Chapter 9: Condemned
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.
This is where I'll deviate a little, and by a little I mean a lot. The Olesians were amongst my favourite races, despite the fact that the Magistrate was an idiot. Other favourites include the ever lovely Athosians and the Taranians. I will be doing a lot of skipping through to episodes that I not only like but also deem essential.
"So what do you know about the planet?" Elizabeth asked.
In the weeks following the siege, life on Atlantis had more or less returned to normal with teams out on missions and research been conducted in the city. Loros had often provided them with what he knew on some of the planets during briefings so they had a general idea of what to expect. If there was an advanced civilization on the planet at one time, it's likely ruins, if it's unknown, it may be a primitive civilization.
"The planet had some type of ore that we could make use of" Loros said, recalling what he knew.
"What about the people?"
"I've never visited Olesia, so I wouldn't know. We'll just have to wait and see"
John and his team were handling this mission and they decided that if the Olesians recognized the technology of the Ancients, they were going to claim that the city was gone. They were cautious to say the least about who they trust with the knowledge of their existence. It didn't stop him from been concerned, however, as they had been run off of planets before. Some of the spears that were thrown are used in decoration for Ronon, the newest member of the team after he had been found as a runner and had his tracking device removed.
"They should be checking in soon, that is if all goes well" Elizabeth said and Loros chuckled.
"And since when has everything gone well for us?" Loros asked and she chuckled.
"Well we can dream can't we?"
"Yes we can"
Loros himself has gone through many changes through his time with them. He'd become more laid-back by John's insistence yet still serious when the situation called for it. However, he was lucky to still be in the city, for the IOA nearly had a party when they found out that a living Lantean had been found. They'd tried to order him to come back through, although he politely refused and told them that he was home and that was where he was staying. He'd cut communications before they could even respond.
Since then, they officially welcomed him into the city. Apparently cutting communications with the IOA at least once was an initiation of sorts only he couldn't get in trouble for it as he was a Lantean citizen, not one of Earth.
"So how did you find the IOA?" Elizabeth asked and his brow furrowed.
"I have patience, but they are the most agitating people I have ever met" he said.
"Yeah, our government isn't the most pleasant. To think, they hold power over me" she said and he smiled reassuringly.
"Elizabeth, the IOA can't afford to lose you as commander. Besides, they'd have to get through me if they want to appoint a successor. As you would say, I hold all the cards to protect your job" he said and she smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Loros" she said before looking around. "I don't think I could ever leave this place. It's more of a home to me than Earth ever will be, life-sucking aliens and all" she added and he chuckled.
"When I met the other you, I said that I didn't want to leave. This is my home and whilst we may be keeping a low profile, I want to make sure it stays safe" the Lantean said, but before they could say any more, the Stargate began to dial, the alarm going off.
"Scheduled off-world activation!" Chuck called and they headed in.
"I never thought I'd ever hear that saying" Elizabeth said with a grin.
"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC" the technician reported.
"Hey John" Elizabeth said over the radio.
"You will not believe this place" he began.
"I'm already intrigued. Go" she said and he began telling his story.
Olesia was an advanced civilization with technology that, to some degree rivalled their own and that they had the ore that could be used to generate power. Loros lit up at this as the power that was been generated would be more than enough to power the Helios, rather than relying on regular recharges from the ZPM.
"And you believe that they might be willing to share some of this mineral?" she asked.
"Well, they seem open to it. They don't get many trading opportunities coming through the Gate" he said and the others raised a brow. Most civilizations, despite their differing ages always managed to trade in some form or another.
"Sounds promising" she said and Loros agreed.
"There is, however, the minor moral hiccup of their form of capital punishment" he said.
"I'm sorry?" Elizabeth asked confused.
"They have an island. It's their own version of Alcatraz where they send their worst criminal" it was Rodney who explained.
"Alcatraz?" Loros asked, confused.
"A large prison island on Earth near the city of San Francisco. It's where some of the worst are kept, much like what Rodney described" Rodney explained.
