Disclaimer: You all know. I own Garse, Arim, Davil, and all of the other weird named or nameless people.
Ronon and the guard arrived at Arim's tent. The guard made him wait outside while he went inside to see what was going on. Ronon could hear people fighting over something on the inside of the tent. "He killed our brothers! You let him! Why?" yelled the first voice.
Ronon recognized that the voice belonged to Garse. They were obviously fighting about him. "Did you see him? What an addition he would be if we brought him to our side." That was Arim.
"He would never leave his team," said the last voice, belonging to Davil. "So many of our best fighters got killed. And for what? A man who will never join or listen to you."
"He will," Arim said confidently.
"And how do you know this?" Garse yelled.
"You doubt my leadership?"
"You sacrificed your own men. Your own brother almost died," Davil replied.
"Sacrifices needed to be made. By everyone."
"With their lives? Then why didn't you fight?" Davil questioned.
"Am I the only one who sees the potential of this situation?"
"Yes," both of them replied.
"You are dismissed."
The two men left the tent without saying another word. They glared at Ronon as they passed him. The guard came out of the tent and gestured for Ronon to follow him. They entered the tent and the guard cut Ronon's bonds. Arim took a seat and Ronon did also. "It's good to see you awake, Satedan." Arim nodded and the guard left the tent.
"Pack your things," Ronon said.
Arim sat up straight. "What?"
"Tell your men to start packing their things. We are leaving Monas tonight."
"We? Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Only if my demands are met," he said sitting up.
"Demands? What demands?"
"Here is what is going to happen."
"And what if I don't like it?"
"You are going to like it," Ronon said firmly. "You are going to tell your men that we are moving. Pack up anything you can before the sun rises. My team is going to fall asleep. When they do, I will shoot… I will shoot them with my stunner. They will be unconscious for a few hours. You will give me two of your men, and we are going to carry them to the nearest Ring of the Ancestors. They will be kept together."
"No. What if you stay with them?"
"I won't. I just won't allow anyone to touch her. Then we move onto the next planet or galaxy, and you start off your trade brand new there. We will be long gone before they wake up."
"This seems a bit too easy."
"What does?"
"You joining me. What changed your mind?"
"I care for those people out there, my friends, more than I hate you."
"Is that the only thing that swayed your decision?"
Ronon stopped before he answered. He looked up and stared into those black eyes across the table. "If you are cold enough to allow your own brother to be killed in an exhibition, I would hate to see what you would have done to your enemy. Tell your people to start cleaning up."
"All right then." Arim stood up from his chair. "Guard!" he yelled. He waited for the man to enter the tent. "Tell the men to clean up camp. We are moving."
The guard nodded and quickly left the tent. "You've agreed to one part of the plan. What about the other parts?" Ronon asked.
"I agree. But only because I need you on my team. But the only way I will allow this is if you shoot your friends."
Ronon looked away. "I wouldn't allow anyone else to," he said softly.
"Are you going to say goodbye to them?"
"Not yet."
"Good. Because I didn't want you to leave just yet." He sat down in his chair once again. He looked up at the Satedan. He saw the distress in his eyes and smiled because he was the cause of it. "I need to know more about the newest member of my team. What position were you in the military?"
"What makes you think I was in the military?"
"The mark on your neck," Arim said pointing to Ronon.
Ronon's hand unconsciously went to his mark. "Specialist."
"And your name?"
"Just call me Satedan."
"I don't find that fair. You know my name and the names of my men. The least you could do is tell me your name."
"It wouldn't do you any good to know," Ronon said. "I don't respond to it."
Arim backed away from that topic. "All right then. Satedan it is. Any secrets I should know about? Your past?"
"I was a Runner," Ronon bluntly said.
"A Runner? Was? Intriguing," he said stroking his chin. "I've always wanted to meet a Runner."
"I'm glad that I'm bringing you such joy," Ronon spat.
"You know, I shouldn't even be agreeing to this. You didn't hold up your end of the bargain."
"What was my end? I did fight."
"You didn't finish it."
Ronon stood up from his chair and slammed his hands on the table. "You wanted me to kill your brother?"
"It would have been a death worth dying."
"Brothers don't do that."
"And you know what it is like to have a brother? To be one?" Ronon sat down. Arim noticed that he obviously stepped in some sensitive territory. But he decided not to push it any further. Not today at least. "That fight looked too easy for you. Why was that?"
"You want to know how I easily defeated your men?"
"It's a question."
Ronon stood up and walked toward the entrance of the tent. "They didn't work as a team. They each wanted the glory for themselves. If they worked together, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now. And they showed that they were scared."
"Then they deserved to die."
"Maybe," Ronon replied pulling back the flap. "I'm leaving."
"Satedan," Arim said just as Ronon took a step out the tent.
Ronon stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked not turning around.
"If you betray me, I will find you and your companions, and kill all of you." Ronon heard the sound of something placed on the table. "I'm going to keep this. Amazing invention your stunner."
Ronon growled and left the tent. He walked out and toward the grounds he was fighting on earlier. Even in the night he could see the blood stains in the dirt. He walked over to his coat on the side and picked it up. He threw it on and walked back to the Team.
