Note: Hi all. Well, finally the UK tax year end arrived and work life has started to slow down again. I'm taking some much needed annual leave (and because it's my birthday this week), but I wanted to get back into this fic. Apologies for the long waits between chapters, but work/life balance has been intense and demanding for the last couple of months. I'm hoping to start posting more frequently again as things are about to kick off in this fic. Thank you to everyone who is still reading.
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ACT 2 – TRUTH
Chapter 46 – The Map
Daniel's eyes felt dry and sore as he slid off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. He'd been at this too long; too many long days and nights spent sat here in Janus' Lab struggling against the world's worst exam on Ancient knowledge.
Or rather, the worst Ancient puzzles exam in two galaxies.
He had managed to get a bit of sleep after the late night meeting on the second batch of Skerti intel from Janus. He'd not bothered going to his Atlantis quarters to sleep though; instead he'd curled up on the nearby camp-bed here in Janus' Lab…which had, quite frankly, pretty much become his default quarters here in Atlantis.
There had been less staff in the Lab this morning, the new Jump Drive prototype construction requiring more staff to help with the build. The few that had been carrying on working at the other Ancient consoles behind him had headed off to lunch some time ago. Daniel slid his glasses back on and peered at his watch. Was this the right time?
Like it actually made any difference. He could feel that his mind wasn't working at peak efficiency anymore. It wasn't like long haul sessions were new for him, but these innumerable length of days in here were starting to take a real toll, and the latest riddle felt almost entirely resistant to any clear thinking on his part.
Why Janus had felt it necessary to protect the Intra-Subspace Network's map within the encrypted second segment was lost on Daniel.
But that was far from the most bizarre thing today…well, yesterday.
He just still couldn't quite believe that Janus had left the Jump Drive schematic with full instructions on its construction, and that The Others were letting this happen.
Just when he thought he at least comprehended The Others' rules and regulations on not helping non-ascended beings, of not interfering, this happened.
That was probably part of the reason why he was struggling to concentrate through his tiredness. His mind just kept circling back to the Jump Drive build instructions.
After everything Merlin had had to do to conceal his work, what he'd sacrificed. What Morgan le Fay and Oma too had had to do to stop evil winning without any help from The Others...
How could The Others let thousands die and be enslaved back in two other galaxies, but now they were allowing their own technology to be handed over?!
Was it possible that there was some sort of alternative rule for the Pegasus galaxy? But then he knew there was an Ancient in this galaxy who had been punished by The Others for having broken their rules, imprisoned to a single planet for the rest of her existence. And The Others had left the Humans of this galaxy in the cruel hands of the Wraith for thousands of years.
So that theory didn't make sense, but clearly something was different in this case, something he couldn't see.
Some missing piece of the puzzle. And that was saying something while sat in a Lab where everything was locked behind a puzzle of some kind.
Because it wasn't just that the Jump Drive instructions existed, it was that Daniel had seen Sam and Rodney's reactions to reading the schematic and Janus' details on the Drive. Their entirely silent frowns and exchanged glances.
Daniel had seen Sam confused about new alien tech before, but she always had an idea to follow. However, last night, it had been obvious to Daniel that both her and McKay had clearly been confused by how the Drive worked, but hadn't been admitting it out loud.
If Sam didn't understand something tech related, that was strange in and of itself, but if her and Rodney were both equally confused…well, that was something entirely new.
And only added to his worried frustration.
But thinking like that wasn't helping him actually break the encryption protecting the Network map, which was going to be vital if and when they got the prototype working.
Forcing himself to sit up straighter and peer back up at the map's protective riddle, Daniel willed himself renewed patience.
Like the first segment's puzzle, this riddle was also presented as a piece of poetry, but it had a decidedly different tone to that first pretty, delicately worded poem. This one had a very dark, unsettling tone to it.
Hidden among distant stars, where mouth gapes and oaths kept on violent boundary breach…
What was "hidden among distant stars"? Which stars? Could Janus be referring to the Skerti, hidden away wherever the Ancient locked them to stop their bloodlust killing?
…raining justice on violation…
The dark, unnerving tone felt very obvious, jumping off the screen…like Janus was trying to make a point.
Daniel just had absolutely no idea what that point was.
But clearly Janus believed they'd be able to crack this puzzle…presumably. So, the dark poem had to refer to something they'd understand. So maybe the "mouth gapes" and "boundary breach" referred to the Intra-Subspace Network itself? That would make sense given that this riddle hid the relevant map for the network. But how was that helpful? Considering the network and the Jump Drive were confusing the brightest brains they had, how was this riddle supposed to make sense in that light?
The frustration poured into impatience, and Daniel screwed up his eyes against their dry soreness and then blinked rapidly.
"How's it going?" Sheppard's voice abruptly arrived from the back right of the Lab.
Daniel looked round to see the Colonel heading across the room from the 'magic door', through which Elite Skan was now appearing.
"Great," Daniel replied with heavy sarcasm, not even trying to hide his true feelings.
"That good, huh?" Sheppard gave him a sympathetic smile as he stopped alongside Rodney's usual chair. "Everyone else at lunch?" He asked, looking round the empty Lab.
A bit of Daniel wanted to throw back a biting comment about yes, of course, because there was no one else in here and it was midday, so… But he held it in, knowing it was just tiredness and that he was feeling frustrated with himself. So he just nodded and gave Skan a polite smile as the large, Roman-style dressed Elite Warrior arrived beside Sheppard.
"How are the Drive team doing?" Daniel asked, wondering if Sam and Rodney's confusion over Janus' design and instructions had extended to building the Drive itself.
"We're on our way out to the prototype room next," Sheppard reported. "But, Rodney seemed really positive about it this morning."
"That's good," Daniel nodded, glad that there was something going well today. Of course, having a working Jump Drive would be next to useless if he didn't unlock the map.
