The Price of Freedom – Part 5
Rodney McKay squatted at the top of a bush and shrub covered embankment holding a pair of very primitive binoculars to his eyes. "You've got to be kidding," he spluttered.
"I am afraid not, Dr. McKay." His tall wiry companion commented from his position by Rodney's side.
"But there must be at least six or more men just guarding the gate."
The man nodded even though Rodney couldn't see his answer. "Like Majel keeps reminding you, the fortress is impenetrable. No one gets out or in without Karakus's soul permission."
"And what about that wooded area over there." Rodney asked, pointing to a densely tree lined and rocky ridge no more than about 2 kilometres away from the fortress before turning to his companion.
Prior to answering, Rodney's guide pushed up his glasses in much the same way that Radek often did making Rodney suddenly feel terribly homesick. "That is Karakus's dreaded hunting grounds. He goes there nearly every week to hunt the harmless Teekie or any other poor creature that he can get in his sights, just for the fun of it."
Rodney pulled a face. He hated hunting at the best of times. Then turning his attention back to the fortress, Rodney panned the binoculars over the vast and menacing façade of the distant foreboding and ugly building. It reminded him of pictures he'd seen of Second World War bunkers. It was just a huge square block of solid grey stone with the tiniest of windows. Surrounding the central building was a high wall, also made of grey stone, with what looked like glass shards topping it as something glistened in the sunlight.
Lowering the binoculars, Rodney sighed. "What's this Karakus afraid of? I mean, that place is better protected than---" He was just about to say Fort Knox when he realised that the man wouldn't know what he was talking about.
Rodney's companion didn't seem to notice the incomplete sentence as he replied. "Nobody really knows but anyone who has ever tried to cross him, be it citizen or slave, has ended up very dead. I have even seen corpses hanging from those walls to reminder us all of his power."
Turning to face his guide, Rodney swallowed hard and pointed a shaky finger, "Hung from that wall?" he squealed, not meaning to sound quite so terrified but it came out that way.
His guide simply nodded. "The man is ruthless, always has been even as a child. His father was not much better, although, he was a little less power hungry. Gallus inherited his father's wealth just over twenty years ago. Since then, his corruption and dealings with the slavers has gone from bad to worse. It is common knowledge that he greatly misuses his slaves, especially the poor unfortunate women. Luckily, the man has no heirs, as he has never found a woman who would marry him and give him children. Even the poor slaves have had no children by him, so it would seem that the man is incapable of fathering any." The guide paused for a minute to look around. "Now, I think it is wise that we leave this place before we are discovered."
"Yes, yes, of course," Rodney muttered before quickly scrambling away from the viewing vantage point. "So my best bet is still to try and get through the gate?"
The man looked at McKay sadly. "Even that holds some risks. I am truly sorry about your friend but if you do manage such a feat, I would strongly recommend that you stay away from this place forever."
Rodney didn't voice it but he thought, And leave Sheppard behind, not likely. His companion, Lomos Naabe, had been helpful in many ways since the Sogan's had introduced them but Rodney wasn't giving up. Somehow, he would get back to Atlantis and if necessary, bring an army to free Sheppard. The only trouble was such an action could easily cause Sheppard's death if it wasn't handled correctly.
-SGA-
Dr. Elizabeth Weir sat silently at her desk, her face weary and sorrowful. Weeks, it had been weeks since they had lost of John and Rodney. Weeks of useless searching, as day after day teams had come back empty handed after following up futile leads.
Caldwell was now firmly ensconced in John's chair at the request of General Landry and the SGC. Elizabeth hated it, and although he ran the military like clockwork, she greatly missed John's laidback and more easygoing style. Radek, bless him, was doing the best he could to keep Rodney's science department running but eventually, they would have to find someone to take over, as Radek had his own department to run.
Tomorrow, Elizabeth had arranged a special meeting to decide as to whether a full-scale search should continue or not. She knew Ronon would never give up and Teyla would probably join him. Elizabeth didn't want to give up either but pressure from Caldwell and Landry was increasing. They claimed that enough resources and manpower had already been deployed and it was time to downgrade the search or maybe even call it off altogether.
