Chapter Six – All is not what it Seems

John Sheppard, the man in question, awoke slowly from his drug-induced sleep, groaning at the pounding headache caused by the tranquilizer roaming his system.

"Easy there," a male voice cautioned.

John blinked his tired eyes open, trying to get his surroundings into focus.

"It's all right. You're among friends," the man reassured him.

Sheppard let out a muffled groan as he shifted in bed to get a better look at the white clad man sitting next to him. He quickly judged the doctor to be around his own age, lean and tall with unruly blonde hair.

"You know, I really hate tranquilising darts," the colonel whined grumpily as he shifted into a sitting position.

"Would you have come voluntarily?" the doctor countered curiously.

Sheppard tilted his head, making a face. "I might if you'd bothered talking to me," he returned in annoyance. "I'm curious though, you aren't the guy who sneaked around the hospital. In fact you owe me an explanation."

"My apologies. My name is Teldan Tori, Medical Examiner," he said by way of introduction. "You have been taken to sub-zero."

"Come again?" Sheppard asked, raising a sceptical eyebrow. However, from what he could see of the dimly lit, large room, his hope was suddenly raised – the room had the same architectural lines that were so characteristic for the Lantean building techniques.

"We are the resistance," the doctor told him succinctly. "And you are one of M.O Katan's Alpha Team members."

"Really?" He drawled sarcastically, trying hard to refrain from rolling his eyes at the statement.

Another man chose that moment to detangle himself from the shadows of the large room. "You are John Sheppard, you were found by Katan's men up at the rift point. The cliffs that borders to the savages' land," the unfamiliar man spoke up.

John eyed the man carefully, trying to deduce his character, as he walked closer to him, confidence radiating from his body.

"Your military cut uniform and the unfamiliar weapon that you carried tells me you belong to the Alpha team," he added.

"It seems to me you have me at a disadvantage," Sheppard returned, careful not to give away his amusement of how wrong the cocky man was. However, it would be to his advantage to play along as much as he could. However, inwardly he groaned; wondering how many different names they had for special troops.

"Sheppard, meet Amni Lak, leader of the resistance," the M.E said, finally introducing the man standing mere inches from where Sheppard was coped up, on a medical bed.

"Well, I suppose I should be grateful to finally meet you," Sheppard drawled nonchalantly, taking a gamble, hoping that he was in character with the though Alpha team members.

"We are growing in numbers, Sheppard," Lak warned with a proud undertone in his voice. "Our forces are gathering around the planet – even as far out as the opposite continent. The word is spreading around the globe and our network is strong."

Sheppard shrugged casually, it was not out of cockiness but out of curiosity and a bit of alarm as he realized not for the first time that he was a complete stranger to everything on the planet and therefore had no way of knowing who were the good guys.

A smile crept up on Amni Lak's lips as he studied the man in the bed. "John Sheppard. That's a nice code name even though I can't seem to recall anyone with that name from our history. The M.O likes to name people after old warriors even though he claims those warriors only exist in the savage's minds," he said. "I had the pleasure of meeting another Alpha team member several months ago – his codename was Janus."

Sheppard froze at the name mentioned but gave no outward sign that he recognized it. Instead he met Lak's eyes squarely, almost defiantly, and when he spoke his voice was low.

"I don't know of any man called Janus," he said.

Lak laughed suddenly but it was no joy in it only sarcasm. "You're good, Sheppard," he admitted. "For all I know he could have been your best buddy. Now, let's cut the crap and get to the chase. What is it Katan is after in the savages land?"

Refusing to reply to a question he had no answer to, he countered with a question of his own. "You said you're growing in numbers; enlighten me about it?"

"Katan has spies all over the place and I know he likes to keep his Alpha members close, so don't pretend you don't know about us and what we stand for," Lak returned.

"What are the savages' part in all this?" Sheppard tried carefully as he spotted another man coming up to stand next to the leader, whispering something in his ear.

"Sheppard, "Lak said and nodded curtly toward his companion. "This is Meren Kal, my second in command. I'm pleased to let you know that Katan is furious over your abrupt departure from Hospital Section One. I doubt, however, that he will find you."

