Note: I hope everyone is well. Thank you again for the congrats on passing my exam, you guys are so kind! As we hit the start of Day 21 in this fic, we're now over halfway towards the 40 chapter target I set myself to cover a 40 day stretch for the characters. Fortunately, with the exam now done, I am able to start posting regularly again :) especially as I've started to plan the details to write the next big fic that will follow this 'interlude'. The Muse has awoken and has big plans, so let's get this fic explored and ready for the next...
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DAY 21 – CONSTRAINT
Chapter 22 – Unspoken Questions
As much as Oneakka's decision to discharge himself back to his quarters had concerned Halling, as it always did, he had to admit that it was far more pleasant sitting in here at his friend's side compared to in the Healing Bay. One of the most spacious of quarters in the Facility and with its own large porthole window allowing in some limited natural light, Oneakka's quarters were light and bright compared to most in the base. Oneakka had decorated the room well too, painting the walls a bright white to reflect the limited sunlight, and the large plant sat by the porthole added a freshness to the air. It was a lovely room, even considering that it was essentially also a museum containing a wide collection of Ugun artefacts, a fact of which Halling was acutely aware following his recent surprising and emotional conversation with Oneakka.
Looking around at the room these last few days, Halling felt very conscious of the Ugun items displayed in here, though he knew that Oneakka had far more stored away. Alongside his quarters on the Sythus and several storage spaces, Oneakka also loaned out artefacts to various memorial collections, museums, educational and research facilities. He received currency for the loans, which he funnelled into a maintenance fund to help him purchase any newly discovered Ugun items that might turn up in auctions in or outside the Alliance. Since the Uguns had welcomed traders to their world, though never left their planet themselves, there had been a wide range of Ugun items out there for Oneakka to find.
Of course, Oneakka never had to haggle for any of his people's items he wanted to reclaim. Many people simply gave things to him, as had happened to an extensive degree back when people had first heard what had happened to his planet. After that, Ugun items had started turning up in auctions, both official and black-market. Halling wasn't sure how Oneakka was able to learn about them all, but all it took was him turning up in full battle armour and no one dared bid against him. Occasionally over the years, when Oneakka was away on mission, Halling had taken his place at such events, and had always followed Oneakka's orders precisely on being in full battle armour and how much to bid. Halling had usually arrived at the event, announced who he was and who he was representing, and there had never been any issues. Sometimes, the auctioneers had immediately removed the Ugun item from the auction and then tried to haggle with him directly. He suspected that Oneakka had never had such an issue, but Halling had always been able to meet Oneakka's monetary target and take home the item for Oneakka.
But each artefact, sometimes large or small, had felt very vulnerable and sad in Halling's hands. He had visited Ugun with Oneakka a few times, when Oneakka had needed help in sorting through some large debris on his planet. Since the days that Ugun had fallen and Oneakka had recovered from his significant injuries following his blood vengeance battle against the Queen and base that had planted itself on the ruins of Ugun, Oneakka had begun shifting through the ruins of his world. The Wraith had blasted the surface into a fiery mess, leaving nothing living, but fortunately the atmosphere had not been too badly damaged and the air remained breathable and free of radiation. Of course that was little solace for Oneakka, but it had meant that he could visit there in-between his Recruit training and then when he had graduated onto battle rotation. There had been barely anything left intact, but over the years Oneakka had still found plenty of items – even some large sculptures that had defied the flames and held mostly together.
Yet, it was the smaller items that held the real painful reminder of Oneakka's loss. Oneakka kept those closer to him, stored in both this room and in his quarters on the Sythus. The most delicate, and perhaps most poignant, of recovered items were kept in the glass-fronted cabinet stood next to the door here. In there were broken personal items, including a child's necklace. Halling preferred not to look in the cabinet that often, as he found it quite emotional; not just because it was a clear reminder of the horrific death of an entire people, but for the pain it surely must cause Oneakka. Halling had used to wonder if it was healthy for Oneakka to keep them in his home, seeing them every day, but he knew that those items had been pretty much untouched by Oneakka since he'd set them in the cabinet. The long shelves that lined the side wall opposite the window held many of Ugun items set in front of books and scrolls, but they never moved. They stood, surrounding Oneakka, but unused and simply displayed. It had occurred to Halling years ago that Oneakka was more of a curator of the Ugun planet and its remaining artefacts. He kept watch over his planet, reclaimed and rescued what artefacts he could, and then kept them safe, but they had always remained away from him.
