Trials of Faith – Chapter 7
Tourist Attraction - The Tunnels.
'You are Dedoras?' Teyla growled.
'I am.' The man responded, slinking down the stairs, taking the single candle and walking around the room to light several more. She could see it now, it was a pantry. Wonderful, all she needed now was to know how to stop this man from holding her.
'And you are Borus? The Guardian?' She struggled, waiting for a response. Instead, the figure holding her only squeezed harder. Teyla grunted and flung her head back, cracking his skull. He released and she spun to face him. He was about to advance.
'That's enough.' Dedoras said calmly.
Borus halted. He was a large man, late forties, with an emotionless and battle scarred face. His grey eyes bored into hers.
'Friends of mine told me that you were aggressive.' She paused. 'I believe that they were holding back.'
Dedoras laughed. Teyla stumbled back, tired, hurting. Her side was so painful, she could barely stand. Plus the knock to Borus's head hadn't helped.
'You are injured. Borus, how badly did you wound her?' Dedoras approached the woman, concerned only slightly. After all, he did not know who she was.
'Borus did not do this to me. He is a fine warrior, but these injuries are ones I sustained earlier.' Teyla informed, doing her best to stand tall.
'Maybe from storming into people's homes and demanding to speak with people they do not know and threatening violence if they do not do as they are told has done this to you?' Dedoras said lightly, smirking at Teyla's frustrated reaction.
'The Wraith did this to me.' She growled.
Dedoras stopped smiling. 'When?' He asked. 'Did they know you were coming here?' He stepped forward.
'No. This happened many hours ago on Tolas; I have only recently learnt that she came here, after the Wraith attacked.' Teyla searched for her bag and staff on the floor, bending slowly to pick them up.
'She?' Dedoras asked tentatively.
'Four of the Councilmen on Tolas informed me of the girl.' Teyla explained, studying his face. He was handsome and lived an easy life, but there was something in his eyes that made her believe he was a good man. Still, she had been proven wrong before.
He looked surprised at this. 'I was told that very few knew, why were you told?'
'The Wraith have destroyed Tolas, very few remain. Tolasians and Athosians were slaughtered, I went looking for answers.' Teyla rubbed her side.
'Who are you?' He demanded.
'I am Teyla Emmagan, Leader of the Athosian people.' She wanted to tell him with pride, to look him in the eye and let him know that she was a force to be reckoned with. But right now, the wind could blow and she would fall to the ground.
'Athosian? We have not traded with them in many moons, it was said that your people were wiped from existence by the Wraith.' He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
'We are very much alive, although we are – ' She paused. 'We were - split. On Tolas lived a great number of my people, they are no more.' She said bluntly, suddenly finding the strength in her grief to stand tall.
'You are Teyla?' He studied her, his eyes searching her body. 'This I believe. Why are you here?'
'I have come for the girl.' She stated. Borus growled and stepped forward menacingly.
'I do not think that Borus likes the sound of that, and nor do I.' Dedoras played with his robe, fiddling with various parts to make sure he looked presentable.
'She has no need to fear me; I come in peace to help her find this gift passed down to her by her ancestors.' Teyla turned to Borus. 'I have come to protect her as well.'
'You are in no condition to offer such protection.' Borus stated, his voice was very low. 'The Wraith will break you easily.'
'I have fought the Wraith my entire life and I am still standing.' Teyla advanced on Borus, her staff ready to make him hurt. 'This morning I was able to destroy a dozen to help save as many as I could, that is why I am injured.'
Borus was silent, he folded his arms. She took his silence to mean that he was impressed – or at least impressed enough not to attack her.
'This girl cannot keep running, Dedoras. I must take her to safety, where she will have time to think and learn.' Teyla kept her cool, despite the fact that she felt that she was so close and yet so far from getting to her.
'If she is to have any chance of fighting the Wraith then she must do so as quickly as possible, or many more will die. Soon there will be no one left to save.'
Dedoras listened and nodded slowly. 'You, I believe, are speaking the truth; I said very much the same thing to the Tolasian representatives when they approached me. The only difference being that I would hide her, I would not go to such lengths as you. I like to keep all my girls safe,' he indicated to the house above. 'But looking after the galaxy is a task too wearisome to even think about.' He smirked. 'I agree with you Teyla, but I am not the one to convince.' Teyla frowned. 'It is Borus you must speak to.'
