1132 Hours, October 6, 2183 (Council Calendar)
Apollo, Hyperspace, Milky Way Galaxy
[ENROUTE TO COLONY WORLD: NEW RIVERS, ATTICAN TRAVERSE]
This was it. The first mission Atlantis had authorized outside of their meeting with the Quarians. It had been over two months since they'd arrived in this new universe. An entirely new galaxy with alien races, star systems, and planets they'd never seen before. New technology, new everything. It had many of the veterans of the Stargate Program feeling as though they'd just opened the gate for the very first time.
Now that Atlantis had a stable, secured presence on Novus with crops sowed on the mainland and a steady supply chain from the Quarians, General O'Neill felt it was time for them to begin branching outwards for resources. Afterall, they didn't want to have to rely on the Quarians for everything. Teams had been sent out in Al'kesh, Ha'tak, and their two operational 304's to scan, mine, and transport raw materials back to Atlantis for processing. Most of it was slated for repair and manufacturing, but soon there was a surplus of materials that they had no practical use. No use that is, until Vala made the suggestion that they should try and sell it.
The idea was immediately shot down by everyone at the meeting. The former Host turned galactic thief was well known for her profiteering rackets she'd been running in the city. Trades and deals she made in back rooms to get things. It was a silent bartering system that had evolved over the course of their time in the city and everyone from civilian children to General O'Neill used it. No one was ever cheated, and nothing dangerous was ever traded or bargained for. The senior staff decided it was a necessary evil as they couldn't cater to everyone exact, specific needs on a mass scale. And while Vala didn't create this trade system, she most definitely had a hand in refining it.
Thus, it was no surprise that everyone assumed immediately that she just wanted to gain a foothold over another profit sector. Apparently, in her free time she'd been surfing the extranet, researching colony worlds outside the jurisdiction of the Citadel Council and Systems Alliance. Places that, while civilized, didn't answer to those higher authorities, and had an abundance of trade coming in and going out from all corners of the galaxy. So much so that Vala figured that one more ship every few weeks would go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things.
She also pointed out that when they decided to really start going out into the galaxy, they'd not only need a decent understanding of how things worked, and not just what the Quarians told them through their admittedly biased viewpoint, but also finances. Money. Cash. They'd need to be able to buy things, and the senior staff didn't want to have to ask the Admiralty if they could borrow all the time. Once again, loath as they were to admit it, the thief was making a lot of sense.
So, the Apollo was now on its way to the colony world of New Rivers, its cargo bays filled to the brim with raw materials. An arid, dry world that was rich in strategic metals, it was originally settled by humans looking to break ground on their own without government oversight, or control depending on who you asked. The Attican Traverse was filled with potential colony worlds but given its close proximity to the Terminus Systems not many were willing to risk the occasional tangle with pirates and raiders, at least not without the Citadel races' fleets watching over them. But, to no surprise of the Atlanteans, humans were just as stubborn in this universe as their own. Over the last fifteen years they'd established a sizable settlement on this world. They'd even drawn the partnership of an Asari mining company who, in return for a percentage of their yields and a stake in the planet, helped the humans develop the colony much faster than what would have been possible on their own. With a population of a few hundred thousand now and one of the largest space ports in the sector, New Rivers had become prime example of human drive and interspecies cooperation.
Colonel Ellis sat quietly in his command chair as he stared out the viewport, his chin resting in his hand. He was thankful that they were finally getting a real mission, even if it was just a glorified grocery run. The last few weeks of scanning and mining had become tiresome and boring to say the least, though he would never let his crew know that. No matter the mission, he made sure that they were preforming to highest standards the Stargate Program demanded of them. The same would be expected here, even more so because of the possibility for hostile contact. New Rivers had not had a pirate raid in some time, but this region of space was still considered a 'Wild West', so Ellis ordered all railguns on standby for defensive fire, all APBs were charged, and their shields ready to be raised the second they dropped out of hyperspace.
Speaking of which, his navigational officer informed him they had reached the predetermined coordinates. Ellis nodded and gave the order to take them out and into normal space. The blue hyperspace tunnel disappeared, and the black star-lit ocean of space came into view, though much of that was blocked by the massive maroon-turquoise cloud of gas directly in front of them. The Apollo slowed to a 'cruising' speed and began to fly through the nebula. Since they didn't use eezo for FTL travel, they needed to mask how they entered the system. Exiting hyperspace over the planet in question would have been an immediate red flag, and likely triggered the colonies defenses. By entering through the nebula, any sensors in the system wouldn't be able to tell whether they arrived through FTL or hyperspace. Thankfully, this system didn't have any Relay's either, so having to explain why they didn't use one was one thing they didn't have to worry about.
The journey on sublight would take a few hours; the nebula cut partially through the system and would spit them out somewhat close to the planet. In the meantime, the Colonel had the crew go over final system checks, all sixteen F-302's were fueled and armed, his ground teams on standby should they be needed, and that SG-2 was prepped and ready for deployment. Given that this was the first time they'd be meeting with an alien culture in this galaxy besides their new allies, Atlantis's former flagship team unsurprisingly was chosen for this mission. Though the team's leader wasn't too happy about now having the designation of Star Gate Team 2 given that they had the top spot before the SGC personnel were merged into the command structure, much to Colonel Mitchell's amusement.
The sound of the bridge doors sliding open drew the man's attention as he swiveled in his command chair to see Colonel Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, and Dr McKay strolling onto the bridge. Each of them was wearing their Asgard designed nano-mesh under suit that Carter had pulled from the archives and used by Colonel Mitchell and his team during their meeting with the Quarians. They were light, flexible, and could stand up to an impressive amount of small arms fire whether ballistic or energy based. Along with the kinetic barriers they'd added on, the team was better protected than on any mission they'd ran before.
Sheppard, Teyla, and Rodney all wore standard tactical vests over their suits, all of which were color schemed to match the arid environment they were going to, while Ronon had on his tan, animal hide trench coat and holster for his Particle Magnum and Trinium blade strapped to his back. The others were armed with M8 Avenger assault rifles, courtesy of their Quarian friends, and other new and advanced pieces of equipment that they'd packed just in case. And given their history, 'just in case' was something that happened all too often.
"Colonel," Ellis nodded at the team leader.
Sheppard reciprocated the nod, "Colonel, how are we doin'?" he asked as he moved towards the viewport to get an idea of their location.
Outside the port was the topside of the neck of the ship with its many railgun positions and missile launch tubes. Beyond that, they could see a small, tanned dot in the distance that was quickly becoming larger and larger. It reminded them of the various desert worlds they'd explored in the Pegasus galaxy. As the HUD appeared over the viewport and zoomed in on their destination, they couldn't help but feel that it was decidedly ugly planet.
"We should be about twenty minutes out. I'm taking us in a slow pace, don't wanna startle the locals. They should try and contact us any second now," Ellis guessed as he leaned forward in his seat.
As if hearing the Colonel's words, an alert rang out from the navigation station in the upper left corner of the bridge, "Sir, we're being hailed. Audio only."
Ellis nodded and ordered it to be played over the speakers. He took a breath and sat up straighter in his chair. Despite his experience, he couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. His expertise was in combat and reconnaissance, not diplomacy as he was sure Dr Weir could attest to. Not that he blamed her. But here he was, chosen to represent Atlantis and the last of his people in their first attempt to interact with the rest of this new galaxy they found themselves in. At least in so far as being the commanding officer of their first vessel to travel to a world like this. Of course, Sheppard would be leading the ground team to interact with the locals, but these first few minutes would be crucial to their mission's success.