"And the Gate is on the island, so..." John began
"...so the Wraith feed on the prisoners" Loros finished, slightly horrified.
"Yep"
"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment"
"I prefer lethal injection, although I do have a certain fondness for the electric chair. Call me romantic" Rodney said and the others chuckled, despite the morbid joke.
"The Wraith get what they want, the Olesians get left alone. Surprised it works" Ronon chipped in.
"As am I" Loros said with a raised brow.
"He did, however, say that only the most violent criminals get sent there, and that it has been this way for hundreds of years" Sheppard said and that eased their minds a little more. Though the idea of allowing people to be fed on the Wraith was still a little disturbing.
"Do you kill all your violent criminals on Earth?" Teyla asked.
"Certain countries, yes" Rodney answered.
"Usually, ours would be locked in the brig. The shields offer no from of escape so we don't have to worry about that, but we still take care of them. Much like your prisons, I believe" Loros said and Elizabeth nodded.
"Do we need to get into this right now?" John asked.
"Well, we do if we plan on doing business with these people. I wanna know more before I jump to any conclusions" she said and they received an acknowledgement. They said goodbye and the call was cut. "What do you think?" she asked.
"It is odd how the main city has gone ignored, despite the fact that the island is in the way"
"Right. Wraith don't tolerate technology that is on par with them"
"Precisely. But other than their form of dealing with prisoners, I do believe that this ore could be used with ease. You're people have dealt with more volatile substances before?" he asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, Naquadria. It was used to provide power to the first hyperdrive we made" Elizabeth said.
"Then this will be easy" he said with a grin. "I do have a request" he said.
"Yes you can come through" she said and he beamed.
"Thank you Elizabeth. I've been meaning to step through again at some point or another" he said as they headed back to her office. Evans team would be the team that would be escorting them to the Olesian city.
(Some time later)
The Stargate shut down once more, although nothing had even come through. No IDC, let alone the Puddle Jumper and it's occupants. Elizabeth and Loros look confused as they walk into the Control Room and she immediately turns to the Canadian technician.
"What happened?" she asked.
"The Gate activated but nothing came through"
"Colonel Sheppard?" Loros asked, concerned.
"So we assume. We received no IDC, a few moments later, the Gate shuts down" he explained and both the Lantean and Elizabeth share a concerned look with one another.
"They should have returned by now. Dial the planet and try to establish a radio link" Elizabeth orders whilst Loros taps his radio.
"Major Lorne, this is Loros"
"Go ahead"
"Myself and Dr. Weir may have to go off-world to assist Colonel Sheppard. I'd like you to assemble a team and have a Puddle Jumper ready to go" he requested politely.
"Yes, sir"
"Actually, Loros. I want you to head over to the planet in the Helios and make sure you're out of any sensor range. I want an idea of how many are on that island and I want to make sure that any Wraith are eliminated if they decide that they're hungry" she said and he nodded.
"Of course Elizabeth. I should arrive an hour or so after you do"
"Radio me when you get there" she said. He tapped his radio.
"All crew members of the Helios please report to the ship" he said.
Some of the new personnel that Elizabeth hired were crew for the Ancient vessel which had since been repaired to it's full capacity. The crew knew how the ship operated and what to do, thanks to all the specifications he had sent back. He just hoped that he didn't have to deal with a large fleet of Hives. Three cruisers he could handle with ease, so much so that they won't get a message out, but Hives take longer to go up in flames.
(In orbit around Olesia)
The Helios drops out of hyperspace ahead of schedule, thanks to Loros diverting power from all non critical systems to the hyperdrive. He was concerned about all of them, John in particular and he wanted to be there to join in the search.
"Elizabeth, this is Loros, come in"
"You're here early" she said.
"I know. I wanted to join in the search. I can not get an accurate lock on Colonel Sheppard's team. All of the lifesigns show up the same" he said and she told him to get down there. He had someone else take his place in the chair. "Make sure this ship stays out of sensor range"
He headed down into one of the ships Jumper bays and climbed into one of them. He started it up and flew right out from the Helios, cloaking as he did so on advisement from Lorne and he was grateful that he had. He could see the prisoners had managed to construct primitive catapults with some kind of explosives that could damage the Puddle Jumper with ease.
