Title: Deus Ex Machina
Date: 10/01/2006
Author: carpenyx
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Sexual Content, Character Death
Characters: Ronon Dex centric w/the rest of the SGA main characters
Spoilers: Up through "Sateda" and "Progeny", alternate universe – set later in the third season.
Disclaimer: I do not own. Just playing in the Pegasus Galaxy. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: He remembered her; the smell of her perfume, the sweet honey taste of her lips, and the warmth of her body against his. It was almost as if she were still there.
Deus Ex Machina
Chapter 5
John Sheppard's Quarters – Atlantis
Early Morning
I will seek revenge.
Ronon made his way through the corridor, his mind made up. He clenched onto the gun holstered against his hip as he rounded the corner and headed down another long hallway, one that lead to Sheppard's quarters.
When he reached his destination, he swiped his hand over the sensor of Sheppard's door, causing the buzzer to sound.
After Ronon had activated the buzzer for a second time, the door slid open.
Sheppard looked up at the other man, covering his mouth as he yawned sleepily. He scrunched his face in confusion, wondering why Ronon was knocking on his door at this time of the morning, and on their day off no less.
"I need your help," Ronon said urgently, his hand twitching anxiously against his gun.
Sheppard quirked one eyebrow, looking from Ronon's agitated hand back to his face. "What time is it?" he asked casually.
"Sunrise," Ronon answered, clearly annoyed.
"Exactly," Sheppard commented with a nod of his head. "It's before 0600 and it's my day off, what could possibility be more important than sleeping in?" he asked, thoughtfully.
"You're not going to like it," Ronon said gruffly. "In fact, you're going to hate it."
"I'm sure I will," John agreed, folding his arms in front of him as he leaned against the entryway to his room.
"I need to get through the Gate," Ronon said.
"Go on," Sheppard told him, wondering where Ronon was heading with this.
"Jumpers," he said without hesitation. "You can fly them. I can't."
"And why would we need a jumper?" John asked, looking at Ronon curiously.
"To get through the Gate, without being stopped," he explained, crossing his arms impatiently.
Sheppard shook his head in disbelief. "You can't be serious?"
"I will get through the Gate with or without your help, Sheppard," Ronon told him boldly. "It will be a hell of lot easier and faster-"
"Ronon," John warned.
"I refuse to sit back and do nothing while there's a chance the man responsible for hurting my wife is still alive," he said, frustrated and beginning to get angry, well… angrier.
"You don't know if anyone survived the culling on that planet," Sheppard reasoned.
"If he didn't survive then the Wraith did the work for me. Either way, I need to know," Ronon said, a roguish smirk on his face.
"Did you run this by Elizabeth?" John asked, but he already knew the answer.
"No, she'd be against this and you know it." He looked at John, growing impatient. "I'm not asking you as the ranking military officer – I'm asking you as my friend," he explained.
Sheppard sighed apprehensively. Had to throw in the friend card, didn't you?
Ronon's Quarters
It wasn't long before haunting images and memories interrupted her once soundless sleep. It rattled her to the core as she dreamt on, causing her to toss and turn relentlessly.
She exited the Ring, her dark brown eyes quickly scanning the area. The Ring was placed in a clearing, surrounded by tall, ancient trees. The sky was pale red, and it was emitting a colored glow over the planet. It did not appear to be occupied with inhabitants, or at least not within the immediate area of the Ring.
She moved in haste, reaching the tree line. She stayed off the dirt path, keeping to the high foliage and trees for camouflage. Her movements were swift and skilled – she had become an expert in keeping hidden and living on pure instinct during the last couple of years she had spent running.
Melena caught her breath as she looked around; there was an eerie feeling seeping through her veins.
A twig snapped nearby; she stopped dead in her tracks and kneeled, concealing herself with the foliage.
She did not even see it coming; she turned and all she remembered was a blue energy burst coming straight toward her – she fell back.
---
Melena's eyes fluttered open and she groaned, every muscle in her body screaming in pain. She was lying facedown against a hard and cold surface. She attempted to move, but she couldn't; her body was restrained.
"You're safe," came a man's voice calmly.
"Where am I?" she hissed furiously.
"You are safe," the man reassured her as he placed his hand on her shoulder gently.
The man's hand was cold, freezing, and unnatural. She spat angrily, straining against the bindings, but her struggles were futile.
---
"Why do you continue to shut me out, Melena?" Talus accused her, grabbing onto her arm forcefully.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking away from him automatically.
"I am your husband. I have given you everything," he argued.
"I know, Talus and I am grateful for everything-"
He loosened his grasp and pulled her into his arms. "I don't mean to get so angry with you, Melena, but you keep pushing me away," he said.
Melena sighed softly, wrapping her arms around Talus, "Talus, I love you, I do." But my heart belongs to another… it always will.