A moment passed before a voice could be heard on the bridge, "Attention unknown vessel, you are approaching the sovereign colony of New Rivers. Flash your IFF and state your intentions or be fired upon. This is your only warning."
Short and succinct, the message was quite clear that the militia of New Rivers was in no mood to play games. Understandable given the dangers of the region they were located in. Ellis nodded to his communications officer to send their ID tag over the channel. After researching through the extranet, Atlantis realized that in order for their ships to travel around the galaxy, at least anywhere that wasn't the Terminus Systems, they would need some sort of identification tag to be allowed into ports. Ship IDs were fairly easy to acquire through the extranet, albeit expensive. Thankfully, the Quarians were willing to cover the costs of the Apollo's with the promise of repaying them once they'd sold their cargo.
After the IFF had been flashed, the Colonel opened the channel from his command chair, "This is the ASV Apollo requesting permission to dock. We have cargo we're looking to unload and pick up supplies we need to replenish," he kept his response equally short so as not to make them seem more suspicious than they already were.
The Apollo was classified by Earth, their Earth, as a battlecruiser. In this new universe, the classification held strong as she and her sister ships were roughly the size of Turian cruisers. So, when a heavily armed and armored cruiser-sized ship arrives unannounced, it unsurprisingly put people on edge.
Another moment passed before the voice returned to the speakers, "Understood Apollo. Be advised, our system has your ship as newly registered and your IFF has been unchecked before today. Your vessel and any crew who disembarks will be under escort for the duration of your time here. This is non-negotiable."
Ellis frowned but understood their reasoning, "Acknowledged New Rivers. Not here to cause any trouble," with that the channel switched off leaving the bridge in silence.
An alert rang out on the navigational console, "Sir, we've received instructions for our approach. I'm also detecting several fighter and frigate sized vessels on approach."
"Follow the instructions to the letter; take us in nice and easy. But keep our shields up," he ordered as the Apollo continued its journey towards the planet, noting on the LED screen to the left of his seat the computer-generated representations of the alien craft surrounding his ship, escorting it from a close but safe distance, "So far so good."
"I'm actually pretty proud of us so far. Only our second First Contact here and we've yet to get into a shootout," Sheppard stated confidently as he gripped the lapels of his combat vest.
Mckay tilted his head, "Uh, the first thing we did when we got to this universe was blow up two ships."
"They shot at us first," Ronon pointed out as he checked the charge on his weapon for the fourth time.
"Well, I'd like to avoid getting into a fight today if you four don't mind… for once," the Apollo's commanding officer muttered the last part, "I gotta say, I'm not exactly a fan of bring the Apollo in to dock. We'll have to lower our shields and let their clamps keep us in place."
"But we very much need the currency and resources that we'll get from trading. And from what the Quarians have said, the people of New Rivers have usually been fair and honest with them. I do not believe we have anything to fear," Teyla stated as she looked out at the planet growing in the viewport.
"Plus, we can't exactly let them know we've got beaming technology. Besides, it's not like they could stop us from leaving if we really want to. The technology here is nothing compared to what we've got," Mckay pointed out with a smirk.
Sheppard eyed his Canadian companion, "Didn't Carter say you were tearing your hair out trying to figure out that Element Zero stuff?"
Ronon let out a chuckle, "I heard that he was bitching for days after the Quarians tried to show him how it worked."
"Hey! That's completely different! The stuff is not natural! There's nothing remotely like it in our own universe; things are supposed to behave a certain way in normal space. Besides, that's the only thing these people have that's of any real interest…" he complained before opening his Omni tool to go over a list he'd made for himself, noticing the looks of 'what about that' he was getting from them, "Well, I guess there's a few things they have that are useful."
"Well, we're just here to offload this crap and get some supplies. Nothin' fancy. Hopefully the next run will be a little more exciting," the spiky-haired Colonel commented before seeing how close they were getting to the planet, "Alright, we'd better head down to the airlock. Colonel, we'll keep in contact."
Ellis nodded, "Understood Sheppard, good luck."
With that, SG-2 filed out of the bridge and began making their way down to the airlock. Ellis turned his attention back to the viewport and watched as the Apollo began to make its way down into the atmosphere of the planet. Given the arid nature of the colony, there weren't many clouds that blocked the bridge's view of the approaching surface. Vast swaths of rock, sand, and mineral for as far as the eye could see dominated the landscape. As they approached the main settlement, Ellis could see small patches of green and aqua from the colony's hydroponics and water reclaimers. The settlement itself was more akin to a small city than what was typical on most worlds. There were a few skyscrapers that blocked the horizon and numerous building and housing structures that surrounded them for several kilometers in every direction. On the outskirts of the colony were several massive refineries that processed the ores and minerals miners hulled up from the planet's crust.
As they approached the moderately sized space port, the Colonel couldn't help but notice the numerous turrets and weapons placements that seemed to cover every square inch of the place. Every ship docked there had at least a dozen weapons trained on them, not to mention the troop patrols and what looked like gunships flying around. Not that he blamed them for being so cautious, given how large a target the colony was for pirates and raiders.
The Apollo was guided to an empty docking cradle near the far side of the space port. This seemed to be where cruiser sized vessels were allowed to dock given their much large size in order to accommodate such craft. Unsurprisingly, the 304 was the only cruiser docked there given the rarity of them outside of major military organizations. The ship slowly eased into the 'parking spot' before clamps rose from their positions to latch onto the hull of the ship. Once locked in place, a tube jetted out from the walkway on the port side and attached itself to the airlock that was level with it.
"Docking procedures complete, sir. We're locked in," the Apollo's pilot announced.
Ellis nodded, "Close all shutters and have the ship stand down to condition two. Tell Colonel Sheppard that he's got permission to disembark."
The trinium-titanium alloy airlock slid open and into the hull of the ship, allowing SG-2 to walk out and pass through the sealed clamp that had latched itself onto the Apollo. As they neared the door of the docking cradle, a blue light came on. A moment later, a sweeping set of lasers washed over them along with a light mist. After a minute the decontamination was over, the doors slide open revealing a catwalk. The four made their way down walkway until they came to a ramp that would take them down to ground level.
John took the time to look around the space port, taking particular note of the skycars flying all over the place. The skyscrapers and buildings beyond the port seemed so different than the ones on Earth. More modern, more advanced. He would have been impressed had he not been living on Atlantis for the last few years. His head whipped around as a massive transport buzzed overhead and away from the settlement and out into the desert.
He smirked as it disappeared from eyesight, "I kinda feel like Korben Dallas right about now. All these flying cars and stuff. Now if we can just find a flying noodle cart…"
Rodney scoffed, "But we arrived on Arrakis instead of a luxury space cruise ship. Why can't we ever go to the tropical paradise planets?"
"Oh, that privilege is reserved for SG-1 I'm afraid," the Colonel replied with a frown.
Ronon sighed as he looked down at his Athosian friend, "You have any idea what they're talking about?"
Teyla shook her head, "Just more Earth references that we will not understand. Though I do not understand why you are still upset about our title now being SG-2, John. Were we not the first team selected for this mission?"