Halling had never seen Oneakka wear anything from Ugun, not even recreations. Though Elite were supposed to leave any culture and religion of their homeworld behind them once they joined as young Recruits, the reality was that they all had remnants of their homeworlds that they expressed through their individual armour, clothing, tattoo location, and hairstyles. Oneakka though, had always dressed in basic, simple clothing and his armour was always a muted colour with no embellishments. The only cultural item he wore was the Ugun glyph tattoo over his heart, and that was far from a pleasant meaning.
Halling's own quarters were full of his Athosian heritage and he felt it was important for him to honour his people in that way. Every item in an Athosian home had a purpose, even if it was just for display, and everything was regularly ritually cleaned, not just for cleanliness but to touch and connect with the items and how it represented their people. Oneakka, in comparison, may live surrounded with his people's things, but only two items had actually belonged to him personally before the fall of Ugun: the tapestry displayed above the door here and the smiling statue of the Ugun 'Unnamed God' that sat on Oneakka's high headboard overlooking his bed. There was a duplicate statue in his Sythus quarters, but that had been given to Oneakka by a trader who had been gifted it by Oneakka's own father, the two having been friends. Apparently, Oneakka's father had been an excellent blacksmith and had been known to many traders, including Athosians. Halling had always wondered if Oneakka found it a blessing to have met people who had known his father, or whether it was a painful reminder; especially as those people had known Oneakka's father far better than his own son. Leaving Ugun to train as an Elite had been an honour for Oneakka and his people, and it had saved Oneakka from sharing their fate, but it had also prevented him from knowing his family. Like most Elite Recruits, he had had no contact with his family since the day he had left.
In light of recent events, that fact cut harshly in Halling's heart.
Though Oneakka had not spoken about his recent experience since their conversation, Halling had noticed some changes that suggested it remained on his friend's mind. Massa had noticed as well, but they had decided not to mention it to Oneakka yet. After all, for all the years since that fateful day, there had been an unspoken rule among those close to Oneakka to never speak about Ugun. If Oneakka brought it up then it was okay to talk about it carefully, but Oneakka rarely ever spoke of his people.
Until recently, Halling could not recall Oneakka talking about his family, and he had not spoken their names during that conversation. Halling knew their names from Oneakka's record, and it had always felt important for him to honour them on behalf of his bereaved friend, to speak their names out loud during the annual Athosian Ancestor Festival. They may not be his actual ancestors, but Halling felt it important that their names be spoken by someone for Oneakka. It was perhaps important only to him because of his Athosian upbringing, as for Athosians, biological family were vital and were believed to watch over their descendants. Which was why he had mentioned to Oneakka the belief that, if someone had had a visitation from their ancestors, then evidence would soon follow to confirm the authenticity of the experience. Though, Halling wondered if it had been wise to share that with Oneakka. Oneakka didn't believe in such things, but there had been an almost raw burst of hope in his friend's tearful blue eyes on hearing it. As much as Oneakka had disagreed, his eyes had said something different. Or, perhaps, it had been his heart and soul that had hoped, while his active and powerful mind had overridden it. Still...
Halling shifted his gaze from his research pad's full and busy screen to Oneakka's side table next to his chair. The table's surface held the usual items expected around Oneakka: books, a scroll, several electronic pads, and a pad of paper and a drawing tool. On the other side table stood on the opposite side of Oneakka's bed, there were more books, a timekeeping piece, and a covered jug of nutritional tonic that Oneakka had orders from Meiyo to drink today. Halling winced at recalling the taste of the liquid from his own recoveries over the years, and clearly Oneakka hadn't had any of it yet judging by the empty glass stood next to the jug. They were all usual items for Oneakka.
What was very new were two Ugun items, one on each side table. Each day that Halling visited, the items had changed too, and he was certain now that they were Ugun. On the closest side table to Halling, where yesterday there had been a metal cup, today there was a small blackened statue that he recognised usually sat on one of the shelves behind him. He had never seen any of the Ugun artefacts so physically close to Oneakka before, and clearly they were being changed at least once a day. Since Oneakka couldn't retrieve the items himself from the shelves, and neither Massa nor Halling had gotten them down for Oneakka, it was someone else. So it was either Seeal or one of the visitors to Oneakka's side during the day. Perhaps Nalla?