---
"It's almost time," the other woman's voice echoed as she moved around the table, placing her hand against Melena's arm.
"I know," she whispered as she closed her eyes.
---
Melena fell backwards from the impact, her back slamming against the wall. She slid down to the floor, her muscles quivering from the immense pain that was surging through her damaged body.
Talus towered over her, tilting his head. With hatred in his dark eyes, he reached for her wrist to pull her back up to her feet, proceeding to violate the woman he had once claimed to love.
---
"I will always love you, Melena," Ronon told her softly as he held onto her hands. He looked deep into her brown eyes, in awe of her radiating beauty. "I promise to always be with you, in life and in death," he vowed as he smiled warmly to the woman his was about to be united to, forever.
"Ronon, I promise to love you for the rest of my days and beyond this life," she said quietly, her eyes welling up with tears of joy as she looked up at Ronon.
The priest bowed his head and began the prayer to the ancestors, asking them to bless this union. When he finished, he took a small, but strong, piece of twine and tied it around both Ronon and Melena's wrists, pronouncing their union to all of their friends and family gathered.
---
"You know what you have to do?" the tall, slender woman told Melena, her hand resting against her shoulder.
"Of course," she said absolutely.
"Good," the other woman said with a nod.
---
"Welcome home Melena Sadira Dex," Ronon said happily as he carried his bride across the threshold of their home. He set her down carefully before pulling her into a passionate kiss.
She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you, Ronon," she whispered after breaking the kiss.
Ronon smiled down at her. "You don't belong here."
Melena flinched, lifting a brow as she looked up at Ronon. "What?" she said shakily, her lower lip quivering slightly.
He cupped his against the back of her thighs and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his mid-section. "You're not right," he told her, a smile still on his face as he combed his fingers through her hair, his other hand supporting her. "You don't belong."
---
Melena inclined her head as she looked at him. "Ronon?"
Ronon shook his head, standing in front of a large window. "I can't. I can't, Melena… you don't belong here," he said, his voice cracking as he stared into her eyes.
"Ronon?" she asked again as the sounds of Wraith darts started zipping through the city.
"You're not right, Melena," he whispered as the window shattered, the glass flying everywhere as the flames engulfed him.
"Ronon!" she screamed as she collapsed to her knees.
He was gone.
"Ronon!" Melena called out, waking abruptly from her sleep. She reached across the bed; it was empty. She sat up quickly, looking around frantically.
"Melena?" came a soft voice from the corner of the room; she had heard it before, it was the woman from the previous night.
"Where am I?" she asked confusedly. Melena looked in the direction of the voice.
"Atlantis," Teyla told her gently as she stood, placing the book she had been reading on the nearby table. She moved over to the other woman, tilting her head slightly. "You are safe here, Melena. You were quite restless; I gathered you were having a bad dream?"
"Where's Ronon?" she interrupted, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.
"He… had some things to attend to," Teyla explained. "He asked me to stay with you until you woke up. I am supposed to take you to see Doctor Beckett soon."
"What?" Melena looked up at Teyla.
Teyla inclined her head. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," she said flatly.
"Can I get you anything?"
"No," Melena replied as she looked around briefly before turning her gaze back to Teyla.
Silence overtook both women. Melena fingers fidgeted around the edge of the blanket covering her as she stared in front of her. Teyla remained standing, watching the other woman. "Are you sure that I can not get you anything?"
Within moments Melena had maneuvered herself out of the bed, and with one precise and direct motion she had Teyla up against the wall, her hand wrapped firmly around the other woman's neck. "I said no," she spat out angrily.
Shocked, Teyla struggled against Melena's grasp. Surprisingly, Melena possessed strength that she had not anticipated. She attempted to cough, but her airway was being cut off. "P... lease," she choked out, her hands grabbing into the strong woman's wrists tightly as the color started to drain from her face.
Melena stared into Teyla's eyes, and a small smirk crossed her features.
Laboratory – Atlantis
McKay muttered as he removed the back panel of the radio transmitter. His hands were shaking nervously as he used a pair of scissors to cut the connecting wire, causing the red light to cease blinking.
As he removed the embedded device from the radio with tweezers, he placed the now useless radio on the table. He turned the small device over, looking at it curiously. It's much more advanced than the radio…
McKay inspected it, and once satisfied that it was deactivated, he set the tiny foreign device under a microscope for further inspection. He leaned over, adjusting the settings on the eyepiece and proceeded to study the piece of advanced equipment.
"Shit… oh, this is so not good," he mumbled as he quickly grabbed his reports and the device, placing it in a clear plastic bag before he hurried out of the laboratory.
Jumper Bay – Atlantis
"I can't believe you talked me into this," Sheppard said, sitting down in the pilot's seat of the jumper as he looked over at Ronon.
"You can back out," Ronon told him as he took his place in the co-pilot's seat.
"And you'd still find a way to go," John commented as he powered up the jumper, the lights turning on and the engines firing up.
