Ronon stepped through the portal with his particle weapon raised and tracked a flock of squawking birds with the barrel as they startled from a tree in the nearby forest. Vines trailed down the branches of the trees lining the edge of the clearing, and Ronon spotted long bracts of flowers growing in clumps from the moss-covered trunks. There was the sound of burbling water from somewhere in the forest to his right, and the area smelt of wet dirt and citrus.
Ronon stepped away from the 'gate, visually sweeping the small clearing, then lowered the particle weapon.
"We're clear," he said with a glance at Sheppard coming through the portal behind him.
"Anyone else smelling oranges?" McKay asked, looking back at the portal as it shut down once Teyla appeared. "I do not want to deal with anaphylaxis while we're here."
"I'm sure it's fine," Sheppard replied. He glanced at McKay, then studied the rest of the clearing.
"Oh, you think so?" McKay retorted. "Just to review, you do know how to use an EpiPen, don't you?"
Sheppard turned away, and McKay scowled at his back.
"I believe the citrus scent is from the flowers," Teyla said, pointing at one of the trailing bracts of brightly colored flowers. "I do not see any sort of fruit growing on the trees." She took a few steps away from the portal and turned in a slow circle.
McKay grumbled something unintelligible under his breath and pulled out the Ancient scanner, ignoring the forest and the clearing. He tapped the screen, stared at it for a few seconds, then shook his head and tapped the device again.
Ronon watched McKay for a few moments, then returned to his study of the clearing. Ferns grew in clumps near the edge of the forest, but the area near the portal and control pedestal was clear of tall vegetation. The ground was covered in a mossy turf that gave slightly under his boot.
"No way to know if anyone's been here recently," Ronon said. "Ground doesn't hold tracks."
Sheppard nodded and looked up at the sky and then at the surrounding trees. "Teyla, you said you've traded with these folks before?"
"Yes, Colonel. The Kiromans I have dealt with have all been a bit standoff-ish and will haggle to the last grain of wheat. But they are fair with their trades and honorable."
Sheppard glanced around the small clearing and held out his arm. "The MALP reported several villages nearby. Teyla, since you know where you're going -" He stopped when Teyla shook her head. "What's wrong?"
"I am unsure where the people I have traded with in the past reside," she explained. "Their village is called Kiroma. However, I have never visited this world."
Sheppard turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "You just said you knew these people."
"And I do," Teyla replied. "However, the individuals I know I have only traded with on Hyax. None of my people have ever visited Haven."
"Haven?" Sheppard asked.
Teyla nodded. "That is the name of this world. It is one of several planets known for taking in refugees from Wraith cullings."
"Like Athos," Sheppard said.
"Yes," Teyla replied with a sad smile.
Sheppard blew out a breath. "Okay," he drawled and turned to Ronon. "I don't suppose you have any insight?"
Ronon shook his head. "Never been here before."
"Great," Sheppard muttered. "So far, we're off to a great start." He walked over and stood in front of McKay. "Which way do we go?"
McKay looked up from the scanner and frowned at Sheppard. "Why are you asking me?"
"You're the one with the scanner, Rodney," Sheppard replied. "We need information if we're going to find this ZPM of yours, which means we need to talk to someone. So, unless the scanner has picked up something the MALP missed," he paused and waved a hand toward the trees, "which way?"
McKay glared at Sheppard for a moment, then focused on the scanner. "No, the scanner isn't picking up anything the MALP missed. There are several villages in that direction." He pointed to his right. "More villages that way." He pointed to the trees behind the 'gate. "No significant particulates in the air, though."
"Meaning?" Sheppard asked.
"Meaning that unless the people here have figured out the secret to clean energy production, we're looking at a civilisation probably at the technological level of an early industrial age at best."
"Any readings for the ZPM itself?" Teyla asked.
Rodney tapped the scanner screen and shook his head. "No, but there is something -"
"So this is a waste of time," Ronon stated.
"Not necessarily," McKay replied with a glare. "The Zed-PM could be shielded somehow to keep the Wraith from finding it."
"Which leads us back to which way do we go to find someone to talk to?" Sheppard asked.
McKay stared at Sheppard for a moment, sighed, checked the scanner, and then pointed to his left. "There are three settlements in that direction. One of them seems more populated than the others."
"All right," Sheppard said, "we'll head for the largest town and see if anyone knows anything about Ancients visiting the planet and leaving anything behind."
Ronon nodded, walked over to the edge of the clearing, and studied the ground. A narrow path led into the forest, wide enough for a small cart to pass. He knelt and pressed his hand into the mossy ground cover. Ruts, he realised and nodded. So someone used the trail regularly.
He stood and wiped his hand on his trousers. "Sheppard," he called. "Found a trail."
"People or animals?" Sheppard asked.
"People," Ronon replied. "There are ruts worn into the moss from a hand-drawn cart."