"We've been doing the rounds of the usual joint taskforces," Sheppard added as he leaned against the back of Rodney's chair.
"Right," Daniel nodded. Because that sharing of tech – between the Elite and Atlantis/Earth – was something The Others wouldn't have interfered in anyway. "How's it all going?"
"Good," Sheppard replied with a dismissive shrug. "Though everyone was far more interested in asking us about the prototype build."
Danield smiled at that, unsurprised. "They all want to play with it?"
"Pretty much," Sheppard grinned and then frowned. "You get any sleep, Jackson?"
"Some," Daniel found himself unable to lie.
"What about lunch?" Sheppard pressed.
Daniel guessed he was looking as exhausted as he was feeling.
"I'll head up to the Mess Hall once everyone else is back," he decided. A proper break would probably be sensible. Maybe if he took a few hours off to eat, walk outside in the fresh air, maybe even go to his actual assigned quarters for a decent nap…
"The Mess finally ran out of donuts," Sheppard reported and Daniel was amused to see a rather sad frown cross Skan's face, "but I've heard talk of there being chocolate brownies in the oven."
That did sound good.
"Colonel Sheppard assures me that they are just as much an earth delicacy as donuts," Skan stated, his question and doubt clear in his voice and expression.
Sheppard pretended to look hurt.
"I would have to agree with the Colonel," Daniel agreed.
"General O'Neill however reports that something called 'Fruit Loops' are the best food from Earth," Skan added.
Daniel chuckled.
"The General was joking," Sheppard looked round at Skan.
"I'm not so sure about that," Daniel had to comment having seen Jack's obsession with Fruit Loops for years; though there had been that brief spell when he'd gone off them for some reason.
Jack had visited the lab an hour or so ago, seeming bored with "all the tech and no fighting going on", which Daniel suspected was because Sam had thrown herself into helping with the prototype build.
"So, no joy at all with Janus' password-protection on the map?" Sheppard asked, peering at the displayed riddle with a confused frown.
"Nowhere close to any joy yet," Daniel admitted, looking back up at the screen himself. "Though the fact that Janus has changed the tone of his puzzles clearly means something, but I'm not sure what yet."
"How do you mean?" Skan was the one to ask.
"This riddle and even the next," Daniel reached for the console and called up the, still as yet unlocked, third segment and it's encryption puzzle. "It's reads," Daniel translated, "most significant regret."
"Wasn't the last one Rodney cracked the Ancient's greatest achievement?" Sheppard recalled.
"Yes, the basic ZPM formula was the answer to that one," Daniel nodded. "And the first segment puzzle was a nice piece of poetry, the answer being the Goddess Hecate."
"Linked with sorcery, magic, and the moon," Skan recalled correctly.
"Exactly," Daniel nodded. "Which, I think Janus picked because of the magical nature of the Ancients having found the Skerti and, perhaps, the moon link. That the Skerti live in dark, nighttime places."
"And the ZPM formula would be a logical point with regard to the second segment," Skan added. "Given the first Jump Drives were powered by Ancestor ZPMs."
"Exactly," Daniel smiled up at Skan.
"So Janus was being creative with picking his passwords," Sheppard shrugged dismissively.
"Using symbolically related passwords for encryption," Skan commented, "is a regularly used technique to ensure the user does not forget the passwords they set."
"True," Daniel nodded. "And given how many passwords Janus would have used here in his database that's perhaps why, but I'm starting to feel like he's making an actual point with the puzzles' answers."
"To what end?" Skan asked.
Daniel frowned at the screen. "I'm not sure. Compared to the first two passwords, this map is protected with a darker, almost depressive piece of poetry and the final segment is asking for the 'most significant regret'…"
"The first two were positive in nature, the last two negative," Skan concluded the same as Daniel.
"Maybe that's just because things went so south with the Skerti," Sheppard suggested. "Things looked good for the Ancients at first, but then things went dark."
Daniel nodded. That seemed a logical explanation.
"Perhaps the Ancestor Janus established these segments of information in time sequence," Skan suggested. "Perhaps his mood was more positive when he wrote the first two encryptions, but then, as matters turned sour with the Skerti, his downturn of mood is reflected in the encryption passwords."
Daniel nodded. Again, it made logical sense. "Maybe."
"You believe there is a greater message from the Ancestor Janus?" Skan asked with a frown in his voice. Daniel glanced round and saw the confirming frown on the tall Elite's face.
"I think so," Daniel replied.
"Why?" Skan asked directly.
It was a good question. Daniel turned back to the console, considering his answer as he returned the screen to the map's puzzle of darkly-toned poetry. "I've read all of Janus' journals from the city's main database, some of which were clearly written when he wasn't in the most positive of moods during the siege and other personal events for him, but…" Daniel sighed. "This poem," he frowned at it. "It's full of stark contrasts, speaking of limits, boundaries, violent vengeance. It's not like Janus at all."
"But is that not the point of a riddle? A puzzle?" Skan asked. "It holds the clues to its answer. Is this turn of phrasing simply not just a clue as to the final answer? Why does it have to mean more?"
Wow, the Elite didn't hold back his questions.
"I guess it doesn't," Daniel admitted, struggling to analyse how he was feeling. He looked back round to Sheppard and Skan. "I just feel like it does."
Both men stilled, slightly odd expressions crossing their faces.
"Feel as in," Sheppard asked with a clearly careful tone, "perhaps you're remembering something from before, when you, you know," Sheppard made a swirling upward gesture towards the ceiling, which Daniel interpreted as referring to his previous ascensions.
"Maybe," Daniel shrugged. "Or it could just be that I've interacted with enough Ancients over the years to know that when they do something unexpected, you need to pay attention."
"Like here's some free technology you can build yourself?" Sheppard asked with pointed sarcasm.
