Sensitivity: Part Seven

A Long Night

"It's probably in their air," Rodney explained from his infirmary gurney. "Maybe a dust vector - or that pollen that gets everywhere. You might like to check our clothing for traces of pollen, Carson."

Carson grunted, somewhat sourly. The man had a lot of work to do on his bedside manner - not at all encouraging. Upon their return, the doctor had proclaimed that there was nothing wrong with him. When Rodney pointed out the pain in his stomach, Carson handed him the tube of bruise cream and told him to rub it in himself.

"And the link between this...virus and the tinael?" Elizabeth asked from the end of the bed. Sheppard, Teyla, and Ford were perched on the next bed over. The two men were sitting comfortably shoulder-to-shoulder with Teyla, who was holding herself rather tensely between them.

While they had their own cuts and bruises from the fight, they seemed to be more used to such mistreatment - all that warrior-military training stuff that Rodney had ignored in favour of much more interesting things.

"Now Hatiana specifically said Teyla was tinael. And later she said, 'the untouched ones don't survive the full moon' and that when the moon waned things got better."

Elizabeth looked from Rodney to Teyla. "The untouched ones?"

Teyla shrugged. "I understood her words no better this time than last."

Great. Now he was going to have to explain this. "Beckett, what are the side effects of testosterone? Say, testosterone injections."

"Well, more energy, I suppose. Most men show increased aggressiveness and appetite, physical and sexual--"

"Interest in women?"

"Or whatever gender they're attracted to," Carson allowed. "Yes."

"But the behaviour of the men doesn't quite match that," Elizabeth said. "If anything, some of the men have been quite courteous." Rodney caught her glance and puffed up a little - until he caught Sheppard's narrow-eyed glare.

"Actually, I've taken that into account. The virus doesn't just increase testosterone, it gives a kind of...sensitivity to females."

Ford was frowning slightly. "Why only females?"

Interest had appeared on Carson's face, as he began, "Well, I suppose--"

"Breeding purposes," Rodney said succinctly. At the chiding look Elizabeth gave him, he defended his choice of words. "More years spent being productive, remember?"

She seemed more amused than offended at the way he brought up what she'd said the first time they returned from Tabaasa. "And that sensitivity would be most marked towards the women with maximum childbearing possibilities."

He coughed. Time to say it out loud. "The 'untouched' as Hatiana said - the tinael."

They stared at him blankly.

Oh, good grief, was he going to have to spell it out for them?

Then understanding dawned on Elizabeth's face, with Sheppard's realisation a moment later.

Rodney took a distinct pleasure in the expression on the Major's face: quite discomforted at the realisation. Given the behaviour of the men around the base - particularly the military ones - Rodney was willing to bet half his remaining coffee stash that Sheppard had...what was the term? Oh, yes, 'put the moves' on Teyla under the influence of whatever they were under now.

And was embarrassed by his actions.

"Teyla's a--?" Ford wasn't able to finish the sentence, and although it was nearly impossible to tell with his skin, he might have been flushing.

Teyla regarded her team-mate with a little disbelief and a little amusement. "My people are not as...casual with their affection as yours."

"Yeah, but--" Ford was shaking his head.

"So this testosterone increase--"

"Actually, it's not just an increase in testosterone," Rodney pointed out.

Elizabeth agreed. "We're seeing a broader range of behaviours than just aggression or sex drive."

Carson nodded, "This virus, then, makes men particularly...uh...sensitive to the 'untouched' - the tinael." Carson said. "But to women who aren't...uh..." He glanced at Elizabeth, unsure of how to describe the difference. His flush was far more obvious than Ford's.

She was smiling faintly. "Women who've had sex?" Her voice was rich with wry amusement. "Tinael seems to be a useful word for denoting something that our society doesn't mention in casual conversation."

"Well, it's no laughing matter," Rodney reminded them. "Remember all those testosterone-pumped males you sent off to do some huntin', shootin', and fishin'?" They sobered up swiftly, realising the import of what he was saying. "It's a full moon over Atlantis, tonight. And Hatiana was emphatic about Teyla not staying on Tabaasa." He didn't quite shudder as he reminded them, "She said the last time they had a tinael on Tabaasa, the men couldn't stop and she died."

"Couldn't stop what?" Sheppard demanded. He looked away as Rodney raised an eyebrow asking if he really wanted it said out loud.

"Wait," Ford said. "We've been around Teyla all day. But the Tabaasans were actually attacking her."

"Easy," Rodney said. "They live on the planet - they breathe whatever the stuff is every day. And," he added, "they're not used to holding off. After all, they marry their girls off young to avoid this issue."

"It's one kind of solution, anyway," said Elizabeth, just a little grimly.

"Not much of one," Sheppard muttered.