"Take point," Sheppard ordered. "And stay sharp. I've got our six."
Ronon started down the path, the particle weapon held low but ready as he kept one eye on the trail and the other on the surrounding forest.
The trees closed in overhead, but enough afternoon sunlight penetrated the thick canopy allowing Ronon to see where he was going. Birds chirped overhead and smaller animals scuttled through the undergrowth of ferns. Ronon was startled when a creature with six limbs, a long tail, and reddish-gold fur, scampered down one of the tree trunks, chattered at him, and then ran back into the cover of the broad leaves high above them.
A few seconds later, a piece of spiky fruit sailed out of the canopy and landed on the path at Ronon's feet.
Ronon scowled and pointed the particle weapon toward where he thought the creature was hiding.
"Leave the monkey alone," Sheppard said.
Ronon turned and saw Sheppard staring up at the tree canopy. "It's not bothering us," Sheppard continued and glanced at Ronon. "We need to keep moving if we want to find one of these villages before it gets dark."
Another piece of fruit hit the ground, splattering McKay's boots with a smelly green goo.
"Hey!" McKay exclaimed and glared up into the animal's leafy hiding spot. He bent and scrubbed the sticky fruit off his boot with his fingers.
Ronon heard the creature chatter in reply, then the rustle of leaves. After a few more moments where no more fruit missiles were launched at them, Ronon decided the animal had run off and started down the path again.
"What was that thing throwing at us?" McKay grumbled. "It smells awful."
"It appeared to be a type of durio," Teyla replied. "The fruit is said to have a sweet, almost nutty flavor."
McKay stared down at his fingers, covered in the sticky mass. "Not from where I'm standing." He dug through his vest pockets until he found an antiseptic wipe and cleaned the sticky fruit juices off his hand.
"Let's get moving," Sheppard said. "You can wash your hands when we find a stream."
Ronon started walking again, keeping one eye on the trees in case more of the monkeys decided to bombard them with fruit.
"Gee, thanks," McKay replied.
Ronon estimated they had been walking for nearly half an hour when he heard the gurgle of a nearby stream. The trees thinned as the gurgling noise increased, and Ronon walked out into a narrow valley a few minutes later. A stone bridge crossed the stream, and their path disappeared into the forest on the other side. A second path followed the stream down the valley to Ronon's left.
"The path splits at the river," Ronon reported, stopping at the edge of the fast-moving stream.
"Finally," McKay said with a breathy wheeze.
Ronon started to make a comment about McKay needing more exercise but held his tongue when he saw the concerned look on Sheppard's face as he watched McKay crouch at the stream's edge.
"Cold, cold," McKay muttered as he dipped his hands in the stream and scrubbed the last of the sticky fruit off his fingers.
Sheppard stopped next to him and glanced first over the bridge and then downstream. "McKay? We do have a mission, remember?"
"Yes, yes, fine," McKay replied. He stood, wiped his wet hands on his trousers, and pulled out the scanner. "Umm, okay." He cleared his throat and studied the scanner. "This is us." McKay looked up from the scanner and pointed to the left. "The larger town is in that direction." He glanced at Sheppard with a hopeful expression. "There's also a smaller village in the same direction that's closer. Maybe we can save ourselves the longer walk and ask about the Zed-PM in the village."
Ronon snorted and shook his head.
"What?" McKay asked with a scowl in Ronon's direction. "The town is too far away to reach before it gets dark. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not spend the night getting pelted with fruit by demented monkeys."
"I do not believe the Ancestors would have hidden a ZPM where it would be easily found," Teyla said to Sheppard. "The village might be a better choice."
"Thank you," McKay replied.
Sheppard studied McKay for a moment, then grimaced and looked down the valley.
"Who knows how populated the planet was when the Ancients were here," Sheppard countered. "If we're going to find out anything, we need to talk to as many people as possible." He turned to Ronon and added, "Head for the town." Sheppard nodded to the mossy path next to the gurgling stream. "We should be able to cover most of the distance before it gets dark."
Ronon grunted and turned to the left.
"Great," McKay grumbled. "If I knew we were in for this much hiking, I would have suggested bringing a jumper."
Ronon glanced back and saw Sheppard frown as McKay pressed a hand against his chest and continued to wheeze.
"A jumper would raise too many questions," Sheppard replied.
"Not sure how much that matters," McKay replied. "No point in keeping Atlantis a secret now."
"Never give up a tactical advantage if you don't have to," Sheppard said.
An hour later, the trees gave way to a wide meadow. The stream they'd been following emptied into a lake, and Ronon stopped short when he saw the village built under the eaves of the forest on the other side of the lake.
"Do you mind?" McKay yelped as he ran into Ronon's back. "Why did you stop like that?"
Ronon ignored McKay as he stared at the cluster of stone buildings standing two and three stories tall in front of them. He noted the narrow holes cut into the houses at chest height and the crenellated walls ringing the roof of each building, and felt a chill run up his spine.
