her eyes, only curiosity. Rodney paused in noting this.

"You do know of the Wraith then. Not such a huge problem, I'm guessing. Hmm, must be nice. Tell me: why is that?"

Risha only looked at him as if willing him to read her thoughts. Rodney took in a deep breath to hide his frustration and impatience.

"And I thought Ronon was a bad conversationalist. Speaking of which, where is he? And Teyla?"

Again silence. Risha had shifted her attention to the forest around them. There was a troubling look upon her face. Rodney perked up.

"What? What is it? Sheppard? Please don't tell me he's saving some damsel in distress. It'd be just like him to…."

Risha's eyes widened.

"NO!" She shouted with desperation. She cringed and braced herself. Rodney stared on, bewildered.

Then a muffled explosion met their ears.

Risha's glistening eyes met Rodney's.

"No…." She whispered as a tear trickled down her cheek.

Rodney feared the worst.

-------tbc-------