Either way, it was something very new. It worried Halling a little, though he wasn't sure if such a reaction was necessary or appropriate. There was nothing wrong with Oneakka handling the items in his home; perhaps he had always done this, but only when alone in his quarters and had simply left them on the shelves. Whereas now he needed them down by him to be able to connect with them? Or, was it what Halling worried about the most: that Oneakka was, even unwillingly, looking for something? Looking for that promised signal from his family that his vision had been true? Halling hated to think of his friend sat, emotionally in pain, looking hopefully through the broken and damaged things from Ugun in hopes of finding something. Though, if it was Nalla bringing Oneakka the items – which he suspected most likely - then it would mean that she approved of the emotional need and hopefully was supporting Oneakka in doing so. Nalla was one of few people that Oneakka was emotionally open to, as she was trusted by them all to be the caretaker of their feelings that she sensed without choice. Halling truly hoped it was her sat with Oneakka as he held his people's lost things.
Though, there was one other sign that Oneakka's past was becoming fresh for him again. Massa had reacted at its arrival too, and they had shared a surprised look across Oneakka's bed this morning. Since the surgical Healers had had to shave Oneakka's head for his surgery, Oneakka's hair had been growing back with surprising speed, to the point that Oneakka had had it clipped back at the sides. It was a subtle change considering his hair was still short, but the fact that he'd left the central part of his hair left longer had created a slight Mohawk; the hairstyle that Oneakka had sported for all his childhood and into his teen years as a Recruit. It had been his signature look, though the height of the central taller strip of hair had varied over those years, it had been part of his identity. Until he'd woken up in his recovery bed after battling the Wraith Queen on the bones of his world, when Oneakka had had the Mohawk shaved off almost immediately. Since then, he'd kept his hair all the same length and just cut it back every now and then for tidiness. Now though...
Halling shifted his gaze to Oneakka now, who was sat up against his piles of pillows, his head bowed over his own pad as he went through the latest Skerti research work with Halling. The hairstyle was actually even more obvious when looking at Oneakka in profile, and it was oddly shocking for Halling. It somehow merged the current day with those younger happier days when Oneakka had been known as a determined but playful young man. Back before the pain and scars had built up. Yet, was perhaps the return of the hairstyle a sign of some deeper healing? Or an honouring of his people perhaps? Halling wasn't sure, and he didn't feel that he should ask. He wondered if the hairstyle had been something all of Oneakka's family had worn or whether there had been some other cultural significance to it. Though, he suspected that if he did ask Oneakka about the return of the hairstyle, that Oneakka would simply say that it was to allow the Healers to access his new long jagged scar that ran backwards over his scalp from his hairline, running in line with his left eye. As the scar was closed up and looking like it was settling, Halling wouldn't believe that explanation, but he suspected it would still be Oneakka's excuse if he asked. So Halling said nothing.
In truth, it was a habit not to say anything sensitive to Oneakka, and something that Seeal had, somewhat accurately, called him and Massa on. She said that they both allowed Oneakka to always get his way, but though Seeal appeared to be allowed to ask questions of Oneakka that other people didn't dare, that did not mean that they should all start behaving that way. Admittedly, Halling was starting to agree with Massa that watching Seeal confront Oneakka was sometimes quite amusing, especially her recent frank questions about why Oneakka wouldn't allow her to help him to his bathroom. She hadn't mentioned the discussion since, though Halling had noticed that Oneakka had made a habit of going to the bathroom shortly before Seeal was due for her daily shift at his side. Halling had said nothing when assisting Oneakka across the short distance and into the bathroom. Oneakka could stand upright for a short period now, although taking a shower remained a real effort. Still, he and Oneakka had both helped each other with such things before and they were experts now at how to wash when hurt. The trick was to have the shower as quickly as possible and Oneakka to lean one shoulder against the wall while Halling soaped his back and legs, and Oneakka did his front and arms. Halling was simply amazed at how Oneakka's wound site was healing though. It was simply a series of red lines now on one side of his lower spine and on his right lower belly at the front. The internal damage was obviously more extensive, but Oneakka, as always, was healing wonderfully fast and Meiyo remained pleased with his progress.