"I'm approaching the city" he reported.
"Meet us at these coordinates" Lorne instructed.
When he got there he linked up with the team and they headed into the building that must have served as the government centre, encountering the Magistrate and Marin as they did so but at the looks on their faces, this wasn't a negotiation visit.
"Our Stargate was dialled but they didn't come through. Has something happened?" Loros asked in an instant.
"They have not returned to the planet?" he asked.
"No, and we haven't been able to establish radio contact with them either" Elizabeth explained.
"They didn't return to the city. Perhaps they travelled through the Ring to another planet" the leader of the Olesians suggested.
"No, they would have radioed first" Elizabeth countered.
"Something must have happened on the island. I'll alert our security teams, have them begin a search" the woman, Marin, he discovered, said and he smiled gratefully.
"We'll join them" Lorne volunteered.
"I would advise against that" the Magistrate said, much to the confusion of the others.
"Would you?" Elizabeth asked.
"The island is extremely dangerous. Our ships are heavily armoured. We know the terrain as well as the prisoners tactics. Don't worry, we'll find them" the Magistrate reassured, although Loros resisted the urge to raise a brow.
"I hope you do, Magistrate, for all our sakes" Elizabeth said.
"Of course"
He and the others leave and the three of them looked at one another before they were led to a room where they could wait. That was all they could do at the moment. They couldn't send the Helios in, they'd reveal themselves as having Ancient technology. How they got away with the Jumpers is anyone's guess.
"All of this seems a little bit too good to be true" Loros said.
"I know. Advanced civilization left untouched for a few prisoners? Something is up" Elizabeth said.
"Let's just hope they find them. The most violent criminals on the planet currently have our guys captive and that could mean bad things for them" Lorne said and the Ancient nodded in grim agreement.
(Some time later)
The marines and Lorne were getting restless, Elizabeth and Loros were faring no better. Twiddling their thumbs wasn't an approach that they were used to when it came to rescuing their people. Heck, even the crew of the Helios must've been getting bored. However the Magistrate returned with Marin in tow, a grim look set on his features.
"I'm afraid the news is not good. Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the Ancestral Ring activated" he explained and that meant one thing.
"The Wraith?"
"It appears a culling is under way. We're not sure how many ships are involved but our teams were forced to fall back. I'm not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this" he said, taking his leave, Marin offering a sympathetic look.
"Can the Helios deal with it?" she asked.
"Not without revealing our position. Plus we have the Olesians under the ruse that we no longer have any other Lantean technology. I don't trust them, more specifically, I don't trust him" Loros said.
Suddenly, Marin comes through the door, looking rather nervous as she makes sure that she was wasn't followed. This has made things all the more suspicious for them. Why would the Magistrate's aide feel a need for secrecy?
"Marin? What's happened?" Elizabeth asks.
"No-one must know that I'm speaking to you" she starts.
"Of course" Elizabeth said.
"You should leave, as soon as possible" she said and Loros raised a brow.
"Why?" Evan asked.
"The Magistrate has just rescinded my orders to send rescue teams back to the island" she explained much to the shock of the others.
"What? Why would he do that?" Weir asks.
"Several arrests have been made. Many people have been apprehended for unspecified violations, to be sent to the island to the increase the population there" she said and Loros looked rather grim.
"To keep the Wraith fed" the Lantean noted.
"It's been going on for some time, but never so bad as this. The number of arrests has... I cannot keep quiet any longer. I have to speak out" she said and they nodded in agreement when the door opened and the Magistrate returned, accompanied by several guards.
"Lies! Seeding fear not only among your own people but now our guests. I cannot allow it" he said.
"I was only trying to understand why so many people are being arrested" she said in defiance.
"Your job is not to question the actions of this government" he said and he gestured for the guards to take her, although Loros stepped in front of her to protect her. "Stand aside" he commanded.