"First off, I'm not upset. I'm annoyed. Secondly, sure we got picked for this mission, but that's just cause all of SG-1 besides Mitchell and Vala are in 'mission critical' positions. So until they get their departments sorted out, B-squad gets first dibs on all the cool missions. Meaning we won't get them once they're back in action," the man replied as he rubbed the back of his head, "Look, I get it. In this Program, it's SG-1 first then everyone else. And they earned it. But we've done some pretty great stuff too!"
"Like waking the Wraith?"
"Or unleashing Michael."
"…Or blowing up a solar system…"
The Colonel raised his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, alright! Not saying we haven't screwed up here and there over the years. I'm just saying…"
A moment passed as the man trailed off. The team waited for their leader to finish his sentence but were met with silence. They followed his gaze towards the main port building that all the docks led to. Walking towards them was a group of about fifteen, all of them heavily armed and armored. There was an Asari in the front that was no doubt the leader of the group, and she walked with the confidence and grace that they'd all read about regarding the blue-skinned race. John put on his 'game face' as he called it, while Ronon stared at the group with sharp eyes and his hand resting near his holstered weapon. Rodney, unsurprisingly, found himself distracted with the aqua skinned alien woman fast approaching. Teyla noticed his stare and gave him a short jab in the ribs with her elbow, forcing the Canadian to avert his gaze and off her companion an annoyed, non-verbal 'what?'.
Soon the two group were within a dozen feet of each other, leading to a slightly awkward silence. John was somewhat at loss of how to approach this. Sure, he'd made First Contact with dozens of civilizations before, but most of those had been primitive or less advanced human cultures. While their Milky Way was host to hundreds of worlds more advanced than them, the Pegasus Galaxy had been almost barren of such places given the Wraith's policy to destroy any and all technological threats. This was the first truly advanced world that he'd been to where all parties were on equal footing.
Finally, the Asari in the lead spoke, "Greetings, and welcome to New Rivers. I am Captain Lenya Iruna, head of security."
John nodded and grabbed the lapels of his tactical vest, "How's it goin'? Lt Colonel John Sheppard, that's Teyla Emmagan, Dr Rodney Mckay, and Ronon Dex," he motioned to each of his teammates before turning back to the Asari, looking slightly past at the group surrounding her, "Hell of a welcoming party."
Captain Iruna nodded, "You and your ship caused quite the stir when you appeared on our sensors. It's not every day we get a cruiser showing up in this sector," she explained, though the words of her mouth didn't quite match what she was saying thanks to the translators in the ears of the Atlanteans, "Not to mention the recent registration of your ship in the galactic hub. And the fact that your ship doesn't match any known design in any database. You have to admit, it looks a bit odd."
John glanced back up at the neck of the battlecruiser in dock beside them, the massive ship standing out from the other ships in dock and not just because of its size, "It's a custom job. We like travel in style when flying around the galaxy."
"Really? I'm assuming all the guns and missile batteries help this 'style' as well?" the Asari asked.
The Colonel scrunched his mouth as he thought about his response, "Well, we have a right to defend ourselves don't we. Just like you folks," he motioned to the weapons the security force held.
"And we will defend ourselves. Against anyone or anything that threatens the peace and safety of our colony and its citizens," she replied, this time an edge leaking into her voice.
The Captain and her team were clearly on edge. They expected this, but it still made the whole situation uncomfortable. There was a tenseness in the air and the wrong word and motion could set this whole thing off in the wrong way. It was something that John very much wanted to avoid if possible. Their experience in this new universe, barring the rescue of Rola and Jal, had been a relatively positive one. What happened today would likely set the tone for the rest of their time in the galaxy, however long that would be.
Sighing, John bit his tongue and nodded, "Right. Message received. Look, we're not here to hurt anyone or cause any trouble. Just trying make a little bit of cash. As soon as that's done, we'll be on our way. Here's our manifest," he opened up his Omni-tool and sent over what they'd hoped to sell.
The Captain's own holographic computer sprang to life and displayed the information. After studying it for a moment she looked up and stared at the humans in front of her for a moment, then up at their ship, then back to meet the Colonel's eyes, "I'll need to bring this to Administrator Rollin. Follow me."
Turning, she began to walk towards the building beyond the port that they'd come from. SG-2 shared looks with each other before falling in behind the alien woman. The security force in turn formed up behind and around them so that they were surrounded on all sides. Not ideal, but they were guests on this planet showing up in a large and heavily armed ship. They had to play by their rules, for now at least.
As they got further away from the Apollo, they saw dozens of mechs and dock workers moving materials off cargo loaders and onto magnetic rail carts that quickly sped away in the direction of the city. Some of the material seemed to come from the ships that were docked, but most of it was being dropped off by the hover craft that the Colonel had noticed heading out into the desert. It was an impressive operation, and one that none of the members of the Atlantis team had ever seen before even on their own Earth. John couldn't help but continue to admire the plethora of airborne vehicles that flew around the air like it was a normal street on the ground with stops and turns like any normal highway. Teyla was a bit more out of her element. Baring her time spent on Atlantis she'd never been to a place with this level of industry. The sounds, sights, and smells put her on edge, and she found herself thumbing the hilt of her knife. Ronon too was on edge but given his nature and experiences it wasn't surprising. The security officers nearest to him eyed him with caution as they'd rarely, if ever, seen a human as large and savage looking as the one they were escorting.
Rodney, it seemed, was the only one who couldn't take the silence and after a few moments decided to open his mouth, "So, what kind of mining operation do you guys use here? Explosives? Diggers? We didn't see any of sites on our way down from orbit."
Captain Iruna turned her head slightly to see which human had asked the question, "Well, most of our operations are a fair distance from the settlement. We try to keep it that way as the dust and particulates can cause problems for the air filters. But no, once the Asari came into the picture here, we brought our mining lasers to speed up production. With them, we can simply carve out swaths of the ground that hold the minerals and our ships go out and pick them up to be brought back for processing."
"Huh, so you guys… girls… uhh, you must have a pretty solid stake in this place given how much you seem to be pumping into it," the doctor stumbled over his words, his nervousness with women and alien at that obvious, but noting the large number Asari both on the security force and around the docks, "Why did you come all the way out here? Isn't Asari space pretty much on the polar opposite side of the galaxy."
The Asari tilted her head as he looked at him, "You're a curious one aren't you," she noted the man's look of nervousness, "Silaris Solutions is always looking for new ways to expand its market. We've had an eye on the Traverse for decades, but we were unwilling to put in the leg work to make it viable. When New Rivers began to become a sizable hub, we felt that there was finally a reason to make a deal."
"So the humans do all the labor and you guys get to reap the benefits?" Ronon grunted from the back of the group.
John looked back at the Satedan, "Ronon…"
To their surprise, the Captain simply chuckled at that, "A human that speaks his mind. Refreshing. But not totally inaccurate. We provide the lasers and state-of-the-art equipment and security, and the humans provide the labor and infrastructure. And they take the majority percentage of what this colony makes."
"Sounds like you guys got the raw end of the deal. Why bother then?" the Colonel asked as they approached the entrance to the building.
"Honestly? I have no idea. That's way above my pay grade. I just handle the security," she stated vaguely before turning around just in front of the wide, "Alright, Colonel Sheppard, was it? I'll need you to follow me, the rest of your team needs to wait here. You'll also need to surrender any weapons you have before I take you to the Administrator."
