The Weapon

Chapter 2

McKay's feet hurt. So did his head. He hadn't planned to be walking long distances in the blazing sun. It was a stupid mistake really. Lately, whatever he planned the opposite seemed to happen. It was getting to the point where he was considering planning for a major disaster just to increase his chances of having a good day. It seemed that ever since they arrived in the Pegasus Galaxy, some part of him had been hurting.

He knew it was the walking and the heat, combined with the fact that he hadn't slept well the night before that was causing him discomfort, but in the back of his mind, Daynen's words about disease and death kept repeating themselves. Or maybe it was those words that were causing his discomfort. He did tend to worry more than other people about some things, he knew that. He would never admit it, but he knew it. He also knew he was getting a reputation as Atlantis's resident hypochondriac. That, he thought, was going a bit far. Still all he wanted to do was get back to Atlantis, pop to the Infirmary and make sure he hadn't caught something in the city. What he didn't want to do was to be walking to some random village, getting further and further from the gate with each step, just to meet a bunch of people he didn't really want to meet in the first place. Not after being told about disease and death, at least.

They had been walking for almost fifty minutes. Half of the way was through the forest. None of them, even Teyla with her experience of the outdoors could have found their way there again. The village was very well hidden. It had to be. On the way they had swapped stories with Daynen, telling him about their arrival in Atlantis in exchange for information about his way of life. He told them how his village lived in constant rear of attacks from other villages. Theirs was a farming village, they kept animals and grew crops. Others considered themselves to be warriors, and charged in, taking whatever they chose. The well concealed position of the village meant that others found it difficult to find, and when they did, the guards that stood watch day and night could sound the alarm and prepare the people for an attack long before the solders arrived. Unfortunately it provided no shelter from the Wraith.

They stepped out of the forest, directly into the village. There had been no sign that they were near until Daynen led them into a clearing at they saw the buildings.

The village was small. There were no more than fifty small buildings, grouped together in a round cluster. In the centre was a large open space filled with people. They all looked busy.

Daynen led them down a shallow slope into the village. Their presence was detected immediately, as one after another people turned to watch the strangers that the boy was bringing into their hidden village. They had barely taken a few steps when the mood of the people seemed to change and they turned around and watched as a tall man with long, greying hair that had used to be brown, strode purposely towards the group.

"Daynen," he said. His voice was deep and stern, but not unfriendly, "Who are these people. Why have you brought them to our home?"

"I spotted them entering the city and followed them," Daynen explained. He told the story of how he had met the group of strangers and invited them back before they left. As he mentioned McKay's find, Sheppard thought that he saw the man's eyes light up as he looked for the object, now safely stored in Sheppard's pack.

"Very well," said the man after he had heard the story. He turned to Sheppard, who was standing closest to him, "Forgive my suspicion," he said, "we have learned to be wary of strangers. Welcome to our home. I am Jareil, leader of this village. You may stay for as long as you wish." He turned and gestured for them to follow him, "Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes please," said McKay before Sheppard had the chance to answer. They had come all this way, they might as well eat something. Especially since his stomach had started to growl half way to the village.

"Sure," said Sheppard, giving McKay a sideways glare.

They followed Jareil on a short walk through the village, into one of the buildings. Now that they had been accepted by their leader, most of the villagers had lost interest. Only a few watched with suspicion or interest at the strangers were welcomed into Jareil's home. These were the same people that crowded around Daynen as soon at the door of the wooden cottage closed.

The inside of the modest looking cottage was much more inviting that they had expected. The door opened into the main room, which was decorated with an elaborate and colourful woven rug and wall hangings. The centre of the room was filled by a large table, big enough to comfortably seat many more people that the six chairs placed around it suggested. To the left of the door was a hearth, with a fire burning. The heat of the fire made the room warm, but oddly it seemed cooler that outside. There were four windows, two at each side of the room, which had been created by leaving a gap in the wooden wall and attaching a shutter for when the weather was cold. A breeze blew through the room in a constant stream. It worked almost as well as a fan or air conditioning. Though John was glad they had visited on a day when the wind was blowing, or the heat might have been stifling. Directly opposite the door was another door, this one leading to another room of the cottage, presumably where Jareil slept.

Jareil gestured to the table and they sat down while he busied himself serving soup from a large pot that hung above the fire. As they ate he told them the story of his people. The same story that Daynen had told, only more embellished. The descriptions of the city before the Wraith doled out their punishment did seem impressive, but to a man like Jareil who had lived his whole life in a small village with no technology, any city would be impressive. He spoke about the things that his ancestors could do as though it was magic, and his own sense of awe at the life his people had used to lead coloured his descriptions, making it almost impossible to tell what was real.

His knowledge of the weapon was almost as vague as Daynen's. He told how the people had created something that could kill the apparently indestructible Wraith that preyed on their people. He spoke using almost exactly the same words that Daynen used. Most likely the story was told regularly in the village and most people had memorised it word for word. He finished by telling them how the people lived in constant fear of the Wraith, and how stories of the weapon are the only hope that they had.

John told him, as he had Daynen, about their journey to Atlantis and their own run ins with the Wraith. Then, when they had finished eating and talking, he stood up. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said, "but we have to be getting back."

"So soon?" asked Jareil, "you only just arrived. Why not stay a while and speak with my people? Perhaps later we can further discuss the weapon that can destroy our common enemy."

John shook his head. They had to report in before Weir started getting worried and sending out search parties, and it was a long walk back, "Thanks for the offer, but we really have to be getting back. Do you think you could find someone to lead us back? Just to within sight of the city, we can find our own way from there."

