Disclaimer see Prologue
Chapter 2
Rodney strode into the make-shift commissary. It was cold and windy in the tent on M5X-209. He could have requisitioned more portable radiators from Atlantis, but he wanted to run the mining outpost with being as little of a burden to the City as possible. He knew what the personnel were saying about him behind his back, he had heard the gossip. Nobody wanted to be assigned to M5X-209. They all feared the harsh conditions and his harsh rule.
Rodney's gaze swept over the commissary and his eyes narrowed on two metallurgists sitting on the far end. He purposefully strode over to their table and slammed their reports on the table, taking no regard of their breakfast.
They looked at him, aghast.
"Those reports are flawed. You might have won the science fair at high school with them, but here there is a different standard. I expect them within an our on my desk." Rodney left the commissary, on the way to the lab. He was sure there were some late comers he needed to straighten out. He was half way there when Dr. Harris intercepted him.
"Dr. McKay, Atlantis just contacted us. It's Dr. Weir, she wants to speak with you."
"What are you doing here then? You should have contacted me on the radio instead of wasting time." Rodney snapped.
"You weren't answering your radio." Dr. Harris said, not looking up.
Rodney ignored him and made his way to the main tent, where they had set up a the communications equipment.
He didn't want to talk to Elizabeth; he already knew what she wanted. She had contacted him before, trying to convince him to rejoin off-world missions with the newly formed team of Teyla, Aiden and Sergeant Stackhouse. Rodney's refusal had been adamant. He had always insisted that he was needed here to work on setting up the mining operation.
Rodney entered the main tent. Captain Stryker, the military commander of the mining outpost waved him over.
"Hold on, Dr. Weir, Dr. McKay just got here." he spoke into the radio the connected them to Atlantis when the Gate was open.
Rodney nodded and took Stryker's place.
"Hey Elizabeth, it's me."
"Rodney. It's good to talk to you. How are you?"
"I'm fine. You are getting the reports. You know that everything is going fine over here. Everyone is happy. I don't want to go back. Mining the Lavinthin is vital to the defence of Atlantis. Without it we can't make energy bullets that Earth weapons can fire. As you know I really can't leave." Rodney ranted on before Elizabeth had a chance to say anything.
"Rodney, I know. We are all aware of the things you have done for the City in the last two months. I only wanted to let you know that we have received a message from the Ymanhin an hour ago. Minister Wam Vter has news about Major Sheppard and Dr. Beckett. They have been found. That's all we know."
"Found? Are they alive?" Rodney stammered after a pause. He had given up all hope, he had left Atlantis to stop being reminded of John and now there was a chance that he was alive?
"They have been found that was all the message said. Teyla, Aiden, Stackhouse, Dr. Alley and I are getting ready to gate to Yamin now. I thought you wanted to be there as well."
"Yeah...sure. I...I'll be there." Rodney tried to regain his composure.
"I'll see you in Atlantis then." The connection was closed from the other end. Rodney looked around and found everyone staring at him.
"Get back to work! There is plenty to do!" He yelled, recovering from his surprise over the news. He needed time to process what he had just heard, but this was not the place for it.
His heart craved to hope to see John again, but his mind cautioned him against it, he didn't know what was going to await him. After all, for two month there had been no word, not a single communication with Yamin and now all of a sudden they were sending for them. Rodney's first instinct was to be suspicious. He wanted to hope, for the last two month he had been telling himself that John was dead and that he had to deal with it. He had come here and buried himself in work to forget. It had worked, the pain hadn't become less, but after a few weeks, Rodney had stopped feeling the sting. Now it all came rushing back at him. What was he going to do if he returned to Yamin and had to face John's dead body. Would he just be able to return and pretend continue as before? He had never thought of John as dead before. While he had forbidden himself to hope for John's return into his life, he had closed himself off to all thought about him. It had come to the point where his mind refused to gone back to anything that was remotely connected to what had happened on Yamin a little over two months ago. Dr. Heightmeyer had sensed that he was not willing to really deal with the events and had warned him that denying what had happened and shutting himself off were not going to help him cope with the trauma he had lived through.
But it had been the only way Rodney knew how to deal with both his loss and the demons of his own experience. He could not fight his feelings, so burying them was the only solution he could find.
When they stepped through the Gate on Yamin, they were already awaited. Wam Vter and a small group a ministerial security were waiting for them at the busy interstellar travel terminal from which multiple times a day guests or cargo were received or travellers left for other worlds. The first time he had stepped into the impressive hall, Rodney had been fascinated by the immense construction of glass and steel that encompassed that Gate and processed travellers and cargo day and night. It had been like stepping into the future.
Today Rodney was blind to the marvels of Fiatyn, the capital city of the South Kintarin continent. From the moment he had set foot on Atlantis again after his return form M5X-209, he had felt deeply unsettled. Something was wrong. Now that they had arrived back on Yamin, his nerves were vibrating with tension. It seemed like yesterday that he had left the planet in a state of shock. Like a day and a night had passed and nothing had changed, he hadn't even begun to heal, he realized now.
Wam Vter turned to the group wearing a grin so broad that it looked most insincere.