John hesitated for a moment before nodding and turning to his team, "Alright guys, you hang back and relax a bit. I'm gonna up and have a nice chat with the guy in charge," he ordered as he handed Ronon his M8 Avenger, Zat, and other weapons that would probably be frowned on inside.
"I don't like this Sheppard. You shouldn't be going in alone and unarmed," Ronon voiced his disapproval as he holstered his friend's weapons.
Teyla nodded in agreement, "I agree with Ronon. Perhaps one of us should accompany you to be safe."
The Asari Captain shook her head, "I'm afraid the I can only authorize one of you to see the Administrator given that this is your first time on New Rivers. I can assure you that no harm will come to any of you so long as you are cooperative and comply with our laws."
Before his team could protest further John waived them off, "I appreciate the concern guys, but I'll be fine. This isn't the first time I've been taken to see the leader of some world… though it's nice to not be in chains this time," he joked before noticing the Captain's concerned expression and quickly back peddled, "… Kidding."
The Asari shook her head and motioned for him to follow as the red holographic lock on the door flashed green allowing the large wall to split and collapse into the surrounding structure. John gave one last nod to his team, motioning to his ear to signal that he would remain in radio contact, and followed the Asari. Two members of her security force followed, another Asari and a woman clad in armor and holding expensive looking rifles and walked just behind the Colonel.
They entered the building and the doors closed behind them, leaving John to look around at what he assumed was the port authority or whatever its equivalent was in this universe. The hall was mostly empty with chairs and lounges that people of all races were sitting and relaxing at. At the end of the hall was some kind of help desk that had a line of people waiting to speak to a secretary or something for whatever issues they had. The walls were all the same tin colored metal that seemed common for prefabricated buildings in the galaxy but given that these buildings could be put up in less than a day and were pretty cheap he figured that the color wasn't too big of a thing to complain about. At least there were some exotic looking plants decorating the place that helped breathe some life into the otherwise dull workspace.
Captain Iruna led them past the desk to a set of large stairs that led to an upper level. They climbed the steps until they came to a wall of glass that separated the office beyond it. Nearing the wall, another holo-lock appeared and a set of glass doors that were nearly imperceptible before splitting open and allowed the four to enter. The office was large, though simple in its design. There were a few pots filled with plants that John didn't recognize, though he was sure that Dr Brown would have loved to get her hands on them.
At the end of the room was window that held a fantastic view of the rest of the settlement; the refineries and skyscrapers beginning to glow brighter with their lights as the sun on this world neared its setting time. Just in front of the window lay a desk. It was a deep mahogany and about eight feet wide that stood out of place compared to the artificial room it sat in. On the desk there was a small stack of books and an old Newton's Cradle that clicked and clacked as the balls on either side swung into the center ones. There was a holographic computer screen active, and behind that a man furiously typing away at his holo-keyboard as he seemingly ignored the four people who had just walked in.
The Captain stopped just a few feet in front the man, just behind a pair of brown leather chairs that sat in front of the desk, "Administrator Rollin, sir. I've got Colonel Sheppard here, of the ASV Apollo."
The man sitting at the desk was tanned with ash like hair, his skin a clear byproduct of having spent years in the sun. The wrinkles on his face indicated he was aged, but his broad shoulders and tight neck and clear jawline showed that he was anything but inactive. He continued to type away at his computer without even acknowledging his subordinate, though the Colonel couldn't see what he was typing as the holoscreen was only one way. A few moments of awkward silence and click-clack of the Newton's Cradle filled the room.
After a while John could no longer take the silence, "Sooo are we gonna talk or-"
"-Patience lad," the man suddenly responded in an English accent, and he continued to type away.
Iruna turned her head slightly and gave the Colonel a look and a shrug. Clearly, this was normal behavior for the older man, and given that John was the guest he figured he should just keep his mouth shut till the guy was done. Annoying as it was to the impatient Colonel.
After a few more minutes the man finally finished whatever he was working on and swept the holoscreen to the side so that he could have a clear view of the four person party. He nodded to the Asari in thanks before focusing his full attention on the man before him. He scanned the Atlantean up and down, focusing on most of his attention on the man's chest area and, specifically, his vest and silver bird insignia on his lapel.
"So, you're the man whose ship has caused quite the stir on my colony. I must say, it's been some time since we've had such a large, and dangerous looking, ship in our docks… please, have a seat," he stated with a curious tone and motioned towards the chairs.
The Colonel nodded appreciatively and sat down, "Yeah, sorry about that. We don't go looking to scare people, but it's the only ship we've got. Plus, with the amount of cargo we've got inside her a smaller ship wouldn't have worked out anyway. In one trip at least," he replied.
The man opened something on his screen and began to scan the contents, "Yes… seems you have quite a sizeable number of raw materials. Platinum, palladium, cobalt… so, are you some sort of deep space mining company? New to the galactic scene? You must be given the newly minted registration on that behemoth of yours out there. Military… but definitely not Systems Alliance."
John tilted his head as he carefully thought of his response, "We're… well, I guess we're what you call independent colonists? We mined for our own colony's uses and ended up with a lot more than what we needed, so-"
"-So, you decided to find a backwoods colony to offload your merchandise. Somewhere outside of Alliance and Council control. Away from the scrutiny that would come with those territories. Hmmm…" Rollin trailed off as he rested his chin on his hands.
John to his credit kept his face as neutral as he could, but this wasn't how he was expecting this to go. This old man was annoyingly perceptive. The whole reason they'd chosen this world was for the lack of scrutiny Vala claimed it had. He'd be having a talk with the thief the second they got back to Atlantis, that was certain.
"What makes you say that," the Colonel replied warily.
"I haven't heard of any new colonies popping up in the Traverse, so your obviously not from here. And since you're here and not in Alliance controlled space… I'd have to guess… Terminus Systems?" the man asked, a slight edge to his voice.
John noticed a slight twitch of movement in his peripherals and saw that the Captain had stiffened slightly at hearing Rollin's words. From what Atlantis had gathered there were independent colonies that operated in the Terminus Systems but most of them were in, one shape or form, pirate or mercenary hubs that no decent person really tried to go to. That they showed up in a newly registered, heavily armed warship from an unknown colony just screamed suspicious.
"We're from… well, it's kinda hard to explain," he stated, obviously not wanting to explain how Atlantis was way outside the Relay network.
Rollin's eyes narrowed, "Colonel Sheppard, I am not a very patient man when it comes to matters of security and the preservation of our way of life here. We've struggled and clawed our way to success here in a way few colonies in the Traverse have ever done. I've defended this colony against a dozen raids. We've survived this long because we are very careful about who we do business with. So, if you and your ship would like to remain here, I would suggest you quickly find an explanation for who you are and where you are from."
At that the two guards that escorted them in moved in closer behind the seated Colonel while Captain Iruna moved off to the side and closer to Rollin in order to have a clearer line of sight on him. John eyed them warily before turning his attention back to the Administrator. This was not how he was expecting today to go. Thankfully, in the event that something like this happened they had created a cover story that would hopefully seem believable. They ran it by their Quarian friends who gave it a fifty-fifty shot of working. They'd had worse odds before.
Leaning back into his seat he sighed and rested his arms on the chair, "Alright… well, we are from the Terminus Systems, but not the bad parts! I swear. We're on a small moon in a remote system where we've built a base on. Nothing special really, just a few thousand colonists that wanted to try and eke out a life on the frontier."