"But better than rape," Teyla said with quiet calm.

The expressions around the room indicated a wholehearted agreement with that.

"You know," Rodney added, realising something else, "it probably is the pollen - we would have tracked it in when we returned both times." And even when he'd been on the planet, he'd felt the stuff doing bad things to him. Well, bad things to his sinuses, anyway.

"And a little is enough to infect the whole base," Elizabeth said, almost to herself. "We won't be able to trade with them in future."

"Oh, there should be no problem trading with them," Rodney corrected. "We'll just have to be careful of when we go to the planet and whom we send."

"But wouldn't the food be...infected, too?"

He looked at Sheppard, not bothering to hide his exasperation. "We didn't eat any of the food - remember?"

"Teyla did."

"One fruit," she pointed out. "And it was something I recognised from among my people."

"But you still let Istekhon feed it to you."

"There was no 'letting' him, Major," Teyla replied stiffly. "It was something he would do."

Rodney had the feeling they'd bicker over this for hours if they were allowed. More on Sheppard's part than Teyla's - the Major had a distinctly tenacious streak at times.

"I think we're getting off track here," Elizabeth said to them, before looking to Carson. "Carson, can we do anything to help the situation medically?"

"I'm afraid not, Dr. Weir. We simply don't have the resources."

She nodded, as though she'd expected nothing less. "So we'll have to weather it out and see if it goes away as the moon wanes?"

"I don't think we have much choice," the doctor admitted. He looked fairly grim as he spoke. "However, it might be wise if the women leave the base this evening. Perhaps to head out to the mainland or off-world."

Elizabeth nodded. "The mainland isn't an option." She raised a hand as Teyla began to speak. "I'm not suggesting your people wouldn't take us in, Teyla. I know they'd be willing to offer us hospitality. The truth is that we don't have enough female pilots to take all the ships to over the mainland."

And taking less than all the ships would be asking for trouble - especially if one of the men with the ATA got it into his head to go looking for the women.

"Off-world, then?"

"Considering you want to go somewhere where we can't follow, off-world would be a very bad idea."

"Not if you erased the system memory of where we went," said Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, in case it's escaped your notice, I am a man," he said. It was a measure of how much this 'sensitivity' thing was changing him that he didn't say it with his usual sneer. "That makes me one of the enemy. Really, you shouldn't even be discussing this in the same room as us."

Teyla shook her head. "I do not believe the distinction is that simple."

"I'm in agreement with Teyla," Elizabeth said, nodding briskly. "We've had an assortment of behaviours displaying themselves in the last couple of days - not all of them are brutal or violent. It's more than just testosterone--"

"Which is why we're calling it a 'virus' rather than 'testosterone poisoning'," Rodney added. "But whatever you call it, you shouldn't assume that we're safe just because we've shown no sign of wanting to tear clothes off and beat our chests."

She hesitated, then nodded. Good.

"Poisoning?" Ford asked, incredulously.

"Tear our clothes off and beat our chests?" Sheppard said.

Elizabeth's mouth twitched. "Personality and training might have something to do with it. Most of the incidents we've had have involved military personnel."

"That's pure conjecture," said Rodney. "And not important at this point." He looked at Elizabeth, "Off-world for the night, then?"

She nodded. "I think so."

oOo

It had never been the best of plans in the first place.

However, Elizabeth didn't see much choice in the matter. The behaviour of the Tabaasan men was deeply disturbing - all the more so since she'd had five complaints of harassment today, only three of which had been prompted by military personnel. Aggression wasn't limited to the military; the military was simply the organisation that honed and directed that trait most clearly.

And, on the whole, she figured it would be better to be out of the city when the military personnel returned from their hunting trips. While the behaviours expressed by the men on base showed no serious harassment of other men, it was a vastly different matter when it came to their female colleagues.

The men couldn't stop and she died.

That could be Teyla. Nearly had been Teyla, according to her team's report of what had happened on Tabaasa. Elizabeth had restrained a shudder as John, Rodney, and Lieutenant Ford told the tale, and Teyla added her statements or mitigated her team-mates' words. The young woman seemed much calmer about what had nearly happened than her team-mates. Elizabeth envied her the tranquillity.

Between John and Rodney's unusual tactility, she had little of her own.

While Teyla and Kate Heitmeyer got the women organised for the trip out - assisted by John and Lieutenant Ford, Elizabeth worked in the control room with Rodney, Peter Grodin, and Sergeant Winsor setting up the dialling computer to delete the address of the next outbound wormhole in preparation for their overnight jaunt.

Carson had come up with the idea of practising his flying ability, such as it was, and dragged out two other scientists who possessed the Ancient gene - as well as quite a few other people who were invited to come along 'just for a ride'.

