This is kind of a bridging chapter. Some background with also a look to what is ahead. Hope it makes sense. Thanks for your reviews and to Comanche-Antigo for beta.
Chapter 10 Wicked Cousins, Cool Cousins
After the coronation and over the next few weeks Sheppard spoke to Lear, Ronon and Teyla, and his infantry general Sorhan about their ground defenses and how those could be improved. For a week they reviewed plan after plan each morning. Sheppard felt a sense of urgency after his talk with Saphides. Why does there always have to be an evil cousin?
Sheppard thought of the conversation with the older man:
"How did you come by this name, my lord?"
"It was in my memories, or rather a flashback of sorts at the coronation ceremony. It was like I was at a wedding, my wedding, but it wasn't me." Sheppard said.
"This name has not been spoken for some time. It is in an obscure text. Scelus was the older brother of Evander. He had wanted to marry Ilian but she spurned him because, although an Ancestor, he was very different. He wanted power for himself. Evander was trying to help the people of this solar system, and galaxy, while Scelus was trying to obtain power for himself. He became enraged when Ilian and Evander married. He left this world for another. He did marry and leave an heir, but Scelus betrayed Evander and this led to the death of thousands at the hands of the Wraith and the hunting of Evander by the Wraith. Scelus and Evander met during one of the battles with the Wraith. Evander killed him and the majority of his men. He banished Scelus' wife and child to a nearby world."
"What became of his descendants?"
"There is only one left. The power of the Ancestors has left him, diluted through the years. We have watched their line for nearly 10,000 years until he left our solar system about 20 years ago. We lost track of him then."
"Sire?"
We lost track of him then. Sheppard had that gut feeling that he hated. The kind that said something bad was going to happen and he needed to get ready. "General Sorhan," he said looking at the tall middle-aged man. "Do you have an intelligence unit?"
"Yes, my lord. Most are deployed to various worlds nearby."
"Any outside this solar system?"
"A few, lord."
"Something is going on and we need intelligence."
"Yes, sir. Right away."
Teyla remained. She said nothing as he appeared deep in thought. He looked up at her surprised having forgot she was there. He said nothing and did not grin. Odd. Was he having another seizure?
"Teyla," he said finally, "the Wraith have not been to this solar system for some time...thousands of years. They have forgotten about it. Like it was purged from their collective memory."
"How do you know this, John?"
"From the Wraith knowledge I acquired and from the memories of Evander. Evander killed the Wraith Queen that claimed this solar system after he killed...his brother. She was very powerful and had defeated rivals. Evander had managed to send a message of sorts that this system had been destroyed through her before she died. It is isolated enough. Since the Wraith hyperdrives aren't all that great they would not venture so far when there are so many others. He saved this small system by overpowering her mind."
He looked worried. "What is wrong, John?"
He stood and looked out the window. "Scelus, Teyla. There is going to be a war."
She looked confused and stood next to him. "What do you mean?"
He told her the story that Saphides has told him, and she looked at him wide-eyed. "Scelus had made a deal with that Wraith queen. HE would trade Evander for power over this system. He had told her that Evander had acquired the knowledged that eventually was transferred to me. Evander killed his brother and the Queen before he left. Scelus is coming back; I mean his descendant is coming back. He left to build an army, I am not positive, but something is nagging me. I can't shake it..."
"My son will kill your son Evander and what was rightfully mine will be mine again."
"What did you say?"
He blinked confused as he looked at her. "What?"
"What did you mean when you said "'My son will kill your son Evander and what was rightfully mine will be mine again.'"
He sat down, suddenly tired. "It was a dream, flashback I don't know. It all started at the coronation ceremony that is why I asked Saphides about this. Scelus told that to Evander before he died. God, Teyla. We are going to have to go to war with other humans to protect ourselves and Evander's people. I am talking about a 10,000 year old vendetta."
She was quiet for a moment as she filled in the blanks. "How do you know this, John? How would the descendant of Scelus know this?"
