Sacrifice
Chapter 2
"Ronon. Ronon. Please….you need to wake up." Specialist Ronon Dex moaned, Teyla's quiet voice seeming to come from miles away. He felt her soft hand caress his brow, then run down one arm. The jangle of metal on metal sounded, and he frowned. What was that?
He opened his eyes, peering up at the Athosian. She had a small trail of blood smeared on one cheek, and her eyes were worried. As he gazed up at her, she broke into a relieved smile.
"Welcome back," she said. He took her offered hand, allowing her to pull him into a seated position. Reaching out, he carefully touched her injured cheek, his face hardening. What had happened? He pulled his arms up, confused by the weight, then suddenly noticed that they were chained. Wrists and ankles were encased in heavy iron manacles, and a thick chain anchored them both to a wall.
"Where are we?" Ronon growled. Teyla sat back, shaking her head.
"I believe we are still on P6D-358," she answered. "Although I cannot be sure." Ronon only grunted as he studied the room. They were locked in a cell, but the bars were made of wood, and the stone floor was covered with straw. There was a multitude of windows, and he could hear the sounds of people bustling about outside.
"What about Sheppard and McKay?" he asked. Teyla merely shrugged and shook her head.
"I have not seen nor heard anything about them since I woke," she answered. She moved back as he attempted to stand, only to be yanked back down by the chain. He pulled hard, wrapping his hands around the chains, straining to break the bonds, but the shackles were immovable. Sitting back down, he ran his hands over his clothing, looking for a weapon, or a tool. Nothing.
"We have nothing. No weapons. No radio. They even took my shoes," she said, gesturing with one manacled hand at her bare feet. He glanced at his own bare feet, confused. What was going on?
"Ahhh…I see you are awake. We can begin the sale now," said an unfamiliar voice. Ronon and Teyla turned to see a scruffy young man walking towards them eagerly. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes lingering on the feminine form of Teyla. Ronon stifled the urge to attack the man, and positioned himself slightly forward instead, blocking the man's view of the Athosian.
"Who are you? And why are we chained?" Ronon demanded. The man ignored Ronon, waving at a small crowd to enter the room. They slowly approached the cage, their voices a low, muddled murmur. Ronon and Teyla's confusion changed to horror as the man's words rolled across the room.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Today, I have two extremely healthy specimens for sale."
oOo
Dr. Elizabeth Weir swore for the umpteenth time that she was never going to let SGA-1 go off-world again. Once again, they were late checking in, which meant that once again, they had run into some trouble. Some serious trouble. They were three days over due – three days!
"Ma'am, we've searched the first city, scanned it with the probes on the jumpers, and we haven't found them." Major Lorne's cool voice echoed through her headset, and she stifled a sigh. Next to her, in the stargate control room, stood Dr. Zelenka and Carson Beckett. Both men had shown up when the team had been declared overdue and had rarely left Elizabeth's side.
"Thank you Major. Proceed to the next area." Elizabeth clicked off the radio as the Major acknowledged her order, and refrained from running a hand across her face. Carson eyed her worriedly; she had been coordinating the search teams day and night for three days now, only grabbing small little snatches of sleep. Now, running on caffeine and adrenaline, she felt her hope starting to slip. Three days, and not a word. Not a sign. Nothing.
"Dr. Weir, I want you to go and get some rest. Now. If there is any word at all, I promise I'll come and get you." Carson laid a gentle hand on her arm, caressing her absently. Not for the first time, Elizabeth wondered why the kind man remained alone. She slowly nodded her head, feeling the fatigue in her bones.
"Dr. Zelenka? You too. Someone else can monitor the data," Carson said. Radek merely lifted his bleary eyes from the computer screen and shook his head.
"Am not tired," he replied. He had been looking over the scans the jumpers had transmitted back to them, hoping that he would spot an anomaly, a blip – anything that the search teams had missed. He watched as Carson's face hardened, and quickly added, "but I promise I will rest for a while if you give me another hour." He held Carson's gaze, both of them knowing his words were a lie.
"Carson? You should go and get some rest as well," Elizabeth admonished. "It won't do for you to be tired when the team comes in." She didn't say that one – or maybe all – of the teammates were perhaps gravely injured – or worse. She didn't need to.
"Aye. I'm going now. Be sure to let me know if ….." he trailed off, his thoughts darkening. He couldn't remember the team ever being this late before.
"I will," Elizabeth promised. He dropped his hand from her arm, and she suddenly missed his warmth. Together, they turned and left the control room, leaving an exhausted Dr. Zelenka to stare at his screens. Waiting. And searching.
TBC