What he had done was slowly killing him inside. He was leaving his team for a bunch of traders. Men who have nothing better to do with their lives, but trade people and cause trouble. He got back to the Team and forced himself to look at each one of them.
They were all standing watching the men pack up the supplies, but they couldn't get further than the guard to see what else was going on. They didn't notice that Ronon was standing right there in front of them. Teyla was the first to acknowledge him. "What are they doing, Ronon?" she asked him.
"They are cleaning the site."
"Why?" Sheppard asked.
He paused. "They are afraid that if they stay here any longer, people from Atlantis will come and investigate. They want to get out of here way before then."
"Are we being forced to go with them?" Teyla asked.
Ronon forced himself to look away from her. "I'm not sure," he replied. "Look, it's late. We should get some sleep. We're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow if we are going with them."
"I agree," Sheppard said. "There is nothing we can do now. We don't have any weapons right now to defend ourselves, so for now, we are their prisoners."
McKay was more than willing to go to sleep. He lay down and a few seconds later, he was snoring. Sheppard fell asleep with just as much ease. Teyla had a much harder time going to sleep. She couldn't help but think about what she had witnessed today. Ronon had killed six men, and that memory was going to keep her awake.
Ronon walked over to her and took off his coat. He rolled it and placed it in front of her. "Here. I think that it would be more comfortable if you laid on this."
"What about you?"
"I'm not tired." Ronon sat in silence for a few minutes. "Teyla, I'm—"
"Don't worry about it, Ronon."
"You should get some rest."
"Okay." She laid on Ronon's coat and fell asleep.
Ronon walked over to the guard and made him get Arim. Arim entered that part of the camp with Ronon's gun in his hand. "They're asleep."
Ronon held his hand out to Arim. "I'll keep this from your for awhile." He held the gun away from Ronon.
"Why?"
"We aren't ready to leave yet."
"How much longer?"
"Patience, Satedan."
"Patience isn't one of my stronger characteristics. Give me my gun."
Arim placed the stunner in Ronon's hand. Arim reached into his holster and took out two guns. He pointed one at Ronon's chest, and the other at Teyla. "Don't try anything funny."
Ronon set his gun to stun and aimed it at his former team members. His arm visibly shook. He thought about what he was doing. He was going to shoot his friends. He shot McKay first. Then Sheppard. And finally, Teyla. Arim snatched the gun out of his hand after he put away his own guns. "Give me two of your men."
"We are all going."
"Why?"
"The nearest Ring of the Ancestors is East. That is the one that we are traveling though. That is the one we are leaving your friends by."
"Are your men ready to leave?"
"Yes. So who do you want to carry the men?"
"Axel and Davil."
"Axel cannot carry anyone. You dislocated his shoulder, remember."
"Yeah, I remember. Anyone else, but Garse."
Arim nodded. He called for Davil and told him to bring another person. "You two are to carry these men. Do not harm them. We do not need any reason for the Satedan to be angry. Understood?"
Davil picked up Sheppard and the other man picked up McKay. They threw them over their shoulders. Ronon gently picked up Teyla and held her in his arms. He held his coat in his hand. "Are you ready to go?" Ronon asked.
Arim turned to the camp. "Time to leave!" Arim yelled.
His men marched out of the camp walking East. When they got to the Ring of the Ancestors, Garse walked over to the D.H.D. "Where to, Arim?" he asked.
"Somewhere far away from here," he replied.
Ronon walked over to Davil and the man who was carrying McKay. "Put them down here. Gently," he said.
Davil laid Sheppard on the ground. The other man put McKay not too far from him. Ronon put Teyla next to Sheppard. He unfolded his coat and placed it over Teyla. Arim walked over to Ronon with his gun in hand. "Shoot them again," Arim said.
"Why? There is no need for that."
"I can't have them waking up. It isn't a risk I am willing to take."
Ronon took the gun from Arim. He set it to stun and aimed. He looked at his superior, Sheppard, who he came to admire fully. McKay who irritated him so much, but he had finally gotten used to it. He thought about Dr. Weir, who he never got to play a game of chess against. He also thought of Dr. Beckett. He was eternally grateful to that man, and forever indebted.
And finally he looked at Teyla. He didn't know what he could say about Teyla. She was his first friend on Atlantis. And he cared for her with everything he had. And this could have been the last time he was probably going to ever see her. See the rest of the Team. He would never see Atlantis or the people. And he couldn't even say goodbye. He wouldn't say goodbye because if he did, he would not be able to leave them.
He shot each of them one more time. "The Ring is opened," Garse yelled.
But Ronon couldn't hear a word. He was too deep in thought. He didn't even realize that Arim had taken the gun out of his hand. Davil grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the Ring. He looked one last time at his friends and stepped through.
Thanks for reviewing the previous chapters. Okay, well the next chapter is going to jump forward a few months. But there will be an explanation. Oh yeah, got a question. Is it all right that I am just classifying this as general because I don't really know what else it would fall under. Any suggestions? Thanks for reading and please review. Lil-Rock
