Chapter 29: No one's answering the radio

"Where are Teyla and Jennifer going?" I asked John curiously, coming out onto the balcony above the Gateroom where he was standing just in time to see them stepping into the wormhole.

"New Athos," John said. "Tendol Festival plus Keller's gonna do some checkups. I think Teyla's got a date too because she looked dressed up."

"Kanaan," I smiled when John's eyebrows rose in surprise. "She didn't tell me. In fact I don't think she'd told anyone. Major Lorne worked it out."

"He would," John replied, surprising me in turn because I'd never mentioned my suspicions in that area. "What you got planned for today?"

"It's all a bit quiet actually," I admitted with a sigh. "Not that I miss the great rush to work out some wacky Ancient device five seconds before the Wraith ... or the Replicators ... turn up to kill us, but ...,"

"It's a powerful motivator," John agreed with an amused indulgent look. "Why don't you do some more research on what was going on here when they had their outbreak of Kirsan fever – the one Jennifer found those references to? Maybe they mention other planets that had outbreaks - could explain how you got those antibodies."

"What, like a historical study?" I asked, the idea appealing to me because it was something I didn't usually concern myself with.

"Exactly," John smiled at the thoughtful look on my face. "You've got the database but who knows what else you could find in your library."

"That really is a good idea," I absentmindedly, already thinking about where to start. "I'll just ... I'll be in the library if anyone's looking for me."

"I thought you might," John was openly grinning now.

"Yeah, okay smarty," I shook my head because I knew exactly what he was grinning about. "I'm a geek – a very amusing one apparently."

"But hot too," John took a step back when I mock glared at him. "I'll come pry you out of the library at dinner time."

"You do that," I had to smile as he strolled casually away. Turning my thoughts back to his idea I headed in the opposite direction.

oOo

"Sabina this is John," I looked up from the book I was reading, taking one hand from the containment chamber and tapping my earpiece.

"I'm here," I said, waiting for his response.

"Teyla and Jennifer are late getting back from New Athos and no one's answering the radio," John explained. "We're taking a Puddle Jumper to check it out."

"Okay – be careful," I appreciated that John always let me know before he did any unscheduled off world travel. It was hell to wait when there was trouble but I still preferred that approach ... better that than being caught on the back foot not even knowing Team Sheppard had gone anywhere.

"Always am," John signed off casually, not sounding concerned about Teyla or Jennifer. That was partially a ruse of course because Teyla was beyond reliable and if she hadn't answered her radio there'd be a good reason for it.

That reason became all too clear a couple of hours later when everyone was back on Atlantis. John caught up with me in the library a short time after his return and quickly filled me in on what had happened. As Teyla and Jennifer had told it the two women had been hunted by a race called the Bola Kai ... after discovering that the Athosian's had disappeared without a trace. They'd managed to scrape through, in part due to the assistance of a Genii soldier who'd later turned out to be less than trustworthy.

After giving Teyla a chance to get settled into the infirmary for the night I went down to visit her. She was lying still and silent in an infirmary bed ... alone in a way that had nothing to do with the area being deserted.

"Teyla?" I spoke softly and hesitantly, not wanting to disturb her if she was already asleep.

"Sabina," Teyla greeted me in her usual friendly fashion but I could sense the tension sitting behind everything else.

"How are you feeling?" I looked at her curiously, not really seeing any obvious reason why she would need to be in the infirmary.

"Apart from the concussion I am fine," Teyla reassured me.

"John told me what happened," I began. "If there's anything I can do to help you find the answers ...?"

"Thank you," Teyla said graciously, her eyes suddenly grimly determined. "I will discover what became of my people ... and make whoever did this pay."

"I'm sorry," I said weakly. "I really don't know what to say. Can we trust what this Nabel guy says? He lied to you the whole time you were with him. Maybe he lied about the Athosian's too."

"No matter," Teyla returned. "My people are gone ... finding them is all that matters now."

"You will," I said with the utmost confidence, firmly believing that to be true.

Teyla put a hand to her stomach, frowning thoughtfully.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked in sudden concern, something telling me there was more to her being in the infirmary than just a concussion.

"I will be well," Teyla promised.

"Okay ... well, I guess I'll leave you to get some rest then," I stood, glancing down at her as I reiterated "let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Thank you Sabina," Teyla smiled before adding a goodnight.

oOo

Seeking out Jennifer next I wasn't surprised to find her in her office .. even with the brace on her injured ankle.

"Doctor Keller," I greeted her from the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Jennifer turned to me with a smile. "It's just a simple sprain."

"John said you had a really hard time on New Athos," I left the opening there if she wanted to talk about it.

"I was completely unprepared," Jennifer said sadly. "There was nothing I could do to help Teyla. You should have seen her facing down ... defeating ... three Bola Kai at once. It was incredible."

"But you came through at the end," I pointed out. "That has to count for something."

"For someone so out of their depth," Jennifer dismissed. "If I'd been better prepared we might not have been in that position in the first place."

"You're being too hard on yourself," I stated firmly. "Having said that though, if you're ever interested in learning some self defence I could help you. I'm nowhere near the class of Teyla or Ronon but it'd be a way to test the waters. If you get serious about it you could join one of Ronon's groups."

"Thank you Sabina," Jennifer replied with a grateful look. "I think I'll take you up on that ... once my ankle's all better."