Teyla turned to the man towering behind her. He looked at Dedoras.
'How can you protect her? How can you teach her?' He asked, his face as expressionless as before.
'I do not know if I can teach her, but if she stops running and is able to think for a moment, it may help. Some of my people believe in the old ways, they may be of service to her.' Teyla paused. 'My protection is the haven of a world safe guarded by a shield that the Wraith cannot penetrate.'
Borus shifted. 'What world?'
Teyla studied him for a moment. To tell him of Atlantis was something she did not want to do with Dedoras in the room, the secret was too precious. Dedoras sensed this.
'I will leave you to discuss this, when you have convinced Borus or merely wasted his time, fetch me.' He nodded to both and made his way upstairs.
'Do you know of the home of the ancestors among these stars?' Teyla asked.
Borus raised an eyebrow. 'Atlantis.'
Teyla nodded. 'Yes. My friends, the ancestor's descendants, live there now. They have come to us from very far away and fight even now to protect us all from the Wraith.'
Borus paced for a moment. 'She wishes to go there. She speaks of it constantly.' He informed her.
Teyla smiled. 'Good. I can take you there, but we must go now. I need to contact them with a device called a radio which I have left to the Tolasian people. They will all leave when their sun rises and I will not be able to contact Atlantis again.'
Borus studied her for a moment, and sighed. 'Come with me.'
'Should we not inform Dedoras?' Teyla asked, uncertainty making her hesitate.
'It is best if he does not know where we have gone, the fewer who know the better it will be.' Borus walked to the back of the pantry to a plain wall of stone. He pushed a shelf to the left, revealing a small stone cut into the rock. He pressed it.
A section of the wall moved to reveal a passage. Borus picked up a crate of supplies. Teyla understood that the reason he had been lurking in the darkness was because he had been collecting food for them.
Borus turned to her. 'Dedoras is well connected, these tunnels run for miles, even out of the city into the hills. He was a good candidate for Keeper.'
'Keeper?' Teyla raised an eyebrow.
'The Keepers are those who know of her and keep her safe, keeping the secret from all, including the Wraith.'
'The Councilmen on Tolas were Keepers.' She asked. Borus nodded.
'Twelve of them - and only four you have found. It was a far too big a number to tell. I fear the Wraith will come to this planet soon, unless the eight others have hidden themselves well.' Borus looked at her with a moment of hope.
'It is doubtful. The Wraith are very thorough, and I do not believe that there were many paces to hide from them.' Teyla watched him, Borus knew this already.
'Then they will come to Medda and destroy it.' He did not seem saddened by this, that hundreds of thousands of people on this planet were going to die because of the woman he was protecting. He turned to Teyla.
'Come. I will take you to her.'
'Oooh, can we go in there?'
'This is not a sight-seeing trip, Colonel.' Mckay snapped.
'I know that Mckay, but we have to start somewhere.'
'And surprise, surprise, the first place you would try is a whore house.' Rodney quickened his pace forcing the Colonel and Ronan to follow and walk right on by the house of ladies all waving at them.
'You know, when we find Teyla and she's all safe and sound, we should take a vacation.' John smiled to Ronan.
'Yes, and I'm sure the Air Force permits mass amounts of whoring.' Mckay called back. John glared at the scientist.
They walked on, not knowing where to go or who to ask. Whores would only tell them what they wanted to know for a price, and even then they wouldn't have a clue, and drunks thought that Teyla was some sort of a dance.
They approached a large building full of people with music streaming out through the windows.
'The Merry Medda Inn.' John read off the sign. 'Nice.' He eyed the drunks spewing all over the walls.
'Alright, this isn't working, we need to-' But Mckay was drowned out by shouts coming from a man walking – or wobbling – near to them.
'Just took me from under me, you know, like I was a doll? She was so small, like an insect, with a really big staff – so big staff, such small girl. Just swept me. So mad at them an…and…I think she's sober!' He spluttered, a friend who was just as drunk trying to prop him up.