Daniel met the Colonel's hazel eyes. "Exactly," he nodded.
"So what point do you think Janus is making here?" Sheppard asked more seriously this time.
Daniel frowned tiredly back to the poem. "I'm not sure."
"If you had to find a word for what you are feeling," Skan asked, "immediately now, on pain of death?"
Daniel ran his eyes over the riddle as he heard Sheppard make some joke about Elite using death threats on scientists.
…where mouth gapes and oaths kept on violent boundary breach…
"I'd say it was a warning," Daniel concluded.
"A warning to use the technology wisely perhaps?" Skan suggested.
"Makes sense," Sheppard agreed, but Daniel wasn't so sure. Janus had included plenty of warnings about using the Jump Drive technology in his instructions. No, this wasn't about that… Again, Daniel wasn't entirely sure how he knew, but he was almost certain there was more to the warning.
"A warning regarding the Skerti as well?" Skan added. "That in using the Jump Drive, we will incur their wrath."
…raining justice on violation…
Daniel frowned at the section of the poem.
"Maybe a warning on how to use the Drive, given the lack of success you guys have had so far with the recovered Skerti Drive," Sheppard added.
Daniel looked back round and up at Skan. "You've had no luck with powering the Drive?"
Skan's frown had a decidedly frustrated edge of his own. "No. Silvar and Tem-we-ya and the team have attempted to adjust the power input to reflect an organic powercell as the Skerti used, but so far the Drive will not sustain full power."
"That's got to be difficult to guess surely? Trying to work out what the power feed is like from a Skerti powercell?" Daniel asked, recalling that Janus hadn't had that in his intel.
"Given that the powercells were captured bioelectricity from the slug pets of the Skerti," Skan replied, "we have based our attempts on the slugs."
"They've got a dead one they're running experiments on," Sheppard supplied with a faint wince.
"And multiple sensor readings of the Slug Robots when they attacked The Sythus during the battle against the Wraith," Skan replied. "Though our examples are slugs that were adapted to incorporate metallic aspects, Imseti still believes we can discover the slug's natural bio-frequencies eventually."
Daniel nodded.
"We're going to see if McKay and Carter have any bright ideas," Sheppard added as he pushed away from Rodney's chair, "if we can tear them away from their prototype baby long enough."
"I'm pretty sure Rodney will make sure he has some idea to share," Daniel joked.
"Of course," Sheppard grinned back as he turned to leave. "You need anything here?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks," Daniel replied.
"Okay, keep at it," Sheppard added unnecessarily as he and Skan started back across the Lab for the exit.
"Will do," Daniel promised as he turned back to Janus' screen, hearing the men's bootsteps disappear outside through the magic door. Leaving just him and the riddle.
And all the questions.
A warning.
If it was, then was it a warning about something or someone?
Daniel paused at that thought. He'd not considered that the answer to the riddle could be a person. Perhaps an Ancient who had been caught up in the war with the Skerti or the Wraith, and had turned to vengeance? Daniel couldn't remember reading anything like that happening in the main Ancients' database, but it was possible that, in purging all information about the Skerti, they'd also taken out details of how the war had affected their own people.
There was talk of an oath and justice in the poem puzzle.
…raining justice on violation…
…avenge the dishonest…
It all felt very uncompromising, violent even.
As if everything was either black or white and nothing in between.
Mmmmmm…
Daniel turned to his left to his trolley of books. Any resemblance of order of the volumes had been lost days ago, the books now crammed and piled up in random order, torn bits of legal pad paper hanging out of them as bookmarks. Where was his anthology of Roman mythology? He slid out book after book, moving them around the shelves like a game of library Tetris, until he finally found the right book. He set it down on the edge of the Ancient console with a thud and pulled it open.
There had been that Roman God who avenged broken oaths. Daniel recalled having read a research paper not that long ago on disputes in ancient Rome and the God being cited. The Romans afraid of the God's wrath…what had his name been?
Leafing as quickly as he could through the book to the 'Gods and Goddesses' section, Daniel ran his eyes over each page's title name as quickly as possible. There were far more than he'd remembered…Wait!
He flicked back a page to the large title: Orcus.
Yes, that was it!
Daniel ran his finger along the description: The feared god who relentlessly punished oath-breakers and wrongdoers. The avenger of divine justice upon those who had broken inviolable laws. That matched almost everything in the poem.
Daniel reached for the console, hurriedly typed in the name, and snapped his tired eyes up to the big screen.
Which shifted, the encryption running. He'd done it!
The screen cleared to reveal a densely filled image of what was clearly a simplified map of the Pegasus galaxy. Except this map was dotted with red spots, all linked up with a mass of crisscrossing lines across the map. The promised Jump Drive doorways and the network's interlinking corridors.
And he'd found it before the Drive prototype had been built!
A deep sense of relief relaxed through Daniel's shoulders. He could allow himself a bit of time off now, actually feel okay about taking a few hours off and having a nap. He'd just capture this map and then deliver it in person to Sam and Rodney, see how the build was going for himself.
He stood and reached over to Rodney's usual console and triggered awake the laptop hooked up to the digital camera they'd been using to capture Janus' database. Thanks to Janus' making the system entirely resistance to any form of direct downloading, they'd had to resort to taking high resolution images. So Daniel picked up the camera, checked the programme Rodney had designed was running, and turned back to the Ancient screen.
The map was too small to capture a decent image, but on tapping on the console, one quarter of the map expanded to view. Daniel lifted the camera and snapped two quick photos and turned to the laptop, watching the images download and automatically file. Good.
He reached back to his own console, pulled up the next quarter of the map and held up the camera. Two photos downloaded and he called up the third quarter. He wasn't really reading what he was seeing, but he recognised a few Ancient words set alongside small blue circles that clearly represented planets. He couldn't help but notice that the majority of the red dots, the Jump doorways, were far from the planets, but there were some that were close.