Oneakka, of course, was not so pleased. Still, the current stage of his medication plan included some stronger pain-killing drugs to help him through the increased physical therapy he could now do. Still, even during those physical therapy sessions, Oneakka was actually not being as difficult and excessive as he usually was. For now, it appeared that he was not as grumpy, though it was possible that the sedating edge of the current meds were partly to blame, or, perhaps, he was choosing to behave himself after moving himself back to his quarters against everyone's advice. How long his current willing mood would last was anyone's guess, but Seeal was suspicious. She seemed to think that he was planning something. What exactly Seeal thought Oneakka was 'up to' was rather lost on Halling. He considered Oneakka now, seeing the slightly longer blinks that betrayed his sleepiness from the meds. Oneakka constantly resisted the urge to nap, but it nearly always got the better of him and he'd spontaneously fall asleep. The naps didn't last long, and Oneakka always snapped awake like he was shocked. Still, despite the sleepiness and physical discomfort, Oneakka's mind was as quick as always and he was a useful sounding board for Halling regarding the Skerti research. Plus, it gave Oneakka purpose and focus for at least part of each day when Halling sat with him.
"I don't think Division's latest Quantum gang intel is anything," Oneakka stated from his pad, which was currently displaying the reports of recent activity outside the border. The hope was to find anything that may indicate activity of the Skerti, but it was difficult to separate out other factors, especially the Wraith culling beyond the border. "The wars have been going on for years, especially now considering the gap in the Quantum dealing market that Khor's death created. It's not unusual that one clan goes silent."
Halling nodded as he scanned through another section of the report in question. "I agree. I think the Salvagers data is far more interesting."
Oneakka nodded. "Though they hardly check in across the border, so we can't be certain of numbers."
"True, but they range out far further than any other groups," Halling noted as he opened a new report from a non-Alliance trading planet where Division spies had been investigating.
"Because there's nothing out in those distant areas but rocks and nebulae," Oneakka replied, "which could make a great hiding place for the Skerti all this time. Uninhabited systems that no one visits, not even Wraith."
Halling nodded. "This latest report has corroborated the last one: Salvagers talking about having lost contact with an entire sector of their workforce. This one reported that the experienced Salvager he spoke to seemed very anxious. Salvagers do not scare easily."
"Mmm," Oneakka nodded. "And the reports are recent enough and the timescale fits in with just before the Nest Battle and the Seed Ship encounter."
"I believe it is one of our best leads," Halling tapped it onto the official list for investigation he was preparing for his meeting later. "I've put it on the list for my meeting with the Fleet Commanders." By that time, Atlantis would also be delivering their promised report on the vampire stories from their homeworld, so Halling anticipated a very full afternoon and evening. He had given his research team the morning off rotation in return for their time this evening once the Atlantis' intel arrived. He was just hoping that it was going to be as useful as he hoped, for it seemed that the Skerti had done an exceptional job at concealing themselves for seemingly thousands of years.
"Links conference?" Oneakka asked, lifting his eyes from his pad for the first time in hours.
"Yes, later this afternoon," he replied with a glance towards the timekeeping device on Oneakka's far side table, beside which sat the Ugun cup. "I saw Seeal moved her shift with you to this afternoon, so you have Massa's company this evening and tonight." Massa had volunteered for the night shifts sat with Oneakka, saying that his nights were full of broken sleep with Aki anyway, and since Oneakka rarely slept the whole night through in one go, it gave both of them company. Plus, Halling believed it also provided Massa with another pair of hands to care for Aki. Oneakka, as grumpy as he could be, was surprisingly tolerant and calm with young babes and Aki continued his fascination with Oneakka's facial tattoos.
"Seeal's off with her Sythus Strays to Myrtle's this evening," Oneakka explained the change in the rota. As was always the case, Myrtle's name was said with a faintly disgusted tone. The two males had never liked one another and had come to blows in the past. Halling didn't mind Myrtle's company, but kept that opinion to himself.
"I'm glad to hear Seeal is spending some time with her friends outside the Facility," Halling noted. She had dedicated so much of her time to looking after Oneakka around her project work and caring for the goats, so he thought it healthy for her to spend time away.