"But you will return?"

Sheppard nodded, "Most likely, but it's not up to me. If we do, well keep an eye out for you. Not much chance that we would find your village, but if one of your guards sees us again, tell him to bring us for a visit."

Jareil strode to the door and stood next to it as though he was baring the way. "If you stay a little longer, you can go with a guide into the city and search," As he spoke, his eyes met McKay's pleadingly, "You may find the weapon of our ancestors. Such a thing would be a great benefit to both our peoples."

Since, for whatever reason, the leader of the village had chosen to look to him for help, McKay answered. Most likely he thought the scientist would be more inclined to agree. Of the four of them, he was aware that he looked the least threatening and some people took that as a sign that he was more likely to back down. It was a problem he had had all his life and it hadn't helped that for a long time, until well after he left college, he usually had backed down. He didn't like confrontation. Not any more though. He refused to be the weak link in the team. He shook his head, "Like Major Sheppard says, we'll come back if Dr Weir, our leader, tells us to. If we do, it will be to look for the weapon, so maybe you can tag along if you want."

"I can't see that being a problem," added Sheppard, "but for now we're going back."

Jareil sighed and nodded, "Of course, and if you visit our world again one day, whether the weapon of our forefathers is found or not, I hope you will return to our village and tell more stories of your travels." He opened the door and shouted to Daynen, who had obviously not been far away. He arrived almost immediately.

Daynen nodded to Major Sheppard and smiled at Teyla before looking to his leader.

"Take our visitors to the edge of the forest, within sight of the ctiy," Jareil told him, "be sure that they know the right direction home. Before you go, find Gaedon and ask him to come to me."

"Gaedon?" The boy sounded surprised, worried even.

"I must ask his council. It is nothing that you need worry about. Do as you have been asked."

Daynen nodded and sped away from the cottage to find the other man. Sheppard and the others stepped outside to wait. Jareil's blocking the door with his body had seemed a little to threatening for John's liking, out of the village and away from the man as soon as possible. Jareil had other ideas. "I ask you one more time, stay," he said, "we have somewhere for you to sleep, good food, and in return you can help us."

"We have beds and food already," John told him, "thanks for the offer, but we really have to leave."

As if on cue, Daynen reappeared, "Gaedon will be here soon," he said, before turning to Major Sheppard.

"Right, lead on," said Sheppard, and Daynen led them out of the village.

They made the trip to the edge of the forest almost in silence. Daynen's cheery mood of earlier seemed to have disappeared and he appeared pensive and worried. First Sheppard, then Teyla asked whether he was all right, but both times he smiled and apologised. "I was just thinking about the city."

Once the trees started to thin out, he put a hand over his eyes to block out the sun as he pointed forwards, "Over there. You can see the tops of the tallest buildings of the city."

The others copied the gesture and squinted against the sun as they saw their destination. "Thanks for all your help, Daynen," said Sheppard, "if we come back, I hope we'll see you again."

"So do I," Daynen agreed. He turned to leave, "I would have walked with you to the edge of the city, but I have to return quickly."

"That's okay," Sheppard assured him, "we can find our own way from here."

"Until you return, then," and with that, Daynen disappeared quickly into the forest.

As soon as they were alone, they bean to walk towards the city. It was less than half an hour's walk away, but there was a further half hour between the city and the Stargate. The sun felt hotter than ever, and the sky was completely free of clouds. They walked as quickly as the heat allowed, trying to pass under the shade of the trees whenever they could.

"Well, that was different," said Sheppard as soon as he was sure Daynen would be far enough away not to hear.

McKay nodded, "The leader did seem intent on keeping us there. It made me think that the last place I wanted to be was in that village."

"He was just worried about his people," Teyla said, "living your life in fear of the Wraith is not easy. He was desperate and thought that we could help to find the weapon. Hopefully, we will."

Sheppard looked at McKay, "Think we'll find it?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine," he said, "but my guess would be no. As I said before, if the weapon existed, and the Wraith knew about it, surely they would destroy it to make sure the descendants of the survivors never worked out how to use it. Even if it is still here, I doubt it would be operational. Years of looting probably left it stripped down and scattered among all the different villages. That is if it existed in the first place. The whole thing could be some story made up to keep the people hopeful."

Teyla nodded sadly, "that is all true, but there if there is still a chance, however small, that it is there, we should try to find it."

"I agree," said Sheppard, "I'll recommend to Weir that we bring a few teams back and search the city."

"If you must," said McKay, "but I think we'll be wasting our time,"

"We've got to try. This could be the thing we're looking for, something to keep us safe from the Wraith. That's what we all want, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," McKay agreed, "it's just this place. Something about it gives me a bad feeling."

Ford grinned, "That'll be the soup we ate. It's given me indigestion too."

McKay treated him to a withering look, then turned back to the direction of the city, and found himself face to face with one of the villagers, a man in his mid twenties with a fierce look on his face. He was holding a bow and arrow, pointed directly at McKay. "Um…" he muttered, turning his head to discover that they were surrounded. Twelve villagers, all armed with bows or daggers were closing in on them. Sheppard's hand went straight to his gun. But paused, holding it, read to draw if the opportunity presented itself. It didn't. Any one of the men looked as though he would be happy to shoot him if he tried anything, and probably shoot the others too. They were outnumbered and surrounded.

From behind them, came Jareil's voice, and they turned around to watch him walk forwards. "Remove your weapons and put them on the ground. If you try to use them, we will shoot you. I'm sorry, Major Sheppard, I offered you the chance to stay of your own will and you refused. We need your help, and you are going to give it to us."

TBC…