Feeling much better, thank you! Skypig—it's not completely written yet, but I should think less than a month, for sure. And, oh yes, that was a deliberate reference to the Genii last chapter...Hee! Thank you again, so much!

NEVER STOP MOVING
By Tipper

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CHAPTER SIX: ILL WINDS BLOW

"I'm going to kill him," Sheppard whispered. "'Plenty more where those came from,' my ass."

"It worked, though," Lorne said, trying for a confident smile.

"Too well," Ronon said, obviously agreeing with the colonel. "Sheppard...this is not good."

John didn't reply, just lifted the Jumper up a little higher and flew slightly ahead of the wagon as it turned and headed back down the road.

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The road leading away from the Stargate was flat, but the landscape around it was more uneven than it first appeared, dotted with mesas and the occasional soft depression, some as deep as fifty feet. In the distance, they could make out a series of low lying hills shielding this valley from the worst of the wind, which explained the lack of air movement. McKay's gaze lifted to trace along the ridges, then higher, to the sky itself.

He wondered where Sheppard was. Part of him was really tempted to wave...

Teyla cleared her throat, and Rodney's eyes lowered to meet hers on the other side of the flatbed, his half raised hand lowering back to his lap. She gave an understanding smile, and he returned it with a wry twist before turning his head forward again.

A few kilometers later, the road curved along the top edge of a large, but shallow basin, the base of which was about a hundred feet down and maybe ten kilometers in diameter. The walls of the basin were smooth and vertical, like the edges of a kitchen sink, and sitting in the center of the basin, about where the drain would be, were the compounds.

Dora was right about one thing, Rodney noted, the compounds were very simple structures. There were five, each in the shape of a square, and they stuck out starkly from the red and pale green earth surrounding them, mainly because they were almost totally white. Looking a little like a child's hopscotch set up, four of the compounds were smaller and formed a sort of quad, while at the top was a compound twice the size of the smaller ones, capping them. At a guess, the smaller compounds probably housed living quarters, farm equipment, kitchens and maybe a mess. The larger compound was where the Kaveers worked on their "technology." A single, low lying outer wall ringed all the compounds, and what looked like a thicker wall surrounded each one individually. Inside that was a series of smaller rectangular structures like army barracks. It looked a little like the Alpha Site—except for the walls.

The compounds were also very boring looking. If these people were really as innovative as Teyla and Dora intimated, they clearly wasted none of that imagination on making their setting beautiful.

Outside of the compounds, the ground had been tilled in squares fed by irrigation streams. There were also untilled squares with animals fenced inside, but from this distance, they couldn't make out any of the species.

Eventually, the truck slowed and then turned, tilting a little as it settled itself on a downward slope—the way in, apparently. The driver shifted downwards, and the engine groaned in reply. Once they were fully heading downhill, the truck picked up speed again, and Teyla gripped the edges of the flatbed, to stop herself from sliding on the wooden clapboards. She didn't look happy.

They hit the hard dirt bottom at a good pace, and the driver shifted up, quieting the motor.

It backfired again. McKay grimaced.

They were passing through the outlying pastures now, and it gave them a better view of the animals. There was a mixture of cattle like creatures, pigs that looked more like boars with pink skin, and what had to me some sort of cat headed goat (and wasn't that disturbing). There were also a handful of meeners and, of course, Dodge. She towered over the other animals and, as Dora had said, she looked thin…and forlorn.

She stood by herself along one side of a squared enclosure, leaning against the wooden fence, her head down but not eating. The scientist grimaced—he had never seen Dodge uninterested in food.

McKay took a closer look at her as they rumbled past and sighed. Damn it. They were going to have to rescue that damned horse as well, weren't they? Horrible thoughts of manure piles in the back of the Jumper came to mind, and he screwed his eyes shut, willing the image away. Consequently, he didn't notice her look up as they passed by, obviously recognizing the familiar sound of the truck's engines. Her baleful eyes stayed on them until the truck rounded a corner behind some thick juniper and, abruptly, they were just yards from the structures.

The truck passed by the four smaller compounds before leading up to the larger one, and McKay noticed that the walls higher, and the silver in them glittered in the sun. They were reflective…were they solar panels?

The ground shook softly, then rumbled, like it had a stomach ache. He was about to question why when the overpowering smell of sulfur hit his nostrils and water suddenly erupted out of the ground in a powerful stream about a mile away off to their right…

"A geyser," he whispered, watching the liquid and steam reach a point about fifty feet high before dissipating. Even from this distance, he felt his face grow wet from the powerful jet, though it dried quickly in the hot air. A rainbow cut through the water—it was beautiful.

"What is it?" Teyla asked, looking over at him. There was awe on her face—obviously, this was something she had never seen before.

"We call them geysers back home," he said, still smiling at the utter coolness of the phenomenon. He then proceeded to explain the dynamics behind what created them, chattering on about superheated water and magma flows and the potential power. It was when he was explaining the theory behind geothermal power that he noticed Cleran and the armed boy in the back were both watching him intently. Their expressions were no longer guarded, however. For the first time, they actually looked interested. McKay took the opportunity to ask Cleran a new question, hoping they might be more open to answering this time.

