Oh boy. Has it really been more then a week? Sorry 'bout that, guys.
Cross my heart, next one'll come faster.

(re-posted with a couple edits)

(13)

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Sheppard's POV
Back to the beginning. Again.

I sat in the Brewin's visitor center, leaning back on the bench next to Ford and listening to Teyla explain her favored sport of Poundball to us. I glanced over and saw McKay wince at her description of a ground pass, not quite comfortable with the idea of having his face smashed into the floor, I supposed with a grin.

Why couldn't all off-world missions be like this?

MG7-855 was uncomfortably warm, granted, but they were accommodating and polite. I mean, hell, the fact that they even had a visitor's center made them all right in my book. Most planets in the Pegasus galaxy usually associated the word 'visitor' with 'prisoner' or the highly favored: 'must be killed immediately'. The Brewins actually wanted us here. Quite a nice change from the norm; no matter how hot their planet was.

The door to my left suddenly banged open, breaking me from my satisfied thoughts.

"Yolee!" I greeted the Brewin leader with surprise, rising to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ford and Teyla do the same.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." she said, tucking strands of gray hair behind her ear and breathing a bit heavily, "A rather large Ganoo didn't want to be our supper tonight." She flashed a toothy grin, saying proudly, "Fortunately though, we managed to convince him."

I managed a smile while wondering what the hell a Ganoo was and if she was going to make us eat one.

Fortunately, though, she changed topics almost immediately, clapping her hands together brightly and turning towards me, "Are you ready to have that meeting with Orin, Major Sheppard?"

"Sure." I answered, hefting my pack up onto my back.

I noticed McKay hadn't stood up with the others, and was looking rather content with his current position, fingers intertwined behind his head and leaning back against the wall. "You coming?" I asked him sarcastically.

He gave a small smile, "Uh, that'd be a 'no'. Sorry."

I sighed, considering it. He'd make a fuss if I made him go back out into the heat, and I really didn't want to make a bad impression on the Brewins, since they seemed more then willing to trade with us… and, let's face it, it's not like that happened a lot- besides, we needed the food. Our own supplies from Earth just weren't cutting it anymore, even with the Athosian crops.

"All right." I finally came to a decision, turning to the Lieutenant, "Ford, you stay here with McKay." You couldn't miss the grin that elicited. Obviously McKay wasn't the only one who didn't want to face the heat. "We'll come get you both if they have any questions." I turned to the only Athosian in the room, "Teyla, you ready?"

She nodded and followed Yolee and I back out onto the planet.

As we trudged --well, I trudged; Yolee seemed fine, and Teyla isn't really a 'trudger' no matter what the circumstances -- towards another building, I couldn't help but be jealous of the others waiting back in the cool room. This heat was just insanity-- worse then being stationed back in the Afghanistan desert.

"Yolee!"

We all turned to see a young boy running up to the elder Brewin, a smile lighting up his youthful face.

"What is it, child?" Yolee asked, resting a hand on his shoulder when he pulled up beside her.

The boy was looking at Teyla and I as he spoke, "Bob wants to know if he is preparing supper for the guests tonight, too?"

"Bob?" I repeated, glancing at Teyla with an expectant grin.

She stared back at me blankly. Oh right. The grin slid from my face. Athosian. I wished Ford or McKay were here to appreciate the chef named Bob. Sighing, I looked down at the kid, "Thanks, but I doubt we'll be here for that long."

Totally ignoring what I had just said: "Tell Bob to prepare extra." Yolee patted the boy on the back, sending him away. She held up a hand to stop the beginnings of my protest, "Just in case, Major."

"Fine." I gave-in with a shrug, watching the little boy run off and disappear into the crowd. "But like I said, we probably won't be here for that long." I wiped a hand across my forehead, where beads of sweat had already begun to form, "We're not made for this kind of heat."

She nodded understandingly, "Let us continue to the Meetings House then. It is cooler there."

Teyla and I exchanged a relieved look, once again following the Brewin leader.

We soon arrived at the stone 'Meetings House' and an older man dressed in colorful and impressive looking robes waited outside, holding the door open with a welcoming smile and waving us in. "Come, come in."

As promised, the inside was cooler-- but it wasn't nearly as nice as the visitor's center. If I had to guess, I'd say this place was an uncomfortable 88 degrees-- and I've gotten pretty good at guessing temperatures over the years. Weird talent admittedly, but useful.

I turned to the older man, holding out my hand before remembering that people don't shake hands in the Pegasus Galaxy. "You must be Orin." I said instead, adjusting my P90 to cover up the obvious faux pas.

He bowed slightly in recognition, giving me a full view of the top of his mostly bald head. "I am." He straightened back up, gesturing towards the center of the sun-lit room, where a sizeable woven rug waited, the thread colors matching Orin's robes. "Please, let us get comfortable so we may begin."

We settled into a sort of circle on the rug, with me sitting cross-legged across from the Brewin's, and Teyla to my left.

"This is a very exciting day." Yolee told us, clasping her hands together eagerly, "It has been a long time since we Brewins established new trading partners."

Orin nodded, smiling softly, "Before my time, even."

I pointed a finger towards Teyla, asking, "But, I thought you'd traded with the Athosians…"

Yolee shook her head, "That trading connection was made before our times."

"Yes," Teyla agreed, glancing at me, "the first agreement between our peoples was made long ago."

"Okay." I said, looking back over at the Brewins and giving a slight shrug, "Then, yes, this is an exciting day, indeed."

Orin tilted his head slightly to the side, not fond of my flippant tone, I guessed. "We do not take our negotiations lightly, Major Sheppard." he told me icily.

Uh-oh.

I did not want to blow this deal. We needed food, and the Brewins were more then happy to provide it. "I didn't mean to--" I sighed, trying to think of the right words to say without offending anyone. Time to get into that 'deal' mode Elizabeth was always lecturing me about. "Of course. Neither do we. I'm just trying to understand all the facts here."

Orin sighed, obviously not convinced of my sincerity. "I do not think you understand Major. Before we developed our method of dealing with negotiations and trading partners, our people were nearly wiped out by traitors and liars."

"Not to mention the Wraith." Yolee added grimly, her face solemn as she stared off into one of the random pictures hanging from the walls around the room.

"None of us have escaped the influence of the Wraith." Teyla reminded softly.

"Yes." Orin agreed, breaking the gloomy silence that had settled over the room. He looked back at me, "Allies are a vital part of our community."

"Ours too." I told him honestly; we'd need all the allies we could get when the Wraith did finally reach us.

"This is why the Rif'Ta has become so imperative to our culture." Yolee told me with an important nod, as if I should know what the heck she was talking about.

I looked to Teyla for a translation, but she just shook her head, also perplexed "What's Rif'Ta?" I asked, turning back to the Brewins.

"Rif'Ta is…" Yolee put a hand to her forehead, face screwed up in concentration. "I'm sorry, it is very difficult to think of a proper translation." she explained. Suddenly: "Ah!" She looked back up, smiling. "Rif'Ta is a test of sincerity!"

Orin nodded approvingly, "It is a test of honesty, sincerity, and merit. The exact translation is something similar to 'Life Review.'"

I lifted an eyebrow, immediately put-out with this new information. "A test? 'Life Review?'"

"Yes." Yolee affirmed readily, "All potential partners to the Brewins have taken it-- and those that have passed become our allies."

"Even my people?" Teyla asked, looking astonished.

"That's what I was about to ask." I muttered quietly while Yolee nodded.

"Oh yes. The Athosians are one of our most respected allies because of Rif'Ta." She smiled fondly, "The old books refer to your people very highly."

Teyla was smiling herself now, but she still inquired curiously, "Why didn't I know of our participation in the Rif'Ta?"

Orin linked his hands together in his lap, answering, "We ask all participants not to speak of it outside of our planet, as it is essential to our people that it remains secret."