Two more photos downloaded and he moved the map to its final quarter and lifted the camera.
Except one word immediately caught his attention as he snapped the photos. He peered down at the small image on the back of the camera, but it was too dense with detail on the small screen.
He quickly moved back to the laptop and sat down on Rodney's usual chair as he called up the last photo he'd taken, tapping into one area to zoom in further, bringing one planet's name into clearer focus.
Oh no.
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"Okay, time to wake up," Mareta's voice drifted to Oneakka from somewhere that felt very far away. He blinked open his eyes slowly to the view of swaying leaves and dappled sunlight glowing down over him.
He'd not been sure what to expect from a Pelydrian healing, but falling asleep on a thick comfortable blanket hadn't been his first guess. Though he wasn't about to complain.
"Sit up slowly," Mareta instructed him, her warm hands on his arm.
He pushed himself up into a seated position, feeling oddly lethargic, like he'd slept for hours. "How long did that take?" He asked as he stretched his arms up, stretching the length of his back.
"Quarter of an hour," Mareta replied.
"Really?" He frowned as he turned on the blanket to find Mareta holding a small cup towards him.
"Drink this," she instructed. "It'll help heal your internal scarring further, and I've put some more doses of the root on your bag." He glanced round to where he'd left his bag, spotting a small pile of paper bags sat on top of it. He hadn't been aware of her walking around him, preparing the medication for him.
"I've separated out two daily doses within each bag and included instructions," Mareta continued. "Just soak the root dose in boiled water for half an hour and then drink, adding any sweetness if you need it."
Which he understood as important an instant later as the very bitter drink hit his tongue. He coughed at the surprisingly powerful flavour from such pale liquid.
"Drink it all," Mareta ordered firmly, her hand pushing the teacup back up towards his mouth.
He gave her a look at her mothering tone, but she was smiling as she gave him another 'do it' look. He drank down the rest of the foul tea in one long hit to reduce the exposure to his tongue. It burned hot and bitter as it went down his throat.
"And this is good for me?" He spluttered as he handed the small cup back to her.
"Honestly, great Elite Warriors should be able to tolerate some slight bitterness in life," she teased him as she set the cup aside. "I've done what work I can on your wound."
He focused on her face, studying her purple features for any signs of concern.
"The treatment will keep working and, along with the root tea, will ease some of the internal scarring for you," Mareta reported.
He nodded, waiting for more.
Her violet eyes held his directly. "You need to focus your recovery on stretching and easing the area, not ignoring it."
He frowned at that. "I can hardly ignore it, it makes its presence felt," he joked weakly. "I follow a daily exercise routine from the Facility's Physical Therapists."
"Your body has gone through something very significant and it will take you longer to recover than you think it will."
He'd already had that proven to him by failing his recent medical review. "But I will recover?" He pressed.
She sighed at him, but smiled. "Yes, Honoured Warrior, you have many more great battles ahead of you."
A deep inner tension eased in an instant. If Mareta, experienced Pelydrian Healer, believed that he truly would return to battle rotation again, then he could trust her conclusion.
Though…
He kept his eyes on her as she rinsed out the cup she'd given him. "You said you heard my parents' voices in my ear," he repeated her own words. "What did you hear?"
She tilted her head and considered him as she wiped her hands dry on a small towel. "No detail, only the knowledge that you'd heard them," she replied softly. "When you crossed the threshold, yes?"
He watched her, acutely aware of the cool breeze against his bare arms and the rustle of the trees overhead. "Was it real?" He asked her directly.
She smiled at him. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does," he frowned at her.
She shook her head at him, still smiling. "There are moments when you are so like your mother that I can almost hear her voice again. Why would you doubt your own experience, Oneakka?"
"Because the mind plays tricks on us," he replied simply, the fact well known to all Warriors. "Especially when you've lost most of your blood and are dying on the floor of a Wraith Hive."
She pulled a pained expression, presumably in sympathy for what he'd gone through, or perhaps because of his direct point.
She glanced down as she folded up the small towel and set it aside. "It is true that us Pelydrians have been blessed with many wondrous gifts, including some that no other-worlders even know about." He lifted his eyebrows at that little nugget of information. "But," she continued, "there are still many things that we do not know or understand fully. What lies beyond the threshold of physical existence is not for any living being to truly comprehend, not until we go there ourselves."
He considered her kind elder face. "So, you're saying that you don't actually know," he summarised.
She chuckled lightly, one delicate hand patting his knee. "Why would I know more about your very being than you?"
He could recognise Pelydrian avoidance techniques when he saw them. "I think many Pelydrians know more about me than I do," he challenged her.
"I am not a Seer, Oneakka," she replied.
"But some are, and you share your knowledge together," he pressed.
"There are millions living on this planet, Oneakka," she replied though. "Do you think I know everything they do? Do you think I share my every thought and interaction with them?"
That was a fair point.
"You forget that Seers see our own people's fates as well," she added. "We do not meddle in other world's destinies, and neither in our own peoples'."
He hadn't considered that before. Again, it made him wonder what use it was being a Seer if you didn't share what you saw or limited it to only a few.
"In order to move forward in life, we all eventually have to accept the past and forgive," Mareta added softly.
He broke eye contact with her, looking out to the bright warm day beyond the trees of her home.
"Holding onto pain and anger makes a body stiff and unyielding, unwilling to stretch," she continued.
"I'm not angry with Pelydr anymore," he told her, hoping it was completely true. Outside the shade of the trees, the sun looked hot and bright. "But I'm an Elite, Mareta; I'm never going to stop being angry at the Wraith," he added. "And now the Skerti and the things I've seen they've done."
