Chapter 4
Rodney McKay sank into the seat left open for him at the table. Ronon, Teyla and John were already seated there. This was one of Rodney's favourite times of day: eating time!
But today he was so agitated that eating was not foremost on his mind. Instead he had the burning need to talk about the new 'assistant.' Not that Sitnalta had ever even asked if she could join his science team: she had just appeared one day and started working.
"I can't take it anymore!" he griped. "She is just everywhere I turn! And don't even ask me how she knows half the stuff she does. As far as I can tell, she really was created just two weeks ago. But now she pretends to be knowledgeable about just about everything!" Angrily he unscrewed the cap of his bottle and drank from it.
"Pretends?" John grinned. "Or might it just be that she does know more than you?"
Rodney gestured wildly. "There is no way she could know more than I do about Atlantis." He gripped his fork. "No, there is much more going on with her than meets the eye. Behind that soft smile and blue eyes lurks some kind of evil!"
John grinned even more and Ronon had joined in. "Evil?" John asked, making Ronon grin even wider.
"How is it that you know her eye colour?" Ronon asked.
Rodney searched for the right words, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times. Then he found a kind of explanation. "I notice lots of eye-colours," he finally told them, taking a bite of the green vegetable that tasted more like tomato than anything else.
"Well, then," Teyla said in her soft voice, "what colour is John's eyes?"
"Blue," Rodney immediately replied. Then he thought about it for a moment. "No, green."
"Lucky guess," John said, scowling a little. "Okay," he added, leaning forward. "Weir wants us to go see if the people of planet M2T-134 is willing to trade with us. Both Ronon and Teyla know the people, so I hadn't planned on taking the whole team for something as routine. But if you want to, you are welcome to join us," he graciously offered.
"Do I ever!" Rodney exclaimed.
Just then – as these things often do happen – John's earpiece crackled and all of them could hear the faint sound of Elizabeth Weir's voice.
John, can you and your team come to my office, please.
"Great," Rodney sighed, eyeing his delicious meal, "I really wanted this food."
Together the four of them made their way to the control room and Elizabeth's office.
They entered the office to find Sitnalta seated on one of the seats. When they entered she demurely stood to greet them. Rodney was not pleased. He was really starting to feel as if she was deliberately trying to make his life hell.
"What's she doing here?" he asked of Elizabeth. Unfortunately he already had an idea.
"Rodney, John," Weir began. "I was the one who called Sitnalta here. I would like her to accompany you to planet M2T-134."
"But why do we have to take her along?" Rodney asked again.
Weir sat down behind her desk. "For one thing, I asked you to." Rodney knew the argument was already lost, right there. John had a soft spot for their expedition leader. And he had to admit the rest of them did, too. When Elizabeth asked one nicely, one did it. Rodney had to admit this was probably because of their respect for her: respect because she was always the one who treated them with respect. If they had a problem, she was always willing to listen.
"For another thing," she continued, "Sitnalta needs to be exposed to other people. She's not one of the scientists who are willing to spend their entire days in front of a screen."
"So you want us to babysit?" Rodney wanted to know, exasperated.
"Rodney," John interrupted the conversation. "The lady needs to get out some. Be nice."
Rodney could not help noticing Ronon snickering where he stood behind John. Rodney rolled his eyes, but just as he was about to question the decision – even if it was just to make his point – Teyla interrupted.
"Rodney, why would you be opposed to bringing Sitnalta along? As John already pointed out to you, both Ronon and I know this planet. Besides, perhaps a fresh perspective would be beneficial."
"Beneficial to whom?" he wondered as the team – with Sitnalta following – were already filing out of the office. He was the last to exit aside from Sitnalta, so he clearly heard Weir calling her back. He was not rude enough to turn and look back, but he was nosy enough to listen to the brief exchange:
"Sitnalta, it will be in your best interest to tell them as soon as possible," Elizabeth told the white-haired woman. He did not see Sitnalta's reaction, but he heard her clear voice saying:
"And how should I do that?"
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Rodney was showing great self-control by not mentioning anything about the conversation he had overheard. But it nagged at him. What did Elizabeth know about the young woman that they did not? What did she know that he did not?
As usual, the village was only a 'few hour's walk that way,' and he spent some time complaining about that. He wondered if the rest of the team realised he often complained just for the fun of it. And, of course, if things went pear-shaped afterwards, he can always have the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so.'
It was as they were cresting a hill that he noticed Sitnalta was in trouble. Only then did it occur to him that, though she seemed well enough, she really was just a few weeks old. She would not have had the time or the opportunity to get fit enough to walk so far. That she had come this far without complaint was actually truly amazing.
"Hey, you guys," he called as he dropped behind them, "can we take a break? I think there's something in my boot!" Promptly he sat down on a rock and started to untie his boot. "I think I must've picked it up on that hill back there."
From the corner of his eye he saw Sitnalta gratefully sinking onto the ground. Ronon and John grumbled a bit as they turned around, but there was little they could do about him stopping: they would not walk out on a bare-footed man.
As he looked up his eyes met Teyla's. She gave him a small smile and Rodney knew she had realised what he'd done. Actually, he was a bit confused at why he had felt the urge to help Sitnalta in this way. But hey, he had. Now all he had to do was keep John and Ronon from finding out what he'd done. At least he could count on Teyla's discretion.
He made a fuss about his boot for another minute or so, but he knew he could not push it too far. Not even Ronon was dumb enough to think it actually takes him ten minutes to find a rock in his boot.
Yet in the end it did not matter whether he took his time or not: while he was still lacing the boot Ronon suddenly disappeared. The one moment he stood to one side: suspiciously eyeing the woods. The next he was gone.
"Ronon!" John called, but there was no answer. Only the sound of the breeze through the grass could be heard as they stood staring at the empty spot where the large Satedan had been seconds before. Their friend was gone!
