Dead end

Chapter Three

“Alright, what just happened?”

Weir spun round to face Zelenka.

“It wasn’t us!” Zelenka protested, fingers flying across the keyboard in front of him. “We just lost the signal. I’ve never seen it happen before. It was almost as if — But that’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible, Dr Zelenka?”

Radek ran his hands through his hair.

“OK, I’ll tell you what this computer tells me,” he said. “It looks like there was a power failure. The drain on the system was too much. They were stuck in the wormhole for a short period of time. Physically stuck. Now, don’t tell me that can’t happen, I know it can’t, but then readings end. Either they got out, or…”

He tailed off, distraught.

Weir took a deep breath. She was angry with him for having no answers, angry with Sheppard for talking her into the mission, and angry with herself for going along with him. But self-recrimination could come later, all that mattered now was getting her people home.

“OK, what are our options?” she said. “Have we got anything from the planet at all?”

Zelenka studied the screen, face creased into a frown. “No telemetry. Nothing. Wormhole has collapsed. And there are strange readings here. It looks like the gate at the other end has suffered some kind of malfunction. I can’t re-establish the wormhole. We need to study this.”

“That isn’t very helpful, Radek,” she snapped. “I need options. Fast.”

“I know,” Zelenka said, already on his feet. “I’m on it.”

Ronon walked easily through the narrow corridors. Orand walked beside him, with Teyla and Miruva close behind. The group had separated. Sheppard and McKay had been taken in one direction by Aralen, while he and Teyla had been invited to see the lower levels of the settlement.

As he walked, Ronon found himself enjoying the freedom afforded by the lack of a bulky environment suit. He never liked wearing the synthetic uniforms of the Tauri if he could help it, but felt very much at home in the furs and leather of the Forgotten. From what he had seen of these people, they were admirably strong and capable. With no fear of the Wraith, they had been forced to take on the elements of their homeworld instead. As an enemy, the endless cold of Khost was possibly just as formidable. The fact that the Forgotten refused to buckle and give-up impressed him.

“These are our living areas,” said Orand, gesturing to either side of the party.

Every few yards the walls of the corridor were broken by low entrances, the light was low and they looked dark and dingy. But when Orand pulled aside the tapestry hanging over one of the doorways, a cheery light escaped from the chamber beyond.

“Please, enter,” he said. “These are my quarters.”

Stooping, Ronon and Teyla stepped inside. Orand and Miruva followed them, walking with a supple grace. All of the Forgotten were lean, and despite their underground lifestyle there was little sign of sickness among them. Orand was tall and wiry, with dark hair and quick-moving brown eyes. His face seemed ready to crease into a smile at any moment. Miruva looked similar, though slimmer. If she was slightly less ready to talk than Orand, she seemed to weigh her words more carefully. Ronon thought he saw something of Weir in her calm demeanor.

The space beyond the hanging was not large, but capable of comfortably accommodating a small family. The walls were bare rock, but everything was tidy and well-kept. There were obviously more rooms branching off from the main chamber. As ever, these were screened by the embroidered hangings. Mats covered the floor, decorated with images of massive beasts — the White Buffalo, he presumed. Ronon studied the handiwork. On many worlds, such fine artifacts would fetch a rare price.

“How do you make these things?” he said, running the tapestry through his fingers.

“Our women weave the patterns from the plains grass,” Orand said, motioning for them to sit on the mats. “The White Buffalo graze on the plains, and so it sustains everything. But the winters have been harsher lately. The snows linger nearly the whole year, and the grass dies. The Buffalo travel further to find it, and so do we. As a result, these things are increasingly valuable. We make fewer every year.”

Miruva nodded. “They still provide meat for our tables, and fur to clothe our bodies. We use their bones and horn for our tools: an axe made from Buffalo horn can carve rock. In the summer season, their waste fertilizes our fields. We can cure their meat for the long winter months. They are everything for us.”

“Some speculate that the Ancestors created the Buffalo purely to serve our needs,” said Orand. “Without them, we would have perished many years ago.”

Ronon raised his eyebrow. “I would like to see these animals.”

Orand’s eyes lit up. “I hoped you would say so, as soon as I saw you. We could use a man like you. When the storm abates, the great hunt will begin again. Our stocks of food are low, and the deep winter is nearly upon us. We must make a kill, or our city will suffer. Will you come with us?”

Ronon looked at Teyla, unwilling to commit without consulting the rest of the team. But the thought of testing himself against the creatures was tempting. He was already feeling the need to flex his muscles.