The group turned to face the two. John raised a quizzical eyebrow and wandered over to them, Ronan and Mckay not far behind.
'Excuse me!' He called. 'Hi.' The two drunks turned to look at him, one of them pointing at his boots.
'Look, I couldn't help overhearing you saying that you were put down by a girl with a staff?' John questioned. The man nodded, swaying.
'So small – and sober!' He yelled, as though it were insane.
'What did she look like?' Ronan stepped up.
Both men took two steps back. 'Tall.' One said to the other.
'Answer the question, would you?' Mckay pushed.
'Brown hair, small, sober, brown eyes – really pretty girl.' He nodded.
'Yes, with wicked temper – she's shishenin' for Denora.' The other said.
They looked at him.
'I didn't catch that.' John asked, stepping back from the foul odour both men gave off.
'She's shishening for Deradora!' He insisted.
'Speak up!' Mckay snapped.
'Dedoras! Works on the three streets over them.' He pointed ahead. 'She went to audishun for him, she's pretty, very pretty. Dedoras'll have her without a doubt.'
John advanced threateningly, his hand straying toward his side arm.
'Colonel.' Mckay warned. 'Stupid drunks armed with nothing but lethal body odour.'
'Thanks.' John seethed, turning on his heel and leading them in the direction the man had pointed. Mckay lingered, walking backwards.
'And seriously guys, what is with the smell? Take a bath; this is advice from a very smart, and very hygienic, man.'
Both drunks looked at each other before toppling over into the mud.
The tunnel was long and dark, the only light to guide them was from the fiery torch which Borus held up front. It was cold, damp, the walls nothing but smooth rock. She smelt musty air and hoped that they would be breathing fresh air soon, she felt slightly claustrophobic travelling through these tunnels. For the last ten minutes, both Teyla and Borus had walked down a single tunnel in silence. When it came to a fork leading in three directions, he immediately took the one to the left.
Teyla held her staff above the ground to stop the repeated thudding it made, breaking the quiet. But she found the weight of it beginning to slow her down. She was so tired, numb all over. The pain in her side was no longer felt. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. She was hungry and thirsty, and she knew that if she were to sit against one of these walls, freezing or not, that she would fall to sleep immediately. But she had to keep moving, had to keep up with his swift pace.
Teyla thought for a moment about the girl, what they would do when she found her. How old was she? What did she look like? Could she really save them from the Wraith? How would Atlantis be able to help her? If she had spoken of it, she must have known that it had been long abandoned by the Ancients, so why would she seek it? Could it do more than just protect her? She paused. Would she put her friends in grave danger? Would they be the next to fall prey to the Wraith? Teyla shook her head. They had dealt with things far worse, she was sure. They would want to help, especially if it meant the downfall of the Wraith. She trusted them completely, and she hoped that they could still trust her. Teyla grew frustrated for a moment. Thinking of them, her friends, how far they were from her. What she would give to see John's face…to hear his voice. To have him put his arms around her and tell her that she didn't need to fear anything. Not that she would ever expect him to do that. She just wished it.
'How far?' She asked, her voice echoing down the tunnel.
'Not long.' He replied, his deep voice following her echo. 'Another fork up ahead, we will take the centre path. It will lead us out of the city wall near some caves in the forest. She is hidden there.'
Silence fell again.
'She is very eager to go to Atlantis; she says to me that the city came to her in a dream. It flew through the stars like a bird soars through falling snow.' Borus informed her.
Teyla smiled. To hear such poetry come from the mouth of a man so emotionless made her believe that his girl must have had a powerful effect on him. She felt her eagerness to meet her increase. Teyla walked closer to his back.
'Borus, what is her name?' Teyla asked, waiting with slight anticipation.
He smiled. 'I do not know. But I call her Astra.'
Teyla frowned. 'It is Ancient. It means "Stars."
'She comes from stars very far from here, it seemed fitting, did it-?' Borus began, when a mighty thunder shook the earth around them. A noise which rumbled through the tunnels causing dirt to fall on their heads and loose rocks to fall.
'The Wraith!' Borus yelled.