Coinciding with a dinner call, quite a lot of their preparations were done without most of the men noticing their industry. The less people who knew about this, the better.

And then all their plans came to nothing.

They had the women assembled in the gateroom, their packs set up, and Elizabeth was just clearing the men out of the control area, when the Stargate began dialling.

"Incoming wormhole," Peter reported, looking up at Elizabeth.

Rodney grimaced. "It's probably the hunters."

"They're early."

"Well," said Rodney, "they've got a base full of women to return to." He got several grim looks for that comment, and shrugged. "I'm just pointing out that--"

"Never mind," Elizabeth told him. Very well. Let's skip to plan B. "Keep them from coming through for a minute," she told Grodin.

The technician looked up, slightly surprised at her request. "How?"

"I'll do it," Rodney said, adjusting his headset. "Go."

She shot him a grateful smile as she passed him on her way down to the floor where John was standing by Teyla.

"Dr. Weir?"

"Change of plans," she said simply. "I think the D-wing should be big enough to hold us through the night." So it would probably be something like a massive slumber party, but at the least, they'd all be in one place together.

"Too many ways in and out of there," John objected.

"Then we shall set guards," Teyla said. She turned on her heel and began speaking to the women nearest her, who were watching the whole situation with interest and nervousness.

John glared after her, then turned back to Elizabeth. "That's a lot of guards."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

The shield buzzed into existence over the Stargate as the wormhole connected with a flash of light but no particle explosion. Women began moving past them in a steady stream, walking with brisk strides and anxious expressions.

Elizabeth made to join them, but was stopped when John caught her arm.

"Elizabeth." He was very much in her personal space, but the knowledge of what was infecting him made a difference; she didn't step away from him now. "Be careful."

"We will."

Up in the control room, Rodney was gabbling something about shield malfunctions, and while Elizabeth couldn't hear the exact words, she had no trouble distinguishing the tone of the person speaking to him. He caught her eye and waved her away, and she paused and looked back at John.

"Major, you'll be the restraining influence on the military personnel--"

"I know," he said. "Trust me."

It wasn't as though she had much choice in the matter.

As the last few women jogged past her, and Rodney spun various stories to whoever was on the other side of the wormhole, Elizabeth fell into step at the end of the line, grabbing the pack she'd put together in preparation for the evening and swinging it up onto her back

Their pace was swift, and the journey long. Teyla seemed to be leading them through a winding route that passed through the least-inhabited sections of the city, avoiding the medical labs, the science labs and the mess hall, where most of the men were presently at dinner.

The long train of women, carrying packs and bedrolls, and armed with Wraith stunners, moved quickly and quietly through Atlantis to their destination. It disturbed Elizabeth that a week ago this retreat would have been unthinkable. Now, she found herself glancing behind her in oversensitive paranoia.

It's just the virus, she told herself as they passed through the corridors.

It was not an entirely encouraging thought.

Her mind was already moving through the ramifications of the virus and what it might mean for Atlantis. The mental and emotional state of both men and women would be different after this, no matter what did or didn't happen. At the least, more than a few of the women would have difficulties in trusting the men in future situations. At the worst, she might be facing a divided command, with most of the men on one side, most of the women on the other, and only a handful of people willing to cross the divide.

Dr. Heitmeyer would find her hands full after tonight, either way.

Elizabeth set a mental memo to pull up a list of the medical personnel who had psychology degrees - male and female - there was no reason Kate should have to do all the counselling by herself.

The column of women moved through a section she recognised as the passage to one of the outlying arms of the city. They were approaching their destination.

So far, the outermost sections of the wing assigned as 'D-wing' had been unused by the expedition personnel. Other than a quick initial exploration of this section of the city, they hadn't gotten around to using it.

For tonight, it would be a safe haven for the women of Atlantis.

As she reached the outermost rooms of the wing, two young women were waiting for her by one of the doors, one military, one scientific. It was the military one that addressed her first. "Ma'am?"

"Sergeant Winsor?"

"Becca's prepped the door codes for you to imprint," she said, indicating the panel beside the sliding doors. "Once you fix them, then they're locked."

"We won't be able to get out but they won't be able to get in either," the second young woman added. "Lieutenant Gormley suggested it and Teyla agreed - subject to your authorisation."

Elizabeth appreciated the consideration of Teyla's gesture. "What do I do?"

A few minutes later, the whole wing was locked down, the control codes from the central system overridden by the codes Elizabeth had entered.

The scientist checked a few things on the nearest console and was satisfied when the lights flashed red. "We're secure." She grinned at her companions in relief and pleasure.

Elizabeth smiled back, showing none of her reservations until after the two younger women were gone ahead.

