Vital Lies
Chapter 13
Fersor came by again, bearing a bowl of hot soup for Elizabeth while she waited for Wam Vter to return with news from his consultation with the Judicial Council. He had offered to arrange for transport back to the villa, but Dr Weir had insisted that she wait. She had to know. Elizabeth absently stirring the soup, lost in thought when Wam Vter finally returned.
"Dr. Weir?" She looked up, internally bracing herself for whatever news the liaison officer might bring.
"I have spoken to the Council and they have accepted to my proposal. Dr. McKay will receive a token sentence and then will be handed over to you, under the condition that he will not return to Yamin."
Elizabeth nodded, but she was still cautious. "What kind of punishment are we talking about?"
"He will spend one solar year in exile. We believe it is important to preserve the original sentiment of the punishment."
Elizabeth's thoughts halted. One solar year. They couldn't do that to Rodney! She couldn't let that happen. The injustice of it filled her with anger.
"I need to talk to him." She finally managed with hard won control.
"I'm afraid that is not possible. Dr. McKay has already been transferred to Shukur to serve his sentence. Communication with prisoners is not permitted. But you need not worry, Dr. Weir; the conditions on Shukur may be basic, but they are very well civilized." Wam Vter meant to reassure her, but his words only drove home the reality of what Rodney would have to face.
"I have taken the liberty to arrange for a shuttle to take you back to your accommodations. You are welcome to stay on Yamin as long as you please, Dr. Weir. Our people still have a lot to share. We should not let this unfortunate incident come between us."
Elizabeth pulled herself together. Now was not to time to let her personal feelings show. She was not going to convince Wam Vter of Rodney's innocence with words. Right now she needed to keep the relations with the Ymanhin alive if she ever wanted to have a chance to renegotiate the terms of Rodney's sentence.
"No, I agree, we should definitely keep our dialogue alive. But I need to return to Atlantis for a few days. Dr. McKay's absence will be felt in our City. I will need some time to reassign the tasks he was in charge of."
"I'm please to hear that. I will tell the pilot to bring you to the Gate instead. We had an incident at the Interstellar Travel Station this morning and the area is still being cleared up, so you will have to use the Gate on North Kintarin. It is a longer flight by shuttle, I'm afraid."
oOo
The shuttle flight seemed endless. The pilot's mannerisms were typical of the Ymanhin. He bowed to greet her, smiled a lot and was courteous. First they flew to the villa to pick up Dr. Alley and the rest of the gear then the shuttle headed for the northern continent. After giving the worried Dr. Alley the abbreviated version of what had happened to Rodney, Elizabeth dozed off. She'd been up all night, waiting for news of her wayward scientist.
By the time she jerked awake again, they were already landing again. Wishing for a night of oblivion, Dr Weir straightened and climbed out of the shuttle. It was night outside, but she had no idea what time it was going to be on Atlantis. She'd hardly slept since returning to Yamin; it didn't seem to matter what time it was. The Interstellar Travel Station in North Kintarin looked identical to the building that housed the Gate on the southern continent. Even on the inside, the layout was the same. Being night time, they were the only travellers present. Elizabeth was glad when the technician finally dialled the Gate. Figuring out all that had happened on the planet could wait until she had slept for at least a few hours.
Her first taste of what was to come was when Grodin came down to greet her as she stepped through the Gate. One look at him told her how worn and exhausted he was. The grim expression on his face foretold bad news. He didn't need to say for Elizabeth to know something bad had happened.
"Aiden and Teyla?" She asked, bracing herself for the inevitable message of doom.
"We don't know what happened. We thought you would know. There was some sort of fire or explosion near the Gate on Yamin. They were caught in the middle of it."
"How are they?" Elizabeth tried to keep her voice steady.
"We should go to your office." Dr. Grodin suggested.
"Right." Elizabeth had forgotten all about Dr. Alley still standing besides her. She led the way to her office and gestured for Peter to sit down before she sank down into a chair herself.
"What happened?" She finally asked.
"Lieutenant Ford came through the Gate, dragging Dr. Beckett along with him. He told us to send a team back for Teyla and the major before he passed out. I sent Bates with a team. They found a fire raging uncontrolled on the other side. He said it looked like a demolition site. They found Teyla unconscious but they couldn't find Major Sheppard. The smoke from the fire forced his team back pretty quickly; I made the decision not to risk sending a second team. Stackhouse and Bates are still in the infirmary for smoke inhalation." Grodin defended his actions.
"You made the right call." Elizabeth reassured him.
"We don't know what happened to the major." Grodin shook his head, Elizabeth could tell he was still in shock.
"We will find out. Have you been down to the infirmary?" Grodin shook his head again.
oOo
The infirmary was filled with hushed activity, its small ward nearly filled to capacity. Dr. Biro caught them as they entered.
"Dr. Weir. Good to see you."
"Dr. Biro, how are they doing?"
"I'm going to release Stackhouse and Bates tomorrow morning. They've been treating them for smoke inhalation and are off oxygen now, but I want to keep an eye on them overnight. Lieutenant Ford suffered wounds to his shoulder and upper back, probably from flying debris. We also treated him for second and third degree burns to his arms and hands."