It couldn't be, could it? he thought to himself as he stared at the village.
Ronon felt his stomach twinge when he took a deep breath and caught the smell of familiar spices as the villagers cooked their evening meal. When was the last time he'd had the braised vegetables and spiced meat he remembered from his childhood? he wondered. The food in the Ancestor's city was certainly varied and plentiful, but if Ronon had one complaint, it was that the Earth people's food was rather bland when compared to the Satedan fare of his childhood.
"Ronon?" Teyla asked, and Ronon felt her hand on his arm. "Are you all right?"
"They're Satedan," he murmured, never taking his eyes off the village.
"Pardon?" Teyla said.
"That village," Ronon growled at Teyla, pointing to the buildings with the particle weapon. "Why didn't you say that the people you traded with were Satedan?"
Teyla shook her head. "My people have been dealing with the Kiromans on Hyax for more than ten years. I have known some of them since I was a girl. I assure you, none of them are Satedan. If they were, I would have told you about them when you first arrived in Atlantis."
McKay studied the village. "Besides, how do you know that's a Satedan village? It doesn't look that different from the dozens of others we've seen."
"I know," Ronon told him. He stared at the vegetable gardens, the fields of grain and the small orchard of fruit trees growing near the lake, and the animals grazing inside a large fenced paddock. "That village looks exactly like the one -" He stopped short as memories of walking along the shore of another lake assaulted him.
He and Melena had been raised in a small town like the village near the lake. They had gone to Capital City together, him for military training, Melena to finish her medical studies, and Ronon had pledged betrothal to her in the formal garden of the parliament building.
They had planned to return home once they were married. Ronon had even designed the house he would build near the water where they would raise their children. Their lives would have been full of love and laughter. Instead, the Wraith had attacked Sateda, destroying the planet and killing thousands, including Melena, and Ronon had been a runner for the last seven years.
Ronon clenched his hands as Melena dying in a flash of flame overwhelmed him. "That is a Satedan village," he growled at McKay.
McKay stared at him for a moment, then pulled the scanner out of his vest pocket with a ragged sigh. "So much for that idea," he grumbled. "If those people are Satedans, they haven't been here long enough to know anything about a Zed-PM left here by the Ancients."
"McKay," Sheppard growled.
"What?" McKay retorted. "Do I have to remind you that the Wraith could attack Atlantis at any moment, and we have no real way to defend the city?"
"No, Rodney, you don't," Sheppard replied with an impatient scowl.
"Good." McKay studied the scanner for a moment. "The larger town, or whatever it is, is on the other side of those hills." McKay pointed to the hills behind the lake. "If we go that way," he pointed to their right, away from the village, "we can -"
"We're going to the village," Sheppard told him.
"But -"
"You heard me," Sheppard countered, holding up his hand.
"Unbelievable," McKay muttered under his breath.
Ronon focused his attention on the village and ignored the bickering. Survivors. Lots of survivors, Ronon realised as he stared at the village.
For seven years, he had thought himself alone, the only survivor from his world. Since meeting Sheppard, he had discovered that wasn't the case after all. But this wasn't the few stragglers he'd met on Belkan or in the mines on Grollox. This was a thriving Satedan community.
Nothing like his people's former glory, certainly, he told himself, but the village was a beginning. For the first time in seven years, Ronon believed his people had a future as Satedans and not random refugees who would eventually forget their home world.
Ronon spotted a man standing on the roof of one of the buildings and watched as the man turned, waved to someone standing in the village square, and pointed in their direction.
"They know we're here," Ronon said and glanced at Sheppard.
"Then let's go say hello," Sheppard replied.
Ronon nodded and led the way across the meadow to the edge of the village.
"Perhaps you will find friends or family here who survived the Wraith attack on your world," Teyla said as they walked.
Ronon grunted. He knew the town near the lake where he had been raised had been destroyed early in the fight for the planet. Ronon had never heard what happened to the people still living near the lake, but he suspected anyone left in the village had been culled or killed, including the last remnants of his family.
As for the villagers coming out to greet them, he wasn't sure what sort of reception he would receive. Would they be happy to see him? he wondered. The civilians on Sateda had been left to fend for themselves near the end, thanks to Kell. He couldn't blame these people if they decided he was unworthy of their trust. Would they blame him for the Wraith destroying Sateda even though most of his friends had died defending the planet?
"Sheppard," Ronon murmured as they walked into the village square. He jerked his chin toward the crenellated roofs and the armed men watching them. "Don't make any sudden moves."
Sheppard followed Ronon's gaze and nodded. "Jumpy bunch," he whispered back, and Ronon grunted. Sheppard slowly removed his hand from the P-90 and nodded to the men and women gathered in the square.
Ronon stopped next to a raised stone plinth and looked up at the tall column of carved stone topped by a sculpture of a harpy eagle with its wings spread and its talons splayed in front of its body.