"Is that what you are using to power this place?" he asked. "Geothermal energy? I ask in part because, curiously, this isn't the first such plant we've come across in this galaxy. Unfortunately, the people using the last one we found weren't aware of the dangers of not regulating their use of such energy, causing…."

"The supervolcano," Teyla nodded, remembering all too well. She looked up at McKay, "Those earthquakes we felt. Could that happen here?"

McKay opened his mouth to answer, but Cleran spoke first.

"No, Miss Emmagen. It could not. We are very conscious of everything we are doing, paying specific attention to how much we use and when. Primarily, we use solar energy and oil-based generators to provide the power we need for our work and daily lives. We only use the geothermal energy…when the others are not enough for our needs." He looked at McKay, "That isn't often."

McKay just grinned in reply, happy to have finally gotten an answer to something. Teyla, however, was still lost in her memories.

"But the earthquakes…" she said, not hiding her worry. Cleran just shook his head.

"Some instability has existed here since we arrived. It has never worsened, nor would I expect it to. Although," Cleran actually smiled as he looked to Rodney, "you may be in a position to help us determine that, Doctor McKay. Can that scanner of yours…?"

"No," Rodney shook his head. "It's not designed to do more than take current readings. However," he tapped the laptop on his back, "this is. It's a portable computer. If you just let me hook it up to whatever—"

"Hook it up?" Cleran's eyes immediately darkened. "What do you mean, hook it up?"

McKay frowned, "I can not take readings in a vacuum, Cleran. I will need historical data to make an analysis." His eyes narrowed, "As I'm sure you know."

Cleran's jaw steeled again, and he grimaced, leaning back against the front seat. McKay shrugged and looked across at Teyla on the other side of the flatbed. She just shrugged back.

After that, there wasn't much time for talking as they rumbled through the gates of the main compound, and found themselves greeted by about a dozen new people in the same neutral colored clothing. A number of them wore what appeared to be weapons at their belts—an odd mix of Genii and, curiously, Wraith technology—and stood as soldiers or guards would. McKay saw Teyla's arms tense, her fingers curling around her P90. Rodney wondered briefly why they hadn't asked to take it from her—maybe because they were not worried by it?

That couldn't be good.

A salt and pepper haired woman stepped forward as the truck came to a stop, and she studied both Teyla and Rodney with dark blue eyes before turning to Cleran. Her arms crossed over a thick set of white linen robes, and there was no questioning her authority from her stance. This was the leader of the Kaveer.

"I assume you have a good reason for this, Cleran," she said, the implied question clear. "Your message over the link was not very informative."

"I do, Metra." He stood up on the floor of the truck, "May I introduce Doctor Rodney McKay and Teyla Emmagen. Doctor McKay," Cleran looked at the man, "is a scientist."

"A scientist?" Metra smiled, though not in amusement. "How so?"

"Tell me I don't have to go through this again," McKay moaned quietly. The older man ignored him.

"He came with this," Cleran offered in explanation, lifting up the binoculars McKay had given them. When Metra frowned, he tossed them to her. She caught them and quickly lifted them to her eyes, and, for a moment, her frown disappeared. Then she lowered them and looked at the binoculars more carefully.

"These are a better design," she said quietly, "but bear the same strange symbols." She ran her finger across the 'Bushnell' name and logo on the side, then looked up. "Where did you get these?" she asked, scrutinizing McKay.

The scientist was immediately about to respond that 'they made them,' but Teyla was quicker, resting a hand on his arm to stop him from talking.

"We have access to a great many different technologies," she said carefully. "We are here because we hoped to broker a mutually beneficial trading agreement for goods such as those."

The woman looked at Teyla, as if dissecting her, then turned her gaze back to McKay. The scientist just gave a quick nod, smiling weakly.

"What she said."

Metra's eyes narrowed, and, for a moment, she seemed to be considering something. Then, abruptly, she smiled. If the last smile was not all that friendly, this one was almost feral.

"Please," she said, stepping back and sweeping a hand out, "why don't we continue this conversation inside. You look in need of water and shade. And clearly," she looked back and forth between the two strangers, "we have things to discuss."

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"I don't like this," Ronon muttered, pacing back and forth inside the jumper. In the background, three marines kept their distance in the back of the craft, watching Ronon like they might a caged tiger. The Satedan pulled his gun, twirled it, then roughly shoved it back in his holster as he stepped up between Sheppard and Lorne. "Those people are trained—look at the way they stand. We should be down there with Teyla and McKay."

"Yeah, because you'd never give our real intentions away," Sheppard muttered, alternating between listening in on the conversation over the radio, watching Teyla and McKay on the ground through the windscreen, and calling up life signs on the HUD. As Dora had suggested, the population was not large—there were perhaps only a couple hundred people here, most of whom were scattered in the smaller compounds. He also visually tracked Connam's truck as the driver took it around the back of the compound and parked it in the rear, alongside a set of other mismatched vehicles. There was also a fuel dump back there, and some small outlying structures—generators perhaps? His mind filed the information away, already sketching out scenarios in his sharp mind.

"I'm just saying..." Ronon muttered.

