Chapter 5 –

Sniffing Rodents

'We should get moving.' Ronan insisted.

'Yeah.' John nodded. 'Okay.' No wonder Boe wanted out, she already had someone. And with the Kredan approaching fast it would men that she would give herself to someone else to appease her people's agreement with the Dryad's. John gritted his teeth. How could this be the best planted he'd been to and the worst? 'Let's go.' He started to move.

'Coran no!' John turned to see an angry man speeding toward him with a mean looking dagger in hand. John stood quickly and ducked the first attack, the second, before leaping back to miss the swipe aimed at his chest.

'Hey!' John protested.

The man came at him again, the dagger swiping from the right. John's wrist deflected the blow and he used his other hand to deliver a mighty punch. The man staggered back and turned quickly to continue the fight. Boe jumped in front of him, her hands planted firmly on his chest. 'No! Please.' She turned to John. 'Do not!' The fight paused. Boe faced the man with pleading in her eyes. 'These are the travellers I spoke of, they are good people.' The man narrowed his eyes at the group.

'It seems they have strayed too far into our business.' He said quietly, almost with regret.

'Well, no offence, but the village is just over your shoulder, not exactly a great place to come and…' Rodney waved a hand at them. '…kanoodle.' Carson frowned at him. 'You're not even supposed to be kanoodling in the first place.'

Boe's jaw was set. 'I am aware, McKay, thank you for your observation.'

'Alright.' John breathed, he turned to Boe. 'The guy with the knife would be…?'

'Coran.' He stated. Tall, fair hair and bright blue eyes. John could see from his stance and large arms that he was a hunter, and apparently he had some skill with a blade. John tugged at the tear in his shirt where the dagger had nearly sliced his chest.

'He is Dryad.' Boe informed them, worry playing across her face.

'And you and Dryads aren't suppose to kanoodle at all unless it's, what, what did you call it, a single night of something or other…' Rodney asked Sheppard.

'The Kredan.' He filled in.

'Right…? So I take it that you, what? Aren't like, Kredanning partners or whatever?' Rodney frowned.

Boe shook her head. 'The woman cannot choose her partner for the Kredan and she will not see him before or after the Kredan.'

'I thought you guys had segregated villages that were pretty far away?' John asked, baffled by how he could be here.

'I come every second night, I leave as soon as the sun sets, this ensures at least an hour between us.' He looked to Boe. 'I must leave soon if I am to return for sun up.' Boe looked to the floor.

'How did you two meet each other? If your people are separated like they are, how on earth did you two…' Carson asked.

'Meet to kanoodle?' Rodney finished. Carson slumped.

'Would you stop saying that? It's really starting to creep me out.' Carson growled.

'Well what am I suppose to say?' Rodney retorted.

'Kissing or snogging - anything except that. It's love Rodney, not some sort of rotten cheese shoved at the back of your fridge. You are in love aren't you?' Carson turned to the couple.

'Carson, you can't just ask them that.' Rodney snapped.

'I just did you great prude.' Carson glared at him.

'I am not a prude-' Rodney began.

'Guys!' John shouted.

'Please! Keep your voices down! My sisters will have patrols surrounding the village.' Boe pleaded with an angry eye.

'Well maybe you should go and – do what you do somewhere else – are you happy now? It sounds even worse than kanoodle.' Rodney turned to Carson.

'Only because you're the one saying it.' The Doctor muttered.

Rodney scowled.

'I swear, the next mission, you guys are staying at home.' John chided.

'We are.' Coran interrupted, bringing their focus back to them. 'In love.' He took Boe's shoulders and pulled her back gently up against him. 'We first met when my scout team were doing reconnaissance; Boe had been taken by her people to train in the art of hunting, except they had crossed the border in an attempt to capture a rare animal that runs our plains.'

'I had separated from the group when I discovered one, and that's when I stumbled onto Coran.' Boe informed them. 'He told me that if he did take me prisoner that I would be lashed for my crime.'

'My group was close by, and so I took her to the edge of our border and released her.' He looked down at her face. 'I was so captured by her beauty and her brave heart that I told her that I wished to see her again.'

'And I consented.' Boe finished.

Rodney scrunched his nose. 'Oh please.' He turned from the group. 'Schmaltz.'

John shook his head. 'How long have you guys been seeing each other.'

'We have seen two Summers together.' Coran informed him.

Carson's mouth fell open. 'Two years? You've been hiding this relationship for two years?' He glanced up at Ronan. 'That's awfully sneaky.'