'How? They have come so quickly. Why do they fire their weapons?' Teyla yelled in return, holding onto the wall for support.
'Perhaps they are tired of looking, it is best to exterminate what they cannot have!' Borus grinned to Teyla, a slightly mad look glinting in his eyes. 'Come, we must find her and take her away.' He began to move off when weapons fire fell directly above them. Borus grabbed Teyla and flung her down the passage as the tunnel collapsed behind.
Teyla was unconscious for a moment; the pain in her side was so much. The agony, she couldn't breathe, couldn't see, she could taste blood in her mouth and was startled. Confusion swept over her like a virus. She was shaking from the shock, the pain was so much.
'Borus.' She croaked. There was no answer.
The torch had clattered to the floor, its light was dim. She looked over her shoulder shouting in pain. 'No.' She whispered.
The tunnel had almost completely blocked behind them, a small space at the top was all that she could see of the darkness on the other side. Beneath the rubble, a hand lay still, filthy and bleeding.
Teyla crawled to it, close to tears, the pain was so bad. She clasped the hand and felt for a pulse.
There was none. She closed her eyes.
It was up to her now, to find the girl and to keep her safe. Teyla had to stand in order to do any of that, and she wasn't sure that she could. She crawled to her staff a few feet away, not even attempting to reach the bag. Using that and the wall, she pushed herself up. She screamed every inch of the way, it echoed through the cold stone, the battle still raging above, shaking the tunnel more. She clutched her side and shuffled on, swiftly kicking up the torch and half jogging down the tunnel.
She reached for her side and lifted the shirt. Scraped and bruised as it had been all day, but there were no serious wounds. She spat onto the ground as she went, coughing on her own blood. She must have bit her tongue or her cheek when she fell.
Teyla continued on, going straight at the fork in the tunnel.
'Mckay!' John roared, pulling him to the side of the house as stone and people fell from several stories up. Ronan was across the street.
A Hive ship had taken position around orbit, and it seemed pretty damned determined to annihilate everything on this planet. There were no Wraith on the ground and no darts in the air. Just one big ass ship with a big ass weapon making sure that nothing would survive.
John growled at them.
The Brothel the drunk had spoken about was across the road. Teyla was in there and he needed to get her out and take her home. He signalled to Ronan to move.
'Rodney!' He yelled, and then ran to the house. Mckay lingered for a moment before seeing Ronan sprinting too. He legged it.
John tore into the house, almost knocking the door off its hinges, his weapon raised. 'Teyla!' He yelled.
A sobbing noise came from behind the counter to his left, he sprinted over and saw a woman with messy hair and a scratched face cowering, her head bowed onto her knees.
'Hey!' He called. She looked up at him in terror. 'A woman came here looking for a guy called Dedoras, where is she?' The woman sobbed harder, glancing over her shoulder.
He hadn't noticed it before, but it was kind of hard to miss. A large wooden chandelier had fallen to the floor; a fire had started spreading from its candles, licking the stairs with a fierce hunger. Beneath it was the mutilated body of a man in a red robe.
'Her name is Teyla.' He turned back to her, she said nothing. John grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. 'She's this height and has a temper twice her size – she has brown hair, brown eyes and she carries a staff.' The woman frowned.
Rodney and Ronan watched, glancing out the door every now and then. Ronan looked uncomfortable. 'Sheppard.' He warned. The streets outside looking more derelict every time he turned his head.
'You know who I'm talking about!' John shook her and the woman nodded.
'She was here!' She blurted. 'Dedoras went to the basement and they never came back up, she must have been taken by that brute!'
John's heart flooded with concern. 'What brute?'
'A man who comes for supplies, he uses the tunnels!' She cried.
'Show me.' John demanded, forcing her toward the fire.
She stumbled by the burning corpse of her Master and led them down the passageway that she had taken Teyla into, hurrying by the fire that would soon consume the doorway. The team followed her down the stairs and watched her take a long candle from the side before walking to the back wall and pushing a switch. The wall opened. She pointed.
'Come on.' He gently pushed her into the tunnels. He wasn't about to just leave her here.
Rodney and Ronan followed.
The team entered the tunnels.