He shook his head and looked past her with sad eyes. "I don't know. I just know. Just in my gut. I think that is why this is all happening now." He did not tell her about the urgency of the dreams when he had asked Rodney to try the gate address, but it was making some sense to him. His ancestors could not talk to him directly, but they might get away with playing in his dreams. They knew was Scelus' ancestor was planning, but this was the only way they could help.
"Maybe he can be reasoned with."
He kept staring past her. "Maybe," he said for her benefit, but he knew what would happen. He then turned to look at her and grinned. "Don't worry. That is why we have been making preparations. Maybe everyone will just think I am being nuts and power-hungry and overcautious"
So that is why he was having meetings all this week. She doubted they would think that of him. No one from his team would think that, and she guessed that none from these worlds would either.
"I need more intelligence, though. I can't make too many more preparations other than training until I know what is going on."
He turned back toward the window. "General O'Neill and I will be taking a visit to Arcadia tomorrow to check on some intelligence reports. Already visited the other planets, so going to visit Sarik and get a feel for the terrain. Visited Quidari yesterday with Col Caldwell. Lear is coming along and has an extra seat if you want to come along. There promises to be good food again, if the other trip is any indication, and" he said with a wide grin, "Trying out a real fighter and not just a trainer this time."
She smiled at him. He always looked like a boy when he talked about flying. Enthusiasm for the freedom it brought him was one emotion he could not hide. "I would love to go, John." She enjoyed meeting new people, and she was curious to learn more about these worlds. She had not mentioned it to Sheppard, but this system might be good for her people.
"Cool. Better get some rest. Pack light, but we do plan to stay a couple of nights."
"I will be ready."
She left his room. Was he truly not worried about the future, or was he hiding it beneath a mask of confidence. This time she truly did not know. I am worried, she thought. She went to talk to Ronon and Rodney about this information. Perhaps they already knew.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Tower this is Three Bagger 1. We are ready for taxi."
"Three Bagger 1, Tower. You are clear to taxi to 3-1- Left."
"Copy that 3-1- left."
Sheppard looked over the panel down to General O'Neill. "Sir, you ready to go?"
"Yup," O'Neill replied. "I have four more weeks on this boondoggle so let's have some fun after of course you take care of business."
"Yes sir." Sheppard replied as he taxied toward the runway. He heard Lear clearing for taxi as well. "Sarik said that they are a bit larger and very light in flavor. The best part is they really are fun to catch… if you don't get bitten." He said the last part quickly, but O'Neill caught it.
"What! You did not say anything about getting bitten, Sheppard!"
Sheppard grinned but ignored the general. "Tower, Three Bagger-1. Request permission for take-off."
"Three Bagger-1, Tower, You are cleared for take-off, unrestricted ascent to orbit. Arcadian Tower will pick up once orbit cleared."
"Copy that."
Sheppard grinned as he finished the last item on his checklist and brought the ship to position. "Alright, general here we go. Hope you didn't eat a heavy lunch."
O'Neill shook his head. Kids. "By the way Sheppard what is the 'Three bagger' about?"
"Well uhh…it is a name Lear termed for me…I guess my passengers tend to…get a little airsick. Colonel Caldwell only needed one." Sheppard grimaced. Should not have said that out loud. "Between you and me sir."
Funny. The general felt the ship accelerated and within seconds they were airborne. He felt G forces push him back against his seat. When the hell do the dampeners kick in? Sheppard performed a couple of aileron roles and other maneuvers as he coordinated with his wingman Lear. "Dammit, Sheppard," O'Neil said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, sorry sir, I forgot to initiate the dampeners." Sheppard said honestly although he doubted the general would believe it, "Dampeners now engaged. Might still feel a bit, but...anyway. ETA is 30 minutes."
O'Neil grumbled his thanks. Flying was not his favorite anymore. Things seemed to happen when he flew like getting stuck in outer-space and so on. But he enjoyed his time with Sheppard and a part of him knew that Sheppard needed him. From a military leader aspect he had been through a lot. O'Neill knew what that was like, losing people fighting for your life and trying to just survive and on top of that being responsible. Sometimes his brain would hurt just trying to figure out how to get them out of situations. He had a good team like Sheppard did, and like Sheppard he was responsible for all of it. For him it was helpful to have General Hammond to put things in perspective. For so long Sheppard had no one and now this. Ancient gene was a curse. Oh yeah, a lot of good came of it, yeah, but a lot of bad, too. Hell, you could die because of the damn gene or at least get frozen to death. Sheppard would keep things mostly to himself. O'Neill knew the type because he was the same type. But Hammond knew how to help and O'Neill felt responsible for doing the same. Commanding at SGC was like no other. He had gotten Sheppard into this mess...well, had a part in it.
"Tower, Three Bagger-1. We are ready for descent." Had 30 minutes already passed? He realized that he had not spoken to Sheppard who seemed to be enjoying the flight and allowed the general to his own thoughts.
"Acknowledged Three Bagger-1, Landing zone 2-6. Coordinates transmitted now."
Sheppard looked at his HUD. "Copy. Landing zone 2-6. Coordinates received."
"Okay General. Here we go." Sheppard communicated with Lear and the two ships descended together.
"Three Bagger 1, Tower. You are clear on runway 1-2 Right."
"Clear 1-2 Right."
Sheppard taxied along side Lear toward a hangar near the runway after they landed. O'Neill looked at Sheppard as he inspected the ship. Did the kid ever stop grinning around these toys? "Why didn't we just go through the Stargate, Sheppard?"
Sheppard looked at him quizzically. "Well, we wouldn't get to try this baby out," he said, patting the ship.
A small entourage approached them and O'Neill saw Sheppard frown briefly but then replaced it with a more neutral look.
A short man who was sweating from the effort bowed. "Your majesty. On behalf of Guardian Sarik, welcome to Arcadia of the Kingdom of Armentarii. The home planet of the line of the Armentarii. I am Raidar." Sheppard had remembered the history lesson from Saphides. Arcadia was the home world of Evander and his family.
O'Neill heard Sheppard sigh but smile graciously. "Thank you, Raidar. It is good to be here. I am anxious to speak to Guardian Sarik."
"Yes, my lord. He is overseeing preparations for tonight's dinner. Many are anxious to meet you."
Of course there would be eating.
"Great. Lead the way."
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"Dr. McKay would enjoy this meal, colonel." Teyla said quietly as she sat next to him.
"Yeah, he would," Sheppard said. "I need to stop eating or I am going to get fat."
She looked at him skeptically. "I doubt that seriously John," she answered.
He looked at her surprised then grinned. "Yeah I guess you are right. Damn Samsus for sending this wardrobe. I never should have agreed to let him pick out my clothes, official function or no."
"This is an official dinner, colonel. A king must dress like a king."
"I look ridiculous," he quipped. She looked at him. He had a golden brown silk like shirt that had a small stand up collar with a green, light over-robe. He had a smaller silver crown with the green and brown stone specks. Beautiful.
"You do not look ridiculous, colonel. You look like a...warrior king," she said looking at him sideways and with a barely hidden grin.
He looked at her suspiciously and saw that she was not joking. How the hell did he get into this ridiculous mess? Fine, he would dress up. He did not have time to fight their system of government right now. He had to make sure some asshole with a vendetta did not destroy this and other worlds. He did not even know the jerks name. He needed to make sure that these people were safe and learn what he could to keep all the rest of this galaxy and his own safe from the Wraith.
Sarik leaned over to Sheppard and whispered something in ear. Sheppard nodded then stood. "That would be good, Sarik. There are matters of urgency that we must discuss." Oh no, he was starting to talk like them!
O'Neill looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Matters of urgency…that we must discuss?"
Sheppard did not look at O'Neill as Sarik stood and said a few words to excuse himself and Sheppard. Sheppard turned to Teyla, O'Neill, and Lear and looked at them briefly. Understanding, they stood and followed him.
They went to a nearby adjoining room. Sarik had tea brought in.
