Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.
Part 14/22
-Chapter 13-
Salvaged
Teyla's heart throbbed in her chest, a rhythm that hinted at escape. As of yet the Quitari seemed to be unaware that their chief scientist had left, and that she'd told the Atlantians of the Athosians' presence on the planet.
But she knew it was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.
Tayara waited in the wings, ready to help them rescue the Athosians from the underground. She'd insisted she be a part of the mission; Ronon had talked Carter and Sheppard into allowing it. She had, after all, sacrificed much to get the word to the Atlantians. And, more than that, she was the only one who knew the entrances and exits to the underground.
After that. . . Teyla was sure even the Ancestors didn't know what would happen.
Rodney and Ronon went to the village and remained in radio contact. They were there should anything untoward happen. Major Lorne and four Marine teams waited in two cloaked jumpers just north of the Stargate. They were to be backup if required, or act as a shield for the Stargate so the Athosians could get through.
Of course, this was all dependant on things going as planned. As Teyla was painfully aware, it was inevitable that not all went as planned for the Atlantis expedition in general; AR-1 in particular.
Tayara took them down the entrance closest to the Stargate, from where it was planned they would also exit. Teyla was surprised to discover that the underground appeared to be as nice as the buildings above them. The only thing it lacked was natural sunlight. The construction of the walls, ceiling, lights, floors – it all boasted the same dramatic flair and posh luxury of the buildings aboveground.
"Wait a moment." Tayara lifted one hand and turned to face Teyla and John. "There is no way I can get you to the cells themselves without trouble. I will have to distract the guard and get the doors unlocked so you can free them."
"Wait – what if they know about your change of heart?" John asked. "Won't they know something's up if you come around batting your eyelashes and asking for the metaphorical key?"
Tayara looked confused for a moment, then shook her head. "You both went around the city with Ronon and Dr. McKay, yes? There was no talk of my having betrayed the Quitari. As far as everyone is concerned, I am taking a leave of absence, just as I told my fellow scientists before I left Quitari. Do not be alarmed: they think I am visiting a good friend on another world. Which is true – I just did not say which world. The guards would not be told such trivial information. It is not unusual to see me down here – they will not be suspicious." She glanced over her shoulder, then leaned forward a little and spoke in an even lower tone. "Give me three minutes. I will distract the guard and unlock all the cell doors – there is a master switch. Then you can begin evacuating toward the door I showed you – but you must wait three minutes, and you must strive to be as silent as you can."
"Okay." John glanced at his watch. "Go do – whatever it is you need to do."
Tayara nodded and walked quickly, purposefully, down the hall.
John backed into a shadowy nook in the wall and pulled Teyla with him. "Okay. Three minutes." He glanced at her, then her stomach. "You gonna be able to do this?"
Teyla nodded determinedly. "Yes. I can do this." She shifted her hand to rest it on her P-90. "These are my people. I have to do this."
John made a small "tick" noise in the back of his throat and nodded. "Right." He glanced at his watch. "Two minutes, six seconds."
An eternity to Teyla.
I am only a few moments away from seeing Kanaan again, she thought to herself. Am I truly ready for this? Am I ready to face him, to tell him that I am carrying his child but in love with another man? A deep breath. No.
"One minute," John said softly.
Teyla closed her eyes and breathed in again. Can do this. I have to do this. These are my people. She opened her eyes. So are the Atlantians.
This was too much to sort out in the middle of a rescue mission. There'd be plenty of time to think about it later. All she had to do was get through this.
Simple.
"Fifteen seconds."
Teyla curled her finger around the trigger of her weapon, just in case. One breath, three, six.
"Five seconds." Pause, another two breaths. "Okay, go!" John slipped out of the nook and started down the hall.
Teyla followed, her attention half-focused on their goal and half-focused on potential complications. So far everything seemed to be going as planned, but she wasn't ready to count this mission as a complete success – or even a success – yet.
John pointed. "You get that side of the hall, I'll get this one."
She nodded and moved to the first door. A quick peek through the small window toward the top revealed familiar faces. She took a deep breath and secured the handle. A light tug swung it open.