"Um." I leaned forward, placing two fingers over my bottom-lip as I asked, "What exactly does Rif'Ta involve? I mean, do I need a pencil to take this test or can I use a pen?"

Orin ignored my last comment and glanced at the other Brewin, "Yolee, please go and retrieve the books."

She nodded, leaving our little circle and disappearing into an adjacent room with only a hanging tapestry for a door.

Teyla turned back to Orin, telling him while shaking her head, "I am very surprised that I hadn't been informed of the Rif'Ta by the Athosian elders."

"As am I!" Orin said, sounding clearly pleased. "Although we ask the participants to keep the Rif'Ta secret-- we are not foolish enough to believe it always will be." He smiled, holding out his hand, which Teyla grasped in return. "You have a good and decent people, Teyla."

She smiled, bowing her head a bit, "Thank you, Orin."

I sat back, watching Teyla take the compliment graciously, all the while wondering what the Rif'Ta entailed, and why it was so secret. I didn't like tests, never have; and I couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.

Yolee returned as I was brooding, carrying about a dozen books, all thick and heavy-looking, stacked upon one another precariously. When she inevitably stumbled, I instantly jumped up and went to her aide, taking more then half the pile myself.

"Thank you, Major." she said breathlessly, regaining her footing.

"No problem." I looked down at the book on the top of my pile. There was no title or author printed on the front like I had expected- being an Earthling and all- just a blank, brown cover that looked weathered and old.

"Are you all right?" Teyla asked Yolee, poised in a half-sitting, half-crouched position, ready to help.

"Yes, yes, yes." she replied dismissively, walking back to the rug and setting her books down carefully in the center.

I followed suit, placing my pile next to hers and returning to my seat.

"So." I watched as Yolee began removing the books from the pile, arranging them cover-side up. "Back to my question. Just what does Rif'Ta involve?"

"One moment, Major." Orin waved his hand back and forth above the books, obviously searching for a particular one. "Ah, here it is." He grabbed one of the largest, bringing it to his lap, flipping open the cover and skimming through the pages. "These books hold all the information of Rif'Ta." he told us, still turning pages. "And before one of your remaining teammates participates in the test, you should read --"

What? "Wait, wait, wait." I held up a hand. "If anyone is taking this test, it's going to be me."

Orin didn't even glance up from the book, "No Major. You cannot."

I crossed my arms over my chest, demanding, "Why?"

Yolee answered for Orin, "A person who knows of Rif'Ta cannot participate." She glanced over at the older man while she spoke, "A person must be completely ignorant of Rif'Ta in order for the test to succeed."

My bad feeling had just been confirmed.

"No way." I told them, shaking my head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable making one of my teammates take a test that they're not even aware of."

"Major." Teyla interjected, placing a calming hand on my shoulder, "Rif'Ta cannot be too unpleasant, as my own people have participated in it."

"Teyla--"

"We should at least listen to what it is."

I sighed. Teyla was probably right; the Athosians had done it, so maybe it wasn't all bad. Besides, we did need the food…

I didn't like it, but I finally conceded. "Fine. We'll listen. But that's all I'm promising."

Teyla removed her hand, looking back at Yolee with slightly raised eyebrows, "Please. Tell us exactly what the person would have to do."

Yolee smiled brightly, while Orin held out his open book towards me. I took it while he said, "That is a picture of where the device would be implanted."

I stared at the outline of a human body with Teyla looking over my shoulder; a sketch of some sort of object was on the base of said person's head, circled in red. "Device?" I repeated disbelievingly, just now registering his words. "Implanted?"

"Yes." Orin confirmed, "It is called the Life Reviewer. The exact affects of the Reviewer vary between species; though most generally experience vivid hallucinations, sleep deprivation--"

"Excuse me?"

"All temporary, of course. The old books document the longest testing to have lasted only several moons. And, obviously, all damage inflicted on the subjects during the length of the test discontinue once the Reviewer is extracted--"

"Okay." I slammed the book shut, rising to my feet. That was the last straw. "No way. Sorry."

