So, by my count, we're now on the third to last chapter, or second to last, depending on whether or not I decide to do an epilogue...
Come all ye reborn
Blow off my horn
I'm driving real hard
This is love, this is porn
God will forgive me
But I, I whip myself with scorn, scorn
-Damien Rice, I Remember
Later they'll say this day was one of the longest in Atlantis most of the crew had ever experienced. For those involved, it passed with seeming great speed. It started as most days do, slowly. The graveyard shift was dragging its feet in concluding the assignments they'd drawn, whilst waiting for the first day shift to arrive. The first day shift was briskly eating breakfast and chatting about the latest missions/the latest Zelenka/McKay fight, and/or the news about Ronon and Dr. Weir's new "closeness", though truthfully people were more interested in what Colonel Caldwell would think of it...
Elizabeth wasn't much concerned with what people were saying. She was deep in her own thoughts, a condition that was well-known to most as a time when it wasn't good to bother her. Ronon sat across from her, next to Sheppard, and together they watched as she brooded over her pancakes.
Ronon nudged Sheppard. Sheppard nudged Ronon. Ronon nudged Sheppard again.
"What?"
Ronon shrugged. "Think she'd notice if I took her pancakes."
"No."
Slowly, so as not to spook, Ronon reached across the table. Elizabeth, seemingly not paying attention, smacked the back of his hand with her fork (hard), and proceeded to fuss with it some more.
Rubbing the slightly red and sore streaks where the tongs hit his hand, Ronon elbowed Sheppard in the side. "She noticed."
"I noticed," he replied with a grin.
Silently, they finished their food. It seemed at one point that Teyla would join them; however at the last second she veered away and joined Lieutenant Lorne at his table. That made Sheppard broody. By extension, all alone in his jovial mood, Ronon pretended to be brooding too, though since it was Ronon, this was all mental for him, since most emotions on him seem liked blank-face to others. Only someone skilled in studying Ronon's face would notice the differences small tensions in certain parts and what they meant for his mood.
After thirty minutes of this, one broody, two broody, and the third just-pretending, company, the trio rose and started towards the gateroom, where they were meeting the Avarians in order to take them on a trip to one of the few inhabitable, that is non-Wraith targeted (seemingly) planets they knew of. It was to be a vacation of sorts. A chance for the leaders of both worlds/encampments to get to know each other without the pressures such responsibilities entailed. It was also a chance for the Atlantians to observe the Avarians in an environment that didn't so easily give opportunity for espionage.
Along with Ronon, Sheppard, McKay, and Teyla, Elizabeth would escort five of the Avarians to this planet. There would be hourly contact with Atlantis, as well as a perimeter patrol every three hours. Recent experiences had made them wary of strangers and unfamiliar territory. It'd taken a lot of bead experiences to drum into the Earth people that trust was not always a good thing in the Pegasus Galaxy.
The gateroom slowly got louder as people came to their shifts, and the Avarians arrived. Finally, ten minutes late, Rodney arrived (shouting about what an idiot Zelenka was) (Zelenka just stood in the background looking as if he wanted to throw something). With a smug grin, Rodney asked, "Why are we just standing around?" And sometimes it took all the effort every member standing there had to not smack the shit out of him.
Elizabeth smiled bracingly though, and led everyone to the now open wormhole and gestured for them to enter. With a small wave to Colonel Caldwell (to who everyone's displeasure was in charge while she was gone), she followed. The trip to paradise was relatively smooth, despite what the proverbs say. After all, traveling as a disintegrated atom cluster wasn't really that much of a hardship.
Thanks to an advance team that'd arrived last night and left this morning, a perimeter and camp had already been established. It was completely secure from the few wild animals about and not even that far from Atlantis in case for some reason the gate became non-functional. In the end, this would both be bad and good for mission and the people itself. You see, the Avarians were not the good Samaritans they appeared to be. Nowhere near it. In exchange for not attacking and harvesting them, the Avarians "tagged" worlds just ripe for the plucking. Unfortunately, this has just been expanded to include Atlantis, which would no doubt be a pleasant surprise to the Wraith who thought Atlantis was destroyed. However, the beacon that would alert the Wraith hadn't been activated yet. The Avarians wanted something first.
The morning went pleasantly enough. After trading stories of the various customs amongst their people, Teyla's, Earth, and Avar, since Ronon rarely said anything about Sateda, the group broke for breakfast, then went on an impromptu hike. Throughout it all, Ronon stayed near or at Elizabeth's side, an odd behavior in the first place, made worse from the fact that he glared or looked menacing at anyone who ventured near. What's worse, Elizabeth indulged him, even patting him on the shoulder and one particular hostile look at Rodney.
It was only as the sun crested in the sky, which for those not up on romance novel speak, means noon, that the real trouble began. They were scheduled for a dial-up communication with Atlantis, but as Sheppard made to go to the DHD, the Avarians stood.
Elizabeth slowly stood, as well. "Is something wrong?"
The leader, a small beady-eyed man named Tavis, nodded. "I'm afraid so." Then he shot Dr. Weir in the arm. It wasn't a bullet, like a metal projectile type of thing; it was almost energy, but not quite. It didn't sear her arm, but punctured it like a regular gun, spurting blood all over the few people who remained seated near her. Immediately, Ronon was at his feet, in front of Elizabeth and doing his best to keep her upright at the same time. As one, Teyla shifted into a fighting position and Sheppard drew his gun. Rodney fought not to scream like a girl.
"What are you doing?" Sheppard asked, stepping closer, eyeing the small barely palm-sized weapon that Tavis had used.