"Excellent," I turned to leave, glancing back at her with one final comment. "Don't stay up too late."

oOo

It was the natural order of things that life would settle back into the Atlantis version of normal, apart from the fact that Teyla was not herself. Not in any blatant way of course, just tense beyond her usual state, quiet and more reclusive that we were used to. It was a difficult ask, to expect someone to go on unchanged after their entire race had disappeared. The Athosians were already small in number, the weight of too many losses something Teyla had carried as long as I'd known her. This was different though ... the idea that she could in fact be the last Athosian something none of us had a handle on how to deal with.

Several weeks passed without any leads being discovered, despite our best efforts to search for forensic evidence or gather intel from our trading contacts. One morning Teyla and I met for our usual training session, this time the Athosian version of yoga/meditation.

"Do you believe it possible for someone to be a Seer – to know things they shouldn't know or be able to tell the future?" Teyla asked suddenly, drawing my glance to where she was sitting with her eyes closed and her hands one on each knee.

"I never really thought about it," I admitted. "Do you know of someone like that?"

"On Vedeena their leader, Davos, is believed to be a great Seer," Teyla replied.

"And you believe that?" I asked curiously.

"I would like to," Teyla admitted.

"So you can find out what happened to your people," I concluded. "Are they peaceful, these Vedeenans?"

"Yes – in fact for the most part they keep to themselves," Teyla offered.

"If it were me I'd want to make use of every available means for finding the truth," I said earnestly. "Even if all the rumours aren't true there has to be something factual at the heart of them. Like maybe the Vedeenans have really good intel which makes it seem like they know things they shouldn't. Either way it could prove useful."

"That was my thought as well," Teyla gave a small smile. "I will speak with Colonel Carter."

"Just," I hesitated before feeling compelled to continue. "Don't invest too much into this Teyla ... I don't really know how these things work but this guy could be exactly what you hope he is and still not be able to help. I don't think it's possible for any one person, no matter how powerful they are, to know everything about everything."

"I will be careful," Teyla promised. "Shall we continue with our meditation?"

"Of course – although to be honest I think there's little chance I can clear my mind now you've got me thinking about Seers and predicting the future."

"I am sure you will do the best you can," Teyla said, graciously amused because we both knew I always struggled to clear my mind, regardless of what I had to distract me.

oOo

Teyla quickly sought and received permission from Colonel Carter for a mission to Vedeena. John and I talked at length the night before about what Teyla was hoping for and what we each believed was likely. John wasn't much on the spiritual stuff but he was willing to concede the possibility that there were things that defied explanation despite our level of scientific knowledge – and that this could be one of them.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been on such tender hooks over the outcome of one of John's missions. I'm not sure if it was the idea that he was potentially meeting someone who could foretell the future or the fact that this Davos might know something about the Athosians that had me more on edge. My tension level wasn't helped by the fact that Richard Woolsey was once again resident on Atlantis. This time it was to evaluate Colonel Carter – bad news for her but hopefully he'd be so busy with that he'd have no time to pass on the usual round of cryptic IOA messages he always seemed to have for me. I'd given up on trying to work out if he agreed with every statement he fed along the chain ... he might have been annoying but clearly he had diplomatic skills to rival even Elizabeth.

Waiting it out up in the Control Room ensured I was there when John dialled in at the scheduled time. It was always nice when the first hurdle of team Sheppard missions had been overcome. I had to wait until that evening before I got to find out what had happened with the Seer, partly because it turned out the story wasn't as simple as just what had happened on Vedeena.

"There's a Wraith out there who wants to meet with you?" I asked weakly, sitting on our balcony seat with John leaning against the railing in front of me.

"Yeah," John admitted. "There's really only one Wraith it could be and Colonel Carter confirmed the facial markings seem to be a match."

"The one who almost took your life and then gave it back," I concluded grimly. "I'm already not liking where this is going. You're not thinking you can trust him just because you saved each other's lives are you?"

"No," John looked at me with an expression that said I shouldn't have had to ask that. "I'm thinking we need to know what he wants and the best way to find out is to walk into their trap ... with a trap of our own."

"And you know it's a trap because Rodney saw it in a vision from Davos?" If anything that part was freaking me out more than the idea of a Wraith asking for John by name.

"He seemed pretty convinced and the description we have of the rendezvous site is a dead match," John explained. "We have the upper hand here ... we should be able to apprehend the Wraith and bring him back here for questioning."

I didn't comment on that part, my expression and the way I shivered slightly more than enough to show John I was uncomfortable with the idea of bringing a Wraith to our new planet.

"Teyla didn't get to ask Davos about her people?" I asked, changing the subject abruptly before John could attempt to reassure me.

"No," John moved to sit down beside me. "Turns out Davos is sick ... really sick. I've assigned Major Lorne to escort Doctor Keller there tomorrow to see what we can do for him."

"I get to meet the seer?" I asked in surprise. "I knew we had a new mission scheduled for tomorrow but I didn't get a chance to find out what it was."

"Yes," John glanced at me curiously. "Does that bother you?"

"Of course not," I said quickly. "Just ... if he offers me a vision it's all right to decline, right?"

"He doesn't seem the type to force anything on anyone," John reassured me, standing and holding out a hand to me. "We better turn in ... it's an early start for both of us tomorrow."

Author's Note:

Next Up? Fortunate Journey Season 4 Chapter 30