Teyla was looking a bit nauseated, still on the floor.

Orin rose to his feet too, looking outraged. "You do not treat the books that way!"

"You don't treat people that way!" I returned angrily, "I can't believe you want us to--"

"Major Sheppard!" Yolee, already up, looked back and forth between us, absolutely mortified. "Do not speak to Orin disrespectfully!"

And that's when my radio crackled to life.

"Major!" Ford's panicked voice came through, "McKay's been hit!"

I felt my heart skip a couple beats as I shared a shocked look with Teyla; immediately forgetting about Orin and Yolee and the Rif'Ta. "By who?" I demanded, pushing down on the transmit switch, "Are the Wraith here? Are you okay?" I caught myself, not wanting to overwhelm him.

"Uh-- negative on the Wraith, sir. It was a Brewin-- he shot him in the back -- I… I think he's breathing, though…"

"The Brewins shot him?" I asked Ford, staring at Yolee and watching as her face registered horror.

"Yeah, I…I don't see any blood…" There was a pause. Then, a rush of static that I interpreted as a sigh.

"What? What is it?"

Ford; sounding immensely relieved, "It was a tranq sir! Just a tranq!"

"Are you sure? Just a tranquilizer?" I asked for confirmation, not wanting to get my hopes up.

"Yes sir. Looks like one."

I closed my eyes in relief and Teyla, from her new position standing beside me, took up the questioning, asking the lieutenant, "Are you in any danger, Aiden?"

"I'm okay." he answered quickly, "They backed off when I shot off some rounds from the P90."

My eyes traveled over to the two Brewin leaders as I inquired, "Location?"

"Burning up on the east side of the Town Square, sir."

Teyla was already heading towards the door, as I clicked off the radio. "Hang tight, we're coming. Sheppard out."

Yolee called from behind us, "Please! There's been a mistake!"

"Yeah." I agreed, not turning around. "Coming here was a big one."

Teyla disappeared outside, and I was close behind.

It wasn't that difficult to find them. Nearly all movement in the Town Square had stopped, most of the Brewins staring off in the same direction with open expressions of shock and curiosity. Ford was in the middle of a small circle of Brewins, all brandishing their crude weapons at him, while he held his P90 at the ready position, standing defensively in front of the sprawled body of McKay.

I grasped my own P90, pulling ahead of Teyla and yelling to the Brewins, "Hey! Back off!"

Amazingly, most of them did, turning around in surprise and lowering their spears and cross-bows.

Reaching Ford, but still watching the Brewins and training my gun on them, I asked, "Is McKay all right?"

"Think so." he said, sounding just slightly amused as he added, "He was snoring a minute ago."

I'd save that chuckle for later. I glanced over at Teyla, "Help Ford get McKay to his feet. We're leaving."

She nodded, walking past me.

I looked back at the gaggle of Brewins, demanding, "Which one of you shot him?"

No one answered me. Well, not with words anyway. They all looked over at the same guy though, making it plainly clear who'd done it.

He glared at the others angrily, holding the tranquilizer gun behind his back as he told me in a petulant voice, "We were ordered to take these two to the medical house! Orin said you were partaking in Rif'Ta!"

"Well, we're not." I said bluntly, lowering the P90 and no longer finding them a threat. I looked back at the others, and McKay, still unconscious, was now being held upright between the two of them, arms slung over their shoulders. "How powerful are your tranquilizers?" I questioned the Brewin holding the gun, not particularly looking forward to McKay's whining when he finally woke up.

He shrugged, looking clueless as he studied the device in his hands, "I do not know."

"Major Sheppard!"

Yolee was jogging towards us, and she looked miserable as she called, "It was all a mistake!"

"Pretty big mistake, Yolee." I said testily while she came to a stop in front of me.

She nodded, sounding very remorseful, "Yes, and I am very sorry." She ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip. "Orin was just so eager to have a new partner… he did not think of the consequences of preparing for Rif'Ta before it was agreed upon."