Mareta shifted on her cushion. "For most, the time since the Ancestors lived among the stars is almost immeasurable, but for Pelydrians, we still have shared descendant memories of that time." Oneakka moved his gaze back to Mareta's elder face. "Essentially, we can pass on certain memories to each other, so we remember that time. And before."
He frowned at that point. "Before?"
"Before the Wraith existed," she replied, with what seemed to be carefully chosen words. "Perhaps there will be a time when the Wraith will no longer exist, at least not as they are now."
Oneakka frowned at her and what she might be insinuating. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"I am saying that everything changes with enough time, and that to accept new things we must make room by letting go of some old things."
He peered at her carefully. She had known about his vision, but did that mean she also knew about his feelings for Raven? Earlier, he'd made sure to keep his mention of meeting Raven in the last year to a minimum, just explaining that he had a new friend who had once been his enemy.
"New things?" He asked her suspiciously.
Mareta's dark violet eyebrows lifted quickly in response. "Are there new things on the horizon?" She asked with what seemed like surprised eagerness.
"What?" he tried to cover up the moment. "I meant about the Wraith."
She peered back at him, the one suspicious now. "I was referring to your wound and healing."
"No, you had been referring to the Wraith," he countered.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
He narrowed his back at her.
Mareta smiled. "You most certainly have your mother's fast, analytical mind."
"My mind is my own, thank you," he replied.
"Mmmmm," Mareta murmured at him, one purple eyebrow lifted. "If I did not know better, I would think there was a blush across your cheeks, Oneakka."
"It's warm today."
She grinned and he felt her hand pat his knee again as she chuckled.
Did she know something or not?
"I must say," she continued as her hand reached towards his shoulder to assist her in standing up. He reached forward and added some support, not that she seemed to need it all that much. "I approve of the return of your old hairstyle," she said as they stood up together.
He'd forgotten that she'd have seen him with his mohawk style from when he'd been a boy on Ugun. He reached up and ran a hand over the central taller hair, the motion old, but newly familiar again. "Thank you, Mareta," he told her. "For the healing and the interrogation."
She chuckled as, behind him, Oneakka could hear Pauldron approaching through the trees.
"Healing all complete?" Pauldron asked as he reached them.
"All done," Mareta nodded up at her husband, smiling at him with a warmth in her eyes that seemed to belay the decades the two had been together.
"Then it is time to eat," Pauldron declared. "I have everything set up outside by the blue-crest flowers, as I thought their scent would be pleasing with the meal."
"Such a thoughtful husband," Mareta smiled, which Pauldron returned just as warmly, before turning and leading the way out into the sunshine again. Oneakka followed, aware that his wound did feel slightly different. He couldn't quite tell what had changed, but something felt more comfortable.
The sun was just as warm as it had looked from inside their home, and the food just as enjoyable. The promised gentle fragrance of the blue-crest flowers had indeed been pleasant as they'd eaten wrapped spiced vegetable rolls and steamed salted cabbage. Oneakka had eagerly accepted offered leftovers, feeling especially hungry after his extra sleep on the blanket, and by the time they'd finished off their meal with some Pelydrian bark root tea, he felt extremely relaxed and contented.
But it was almost time for him to start back towards the Retreat and to find out if Raven had enjoyed her time alone.
"We had an especially good harvest of flecked aubergines last week," Mareta noted from his right. "Would you like to take some, they are particularly flavoursome this year."
"If you have some to spare," Oneakka agreed happily.
Mareta pushed up from the grass. "I'll wrap two up for you."
Oneakka smiled up at her mothering. "Thank you."
"There's also some spare oat sweet treats I made," Pauldron noted up to her. "Oneakka could have the last of them for his walk back."
"Did you make any spare for us?" Mareta asked him.
Pauldron smiled up at her. "I can always make us both more."
There had felt something privately amused in his smile and in the tone of his voice.
"True enough," Mareta replied back, understanding his unspoken comment. "Such a thoughtful husband," she repeated as she moved away towards the trees. "I'll maybe put some additional medicinal root doses in your bag too, Oneakka."
"You've given me enough already," Oneakka protested, pointing to where his bag sat with the bitter medicine bags on top.
"More is better," Mareta replied over her shoulder as she disappeared into the trees.
"That's not always the case in battle," Oneakka called to her, but there was no comment back.
Pauldron chuckled from the left and Oneakka smiled round at the older male. Pauldron was sat in profile, leaning back on his hands, his face lifted to the sun's warmth. Oneakka couldn't recall ever seeing Pauldron as anything but cheerful. He was a very calm and happy man, far more relaxed in his nature than Mareta, but the two were clearly a very successful match given the long length of their marriage.
They were, Oneakka abruptly realised, the only elder married couple he knew well.
The only example he had of what a successful mated life looked like.
Oneakka looked back towards the trees but couldn't see Mareta, so he turned back to Pauldron.
"Could I ask you something?" He asked quietly. "As one male to another?"
Pauldron glanced round. "Please do," he replied with a smile, the tall blue flowers swaying behind him.
Oneakka considered his question, briefly rephrasing it in his head. "You and Mareta, you have been a couple for a long time, yes?"
Pauldron nodded with another smile. "A very long time," he replied with emphasis on the 'long', which was the closest he'd gotten to reporting on his and Mareta's ages.
"And you met through friends?" Oneakka recalled. "When you were much younger?" he emphasised in return to say he'd understood the comment, and to tease Pauldron.
Pauldron chuckled lightly. "We were indeed. I was still in training for my profession, we met at a ceremony to celebrate a mutual friend's day of birth."
Oneakka nodded, watching the older male's crinkled, cheerful smile. "Did you know that you'd be together beforehand?" he checked.
"Oh no," Pauldron shook his head. "Seers never involve themselves in such things. We all have to live our own lives."
