Chapter 29: "What request would that be?"
Finally the day when John was due to arrive and stay for the remainder of my term on Mentaria arrived. I knew that the Mentaris had been introduced to John the day he'd visited but I still looked forward to formally introducing them.
I met John at the village gate, bouncing from foot to foot as I watched him approach. "Come on," I called out when he was close enough. "Get a move on!"
"I'll get there when I get there," he called back with a teasing grin but he did pick up the pace a bit. Finally he was within reaching distance and I wasted no more time throwing myself into an enthusiastic greeting.
"Hi," I smiled, resting my cheek against his.
"Hi yourself," he smiled back. Leaning back he examined me carefully, his eyes twinkling as they rested for a moment on my stomach. "Junior's making his presence known now," he commented.
While I now had a rounding of my shape that was unmistakably from pregnancy I was still pretty small for someone almost twenty five weeks pregnant. Only John would notice the changes a couple of weeks had brought. "He's growing," I agreed. "I can't wait to get back to Atlantis though, so Jennifer can take her measurements and tell me if he's on track like he should be."
"I'm sure he's fine," John reassured me. He shifted his pack more comfortably on his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around me. "So, what's the procedure here?"
"The Mentaris is big on ceremony," I explained as we began walking through the village towards the Mentari Hall. "I know Evan introduced you briefly before but today I want to introduce you formally. After that there'll be a kind of welcome meal, and then it'll be the same routine as every other day, except that you're here too. We meet each morning to talk about whatever the Mentaris thinks we should talk about, and then in the afternoon I read whatever she's assigned me so we can discuss it the next day. The rest of the time I'm free to pursue my own interests as long as I stay within the village walls."
"Sounds kind of boring," John admitted.
"It's relaxing, but strangely I haven't found it boring." We cleared the main part of the village and entered the forest that marked the beginning of the Hall grounds. "I've been exercising every day – mostly walking and some very light sparring with Major Lorne."
"Speaking of Lorne, where is he?" John asked. Ordinarily the protocol would have required Evan to meet his CO instead of sending someone else.
"I think he's getting his gear together, ready for the changing of the guard," I joked. "I asked him if he'd mind if I met you by myself – that's why he wasn't there."
Nodding, John let me lead him up the steps of the Hall and through the front door. Evan was waiting in the greeting room, his pack at his feet. He straightened and nodded to his CO. "Sir," he acknowledged.
"At ease," John insisted. "Eager to get home are we?" he nodded to Evan's pack.
"Three weeks is a long time to be absent Sir," Evan pointed out.
"True," John raised a brow at me and I nodded. It was time to release Evan from the burden of being responsible for my safety. "Your service has been duly noted," he smirked, "and you're free to head back to Atlantis. Woolsey is expecting you."
"Thank you Sir," Evan acknowledged his new orders, which included taking over from John while John was on Mentari with me.
"We'll check in mid-week," John concluded. "Try to keep the city in one piece until we get back."
"I'll do my best Sir," Evan said blandly. Turning to me he smiled. "See you back for on base team duty in a week Sabina," he said.
"I'll be there," I promised. "Thank you for everything Evan."
"It was a pleasure," he said sincerely. Bending, he picked up his pack, shouldering it as he touched a hand to my shoulder on his way past. Once he was gone it was just John and I.
"So, I get to share with you, right?" John queried. "Although, that bed was a little on the narrow side, so we might have to improvise."
"They've reassigned us to a family room," I told him with a smile.
"Excellent," John wrapped his arm around me again. "Lead the way wife. I'm eager to get reacquainted.
"Mentaris, this is my husband, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," I introduced John formally to the Mentaris in her receiving room an hour or so later. "Son of Patrick and Janice Sheppard, brother to David Sheppard, and the father of my child."
"We welcome you to Mentari Hall, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," the Mentaris said in her regal, gentle voice.
"John will be fine," John replied. "Thank you for welcoming us both and for taking such good care of my wife. I can see that she's bloomed in your care."
They were flowery words for John and I appreciated the effort he'd made to follow my suggestions on how to respond to the Mentaris. He'd done it in his own way of course but they had the appropriate level of thanks that I'd felt was really important to convey.