Oneakka shifted against his pillows, appearing uncomfortable. "Myrtle's doing his usual seduction routine to get intel on the High Council's ship building," Oneakka supplied what Halling already knew, well apart from the detail of the seduction part. He wasn't entirely sure how Oneakka could know that fact, or perhaps if Oneakka was just assuming that was how Myrtle was undertaking his investigation.
"There is still little definitive on where the High Council are building and how many ships," Halling steered the conversation away from Myrtle. "I wonder if we should approach Saoka again."
Oneakka glanced round, seeming to have now found a comfortable more reclined angle against his pillows. "Has Si talked to him yet?"
"I do not believe so, not since your confrontation with Saoka on his station."
"I didn't do the confronting," Oneakka frowned. "It was Si' interrogation. Well, and Seeal's hack into Saoka's station database."
"There has still been some discussion on actually using that possible 'back door' to check for ourselves whether Saoka knows more than he's telling us."
Oneakka nodded, blinking long and slow. The tiredness was starting to get the best of him, which was good. He'd had a very good therapy session earlier, having managed to walk completely around the room by holding onto the furniture and with the Physical Therapist's assistance, and he'd been reading all the detailed Skerti reports since the effort of taking a shower.
"I don't think Saoka knows more," Oneakka replied as he rolled his head from one side and then the other. Without being able to stop himself, Halling's gaze kept returning to the Mohawk.
"You don't?" Halling asked as he made himself focus on his friend's face, realising that he was a little surprised at Oneakka's conclusion.
"He'd have told Si by now," Oneakka explained. "Saoka's desperate."
Halling frowned at that conclusion. "That wasn't what you said after you and Si returned from the confrontation with Saoka."
"I passed through Saoka's main station just before the Rogue Hive issue kicked off," Oneakka reported. "Saoka arrived in person and followed me around the marketing stalls, clearly trying to get information out of me about Si. Said he was worried. Si' been blanking him."
Halling was very surprised at that, not only that Saoka had willingly appeared in person and tried to tap Oneakka for information – far from the most sharing of Elite warriors – but also because it was a subject and conclusion that seemed far too emotionally involved for Oneakka to normally care about and relay.
"It is likely that Saoka could have some contacts from beyond the border to help with the Skerti research," Halling considered. "Plenty of traders that cross the border visit his stations. We could approach him ourselves rather than through Si."
"Maybe," Oneakka considered with a slight slur, blinking hard.
"I wonder if there's any mention in the latest Division reports as to whether they have spoken with Saoka," Halling considered as he returned his attention to his pad, purposefully deciding to fall silent to allow Oneakka time to give into the need to sleep. Seeal wasn't due to take over from Halling for an hour, plenty of time for Oneakka to nap and then have a trip to the bathroom before she arrived.
Halling typed in a search for Saoka's name in the research database. He glanced up from the screen to Oneakka, to see that his friend already had his eyes closed, his head rocking forward a little. He was still resisting the lure of sleep, but he would clearly lose.
The search results came up with two references to Saoka, so Halling settled back into his chair to read as he heard Oneakka's breathing deepen in the peaceful silence.
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The Conference Room was busy, packed full in fact. John had picked a spot near the two large screens showing the latest on the Skerti and vampire research that they were due to deliver to the Elite later today. There was certainly plenty of vampire stuff to send: myths, legends, old pictures and a few modern movie screenshots for the Elite, and there was Dr Jackson's extensive review of vampire lore from when they'd first learned about the Wraith. But, outside of all that, which might not actually provide much for the Elite, they had diddlysquat. The Colonels clearly thought the same, Carter and Sumner leading the briefing with looks that, John didn't want to label as 'depressed' but it clearly wasn't a positive kind of meeting so far.
"...not even a single trace of any deletion points," Zelenka was reporting, Rodney at his side. "There's nothing to find to even attempt to retrieve." It was the science way of saying that the Ancients, if they had recorded anything on the Skerti, hadn't left even a footprint of what could have been there. It had been a real thorough information blackout, which was pretty telling for John.
"So they redacted everything," Sumner summarised.
"Redacted implies there's something there just covered up," Rodney replied, "there's nothing."
"So they either kept anything on the Skerti on a separate data-drive that they took with them, destroyed, or nothing was actually recorded in Atlantis' database," one of Rodney's team put in. She was an expert in data retrieval sent in by the IOA, but she looked like she wished she wasn't here.