Oneakka nodded. "So, how did you know?" He asked. "That she was the one you wanted to share your life with?"
Pauldron's eyebrows rose right up his forehead, his eyes widening as he turned his head to look directly at Oneakka.
Oneakka felt an unexpected flush of embarrassment at the amused shock on Pauldron's face, but held the reaction in check.
Pauldron's light violet eyes moved over Oneakka's face for a moment, his shock shifting into a more thoughtful expression. "Oneakka, if you are asking that question, then you already know the answer."
Oneakka nodded at the advice and smiled at the wise Elder.
"I've included four extra doses of the medicine, Oneakka," Mareta stated from the trees as she emerged.
Oneakka winced at hearing he'd be subjected to even more of the bitter medicine, but knew it was for his benefit. "Thank you, Mareta," he called as he pushed himself up from the grass, definitely sure this time that his wound felt less tight inside.
"Keep the aubergines on top so they do not bruise," Mareta instructed as he reached his bag and opened it up, adding the bags of medicine, the sweet treats for his walk, and then took the aubergines from her hands. "Keep them wrapped inside a chilled cabinet when you reach the Retreat," she added, to which he nodded, hearing the rising emotion tightening her voice though she was trying to control it.
Mareta and Pauldron didn't get as overtly emotional about seeing him as Jin did, but when he left them, Mareta often got tearful. He suspected it was all wrapped up in the usual fears people had over his survival or over how they saw his parents in him…that he was the last of his people and that they weren't sure if they would see him again.
He secured his bag closed and looped it round onto his back.
"Remember, soak the medicinal root in hot boiled water for half an hour and then drink it right away," Mareta repeated her instructions as he shrugged the bag's straps into place.
"I will," he promised her. "Thank you again."
"And remember stretching your wound area is important, focus more of your attention on that than your strength, which you hardly need to enhance, Son of Ugun," Mareta muttered as all three of them started across the grass to the outlying flowerbed and bright white stone circle. Just inside the circle, Oneakka paused and turned to them, tears clearly shimmering in Mareta's eyes.
"Thank you for your hospitality, as always," Oneakka told them as Mareta stepped forward into his hug.
"May your steps be light, Oneakka," Mareta whispered as he let her go.
Pauldron moved forward, stepping slightly in front of the sniffing Mareta. "May strong feet take you forth," Pauldron uttered an old Ugun saying.
"May strong family bind you," Oneakka returned the old traditional phrase, and, as Pauldron embraced him, suspected the elder male had chosen the phrasing to make a point.
Pauldron's hands patted his back and released him. "And remember the answer to your own question," he added as he stepped back, confirming Oneakka's theory.
Oneakka nodded, and noticed Mareta's sideways glance at her husband, her curiosity clear. Oneakka had no doubt Pauldron would share their short conversation with his wife, the unspoken rule of married couples having no secrets.
Oneakka smiled at them both, feeling oddly unwilling to leave for a moment. He felt a little conflicted at not having told them more about Raven, but, until he knew the outcome of the days ahead, it would be best to keep his intentions private for now.
"When I am next visiting Pelydr," he added on impulse, "I'll let you know." After all, Raven was apparently being invited to a talking circle regarding security, so, assuming their friendship remained in the future, he could perhaps visit Pelydr with her.
Mareta smiled at the prospect. "You must! We would be happy to meet you anywhere, Son of Ugun." Her tears still shimmered in her eyes, and Pauldron had wrapped one arm around her back.
"I'll see you soon," he told them and turned away, stepping carefully through the flowerbed and over the white encircling stones and started away from their home. As he reached the top of the path that would take him down from the plateau, he paused and looked back. Mareta and Pauldron both waved to him, and he waved back before turning and starting on down the path.
Emotions floated heavily in his chest, as they nearly always did after visiting them. Old friends of his parents, who probably knew more of his family's personalities and histories than he had as a young boy, and who seemed to care deeply for him, despite how infrequently he was able to see them.
Perhaps he would try to change that, after all he was still off-rotation, so had time to visit them, even if Raven didn't invite him to join her next visit to Pelydr for the talking circle.
The walk back down the foothills of Red Ground Mountain was far quicker, and though the sun felt stronger, the cooling breeze was still running down through the valley as he hiked back into it. The heat of the sun shimmered above the central lake as he headed towards it, an hour already passed in just silent contented walking.
By the time he reached his customary stopping point alongside the lake to take a break, he had worked up a decent sweat. Swinging his bag down onto the large flat rocky area under the shade of the familiar tree by the lake's edge, he pulled out his flask that Mareta had refilled for him and unwrapped Pauldron's sweet treat leftovers. Pulling off his boots and socks, Oneakka lowered his bare feet into the cool lake water with a satisfied sigh.
Chewing on a mouthful of sweet oats, he leaned forward and looked down into the lake. As he'd told Raven last night, the lake was technically known as 'Time's Gaze' on Pelydr, apparently because, when the water was perfectly still, you were able to see your past and your future.
He considered his reflection, seeing his usual deep old scar through his right cheek and the encircling markings documenting significant hand-to-hand victories against Wraith Queens. The small new scar disappearing into his hairline and his returned hairstyle from his youth were the only new additions since he'd taken this trip last year, but he suspected the lake's name had some truth to it. He could certainly see his past and his present reflected back up at him. And his future…well, that was built on the present and informed by the past, so maybe that was true too.
Normally, he rarely spent time reflecting on the future. As an Elite, future planning only extended to battle strategy, the life of a Warrior unlikely to be that long anyway. But now there were other thoughts about the future playing through his mind, now there was a beautiful Glisi/Athosian female waiting for him back up at the Retreat. Suddenly his future felt a more interesting place, perhaps regardless of the outcome of Raven's decision when he eventually declared his intentions.
Clearly Mareta and Pauldron had instantly seen that there was something different about him following his short death, and he certainly felt different following his vision and the arrival of the guardian knife as Father's sign. Perhaps everything he'd been feeling, the easing of the old grieving pains and resentment, the increased comfort in looking at and handling relics from his lost world, and now the chance that he could start to share more of his life with a female…maybe it was all true.
He had changed.
Or, as Mareta had hinted at, perhaps it was not so much changing, as letting go of things. And that made space for new things.
Things beyond simple warfare and grief that had dominated his life until now.
It felt simultaneously exciting and terrifying. As if simply considering such things might make them all float away from him. That it was all an empty unreal mirage and as soon as he reached for it, it would disappear from his grasp. He shifted his feet within the water, sending ripples over the lake's surface, disturbing his reflection.
Massa's life philosophy had always been that, because their lives could be short and dangerous, then every moment of joy and passion should be grasped and savoured. Oneakka had usually countered that with, agreeing that life was short and dangerous for them, then every moment should be focused towards their work, to make the mission to defeat the Wraith their everything. To be an unstoppable warrior. And that had served him for a long time…but it had been a long time and now, as that medical review report had annoyingly noted, he was older. He was no longer the youthful unstoppable creature he once had been. Now, he had become one of the seasoned Elite Warriors he had remembered watching obsessively when he'd been a Recruit. He didn't feel like he was old enough to be one of those, but then they had probably been his age…perhaps even younger!
The ultimate mission to defeat the Wraith was still vital, but maybe his life didn't need to be filled with just loss, horror and death anymore.
There was space for more.
And hopefully that included Raven.
Stirring his feet through the water again, he considered the flutters of nervousness he felt. Love was a vulnerability, a weakness; that was what all Recruits had been taught when he'd been in training. He had no idea if that was still taught, though he was absolutely certain that Massa, now a tutor himself, would in no way teach that mindset.
But he could feel the weakness inside when considering declaring his intentions to her, and the worrying possibility that she could turn him down. Nervousness and anxiety. Indeed things that a Warrior shouldn't invite into their lives, but the truth was that both those things were a constant part of being a Warrior. Everyday in battle had to include wise caution and inevitable anxiousness; it was just that it was less emotional and more highly trained.
He had little training in the ways of loving someone, outside of his friends and the love he'd always feel for his lost family. But, he kind of knew that Jin loved him, as did Mareta and Pauldron, and he could honestly say he loved them in turn. Halling and Massa had openly stated they loved him, sometimes clearly just to annoy him, but he didn't doubt them. Loving them in return felt easy for him, even when his friends were being annoying. So, maybe he had had some training after all.
Though, choosing Raven – excessively intelligent, security-minded, ex-Pit Fighter and stubborn as a burning star – was an interesting level to take that training.
He smiled as he drew his feet out of the water and reached for the small towel from his bag.
Choosing Raven felt not unlike going from basic training to an actual in-battle situation; that had been the most shocking of training stages as a Recruit. If Raven was interested in seeing what there could be between them, then it was certainly going to be one of the most challenging things he'd done in a long time.
Grinning with amusement at the thought, he tied his bootlaces and packed up his bag with a renewed sense of excitement.
Maybe it was time to seriously start considering what he was going to say when the moment arrived. He'd already put together a solid list of things that, as partners, they could provide for each other, but the actual way to phrase his intentions to her…he'd not really clarified that yet.
Because of the nervousness.
Well, that was going to stop now. It was time to strategize further and prepare his declaration for when the moment presented itself.
And if a moment didn't arrive before she was due to leave the Retreat, well, then he was going to have to create it himself.
0000
The difference that just a handful of hours had made in Rodney's prototype build lab was crazy.
This morning, it had basically just been Rodney sat at a lab table reprogramming Ancient crystals, while a few of his team had been sorting out plastic sheeting and prepping the welding area outside. Now, the far end of the room was sectioned off with layers of plastic curtains into a working clean room, and through the open door to the right, John could hear the loud snaps and hissing of welding of the Drive's casing.
The sharp metallic scent from the welding mingled with strong antiseptic smells as John peered through the most transparent part of the plastic sheeting into the clean room. Currently, there was a bare metal frame stood in the centre of the space with a fabric mesh strung around it. On the mesh there were currently three suspended Ancient crystals with glowing lengths of Ancient cabling linking them up. Everyone inside the room wore long white lab coats, protective glasses, white hats, and masks, so it wasn't all that easy to tell who was who in there. Though, John was pretty sure Carter and Rodney were the two crouched close together inside the frame. They clearly had limited space in there as there were other white-donned assistants stood around the frame literally holding laptops and tablets for Carter and Rodney to study as they worked on the crystals.
"Commander Carter clearly knows a great deal about Ancestral technology," Skan commented from John's right.
"You have no idea," General O'Neill was the one to answer, his voice full of sarcasm, respect, and with more than a hint of pride. "We only put the very best in charge…well, usually," the General added with what sounded like a self-conscious dig at himself. Amused, John glanced round, looking past Skan's armoured chest, to the General.
"What is the latest estimate to completion?" Skan asked.
"On their last break," O'Neill replied, "they said three days max, but you gotta allow for the Scotty factor."
John worked not to grin too much at that, bemused that the General was using pop-culture references with Skan, who would have no idea what he was going on about.
"He means engineers can sometimes over-estimate how long things can take," John interpreted for Skan.
Skan's surfer bright blonde eyebrows frowned faintly as he angled slightly towards John. "To manage expectations?" he guessed.
"Exactly," John nodded. "If they think it'll take an hour, best say two hours, then they get the extra time and the credit for finishing it 'early'."
Skan, looking surprised by the concept, turned back to watching the clean room.