'What would happen if they found out?' Ronan asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

Coran's eyes were fixed on the tall Satedan. 'Boe would be tortured for her betrayal and made to serve as a slave to their leader, Adina. The penalty for my betrayal is death.' He explained.

'For being in love?' Carson asked incredulously.

Boe nodded. John shook his head, hating this world more and more.

'Okay, so why don't you guys just leave? Run away together and-' He began.

'We can't.' Boe snarled, tears filling her eyes. 'My sisters would hunt me down just as surely as would the Dryads hunt Coran. Our people have been at war for centuries and our crimes are great, they would not stop hunting us, and that is no way to live.'

'It's no way to live by loving in secret.' John said firmly.

'If we ran, we would not get far. The forest only grows to the mountains, and they are treacherous. Beyond that is a Jungle, vast and deadly. We would not survive.' Coran informed them, sweeping Boe's hair from one side of her neck to the other.

'So you're stuck doing this for the rest of your lives, until you get caught.' Ronan commented. 'That's not living.'

'We have no choice.' Boe bowed her head.

'Maybe you do.' John said quietly, thinking it over.

Boe and Coran frowned at him. The rest of his team frowned at him.

'What are you thinking now?' Rodney folded his arms, looking extremely uninviting of any ideas the Colonel had.

'The offer I made you - ' he said to Boe '- I can extend it for two.' He glanced at Coran who frowned deeply. Boe breathed quickly and her hand went to her forehead.

'I want to accept John, I do, but if we were to leave this world-' She paused desperately thinking of how to make it work.

'Our people would be at war.' Coran told them.

'You're kidding!' Rodney exclaimed. 'This whole situation is ridiculous! Why can't you just explain that this is what happened, and that this is the way it is?'

'To reveal that we crossed the border? That Coran let me go? That we have been going behind the backs of our people for two Summers? That would surely start a war.' Boe snarled at him. Coran held her back as she stepped forward menacingly.

McKay, looking rather sheepish, stepped back.

'Look, let me talk to my leader first and we'll go from there.' John said, trying to reassure the couple that there was more to life than this.

'The Kredan is in just under two Suns. I cannot, I will not participate.' Boe turned from the group walking away.

'And I will not allow it.' Coran stated. 'This leaves us with only one choice which we know ends in only one way.' He glanced back. 'We must leave. Our people will take chase, but unite in the hunt, once we are captured, their vengeance will be appeased with our blood. There cannot be war between our people if we are far from the camps because neither side would be to blame for hiding us.'

'That's a bad plan.' John stated. 'That's a very bad plan.'

'The Colonel's right, your people may fight anyway, you don't know what can happen. There's no point in dieing in the hopes that they won't.' Carson insisted.

'What offer?' Rodney clicked.

John frowned. 'What?'

'The offer - you made an offer, what was it?' He asked quickly.

'A little late aren't you McKay?' John rolled his eyes.

'Would you just tell me?' Rodney said waspishly.

'They can live on the mainland with the Athosians, live as a couple who don't have to hide like this.' He explained.

'That involves us.' Ronan stated.

'And?' John growled at the Satedan.

'Ronan is right, if you do anything, they will know that you helped us. You will be punished also.' Boe informed them.

'Well they can't punish us if we're not here.' John started to walk back to the village. 'Just hang tight; come back tomorrow night, we'll have a far better plan then yours by then.'

Coran surged forward, stopping Sheppard. 'Why are you helping us?' He asked wearily. 'How do I know that you will not go to Adina and tell her of our meetings?'

John paused. 'I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic, okay, I'm also one of the good guys and I hate how your people do business, so I'm helping you.' He walked round him and Coran turned back to Boe.

'To see your face in the sun light.' He whispered to her before kissing her gently and leaving. Boe watched him go into the forest.

'It's alright love, we'll sort you out.' Carson put a hand on her shoulder. She smiled weakly.

'What are you, Mother hen?' Rodney drawled. Carson gritted his teeth.

'Let's get back to the party, shall we?' Carson offered for Boe to go in front, she nodded graciously.

Boe joined Sheppard at the front. 'Thank you.' She whispered. He glanced at her, seeing her ashen face in the moonlight.

'Don't thank me yet. I still gotta come up with a plan, and that's more difficult than it sounds if we're gonna avoid a war.' He smiled grimly. Boe nodded and paused, her eyes darting to the trees in front; she dropped to the floor and crawled through the bush. She jumped up and turned, a large white flower in her hand.

'This is the Jaslinda flower; it had very strong medicinal properties.' She explained as the group gathered. John noted her fast breathing and nervous expression.

'What are you doing?'

The group turned to face Adina with two of her guards standing at her side. She did not look happy.

