Hunt and run

Chapter Twenty-one

Rodney stared at the pale blob, all he could make out of his companion in the trickle of light filtering into their cramped hiding place. How, how did you escape? He asked finally, his voice hoarse from disuse. He had sat, spellbound and silent, through the last portion of the Satedan's story. You get the Stargate to open?

He felt more than saw Ronon's nod. Through sheer luck, the big Satedan admitted. Nekai worked out a way to lock down a gate, but it wasn't completely reliable yet and so he didn't always use it. That time, he hadn't, which was good if he had, I have been sunk. Instead I banged on the console a bunch, and somehow I activated it. I was sure the other Vadai were right behind me by then, so I dove through. Then I just ran as fast as I could. I knew the gate would close almost immediately, so if they weren't right behind me they have to reopen it. Nekai had said he could recall the last location dialed but by that point I wasn't sure I believed him. Either way, the more distance I could put between them and me, the better.

And they didn't come after you?

He thought Ronon shrugged. I have no idea, was the answer. The world I found had a few villages, one decent-sized city and a tiny spaceport. I stole a ship and took off. Ditched it on the next inhabitable planet I could find, located a Stargate, and managed to activate it. After that I just kept moving.â

So you never saw them again? — Rodney asked.

Never.

And you sure this is them now?â

Again he felt the air shift as his companion nodded. Positive.

Because of the shuttle? The fact that Ronon had come up with that idea didn't surprise him the Satedan had proven over their time together that he was very good at thinking on his feet, at adapting materials, and at causing mayhem. The shuttle setup was a perfect combination of those three traits. Though clearly these Vadai had refined the technique over the years. There hadn't been a second ship lurking nearby, and the shuttle had clearly been rigged to explode when activated or when it registered a certain amount of energy nearby. Like from their Jumper powering up to leave.

The shuttle, Ronon agreed, and the way they went after Sheppard and Teyla. They knew if they only wounded whatever ship approached the shuttle, it would have to set down here. That's why they were waiting here. They probably got traps set up all around the area. Sheppard and Teyla must have tripped one of them.

But you are sure they are still alive? Rodney pressed.

Pretty sure, was the less-than-inspiring reply. They know there are more than two of us. They'll be cautious, careful, prepared for the worst and that means assuming whoever left is dangerous. Killing them means two fewer enemies to worry about, but it also means they don't have any leverage, or any lures. Keeping them captive is a better bet. That way they can draw us in and kill all of us together.

Great. That's something to look forward to, Rodney muttered. He was still thinking about Ronon's story. So you were with them for almost two years?

That's right. Beside him Ronon shifted, probably trying to make himself a little more comfortable in their rocky prison.

And then you were on your own for five years after that?

Yep.

Rodney was having trouble processing that. How the hell did you survive that long? — he finally blurted out. Well, he wasn't known for beating around the bush. I mean, those first two years you had a whole team with you, and your signals cancelled each other out. But the last five it was just you, and nothing to shield you from the Wraith!

I was lucky, Ronon told him bluntly. But after a second he added, and well-trained. All those skills Nekai taught me? They kept me alive.

I assume the Wraith came after you?

All the time, Ronon answered. They had my tracking device visible on their monitors now, but even so they were cautious. For two years, every time they found a Runner a pack of hunters wound up dead. That helped me it meant they didn't just charge in. They took their time. And that gave me time to notice them coming, and set up a proper welcome. Rodney saw a flash of lesser darkness in the shadows, and realized Ronon had grinned. He shuddered. He’d seen that grin far too many times, always right before Ronon shot something. Or someone.

Something else was bothering him, though. “Beckett never said anything about explosives.”

Thanks to their narrow confines, Ronon heard him. “You mean on the tracking device?” He laughed once, a sharp, bitter sound rather than his usual amused chuckle. “That’s because there weren’t any.”

“Nekai lied about the explosives?” It made sense, though. What better way to keep the team together than to make them think they had to stay together?

“I wasn’t sure,” Ronon admitted, “not until Beckett examined me. But I’d suspected. I’d actually wondered about it back when I was still with them, that and a few other things.” He shook his head. “Nekai needed to remain in control. So he kept us in the dark as much as possible, and lied to us when he thought it would help.” He shrugged. “I tried removing the device myself, right after I got away, but I couldn’t get the right angle. And I couldn’t trust anyone to help me.”

“Until you met us.” Then Rodney flashed back to their first encounter with Ronon, and how the Satedan had taken Teyla hostage and had ordered Beckett to remove the tracking device at gunpoint. “Or maybe trust isn’t the right word there, either.”

Ronon grunted. “I trust you now,” he admitted softly. Rodney was surprised how much he appreciated that simple statement. And he trusted the big guy, too.

Not that he was about to tell him that.

“So you think it’s still Nekai himself?” he asked after a minute.

“I don’t know,” Ronon replied. “Maybe. Or maybe the others just kept up what he’d started.” He shifted again. “I know one thing, though. They’ve taken it a step further.”

“How’s that?”

“When I left, Nekai was talking about killing anyone who crossed their path, Wraith or not,” Ronon pointed out. “But this trap was way out in the middle of nowhere. No one was going to happen across it.”

“So they’re actively hunting humans now as well,” Rodney agreed. “Swell.”

He waited a second, but Ronon didn’t say anything else, so after a minute Rodney leaned back and closed his eyes. But sleep wouldn’t come.

“They don’t know it’s you, do they?” he asked finally.

“I doubt it,” Ronon answered. “No tracking device, and I didn’t see anyone watching us.”

“Sheppard and Teyla might let your name slip.”

That got one of Ronon’s more typical chuckles. “They won’t talk. At least, not the way the V’rdai are hoping. Sheppard won’t give them anything.”

“Well, what now?” Rodney asked. “We can’t just stay in here forever.”

“No, we can’t,” his companion agreed.

“So what do we do?”

Again he caught a quick glimmer of the Satedan’s grin. “They’re hunting us,” he replied. “So we hunt them first.”