Trials of Faith – Chapter 19
Issues.
They had reached the Facility and Rodney had been startled by John and Teyla's sudden hostility. He was silent and stood behind Astra – just in case.
The Facility was worn from age, and the large door that would have blocked their paths had been blown to high heaven by the Wraith. The walls of the complex were covered in Ancient writings, the ruins Astra spoke of that had told her and Borus of the brief history of her people.
'I feel nothing; I believe that it is safe to enter.' Astra stated, her and Ronan leading the way. Rodney close behind.
John and Teyla came after, slightly apart and silent.
It was a slope that led down into the ground, a long corridor ahead. There was no light.
'Whatever power source that ran this place has either been depleted or salvaged by the Wraith.' Rodney stated.
'Or the Ancients took it with them when they left, knowing that they weren't going to come back.' John offered, his MP5 held at eyelevel.
'Yes, or that.' Rodney glanced back, not liking that he had added to his thoughts. He was a brilliant scientist after all; he was supposed to come up with all the possibilities.
They continued down, Ronan holding his weapon in front, Astra's staff clonking on the ground, the rhythm in time with their pace.
'They are very tense.' She whispered to him.
Ronan who had been concentrating on the dark and not used to being spoken to when hunting was slightly surprised.
'Who?'
'Colonel Sheppard and Teyla, I believe Rodney interrupted something quite serious. Their feelings are of anger and frustration. I feel very uncomfortable because of it.' She informed him. Ronan nodded.
'They'll figure it out, or I'll kick some sense into them, either way it'll be solved.' He stated, catching her smile out of the corner of his eye.
'How friendly of you.' She loved the things he said. 'There are no Wraith, Ronan, Teyla and I sense nothing.' She pointed out, watching his weapon search the shadows. 'And there is nowhere for them to jump out at us, it is a long and straight corridor.'
Ronan forgave her for giving him a reason to lower his weapon. 'There are other things in the galaxy than Wraith.'
She caught his tone. She was inexperienced and should not comment on what she did not know. She smiled weakly.
'When we return to Atlantis, I would like to see some Football.' She changed the subject. Ronan glanced at her for making such an odd comment. 'The Colonel talks very highly of it.'
'It's men in suits fighting over a ball.' He stated, sighing slightly.
'Well when you put it like that, it doesn't sound exciting. The way the Colonel talks about it I thought it was some magical dance of towering-'
'Maybe you should go talk to him about it then.' Ronan snapped suddenly..
She was taken back by his sudden hostility. 'Ronan.' She said defensively, hurt by his comment.
He gritted his teeth. 'I need to concentrate.'
She set her face. 'Then I will be silent.' She growled in return.
Ronan hated that, the way she made him lose it. He wanted nothing more than to throw her to the floor and have his wicked way with her – that was the problem. He couldn't focus when she was around. He wanted her and worried about her constantly. He couldn't feel like that, not after the pain and misery he had experienced for so long. He didn't know what to do about it, how to cope with it and balance it, without hurting her. Without losing her.
'Sheppard likes Football, he talks about it constantly.' He tried, sounding less than pleased to be talking about it himself.
'Is this your more subtle way of telling me to go and speak with him about it while you…concentrate.' She snarled. 'He would make conversation more interesting.'
Ronan glared. 'Since he's such a conversationalist, maybe he can tell you about how talking in a dangerous place is stupid.' He snapped, keeping his voice low.
'Maybe he can tell me why the man I am sleeping with is behaving like a piece of dung.' She flung at him.
Ronan froze, glowering at her for a moment; she turned to see his expression before he walked on at a much faster pace, growling low in his throat. She could be insufferable.
'Uh, guys? What's with the sudden speed?' Rodney complained. He got no answer. He hung back to walk in between Teyla and John. 'What is their deal? I heard some way unhappy tones, couldn't hear what they were saying though.'
John scanned the wall on his right. 'Maybe she's being difficult.' He said slowly, frustration clear in his voice.
'And maybe he is being overly pushy.' Teyla stated in the same tone, scanning the left wall.
'Pushy?' John's head snapped in her direction.
'Yes, Ronan tends to show such a quality on many, many occasions, a quality I find to be less than appealing.' She smiled at him, quickening her pace.
'Well difficulty is a quality I know that Ronan hates in a woman, especially when their stubborn and big-headed.' He quickened his pace to join her.
Rodney stared at them from behind. 'Everyone's got issues but me.'