Rollin scanned the Colonel's eyes looking for any hint of deception. Luckily, the Colonel wasn't completely lying, besides claiming to be from the Terminus Systems. Other than the Quarians who had people currently living on Atlantis, no one was going to believe that the Ancient city was resting comfortably well outside the Mass Relay network. And given the lawless nature of the second most dangerous area of the galaxy, it made sense for them to claim to be from there. There would be no records to verify, and most people wouldn't go risking themselves to find out if they were really telling the truth.
Of course, claiming to be from such a lawless place would make them an immediate target for suspicion, if not outright hostility. But with no allies aside from the equally ostracized Quarians and no history in this galaxy given their… unique origins, the senior staff had little choice but to commit to this façade.
For the time being.
After a few moments of looking at the Colonel, Rollin leaned back into a more relaxed posture, "Any particular reason you didn't just say that to begin with?"
"I mean… come on man, you know how it is. The second someone says Terminus everyone get jumpy. And their trigger fingers get twitchy," John pointed out as he nodded to the Captain whose hand was near her sidearm, "It's not something we like to advertise."
"Then why go to the Terminus Systems at all. Why not stay in Alliance space, or even trying to find somewhere in the Traverse to settle?" the Administrator asked, a curious inflection entering his voice, "Most people wouldn't willingly enter raider territory just to start a new life."
At this John sat up straighter, "Well, we're a pretty independent group. We're not great at dealing with people of authority trying to tell us what to do. And given how little opportunity there is in the galaxy to start something that is completely our own, even in the Traverse, we decided to take a bold leap. And so far, it seems to have worked out. Of course, it hasn't been without its hiccups."
Rollin nodded as he looked at a camera feed of the docks where the Colonel's ship was, "I suppose if you are from the Terminus Systems as you say, you would have to travel in a heavily armed ship," he acknowledged as he looked over the manifest of the cargo the Apollo was holding, "Indeed. From what I'm seeing here, you must have discovered a rich ore somewhere out there. I'm assuming this is not all you have?"
John tilted his head a bit, "Maybe. Guess that depends on how these 'negotiations' are going… are they going good?" he asked with a small smirk as he folded his arms over his chest.
Captain Iruna frowned at the Colonel's lack of décor, but Rollin raised his hand slightly to keep her from saying anything. The two men continued to have a small stare down. John trying to see if he needed to call in for an emergency beaming, the Administrator continuing to look for any kind of deceit. A moment passed before the old man sighed and pulled up his screen again.
"I'm sending authorization for your ship to begin offloading your cargo. They'll bring it down to the docks and then the workers will take it from there," he explained as he changed the screen and began to type, "I'm transferring half of what we're willing to pay to you now. You'll get the other half when everything has been offloaded. Minus docking fees of course."
John leaned forward, "And how much are we talking here? I think we skipped that part of the negotiations," he pointed out, now slightly regretting not bringing Vala.
"We have a flat rate for the purchasing of raw materials and goods from outside contractors. It's fair, I assure you. This isn't Illium after all. But we don't negotiate these prices. You either accept them or leave. But given your… predication for discretion, you don't have much of a choice," Rollin replied as he transferred the funds.
Sheppard's Omni-tool lit up on his left arm prompting him to open the alert. He scrolled through various screens before landing on the account Atlantis had set up through the Quarians on the galactic registry. His eyes widened as he stared at the number, before turning back to the man across the desk from him.
"Wow… uh, that's a lot of zeros…" he trailed off, not sure of what to say.
"Like I said, it's fair. Especially considering the amount of goods you've got. Now, I have other matters to attend to. You and your team will still be followed by an escort, but you're free to explore our colony. We will begin offloading tomorrow morning. You're ship needs to remain in quarantine for a solar cycle, standard procedure," he stated, then turned his attention back to his work without another word.
Captain Iruna moved away from the desk and motioned for the Colonel to follow. The man stared at the Administrator for a moment longer before standing up and following the Asari out of the office. The other two officers fell in behind them and the doors closed behind them. The four walked down the steps and onto the main floor of the building again. Iruna turned to face the human with a slight frown.
"Sorry about that. Rollin is not a man of patience or small talk. Once a deal is done he moves right on to the next problem," she apologized on behalf of her boss, "And he's not very interested in dealing with newcomers if he doesn't need to."
"Yeah, I got that impression during my 'interrogation," Sheppard frowned as he looked at the Captain.
She folded her arms over her chest as she stared right back, "Can you blame us?"
The Colonel continued to stare before letting out a sigh, "…No, I can guess I can't. Honestly, I'm just glad we managed to work this out. I was really not looking forward to the debrief if this all went south."
"Sounds like that's something your used to if you don't mind me asking," she replied, noticing the tired tone of voice he had.
He let out a small chuckle, "Well, not too often. But we've run into trouble on occasion. Comes with the territory."
Iruna didn't reply but simply nodded and motioned for him to follow her. The large doors opened again to reveal the security team and SG-2 waiting for them. Rodney was messing around with his Omni-tool, Teyla simply observing the surrounding colonies, and Ronon giving hard stares to anyone who looked in his direction. They all turned their heads to look at the four rejoining them, relief clear on the Atlanteans' faces.
"John, I'm hoping everything went alright?" Teyla wondered as she looked her friend, noticing there was no sign of aggression coming from Iruna or her troops.
John walked over to his team and nodded as he started taking his gear back from Ronon, "Yep. Rollin is… a real friendly guy," he explained before reaching two fingers up to his ear, "Colonel Ellis, we've got authorization. We can start off loading cargo first thing in the morning."
"… Copy that Sheppard. We'll start offloading preparations immediately so we're good to go," the Apollo's commander figured.
"Copy that, we'll be heading back soon. We'll start exploring in the morning. SG-2 out," he replied and closed the channel.
Sheppard turned to face Iruna, noticing she had just finished dismissing all but two of her officers who began to fall out. The remaining two were the ones that escorted himself and the Asari Captain to meet with the Administrator.
"I'm assigning you Officer Jones and Officer Serona as your escorts during your time here. They'll be waiting for you right here in the morning. Feel free to go wherever you want in the civilian sectors, but I'm afraid our industrial center and security barracks are going to be off limits," Iruna explained.
Sheppard nodded at that, "No problem here, Captain. They don't sound like they'd be much fun anyway."
She nodded in thanks at his agreeableness before looking down at her Omni-tool that had popped up with an alert, "Alright, I've got to get to my duties. It was a pleasure Colonel, and I hope you enjoy your stay here on New Rivers."
With that she walked back into the building they had just exited, leaving the Atlanteans and their two escorts alone. There was a bit of an awkward silence as no one knew what to say. Then a growl sounded that drew everyone's attention to the Canadian scientist, who blushed slightly at the attention and noise he had just involuntarily made.
He chuckled nervously, "Uh, anyone else hungry?"
"I can't believe this far in the future and millions of miles from Earth, burgers have managed to survive!" John exclaimed as he took another massive bite out of the juicy sandwich in his hands.