"Teyla!" Immediately she was mobbed by almost a dozen of her fellow Athosians. Arms reached out to embrace her and hands to touch her.
She stepped back. "Please, you must be quiet, and you must hurry." She pointed. "Go down this hall, and you will find a doorway. Go through it – a team from Atlantis will be waiting for you to escort you to the Stargate. But you must be very quiet."
Teyla moved on down the line. She took as little time as possible to tell her people where to go and of the need for silence.
When she reached the end of the hall, she turned to Sheppard. "Is that all of them?"
He poked his head in the last cell. "Empty. Yeah, that's it."
She looked around and bit her lip. No Kanaan – unless he had been in one of the cells John had opened.
"What's wrong? Someone missing?" John questioned.
"No." She did not want to get into her messed-up love life at that moment. "I just have a very bad feeling."
"Yeah, me too." He reached up and touched his radio as they started back up the hall. "Ronon, McKay, you still there?"
Teyla and John's radios clicked twice.
Sheppard let out his breath. "Well, obviously they haven't noticed anything amiss. . ." He stopped and held up one fist. "Did you hear that?"
Teyla instinctively froze. "What?"
John shook his head. "Your bad feeling is rubbing off on me." He began to walk again, very slowly. His eyes carefully scanned the area. "You get the feeling we're being watched?"
"Yes. Right now." Teyla tightened her grip on her P-90. It figured the rescue mission would not be this easy.
"I don't see Tayara – do you?"
Teyla shook her head. "I hope they – if there are a 'they' – did not find her and get to her."
"Yeah. Last thing we need is another rescue mission."
They reached the door, which stood wide open. John held up one fist and peeked outside, then nodded. "It's okay. We're clear."
Teyla followed him out, squinting in the sudden harsh brightness of the mid-afternoon sun. The sweltering heat immediately brought beads of sweat to her forehead. "I do not see the team. They made it through the Stargate safely?"
John nodded. "I told them to go through right after the Athosians were safe. Then we'd follow in a few." He glanced at his watch. "Okay, time to pick up Ronon and McKay – Tayara should meet us by the Gate."
Teyla opened her mouth to reply, but did not get to speak.
"G'down!" John dove sideways and knocked her sideways as the report of a gun echoed in Teyla's ears.
-To Be Continued-
AthosionWarrior: Thank you! I hope you find this chapter interesting as well. Here's the next chapter, I'm very glad you're loving this fic, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for your review!
TubaPrincess: I wanted so badly in the last chapter for them to admit everything to each other in easy-to-understand terms, but I knew it was too early in the story for that. LOL I must admit that the dream was one of my favorite things to write in the last chapter. Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
SpaceMonkey0941: Sorry I creeped you out! But to be honest, that dream was one of my favorite things to write in the last chapter. I think that kind of shadows how I thought of Tayara as I was developing the concept of this fic – I couldn't decide if I wanted her to be bad or good. LOL Thank you! The R/T interaction was my favorite part of the last chapter to write. I was a little uncertain about Ronon's thoughts, so it makes me happy that you liked them. Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! -hugs-
Bunnylass: Thank you! Ronon's dream was one of my favorite parts of the last chapter to write. Truthfully Teyla didn't want to admit all that to Ronon. . . But he has this way of making her want to spill everything. LOL I'm really glad you loved the last update, and I hope you enjoy this one! Thank you so much for your review!
TeylaFan: Wow, thank you so much! I don't think Teyla wanted to admit her feelings, but Ronon has a way of making her spill – almost everything. LOL And writing that chapter made me so happy, writing them talking to each other (finally!) and halfway admitting their feelings. -wink- And wow again, thank you so much for your compliment! I try really hard to keep them in character when I write them. Thank you so much for your review and your compliment, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! -hugs-
Bellkie: Thank you! A lot of people have remarked that they're switching their opinions of Teyla – and I'm drifting in between being happy of this fact, and feeling sorry for making people uncertain of the character. LOL Thank you so much for your review and the compliment, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter!