Chapter 5: A history lesson.
It was night-time when the jumper finally landed on the planet and by the time the back hatch opened Ronon was ready to hit something. After Lorne had contacted him, it had taken another hour before they'd left Atlantis and then they'd had to sit in the jumper for over four hours – luckily, no one felt much like talking. In the end, it was decided that he and Lorne would be the only ones to go on the mission since numbers on Atlantis were dwindling and they needed as many people as possible to protect the city if need be.
Lorne had decided that they would land further away from the city and try to find a way in under the cover of darkness, hoping that they could take the locals by surprise. The plan had changed when they saw a structure twenty kilometres east of the city and he had thought that it was a good idea to check that out first. In the end, Lorne had reluctantly agreed and they had landed near the small wooden structure – although it was more like a tiny cabin than anything else.
The minute the back hatch opened Ronon was out and on full alert. The moon was out casting an eerie light on the wooded landscape, so at least they had some light to see by. The woodlands were alive with sounds and Ronon had no trouble seeing the glowing eyes of nocturnal creatures out fossicking for their next meal – he just hoped that humans weren't on the menu.
"How do you want to play this?" He asked turning to Lorne, out of respect for his rank.
"I'm thinking that we should just knock on the front door, for all we know whoever's living in the cabin is friendly. Although this place could have been abandoned since there doesn't appear to be any lights on."
Ronon shook his head, "no there's definitely someone living there, the place is too well maintained for it to be deserted and besides fruit and vegetables are growing in the backyard."
"Of course, your right Ronon, so how about when we knock on the door you allow me to do the talking?"
He nodded and followed Lorne down the narrow path towards the tiny cabin, as they got near, he noticed that someone had lit candles and they were shining in the windows – which was strange since they thought that this was a technological society.
They walked in silence and Ronon couldn't shake the deep sense of foreboding that overcame him, he had a strong feeling that something was going to go wrong very soon. The snap of a twig behind him was his first clue and he could have kicked himself for not picking up on something sooner. Before he had a chance to turn around and see what was happening, he felt something prick his neck. When he put his hand up to see what was happening, he pulled a small dart out of it, by this time it was too late, he was already feeling dizzy and it wasn't long before he began to fall, he was unconscious before he hit the ground.
oOo
All John felt was a deep cold pervading his entire body and he couldn't stop his body from shaking and his teeth from chattering. He had no idea where he was or what had happened to him this time, but the one thing he did know was it was dark, so dark that he couldn't see anything. There was no light and no areas of grey in his vision, and it left him afraid that he was blind and if he were, he wondered if he would ever see again.
As he became more aware he noticed that he had the headache to end all headaches – the rest of his body wasn't feeling too good either.
The softness of the pillows and mattress told him he was on a bed – although it was clearly a very narrow one. The room had a distinct smell about it, but he wasn't sure what the smell reminded him of initially, but he soon realised it was part antiseptic and part chlorine. The question was; where the hell was he? Was he in some kind of infirmary or hospital?
He flinched and pulled away when someone or something touched his arm, and it alarmed him when someone spoke.
"Do not worry General Sheppard, you will be okay in a while. You just need to rest."
The voice was soft and gentle, and it almost sounded like Teyla's.
"Who…are…you…what's happened?" He asked through chattering teeth.
He heard footsteps walking away from his bed and he wondered why the woman had left without answering his question. He got his question a few minutes later when something – he assumed it was a blanket – was placed over the top of him.
Again, he jumped when someone placed their hand on his arm.
"My name is Sofia, and you are unwell because you have been in a chamber helping us power up our city."
He was incredulous by what he had just heard, he'd often joked about being a human light switch on Atlantis, but this was truly dark and disturbing, "you… mean… you're… using…me… as a battery?"
There was no answer and if he had to guess, he'd say that he'd hit the nail on the head.
"I am sorry John, but we have no choice. We have been waiting for someone like you and your friends to come along for thousands of years so that we can explore this city and find out what it is capable of."
He was feeling a little warmer now and he could feel his anger rising, "you've no right to do this to me. I'm not a thing and not something you can use for your own selfish purpose!" He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down before continuing, "If you had just asked us, we might have found a way to help you."
"I'm sorry John," Sofia said and this time she almost sounded remorseful.
His anger began to rise again, so he threw the blanket off and tried to get to his feet, but before he had a chance to go far, he felt a shooting pain in his head. If Sofia hadn't been there to help him back onto the bed, he was sure he would have fallen flat on his face.
He shuddered when another voice entered the conversation, "I see our latest acquisition isn't behaving himself."
Instantly recognising the voice, he began to feel angry all over again, "You have no right to do this to me, Voth!"
An excruciating wave of pain shot through his temple, and he found himself gasping for breath.
"Oh, but I do, General Sheppard," Voth answered and if John could have seen he was sure that Voth would have had an evil grin on his face.
Voth spoke again, only this time his comments weren't directed at him, "Sofia, why isn't he in the chamber? Lights are going out all over our city and you can only imagine how frustrated the scientists are that they aren't able to conduct their experiments."
"I am sorry, minister, but he needed a rest as I was afraid that if we left him in the chamber much longer it may have killed him and besides surely there are others that are powering the city."
"Not at the moment, so we need him in the chamber. Put him back in, even if it kills him because he's doing the job it takes three of the other carriers to do."
Suddenly he remembered Rodney and Carson and he hoped that they were safe. Hopefully, Atlantis had got his message and had sent a rescue mission. He knew that he had to protect Carson and Rodney at all costs, so he only had one option – go back to the chamber. Perhaps he would dream of Teyla and his children again – although the destructive red beam was quite disturbing.
He turned his head in the direction of where he thought Voth was, "I'll go back in the chamber, just as long as you don't touch my friends."
Voth answered in a condescending tone, "do not worry they are safe for now and as long as you keep cooperating, they will stay that way."
He heard footsteps fading away and he assumed that Voth was leaving. That left him alone with Sofia, who he could only assume was some kind of doctor. He tried to imagine what she looked like and all he could come up with was an image of his wife before she became ill. Perhaps he would get to see Sofia one day, but for the moment he sensed that he had an ally in her and in time maybe she could help him escape this place.
He almost jumped out of his skin when Sofia spoke softly to him, "I am sorry about this John all I can do for now is try and get a message to your friends, but it will not be easy."
Nodding his head, he tried to smile, but given the fact that his head still hurt, it was almost impossible.
"I have to try and get you into the chamber again, can you walk?" Sofia said gently.
"Yeah, I can walk, but I can't see."
He wished that he could see her face because he almost sensed sorry and regret in her next words, "I am sorry, but the implants can cause blindness."
Fear swept over him, "you mean you put something in my head!?" He asked putting his hand up to his head, where he found some kind of sharp metal embedded in his forehead. As he moved his hand around, he found that the same metal devices had been placed all along his forehead and temple. They felt the thickness of a thin knitting needle, but only a little longer than a sewing needle – no wonder it felt like a thousand tiny needles were drilling into his head.
"What the hell are these for?!
Rather than getting an answer he felt her arm around his shoulders and this time it didn't come as a surprise as he was getting used to her touching him by now.
"Come on let's get you to the chamber."
If he'd felt stronger, he would have kicked and screamed, but by the time she had him on his feet, his head was screaming for him to lay down again, besides he knew that he had to protect Carson and Rodney at all costs. He allowed her to help him walk towards what he assumed was the chamber and he had no idea how far away it was. Suddenly he felt cool air on his skin, he heard a door open, and he wondered if he was going outside. It didn't take him long to realise that he wasn't.
"The chamber is just in front of you and there's a small step right here, so lift your leg," Sofia instructed.
He did as she asked, and he walked into what he assumed was a small chamber. The air was frigid, and his body started to shiver all over again.
"Turn around," Sofia instructed and this time any emotion and compassion that she'd had were gone.
He did as she asked and suddenly, he heard a door close. Just as his body started to shiver violently and what felt like several power tools started to drill into his brain, he felt something cool flowing through his veins and in an instant oblivion took him once more.
oOo
The next time Ronon became aware, he found himself sitting in an armchair with a man and a teenage boy staring at him. His first thought was to jump out of the chair and tackle these people to the ground, but he soon realised that Lorne was awake too and had a restraining hand on his arm.
The man must have been about eight feet tall and incredibly lean – it was a good thing that the cabin had tall ceilings. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was dressed in a ragged shirt and black pants. The teenage boy looked the same as his father only he was a few inches shorter.
He looked around the room and noticed a fire at one end of the tiny room and off to the one side of the room they were in were three other rooms. The inside of the cabin was made of the same kind of timber as the outside and it was covered in some kind of mud.
"Ronon, don't make any trouble. I suggest we listen to what these people have to say."
The strange man sat down on a chair in front of them and turned to the boy – who Ronon assumed was his son, "Hannan, can you please go and make some tea?"
When the boy nodded and left the room, Ronon turned to look at the tall man, "who are you and why did you shoot us?"
"My name is Jonan and I'm sorry that I had to stun you, but I couldn't let your friend go anywhere near that city."
"And why is that?" Lorne asked with interest.
"We scanned you when your ship landed, and it didn't take us long to realise that you have the gene of the ancestors and there are those who would want to use it for their own selfish gain."
"That's great," Ronon growled, "we have three friends in that city all with the same gene and one of them has the most powerful gene ever detected in his kind."
A look of pure worry crossed Lorne's face and Ronon knew exactly what he was going to ask, "can you help us get into that city to look for our friends?"
"There are underground tunnels leading to the city. Hannan and I have been planning to try and get into the city for a month and we will help you find your friends if you can help me get my wife and daughter out of there."
Ronon just stared at the man, why did he need help to get his wife out of there? Surely, he should be with his wife in the city.
Luckily, Lorne asked the question that was on his lips, "forgive me for sounding a little stupid, but why aren't you in the city with your wife and daughter?"
"We were thrown out of the city for spreading what they deemed as lies against the history of my people. My wife is one of the top scientists and doctors in the city, so it was demanded that she stay along with our young daughter. Minister Toth insisted that they would be treated well if I denounced my claims and left the city along with my son."
Ronon kind of knew where this was going, so he asked the obvious question, "what was your job in the city."
"I was an archaeologist and historian, "Jonan sighed before continuing, "my teacher and mentor always taught me to question the truth of what we'd been taught. Unfortunately, he died in an accident a few years ago – although I'm not sure it was an accident."
"Okay, why don't you tell us your history as you see it and perhaps you can start by telling us what your planet is called?" Lorne suggested.
"You are on the planet Hilaring."
Before Jonan had a chance to continue, Hannan came in with four steaming cups of something," would you like a cup of tea?" The young man asked.
Ronon didn't feel like being polite since all he wanted to do was get to Sheppard, but when Lorne glared at him, he decided to play along and nodded his head at the young man.
"Now where were?" Jonan asked before continuing, "Right the correct history of our people. Ten thousand years ago my ancestors came through a rift in time and space, the ship was heavily damaged, and it crashed on this planet. When they crashed there was already a thriving civilization on this planet, and they chose to stay and live among those people. There was already ancestor technology on the planet and my ancestors very quickly wanted to control it and possess it. Some of the people indigenous to this planet had the ancestor gene and were able to help, but it still wasn't enough for my ancestors. They started to think of new and different ways to use those gene carriers to power their city. In the end, my ancestors killed off most of the Indigenous people and only kept the gene carriers alive to power their city. The gene carriers were forced to breed in the hope of creating more carriers to power their ancient city."
Ronon had heard enough for now, so he decided that it was about time he interrupted, "wait your ancestors came through the same rift that we did?"
Jonan took a deep breath before he continued, "My ancestors were pursuing Atlantis across space and destroying countless worlds trying to get to them. They needed ancient gene carriers to power their ship – a ship that they had stolen from a group of ancients."
Lorne raised his hand in the air motioning Jonan to stop, "are you telling me that your ancestors were on the ship that was pursuing us through space and destroying many worlds – including New Lantia? If that is true, how did they crash here ten thousand years ago and why have we only just got here?"
"I do not know why, you have only just got here, but I'm sure that there are answers in the city, we just have to find them."
Ronon was feeling slightly confused by this time, "do you have any idea how far we've travelled in time, or whether we've gone forward or backward?"
"No, I have no idea, "Jonan replied, "but I'm sure if we can get to the city, we can figure that out too and maybe we can find a way to get you home."
"I hope so," Lorne replied and he didn't look all that convinced.
"So," Ronon began, "these underground passages, how long will it take to get to the city through them?"
For the first time since the conversation had begun Hannan spoke up, "it takes about two hours to the central science and medical facility. I would think that is where they will be holding your friends. If you're lucky they wouldn't have used them in the chamber yet."
"What chamber!?" Ronon growled and right now he desperately wanted to hit someone or something.
Jonan cleared his throat, "Umm…it's what they put the ancestor gene carriers in to help power the city. Although I'm positive that at some point in our history, they had other means to power the city."
"Well in that case we'd better get going now!" Ronon practically shouted. He'd had enough and if any of his friends were injured in any way someone would be made to pay for it.
