Chapter Three
"Okay," Sheppard said as he and McKay walked back towards the Market. He had contacted Teyla and Ford and told them to meet them at the 'gate. "We know that Kallen's lying. We know that someone's been poaching. We know that Kallen didn't know about it. So, the question is; who's he trying to protect?"
"Teyla did say the family had been tending the Herds for as longs as anyone could remember," McKay mused, "And the way those tracks were laid out could only mean that it was someone the griffons trusted."
"Griffons?" Sheppard started, "That's what I've been calling them."
"Well, the shape and the way Kallen described them as having feathers andfur lends support to the fact that maybe that's what they are. After all, the myths had to start out from somewhere."
"I know. I'm just surprised we actually agreed on something is all."
McKay gave a mock gasp of horror. "Oh no, the world's gonna end!"
"Which one?"
"Very funny."
"I know," Sheppard grinned at him, causing McKay to roll his eyes, "Anyway, lets get back to the 'gate and let Dr. Weir know what's going on.
Inside the small room set aside for briefings, Doctor Elizabeth Weir looked at each of the four members of Sheppard's team in turn, trying to buy herself some time to think about what she would say. They hadn't completed their primary mission—to secure some kind of trade agreement for food and other supplies—and wanted to return to Telosia in order to solve some kind of local mystery. While she could understand their feelings on the matter, she just wasn't certain getting involved in such a manner was a good idea. Especially since—according to Teyla—Telosia was the main planet for trade.
They could easily piss off the wrong people and not be allowed to trade anywhere else.
"I don't think…"
"Doctor Weir," McKay interrupted, "I know what you're going to say, and normally I'd agree with you. We shouldn't go sticking our noses in where they don't belong, or where they're not invited, but this time it's different. These griffons are a dietary mainstay of the peoples of this galaxy. If they're all killed off because of some greedy punks, then we'll probably be the next to go. No griffons, no food. No food, no life. And if we don't go back soon, the evidence may be gone."
Weir noticed Sheppard's smirk at the statement, but the major kept silent. She glanced over at Ford and then at Teyla. Whatever their reason, the team was in accord; they wanted to go back to Telosia and find out what was going on. She sighed.
"All right," she conceded, "You have to go back to that planet anyway to see if we can strike an agreement. Discretely," she paused and held up her finger, "And I mean very discretely see what you can find out about the deaths of these griffons."
Sheppard snapped off a smart salute and gave her one of his annoying grins. "Yes ma'am. Okay people, you heard the good doctor. Let's head out." Weir found herself shaking her head in bemusement as the three boys in men's bodies scrambled up from their chairs and headed for the control center. Teyla's exit was quite a bit more graceful; nodding gratefully to Weir as she left. At least there was one cool head among them.
Once back on the planet, Sheppard noticed that almost nothing had changed in the hour that they had been gone. The only thing that was noticeably different was the number of torches. They had lined the stone path before; now there was only two.
Sheppard glanced at Teyla. The Athosian woman was frowning, her dark eyes worried. "Something up?" he asked.
"They have moved the Market much sooner than they would have normally," she answered after a moment, "What this means, I cannot say."
"Kallen is in charge of the Market, right?" McKay questioned, "So, where do the torches tell you the place is now?"
"Ten miles to the west of where it was last," Teyla responded.
"Far enough away from the Nesting Grounds that no one would have an excuse to accidentally wander in," Sheppard mused, "Looks like someone doesn't want us to know what's going on here. Right, Teyla, I want you and McKay to go to the Market and see about getting that trade agreement. Also, look around for any evidence of flying sleds. Be careful. Ford and I are going back to the Nesting Grounds. If anything happens to us, I want you to go through the 'gate and pretend you had no idea what happened to us. Understood?"
Teyla nodded, but McKay looked like he was about to protest.
"McKay, no offense, but you're not exactly the best soldier in the universe," Sheppard told him, "We'd all be better off if you stayed with Teyla at the Market. Besides, you'll know what other kinds of things we'll need besides food."