The next morning the team had left the Apollo and made their way into the city. They didn't get very far when, unsurprisingly, Rodney had gotten hungry again despite his rather large breakfast in the mess hall on their ship. The woman, Officer Jones, had suggested a place that she frequented during her off hours. After a short skycar ride over, SG-2 found themselves in the future equivalent of a fast-food joint. The outside of the building was the same prefab as all the others, but inside there were booths and tables and all manner of old Earth memorabilia. It seemed who ever owned this place had an appreciation for his people's history. Of course, for the two Earth born members of SG-2, it was all stuff that they'd grown up with and lived with every day prior to the fall of their homeworld. There was a poster of John Denver on the wall, a glass case holding a Chicago Bears jersey and helmet, and an old-style juke box that amazingly was still working. In a way, they felt like they were home again. Like everything that had happened to them was washed away by this small burger joint. And once they'd ordered those burgers and fries and washed down the salty, greasy things with ice cold beers? Mckay nearly burst into tears from happiness.
"I'm gonna need to get another one… maybe two," the Canadian spoke between bites, the man acting like he'd not eaten in weeks.
Teyla, who had gone with a salad instead, stared at her friends in mild confusion, "I do not understand what is so special about these burgers. We have burger days on Atlantis."
"No, what we have is frozen patties that are years old. And even then, we basically just oven roast them and dry the hell out of the meat. This… this is some genuine meat that's been cooked in oil on a skillet and topped with every condiment and topping they got. It's a work of art!" he proclaimed and took another bite before reaching for his beer, "And they have more than one kind of beer on tap! I've been getting so sick of that same ale."
Ronon finished off the last of his beer before letting out a belch, "You know I'm pretty sure that's not even beef. Some kind of local game. Surprised there's even any animal life on this planet."
John and Rodney both looked down at their burgers after hearing that, then at each other before shrugging and digging into them again. Teyla shook her head but smiled at the pair, noticing they were happier than they'd been in months. Teyla knew the pain of losing one's home, and Ronon knew it better than almost anyone. It was hard watching their friends from Earth struggle to cope with the loss but seeing them here in this strange food place enjoying themselves brought her great happiness too. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the two officers sitting a few tables away, eyeing the two men curiously but otherwise leaving them alone. She appreciated the small amount of privacy, though they still needed to be careful with their words and what they said in such a public place.
John finished the last of his burger and beer, wiping his hands and mouth with a napkin before clearing his throat, "So, what's the plan. Walk around a bit? See if there's anything interesting to see or bring back to Atlantis?"
"Well, I was looking up places on my Omni-tool earlier while you were negotiating. There's a tech place I want to check out on the main strip a few blocks away," Rodney replied as he continued to heap more food into his mouth.
"And I wanted to see the city's cultural center. Dr Jackson asked me to take notes and pictures, if possible," Teyla spoke up.
John nodded and started to think. He looked over at their two escorts and an idea popped into his head.
"Alright, how about this: Ronon, you take Rodney to this geek store," ignoring the 'Hey!' from the scientist he continued, "And me and Teyla will go check out this culture stuff. One escort each, and we'll met back up in an hour or two."
"You think we should be splitting up?" Ronon asked, glancing around with suspicion.
John shrugged, "I don't think there's anything to worry about here. It's not like we stick out from the thousands of other humans walking around here. Well, besides having our two SO's over there. Plus, we'll cover more ground this way."
Ronon grunted but nodded in compliance. The group finished their meals and explained to the New River security officers of what they wanted to do. Despite a look of uncertainty, they agreed, and the group split up. John and Teyla began to walk towards the city center near the larger skyscrapers and to the main street. As they stepped outside, John slid on his signature aviators over his eyes.
It was a bit of an odd sight for them. Well, more so than what they were used to. All the 'roads' were essentially pedestrian only walkways while the skies above were for the sky cars flying in perfect synchronization to whatever destinations they were set for. Staring up at the flying traffic, John couldn't help but make a Back to the Future reference, to which Teyla simply shook her head and continued walking. Along the way they noticed other shops and restaurants with crowds and people going about their lives. Again, they couldn't help but note the strangeness of seeing so many different kinds of aliens and humans socializing was an unusual thing to see. But it gave them a bit of hope that their own people might be able to start going out to other parts of the galaxy as well, if only to visit and stretch their legs.
Eventually the two humans and their Asari officer came to the center of the city. A large circular area surrounded by the towers and buildings. There was a patch of green grass in the middle with exotic trees and shrubbery spread throughout. People were laying in the grass, sitting on benches, and children of all races were running around. The three continued to walk towards the center of the park, passing by all the families and people enjoying their time off.
Suddenly a leather, oval shaped ball landed just in front of them, startling Teyla as she looked down in confusion. John, however, looked at the ball in surprise before a small smirk took over and he bent down to pick it up. He felt the white sewed in lines on the face of the ball, and he turned it over in his hands to get a better feel for it. The sound of scuffling drew his attention to his right as a pair of kids, one human and one Salarian, ran up to him.
"Sorry mister!" the boy apologized as he held his hands out expectantly.
John smiled and motioned for two children to back up as he raised the ball to his ear. Seeing what he was intending, the boy started running back to his friends with the Salarian following close behind. Once they were far enough away, John aimed at them and threw the football high and far with an almost perfect spin. The group of children started shouting and yelling for the others to back off so they could catch it. Before any of them could, however, a small, purple child leaped high into the air with an even deeper lavender glow surrounding her whole body. She hovered in the air just long enough to catch the ball, cheering as she floated back down to the ground. The rest of the children groaned and shouted cries of the unfairness of what she'd done, saying that 'no one else was a biotic'.
John smirked at the young Asari girl's actions, "Well, I wouldn't exactly call that fair."
Teyla laughed and shrugged, "The girl uses her unique skills to her advantage. I approve."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you do, girl power and all that," he teased with a smile, "So, where to?"
Teyla looked around as she scanned the city's center. Eventually her eyes landed on a pristine, aqua colored prefab building just beyond the small park in front of them. The words 'Public Library' was plastered over the entrance in bright holographic letters. John followed her gaze before he noticed the building, nodding at her and the two and their escort began walking towards it. As they approached the entrance the translucent doors slid open with a chime, allowing all three to step inside. The Colonel was a bit surprised to find that the 'library' was simply an assortment of tables with terminals spread throughout; some had people using them, but most were empty.
Just ahead of them was a front desk with a single Asari in a white, business-like suit sitting at it, "Greetings! Welcome to the New River's public library. I am Sai Morelski, lead librarian. How may I assist you on this glorious day?"
"Greetings to you as well, Sai. I am Teyla Emmagan, and this is Colonel John Sheppard," she introduced herself and the man next to her, "We've just arrived on this world, and we're hoping to learn more about it. We've heard a great many things about the people of New Rivers, and hope that we can learn more to foster a strong relationship with them."
Sai's turquoise eyes widened for a moment before she rose from her seat and walked around her desk to offer her hand to the Athosian, "My word, you are so well spoken! I don't think I've ever met a human who had such a formal way of speech! Where are you from?"
Teyla let out a soft chuckle in embarrassment, "My family has always spoken in respectful tones, even in the most casual of circumstances. But to answer your question, a small colony from in the Traverse."
John offered his hand as the librarian let go of Teyla's, "Nice to meet ya, gotta say you've got a pretty nice place here. The AC feels great," he commented with as he unzipped a portion of his suit around his neck.