Even if the doors were coded shut, that didn't necessarily mean they were secure. After all, Petersen had made his way through the city while it was locked down by overriding the locks. And this wasn't just one paranoid scientist, but an expedition's worth of men.

You know that being cynical doesn't help, said a voice in her mind. It sounded a little like Simon's voice, calm, gentle, and infinitely reassuring.

She wondered what he'd have thought of this situation, how he'd have reacted when infected with the virus. If there'd been moments in their relationship where she'd wished he was more assertive; there were others where she was relieved that he wasn't as driven as some men she'd met in her travels. Would he have become like the hunters - aggressively dominant? Or even more dogged and insistent, like Carson Beckett?

As she crossed the busy main room, where women were setting down their packs and setting up their bedrolls, Elizabeth felt a sudden pang of homesickness.

Most of the time, she kept herself from thinking about Simon, what he was doing, how he was going. It had always been the case in their relationship; her work took her all over the world for several months at a time. Of course, even then, he'd never been more than a phone call away.

In a moment of whimsy, Elizabeth wondered if phone calls between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies would ever be de rigeur. Of course, first they had to find a way to get between the two galaxies on a regular basis.

First they had to find a way to neutralise the Wraith.

First we have to get through tonight.

Teyla was standing in a circle with several other women. A quick glance at the faces of the various women made Elizabeth realise that almost all were military. There weren't more than a dozen of them, looking over each other's shoulders at various screenboards and pointing out points where they might have to keep a watch out.

"…not more than a couple of hours," someone was saying.

"At most. And I wouldn't have less than ten of us to a shift."

"We don't need that many - just enough to give warning in case anything happens."

"Do you really think they'll attack us? I mean, come on, these are the guys." The speaker had her back to Elizabeth as she approached the group, but the hopefulness in her voice was reflected more than a few faces she could see.

It was Teyla who closed off that hope. "I do not believe we can trust them not to," the Athosian said gently. "This is not completely of their own will; they are driven by something more." Her gaze met Elizabeth's. "Dr. Weir?"

"We're locked in," she said, addressing the whole group. "Although I'm in agreement with Teyla. We should be on guard, just in case."

"Dr. Weir, this isn't the Wraith or the Gennii - these are our own people!"

She looked at the woman - in her mid-twenties and wearing the stripes of a corporal. "They are our own people, yes. But Teyla is right. This virus that's infected them is changing their behaviour patterns."

"It's not like we want to kill them," said another woman bluntly.

"And their intent is not to kill us, either," Teyla added. "They will seek to overpower us - individually or collectively."

The woman who'd been hopeful looked dismayed. "You're talking about some one hundred fifty men in Atlantis! We can't hold them all off!"

"Not at once, no," another woman said. "But they're not gonna come at us all at once."

"You can't know that."

"Actually," said the cool voice of one of the older personnel who'd come over, "we can." Amanda Birrell was the base medical pathologist, a tough, wiry woman who took an almost gleeful enjoyment in her work. "The guys are basically pumped full of testosterone. They're hot, ready, and raring to go. They're also very aggressive, territorial, and likely to be set off by small things. Their instincts will be screaming at them to fight each other as much as hunt us down - and they're much more likely to fight each other."

It brought up a new concern in Elizabeth's mind. "Might they try to damage the city?"

Dr. Birrell shrugged. "It's possible. Unlikely, though. Given their behaviour up until now, they're more likely to try to assert dominance over one another than to try to smash things up."

"But can we be sure?"

"Nothing's sure."

"Well, death and taxes."

"Har-har."

Teyla spoke specifically to Dr. Birrell. "When we were on Tabaasa, the men were not fighting with each other."

"Maybe they weren't. But you were the only virgin on the planet, Teyla. And they're more used to the hormone overload than the men on Atlantis." She shrugged. "Of course, that's all speculation."

"I think we can leave the speculation for after we've settled in here," said Elizabeth, quelling the discussion before it could get started. "However, I think a basic watch for all hours of the night is a very good idea. At the least it will make people feel safer."

"With all due respect, ma'am, there's not much point in feeling safer if we're not any safer."

"Maybe not," Elizabeth said. "But if it means that most of these people aren't on the edge all night, then that's one thing less to worry about." She looked around the circle with a smile. "In the meantime, ladies, I'll leave the organisation of security up to you. Teyla, would you let me know how things are set out when you're finished."

It wasn't quite leaving Teyla in charge, although it was giving her a certain amount of authority among the group. The Athosian might need it, she might not.

She left the women discussing how many sentries they'd need, and went to see how the rest of the group was settling in.

It was going to be a long night.

oOo

FEEDBACK: Thank you so very much to those who've left feedback on this story - and kudos to those who correctly guessed the meaning of 'tinael'!