"When will we be able to talk to him? Major Sheppard is still missing and he may be the only one who can tell us what happened to him."
"He was awake briefly since when settled him in his bed and he might wake up today or possible not until tomorrow. But he's on morphine I'm afraid, so don't expect too much." Dr. Biro cautioned.
Dr. Weir nodded. "Carson and Teyla?"
"Dr. Beckett was injured on the planet, yes?"
"Yes, but the Ymanhin haven't given us any details. There isn't much I can tell you. Dr. Alley spoke with the Ymanhin healers, if anyone knows something, he does."
"I will need to talk to him. I need to know more about their nano technology."
"I'll send Dr. Alley down now. How is he doing?"
"Aside from his earlier injuries and some worrisome results in the post-mission routine blood tests that might be due to whatever he was given on Yamin, he took a hit to the back of the head and suffered a rather nasty gash to his back and concussion. It'll be at least twenty-four hours before we can think about asking questions."
"That's not good enough." Elizabeth knew the stakes.
"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to change that."
"What about Teyla?"
"Teyla fractured two vertebrae in her lower back, but luckily there was no damage to the spinal cord. She'll be flat on her back three or four weeks but she should fully recover. I'm also concerned because her oxygen saturation levels were very low when she was brought in, but she recovered quickly."
"Is she awake?" Elizabeth hated to ask, but she needed to know what happened.
"She also suffered a minor concussion; she's drifting in and out. I don't think talking to her would be a good idea."
"Dr, Biro, I have a man out there. I need to find out what happened."
"Teyla isn't in any condition to report about what happened." Dr. Biro said firmly.
"This isn't open to debate. We are talking about the life of Major Sheppard here."
"Ten minutes." Dr. Biro sighed and conceded.
oOo
Kijen couldn't keep the shaking at bay, cold wind coming in through every crack. He didn't think it was possible to feel so cold. The image from his dream came back to haunt him. Snow. Snow was cold…maybe, he couldn't quite piece the memory together. He tried to shift to ease the ache in his shoulders. His hands and feet were numb from the cold and obeyed his commands only reluctantly.
The truck stopped suddenly. Kijen stilled and listed. The cold had distracted him from worrying too much about what was happening. He didn't have to wait long for the sound of footsteps on gravel. The crunching sounds neared followed by rustling of fabric; someone was working on untying the tarp. The bright sunlight suddenly filling his small space was blinding, driving a sharp pain through his skull. One of the men who'd escorted him to the truck reached towards him. Kijen shrank back.
"Hold still. Unless you don't want to eat. And don't try anything. You won't get far."
That got Kijen to comply and let the man free his wrists. Wincing, he gingerly stretched his stiff muscles. The rays of sunlight were providing welcoming warmth on his skin. It wasn't enough to chase the deep cold from his bones, but it was enough to ease his shivers.
The man handed him a metal cup.
"Drink, it's all you are going to get."
Kijen sniffed at it then took a careful sip. The hot liquid was very sweet, but surprisingly bland. Rodney would love this, he thought. For a split second an image flashed through his mind. He tried to catch it, but it was already gone. Rodney? Who was he? Obviously he knew him. Had he been the man that had died in the other stasis pod? Not knowing frustrated Kijen. The flitter of a memory made him hungry for more. What about all the other things he couldn't remember? Kijen could feel the memories lurking just beneath the surface of his consciousness.
"Drink up. We have to get going again." The man ordered, seeing Kijen linger.
"Where are you taking me?" Kijen asked.
"To your owner."
"Nobody owns me!" Kijen protested without thinking. Even though he didn't know, it just sounded wrong. People couldn't be owned...could they?
"Nonsense. Tyrone sold you. He paid for you to be taken to Deakon. He owns you." The man affirmed before taking the cup back.
Kijen didn't believe him. He may not remember anything about himself, but he knew that nobody owned him. The guard was looking down at the cup and Kijen pounced, wrestling the man to the ground. His weight worked to his advantage. He saw the flicker of the man's eyes and knew what he was about to do. Kijen reached the gun first and depressed the trigger.
The recoil of the weapon surprised him, dropping the weapon to the ground. Shocked, he stared at the man, lying dead in the dirt with dark blood staining his coat. He'd just killed a man without thinking twice about it. It had happened automatically. He'd grabbed the gun and fired it, a reflex reaction. This wasn't been the first time he'd handled a gun. Kijen felt the patch on the side of his head. A gunfight had brought him to this plant. A prison. He'd already killed. Still, his hands were shaking as he reached for the fallen weapon. He managed to tuck the gun into the waistband of his shorts before he started to gag. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't fight the urge to vomit. Throwing up what little he'd eaten that day, the lancing pain in his head returning. It wasn't back with the overwhelming force of the early morning, but it wasn't ebbing away either. Kijen sat down on the ground. He didn't want to move ever again. All he wanted was to stay in the sun, letting the rays warmth sink into his skin. He didn't want to think about the body lying only a few feet from him, he didn't want to think about being stranded in the middle of a wasteland, he didn't want to think about the dead man from the stasis pod.
TBC