"We're creating a hostage situation."
"Why?" Sheppard replied with one of his characteristic "you're an idiot" looks.
"In order to secure your zero point module."
Here was where Rodney decided to speak up. "Why? You don't have an Ancient technology."
Tavis smiled. "That you could see. With the zero point module, we will no longer be pawns to the Wraith, and will be free."
Rodney glared. "What technology do you have?"
Tavis smiled broader. "We have an Ancient warship."
"So?"
Tavis didn't smile. "So, we'll be able to break free."
"We have two warships and we're still no match for the Wraith."
"Ah, but are they Ancient warships?"
"One of them is."
"And you're still not able to fight the Wraith off?"
Sheppard shook his head. "We can hold our own, but the Wraith are too many. Doing this won't help you."
"I don't believe that. Our books tell us that the Ancients could hold them off in this ship, so we can too!"
"What does shooting Dr. Weir have to do with that?" Ronon asked, not growling.
"We will kill her if Atlantis doesn't hand over the zero point module."
"Here's a conundrum for you," Rodney said snarkily, "If we take out the zero point module, how are they supposed to dial here to give it to you?"
Tavis was confused.
Rodney continued. "And if we all go there to get it, once we removed it, we can't dial you home."
Tavis was more confused. They hadn't really thought that far. Most cultures that had zero point modules didn't have technology with which to use them.
"We'll figure it out! Dial Atlantis, Colonel John Sheppard, and tell them the situation. Make it clear that we are serious, and also, if you could...put down the weapons." In sync, the other four Avarians drew similar weapons and point them at the two armed, one injured, and two unarmed (though one was dangerous) group.
"No, John!" Elizabeth called from where she was clutching at the broad and leather-clad back of her slightly overly muscular but still delectable subordinate...sorry...slipped into romance novel mode again..."We do not negotiate."
Tavis was shocked. "I will kill you."
"That may be, but you will not kill everyone I've sworn to protect on Atlantis. Even if I don't live, that ZPM will keep them alive and secure. I won't betray them."
"Even if it means you and everyone hear dies?"
Sheppard stepped forward. "Even if."
Teyla and Ronon intoned their own agreement, and Rodney gave a shaky nod. Elizabeth smiled. "Even if."
Tavis grit his teeth. "Fine, we'll dial Atlantis ourselves."
Behind him, one of his minions stepped forward. "We...don't know the address."
Tavis leaned back and sans loudness replied, "How is that possible?"
Minion replied, "On Avar, Lieutenant Lorne dialed the gate, and we've never seen Atlantis dialed."
Tavis resisted the urge to scream, barely. "Fine. Then we'll stay here until someone from Atlantis calls here, then I will negotiate this situation, since your leader is too obstinate to realize her own good."
The Atlantians were fine with this, of course, because it was decided that if close enough, instead of dialing in to check on an AWOL mission, the Orion would travel within communications distance and seek to contact that way. All of which meant that only those of them there with the radios on their jackets would be able to hear them, and since it was also standard practice for the team to wear cordless ear microphones and receivers, that the Avarians wouldn't even realize that contact had been made. Some of the greatest minds on Earth came up with this, and it was one of the best ideas yet. This way, if taken, the takers couldn't get the gate address for Atlantis which, even with the Stargate protective field/barrier, was vulnerable to some attacks.
Ronon slowly lowered Elizabeth to a sitting position, and without hesitation ripped the sleeve of her red blouse away from the seam. The wound was pinpoint and angry looking. With a muttered Satedan oath, he slowly started to tend to it, shooing McKay away when he tried to help. Ronon felt this was his job, since he'd allowed this to happen.
"It wasn't your fault."
Ronon didn't look her in the eyes. "It is."
"It's not. If anything, it's John's."
Ronon smirked. "Why do you say that?"
"He's my head of security. He should have seen this coming."
"Hey!"
Ronon ignored Sheppard's outburst. "You are my responsibility."
"When did we decide this?"
"The night we spent together decided it."
"I thought we were going to ignore that."
"I thought you were going to tell me you thought you were pregnant with my child, but we all get little surprises, now don't we?"
Elizabeth was shocked. Ronon. Making a joke. About something like this! "How did you know?"
"There are no secrets on Atlantis. So...is it true?"
"Is what true?"
"That you might be..."
"That I might be...yes. It's true."
"Are you?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Cause I'm involved."
Elizabeth pondered that. "How involved?"
"I like you."
That made her smile. "You like me?"
"I do. It was...difficult, at first. I do, though."
"Awwww..."
They both decided to ignore Sheppard on that one.
"I like you, too, if you must know."
"So?"
"So..."
"Are you?"
"That depends on your way of thinking."
"Huh?"
"Here comes Tavis."
The duo turned to watch as Tavis stormed over from the other side of the camp, the side closest to the Stargate. "Why haven't your people contacted us?"
Elizabeth smiled. "I have no idea."
"You're lying."
"Probably. Ready to give up?"
"No. If they do not contact us within the next hour, we will simply return to Avar, and proceed from there." Tavis smiled an evil smile. "I'm sure you'll find our containment cells much more comfortable. If Atlantis doesn't respond to our efforts there, we'll simply give you to the Wraith. I'm sure they'll agree to amnesty for a few more years in return for knowledge of Atlantis, and it's greatest heroes."
"Would you really condemn a thousand people to that fate, even knowing that you won't get what you want?"
Tavis considered it for a second. "In a completely petty and selfish way? Yes. Yes I would."
Luckily, at that point, the cavalry arrived.
Woot woot...
Next chapter...last OFFICIAL chapter...all answers are revealed...
