2
He can hear the loud sounds coming from behind the closed gym door. There is a distinctive repetition…a beat. This must be what music is where the Atlanteans come from. Earth music. Ronon listens carefully, he cannot understand the words. They stream together faster and tighter than Dr. McKay's. But he can feel his muscles tense and relax; his blood pumps faster to match the rhythm. Ronon decides he likes Earth music.
Sheppard pauses at the door, his hand hovering over the controls, but doesn't open the door. He checks the time piece on his wrist then turns to Ronon and the other men following. "Guess we're early." There's a rush of exhaled breaths and the soldiers grumble. Sheppard gets a strange look on his face; something Ronon would consider wicked. "Anyone wanna watch?"
Ronon looks around, seeing a few of the men pump up their chests with air. Without another word, Sheppard waves his palm over the controls and the door slides open. The men shuffle toward the opening, though no one tries to go inside. Ronon stands at the back, easily seeing over the others' heads.
He can smell sweat from hard work emanating from within. He quickly counts ten women in staggered formation facing the other end of the long, wide room, seeing themselves in full length mirrors that seem out of place with the Atlantis structure. The women are at least twenty feet from the door, far enough away that Ronon can't see the men's reflections in the mirrors and assumes the women can't either.
The women are dressed in similar fashion: shorts, white T-shirts damp with sweat and white socks on their feet. Those with long hair have pulled it back into what Teyla has called a 'ponytail' though he has no idea where the term originates. Ronon can't make out individual faces; however some have the short hair he recognizes as military regulation. An eleventh woman stands before them near the mirrors, dark hair piled onto her head, demonstrating some interesting moves, though Ronon can't determine what kind of fighting those moves would be used for.
She turns to face the mirror. "Okay ladies, put it together. Five, six, seven, eight." As a unit the women start to move using the exact same motions in time with the music that suddenly swells within the room as the leader raises her hand in the air. The lead female continues to speak as she moves her body, gliding expertly over the floor. Ronon's transfixed on the women. He's never seen such a thing. It's jarring to watch so many females move in such wanton fashion to a musical beat.
The lead female has much control over her body. She reminds him of Teyla, only there is a slight difference, a subtle fluidity and grace that, though Teyla is graceful and expert in her movements, she does not float as this woman seems to.
"And…shake shh..shh..shake it…" the lead yells as her hips start to move almost independently from the rest of her, quickly, effortlessly thrusting forward and back, side to side in time with the music. It's a stirring sight indeed. "Shake shh..shh..shake it. And pop to the left." The other women follow and Ronon hears a collective in-take of breath from the men before him as all the women suddenly jerk their buttocks to the left. "And pop," now to the right. He feels a tightening in his gut and leans in further, pushing against the other men to get a better look.
Sheppard's standing in the door frame keeping the others outside, his arms crossed and a big smile on his face.
"And…step…now…shimmy," the leader calls and as one the women do something odd to the top half of their bodies, shaking their shoulders in quick succession. After this last move the women slide to the right and a loud single collective clap overhead ends the session. The leader turns slowly on the tips of her toes, waving her hand through the air. The music stops. "Enjoy the show, gentlemen?" She says, raising her right brow.
Ronon groans inwardly when he finally sees the leader's face. It's been a couple of days but he's still unnerved by this female.
The women gasp, realizing they have an audience, but as Sheppard and the others clap and whistle as they enter the gym, the women smile and bow, some giggling. Two of the women seem to be acquainted with two of the soldiers and come over to them. "Did you really like it?" Both soldiers only have eyes for the individual females and Ronon understand they are…dating, as Sheppard has told him.
Ronon takes up Sheppard's place at the door, arms crossed and his death glare ready for the evil that is Jax. But she doesn't look his way. She grabs up a towel, draping it over her shoulders and picks up her water bottle. "That's a wrap, ladies." She squirts water into her mouth. The women clap and howl, exuberantly thanking their leader for working them hard. Some of the women even rush over to hug her.
"Nicely done, ladies," Sheppard says with a huge grin on his face. "You should consider a show for the entire base." He crosses his arms again, putting on a serious expression. "You know…to raise morale."
One of the short haired females chuckles deeply. "Is that the only thing you're interested in raising, Colonel?" The other women laugh, but not Jax. Sheppard tries to hide his grin as he shakes his head and looks at the floor.
"Stepped right into the one, sir." One of the soldiers says. Sheppard looks up, smirking and nods.
"That could be fun though, eh Jax?" Another woman asks.
Everyone looks to the leader with expectation. Sheppard raises his brows. "So?"
Ronon catches sight of Jax. She's suddenly flush with embarrassment and she doesn't look at the Colonel for more than a split second at a time. "Maybe," she says softly, almost imperceptible, her eyes on the floor. She turns her back on the rest of the room and rushes for the second exit near the mirrored wall. "See you next week, ladies?" There's universal agreement as Jax waves goodbye without looking back and steps through the doors.
As two of the women grab their towels and head out the door held open by Ronon, he hears them whispering. "She's so shy around them."
"Kinda odd considering her previous career choice."
Another woman rushes to catch up. She too keeps her voice low, but Ronon has great hearing. "I still can't believe she was a stripper."
"She's got the curves for it," the first one adds.
As the rest of the women file out, the soldiers set up the room for Ronon's test by pulling out a large blue mat. He goes over to Sheppard who's leaning against a half-bodied fake man. "What is a stripper?"
Sheppard shrugs. "It's a job, like any other on Earth." He narrows his eyes at Ronon. "Why?"
Ronon shakes his head. "No reason." Obviously he's going to have to get a better answer elsewhere. Perhaps his shadow will inform him later.
"Hmm," Sheppard says then claps his hands together. "Let's get started."