"I'm a popular guy," John quipped.

"Obviously," Lak said with a smug look. "Maybe we've hit the jackpot? What is your rank? Major?"

'Colonel, actually,' Sheppard corrected in his mind.

"The savages," John tried again, ignoring the Resistance leader's musings.

"In a way they are the origin of our conflict. But I need not to tell you what you already know," Lak said, eyeing the man opposite him curiously.

Sheppard, aware of his scrutiny, folded his arms across his chest and casually glanced down at the medical outfit he was wearing.

"Forgive my manners," Lak said suddenly with an amused gleam in his eye. "I take it your clothes makes you feel vulnerable. M.E Tori give Sheppard his clothes – maybe he'll get into a higher spirit and answer some of my questions and not demand answers of me."

The medical examiner pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure as he walked over to a locker nearby and retrieved a dusty black shirt and a couple of ruined BDU's complete with dried blood. "I fail to see why anyone would chose this over anything else," Tori muttered as he threw the clothes at Sheppard.

Atlantis military commander grimaced wryly as he shrugged out of the white medical top and got into his black shirt. He felt lethargic as he lifted his arms over his head and he certainly didn't like the slight shake of his hands as he started to button his uniform shirt.

"The poison in your system is still affecting you," the doctor explained as if reading his mind. "It will be some time before you're feeling better. Your leg will cause you to limp for a while and the wound must be seen to regularly. Frankly you're in no condition to be anywhere else than in a hospital bed."

"I have an aversion to medical facilities," Sheppard muttered as he slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet dangling with his wound exposed to the chilly air in the room, got into his filthy pants.

"This is not the experimental bunker, Sheppard," Meren spoke to him directly for the first time. "I don't know what they put you through but your physique is excellent, enhanced in some ways to ours."

"Nothing but training," John assured him. 'And too much fighting with the bad guys,' he thought, gloomily. "Anyway, why would you consider the savages to be the origin of our conflict? Let's face it, they're just a bunch of crazy old people."

This elicited a chuckle from the leader of the resistance group. "They are tribe people, Sheppard. They want nothing to do with the city people or us – to them we are city people too. They despise our way of living and up until recently they wanted no contact with us. Then suddenly they came in numbers, ventured into the city by means that we didn't even think they had. They warned us about a prophecy, about events to come. They knew about this place," Lak gestured around him. "Said it was a sacred place that should be left alone."

Sheppard nodded absentmindedly as he remembered the ZPM they'd found connected in the cave when they'd visited the savages.

Lak continued. "The Council hit the roof as the savages tried to implement their beliefs upon us. The savages were chased away, back to their village among a large cave system not many people dare to enter. They are a mysterious bunch; they can even be frightening at times. They told of people not of this world, of a threat that far exceeded any feuds among us. The government or council got adamant to tell the people that there were no such threats – as you might recall? Yet the military rose to more power in our society, the Inner Circle began to conduct research unknown to the general population. It created a chain of events that created paranoia in our society."

Sheppard briefly found himself wondering should something similar have happened on earth should the SGC reveal itself to everyone on the planet.

Many people objected to the changes implemented, to a more restricted society. Some even claimed they'd seen aliens on the street. Some of us where determined to find out if the threat was real. That was our main purpose," Lak admitted. "M.O Katan was given the task of sweeping us under the carpet."

"I still don't understand what the savages has to do with it," Sheppard persisted. "They are a factor in this yes but they don't fight you."

"For centuries they have just existed, we've accepted them, accepted how they wanted to live. But they have showed us a different side recently. They claim they despise technological advancement yet they seem to be even more advanced than we are in some aspects. They have an understanding of all this," Lak said and gestured around him.

"What have you heard?" Meren suddenly said, addressing him. "Katan imprisoned several of the savages a couple of months ago to interrogate them. Surely you must know what was revealed."

"That is classified information," Sheppard returned carefully. Although he appeared calm his mind was whirling with all the information.