"Impressive," Sheppard said, staring up at the eagle.
"Yes," Ronon replied and focused on the villagers coming toward them.
The men and women standing in front of him wore rough, homespun shirts and leather trousers. The only spots of color were in the shawls each of the women wore, either draped over their shoulders or heads.
"Hello," Sheppard said, raising one hand. "My name is Colonel John Sheppard. This is Teyla Emmagan, Rodney McKay, and Ronon Dex." He pointed to each of them in turn.
One of the older women stepped forward and stopped in front of Ronon. "Marta," the woman replied with a smile.
Sheppard nodded to her and added, "We've come seeking information. Is there someone here we could speak to?"
Marta ignored the question and studied Ronon. "You are Satedan," she said, her tone a mixture of amazement and happiness. "A soldier," she added with a nod to the tattoo on Ronon's neck.
Ronon mentally braced himself for whatever she would say next.
"You were there?" she asked. "At the end?"
"In Capital City," Ronon replied, refusing to look at the woman.
"You poor boy," Marta said with a sad smile. She grasped his hand and squeezed. "We owe you such a debt."
"You don't," Ronon replied, uncomfortable with the attention. "We weren't able to protect you. We lost."
Marta jutted out her chin. "The Wraith may have destroyed our world, but they will never destroy our people. Never forget that, Ronon Dex."
Ronon found himself nodding in reply, and Marta squeezed his hand again. "That's better," she said. "It is so good to see another face from the old world. It has been many years since we met anyone else who survived the attack."
"You know of other survivors?" Ronon asked and felt his heart skip a beat.
Marta nodded. "Some. We found out a few years ago there was a small enclave of Satedans on Belkan. And there are a few other groups scattered on various other worlds."
Ronon looked around the village and felt a swell of pride in his chest. A thriving Satedan community. His people. Marta was right. The Wraith may have destroyed their world, but its people lived on.
"You would be welcome here," Marta said with a knowing smile and released her grip on his hand. "There are so few young men who survived the attack. You could make a new life here."
Ronon found a part of him was willing to entertain the idea. He had spent seven years dreaming about this. Could he stay here? he wondered, glancing up at the men staring down at him.
Of course, that would mean leaving Atlantis, he realised. He still owed Sheppard and Beckett for what they did to free him from the Wraith. And he had found a place in the city, on Sheppard's team. Did he want to give that up?
Ronon glanced at Sheppard, Teyla, and McKay and saw Sheppard watching him. Sheppard studied him for a moment, then his expression went flat, and he turned his attention to the men and women surrounding them. Ronon grimaced and was about to say something to Sheppard when Marta spoke.
"Ronon Dex, Ronon Dex," she said and glanced at the crowd behind her. "I don't recognise the family name. Where were your people from?"
Ronon shifted his weight, glanced at Sheppard, and stared at the surrounding fields. "Outside Capital City," he replied, his posture stiff. "Near Lake Bolin."
Marta nodded. "We have a few people from the city here, perhaps -"
"Get out," a gruff voice ordered from the back of the crowd, and Ronon's blood froze.
"Orlin," Marta chastised. "He is one of our people. He deserves -"
"He deserves nothing," the voice growled.
"Hey!" Sheppard exclaimed with a frown, stepping toward the voice.
The crowd parted, and a man with shoulder-length grey hair limped forward, supporting his weight on a thick stick.
The stick was carved with various designs, and Ronon noted the leather thong wrapped around the top of the stick just above the man's hand. The bones of three fingers dangled from the ends of the leather ties, and Ronon easily identified them as Wraith.
The man wore the same homespun, short-sleeved shirt and brown trousers as the others, but the green sash tied at his waist marked him as the head of the village. Ronon grimaced when he saw the burn scar along Orlin's lower right jaw and down his neck. More scars ran up Orlin's bare arms, and Ronon noticed part of the first finger on his left hand was missing.
Orlin stopped a few paces away from Sheppard, planted the stick at his side, making the bones rattle, and glared at Ronon.
"Get out," Orlin ordered Sheppard, waving his arm toward the forest.
"I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding here," Sheppard said.
"No misunderstanding," Orlin told Sheppard. "He," Orlin pointed the stub of his finger at Ronon, "is not welcome here. If you are with him, you aren't welcome either."
"Orlin!" Marta exclaimed. "That is not our way. Travellers have always been welcome here."
"Not this one," Orlin growled.
"Ronon?" Sheppard asked with a glance at Ronon as he tightened his grip on the P-90. "Someone you know?"
"He knows me, all right," Orlin snarled. "So you've never told your new friends what you did? How you are the reason my only daughter is dead?"
"Daughter?" Sheppard parroted with a glance at Ronon. "He's -"
"Melena's father," Ronon confirmed.
"Who's Melena?" McKay asked with a bewildered glance from Ronon to Sheppard.
"You know it wasn't your fault," Sheppard murmured.