"You are not denying the accusations that she has made. Aside from this supposed transgression, what else has she done?" he asked and the Magistrate sighed.
"I've recently learned that Marin has been involved in a group seeking to undermine the Olesian government. She's become very adept at spinning lies to suit her organization's treasonable agenda" he said and Loros didn't believe him for a second.
"Did you or did you not rescind the order to send rescue teams back to the island?" Weir asked.
"Why would I do that?"
"That doesn't concern me. My first concern's with the safety of my people, and I promise you..."
"Everything is being done to ensure their rescue and safe return. If there's been any hindrance at all it was because of Marin" he said.
"Well if you're going to exile her, she can come back with us" Loros said.
"She will receive a fair trial in our courts. I cannot allow that"
"And then what? Sent to the island?" Lorne asked.
"I'm sure where you come from, treason is also considered a very serious offence" the Magistrate said.
"So that's a yes"
"Once more, you have not denied the accusations she has made. Are you, or are you not arresting many for the most ridiculous offences" Loros asked with more force in his tone. "Because in order for the Wraith to leave you alone, you have been providing them with food" he guessed.
"What else is considered a serious offence?" Elizabeth asked, shielding Marin with Loros.
"Anything that threatens the welfare of the Olesian people"
"Are you sure it's the welfare of your own people that concerns you? Or just your own?" she asked.
"Choose your words very carefully, Doctor Weir" he threatened.
"Oh we do. Why, is that a threat?" Loros asked.
"It's advice, from one ally to another" he said.
"Well, this alliance, it's just been rescinded" she said and then she looks to everyone else. "We're leaving" she said and Marin gave her a grateful, relieved look. The Magistrate looks to his own guards, who ready their weapons. "What, you plan to arrest us too?" she asked and the Olesian leader looked at the other marines nervously, their determined looks intimidating him.
"Because you do not want to do that" Loros speaks up.
The marines raise their weapons and aim at the Magistrate and his guards. Elizabeth and the leader lock gazes for a moment, then he nods in resignation and gestures for his guards to step aside. They, including Marin are allowed to leave.
"I'm going to head to the Helios. Take Marin" Loros said, heading for his own Jumper.
"Okay, we'll go and rescue John and the others" Elizabeth said.
When he returned, he was greeted to the sound of alarms beeping, one of the crew members saying that three hyperspace windows opened and three cruisers were heading to the planet. He immediately sat in the command chair and considered his options. Most of the people in Olesia were innocent and the alliance was still a good idea providing someone else was leading them.
"Elizabeth, be advised. Three cruisers are approaching the atmosphere, request permission to engage" he said.
"Reasons?"
"Most of the Olesians are innocent. Even if they survived this, the Magistrates power is weakened because of the arrests. Someone more reliable can take the lead" he said.
"You know the Wraith won't tolerate them" she said.
"We can monitor the planet. Make sure it's safe. I will do the runs myself" he volunteered.
"Okay you have a go"
"Raise shields and activate the new EM field"
The EM field was designed for use by the Helios. Is stopped all forms of communication with any Wraith ships and even scrambled their telepathic communication to an extent. A countermeasure in case they ever engaged a vessel. This would be it's first run.
The ship was spurred to move at Loros' mental command and soon they too approached the planet's atmosphere. When they got there, they saw one of the Cruisers heading straight for the city and he moved to intercept. With a single whim, a salvo of powerful Drones left their containment units and sped towards the vessel. The squid like weapons weaved in and out of the smaller ship, puncturing it with many holes and they couldn't send a transmission to warn the others. The ship erupts in a fiery explosion.
"One down two to go"
The Helios changed direction and began to move to the island and soon the Wraith turned on them, the Darts ignoring the humans and speeding towards the Ancient vessel. They began to fire, though the shields easily handled the weapons and felt practically nothing.
The pulse guns then activated, swivelling around to the nearest Dart and began to fire, taking many of them down with ease. A second, larger salvo of Drone emerged and began to puncture the hull of the organic ships, soon destroying them as well. To his relief, Elizabeth reported that they had the team back and were heading to Atlantis.