"I know what you're saying," Sheppard replied, glancing over his shoulder at his friend. "And I know. I feel the same way."

Ronon just gave him a disgruntled look, then turned and paced towards the back. The three marines clambered to stay out of his way. Sitting in the co-pilot seat, Lorne tried not to smile at the effect Ronon had on his men.

Sheppard, meanwhile, was back to scanning the ground with the Jumper's sensors. It appeared solid—what they saw was all there was. No underground chambers, no hidden rooms...just boxes sitting on dirt, and lots of power being generated and shifted around along above and below ground wires.

It actually seemed a little foolish. Surely the way these compounds stuck out made these people sitting ducks. How were they not long ago culled by the Wraith?

In response, the HUD suddenly flashed up with new information, and Sheppard's jaw dropped. His was not the only one.

"Is that...they have a shield?" Lorne asked, reading the same information as the colonel, his blue eyes wide.

"Apparently," Sheppard leaned back, "Damn. I wonder if it cloaks them as well..."

"Probably," Lorne frowned, looking down at the structures. "Sir, if they have that kind of technology, these people are a hell of a lot more advanced than they let on."

"Or," Sheppard eyes narrowed, wishing that McKay was up here, because he'd know the answer to this already, "the technology isn't theirs."

Ronon suddenly snorted, and stepped forward again to the front, arms cinched tightly across his chest. "Wanna bet they found this place twenty some odd years ago...and that's why they stopped trading?" He looked at the men with him, "Because they didn't want to share their good fortune?"

"Or they brought it here, after finding...or stealing it...from somewhere else," Lorne suggested carefully.

Sheppard grimaced and shared a look with the major across from him in the co-pilot seat. The younger man just gave a shrug back.

"Think about it, sir," the major said quietly. "If what Dora says is true, and these people are stealing technology—this technology could be stolen too."

"I did think that," Sheppard replied, looking back out the window. "I just don't like it."

"We should be down there," Ronon growled again.

"We need to give them time," Sheppard said, gritting his teeth. "Give Teyla time. She'll find him."

"Do you think Connam's on his own?" Lorne asked suddenly.

Sheppard frowned, then looked at the major. Lorne arched an eyebrow, and Sheppard snorted. "Right." Abruptly, the HUD shifted, showing life signs again. Dots blinked all over the compound, most together, but some were scattered and solitary. Most interestingly, about six of them were very evenly spaced in the back of the large compound that Rodney and Teyla had just entered.

"You know," Sheppard mused, "if you were to planning on holding prisoners, you would probably not want them near the living quarters or food storage. You would either put them on their own, or, if you didn't have a separate structure for them..." his eyes narrowed, "you would keep them in the main structure, where no one lives."

Lorne nodded, catching onto the train of thought easily, his eyes narrowing on the six dots in the back of the compound. "And either those people are very good at standing the same distance apart..."

"Or they're in cells of some kind," Sheppard finished. "Which means, if Connam's anywhere...he's there."

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Teyla walked inside the main complex first, her eyes studying the plain, featureless white walls, wondering at the dullness of the architecture. The floor beneath their feet was black, a sort of strange, plastic material that Rodney had called "linoleum." There were no other colors visible anywhere—as if the very idea of color was an anathema to these people.

Rodney stayed close behind her, not quite on her heels but close enough. She could feel his fear, almost as if she could taste it. To all outward appearances, he just appeared vibrantly angry and arrogant, but she knew, the more either of those two character traits were present, the more frightened he really was.

Metra strode ahead along the narrow corridor without pause, boot heels echoing on the hard surface, never looking back once. She either did not care or was not concerned about whether she was followed by the Atlantians. In moments, they emerged into a massive rectangular room filled with a mixture of technologies. Large video screens filled walls, and consoles and work stations were evenly spaced in all directions. Even to her untrained eyes, Teyla could see Genii, Hoffan, and even some Wraith technology in the works around the room—but it was mostly Lantean.

A Kaveer sat at each station, some with headphones on, others without, numbering almost thirty in all. They all looked up at the strangers entering their domain with interest, and one young man actually stood up. He was taller than most, with thick black hair and a mean twist to his mouth. Metra arched an eyebrow at him as he walked up next to her, and he nodded back.

"It's still there," he said, his voice deep and gruff, "but now it's almost directly overhead this compound. We still don't know what it is—our current theory is that it is a relay device of some kind, perhaps linked to their radios, allowing them to communicate over greater distances—maybe even across subspace."

"A relay device," Metra said, pursing her lips. "Interesting. Thank you, Baret." She turned around then as McKay and Teyla came to a stop not far from her, her blue eyes now ice cold as she regarded them. For a moment, she just stared at them both…then she looked over their shoulders and gave a single nod.

Suddenly, both felt their arms grabbed and wrenched back. Teyla's P90 was pulled from her, and someone else took her 9MM...and tossed it to Metra. The leader of the Kaveer immediately turned it around and pointed it at the Athosian, her thumb clicking off the safety with shocking naturalness.

"Oh hell," McKay groaned, looking over at Cleran standing a few feet away, "it was the binoculars, wasn't it?"

Cleran just smiled.

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TBC...