The corridor finally opened up into a large room with many counters that were once full of equipment, now either taken or destroyed by the Wraith or even the Ancients.
'Let's see if the power is depleted or if they just turned everything off.' Rodney chimed heading for a large interface in the centre of the room.
Ronan and John split to search the right side of the room while Teyla and Astra split to look at the left.
'Do you ever find that women are impossible?' John whispered at Ronan.
Ronan nodded once, raising an eyebrow. 'All the time.'
'Yeah, why can't they just speak their mind.' John looked over a counter with a load of things that he didn't care about.
'Or not speak at all.' Ronan continued forward.
'Am I alone in thinking that men are insensitive?' Astra asked Teyla, gripping her staff in both hands.
Teyla watched her with a weary eye.
'They are insensitive, and they are too blind to see it.' She answered.
'Would it hurt them to make conversation so that we can bond on a more personal level?' Astra asked rhetorically.
'I would prefer it if they did not attempt to do so at all.' She said to her, and than as an afterthought. 'I am likely to hit them otherwise.'
Lights powered up, flickered, turned off, and then powered up again.
'Ahah!' Mckay exclaimed, looking at his friends for words of praise for his triumph. They didn't come. 'Okay.' He said to himself. 'Go me for such a brilliant work of scientific genius.'
'You flicked a switch Rodney.' John sighed.
'Pressed four buttons actually.' He mumbled. He turned back to the interface. 'There is a ZPM in here, but it's of no use - another what? Ten minutes of light and then it's done. I don't know if the Wraith even knew it was here.' He tapped a few more things on the screen. 'That's interesting.'
They waited.
'What?' John growled. He hated it when he did that.
'Well, I'm getting some sort of feint reading coming from-' He turned.
'The wall.' Astra stated, frowning. Rodney glanced at her, only slightly surprised that she knew.
'John raised his eyebrows. 'The wall?'
'Something in the wall?' Ronan asked.
'Or behind it.' Teyla stated.
'That would be the logical thing to assume.' Astra commented.
Teyla and Astra glared at John and Ronan while they did some glaring of their own.
'Can you open it?' John said, slowly, not taking his eyes from Teyla.
Rodney held up a finger, pressing the screen. The wall began to slide to the left, revealing another large room, and a…
'Gate?' John queried.
'Why would they have two gates on one planet?' Rodney asked, stepping into the room immediately. 'It doesn't make sense.'
The room was not as large as the other, but big enough for the gate and a single interface in the opposite wall. Rodney walked over to it.
Astra approached the Gate, touching it with her hand. The smooth, cold metal made her shiver. She could feel something, something familiar… It made her step back, it made her head ache. Flashes, images, so many and so blurred. People dressed in grey, people dressed in beige. Running, running through the Gate, bleeding, crying. Safe voices, comfort, a new life…
'Astra?' Teyla called.
Her eyes flew open, shining slightly. She turned to Teyla.
'Are you alright?' She asked slowly.
Astra glanced back at the Gate. 'I am not sure.' She whispered.
'This is weird.' Rodney stated, drawing everyone's attention. He said no more.
'If I have to ask Mckay…' John warned.
'It's not like the usual Gates we travel through every day, their power source comes from the DHD and enables travellers to go to other planets in this galaxy, but this Gate, it's configured differently…' He paused, flicking through what appeared to be schematics on the screen. He read on, the team waited.
'Rodney?' John said impatiently.
'Do not rush him, Colonel. He needs to think.' Teyla snapped quickly. John glared while Ronan and Astra looked at the two with raised eyebrows.
Rodney did not look up. 'It's familiar, its way familiar; we've seen this type of Gate before.' He stated, almost disbelievingly, turning to the team. 'On Atlantis.'
'What?' John said, stepping forward.
'The Atlantean Gate is configured a little differently so that it can handle the massive power needed to be channelled for intergalactic travel.' Rodney rushed. John was clueless. 'This Gate, when hooked up to a big enough power source, can travel to another galaxy.'
'Our galaxy?' John asked.
'Sure, for this Gate, that would be easy.' He walked toward the Gate in full flow. 'But according to the design, its systems were built to handle a heck of a lot more power than what would be needed to travel to Earth.' He turned and smiled at them. 'Well, you know what this means?' He beamed.
'Explain it to us anyway.' Teyla smiled. His enthusiasm was something she admired.