"Your wife has been a welcome addition to our Hall," the Mentaris replied. "I have enjoyed the opportunity to act as guide and mentor in the custom of blessing, my first since I took on the role of Mentaris."
"I look forward to hearing more about the progress you've made in the past weeks," John concluded the formal part of the introductions.
"Come, join us in a meal to celebrate your reunion with your wife," the Mentaris invited, leading us to the large dining room residents of the Hall ate in for every meal. The table was already set and aside from a few table decorations, looked the same as it had every day.
Everyone was relaxed and conversation flowed freely as we shared the foods I'd become very familiar with since we'd arrived. I subtly guided John just as Alex had guided me and I could tell that he was enjoying himself. It was rare I got to see him so relaxed in unfamiliar surrounds and I felt sure it was partly because he too felt the same safety and familiarity with the place as I had.
When the meal concluded, the Mentaris rose from her chair to address everyone. "It is with pleasure that I conclude the welcome celebration to reunite Sabina and John Sheppard. They have brought to us many firsts … the first non-Mentari to reside in our village, the first request for the personal blessing and council of one in my role for many centuries … and our first visitors from the glorious city of our ancestors since those who founded this village left to return to Atlantis. John, Sabina, we thank you for these experiences and pray to the ancestors that you will be equally grateful for the experiences you share here."
Everyone at the table clapped as the Mentaris sat down again.
"How does she know we're from Atlantis?" John whispered to me, keeping his eyes on the Mentaris.
"I have no idea," I muttered back. "I told her about the ATA gene but that was it. Evan and I were always very careful to be vague about where we came from. Should I ask her?"
"Not now," John decided, glancing at the many faces around the table. He was right, a general statement about where we came from was a lot different that delving into the details of how the Mentaris had worked it out. "Tomorrow."
Nodding, I turned my attention back to the conclusion of the meal, distracted now by the potential implications of the knowledge the Mentari now had.
A knock on our door the next morning roused John and I from a surprisingly deep and comfortable sleep.
I stumbled from the warmth of the bed and hurried to open the door a crack. It was one of the minor Mentari, a junior who was still being instructed in her role. She smiled and held out a fold of parchment. "The Mentaris asked that this be delivered to you."
"Thanks, I'll look at it immediately," I promised, closing the door and returning to John, who was sitting up. In the old grey air force t-shirt and track pants he always slept in and his hair attractively mussed he looked far too alluring. I on the other hand, looked like someone who'd just been woken up should look. Tucking my tangled hair behind one ear I sat beside John, opening the parchment and reading it quickly.
"It's from the Elders," I said. "They're inviting us to the meeting hall for breakfast, according to this so that they can meet you and properly greet someone of high position in what they hope will be an allied government."
"But you think it's about something else?" John deduced.
"It's a bit coincidental, don't you think?" I replied. "The Mentaris drops her bombshell about us coming here from Atlantis and the next day the Elders want to see us. Given Evan and I were here for three weeks, and aside from the first day, never saw any of the Elders at all, that seems unlikely."
"When you put it that way, yeah it does," John agreed. "What do you know about the Elders?"
"Not much," I admitted. "They're well respected – I've spoken to a few people in the village and no one's had a bad word to say about any of them. My first impressions were that they were very serious about their roles, and you know, from the titles it seems like Mentaria is a place that takes responsibility for looking after its citizens."
"So, nothing to worry about then?"
"I wouldn't say that," I frowned. "They would have imposed their rules on us John, if I hadn't thought to request the Mentaris' personal blessing. They would have kept me here until the baby was born and then they would have given him to other parents, unless we did something pretty drastic to stop them."
"You said in the report Lorne sent through initially, that there were five Elders, including one in charge of security," John queried.
"That's right," I agreed. "Dorian looks after cultural continuity. I guess that means keeping their culture pure and upholding all those customs they seem to place a lot of importance on. Elentia is the one responsible for families and children – she's the one who confronted me about being pregnant but travelling without you. Honora is the Elder for learning and history," I smiled, "by far my favourite of the elders."
"I can guess why," John smiled.
"She's the nicest too – or at least the most outwardly welcoming and friendly. Tibus is like an overarching Elder who makes sure that no one goes without. The last one is Marcus – he's the one responsible for their defence and security."
"How much have you seen of how they go about enforcing law and order?" John asked curiously.