"Your majesty, Air Defense Minister Lear and General Sorhan have told me your concerns. On Arcadia we have not heard anything or seen anything. However, there have always been small groups of dissidents out in the wilderness. They cause little trouble except for occasional raids and such. We capture them when we can but they have never posed any serious threat. It is a large world. We have a few in our prisons."
"You have those here, too."
"Just one, my lord. Unfortunately crime, although not a significant problem, does happen."
"Have there been any concerning intelligence reports?"
"We are unsure what this means, but there have been some disappearances on several of the planets within our kingdom and the system. We are still investigating."
"Yes, that is what Guardian Sauriko of Quidari said. It is important that your planetary defense ministers are readying the forces here. I know that the ancestor of Scelus will attack, but I don't know which planet first or how. We don't believe that he has great space travel capabilities, but we can't be certain. However, some intelligence reports have indicated that he has gathered an overwhelming non-voluntary force, to put it lightly. He will need to move them somehow, so he might have transport. My guess is perhaps this has something to do with the disappearances."
"Hasn't someone tried to take over the kingdom before or at least one of the planets? This can't be the first time," O'Neill asked.
"In the beginning, after Evander left, there were numerous attempts. Many perished. But Ilian and her brothers remained strong, and Evander had left many defenses. The family of Scelus had no world and very little to wage a war. A peace was declared after a thousand years and their family was banished to a neighboring planet. Although occasionally one of them would try to wage a war, they had little. None possess the gene of the ancestors so they are not technologically advanced."
"No, if the intelligence is correct, they outnumber us by hundreds to one, so we have to be ready. Air defenses can only do so much. If they enter our cities then we can't bomb them."
"I know, my lord. We are making preparations. We have many reserve forces re-engaging in training."
Sheppard nodded and took off the crown. "Okay. I think we are on our way. I just don't want to be caught with our pants down."
O'Neill laughed as he watched the Arcadians look at each other horrified.
"Unprepared." Teyla clarified having been around Sheppard more. Sarik nodded with a knowing smile. What a strange language this king brought with him. "Yes, my lord. We understand."
Sheppard got up. "Well, I better get to bed. Need to get some sleep. It is going to be a busy couple of days."
"Barin will take you and the others to your quarters. Good night, sire."
Sheppard nodded curtly then followed Barin.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"We do think he has arrived, sir."
"How do you know this?"
"There has been more activity amongst the planets. They seem to be stirring and preparing. There have been more feasts and celebrations. They speak of a king named Armentarius, one who came from across the stars. As well as strangers from another system"
"Send out word. We will pay a great reward for information. Our plans will not change except if there is a king, then well...that must be taken care of. The more we know the better."
"Yes, lord."
Could it be that he would be the one to avenge his family name? He hoped that finally the time had come. He did not know this stranger from the other world, if indeed it was him, but he hated him.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Two days later of handshaking, baby kissing and military preparations and finally Sheppard was ready to visit the far side of the planet to take the general fishing. The quiet time would be good as he could chat with him a bit, and he was exhausted or at least exhausted from all the smiling. He did not understand how so many could be so loyal and downright in awe of someone that they did not really even know. Hell he would not hand his baby over to a complete stranger, king or no king. He finished his checklist.
"Ready, General?"
"Yep. Let's get going, your majesty."
Sheppard knew O'Neill was teasing but said nothing. He just grinned. There were ways to get back at generals during a flight.
"Tower, this is Three Bagger-1, ready for taxi."
"Three Bagger-1, Tower. You are clear for taxi then take-off. Runway 1-2 Left."
"Copy that. Runway 1-2 Left."
Sheppard and Lear took off simultaneously. "Just going to have a look around General before we get to the fishing hole."
"Okey dokey. Just don't pull any funny stuff. Don't think I don't know what you were planning."
Damn. "What, me, sir?"
"One smart ass cannot fool another smart ass. Best to remember that."
"Yes, sir," Sheppard almost pouted.
There was a lot of water on this planet although not nearly as much as Atlantis. Probably more like Earth. The main city was built on a small mountain with lying villages beneath. This would be a hard city to take but many of the villages were exposed and it was fairly isolated. The northern part of the planet was icy and isolated with just a couple of small villages.