The Athosian smiled back at him. “How much use are you going to be fixing the Jumper, Ronon?” she said. “We are going to have to remain here for some time. You should go with these people. You might even learn something.”

“It’d be a good test,” he said. “You should come too.”

Miruva’s eyes widened. “But you are a woman!” she said, laughing. “Women do not hunt the buffalo. Such a thing has never been done.”

Ronon knew this would irritate Teyla. To her credit, her feelings did not show on her face. “Where we are from,” she said, her voice icy calm, “women do all that men do. I fight with my team, just as Ronon does.”

Orand started to laugh, but was cut short by a glare from Teyla. Seeing the look on her face, he quickly let his eyes fall to the floor.

“Your people have strange ways!” Miruva said, delighted. “Perhaps we can indeed learn from you. I have often thought it unfair that the menfolk must take on all the risk of the great hunt. There is no longer enough grass for us to weave here.”

Orand looked skeptical. Ronon could see that he was protective of her and wondered if they were a couple. If they weren’t, then he guessed Orand would like them to be.

“You’d have to get past your father, first,” said the young hunter. There was an edge to his voice.

“He is old-fashioned, then?” said Teyla, gently probing for information.

This was what Teyla was good at, thought Ronon, gaining people’s trust, finding out more about the situation without causing offense. She was a natural diplomat.

Miruva let slip a sad smile. “My father is a good man. He’s guided us for many years, and our people have survived thanks to his planning and dedication. But he is old. He believes that the Ancestors have ordained everything. And so there is no change, and we cling to tradition in all things.”

“Not all of us feel the same way,” interjected Orand. “Some have called for a great exodus, to try and find better hunting grounds and warmer weather.”

“But you’ve chosen to stay?” said Ronon.

Miruva nodded. ”Most of the people are with my father. They have always trusted in the portal to Sanctuary, believing that help will come from it one day. And now your coming has given them hope.”

Teyla frowned. “We are not gods, and we are not the Ancestors. We have many troubles of our own. Our vessel is damaged, and unless we can find a way to restore power to it, there is little hope we can help you.”

Orand shrugged. “Whether or not you’re Ancestors, your coming will change things here,” he said. “We need change. We can’t keep hiding in these caves forever.”

Miruva looked uneasy at his proud words.

“We will have to see what develops,” said Teyla, heading off discussion of their role in a potential revolution. “For now, we are your guests, and we would like to hear more of your ways.”

“Of course,” Orand said. ”Do you need more to eat? I have some stew, and heruek — water flavored with berry-essence. Will you take some?”

At the prospect of food, Ronon’s mood instantly improved. “Sounds good,” he said. “You’d better tell me how you hunt, too. I’ve got my own weapons, but I’d rather use yours.”

Orand looked at the big Satedan with approval.

“I’d like that,” he said. “I can see already you’ll be a valuable addition to our hunting party. When the time comes, we’ll be sorry to see you go, Ronon.”

The Runner inclined his head at the compliment, but he couldn’t entirely share the sentiment. If McKay couldn’t fix the Jumper soon, then they’d be staying a lot longer than any of them wanted.

“I think we’ve made some progress.”

Zelenka’s head poked around the door to Weir’s office, and she turned away from the window and her silent contemplation of the Stargate. “Let me hear it,” she said, giving him her full attention.

Radek stepped into the room. He looked exhausted. “We’ve done some calculations,” he said. “There’s a power drain for every object moving through the gate network. The larger the object, the greater the drain. If we establish a wormhole but send nothing through, we’ll at least be able to start measuring the tolerances involved. It may be that the Jumper itself was the cause.”

“OK. What are the risks?”

Zelenka took a deep breath. “That we fry the Stargate on Dead End entirely,” he said. “I think it’s already been damaged. But we have to try.”

Weir let some of her frustration enter her voice. “Do we have a Plan B?”

“At this stage, no.”

“Do it,” she said, at last. “But if you start to lose control again, abort at once. We’ll take this one step at a time. I’m not losing my team on a frozen pile of rock in the middle of nowhere.”

McKay, Sheppard and Aralen walked down the long, snaking corridors. After a few minutes walking in the opposite direction to that taken by the others, the true scale of the settlement began to become apparent. Looking up at the careful engineering of the roofs and doorways, Rodney found himself more and more appreciative of their skills.