He stayed to finish off the remaining Darts which were handled by the ships secondary pulse guns with ease. He sighed in relief, although his work wasn't done just yet. He had to remain here until the others returned to hopefully overthrow the Magistrate.
(A week later, Olesia)
The city was buzzing with activity as those who were arrested were released. Now with the Wraith as a real threat, the began to research all sorts of defensive technology. The Magistrate was arrested for crimes against the Olesian people and sentenced to life in prison. Marin took his place as leader of the Olesians, a position she accepted readily, intending to make a difference.
"If it wasn't for your arrival, none of this would have been possible" she said.
"We need allies. It's time people started to make a difference" Elizabeth said.
"The offer of the ore stands. All we ask in return is for you to protect us until we learn to protect ourselves" she said and Loros smiled.
"I'll be happy to do that" he said.
"Very well. The island has been cleared of all evidence of the colony and we're setting up a mine on it to gather the ore for you. It shouldn't be long before it is complete" she said and the others gave a nod.
"Thank you. Well, we're going to head back" Elizabeth said.
"Thanks for an interesting stay" John said with a wry grin.
They all headed back to the Puddle Jumper, glad to be leaving Olesia on good terms with it's people and a trade offer on the go. Upon flying over, they looked down to see some of their security vessels assisting in the transport of supplies to build the new mine.
"Things are looking up" Elizabeth said.
"Yes they are. I'm going to move a sensor console into my room and fix it's position on Olesia. If a ship is heading their, we'll know to it"
"Let's just hope they don't send a whole fleet" Elizabeth noted grimly.
(Atlantis)
The moment they stepped into the Gateroom, a sigh of relief left them all. Even Rodney seemed to be in a good mood now that he was home and in a familiar place. It was the evening on Lantea and Loros was content to head to his quarters so he could get some sleep, he could move the console in tomorrow.
"Loros, wait up!" John called.
"Are you not tired?" he asked.
"I am, but with all the craziness on Olesia, we haven't had time to talk" he said and Loros smiled as soon as he heard it. What with induction of the new personnel as well as regular missions, they had not spoken for weeks and then with what happened on Olesia.
"You weren't hurt, were you?" he asked in concern.
"I was when the Jumper crashed" he admitted. "But Beckett gave me a clean bill of health"
"Good. You had me worried" the Lantean admitted softly as they left the transporter.
"I had everyone worried" he said and Loros nodded. "What did you think of him? The Magistrate when you first met him?" he asked.
"We knew the minute that we met him that something was not right. He was far too rigid when we asked about rescuing you. It was a good thing that we protected Marin from him. She shows good promise as their leader" he said.
"If only we were psychic" John said.
"Then we'd know too much about peoples personal lives. I think some things are better left unknown. At least now we have an ally that we can trust, even if I have to perform regular checks to make sure that they are safe" he said.
They entered their quarters and immediately changed. They'd gotten used to staying in Loros' room so John had much of his stuff moved in. Elizabeth and Teyla were quite intuitive and had figured out that something was going on between the two. Even Ronon suspects something, a knowing smile often on his face when Sheppard spoke about the Lantean, although Rodney, for all his smarts, remained absolutely clueless.
"It feels good to be home" John said when they had climbed into bed.
"Yes it does" the other agreed.
A gentle hand slid up the Colonels shirt, lightly stroking the soft skin of his chest whilst John allowed his own hand to slip up the Ancients back. Simple touches allowed them to reaffirm that the person was still there, alive and well, skin warm beneath their hands.
"Do not ever scare me like that again"
"We've done worse"
"Yes but at least the Gate was a viable option and was not on a penal colony" Loros said and the other kissed his forehead softly.
"Don't worry. I won't" he said. "Sleep" he whispered.
And sleep they did. Hands still on soft skin, arms wrapped around one another, the Ancient's head tucked beneath John's as though it belonged there. This was how they always slept, ever since the siege, ever since their true feelings had emerged and they wouldn't have it any other way.