'Adina.' Boe smiled weakly. 'I was showing Sheppard and his team some of our medicinal herbs; Carson in particular was interested to know how we healed Ronan and John so quickly.'

Adina nodded her head slowly. 'I see. Were the celebrations becoming tiresome?' Her eyes fixed on the newcomers.

'We were hiding.' John stated. Boe's head snapped in his direction. 'I don't know about Ronan, but I sure as hell wasn't looking to do any more dancing this evening. Or this morning.' He smiled confidently.

Adina mirrored the smile with cautiousness. 'Boe may show you the rest of our Forest in the morning; most of my sisters have retired to bed since your departure so I believe it is safe for you to show your face.'

'Ah, good, I could eat a horse.' Rodney walked forward, nervously smiling at Adina as he passed.

'Rodney.' Adina called as the rest of the group followed. 'Please remain behind.'

Rodney gulped, casting the Colonel a look which reminded him of a timid rabbit about to be squashed by a military jeep. Rodney saw the Colonel nod at him with a confident twinkle. Rodney gulped again as the group slowly continued on into the village escorted by the guards. Adina walked forwards, her hips swaying far more than was normal.

'Your friends are interestingly curious.' She stated.

'Well, they are interesting.' He looked back to see where they were, anxiously realising that they were nowhere to be seen.

'What were they doing here?' She asked quietly, slipping her hands around his waist, not giving McKay the chance to scurry back. 'Dawn not far and their curiosity for herbs was far greater than the call of sleep?'

McKay's eyes were wide. He had the worst poker face in the world, and how could he concentrate on lying when she was rubbing her hands up and down his back.

'Well, we're explorers.' He squeaked.

'Ronan doesn't strike me as much of a man to be interested in plants.' She insisted, her face coming close to his, her eyes glancing at his lips seductively.

'Ronan isn't interested in a lot of things.' His head craned back as she leant forward. 'Science, medicine…conversation.'

'Then why was he here?' She asked again.

Rodney paused, angered by her use of seduction to manipulate him. He may be a girl in most situations, but he wouldn't be fooled by a woman wearing a hide boob tube. 'Because he's part of the team.' He said more confidently. 'Where we go, he goes. That's the whole point of being a team.'

She nodded, seeing that she wasn't going to get the truth. She moved on. 'You did not have nearly enough to drink.' She whispered. Rodney blinked.

'Excuse me?' He croaked.

'You are not nearly well enough intoxicated, shaman.' She cooed, drawing closer.

McKay's eyes went wide.

'Where is he?' John growled, pacing the length of the room.

'He won't say anything.' Ronan stated.

'How do we know that? We have no idea what she's doing to him!' John snapped.

'He won't say anything because he knows what I'll do to him if he does.' Ronan promised.

'Rodney's an ass, but he's got something of a backbone. I'm sure he'll be fine.' Carson insisted.

'Could you say that with a little less confidence, Carson?' John scowled.

Carson frowned at him and John continued pacing. As time went on, John grew more impatient, sitting on the bed and closing his eyes for a few minutes before staring at the ceiling. Carson sighed.

'Don't suppose anybody brought cards?' He asked hopefully.

Ronan raised his eyebrows.

'Cards.' Carson repeated seeing his puzzled face. 'God, I really do need to educate in the ways of passing time, Ronan.'

John rose from his bed of straw and hide. The room was fairly large with four of these beds lining the walls. He glanced up at the window, it would be morning soon. He marched to the door.

'Where do you think you're going?' Carson demanded.

'To find Rodney.' He reached for the handle.

'Don't.' Ronan stated.

'Why?' John snapped, turning to the Satedan.

'You act worried about him, like they're gonna hurt him, they'll get suspicious. They'll want to know why.' He stated. John cocked his head and yanked the door open.

'They're already suspicious.' He shot back, about to march outside when Rodney stumbled through the door, smiling widely.

'Hey guys!' He chirped.

'Rodney! Where in the hell have you been? You've been gone for two hours!' John hit his shoulder.

'Oh, you know, around, here, there – places.' He wandered into the room. John frowned. He hadn't complained about being pushed and he was smiling at five in the morning - without his coffee.

Rodney wondered over to a spare bed and plopped down. He didn't complain about how hard or uncomfortable it was, as John thought he would. He swung his legs up and lay down, turning to face the wall. Carson and Ronan watched. John walked forward.

'And?' He prodded.

McKay didn't answer.

'McKay.' John said firmly.

'Mh?' He said quietly, obviously drifting to sleep.