"We can't go now, because chances are we'd be shot on site if we tried to enter the city at night-time. The security is much more relaxed during the day; besides we'd probably freeze to death overnight as the temperature quite often drops below zero." Hannan answered and to Ronon, he sounded a little timid.
Ronon suspected that was what McKay would call zero degrees centigrade given how cold it was when they'd left the jumper.
Before he had a chance to say anything else Lorne spoke, "Right we wait until morning then. Do you guys have anywhere we can sleep?"
Jonon nodded his head, "you can sleep right here in front of the fire if you'd like. I'll get you some blankets."
"Thanks," Ronon muttered while trying to make himself comfortable.
Ten minutes later, when he was alone with Lorne, he turned to face his friend, "I hope they haven't done anything to hurt Sheppard and the others, because if they have, I will make them pay."
"You and me both," Lorne replied sleepily.
After that, the room went quiet and Ronon listened as Lorne's breathing evened out indicating that the Colonel had fallen asleep.
He didn't really want to fall asleep himself, so he kept his eyes open and decided the keep watch. It had been a long time since he'd been able to protect the people of Atlantis, so he was going to take every opportunity to do so now.
oOo
Rodney was extremely cold and for some reason his bed was as hard as a rock. He tried to pull up his blanket but very quickly discovered that he didn't have one. This led him to one conclusion – for some reason he wasn't in bed on Atlantis.
Slowly he opened his eyes, and he found a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at him. It didn't take him long to realise that Carson was cold too. The doctor was shivering, and his teeth were chattering and although Rodney's teeth weren't chattering, he was certainly shivering.
As full awareness returned he saw that they were still in the tiny box-like room that Tom and Jerry had left them in the night before. Although it offered them some protection from the elements it was nowhere near enough.
There was moonlight streaming through the tiny window, and he could just make out Carson's face; the doctor didn't look happy.
"What's happening Carson?"
"I don't…know…what…time…it…is…but…we'll…freeze to…death before…morning," Carson stated through chattering teeth.
He was horrified at what Carson may suggest as a way to stay warm, but he had to ask anyway, "Umm…what do you suggest Carson?"
"We…have…to…share…body…heat."
"I hope you don't expect me to take my clothes off or anything like that?"
"No Rodney, we… just… need… to… cuddle… up… to one… another."
He knew that Carson was right and as much as he hated to admit it, he'd do anything to get warm right now, "Alright Carson, you lie down, and I'll get in and cuddle up to you."
It only took a few minutes, and he was cuddled up to Carson and already he was beginning to feel a bit warmer.
"We don't mention this to anyone ever! Got that Carson?"
"Yes Rodney, I have no interest in sharing this with anyone. Although people would understand if we had to tell them."
He was happy to see that Carson's teeth had stopped chattering and although he hated this situation, he knew that it was the right thing to do.
"Not ever Carson!"
"Alright, Rodney now can you please be quiet so that I can get some sleep."
Now that he felt a bit warmer, he closed his eyes, trying to forget who he was cuddling. Perhaps if he tried hard enough, he could imagine it was Jennifer, with that thought rolling around in his head it wasn't long before he fell into a restless sleep.
oOo
John stood on the bridge of a ship that he had never seen before – he was positive that he'd never been on it. On the screen in front of him was a view of the planet that Atlantis had once called home – New Lantia. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Atlantis retreating from the planet and he wondered why the occupants of the enormous ship hadn't seen it, but it seemed as if they were only focused on one thing – New Lantia.
Finally taking his eyes off the view screen he looked at the inhabitants of the ship and they all appeared to be over seven feet tall. He vaguely remembered seeing people of this size before, but right now his brain was addled, and he was confused so he couldn't remember where.
Suddenly a red beam of light began to head towards the planet, and he knew what was about to happen because he'd seen it before.
All John could do was stand and watch as the once-blue oceans of New Lantia began to boil, right before they turned to steam. The mainland was next in the path of the giant beam and all he could do was watch in terror as the once-beautiful mainland turned to molten lava. Finally, in the beam's most destructive act, the planet was ripped apart and his heart broke for the once beautiful planet.
He was close to tears when the destruction was over and all he wanted to do was scream and shout at these people for destroying his beautiful home.
A voice interrupted his grief, and it was emotionless as it spoke, "Pursue Atlantis, we need those ancestor gene carriers to keep this ship running."
"Yes sir," the pilot answered.
John was relieved when the ship headed in the opposite direction to Atlantis.
Suddenly an excruciating pain shot through his head, everything went dark, and he started to shiver, and then he found himself falling once more.
TBC…