Sai looked down at his hand, then back up at the spikey haired human with an unimpressed look, "…Yes… well, we try to keep a comfortable environment for our patrons," she noted as she turned her attention back to Teyla, "You strike me as someone who's very interested in history! Is there something specific I can assist you with?"
John frowned as he was brushed off, and Teyla had to hold in the laugh she wanted to let out. But she decided to not say anything about it… at least until she was back with Rodney and Ronon. For now, she had several things she wanted to focus on what Dr Jackson had asked her to research.
"Yes! My colleague wanted me to ask several questions to whoever was most qualified to answer."
Sai nodded enthusiastically and motioned for them to follow her. Their security escort decided to wait by the entrance, the lack of interest in hearing about the history of her colony clear on her face. The two Atlanteans and librarian sat down at an empty table with a blank computer terminal sitting between them. John leaned back in his chair and placed a toothpick in his mouth and began to chew on it while Teyla sat patiently with her hands folded neatly in her lap. Sai waived her hand over the terminal and an orange holographic keyboard appeared. She 'slid' the keyboard so that it was resting in front of her. She sat straight and smiled directly at the woman across from her.
"So, what can I assist you with today?" she asked sweetly, a mirthful smile on her face.
John stopped his chewing for a moment as he stared at the alien woman across from him, surprise clear in his shade-covered eyes. Even Teyla, who wasn't nearly as naïve as her archeologist friend back on Atlantis, was surprised at what the smile on Sai's face seemed to imply. Clearing her throat, she tried to ignore what she thought she was noticing.
"Um… yes, I have a list here of what we would like to learn about your colony."
Sai nodded, "Excellent! Well, let's begin…"
"Now that is an impressive weapon!" the Turian named Lotun exclaimed as he pointed towards the large human standing across from his counter.
Ronon was holding a large and impressive looking sniper rifle, looking down the sights as he imagined picking off hundreds of Wraith from miles away. He was… more than a little out his element being on this world. He'd been on dozens of worlds over the years. Mostly during his time as a Runner. But most of that time had been on uninhabited worlds, so as to spare anyone else from being targeted by his Wraith pursuers. Since going to Atlantis, he'd been to a variety of civilizations ranging from small villages to industrial worlds that weren't too far behind the level his own homeworld was on before… before…
"Feels like a good rifle," he commented, trying to ignore his own thoughts.
Lotun nodded in agreement, "That's a modified M-97 Mantis. I upgraded the sights and the heat sink; it can fire three shots before needing to cool down. Same punch as most on the market, but with a better rate of fire."
Ronon tapped a button on the side and the heat sink popped out. He caught the device, giving it a once over before popping it back in the rifle and letting the gun cycle itself again. Of course, the rifle had built in safeties to prevent it from being used inside the shop. Ronon liked these mass effect rifles this new universe used. More punching power, longer ranges, unlimited ammo. The stuff they'd gotten from the Quarians had only been used at the ranges. He was looking forward to seeing them in action.
He tapped another button and the weapon folded itself up and he set it back down on its case, "Hmm, not bad."
"You seem to know your way around weapons human. Before though, I wasn't talking about the rifle being impressive. I was referring to that pistol you've got on your hip. I've never seen anything like it," he pointed a talon at the large weapon.
"Yeah, he gets that a lot," a voice grunted over from the other side of the store.
Ronon looked over to see Rodney holding a massive, oversized shotgun that the Canadian was giving all his might to hold up. He smirked as he watched the man struggle to wield the weapon, his arms shaking from the weight. While most of the guns he'd seen in the shop were small and compact, this one seemed far too large for any human to use.
Lotun laughed as he noticed the scientist with the gun, "That's a Krogan shotgun, not designed for humans. If you were to try and fire that well…" he grabbed a measuring stick for taking armor measurements and snapped it in half, "You'd be lucky to regain use of your arm again."
Rodney blanched at that, and slowly put the weapon down where he found it. Ronon smirked at that before turning back to the Turian behind the counter. Once he and Rodney had split up from Sheppard and Teyla, they began walking towards some tech store his friend wanted to check out. Ronon couldn't care less about that, but he wasn't going to let the man go off on his own in a strange and, for lack of a better word, alien place. But, on their way there, the Satedan had spotted this little shop that had two holographic guns over the top of its entrance. Before Rodney could even argue, Ronon was walking through the doors and checking out every weapon on display.
"So, what kind of weapon is that? Looks to be a heavy pistol," Lotun asked, directing the conversation back to Ronon's signature gun.
Ronon shrugged and pulled out the pistol with a spin and a whine as its energy cell came online. The human guard who followed them was standing at attention at the entrance tensed slightly at the noise and the motion but didn't draw her weapon. The Turian looked on in fascination at the long barreled, glowing pistol in the large human's hands.
The avian alien raised a taloned hand to his chin, "Hmmm, some kind of energy cell… looks removable… doesn't collapse like most weapons…" he tilted his head as he studied the weapon, "Has to be a custom job, right? Picked it up out in Terminus?"
Ronon shrugged, "Never met who made it. Picked it up along the way," he explained before twirling it again and slipping it back into his holster.
"I can see your well versed in its use. And a leather holster instead of magnetic clips… and animal skin over your combat suit… and is that blade hilt?" Lotun asked in shock, his golden eyes widening in surprise.
Ronon crossed his arms, "Something wrong with all that?"
Lotun shook his head, "Not all. I just don't see very many humans as well armed as you in my shop, well, besides our esteemed security force," he replied with a nod of respect to the guard near the entrance, "And you have a lot of unique gear. I don't think I've seen anyone carrying a sword outside of a ceremony. Is it even effective?"
"It does the job," was the gruff reply.
Rodney walked over to his large friend, "Yeah… trust me. It's not a pretty sight to see," he shivered at the memories of his friend cutting down Wraith and humans alike, "He's scary enough with a gun."
The Turian seemed to agree, "Yes… he seems to have the intimidation factor down… it's also rare to meet a human as large as yourself… so, how can I help you gentlemen?"
"Well we were supposed to be stopping in that tech store down the street," Rodney grumbled as he made his way towards the counter, "But sasquatch here saw guns and he was like a kid in a candy shop."
"Ah, Jekal's place. He keeps a decent selection there, nothing combat related though," he looked pointedly at the taller human, "Mostly just has Omni-tools and datapads. Civilian gear. I heard he even got some eezo-powered toothbrushes recently."
Rodney groaned and wiped his face, "Great… now he'll never want to leave."
Lotun eyed the Canadian, "You strike me as tech savvy, am I right?" he asked, waiting for the man's slight nod of his head for confirmation, "I do have some kinetic barriers you may be interested in. Got them from a trader out of Illium. Experimental. Not on the market."
Rodney's eyes widened a bit and he walked over, looking at the bin that Lotun pulled out from underneath his counter, "Oh… well, I suppose I could take a look at some of these. Just to keep myself busy while you knuckle draggers talk about… whatever it is guys like you talk about…"
As Rodney pulled up his Omni-tool and started to scan, catalogue, and learn everything he could about the devices short of taking them apart, Lotun turned his attention back to Ronon. He rested his right arm on the counter and leaned into a relaxed stance as he stared at eye level with the large human, the first time he'd ever done so with one of their kind given the usual height differences between their species.
"So, I'm guessing you were in the Alliance before?" he asked.
Ronon frowned, not sure why this Turian was asking him personal questions, "… No."