John narrowed his eyes before marching across the floor to McKay's bed, grabbing the edge of the hide sheet and pulling it from under him. McKay toppled onto the floor with a thud. He shot up with anger contorting his face.

'What is your problem!?' He yelled. 'I could have seriously damaged my coccyx!'

'That's better!' John shouted back.

'What?' McKay snarled.

'You walk in here like you've just been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Science, McKay. What's wrong with you?' John asked seriously.

'Nothing is wrong with me.' He snapped. 'I am perfectly fine, better than ever. Or I was until I landed on the floor – look, I'm really tired.' He turned back to the bed.

'Don't even think about it, you little rodent.' Carson said swiftly. McKay paused, turning on his heel slowly, a look of awe on his face.

'Rodent?' He echoed. 'Did you just call me a rodent?'

'You've got to tell us what happened, does she know?' Carson asked.

'Does who know what?' Rodney folded his arms, giving the Scot a steely eye.

'Don't play games with me, you stressy little bugger.' Carson stood.

Rodney did a double take. 'What is with the name calling? All I did was walk in here-'

'McKay.' John growled. 'Does she know.'

'No.' He snapped. 'Not exactly.'

They looked at him. 'What do you mean not exactly?' John asked.

'She knows something's up, but she doesn't know what.' McKay informed them.

'We've got to be careful; she'll be keeping an eye on us.' Carson said, looking at John and Ronan. Ronan didn't take his eyes from McKay.

'What were you doing with her?' He asked, his long legs stretched out on the bed. Rodney's eyes went to the floor and his feet began to shuffle. Ronan smiled slightly.

'Doing? Nothing.' He answered, turning back to the bed.

'Doing nothing doesn't take two hours.' He stated, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rodney turned with as much hostility as he could muster. 'She asked me questions about what we were doing, I said nothing, it's very boring - can I go to sleep now?'

'That doesn't take two hours either.' John sighed.

'What happened Rodney?' Carson frowned.

McKay shrugged, a strange look on his face. Ronan rose from the bed and sauntered over, towering over McKay so that their faces were mere inches apart. Rodney stared. Ronan sniffed.

'Oh come on! You can't know what I was doing by smelling me!' Rodney complained.

'Yeah I can.' He sauntered back over to the bed. 'Plus your fly is open.'

Rodney's eyes shot down to his trousers where Carson and John's eyes also went. The Scientist quickly zipped them up, giving them a half smile, his cheeks burning.

'Oh.' John raised his eyebrows.

'There's no way.' Carson gaped. 'The Queen of the Amazons chose a little twerp like you?' Rodney glared. 'Well I suppose she was completely deprived of male resources.' He wondered.

Rodney scowled. 'Yes, the Queen of the Amazons chose me and not you, so let's be clear about which of us is the more attractive.' He grinned.

'You are not more attractive than I am, Rodney McKay, and don't think some sex starved masculine female indicates otherwise.' Carson growled at him.

'She is not masculine-'

'She can kick your ass from here to Jupiter, Rodney-'

'So? She can kick Ronan's ass from here to Jupiter-'

'Hey.' Ronan protested.

'Well she can.' Rodney insisted.

'Okay, that's not the point. At least we can use McKay as a distraction in the future.' John walked to the door, grabbing his gear on the way.

'Where are you going?' McKay snapped, unhappy at being designated their official distraction.

'Atlantis, I'm taking Boe.' He walked out. Ronan rose and followed.

The door slammed shut behind them. 'Sheppard.' Ronan called. John looked back.

'Stay with Carson and Rodney, I'll be back soon.' He said.

'Sheppard, you can't take her with you.' Ronan told him.

'I'll bring her back.' John reasoned.

'Are you sure you're not doing this for another reason?' Ronan asked, the crisp morning air biting at his skin.

'What are you talking about?' John frowned back at him.

'She's a pretty girl.' He stated.

John stopped and turned, an incredulous expression on his face. 'That has nothing to do with it.' He continued walking.

Ronan paused watching him head to Boe's hut and knocking on her door. The girl emerged, sleepy and disorientated, but Sheppard took her hand and led the way out of the village. Ronan shook his head and walked back to the room.

Boe had led him to the Gate easily. They walked across the massive field as the sun rose in the sky, Boe glanced at him nervously.

'They will know I am gone. Adina will suspect-'

'It's a trade. I take you to make sure that I'm not doing anything untoward, when really I am, and Rodney, Ronan and Carson stay behind so Adina can make sure that I bring you back.' Sheppard explained.

Boe nodded. John marched up to the DHD and punched in the dialling sequence for Atlantis. The Gate erupted and John reached for his radio.