Ronon clenched his jaw as memories of Melena's last moments floated before his eyes.
"Who is Melena?" McKay asked again, and Ronon heard the frustration bleeding into his tone.
"Rodney, not now," Sheppard said to McKay.
McKay glared first at Sheppard and then Ronon and shook his head.
"This is ridiculous," McKay said with an impatient huff and stepped forward with one hand raised. "All we want -" he started to say, but Sheppard grabbed McKay's arm and pulled him away from Orlin. He raised his other hand and glanced up at the men lined along the roofs above them as several of their weapons tracked McKay's movements.
"Do you mind?" McKay said, pulling his arm free.
Sheppard let him go and focused on Orlin. "Look, is there somewhere we can talk about this? We might be able to help each other out here."
Orlin scowled at Ronon for a moment, then waved his hand at the men lining the rooftops. The men lowered their weapons, and Orlin jerked his chin at Sheppard.
"Come with me," he grunted and led the way across the square. Orlin stopped outside a long low building and pushed open the door. "Just you, Sheppard," Orlin said, refusing to look at Ronon. "The rest of your people can wait out here."
Ronon shook his head and stepped back, his arms crossed over his chest.
Sheppard looked like he wanted to argue, but Teyla spoke first.
"We will wait for you here," she said to Sheppard with a nod to Orlin.
Sheppard glanced at the roof line. "Hopefully, this won't take long. Watch yourselves." He gave McKay a pointed look and added. "Don't leave the village."
"We will be fine," Teyla replied.
Sheppard nodded and followed Orlin inside the building.
"Who is Melena?" McKay asked once the door closed. "And what did you do to Orlin that he's so mad at you?"
"Rodney, it is none of our concern," Teyla admonished.
"I think it is," McKay retorted and pointed at the closed door. "Orlin was ready to have all of us shot, and I, for one, would like to know why."
Ronon paced away from the door and stood with his back to McKay and Teyla. He stood with his hands on his hips and watched the villagers in the square going about their evening routine.
Teyla stopped beside him and glanced up at him. "You and Melena were betrothed?" she asked, her voice laced with sympathy.
Ronon clenched his jaw and nodded.
Teyla rested a hand on his arm. "And something happened to her?"
"She died," Ronon admitted. "During the Wraith attack on the capital."
Teyla hissed in a breath and squeezed his arm. "Ronon, I am sorry -"
"I'm going to take a look around," Ronon said. He shook off the hand on his arm and walked away without a backward glance.
He turned down a random street, then another as he tried to outrun the onslaught of memories brought on by his surroundings. The village buildings. The familiar cooking smells. The men and women wearing Satedan clothing and going about their lives.
He leaned against the wall of a building and bent forward with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath as the myriad of emotions beat against his defensive walls.
Surprise and happiness that so many more of his people had survived than he could have ever hoped.
Uncertainty as he weighed the idea of staying in the village against remaining in the Ancestor's city.
Anger that Orlin blamed him for Melena's death.
Guilt because, even after releasing some of his grief inside the Ancestor's memory machine, a part of him still agreed with Orlin.
The image of Melena engulfed in a wall of flame rose in his memory, and with a guttural scream, Ronon slammed his fist into the stone wall. Blood oozed from his abused knuckles, but he didn't care. Physical pain was something he knew how to deal with. He wiped his bloody knuckles on his trousers and stormed down the street.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
Teyla sighed as she watched Ronon stride down the street and turn the corner. She, too, had lost family at the hands of the Wraith. She knew how it felt to experience such profound loss. She thought of her father's bow, rescued from the rubble of her village on Athos, and, more recently, the drawing of Charin presented to her by Doctor Beckett and Major Lorne. Both items now hung on the wall in her quarters. Reminders of the two most influential people in her life.
Did Ronon have any such mementoes of Melena? Of his family? she wondered. Sadly, she suspected the answer was 'no'. As a Runner, Ronon would have only carried what he needed to survive.
"Should we go after him?" Rodney asked, stopping beside her and staring down the street.
Teyla glanced at him and shook her head. "No. I believe Ronon needs some time to himself."
Rodney hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and returned to studying the scanner in his hand.
Teyla watched him toy with the scanner for a few seconds, then sat on a stone bench with her back against the wall of the low building. She glanced down at her hands resting in her lap and traced the faint red mark on one of her wrists where the restraints had bruised her skin.
"You're the only person willing to understand. The only one willing to show compassion. The only one with a truly open mind."
Teyla felt a shiver up her spine at the memory of Michael whispering commands inside her head. Ordering her to untie his restraints. She remembered his anger as he bound her wrists and dragged her back to the stargate and to another planet. And then a spurt of fear as Michael raised his hand and thrust it at her as he attempted to feed on her moments before Sheppard and Ronon arrived to rescue her.
Even after several days and countless hours of meditation, the memories of what Michael had almost done to her were still raw.
