"What kind of plan?"
"Tell me Kazy, what do you see out there?" asked Jen in response, pointing towards the clearing.
"Lots and lots of ships and people and piles of stuff everywhere" she answered, "I don't understand what you mean".
"That's okay. The thing is Kazy, there are plenty of women and children out there. Now if we could 'borrow' a couple of cloaks from those 'piles of stuff', we could mix with these people freely instead of sneaking around."
"Then what?"
"Then, you and I are going to sneak onto the ship and hide. We haven't got a chance of getting them free here, too many people could stop us. I'm hoping that where we're going it'll be easier, and if nothing else we'll all be on the same planet. What do you think?"
"Will it work?"
Jen shrugged. "It always works in the movies and well, I haven't got any other ideas".
"Will you get into trouble with Col. Sheppard?" asked Kazy with a worried look. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. They might send you away and..."
"Hey don't worry okay. I mean, let's face it, Col. Sheppard does this sort of thing all the time, Col. Carter used to do it when she was with SG-1 and we both know that if things were the other way round, Ronon would come after us" Jen tried to reassure her. "So, are we going to do this?"
"Yes we are" said Kazy, determinedly. "I want my brother back... and I want you and Ronon to be together".
"Which was the whole point of this little trip to see them, wasn't it? Me and Ronon getting together?"
Kazy nodded.
"And did Ronon know your plan?"
Kazy shook her head – no.
"It might be best not to tell him straight away".
Kazy giggled as Jen pulled her to her feet and they edged towards a huge pile of clothes just dumped on the ground, but stopped abruptly as the pile was approached by a woman with two children in tow. The children dived into the heap, throwing clothes everywhere until they found what they wanted, then they just changed their clothes, leaving their old ones in the pile and wandered off again.
'Okay' thought Jen. 'A Pegasus Recycling Centre. That's new'.
Kazy pulled Jen down to her level and whispered "Should we leave our things here as well?"
"No. Let's just find a couple of cloaks to cover us" Jen answered as she looked around until she found items suitable for the pair of them.
Once she'd wrapped them in the fairly nondescript brown cloaks, Jen felt a lot less conspicuous and she and Kazy moved towards the ship into which Ronon and Penta had been dragged. Standing just close enough to hear the group's leader shouting at his men, Jen picked up Kazy and waited for her chance to get on board.
For once Jennifer had a stroke of good luck. All the men disappeared into the 'market' as soon as their leader shouted "Collect any personal items that you've ordered. The cargo is all on board, you have 10 minutes. If you're not back, tough".
The men didn't need telling twice, running off in all directions as the leader strode up the ramp and vanished into, presumably, the front of the ship. Jen waited for a couple of minutes and then walked up the ramp as if she had every right to be there, quickly looking around for a hiding spot.
They were obviously in the hold and the fact that the unconscious forms of Ronon and Penta were there as well gave her hope that maybe, just maybe things would go right for a change. The hold was, by the looks of it, about three quarters full and Jen easily found some space behind a pile of crates.
"Are you okay, Kazy?" Jen asked softly.
"Tired mummy" whispered the half asleep child, who promptly started sucking her thumb, eyelids dropping even as she fought to stay awake.
"Shush, go to sleep then, I'll look after you" said Jen rocking the child to sleep, her own eyes closing as well.
After what seemed like only seconds, she jerked awake when she heard loud voices close by. Peeking round the corner, she saw the men laughing and joking as they made their way to the front, a bulkhead door clanging shut behind them. Jen breathed a sigh of relief, Ronon and Penta were still in the hold so that meant it must be a safe area.
Both were still unconscious though, which worried Jen somewhat and taking a chance she laid Kazy on the floor and crept over to them. Not wanting to do anything that would betray her presence, she quickly checked them over. Checking Penta first she ran her hands over his arms and legs but could not feel any breaks and all his cuts had stopped oozing blood. Moving over to Ronon she repeated the procedure noting that his left shoulder was dislocated. Taking a deep breath she manipulated the shoulder until she felt it pop back into place, then swiped the tears from her face. Very gently she stroked his face, her fingers brushing lightly over his lips before she bent her head and finally touched her lips to his in an all too brief kiss. Satisfied that they were both as well as could be expected she scooted back to Kazy and their hiding place.
No sooner had she got herself comfortable with Kazy curled up on her lap, than she felt the ship start to move and having no idea where they were going or how long the journey was going to be, she settled back against the wall and fell asleep, hoping that her Doctor's habit of instantly waking up at the slightest sound, would keep them from being discovered.
It was several hours later when Jen woke, Kazy still fast asleep on her lap fortunately. Fortunately, because it felt to Jen as though the ship was coming in to land. Placing her hand lightly over Kazy's mouth, she gave her a gentle shake to wake her, a finger over her own lips warning the girl to keep quiet. Kazy nodded, getting the message at once.
"We're coming in to land" whispered Jennifer. "We need to be ready to move if they take Ronon and Penta off the ship".
"What if they don't take them off?"
"We hope that nobody finds us".
The bulkhead door clanged once more announcing the trader's arrival. Orders were given and the men started slowly moving their cargo outside. Jen tried to see down the ramp but it was difficult from their hiding place.
"What about those two?" one of them shouted, pointing at the bodies on the floor.
"The stun shouldn't wear off for at least a couple of hours. Put them outside, we'll need them awake before they're taken to the Lady Manonne. You know how she likes to inspect her purchases thoroughly" the leader laughed.
Jen shuddered at his words - she had been right, they were going to be sold. Unfortunately for them, this was the point at which Jen's plan came to an abrupt halt – she didn't have a clue what to do next, beyond following them and watching.
The leader spoke again. "Leave the crates on that side" he said, pointing in Jen's direction "they're for our next stop. Get the rest moved out quickly enough and there'll be time to visit the tavern before we leave for the Lady's palace".
Jen was amused to see the men suddenly speed up their unloading – obviously the promise of alcohol had the same effect in both galaxies, and it was not long before they had finished.
"You two" shouted the leader pointing at his men "watch the prisoners. I'll have you relieved in an hour and make sure you keep your weapons on them both, especially the man – he's dangerous".
The two men in question grumbled but obeyed, priming their weapons before they left the hold, followed closely by the rest of the gang.
Jen and Kazy both shouldered their packs and crept towards the ramp. Yet again the ship was parked in a forest clearing, only this time it was alone, and the two had no trouble getting off and into the cover of the trees where they could keep an eye on proceedings. While they waited, Jen and Kazy took the opportunity to eat, not knowing when they would get another chance.