"Yeah, or they could delete things better than we can," Rodney replied. "They built the database in the first place; they'd know how to do it."
"And we know the Ancients are usually pretty thorough," Colonel Carter concluded as she considered her clasped hands set on the shiny surface of the briefing table.
"Except when it comes to cleaning up their Wraith mess," John put in and Carter glanced at him with a pained smile.
"What about the search of the database on anything 'vampire' related?" Sumner asked the room.
"Well nothing came up when we typed in 'Dracula'," Rodney scoffed. "Maybe we should search for werewolves while we're at it."
John worked not to roll his eyes at Rodney. The guy was clearly feeling the pressure of not being able to find anything useful; he got real ratty it when he couldn't solve something.
"We've searched everything we can think of," Zelenka replied more helpfully. "Anything that involves draining life-force, blood drinking, night-time hunting, even just 'fangs', but everything we find inevitably relates back to the Iratus or the Wraith."
"Everything I ask the hologram lady just brings up the same," John added. "There's no hint of anything like the Skerti, outside of the Wraith." He'd spent hours in the hologram room, asking every kind of question he could think of from the holographic interface of the Ancient database.
"We've tried adding the Skerti DNA details we have from the Elite into the medical database again," Carson reported, "but the results simply say that it is related to the Wraith and Iratus Bugs. We've tried every avenue, but, as we know, the Ancients had already left out any useful details on the evolution of the Wraith. The Elite have agreed for us to receive Skerti cell samples tomorrow, so there's a chance using the Ancient scanner to scan them directly might yield something." Except John didn't think Carson looked all that confident.
"At least we have a comprehensive report on the vampire myths to provide to the Elite," Woolsey put in from the IOA section around the table.
"Daniel supplied anything new?" General O'Neill asked Carter.
"No, he's still in the thick of the peace negotiations off-world with that rebel Jaffa group who refuse to believe the Goa'uld aren't secretly controlling the Free Jaffa," she replied.
"The man has no idea how a vacation works," O'Neill muttered as he tapped a pen against the surface of the table.
The Colonel smiled faintly back at him. "He was able to send a quick message yesterday, but he says everything he found was in his research paper in relation to the Wraith. He asked around the Jaffa at the negotiations, but none of them had heard of anything like vampires. He suggests we ask more allies back home, see if the myths extended beyond Earth."
"So we've got nothing much to go on, unless the stories of garlic and silver are true," O'Neill concluded. He glanced round at John. "Do they have garlic in Pegasus?"
"Umm," John considered his culinary experience of Athosian buffets, "maybe."
"Maybe we should start importing it," O'Neill suggested.
"Dr Jackson did note in his paper that garlic has been used for thousands of years on Earth," Carson added. "It might have been around when the Ancients came to Earth."
"Or maybe they brought it with them," John considered.
"It could be that there is a chemical in garlic that Skerti are sensitive to," Carson noted.
"I've see that movie," John joked at the Doc and he smiled back.
"We can try exposing the Skerti cell samples we receive to garlic extracts," Carson suggested, "but we will be limited to how many cells the Elite provide us with. I suggest that we provide some bulbs of garlic for the Elite to test against the Skerti remains for more thorough testing."
Colonel Carter nodded. "I'll check with the Mess Hall," she smiled.
"Are we really thinking that garlic is going to be the super weapon we can use against these Skerti?" Rodney asked doubtfully. "That all we need to do is eat hummus every day and we're safe?"
"That and rent the Blade movies," John suggested.
"So, other than the hopeful possibility that the Skerti have a sensitivity to silver, garlic, or sunlight," Colonel Carter stated, "we're coming up short on anything else useful?"
There was a quiet pause as everyone crowded into the room reached the same conclusion.
"What's the latest on the Skerti drive specs?" Sumner asked into the silence.
"Unsurprisingly," Rodney replied, "nothing matches in the City database, but we're convinced that the Ancients were involved in its construction."
"I wouldn't say that we were 'convinced'," Zelenka put in. "The chances are high, but if the Skerti can indeed manipulate and copy Ancient technology then maybe-"
"Yes, yes," Rodney waved him quiet. "We've been through this a thousand times and if you'd just-"
"There's no way to know for sure," John summarised for them.