"They have a large force of security officials," I offered, "but they don't act like police officers or military. They're more like helpers – they assist anyone who needs it. They man the guard towers too but if you watch them, they're not looking into the village. It's genuinely about watching for people approaching the gate and making sure nothing gets into the town without them inviting it in."
"Like you and Lorne," John commented.
"Exactly," I confirmed. "They would have seen the team approaching for a while before we got to the gate, even through the trees. The Elders would have been informed well before we met them even though they didn't really act like they were expecting us."
"That's understandable. We'd do the same if it were possible for visitors to approach Atlantis like that," John pointed out.
"I know, and like I said, I feel safe here," I shrugged. "I'm just worried because there's an element in how they go about life that we wouldn't be able to live with. A lot of that comes down from how they've taken the early influence of the Ancients on their way of life."
John grimaced. "The same Ancients who returned to the Atlantis we're now living in – which they now know about."
"Exactly!"
"We'll be wary," John promised, getting out of bed and moving to collect his clothes for the day. He took his turn using the facilities and then waited for me, reading over the reports Evan and I had filed at each check-in.
"Ready?" He glanced up and I could see his Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard persona plotting and planning gears running in the background.
"Yes, let's go," I took the hand he offered, pulling him up from his seat. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder for a quick hug before taking my hand again and guiding me out the door.
After walking through the village we arrived at the meeting hall and were ushered inside by one of those helper/security officers I'd told John about. "The Elders await you," he advised us with a friendly smile, ushering us inside to another helper who showed us to the same dining room team Lorne used the first day we arrived.
"Sabina," Tibus was the first to greet us, going for friendly and familiar. "Thank you for accepting our invitation."
"Thank you for inviting us," I replied. "This is my husband, Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard," I continued, quickly naming each of the Elders in turn to complete the introductions.
"Welcome to Mentaria," Tibus smiled. "By what title should we address you?"
"John will be fine."
"Thank you," Tibus smiled again. "And please, address us by our given names as well." He motioned to the two empty places set for breakfast that awaited us. "Please, join us."
John and I took our seats and then waited as a first course of native fruits was served. "Have you any first impressions of our village to share?" Honora asked curiously. She smiled self-deprecatingly. "I am unashamedly biased in thinking Mentaria the best of all places to reside. It is a rare opportunity you both present to hear an unbiased view."
"You have a pleasant place here," John replied with easy casualness. "It seems to run smoothly and from what I've seen so far, you have an equity here that many civilisations haven't managed to achieve even after years of trying."
"It helps that we are small and have been isolated in many respects since the village was established," Dorian acknowledged.
"By the Ancestors," John deliberately brought up the subject that was of concern to us.
"Yes," Honora agreed. "Mentaria was once a place that many visitors sought out, for the guidance and counselling provided by Mentari Hall. Once the Ancestor's withdrew, gradually over time our purpose to provide that kind of support to others was lost."
"Until Sabina decided to seek you out," John pointed out.
"I'm glad you raised this," Dorian spoke with an earnest interest. "Can you tell us how you came to discover Mentaria and its original purpose?"
John nodded for me to answer. "It was an accident, of sorts," I admitted. "We have access to a vast database of information left by the Ancestors – we call them the Ancients – but it's very much an encyclopaedia of facts rather than stories about people's lives. When I found a reference to another planet where a library even bigger than the one we had was supposed to be located, we had to go there."
"We have no such library," Honora murmured.
"I know," I smiled. "It wasn't a reference to Mentaria, but to another place. We went there and that's where I found the stories about your village, and what it was renowned for."
"Given Sabina's current condition and her genetic history we were all supportive of the need to seek out any relevant information," John concluded. "There was nothing in the information we found that suggested we wouldn't be welcomed here."
"And you did welcome us," I said. "More than that, I have found some of those stories here that I was looking for, like Shelou and Oskar and their experiences with their children."
"Oskar is one of our Honoured," Tibus explained, I guess on the assumption that not everyone would know who he was talking about.
"Honoured?" John questioned. I'm glad he did since I'd not heard anyone in the village referred to with that title before either.
"Those who have been chosen by the Ancestors to carry forth biological links to our founders," Tibus explained. He looked at John expectantly. "From what I understand both you and your wife are so Honoured amongst your people."