The white-donned person that was presumably Carter, had stood up within the Drive's frame, a coil of Ancient cabling in her hand as she leaned closer towards a tablet held up for her by an unidentifiable assistant. Rodney, the white-coated one still crouched awkwardly in front of the crystals, was fiddling with the underside of one particular crystal and didn't look happy to John's eye. Rodney turned his head, bringing into view the smallest slither of skin between protective glasses and mask, and Carter crouched back down with him again, both now reaching up underneath the offending crystal.
"So no joy at all with your Drive?" O'Neill asked Skan, despite them already having reported as much.
"No, but tests continue on the slug remains we have."
"Maybe Jackson will find something more to help you in the last segment of Skerti intel," O'Neill suggested, with a tone that made John start to wonder if the General was getting a little competitive with the Elite over the two Jump Drives.
"I believe Dr Jackson is focusing on unlocking the map of the Intra-Subspace Network first," Skan replied.
"Think it's being something of a headache for him, Sir," John noted, glancing across to O'Neill.
"Jackson always comes through in the end," the General shrugged dismissively. "He'll work it out."
"I am sure Silvar and his team will also come through in the end," Skan repeated the phrase, "and eventually fully power the recovered Jump Drive."
"Sure, sure," O'Neill nodded as he rocked back on his heels.
The General hadn't been staying in Atlantis all that long, but everyone even remotely linked to the Stargate programme knew the stories about the first leader of SG1, who had unashamedly taken his infamous sense of humour up into the higher ranks of not just the Airforce but into the Pentagon.
"Until then," the General sighed, "we just have wait and fight off the boredom."
Through the plastic screening, Rodney and Carter were both now stood within the frame, pointing at things on the screen of a tablet with their gloved hands. John watched the unheard conversation as both pointed to the crystals and back to the tablet. Even if he could hear them, he doubted he'd actually understand any of it.
Abruptly, both Carter and Rodney turned and both paused, having noticed they had an audience watching them through the plastic observation window. To his right, John saw O'Neill wave to the scientists. The white CSI suit that contained Carter waved back briefly and then started climbing her way out of the frame and the mesh. Behind her, Rodney's white-coated shape followed her, though with decidedly less skill as he got one bagged up foot caught in the mesh on his way out. Amused, John watched Rodney just about prevent himself from falling on his face, another white-donned person helping him extract his foot before following Carter towards the exit out of the clean room.
Moving with O'Neill and Skan, John headed to the two layer plastic doorway, watching as, inside the airlock of sorts, Rodney and Carter took off their glasses, masks and lab coats before heading out to join them.
"How's it going, Colonel?" O'Neill asked Carter the second she stepped through.
"It's going well," Carter replied with a smile and a nod towards Skan. "We've made some serious headway on the setup in the last hour."
Rodney emerged from the plastic wrap behind her. "We're still a few days away though," he added.
John exchanged a look with O'Neill, the General holding up two fingers and mouthed 'two days' to him across the small forming huddle.
"The problem we're having at the moment is the mesh support that Janus detailed in his blueprint for the crystals," Carter reported, "which, we assume, is to replace the original's supportive Skerti organic matter inside the Drive. Getting the crystals and cabling fixed in place on the mesh is somewhat fiddly work."
"Why would the Drive's crystals require a mesh support when a normal Ancestral tray-based holding structure would do?" Skan asked.
"It's a good question," Carter replied, "and we don't know the answer yet."
"It's probably to do with the forces exerted by the Drive once it's activated," Rodney stated.
"That's our current theory," Carter nodded. "This is entirely new technology and Janus was very clear on the specifications for making the mesh and additional support around each crystal."
"Will the mesh be a point of vulnerability once you feed power into the Drive?" Skan asked, his science training showing.
"It's made out of Ancient materials and our initial tests show it shouldn't carry any current," Carter replied.
"What did you make it out of?" John asked, curious.
"Best we can tell, they were Ancient climbing ropes," Carter replied.
"Really?" John frowned, for some reason finding the idea of Ancients going climbing a strange thought.
"Silvar and his team are still struggling with powering up the recovered Drive," Skan told her. "If you have any further ideas on how-"
A hurried background noise registered to John and he glanced quickly round to see a Marine appear in the open doorway into the prototype lab. Only he stepped aside and looked back down the corridor outside.
"They're in here, Dr Jackson," the Marine indicated the way into the room and, a couple of seconds later, Jackson appeared in the doorway, looking winded.
"Right, thanks, thanks," Jackson hurried quickly into the room, a closed laptop clutched against his chest. "I found something."
"What is it?" Carter asked worriedly, leading the way towards Jackson.
"You know, Daniel, there are things called radios now-" O'Neill began sarcastically.
"You need to see this now," Jackson interrupted him as he opened his laptop, balancing it awkwardly on his arm. "I unlocked the Network map," he reported as they gathered around him. "This is just one quarter of it."
John pressed in close to Skan's side, peering down at the laptop with everyone else. The screen was filled with what looked like a standard Ancient starchart as John had seen in the City's database and on the Jumper's HUDs; well, apart from all the red dots on this map and all the lines linking them up.
"The blue circles are planets and the red dots are the Jump doorways," Jackson quickly pointed to an example of each.
"How many doorways are there in total?" Carter asked.
"I think about forty," Jackson replied, almost dismissively.
"Forty? I suppose it could have been worse," John considered, given how many Stargates there were.
"If any two jump points can be connected," Carter added, "that's still over seven hundred possible combinations."
"Seven hundred?!" O'Neill repeated, shocked.
"That's not what's important right now," Jackson cut in though, and John looked down to see him zoom into one particular area of the starchart.
There was a blue circle and then a red dot right beside it.
Actually, the Ancient word next to the blue circle looked familiar.
"Oh crap!" Rodney cursed with feeling.
"There's one here," Jackson explained. "There's a Jump Drive doorway above Atlantis."
000000
TBC