"You know sir; I have been meaning to tell you about Capys."
"Who?"
"Well, when I met you at the gate and shook your hand, it felt weird and I just had a flood of memories. Your ancestor was named Capys. He was a general of Evander. He and his wife left this system and fled with Evander."
"Really? Wow. So you know my ancestors?"
"Well not the whole line traced down to you, but a few. Did you ever read the Aeneid?"
"Like eons ago and no I don't remember any of it."
"Well, Dr. Jackson could probably explain it better, but Aeneas and Evander are characters and apparently Aeneas was related to Evander. Aeneas was the grandson of Capys, I think. Well anyway, it was a made up story but you know how mythology and legend goes. Like I said, Dr. Jackson can probably explain it better."
"You mean we are related?" O'Neill said cautiously. Could explain some personality issues.
"Well, if the legend is true, it would be over five thousand times removed…maybe. I don't know. I am good with numbers, but not with lineage stuff. I have not had a chance to think about it much since after the coronation, but we have books if you want to read and learn more about Capys."
O'Neill was thoughtful for a moment. "Naw, think I'll just send Daniel over to research your library. I probably would never hear from him again though."
Sheppard was flying low as he got a better look at some of the terrain and was about to reply when the ship shuddered. He felt something knock him to the side and there was wind blowing in his face. What the...
He heard Lear talking excitedly in his ear. "Pull up! Pull up!" Sheppard instinctively pulled up on the controls and reluctantly the ship responded. What the hell happened and why was he having trouble seeing out of his right eye. He could feel wind whipping through the cockpit. Now that is just wrong, he thought. Gain altitude, then assess the situation. Altitude buys you time. Once he gained sufficient altitude Sheppard radioed the tower.
"Tower, this is Three Bagger-1 declaring an emergency. We either took some fire or something just hit us, bird strike maybe…cannot tell. Need to assess." His voice was cool. Not the first emergency he has been through, but the adrenaline started to pump through his veins.
"Acknowledged Three Bagger-1. Tower standing by."
Sheppard squinted to look at the general in the front seat, but he was slumped over. "General, you okay? General O'Neill?"
There was no response.
"Lear, what can you see?"
"Looks like you took some fire. Something from the woods below. Scans had not picked up anything; it did not appear to be a bird strike." There was a slight pause then Lear continued, "You are venting some liquid from your left wing. Could be fuel or hydraulics."
"Controls are sluggish. We might have to eject. I'm really fighting to keep altitude. General O'Neill is unconscious." Sheppard strained against the controls.
"You have the ability to control eject for both chairs, my lord." Lear's voice was calm in a storm, but there was an urgency that pilots understood, it was a calm tightness that was efficient.
"Yup, got it," Sheppard replied, his voice tight with concentration as he tried to keep the craft level. He did not like the readings his instruments were giving him. Then the tell tale alarm. He turned to his right to get a better look. "Dammit. Wing just caught on fire! Sending coordinates to tower." He turned to his wingman on the left, "Come back and get us, Lear."
Sheppard did not wait for a reply. He switched the seat ejection control. "Eject, Eject, Eject!" He felt what was left of the canopy tear away and then the sensation of a tremendous force pull or rather push him up. The last thing he saw was O'Neill's form being pushed up as the ship began to nose dive without a pilot controlling it. There goes the fishing trip, Sheppard managed to think.
Teyla looked on horrified as she saw Sheppard's ship nose dive into the ground. Although relieved that it appeared he and the general had safely ejected, she did not know their condition. She heard Lear barking orders to the tower as they flew around looking to see where they landed. But their ship shuddered as another projectile exploded near them.
"Teyla, we will have to leave. I am losing hydraulics and if we do not go now, we will be joining them. I hope we can make it back as it is."
She said nothing as she looked back, relieved to see two parachutes slowly descending to the ground.
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A little whump ahead for both guys. I mean you can't eject without something going on! I hope this chapter made sense and not too boring.