"Did Rani tell you that?" I asked, disappointed for some reason. I'd become friends with the young geneticist (not the title she'd refer to herself by) and hadn't considered the possibility that she'd be reporting our activities to the Elders. In hindsight it made sense that they wouldn't just blindly let me look at any of their records without at least wanting to know what specifically I'd found most interesting.
"She was only doing what she was asked," Honora explained earnestly. "I'm sorry if that troubles you. I just wanted to understand what aspects of our Ancestor's past stories would still be of value today."
"It's okay," I dismissed my disappointment with a forced smile. "In the same situation I'd probably want to do the same. And yes, to answer your comment Tibus, John and I do both have genes that date back to the Ancients."
"Is that a problem?" John asked quietly.
"No," Dorian explained. "To the contrary, it makes the request we would make of you even more relevant."
"What request would that be?" John didn't sound suspicious but our pessimistic sides had probably both kicked in just a little – the whole 'there's no such thing as getting something for nothing' thing. Now we were going to find out what that something was.
"Let us be frank," Marcus spoke for the first time. "The Mentaris tells us that you both hail from Atlantis itself, the city of our Ancestors. Is this so?"
"Yes it is," John admitted, "but we didn't originate from there. When the Ancient's were driven from this galaxy by the Wraith they retreated to another galaxy – where our people come from. That's why we share some of the same genes and that's how we were able to find Atlantis, because they left us clues."
"They wanted their city to be found," Honora murmured, clearly intrigued by the story John was telling.
"I guess so," John agreed. "What does our being from Atlantis have to do with your request?"
"We have been isolated for centuries," Marcus explained. "Much of this stems from the events that led to our Ancestors withdrawing in the hope that it would spell the end to outright attacks from their enemy. The village is well hidden under the canopy of our great forest but still the Wraith found us. We kept the village small enough and simple enough on the surface to pose no undue threat. Instead of attacking to defeat us they sent smaller ships to cull our citizens. Our losses were minimised because of our position underneath the trees and the constant guard system we still run today. With sufficient warning we were usually able to get all of our people into the chambers beneath the village itself. The Wraith came but they rarely found us."
"Shielded," John speculated to me under his breath.
"Probably," I agreed. Even if the chamber was many feet underground it would still have been detected by a Wraith Hive ship in orbit – unless the Ancient's had left behind a means to shield it from orbital scans.
"So you've been isolated, and a hell of a lot luckier than most of the planets out there," John waved a hand vaguely upwards. "And?"
"We wish to end our isolation," Marcus said simply. "Our experience with your wife has revealed to us the crime we have committed in keeping ourselves so removed from our neighbours. We have much to offer here and perhaps still a role to play, much as we used to play when the Ancestors were among us."
"Okay," John looked genuinely surprised and I didn't blame him. Usually when we came across a culture that had done well against the Wraith they were hell bent on maintaining their edge, and very seldom interested in using their advantage to help anyone else. "That's commendable. What can we do to assist?"
"We do not require much," Dorian replied. "Spread the word that Mentaria is still here and will welcome visitors whose intentions are honourable."
"That's it?" John frowned, thinking. "I can't see a problem in us agreeing … speaking for the leader of our people I think he's going to want more than that. We have resources that might assist you and I'm sure you have much to offer us as well."
"We would welcome your leader to discuss a more formal arrangement of friendship between our people," Tibus smiled, very keen to progress a treaty now that John had mentioned it.
"I'll inform him of what we've talked about the next time we check-in," John promised.
"Are we right in assuming the Wraith are no longer quite the threat they used to be?" Marcus asked curiously. "We have noticed a changed pattern to their behaviour over the past few cycles. Culling increased dramatically for a time but more recently they have not returned as often as we expected."
"Yeah, we might have had something to do with that," John prevaricated. He never volunteered the information that we'd woken the Wraith but had since devoted ourselves to doing everything we could to redress the imbalance we'd created. "It's a work in progress so I'd strongly advise that you continue to be as vigilant as you have in the past." He sighed and then added "especially after we spread the word that you're open for visitors. In our experience not everyone is as open and trustworthy as your people."
"We will not be naive in our dealings," Tibus promised, "but we would welcome your counsel on how best to proceed."
"I'd be happy to advise you," John agreed sincerely.