"Rif'Ta?" I heard Ford say curiously from behind me.

"Later." I told him, turning back to Yolee and telling her frankly, "Fine. I understand it was a mistake. But you have to understand that we no longer feel comfortable here."

She bowed her head. "Yes."

"All right then." I used my P90 to wave towards the Brewin holding the tranquilizer gun, asking Yolee, "How long will McKay be out for?"

She blinked. "Oh. Long time, I'm afraid." Yolee smiled then, saying enthusiastically, "But we can revive him for you now, if you'd like!"

She was obviously eager to make up for Orin's mistake. Admittedly, it would be much easier to make it back to the Jumper with McKay walking himself. The heat was already starting to make me feel light-headed, and I know that Ford and Teyla would feel it ten times worse if they helped McKay; thing is, they wouldn't ever complain about it.

I looked back at my teammates and saw that Ford was already drained, having been out in the sun the longest, slouching a bit under McKay's weight.

"Okay." I finally agreed, causing her face to light up in delight.

"Wonderful! Please, follow me to the medical house."

I walked back and took Ford's burden with little resistance from the Lieutenant; a testament to just how tired he really was. I put McKay's arm around my shoulders, and wrapped my other around his back., balancing it out. I glanced at Teyla, who had beads of sweat shining brightly on her forehead. "You ready?"

With no hesitation: "Of course."

I looked back at the old woman, saying with a nod, "Lead the way."

It wasn't a long trip around the Town Square and to the medical house, but it was pretty exhausting, the heat zapping nearly all our energy. More then a relief when we finally arrived at the medical house, dropping McKay on one of the many cots around the large and expansive room. Windows were placed high above, lighting up the space cheerfully, and paintings hung from the walls, just like in the visitor's center. Rather curiously, I thought, the floor of the room looked not unlike a giant chessboard, tiled in black and white.

Another Brewin appeared out of a curtained-off area of the hospital, bustling over to us, an instrument very similar to a stethoscope hung around his neck, immediately identifying him as the doctor. He eagerly leaned over McKay's unconscious body, asking, "Is he the Rif'Ta participant? Because, he should be taken over there -- " he was pointing towards the curtains.

"No no no!" Yolee answered hurriedly, waving her hands after noticing my look. "No Rif'Ta is taking place today, Delon."

"Oh." He looked disappointed, stuffing his hands into his pockets and surveying us, "I was looking forward to doing a real procedure for once. Well then, what can I do for you?"

"Please revive their teammate." Yolee said; explaining quickly with, "He was… mistakenly hit with one of our tranquilizers."

His eyebrows went up, but he didn't comment. Instead, he turned and informed me, "It will take approximately fifteen minutes for him to regain consciousness once I administer the injection."

"Great. Super." I went to a cot across the room pulling myself up and resting my back against the wall. "We'll just wait here." I told him, crossing my arms.

Ford followed suit, going to his own cot. Teyla crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"All right." Delon said, holding up a hand, "You're more then welcome to stay."

"Good."

The doctor nodded and walked back to a line of cupboards, opening one just to begin rummaging through it's contents, muttering to himself quietly.

"I apologize for all of this, Major." Yolee said once again, making me look back over at her. "I hope you can forgive us for this mistake. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

I sighed, asking hopefully, "I don't suppose you'd consider trading with us without having to do the Rif'Ta thing?" It wasn't going to be fun to have to go back to Atlantis and tell Weir MG7-855 was a bust. We didn't have many choices left for food after this. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she started making everyone plant their own crops on the mainland during downtime.

"Sorry." Yolee replied regretfully. "If you want to trade, you must partake in Rif'Ta."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I said sulkily, watching Delon give McKay a shot in the arm. "Fifteen minutes?"

Delon nodded, "More or less." He went back to his cupboard, putting things away and moving things around. I heard him mutter in an annoyed tone, "Why do we even keep this here?" before taking out an object and slamming it down onto the counter.

My eyes bugged out.

A ZPM!

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tbc

- can ya' dig it?