'The ruins on the surface with the writings about your ancestors are here for a reason,' He turned to Astra. 'They travelled to this galaxy via this Gate, from your Galaxy.' He looked back at Teyla. 'That is an amazing feat since the next closest Galaxy to this one is about twice the distance from the Pegasus and our own.'
John raised his eyebrows. 'So the Ancients were busy then?'
'Very.' Rodney stated, then his mind wandered. 'We're lucky the Wraith didn't detect it, if they had a big enough power source they could have gone to another galaxy.'
Ronan frowned. 'And that's a bad thing?' Astra glared at him.
'Well yeah, we don't know who lives in that galaxy, could be a whole bunch of bad guys, or billions of innocent people.' He informed. 'The last contact that this galaxy had with Astra's was thousands of years ago, and by the sound of it, their evil doers were doing their evil pretty well. If they had met with the Wraith, they would want to know where they came from, which would point to this galaxy, which would put us in even deeper doom than we're usually in.' He breathed. 'We need to hide this…'
'Or blow it up.' John stated, beginning to walk into the other room.
'Bright idea Colonel, if you were to blow it up, you would destroy this entire planet. Super charged alien metal with a far more advanced design which requires for it to be a lot more unstable, therefore making a bigger bang. Genius!' Rodney snarled, shaking his head.
'You cannot destroy the only way of contacting another galaxy.' Teyla barked.
'It's not like we have the power source to open it, plus if the Wraith ever get their hands on it, another galaxy of people are screwed.' John said lightly.
'We do not know who has survived in my galaxy.' Astra said quickly. 'If we destroy it then we will never know.'
'If we don't, there's every chance the enemy on the other side could use it to come here.' Ronan stated, avoiding eye contact with her.
'Then billions of people in this galaxy with be supremely and utterly screwed.' John said firmly. 'If we can't blow it up, we can bury it.' He marched out of the room, two women and an angry scientist following. 'Rodney, close the wall, I'll send a team later to deal with it.' He started for the slope to the surface.
'No.' The scientist folded his arms stubbornly. John paused, turning.
'No?' He raised a menacing eyebrow.
'No.' He repeated. 'This is a huge deal and you are not going to just push it aside.'
'Rodney, there's nothing we can do with it except make sure that the Wraith don't get their hands on it.' John snapped. 'Now let's go.'
'By blowing it up?'
'Or burying it!' John shouted, the scientist getting on his nerves.
'What purpose would that serve?' Teyla asked, icily.
John glared at her before turning around and walking to them. Ronan leant against the wall with his arms crossed.
'The purpose would be to hide it until we find a power source big and bad enough to use it, if Elizabeth thinks it's a good idea, which I don't.' John explained.
'Your thoughts and those of Elizabeth do not matter.' Teyla growled.
'You know, I am getting sick and tired of this "let's blame everything on John" attitude. I am not wearing a sign on my forehead that says "I'm from Earth, hate me." John snapped at her, advancing. Astra stepped in front of Teyla, her faces inches from John.
'Is it not possible that if we do find a power source big enough, that Astra may want to travel to her home and discover what has happened to her people?' Teyla said behind her.
'I will not allow you to keep it from me.' Astra whispered. John narrowed his eyes. He did not like it when people said things like that, it made his hackles rise.
'Besides, it is kinda hers.' Rodney added. John glared over the women's shoulders. 'Well, the Ancients aren't here to claim it, and it was built to make contact with her people. So I say, it belongs to her and you can't tell her what to do with it.'
John smiled slightly. Teyla, Astra and Rodney were pissed with him. Ronan was just standing there, and his anger levels had risen to a dangerous point. 'If she wants to float me into a volcano, she can try. Until she decides to do so, I am the one calling the shots. Now get your asses to the Gate before I leave you here, change the damn codes, and tell Elizabeth to ship over a new team.' He began to walk up the slope. 'One that actually follows orders!' He called back.
Ronan looked at them before joining Sheppard. Astra watched him angrily, hating him for not sticking up for her. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
'We will not allow them to destroy or bury your chance to see your people. I know what it is like to be kept from them.' She watched John walking up, and nodded at Rodney to close the wall.
He nodded grimly and did so. The three started their way up the slope.
Sheppard looked at Ronan, his eyes burning holes into the walls. 'What can they be thinking? It's all about the good with these people, and I'm all up for good, but all they can see is the good and that means that they can't focus in on the very bad.' He seethed.