"Dr. Weir. It is a pleasure to welcome you back to Yamin. It had been too long that our people have met. It is very unfortunate that our last meeting had to end under such unfortunate circumstances. But now that we have put our differences aside, it is our hope that we may enter in a new round of negotiations with the people of Atlantis. I speak of all of Ymanhin when I say that the alliance with the Atlantians has been a most gratifying one and we only wish that many more years of fruitful..."
"The message we received said that you had good news about our missing colleagues." Elizabeth interrupted the overenthusiastic liaison officer.
"Oh that. Yes, the task force investigating the attack has found your people. Come with me to the shuttle. The pilot will already be waiting for us. I shall explain on the way." Wam Vter gestured vaguely towards the exit and led the way. The Atlantians and the security guards followed him.
The streets of Fiatyn were reserved for the pedestrians. Those who wanted to move faster had to take the Ymanhin version of the subway. Important people, such as guests of the government used shuttles to fly across the vast city.
Rodney felt a dull ache when he recalled John's barely contained excitement when they had flown across the futurist city for the first time. He had been fascinated by the shuttles of the Ymanhin. 'Almost as cool as a Puddle Jumper', he had said. Rodney shook his head to chase away to unbidden memory.
"What can you tell us?" Elizabeth circled back to her earlier question since Wam Vter had not picked up the topic again since they had taken off.
"A few weeks ago, we received a message from an undercover agent working inside the terrorist organization that we had suspected was responsible for the attack on the foreign ministry two months ago. About a week ago our military force achieved a deciding strike against the extremist group Denebria. The members of Denebria take exception to our trade with off-worlders and our exploration of foreign worlds. They hold that it has done us more harm than good. What they are overlooking is that we ourselves came to this world through the Stargate and without it we would never have achieved the level of development which we have now. We were unable to apprehend the leader of the group, a man named Turan, according to our latest information, but in a raid on several buildings, the military managed to apprehend over twenty suspected members. One of them cooperated with us and led us to the building where your people were being held."
"Where are they now?" Rodney inquired impatiently.
"The Fiatyn Medical Centre. They were found in stasis chambers and brought to the medical centre for evaluation." Wam Vter explained.
"But how are they?" Rodney was getting desperate. Wam Vter was saying as much as possible while giving them as little information as possible about John and Carson.
"You will be meeting Velig in a short while. She is an experienced healer and is in charge of the case of your people. She will be able to tell you more." Wan Vter said without a trace of apology.
"Thank you for informing us so promptly." Elizabeth intervened, sensing that Rodney was about to say something else.
The pilot sat them down smoothly on the roof of the Fiatyn Medical Centre. Rodney was both itching to finally find out how John and Carson were doing and feeling apprehensive to confront to truth. He didn't think he could deal with it if John was not going to be all right.
Ever since his arrival on Yamin, his instincts were screaming at him to get away from here. He didn't trust the Ymanhin. Something about what Wam Vter had told them at had struck him. He didn't quite know what yet, but he was going to find out.
They descended from the shuttle. Wam Vter guided them into the building. An elderly woman was already waiting for them at the entrance.
"Greetings." She bowed slightly in their general direction. „My name is Velig. You must be the Atlantians. Wam Vter has informed me of your arrival. It is an honour to meet you."
Elizabeth returned the Ymanhin greeting and bowed as well.
"It is an honour to meet you as well, Velig. We have been told that you can tell us more about our people."
"Oh yes." Velig replied. "Please come with me. I shall explain what we know." She started to walk down the corridor at a pace that Rodney would not have expected from a woman her age.
While she was walking, she spoke without waiting for the Atlantians to catch up with her.
"The two of your people were apparently found in stasis units. We have determined that they were in suspended animation for approximately two months."
"That's like all the time they have been gone." Aiden remarked.
Velig ignored him.
"Your people..."
"They have names. They are called John Sheppard and Carson Beckett." Rodney said icily, interrupting Velig.
"All right, John Sheppard and Carson Beckett suffered injuries prior to being put in suspended animation. We have started treating these injuries now." Velig wanted to go on, but this time it was Elizabeth who interrupted her.
"Thank you for providing treatment, we appreciate that. But we would like to have one of our doctors, healers present, merely to observe. Also, we'd like that know the nature of their injuries. We still don't know what exactly happened."
For a moment, Velig looked less than pleased, but then got her features back under control.
"Sure, if you wish to have a healer of yours to assist then that will be no problem. But I assure you that we have the situation well under control. Your people, John Sheppard and Carson Beckett, are not in danger of dying at the moment. There are observation facilities from which you will all be able to observe the treatment procedures." Velig offered.
The corridor led into a hall with windows to one side of it. But the windows didn't offer a view of the outside but allowed anyone looking through to see into the room one level down. Velig noticed the questioning expressions on their faces.
"From here, you will be able to observe the treatment of your friends. Who of you will be coming with me to observe directly?" She asked.
Dr. Alley came forward.
"Come with me." Velig said to him. Turning to the others, she said, "One of my assistants will be with you shortly, if you have any questions."
She quickly left, Dr. Alley trailing behind her, leaving them behind in the observation room. Only now it occurred to Rodney that she still had not answered their questions.
TBC