Chapter Two
Major Lorne sat with barely concealed irritation while the robed figure approached the eldest of the elders that essentially lead this small city. That mild irritation at whatever the two Lieutenants had gotten themselves into turned into a mental groan a moment later. The outrage on the bald man's face was obvious as he turned a rather startling shade of red, not unlike his robe. Bowing briefly to the Eldest, he visibly shook with barely contained rage.
"Eldest Tamal, the newcomers have laughed in the face of Que'lake!"
The gasps of horror around the room did nothing to dispel the sense of annoyance Lorne was starting to feel. Though this was by far not the first time he and his team had committed a faux pas, they were usually easily smoothed over. But the outrage he sensed here, and the fury he was seeing in the Eldest's face did not bode well.
"Eldest, I apologize if my men have offended," Lorne spoke up. "We meant no disrespect. We are just unfamiliar with your ways."
"That is no excuse! Que'lake's wrath will be felt regardless of your ignorance!" the elderly man shouted. "The punishment will commence immediately!"
Damn, not good, Lorne thought to himself, having hoped to end this peacefully.
With Atlantis' need for supplies if they were ever going to be self-sufficient in the Pegasus Galaxy, they could not afford to lose such a valuable trading alliance as this one appeared it might be. As far as he could tell these people had no weapons to even come close to what he and his team had brought; so he had no desire to use them, even as a scare tactic. Besides, scaring them and then getting his team out of there even without bloodshed would still cost them a valuable trading partner. Bloodshed was not an option in his mind. Thinking furiously and trying to buy himself some time, Lorne asked what the punishment was; not really paying that much attention until he got his answer.
"Nineteen lashes before Que'lake to prove you shall never do it again."
Major Lorne just managed to refrain from showing his surprise openly. Well, it could be worse. It could be execution, he thought.
"Is there no alternative? No recompense we could offer?"
"No. Que'lake's wrath is swift and vicious. And ours must be also, to prove ourselves before Que'lake. The only alternative is execution, so that we may show Que'lake that we were not among those who offended him," the eldest said, his initial fury calming somewhat at realizing he was dealing with a man who seemed sincere in rectifying the situation instead of trying to bully or laugh at them, unlike so many others before him.
There goes that idea. Damn, damn, damn, Lorne thought, showing none of this in his expression as he considered the options.
"We must begin now, before Que'lake unleashes his wrath upon us!" a man in the crowd shouted fearfully.
Out of time and out of options, Lorne heard his radio crackle to life. "Sir, they're taking Keane and Shingleton out of the building. They said they're going to be flogged."
"I know. Stand down, I'm working on it."
Giving Lorne a sad look, Eldest Tamal turned his attention to the robed figure. Before he could speak, Lorne came up with the only solution he could.
"Eldest, may I offer a trade?"
"There is no trade in the face of an offended god!" the robed figure replied, still livid.
"I am their leader. Would it be acceptable to offer myself, instead?"
"You would do such a thing?" Tamal asked, obviously surprised.
"Yes. And, for my men, exile. They will never be allowed to return, and must leave immediately."
Tamal turned to the robed man who seemed intrigued by this rather than offended or horrified. That was a plus, at least. After a few moments of silence the priest nodded. "Que'lake will accept your punishment as sacrifice."
"Then it is done," Tamal agreed quickly, sensing things could get out of hand with the rest of the villagers quickly.
"Please, let me speak with my men. I will remain in here and use my radio, our communication devices, while you release them, if that is acceptable?"
"Agreed," said Tamal with a nod as the red-robed priest exited the tavern, hopefully to release the two Lieutenants.
Turning to his radio, Lorne kept his eyes locked with those of the Eldest so the man could see he wasn't about to change his mind or try to run. He very deliberately kept his hands away from any weapons as he sensed the tension in the room increasing with his request as if they expected him to suddenly try to fight his way out of there. Obviously they'd had such problems before. The silence in the room was heavy enough to carry its own presence.
"Keane, Shingleton, you are being released and exiled. Cayton, go with them. I've smoothed things over. Please explain to Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir that I will be continuing talks and should be back in two to three hours. Code Zero. I repeat, Code Zero."
"Roger that, sir. Cayton out."
His heart racing, Lorne turned his radio off. "They will never come back. I will swear to that. But we may send others if you are amenable to others of my people continuing talks of trade for food and services."
"We must hurry! If the sun sets—" a woman started.
Tamal held up a hand to silence her, but no so much as if trying to keep a secret. He continued to eye the Major contemplatively. "You wish your men not to know?"
"Yes. I will tell my leaders what has happened to avoid it happening again. But it was a mistake made by my men, and I will pay for it. Will that be enough to allow us to continue negotiations with your people?"
"But—"
"Kaalaami, the sun will not set in the few minutes it takes his juniors to leave the city."
"But Que'lake might—"
"Enough! We will all go to him and pray to hold off his wrath for the time being," Tamal ordered the rest of them, as a purple-robed figure watched in silence, but did nod at this idea. Then he turned back to Lorne. "Yes, Major Lorne. Among our people, and our god, a debt payed is then forgotten. We will talk further with this Doctor Weir or her emissaries when the time comes. Please warn them also that we do not accept strangers in the dark. They are executed on arrival."
"Thank you, eldest Tamal."
That seemed to settle the issue. Everyone present not already on their feet rose and began to file out of the door. In the middle of the group, Lorne shuffled along with them. He just wished he could stop his heart from feeling like it was going to pound right out of his chest.
~o~o~o~
Having cleared the city walls, the three Lieutenants continued their march in silence. All three of them were fairly pissed off at the turn of events. Though they all knew they had had no way of knowing and no one had warned them, it still didn't sit well. Such incidents were not uncommon, and exile was usually the recommended outcome for all parties when possible. But, for some reason, Shingleton didn't like the feel of the thing. Of course, he'd never liked encounters with religious fanaticism in any form. Yet this one just didn't sit right. Despite the security code they'd been given, he d been very reluctant to leave their team leader alone. Silently the other two followed his pace as he stepped it up to an uphill jog hoping the locals wouldn't change their mind about keeping them before they could get to Colonel Sheppard to see what he said.