"Oh, come on," Rodney exclaimed, startling Teyla back to the present. "How can you not know what it is?"
"Rodney?"
"Hmm? "Rodney replied, never looking up from the scanner.
"Is something the matter? You have been unusually focused on the scanner since we arrived through the stargate."
Rodney glanced at her and then at the surrounding trees. "I've been trying to find some indication of where the Ancients may have hidden that Zed-PM."
"Yes. You were unable to get any readings before as you thought it was shielded in some way."
"Right. Yes, so I tried searching for the base metals the Ancients used in their structures instead."
"And you found something?"
Rodney scowled at the scanner. "I found something, but I don't know what. According to this," he held out the device so Teyla could see the screen, "there's something out there," he waved his free hand toward the trees, "made of a metal alloy the scanner can't identify."
Teyla glanced at the screen and then at Rodney. "You are certain these readings are coming from the forest? It is not something the Satedans brought with them?"
Rodney shook his head. "I thought of that, but look around." He pointed to the nearest building.
"Everything here appears to be made of stone," Teyla replied.
"Exactly." Rodney studied the screen, then snapped his fingers several times. "Damascus steel."
"I do not know what that is."
"Damascus steel," Rodney said again. "Hundreds of years ago, there were these Persian warriors on Earth who had swords that were incredibly sharp, sharper than anything made by the Europeans at the time. No one else knew how the Persians made their steel. Then the method was lost to history until about twenty years ago when someone finally figured it out." His sentence ended in a strangled gasp as he started coughing.
"And these readings are the same as your Damascus steel?" Teyla asked once Rodney took a sip from his canteen and got the fit under control.
"What?" Rodney asked with a puzzled frown. "No, not at all."
"Then why -"
"The point is," Rodney interrupted, "Damascus steel was forged from iron melted in super hot kilns and mixed with high levels of burning wood. The hot steel and wood smoke combined formed a sort of primitive carbide. The Persians had made a unique composite metal almost by mistake."
Teyla felt her frustration growing and suddenly knew how Colonel Sheppard felt when Rodney went off on a seemingly unrelated tangent. "I still do not -"
"What if the Ancients here did something similar?" Rodney replied. "What if they created an alloy from metals they already had access to combined with some sort of mineral common to this planet?"
Rodney glanced at the closed door and then the village square. "This could be exactly the sort of thing we're looking for. The Wraith wouldn't recognise the structure as anything Ancient. It would also explain why I'm not getting any readings for the Zed-PM. This alloy, either by design or coincidence, could shield the energy signature."
He took a few steps toward the square, rubbing his chest with his free hand. "We need to find whatever is out there. Not only could we find the Zed-PM, but if I can find out more about that alloy, we might be able to use it somehow."
Teyla frowned when she saw Rodney try to take a deeper breath and wince. It was obvious to her that Rodney was still suffering from the effects of the smoke inhalation. She suspected that along with investigating the village for Ronon's sake, Sheppard had used the village as an excuse to stop for the day before Rodney overexerted himself.
"We should wait for Colonel Sheppard," Teyla said, stopping Rodney with a hand on his arm.
"He's already been in there for close to half an hour," Rodney argued. "And it's going to be dark soon."
"All the more reason to wait and see if Orlin and Colonel Sheppard reach an accord."
"You really think -" Rodney started to say but stopped when the door opened, and Sheppard walked out of the building, followed by Orlin.
"I don't believe there is anything left here by the Ancestors for you to find," Orlin said with a sideways glance at Teyla and Rodney. He sniffed and pursed his lips, then limped down the street, the heavy walking stick thudding against the cobbled street as he walked.
Once Orlin disappeared, Sheppard blew out a breath. "That went well," he muttered and scrubbed a hand across his chin.
"Colonel?" Teyla asked.
"Orlin wasn't too happy about it, but he's agreed to let us stay a few days and take a look around." Sheppard looked around and added, "Where's Ronon?"
"He wanted to look around the village," Teyla replied with a glance down the street.
Sheppard snorted. "I'll bet he did," he muttered. "Let's go find him. We need to find something to eat, not to mention a place to stay for the night." Rodney opened his mouth, and Sheppard held up a hand. "We can figure out the best way to search for the ZPM in the morning. We're not going to find anything in the dark."
Rodney closed his mouth and stuffed the scanner in his vest pocket as he followed Sheppard.
Long shadows stretched behind them as the sun set behind a series of hills across the lake. Sheppard wandered back through the village square and turned down a random street.
"I don't suppose Ronon said where he was going?" he asked a few minutes later when the road they were following ended near the fenced pasture.
"He did not," Teyla replied as she looked back at the cluster of stone buildings. The memory of watching Ronon in a pub on Belkan, drinking with Solen and the two other Satedan men they had recently met rose in her mind, and Teyla stepped toward the village. "But I may know where to look for him."
