Teyla cried out as she was thrown off balance and toppled backward to the floor. The guard — easily twice her size — reached for her, but she swept his legs hard, sending him crashing to the side with a roar of pain. In one swift motion, Teyla rolled onto him, caught him by each wrist as he fell, and flipped him onto his stomach, arms crossed over his chest. She held him there, pulling up on both wrists almost to the point where his arms were ripped from their sockets, one knee crushing his back.
The guard at Ronon’s side recovered and delivered a smashing blow to the side of Ronon’s jaw. He staggered, just for a second, but the blow had no other appreciable effect on him. Ronon grabbed the man’s arm, levered one hand behind his neck and threw him against the wall.
Teyla’s guard struggled and shifted beneath her until finally he had his legs curled beneath him. With a loud yell, he threw himself — and thus Teyla — from the floor. The two tumbled backward, arms and legs pin wheeling. The guard landed on top of Teyla, and no matter how she struggled, she could not get out from under him. He had her pinned, one hand to her throat, the other fending off her glancing blows.
Rodney cried out at that and instinctively raised the laptop over his head, ready to deliver a crushing blow to the back of the guard’s head. In mid-swing he stopped, eyes locked on the computer. He hesitated, and in that moment, Cumby finally acted.
Grabbing a heavy, decorative vase, he moved with surprising speed and slammed the vase into the back of the guard’s head. The man toppled off of Teyla like a broken doll and she rolled to one knee, turning.
Ronon had his guard against the wall now, large body pressed tight against it with one hand as the other continued to bang his head against the stone wall in a steady rhythm.
“Ronon! Look out!” Cumby cried.
Something bit Ronon in the neck. He felt the sharp pain, the sudden near-convulsive shudders rushing through him. The next thing he knew he was on the floor, writhing uncontrollably and staring up at Saul, who held a small electronic device in his hand. It was aimed at Cumby, and he held a second trained on Teyla. Footsteps sounded in the passage beyond the open door.
“That will be enough of that,” Saul said. “If you should ever be so stupid as to try and escape again, I’ll throw you all into the next combat together. Without weapons.”
As Ronon dragged himself to his feet, guards poured into the room, weapons raised. The team stood down, backing together against the far wall. Rodney stepped behind Ronon quickly and tucked the computer under his jacket while he was out of sight.
“Take them all to the arena,” Saul said. “Put them in the holding cells for the entertainment. That will keep them out of trouble until we’re ready for them.” He dusted off his hands and smiled. “Judging by your performance here, you won’t offer much entertainment value for the audience — but you might serve as comic relief.”
“You’re crazy. You know that, right?” Rodney stepped forward quickly and the others followed. He kept the computer clutched under his arm and did his best to be inconspicuous. Cumby pressed in beside him, as if he was in a hurry to turn himself over to the guards.
Teyla stepped out after them, and Ronon brought up the rear. He moved purposefully and slowly, still angry from the shock he’d taken, and ready for another round with any guard foolish enough to press their luck.
Saul trailed after the group, following at a safe pace as the guards led them toward the arena.
Chapter Twenty
The team was led down several passageways. Each time they turned, the floor slanted down a little more. There were four guards, two in front and two bringing up the rear. Those in back held more of the Taser-style weapons.
Ronon glared at them the entire trip. It was obvious he wanted to make a fight of it, but Teyla kept a hand on his arm.
“We have to get Rodney to an access panel,” she said. “We can’t afford a fight here that might damage the computer, or get us separated. The time will come.”
Ronon glanced at the guards one last time. “You can count on that.”
They rounded a last corner and stepped into a larger open area. The room was round with smooth metal walls. A number of doorways were spaced out around that wall, and on the far side of the chamber a frame rose that appeared to be a single huge gate. The guards turned right and opened the third doorway.
“Inside,” the first guard said, nodding at the entrance.
Cumby stepped inside first, followed by Ronon, who looked ready to make an issue of it. Teyla hurried Ronon through, forcing Cumby in further, and Rodney brought up the rear.
“You know this is crazy, right?” Rodney told the guard, stepping back toward the door. “You know you — ”
The door closed in his face with a snap. He stood, looking at it with his chin tucked and his head cocked to the side.
“Don’t think they’re interested,” Ronon said.
Rodney shook his head and turned to the chamber, skimming his fingers along the wall. “We have to find an access panel.”
“Doesn’t seem like there’d be one in a holding cell,” Cumby said. “Sort of defeats the purpose if you give prisoners access to the computers.”
“And how many prisoners do you think could take advantage of that access?” No one answered, and Rodney turned back to the wall.
“I don’t think this was always a prison,” Cumby said. “The rooms are pretty large and the furnishings are built in. It looks more like some sort of converted guest accommodation. If that’s true, then there is probably an access panel here — maybe there used to be a console.”
The walls weren’t covered with tapestries, as they had been in their quarters, but they were decorated. There were posters in frames, just like in the upper city hallways, and there was a sort of brightly patterned wallpaper covering the rest. Rodney studied it, and Cumby moved to another wall, concentrating.
“It’s not the same,” he said. “None of this has been repeated anywhere that we’ve been.”
“It’s here,” Rodney said. “We have to find the pattern.”
“If you say so,” Cumby replied. He sounded anything but convinced, but he kept looking.
Meanwhile, Ronon turned in a circle and studied the posters. One showed the Woard, decimating an opponent. Another showed something closer to a dragon or a dinosaur than anything else. One was a stylized depiction of dancing girls. The next seemed to be two humans fighting, until you looked closer. A tall man with red hair, naked to the waist grappled with a blond barbarian. The difference was, the red haired warrior had a lizard tail, tipped by a barb dripping what looked like green venom.
Ronon stared at it, and then he turned again. Without a word he walked to the poster of the dancing girls, gripped the frame and lifted. It slid up and off the wall easily. Behind it was an access panel.
“Hey Rodney,” he said.
“Not now.” Rodney waved a hand in irritation. “We have to find an access to the computer.”
“Rodney!”
Rodney turned, his irritation boiling to the surface. He pointed at Ronon, caught sight of the access panel, and stopped with his mouth hanging open.
“Like this one?” Ronon said.
Rodney started to say something, then tucked his chin and strode across the room. Ronon set the poster down on the bench, leaning against the wall.
“You’ll have to hurry,” Teyla said. “If they come back while that panel is open…”
“Yes, yes,” Rodney muttered, recovering his composure, “I know. Here you go, Rodney, here’s the access panel Rodney, can’t you log in and reprogram the planet or something Rodney? Make sure you don’t take too long though…”