“You’ve got quite a place here, Aralen,” he said, and there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Aralen looked pleased. Despite being told that the team weren’t Ancients, or even their servants, the Foremost seemed keen to impress them. McKay guessed he didn’t get to show visitors around very often.

“You haven’t seen the best of it yet,” Aralen said, gesturing for McKay and Sheppard to walk ahead.

The corridor continued for a few meters, after which it opened up into a vast chamber. They stepped through.

“Whoa!” Sheppard gasped. “Now that’s worth seeing!”

It was as huge as a cathedral, the roof disappearing into darkness despite the many torches set into the stone walls. Mighty pillars of living rock descended from the distant heights. Massive tapestries and decorative banners hung from the walls, each of them showing the ubiquitous hunting scenes, and all around was the sound of murmuring, which rose in volume as the two men walked in.

“My people are eager to greet you,” said Aralen.

The place was packed and when the people caught sight of the newcomers, a spontaneous cheer erupted. McKay shot a concerned glance to Sheppard.

“Did I mention I don’t like crowds?” he whispered. “What is this? Do they still think we’re Ancients or something?”

“Just nod and smile, Rodney,” Sheppard said, through clenched teeth. “When in Rome…”

Rodney rolled his eyes and gave an awkward wave to the masses, who responded with eager applause.

Aralen beamed. “This is our Hall of Meeting,” he said. “The center of our city. It was once a natural cavern, but we have fashioned it into the spiritual home of our people. The finest examples of our skill may be found here.”

Rodney looked up towards the distant ceiling, lost in shadows, noticing the tips of jagged stalactites lancing downwards from the gloom.

“Is it safe?” he asked, only half-meaning to speak aloud.

Aralen laughed. “Perfectly. We have held our gatherings here for a hundred years. This rock is as hard as iron. It is difficult to carve, but never fails us.”

Sheppard looked at the sea of expectant faces. “Looks like you’ve got a pretty good thing going here.”

Aralen’s expression faltered. “Do not be deceived, Colonel Sheppard. Life is hard, and getting harder. The White Buffalo provide all we need, but even they struggle to survive in the growing cold. We have to travel further each season to track them. It exhausts the hunters, and the returns dwindle.”

“Forgive me, but why not follow the herds?” asked McKay, remembering his first grade lessons on the plains Indians. “If they head south, you could go after them.”

Aralen shook his head. “We must stay close to the portal. I have always told the people that the Ancestors would return and deliver us from this place. That is our hope, whatever you may say about them. It is our only hope.”

Sheppard sighed. “Look, Aralen,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. The Ancestors aren’t gonna come any time soon. They’ve… got a lot on their plate.”

“Your coming gives me confidence, Colonel John Sheppard,” he said. “I know why you tell me these things, but you will not dent my faith. This is the beginning of something new.”

Sheppard and McKay shared an uneasy silence. “Well, that’s nice,” said Rodney at last. “Really, it is. There may be things we can do to help your people. But, as you might have noticed, we’ve got a few problems of our own. The vessel we arrived in has sustained a lot of damage. If we’re going to fix it, we’ll need help. And preferably power.”

Aralen looked concerned for the first time. “I’m not sure what we can offer you. As I told you, everything we have is provided by the cave and by the White Buffalo. I don’t believe much of what we have would be of any use in repairing your vessel.”

“But there must be something else here,” McKay persisted. “Something the Ancestors left behind. A building of some sort, or a special chamber? Or maybe a glass column, that glows in a strange way? Or some kind of crystal polarization centrifuge?”

Sheppard rolled his eyes. Aralen merely frowned. “I’m sorry. We are all that is here.”

“That’s not possible,” McKay retorted, his voice rising. “There has to be something. Little blinky lights? A glowing—”

“I think the answer’s no, Rodney.” Sheppard’s tone was light, but his expression said ‘Shut the hell up’.

Grudgingly, McKay shut the hell up.

“You’ll have to forgive my friend,” said Sheppard. “He gets a little excited. We just need to know when this storm’s gonna blow over.”

“A day or two, I would guess,” said Aralen. “It is rare, even now, for a storm to last more than a week, and this one has been raging for several days already. When the air is clear, we can take you back to your vessel. Perhaps a solution will present itself.”

“Maybe it’ll come gift-wrapped too,” McKay muttered, not quiet enough to avoid a sharp look from Sheppard.

But McKay didn’t care; they were screwed. Totally screwed. If the best this ice-cube of a planet had to offer was cow hide and a T-bone steak, then they might as well give up now. There was no way they were getting home.