Teyla led the way back to the village square and stopped, turning in a slow circle as she watched the villagers wander past the various shops. "There," she said and pointed to a two-story building halfway down a different street.
Several men and women walked into the building, laughing and talking. Teyla, Sheppard, and Rodney followed them, and Teyla glanced through the large pane-glass window and nodded when she saw Ronon seated at a table on the far side of the room with a large mug in front of him.
"He is here," Teyla said as she opened the door.
"The pub," Rodney muttered as Teyla led the way inside. "Figures."
Teyla smiled as she skirted around several tables and stopped at Ronon's table. She sat in the chair to Ronon's right and frowned when she saw his scraped knuckles.
"What happened to your hand?" she asked.
"Nothing," Ronon replied. He drained the mug and waved to a young man behind the bar.
Rodney sat on Ronon's left while Sheppard took the chair across from Dex.
"How much have you had?" Sheppard asked as the young man filled Ronon's mug.
"Not enough," Ronon replied with a glare across the table at Sheppard. He drank half of the beer and thumped the mug on the table.
Sheppard met Ronon's gaze for a moment, then shook his head.
"Name's Tanis," the young man said, glancing around the table. "What can I bring you?"
"Three more mugs of beer, please," Teyla said.
"And something to eat?" Rodney asked with a hopeful expression.
"There's venison stew."
"Traditional?" Ronon asked.
Tanis nodded and gave Sheppard and Rodney a sideways glance. Ronon snorted and drank his beer.
"What's so funny?" Rodney asked.
"Nothing," Ronon replied.
Rodney glared at him, and Teyla looked up at Tanis. "The stew will be fine."
"Coming up."
Tanis left, and Ronon drank more beer.
"Traditional?" Rodney asked. "What does that mean?"
"Made the old way," Ronon replied, setting down his nearly empty mug.
Conversations swirled around them, and Teyla noticed more than a few curious glances in their direction. "Were you able to find anyone else you knew from home?"
Ronon shook his head. "Didn't expect to," he replied.
An awkward silence descended at the table. Rodney pulled the Ancient scanner from his pocket and studied the screen. Sheppard leant back in his chair, watching the villagers, while Ronon finished his beer.
Tanis returned a few minutes later carrying a tray with a pitcher, three mugs, and four bowls of stew. He passed the bowls and mugs around the table, filled Ronon's mug from the pitcher, and dropped four spoons in the middle of the table.
"Thank you," Teyla said with a smile.
Tanis nodded. "Give a wave if you need anything else," he replied and left.
Ronon picked up one of the spoons and began eating without a word.
Rodney poked the contents of the bowl with his spoon for a few seconds, then took a careful bite.
"This is very good," Teyla said after trying the stew. She glanced at Ronon, hoping to draw him into a conversation about Satedan cooking, but Ronon chose to concentrate on eating.
"Only if you've burned out your tastebuds," Rodney gasped as he choked on the spicy stew. Teyla noticed his face was red, and his eyes were watering as he groped for his beer mug.
"You okay there, McKay," Sheppard asked as he ate, seemingly unaffected by the peppers in the stew.
"No!" Rodney exclaimed in a hoarse croak, pushing away his mostly full bowl. He took a long swallow and set the mug on the table. "You ate this on a regular basis?" he asked Ronon.
Ronon shook his head. "Not this. Too mild." He pulled Rodney's bowl closer and dumped the remaining stew into his bowl.
Teyla smiled behind her mug as Rodney gaped at Ronon. After a moment, Rodney shook his head and patted his vest pockets until he found a power bar in one of them. "Not exactly the dinner I was hoping for," he grumbled as he opened the energy bar and took a bite.
Sheppard finished his stew and glanced out the window. "Did you find anything interesting in the village?" he asked Ronon.
Ronon shook his head as he scraped up the last of the stew with his spoon.
"Well, I found something," Rodney said. He stuffed the empty power bar wrapper in one pocket and pulled the scanner out of another.
"The ZPM?" Sheppard asked.
"No," Rodney replied. "But possibly whatever might be concealing the Zed-PM from the scanner."
"That doesn't make sense," Sheppard said. "Why would the Ancients hide the ZPM from their own technology?"
"If I'm right, I think it was an unintended consequence. And one more reason to find whatever is out there. Maybe it's something we can use against the hordes of Wraith about to descend on the city."
"We should go to the town," Ronon countered.
"You do not wish to stay in the village?" Teyla asked in surprise. She noticed Sheppard watching Ronon with a closed expression.
Ronon shrugged, and Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest. "How far is that town from here?" Sheppard asked, still watching Ronon.
Rodney glanced from Sheppard to Dex with a puzzled expression. "About twenty kilometers. What's - "
"Twelve miles, give or take," Sheppard interrupted and pursed his lips.
"One more reason to check out these readings. Whatever it is, it's only a few kilometers from here." Rodney said. "Maybe we can find the Zed-PM nearby and save ourselves the tedious hike."