Elizabeth totally disagreed because how could you give up on two people as special and as dear to them as John and Rodney were. Not that other expedition members were less important but somehow, those two were the heart and soul of Atlantis. Together they had kept the city safe against all odds. They had overcome so much and saved so many lives, time after time. No, Elizabeth decided, they owed them too much to give up, at least not yet.
A tear or two appeared in her eyes and she reached down to grab a paper tissue to blow her nose. Then standing, Elizabeth sighed and wandered over to the balcony to look at down at the Stargate.
Silently, she said a little prayer and whispered. "Where are you boys? Please come home to us."
-SGA-
John reached down to clean out the primitive toilet pan in the guards' washroom. His stomach turned and he gagged at the stench that wafted up to assault his abused nose. Never in his life had he dreamt that he would have to clean out latrines for real. It had been threatened a few times during his illustrious military career but threats were one thing, actually having to do it was another. In addition, no matter how misused some of the communal facilities may have been back on Earth they were a palace compared to this.
He'd been assigned to latrine cleaning duties about a week ago after getting into a disagreement with one of the other slaves. For no apparent reason, the man had started to torment John almost from the first day. John had tried to put a stop to it but it only served to make matters worse as the slave continued to harass him and call him names whenever he could.
It had all come to a head one evening when the slave pinched some of John's bread, and although the other was heavier built and slightly taller, John had given him a bloody nose for that.
After the guards had parted them, the bully had only received a warning, whereas John had ended up being assigned to this filthy job after his normal work of digging out a foundation for a new building.
The guards certainly had it in for him, even though they had said that he'd been lucky, as they hadn't reported the incident to Karakus.
Once the toilets were as clean as John could get them, he trudged back towards the slave quarters for a wash and the evening meal that Sirena would have kept warm for him. His strength and health was slowly returning to normal thanks to Sirena's extra care and wholesome food. She had already become a good friend. Almost mothering him with her attention but she kept insisting that he was special.
Clean and feeling somewhat better after his evening meal, John prepared to settle down for night. He moved over to his bed and got a shock as the single woollen blanket was missing leaving only the grey holey sheets covering the narrow mattress. Someone must have taken the cover and unfortunately, it wasn't just a simple task of going to a cupboard to get a replacement. When he had been given the blanket, he'd been told to look after it, as it was the only one that he would get. If he lost it or damaged it, then that was just too bad because he wouldn't get another.
John sighed, as there was no way he could go without it, it was just too darn cold in the night. He glanced angrily at the other men sharing the room. Some were already asleep while others appeared to be dozing. So John moved silently amongst them until he spotted his cover draped over his adversary who was lightly snoring under the cosy looking mound made by the extra blanket.
A light kick to the foot brought the man awake. "What do you want?" he growled.
John glared at him and growled back. "As if you didn't already know. My blanket."
The other slaves began to stir. Some looked on with interest, while others showed real fear. Either way, they silently waited to see how the confrontation would pan out.
The thief lifted his head slightly. "Get lost, loser."
John kicked his foot again. "Not until I've got my blanket back."
"Then you're in for a long wait, skinny, 'cause I ain't giving it back."
Sheppard looked at the mound in frustration. He was bone tired and getting colder by the minute, nevertheless, there was no way he was going back to his bed without his cover. The others wouldn't help him for fear of reprisal, so he was on his own as usual.
John often wondered if this slave had been told to stir up trouble or if this man had known him from somewhere before. A Genii maybe? Whatever, it looked like he would have to fight to get his cover back, which probably meant getting into trouble, again.
As quick as lightening, John made a grab for his blanket but the man had anticipated his move and held on tightly. It didn't deter John from making another assault and this time, he managed to move the cover towards him. The slave yanked it back until it became a tug of war, which threatened to split the cover in two. As that was the last thing that John wanted, he made a fist and forcibly struck the slave across his nose hoping that he would loosen his grip.
Instead, the man rolled out of the bed and went for John still clutching the stolen blanket. John quickly sidestepped to avoid him and luckily, he managed to reclaim most of his cover as the bully tumbled by.