'They don't know how dangerous it could be. I'm only wondering how Weir will take it.' Ronan agreed, adding a point which did not concern John.
'The decision to open a Gate to an entirely different Galaxy won't be up to Elizabeth. It'll be up to a military commander who will have sense to see the danger.' He snapped. 'I get that Astra is curious to know where she came from and what she is and all that jazz, but she obviously doesn't know what curiosity did to the cat. Something I really shouldn't have to explain because it is so damn obvious.'
Ronan paused. 'What's a cat?'
John sighed.
Rodney raved.
'It's all about bad things and evil and never about the wonderful scientific possibilities that are presented, I mean, do they know how amazingly useful this could be? We could find some incredible technology to battle the Wraith in that Galaxy!' Rodney insisted, walking in between the two women, too wrapped up in their own thoughts to hear him. 'Hello? No one is agreeing with my brilliant argument!' He prodded.
They both nodded weakly.
'Okay, what? You both look like someone skinned your puppy and hung it on the porch.' He stated. Astra frowned.
'What is a puppy?' She asked. Teyla frowned.
'What is a porch?' Teyla asked. Mckay shook his head.
'Not the point here ladies, focus on the unhappy thoughts which are making you not listen to me.' He reminded, their faces went back to the grim place of gloom.
Astra spoke first. 'I had an argument with Ronan.'
'Ah, female problems.' Rodney said tactlessly.
'I also had an argument with John.' Teyla added.
'Very interesting, what in the hell did they say to make you all "microwaved hamster" face?' He sighed, he did not want to know, but in his limited experiences with the female sex, he learnt that they like to talk about stuff. A lot.
'He is angry with me because I did not listen to his words when he expressed concern over my talking to him when he was patrolling the corridor for enemies.' Astra answered. Rodney nodded.
'John wants to know if we will embark upon a relationship and because I do not know, he believes that I am afraid, when I am really very concerned about who it might affect.' Teyla informed. Rodney nodded.
'Okay, so, you wouldn't shut up when he told you to,' he pointed to Astra. 'And you didn't talk fast enough to give him a simple answer.' He had clarified it. He felt sharp pains in both arms. 'Ow!' He shouted.
Both women had punched him in either arm and began yelling at him.
'It is not that I would not be quiet, it was that he was being insensitive, he cannot string two sentences together to make a decent conversation-' Astra snarled.
'John did not give me time and space to think, I am not afraid, but I am not a fool! I will not rush something for an impatient man-' Teyla growled.
'Okay!' Mckay shouted. They stopped glaring and folded their arms. 'You are both extremely high pitched and I am pretty sure that if there were any dogs on this planet, they'd come a runnin'.'
They walked in an uncomfortable silence.
'Ronan is insufferable at times!' Astra exclaimed. 'The only reason I put up with him is because he can be a tender spirit and an excellent lover.' She explained, anger too high for her to understand her words were a little more than Mckay wanted to hear.
'I agree. John is most difficult at times, but he can be a wonderfully funny man with a kind heart, and he is an exceptional kisser.' Teyla nodded her head.
Mckay looked between them, his hands to his ears. 'Too much information, no more please, I would rather not barf the contents of my tiny breakfast all over these new shoes.' He commented.
Teyla and Astra grinned at each other while Rodney cringed.
John had marched all the way back to the gate with Ronan striding at his side. He dialled the gate immediately, the other three arriving minutes later. John did not look at them but walked straight through having already contacted Atlantis to tell them that they were coming home empty handed.
John stepped out of the Gate in the same foul mood he had stepped into the gate with; Elizabeth could see it on his face. He wasn't going to like what was coming next. 'John.'
'Nothing, not a damn thing. Just another gate apparently capable of travelling to another galaxy, nothing of actual importance.' He informed, his voice stiff.
'Not to you.' Rodney snapped.
'John.' She said again in the same "not good" tone.
'What?' The team gathered around.
'Major Lorne has been taken by the Wraith.' She told them. John flew into a rage.
'When?!'
'His team was on P4X 778 when the Wraith began taking people. Like they did on Tolas.' She glanced at Teyla. 'Apparently they rethought the annihilating everything on the planet bit and decided that they really did want Astra - badly. The rest of his team made it back through the Gate and they're in the infirmary.' She paused. 'They were able to bring a few refugees but, not many.'
Sheppard looked back at Astra who was looking to the floor, a hopeless expression on her face. He took off, running to the infirmary.