"Mercenary then? Blue Suns?" Lotun pressed, curious about the strange human's background.
Ronon's eyes narrowed as he stared hard at the alien, "Why do you wanna know?"
"Just curious. Despite your… rugged appearance, you carry yourself like a soldier. I figured you ran with a professional outfit to pick that up," the shop owner explained with a shrug, "Regardless, wherever you picked up the training, I figure you're interested in some hardware matching your style?"
Ronon grunted as he tried not to be annoyed by the Turian's curiosity. He was still getting used to dealing with non-humans. Even the Quarians still confused him to a degree. He'd spent most of his life fighting the Wraith, and as a result did not trust aliens easily. Even humans he didn't know weren't always safe from his suspicions. But this new universe had so many alien races, so many new threats that he felt he needed to prepare against. In this case, Turians could be a big threat to his team on their missions. From what he'd been told by Dr Jackson and Weir, they weren't too dissimilar from Satedans. A militaristic society that had the numbers and aggression to match. Natural talons and thick, plate-skin no doubt made them difficult opponents in hand-to-hand combat. Still, he doubted any of the races he'd seen in pictures or heard about were as deadly as Wraith in this regard… except maybe those Krogan…
Turning his attention back to Lotun, he rested his hands on the counter, "What have you got?"
Lotun nodded and walked through a door way behind him, speaking louder as he could be heard rummaging through what Ronon guessed was more guns, "Well, you strike me as a close quarters specialist," a few crashes and sounds of boxes being moved around followed, "Sometimes people want to offset a tactical deficiency with something, in your case maybe a rife?"
Ronon grunted again, "No thanks. I prefer getting up close."
"Hey, maybe you should start carrying a rifle! It'd be nice if I wasn't the one having to give cover fire all the time," Rodney suggested from his hunched position, his eyes glued to the glowing computer on his wrist.
"You wanna start taking point and charging into buildings?" Ronon smirked, watching for the predictable response the shorter man was known for.
Rodney froze for a moment, "W-well, no. I mean, I've got that ankle issue… plus, if something were to happen to me, you wouldn't wanna be stuck handling all the technology stuff, right?"
"… Good point."
Lotun's voice interrupted them, now sounding a bit more distant, "Hmm… I know I have one somewhere back here… ah ha! There you are!"
A few more noises followed, and soon the Turian was walking out of the room and towards the counter. In his hands was an ivory and charcoal colored weapon. It lacked a stock and hand one large barrel and a smaller one running underneath. The Turian hefted it in his clawed hand for a moment before tossing it over the counter to Ronon. The man expertly caught it by its grip, feeling its weight in his hand before he faced the wall and aimed down its sights, imagining the damage it could do.
"That's a 2180 Lieberschaft shotgun, or as most people have coined it: the Eviscerator. It uses metal wedges instead of the standard shaved pellets most weapons use. Gives it an advantage in range and armor piercing capabilities," Lotun explained, tilting his head slightly as he eyed the weapon, "Of course, that's what makes it illegal in Council space."
Ronon shrugged, "That's dumb."
Lotun shrugged, "I don't make the laws. Luckily for you, we're not in Council space. Just be careful using that if you head back there."
Rodney looked over, "But we haven't bought it yet."
"From the way your friend here is holding it, I'd say he already has," noting how Ronon was eyeing the shotgun.
Ronon gave the weapon one last look over before nodding in satisfaction and setting the gun down on the counter top. He pointed to the weapon and then over to the devices McKay was fiddling with.
"We'll take it all. McKay, pay him."
"Hey! We were supposed to use that money for some new Omni-tools!" Rodney complained, annoyed that they still hadn't gone to the place he wanted to go.
"You're saying you don't want to take that stuff back with us? I'm sure we can always get Carter to come back here and take a look at it instead." Ronon asked knowingly.
"W-well, what I meant- I just think- augh, fine!" he stumbled through his words before grumbling and opening up the orange interface on his arm.
A few moments later the terminal on the countertop pinged and Lotun typed in a few commands, nodding in satisfaction. He typed in a few more and then small, red holographic locks appeared on the weapon and devices. A moment later they flashed green and disappeared from view.
"Alright then, they're all yours. Do be careful about waiving that thing around in Citadel space, depending on the world you could face a serious fine," the Turian advised.
Ronon nodded in thanks before picking up the shotgun. He pulled out a long, canvas cord and tied one end to the butt of the weapon and the other near around the handle guard. Once it was secure he removed his leather trench coat and pulled the sling over his head and right arm so that it hung behind and slightly to his right. He then put his coat back on, concealing the weapon from view.
Lotun eyed the man curiously, "You know, they do make magnetic holsters for those."
"I prefer this," was the simple reply.
Rodney packed the kinetic barrier generators in his pack and the pair of humans left the shop, followed closely by their escort. Rodney was about to make a beeline for the shop he'd wanted to go to before Ronon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We should contact Sheppard, make sure they're alright," he stated as he went back to his usual crowd scanning.
Rodney rolled his eyes, "We've only been separated for a few hours, I'm sure they're fine," he reasoned and was about to turn when he noticed the look in his friend's eyes, "…Fine…" he huffed and raised his hand to his ear, "Sheppard, it's Mckay. Ronon wanted to know how you guys are doing?"
A moment passed, "…We're doing fine guys. We're at the local library, Teyla's having a good time…"
"And you're not I'm guessing?" the scientist asked, knowing well his friend's thoughts on being at such a place.
"Well, when one goes to an alien world full of new species and things to explore, going to a library to read isn't what one expects to do," he replied facetiously, the inaudible groan clear as day.
Rodney couldn't help but agree slightly. He was all for learning new things, but he preferred to just take apart some piece of technology and learn for himself how it worked. Not that such an approach ever got him into trouble… well, maybe once or twice.
"We're gonna be here for a while, the librarian here seems to really like Teyla. So, you and Ronon have a bit more time to yourselves."
"Great! Ronon here hijacked my trip to get more guns," he sent a small glare at the taller man who shrugged, "Take all the time you guys need! I've got about ten things I wanted to-"
-BOOM!
"What the hell!?" McKay exclaimed as he whipped around.
Ronon immediately pulled out his Particle Magnum and turned towards the direction the noise came from as their security guard did the same. Down the street they could see the black, smokey bloom from what no doubt had to be a massive explosion. People were running in a panic, screaming and scattering as they tried to get away from the building that was now on fire. Before they could try and determine what happened, another explosion occurred much further off in the distance. Suddenly, the roar of engines in the air could be heard, and a pair of fighters streaked through the buildings.
"Those yours?" Ronon asked their escort, who firmly shook her head.
"No, I have no idea who-" she stopped midsentence, raising a hand to the side of her helmet as she intently listened to what the Atlanteans was her radio, "Say again? In orbit?! Where's- no, I'm still with them, we're- yes, yes. Okay, yes, we'll be right there."
"Rodney, what the hell is going on over there?!" Sheppard asked over their radio.
"I have no idea! There's explosions and screaming and jets flying around!" he replied as he turned to their escort, "What's happening?"
She looked at him with a slightly pale look on her face, "The colony is under attack, we need to regroup with your friends and get back to the Captain."
She motioned for them to follow and began to jog back the way they came. Ronon and Rodney looked at each other for a moment before following behind. The pair couldn't help but wonder why none of their missions could ever just be simple.