Unfortunately, his advantage didn't last long as the heavier man yanked the blanket back, pulling John with it. Once John was within range, the bully gave him a hefty punch in the arm in order to loosen his hold.
Gritting his teeth through the pain, John managed to keep hold of his precious cover and bring his fist around to knock the slave squarely in the face. There was a cracking sound and the man spat blood along with several teeth. The bully looked down in shock at his blood-covered hand and John took advantage of his distraction to reclaim the blanket and make for his bed.
However, the tormenter wasn't finished and once he regained his senses, he went after John like a ram. Head butting John firmly in the middle of his back, the bully knocked John down and rolled him over so that they were face to face. He then tried his hardest to throttle John to kingdom come but because of the collar, he couldn't get a good grip on John's neck and he left himself vulnerable to John's knee. That was all Sheppard needed, with all the power he could muster, he brought his knee up and squarely hit the mark. The slave screamed out in agony and quickly let go of him.
"That serves you right." John muttered before hastily grabbing his blanket and standing up. "Just leave me alone in future and nothing will happen." Dusting down his clothing, John gave the slave one last glare before heading for his bed.
It would have been nice if it could have ended there but the tormenter did not intend to let it. He sat scowling for a good five minutes while his pain died down, just waiting for Sheppard to settle.
The other slaves gave him pleading looks, although no one dared to say a word. This bully had been the ruler of the roost ever since his arrival about a year ago and things were becoming much clearer to the others slaves now. He must see Sheppard as a threat to his supremacy and would do almost anything to have him removed. That included making possible trouble for himself but the slave was in favour with the guards, so he took the risk.
Finally finding the strength to stand, the tormenter marched over to John and attempted to pull the cover off his bed. John had half expected such action from the thickheaded idiot, so he held on tightly. The next thing John knew, the bully attempted to yank the thin mattress from under him causing them both to tumble onto the floor.
What happened next was a free for all as the bully started pounding John with everything he had. John fought back as best he could. Rolling with the blows and giving them back whenever possible.
They crashed into furniture and shattered chinaware. The other slaves quickly scattered in the wake of their blows and a look of apprehension passed between them as they all knew that this was bound to end badly. And sure enough just as the bully got in another blow, the sound of shouting echoed around the room. The guards had arrived.
John and his adversary were quickly parted by several burly guards and pinned up against the wall.
"What the hell is going on here?" The head guard shouted.
John felt blood trickle down from his nose but he couldn't wipe it away because his hands were being held. Although, he was still breathless from the fight, he was determined to get in the first word. "I was only … trying … to reclaim my blanket after he stole it," he stated through gritted teeth.
"Were you now?" The guard sneered. From that moment on, John knew that he was screwed. The guard had already found him guilty.
The tormenter got in his word. "He knocked my front teeth out, the little bastard."
"Firstly, I am not a bastard," John stated, "and that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't of stolen my blanket."
The head guard swung around and shouted, "Shut up, slave!" before moving over to the bully to examine his mouth. "What a mess. That will cost you, slave. Take him to the dungeon and string him up for a while," he ordered the men restraining John. "The Master will hear of this incident and he will decide what to do with you."
As the guards prepared to manhandle John out of the room, Sirena came out of a side door and stepped in front of them. The noise had brought her and some of the other women out of their room. She had seen how the other slave had tormented John over the blanket.
"That's not fair, Halden, and you know it. Grison stole Sheppard's blanket and would not give it back. All of you witnessed it! Why do you stand by in silence?" she questioned the other male slaves.
They looked at each other with apprehension and fear. If they chose to speak up it could lead to trouble for them, so they remained silent.
Sirena felt tears form. John Sheppard was worth more than all these slaves put together as not one of them had the guts to defend him. "Cowards, every last one of you," she muttered in disgust, "but I saw what happened, so I'll tell the Master the truth."
John quickly turned towards her when he noticed the head guard Halden glaring at her with murder in his eyes. "Sirena, don't. It will only get you into trouble. I know you mean well but please stay out of it."
"Take his advice woman and you will live a few more years. After all, slaves who can cook are easy to find." With that threat, Halden signalled his men to take John away.
Tbc