Groggily Aria awoke on something soft with warm sunlight bathing over her entire body. It was somewhat startling considering the last thing she remembered was being shot in the back by some kind of stunner in a muddy forest with Wraith hot on their tails, especially when Aria expected to be cold and uncomfortable. Something was off. Despite the feeling of the sun, none of the smells or sounds where familiar. She was defiantly not in the forest anymore. Still curiosity got the better of the quiet young woman. As she opened her eyes to take a look around, it was only then that a still sleep fogged mind realized the dark goggles were missing.
Pain quickly cleared away the rest of the cobwebs caused by the stunned sleep. However not before the tattooed figure clumsily fell the short distance from the thing she laid on to the floor as she scrambled for some shadows. Something moved across the room. Judging from the scent, it was Ronon and he was close by. "Sleep well?" The laughter in his deep base voice suddenly made Aria's blood boil. She cocked her head towards the sound of movement just before the ex-runner pressed the missing goggles gently into her hand mumbling "here."
Once in place, Aria got a good look around. Her heart sank. A cold sinking feeling enveloped the frightened young woman as her eyes took in the strange metal walls. Using hand signals, she asked where?
Before the big man could answer, automated doors opened and the man known as Sheppard entered with two other heavily armed men. Memories of what happened in the silent forest flooded the skittish native's head and she lost it. Aria lunged at her traveling companion. Nonetheless, she was easily thwarted. Even if there wasn't something still lodged in the blue haired woman's arm, Ronon would still have easily over powered her. For a moment they struggled as the strangers looked on, weapons aimed at the fighting pair of course, until the ex-runner's little buddy was finally pinned to the far wall. "I'm gonna take it she figured out you stunned her, and isn't happy about it." Sheppard stated motioning for his men to stand down.
"Yep." The giant man gave his companion a savage grin when she continued to struggle. Aria scrunched up her nose and bared her teeth in a silent snarl, but eventually gave up; forced to submit to Ronon's superior strength. "This place is impressive." He announced finally letting the young woman stalk off angrily to a corner.
"Ah, those ancestors sure could build 'em."
Looking to the soldiers on either side of the door then back to their leader, the enormous mud covered man simply stated, "The guards are unnecessary."
"Well, with your habit of taking people hostage an' all…"
"Did I mention if I wanted to escape, they will not be able to stop me?"
Listening to the interchange between Ronon and Sheppard from the safety of her corner, Aria's curiosity was peaked once again. However her attention wasn't focused on the two men. Instead she stared out the clear wall at the strange metal that grew taller than any tree she'd ever seen. It was fascinating. For the time being the knot in the quiet woman's stomach quieted when she finally noticed the slight difference between her surroundings and the Wraith cell's she wished to forget. Maybe, just maybe, these strangers could be trusted. Maybe.
"What about her?" Sheppard asked, drawing Aria's attention back to the room.
"Wouldn't be here if I hadn't stunned her." A pillow smacked the ex-runner in the back of the head letting Ronon know she still wasn't happy about that, and wasn't about to let it go so easily.
"Alright, so you guys are being cooperative."
"Did you manage to contact my home world?"
"Well, that's why I'm here." At the hint of being able to leave, Aria perked up. Unfortunately she didn't like the look Sheppard gave them.
Still, even the remote chance that she would get to leave gave Aria the drive she needed to brave this odd new place. At Ronon's side, she was lead from their current location into a strange hallway. There was metal everywhere and not a plant in sight. On the off chance that the armed men lead them past an odd clear wall, the only thing she could see was water. The singular moment of trust she was willing to give these strangers seemed to be fleeting fast, and regrettably it was being replaced by panic. Taking a step closer her large companion, Aria fought the urge to bolt; mostly because there didn't appear to be anywhere to go.
They were lead into a large open room where the ring of living water was kept, and of course many more strange objects that didn't look to inviting. There was a curious picture machine that was the focus of everyone around the silent woman. It appeared to be a ravaged city. "I don't understand." She heard Ronon ask from beside her after a few moments of staring at the image.
"We have machines called M.A.L.P.s. They're capable of transmitting back images and other information from other planets. We sent this one to the address you gave us." Peaking around Ronon, Aria studied the new woman who addressed them. Everyone in the room listened when this new woman spoke; clearly she was someone of importance.
"That is Sateda?"
This time it was Sheppard's turn to speak. "I'm sorry. It doesn't look like anyone survived the last attack."
Furrowing her eyebrows, Aria looked from face to face. How could anyone know everyone was gone if they couldn't smell the air, if they couldn't feel the ground, if they couldn't look around? The silent woman placed a gentle hand on her friend's arm when she noticed the tears in his eyes. He looked at the strangers as well, but could read the loss of hope in the slight droop in the shoulders, the sadness in the tightness of the jaw. He believed them. That was good enough to try and find something different. Trying very hard to ignore the people watching her, Aria got inches away from the strange picture.
Tentatively the quite woman touched the weird machine, but pulled her hand back upon impact. When nothing happened she touched it again, this time for longer. Soft hands caressed the stupid picture, while Aria sniffed at it. There were hundreds of scents in this room, but nothing matched what should have been on the screen. There was no faint hint of smoke, no dirt, nothing that matched the image.
After a few minutes, Ronon pulled his friend back from the screen. "You and your friend are welcomed to stay as long as you want." There was confusion in the wavering of the leader woman's tone. "I'm sorry about my timing, but I need to ask you both a few questions."
End Chapter 6