"Fine, but if you come across anything you can't explain…"
"We'll contact you," Sheppard assured him, "Now get going." The team split up, with Teyla and McKay going in one direction and Ford and Sheppard in the other.
McKay followed the tall Athosian woman in silence for a while, thinking. Sheppard was right; he was no solider, and despite his earlier protests, he knew that the relative safety of the Market was better than the unknown dangers of going back to the Nesting Grounds. While part of him wanted to live life out on the edge, to experience danger and excitement, the other, more practical part of him preferred to live such experiences vicariously. Like in books or movies.
When he had first signed on to the Atlantis project, it was just as the resident expert astrophysicist. No real danger involved there, except maybe mishaps with using technology that was light years ahead of anything known on Earth. Then, when the expedition to actually find the Lost City was under way, he had distanced himself in such a manner that he was just an observer watching someone else take that first dangerous step through the stargate.
As time wore on however, his panicky side had begun to kick in, and though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he felt much safer with his personal shield—despite the fact that he thought it might kill him at one point.
"Are you angry with Major Sheppard," a soft voice interrupted his musings.
McKay looked up to find Teyla staring at him intently, but he couldn't read the expression in her eyes. "No, not angry. He's right. I'm a scientist, not a soldier." He rolled his eyes then. "I can't believe I just said that."
"Why?" Teyla asked, honestly curious.
"Why? There's this show back on Earth called Star Trek," he explained, "Lots of people like to quote lines from it, especially if they get used a lot by certain characters. One of the main characters was Dr. Leonard McCoy, and he would always say something like 'Damn it Jim! I'm a doctor not a mind-reader!'"
Teyla nodded thoughtfully. "I believe I understand. You made a pun."
McKay turned slightly and asked, "I did?"
"Your name is McKay and you said the same words as McCoy," Teyla explained.
"Oh brother. Please don't ever mention this to Sheppard. Or Dr. Beckett. Especially Dr. Beckett." He could just imagine the gloating Scott. Then he grinned. "Unless of course you call him Scotty first."
"Scotty?"
Before he could elaborate, they were greeted with the cacophonous sound of the Market. He was slightly relieved; he actually hated Star Trek. The number of assumptions they made regarding physics irked him no end.
"I will find someone I know to be trusted to speak with about trading," Teyla announced—of course, she had also thought she could trust Kallen, which explained the bitterness in her voice—"You remain here until I return."
McKay watched as she melted into the crowd and sighed. He hated waiting like this. If he had something to occupy his mind, it wouldn't be so bad, but the only thing his thoughts kept turning to was Star Trek and the dead bodies of those griffons. He shook his head. What was he, four? He could stand around and wait just as patiently as anyone else. He'd just settle for looking at the Market. He hadn't really noticed it much when they were here earlier; he had been too busy arguing with Sheppard.
As he scanned the perimeters, something metal caught his eye. It was flying down from the sky. He stared as something that looked like a flying jet-ski landed not far from a large tent set apart from the rest of the Market and watched the pilot climb off and enter the tent. Taking a deep breath, he composed his features and sauntered casually over to the tent, pretending he was just browsing.
When he was certain no one was looking, he pressed himself flat against the sides of the material and strained his ears. He was rewarded with a garbled account by two male voices.
"….too dangerous…" the first one said.
"…worth the risk…"
"…what….find….the…"
"…saw….no more….left…"
McKay growled silently to himself. Surely they could speak up louder than that? While what he could hear did seem to be incriminating, without the entire conversation it would be useless as evidence.
The jet-ski however….he grinned and crawled across the ground to it. Sure enough, the skis themselves were the same width and length of the tracks at the Nesting Ground. Now, if he could just see who it was in the tent. He maneuvered himself so that he could see the inside of the tent. There, he could just make out Kallen's colorful robes and another man he had never seen before.
He didn't even know what hit him, before everything went dark.