"Not unless we can get our hands on the drive itself," Sumner put in. "Open it up ourselves and see the tech inside."
"I've asked if we can send a delegation to see the drive firsthand ourselves," Carter replied with a glance towards Rodney and Zelenka. "I'm hopeful that the Elite will agree, but I sincerely doubt they'll let us borrow it."
"I have spoken with Imseti, their lead researcher into the Skerti's physiology," Carson added, "and I think they'll be willing to let us join one of their research teams studying the Iratus bug planet that's now included in Alliance space."
"No way I'm going on that mission," John made it clear and he wasn't joking.
Carson sent him a sympathetic look. "Actually we've already exchanged research on the Iratus bugs themselves, this new research is going to be more archaeological in nature. If the Skerti did originate from the Iratus/Human hybrid, then that planet is their birthplace. The Elite researchers are hoping that there may be evidence of their original home concealed away in areas of the planet not yet studied. If we can find Skerti burials or cultural evidence that could be useful."
Carter nodded at Carson. "I agree, but that could take some time and will involve sending our own people into Alliance territory, and we know how dangerous the Iratus planet can be."
"Sheppard and Ford go into space battles with the Elite all the time," Rodney argued.
"True," Carter conceded. "I'll talk with Elite Halling about the details later when we dial in with our report," Carter nodded as she typed in a note on her tablet.
John let out a breath. The truth was that they didn't have much for Teyla and the Elite. The Colonel was right, unless there turned out to be any truth in the garlic or sunlight thing, they didn't have anything new. The Ancients had really done a number on the purge of anything Skerti related; unless it really was true that the Ancients hadn't known about them. Of course there was no way to find out, no one to ask...
The idea hit John suddenly.
"What we need is to ask an actual Ancient about the Skerti," he told the room, interrupting something someone was saying. All eyes turned to him.
"Sure," Rodney replied. "You know where we can find one?" He asked sarcastically.
"Proculus," John confirmed. "Chaya."
"She was the exiled Ancient you encountered in your first year here?" Carter checked.
"Yeah," John nodded. He couldn't believe he'd not thought of this sooner.
"From what I remember of the reports, she's prevented by the other Ascended Ancients from helping anyone other than the people on Proculus."
"True," John conceded, "but there's no harm in asking her."
The Colonel pulled a doubtful expression. "I'm not sure that'll work. We know from past experience," she glanced at the General, "that the Ancients follow through on policing their own. Even if she wanted to help us, they won't let her."
"But some Ancients have helped us," John insisted. "They've found loopholes before. There was Janus who helped Elizabeth save the City, and Merlin helped you guys against the Ori."
Carter glanced at the General. "And Morgan Le Fay."
"There's no harm in asking," John pushed. "If the Skerti get loose in this galaxy, they'll be a threat to Proculus too."
"There's no guarantee that she'll even meet with us," Colonel Carter pointed out. "From what I read, she only appears in corporal form occasionally for her people."
"She's let me visit her several times before," John replied. "If I go by myself, she'll talk to me."
"Except you're married now," Rodney added. "That might be an issue."
He hadn't thought of that. He'd not visited Chaya's world in a good year or more too, so it might be a bit awkward. "It's still worth me asking her."
He watched Carter and O'Neill exchange a look.
"If nothing else, she might be able to tell us the Ancients had nothing to do with the Skerti," John considered. Surely if that was true then she would be able to confirm that at least. "If she can help, I know she will," John stressed.
"It's more whether they'll let her," O'Neill added with a look that told John that the General had already reached his own conclusion. But what would it hurt to ask?
At least it was something to actually do to help, something possibly definite about the Skerti he could provide Teyla and the Elite. Even if it was simply that the Ancients had nothing to do with them.
"Okay," Carter agreed. "Take a Jumper and see if she'll help us. I won't mention it to the Elite, as I understand that we agree to keep her existence confidential."
"Great," John grinned; he finally had something concrete to do to help.
Except he noticed Rodney's pointed look. Yeah, it was actually good point that he was going to have to tell Chaya about Teyla, and he'd not told Teyla about the Ascended Ancient, because he'd promised not to tell anyone. He kind of felt bad in regards to both of them now, but hopefully Chaya would understand that he was married now.
And hopefully she'd still be okay with helping with intel on the Skerti...
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TBC