Ronon shrugged.
"Either scenario isn't very appealing," Sheppard explained. "I'm not about to let you go by yourself, and I'm not really big on the whole breaking-of-the-rules."
"You're not?" Ronon asked, giving Sheppard that look before smirking slightly.
"Well, okay… so I tend to break the rules a little – this is different," he admitted, "Elizabeth isn't going to like this."
"I said you could back out."
"She'll have every right to demote me," Sheppard commented.
Ronon shrugged his shoulders again. "Tell her I took you hostage or something."
"And she'll have every reason to kick you off the team," Sheppard added, looking at Ronon.
"I have to do this," he told him, looking out the puddle-jumper window.
Sheppard nodded, reluctantly maneuvering the jumper over the hatch in the center of the Jumper bay. The hatch slid open when the jumper was in position and they descended down into the Gate Room.
As Ronon gave the coordinates to Sheppard, he punched them in, dialing up the planet of Bethdsha.
Dr. Weir's Office
Elizabeth looked at Carson. "Are you sure about this?"
"Aye," he said regretfully.
Elizabeth turned the page of the report, scanning over the document. "Why wasn't this seen on the initial tests?" she asked in a tightly controlled voice, angry that they had missed something so important.
Carson shook his head. "We didn't consider this possibility, and I realize it was a grave mistake… on my part."
"This is more than a mistake, Carson. We've put Atlantis in danger," she said dismally, looking at Atlantis' leading doctor.
"Doctor Weir, we have a situation," the technician on duty announced over the commutations system.
She tapped her earpiece, shaking her head. "What's going on?"
"The Stargate is dialing up… on its' – you better get out here, Doctor Weir," the technician advised.
Elizabeth cursed under her breath as she handed the report back to Carson. She hurried out of her office and into the control room, Carson following closely behind her.
"What's the problem?" she asked, her eyes shifted to the Gate Room just in time to see one of the puddle-jumpers lower down in front of the control room.
"That is ma'am," the technician said quietly.
"John?" she questioned as she walked over to the overhang. "What do you think you're doing?"
Sheppard, piloting the jumper, turned the ship to face the control room and Elizabeth.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, looking at the confusion and evident anger growing on her face.
"John!" she shouted as she moved to the railing of the overhang.
The jumper turned away from Elizabeth, facing the Stargate.
"Colonel Sheppard! Stand down now!" she ordered, but received no response.
The Stargate activated, the event-horizon springing forth. In haste, the technician activated the shield.
"Shut the Gate down now!" she barked to the technician.
The shield lowered, and before the technician could reengage the shield, the jumper zipped through.
Elizabeth hissed, slamming her hand against the railing angrily.
"Elizabeth!" McKay yelled as he hurried up the steps to the control room, his breathing labored. "We have a serious problem," he told her.
"And why am I not surprised?" she said through gritted teeth as she shook her head.
"Excuse me?" McKay asked, glancing at the gate.
"It seems that Colonel Sheppard and Ronon have decided to disobey orders, and Melena-"
"It's about her," McKay interjected.
Elizabeth looked at McKay warily.
Ronon's Quarters
Melena growled as she tightened her grasp around Teyla's neck. As the moments passed - her strength grew tenfold, her injuries having miraculously healed. She kept her eyes locked on the other woman as she continued to choke the life out of her.
The room was spinning. Teyla squirmed, trying desperately to fight against Melena, but it was ineffective. She was losing this battle, becoming weaker by the second, and she felt the last of her air supply being used up. Her eyes closed as her body went limp in Melena's powerful grip.
Distracted, her eyes shifted to the door as the military marines stormed in and surrounded Melena, their guns aimed on her. She smirked.
Elizabeth came into Ronon's quarters, followed by both Doctor Beckett and McKay.
"Let her go," Elizabeth ordered.
Melena tilted her head, looking at Elizabeth. Her eyes flashed violently. She released her hold on Teyla, letting the unconscious woman sink to the floor.
Carson hurried over to Teyla, kneeling down beside her.
"Get away from her," Melena hissed, looking down at Carson.
"I will not," he said firmly as he proceeded to check for Teyla's pulse.
Melena reached down, grabbing onto Carson's shirt.
"Carson!" someone called out.
Carson looked up at Melena, fear evident in his eyes.
The marines readied their guns and the head of the team looked in Doctor Weir's direction, waiting for an order.
Melena released Doctor Beckett and turned, her eyes focused on Elizabeth.
"We know what you are," Elizabeth stated.
"Do you?" she asked, inclining her head in the other direction as she regarded Elizabeth.
"Asuran," Elizabeth said through clenched teeth.
Melena grinned slowly. "Then you know there is nothing you can do to stop what is about to happen, Doctor Weir," she said flatly, her expression changing only to laugh in response to the look on Elizabeth's face.