Ronon snorted and finished his beer.
"It's too late to do anything tonight," Sheppard said. "We'll find a place to bed down for the night and decide in the morning if we want to look around the village or if we should head for the town."
"I will ask Tanis about rooms he might have available," Teyla said. She stood from the table and walked over to the bar.
"Everything all right?" Tanis asked with a glance at Sheppard and the others.
"Yes," Teyla replied. "My friends and I need a place to stay for the night. Do you have rooms available?"
"There are rooms upstairs," Tanis replied. He gave Teyla a measured look, then glanced at Sheppard and Ronon. "Can I assume you would all like to stay together?"
Teyla raised a questioning eyebrow.
"My brother served in the Satedan army," Tanis replied. "He told me once that units always slept in the same place together. For safety."
"Did your brother -"
"He died in the fighting," Tanis replied, his tone curt. He picked up a mug and started polishing it with the cloth in his hand.
"I am sorry for your loss," Teyla said with a sad smile.
Tanis glanced at Ronon, then focused on the mug in his hand. "He died saving others," he replied. "It was a good death." He glanced at Teyla and added, "I'll see to the room."
"Thank you," Teyla replied.
~*~*~*~ SGA ~*~*~*~
John sat at one of the tables near the large window and watched the first glimmers of dawn lighten the fog shrouding the village. He glanced at his watch, then at the stairs leading up to their room and blew out a breath.
"Maybe you were wrong," he muttered to himself. A few seconds later, he heard one of the steps creak and shook his head. "Then again …" He turned toward the shape looming out of the darkness on the far side of the pub and said, "Took you long enough."
"Sheppard?" Ronon said.
"You were expecting someone else?" John asked. He picked up his pack and stood from the table.
"Wasn't expecting anyone." Ronon walked over to the table and stared at John. "Why are you here?"
"I could ask you the same question."
Ronon grunted and walked over to the door. "That town is half a day's hike from here. Wanted to get an early start."
"Without telling any of us where you were going?" Sheppard asked, shrugging into the backpack and opening the door.
"Didn't want to listen to McKay complaining about walking that far," Ronon replied.
"Right," John drawled. "I'm sure you wanting to leave before dawn has nothing to do with Orlin."
Ronon glowered at him and crossed his arms over his chest.
John shook his head and motioned toward the door. "Shall we?"
"We?"
"We," John replied. "Having backup is never a bad idea."
"What about McKay and Teyla? You're leaving them here alone?"
"According to Rodney's scans, there shouldn't be any danger. McKay and Teyla can stay here and look for Rodney's mystery building while we visit the town." John plastered an innocent expression on his face. "Are you saying the people here pose a threat?"
Ronon glared at John for a moment, then dropped his arms. "Whatever," he said and left the pub. "Come if you want."
John picked up his P-90 and followed Ronon's leather duster back through the square. Fog shrouded the forest, giving the trees a ghostly appearance, and John heard water dripping from the leaves as they left the village. They found a path leading in the right direction, and the sun rose behind them as they walked around the lake. An hour later, they climbed into the low hills on the other side of the lake, and John glanced back at the village.
Rip the band-aid off, John told himself. If Ronon was going to leave Atlantis, he wanted to know now, not at the last minute.
"Not a bad place to settle down," John said in as neutral a tone as he could manage.
"If you say so," Ronon grunted and kept walking.
John grimaced. Subtle apparently was not going to work. "You sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"
"Like what?" Ronon asked with a glance back at John.
"Oh, I don't know," John replied and ignored the niggle of apprehension in the pit of his stomach. "We just left a village full of survivors from your home world. If you wanted to -"
"McKay to Sheppard," Rodney called over the radio, and John tried to hide his frustration at the interruption.
He held up a hand to stop Ronon, tapped his earpiece, and said, "Rodney. You're up early."
"No, Teyla was up early. She found your little note that you were ditching us and woke me up," Rodney replied, and John heard the impatience in McKay's tone. "What's this about you and Ronon going to the town without us?"
"You wanted to check out your funny readings, and we need to see if the people in that town know anything about the ZPM," John said. "Splitting up means we can do both at the same time. Besides, are you telling me you wanted to go on a twelve-mile hike?"
"That's not what I meant," Rodney grumbled. "You could have waited until we were awake to tell us your grand plan."
"Ronon wanted to get an early start," John replied with a glance at Dex. "Besides, at least I told you where we were going. Much better than a note that just says, 'Back soon, don't leave'." He heard Rodney sputtering over the radio and grinned. "It's a win-win, Rodney. Go look for your mystery reading. We'll go check out the town and be back sometime tomorrow. Then we can pool our information and decide what to do next."
"Fine," Rodney replied. "McKay out."
"Told you," Ronon replied and started walking.
"Let's go," John replied. "I just hope we find something in this town, or McKay will never let us hear the end of it."