"This has got to stop before it's too late," Meren returned. "There has been mistrust amongst people for a long time but there will come a time when a civil war cannot be avoided and I fear that will be soon."

"Mistrust doesn't come from one side," Sheppard heard himself saying.

"Perhaps not but tell me do you agree with our Military Organizer's way of handling the situation?" Amni Lak asked curiously.

Sheppard shrugged casually but he couldn't agree with them, he was supposed to be on the other side. "What's there not to like?" he returned taking a chance.

The man chuckled sardonically. "It's a closed society now whirled in a world of hurt and uncertainty. Katan is acting like it's all a big war game. The rift in the society so big nowadays that it seem irreparable."

"You paint a pretty picture casting yourselves as the good guys," Sheppard returned darkly. "You fight for a good cause perhaps but of what little Nadim told me back at the hospital you plant bombs, you kidnap people, you-"

"People need to wake up," Meren returned sharply. "Some of our people have disappeared, courtesy of Katan. Recently we managed to get into a large facility, after months of infiltrating the ranks of workers. They do not believe the savages prophecy yet we found out they were studying blueprints of a spaceship suspiciously alike the one that roamed over our heads a couple of days ago. It was supposed to be a power plant that saw to our needs but instead the industrial robots where working on a large construction."

"Maybe he thought it was the perfect decoy? You don't need another power plant," Sheppard reasoned and by the look on the faces of the three people next to him, Amni, Meren and the doctor he'd just made a mistake.

"This is the largest city on the planet. It is powered, has always been powered by a force deep within the city core or to be more precise from under it – from this place. For generations scientists have tried to replicate the energy in order to keep the city's main functions in working order but everything is running out of power, returning us to a darker age. It's common knowledge, Sheppard."

"All this is culminating now and I fear for what is to come. A few days ago a space ship appeared in orbit. There has been no signs of intelligent life forms before so I'm wondering where they came from and judging by the amount of damage they caused out in the savage land I fear they know a thing or two about firearms," Meren said darkly.

"You were out there when it happened so tell me; I'm curious. What did you see?" Lak asked almost manically.

"Probably nothing more than you already know," John let on casually with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Please go on and enlighten me anyway," the leader of the resistance returned.

"I dodged some fire. They managed to scorch the forest pretty good back there. The savages disappeared out of sight. I don't know, they got into their huts or something," he offered by way of explanation, hoping to give a typical I don't care attitude.

"Was it big?" Another voice spoke up from a distance, barely able to contain the awe."

John nodded. "I would say so, yes," he let on. Wondering why such an advanced society as this seemed to be couldn't nail such a ship on some kind of sensors.

"And so it all began," the doctor, who'd been quiet for most part of the conversation mused gloomily. "The prophecy –"

"Do you really believe in pretty pictures carved into stones all those years ago made by some drugged up lost soul –" Another voice chimed in sarcastically but John couldn't see the man as he was hidden in the shadows in the poorly lit room. "There are no aliens."

John was silent not wanting to interfere or meddling in a discussion that he didn't know anything about. If it could even be called a discussion in the first place. It sounded more to him as if everything was speculations based on lose rumours.

"They are pictograms, you inferior, narrow-minded, idiot," Meren said, butting into the discussion and John found himself drawing parallels with Rodney McKay and a faint upward curl became visible on his lips.

"They show large ships, soldiers coming in numbers," the doctor said.

"Yeah, yeah, they show the soldiers laying hands on the inhabitants of the planet and then what?" The unknown man returned in disbelief. "The next pictogram as you call it shows the natives lying in a heap on the ground."

"The prophecy says doom will follow the creatures coming from the sky," the doctor finished.

"Fools, both of you" the unknown man admonished. "Our society has evolved since those pictograms where drawn. That is considering they were even drawn that long ago. Who's to say you didn't paint them in the first place and then claimed to find them?"

Sheppard found he'd had enough. "As much as I love a good conspiracy – what do you want from me?" He asked.

The resistance leader walked up to him, invading his private space, locking eyes with him before speaking up in a cold steely voice, clearly in an effort to intimidate him.

"The truth," he said.

OOOOOO

To be continued