'Atlantis, this is Sheppard, please come in.' A moment passed before the radio crackled.

'Colonel Sheppard, it's nice to hear your voice. How are things?' Doctor Weir asked.

'They could be better. Look, I'm bringing a visitor.' He informed, smiling at Boe.

'Come on home.' She ordered.

John nodded for Boe to step through; she walked up the steps and hesitated, touching the puddle shining before her.

'It's alright; it's kinda like a ride.' John smiled reassuringly. She smiled back, taking a breath before stepping through. John glanced back at the field before following. The Gate shut down.

Ronan wandered around the well in the village, his mind dwelling on various issues. He kicked a stone about. He hated playing the waiting game; he wasn't patient at the best of times. He watched as the village slowly came to life, noting that the day was far colder than it had been yesterday and some of the people came out of their huts wearing skins over their bare shoulders. He was suddenly distracted by shouts coming from his left.

'What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?'

Ronan watched as four of the warrior women threw McKay and Carson out of their room, kicking them and hitting them with the butt of their spears. Ronan sped over.

They did not see the large Satedan charge them, elbowing the first to the ground before kicking the second in the midsection and spinning round to back kick a third. The last raised her spear. Ronan toyed with her, dodging left and then feinting right, grabbing the spear and kicking her in the stomach before pulling the spear round to fling her to the ground. The others rose as Ronan twirled the spear, a smile on his face. He had no problem with hurting ladies.

Carson and Rodney stood, bleeding from various places.

'What did you do?' Ronan asked them.

'Nothing!' Rodney yelled. 'We were sleeping!'

'I think I prefer my alarm clock to this wake up call, thank you.' Carson nodded to the women.

'Stay behind me.' Ronan ordered.

'Not going to argue.' Rodney snapped.

The women crept forward before surging as one to attack. Ronan brought the spear around like a staff and knocked their spears back, sweeping round to take their legs from underneath them. Two fell hard. The other two advanced. Ronan blocked the staff of one and the kicks of another before catching the woman's spear and slamming her into the other. One of the women on the ground grabbed his ankle and Ronan stumbled back. She jumped up and hit him hard in the face, ducking his spear and kicking his chest. He stepped back, but her weight wasn't enough to take him down. He blocked her fists and caught her round house kick, spinning her to the floor.

'That's enough!' Adina marched forward with five women behind her, their bows and arrows already aimed. 'You know how accurate our arrows are Dex, I suggest you stand down.'

The women on the floor got to their feet, grabbing their spears and glaring at him with menace.

'Ronan.' Rodney said firmly, his eyes fixed on Adina.

Ronan gritted his teeth and chucked the spear to the floor. The women surged forward and beat him to the ground. Carson and Rodney leapt in from behind, both being hit in the face and falling to the floor. Rodney pulled himself to his feet, the vicious beating of Ronan continuing. He snarled at the women, his attention turning to Adina.

'Is that really necessary?!' He shrieked.

Adina held up a hand and the women stopped, backing off slightly. Carson immediately went to Ronan's side. He was not in good shape. Rodney glared at the Warrior Leader before helping Carson pull Ronan to a half sitting position.

'You know you have a funny way of dealing with people, you violent sodds!' Carson yelled at them, holding Ronan and inspecting his wounds. He was barely conscious.

Adina walked forward. 'This was indeed necessary, Mckay.' She seethed, a fury burning in her eyes. 'Your betrayal will be paid for in blood.'

Carson and Rodney looked up. Rodney glared and she did not waver. 'What did we do now?' He snarled, his brow bleeding down his cheek.

Adina didn't answer him. 'Take Dex and Beckett and tie them to the pole in the square. Take Mckay to my private quarters.' She demanded.

'I'm afraid that doesn't quite work for me.' Rodney shouted. 'I wasn't overly keen on the décor, or what little I saw of it last night.'

Carson admired his spirit, but sometimes the man needed to know when to stay silent. Adina sped forward and back handed him across the face. Mckay fell to the floor and did not stir.

'Oh that's just ridiculous.' Carson muttered, surrounded by his unconscious comrades. 'Just what do you think you are doing?' He asked Adina harshly.

The woman turned on her heel and scowled at him. 'Protecting our way of life.' She whispered. 'Do as I command!' The women surged forward.

'Adina!' A voice yelled. Carson watched as a woman ran to the leader, bowing quickly and then looking at her fearfully. 'They have come. The Dryads have sent a small force. Gredak wants to speak with you.'

Adina looked to the ground momentarily before looking back at Carson. 'The Dryads have come.' She seethed at him.

Carson stood. 'Well don't look at me as if it's my bloody fault!'