“He’s undefeated in six combats, two with adversaries,” Mara said. “He’s a crowd favorite.”
“Friendly too,” Sheppard observed.
Mara closed the door, and they continued around the room. They saw a heavily muscled woman with wild eyes who paced her cell like a caged cat. There was a short, squat man with arms the size of tree trunks who held a huge axe in one hand. Then there was the blonde warrior from the previous night’s battle, Alden Zane, who nodded at them as they passed. Finally, they reached the door to the cell where Rodney and the others were being held.
As the door slid open they all turned, staring at Sheppard. They stood very still, as if in shock, and after a moment he took a sip from the drink he carried and frowned. “What?”
“Good to see you’ve been killing yourself out there trying to get us free,” Rodney said. “I’d hate to think you’d been drinking and… entertaining yourself.”
Sheppard smiled and stepped closer. “We have a better chance of getting you out with me on this side of the force field. What did you learn?”
He stepped back then, as if examining something, and swirled his drink. Mara strolled out of the cell, keeping a casual lookout for guards. Her absence also gave them a degree of privacy.
Rodney kept one eye on her as, in a low voice, he said, “The signal has been sent to Atlantis…at least I hope it has. We have about an eight hour window before the surface temperature gets too hot to make it to the gate. I’ve got the coordinates to another planet — not Atlantis, but a place that has never had a gate opened to or from Admah. If they got the message, they have the coordinates too. They should be waiting for us. The thing is, unless we can get the shield down in the upper city, we’re not going anywhere.”
“John,” Mara called, her voice light yet holding just enough warning to make him turn.
Saul was approaching from across the room. He smiled thinly, but there was no hint of amusement or good humor in the expression.
Glancing back at McKay, Sheppard murmured, “Leave the shield to me.”
Saul looked like a snake attempting to fool its prey with a broken smile. “Somehow I knew I’d find the two of you here eventually,”
“I come here before every entertainment,” Mara said with a shrug. If she was nervous, it didn’t show. “Why would today be any different? This is shaping up to be the finest entertainment in many years.”
“You didn’t stop to talk to the others,” Saul pointed out.
“Were you watching me?”
“Hey, I tried to talk to that first guy,” Sheppard cut in. “He wasn’t in a very chatty mood.”
“You don’t have to play games with me, Colonel,” Saul said. “If I believed you were any threat to me, or to the security of the entertainment, I’d have locked you up with the others from the start. I know you are checking on your people, and I suspect you still have some strange idea that you’ll escape. You are mistaken. You are very close to the end of your existence — we all are — and it’s going to be a glorious ending. You can embrace it, or try to run from it, but the outcome will be the same. You could even be proud to be a part of the end of it all…the battles tonight will be spectacular.”
“You’re such a cheerful guy,” Sheppard said. “I noticed that about you right away. Others tell me you have a serious side, but I have to tell you — I don’t see it.”
“You are a very amusing man, Colonel,” Saul said. “We’ll see how amused you are when tonight’s entertainment starts. One of your people will be the lead-off entertainment.”
Saul left, before Sheppard or anyone else could speak.
“How long before that battle?” Sheppard gripped Mara’s arm.
She shook free. “An hour — two at the most,” she said. “The early battles are less well attended — usually — but this is different. He’ll start as early as he can, and he’ll keep it all running until there are no more warriors or adversaries left.”
“I suppose that means it’s me,” Rodney said. He stood straight, but his face was pale.
“I don’t know,” Mara admitted. “There has been a lot of talk. The two favorites among the citizens are you,” she pointed at Ronon, “and you,” she indicated Teyla. “The two of you look like fighters, and that’s what they are all coming to see. No one wants to see a slaughter — at least not unless there’s been a good fight first.”
“But neither of them will be able to operate the weapons,” Rodney said.
“Saul doesn’t care. He’ll be counting on whatever skills you have in battle to make a good show, and if the weapons fail to work, that will only add to the amusement.”
Frustrated, Sheppard scrubbed a hand through his hair. “What can we do?”
“I don’t know,” Mara sighed. “But we can’t talk about it here. I don’t even think my quarters are safe. I have an idea, but we’ll need to get going now. If we can get in there before they realize we’re missing, I’ll see what we can find out.”
“Fair enough,” Sheppard said. He turned to the others. “I’ll be back for you, one way or the other. If we have to, we’ll fight our way out of here, but we’re going to be at that gate before this place fries. Understood?”
They all nodded.
“Good,” Sheppard said. “I’ll try to be back before the first fight. If I’m not — delay in any way you can.”
Then, drawing Mara tight against his hip, he turned away and headed on around the last few cells, pretending to examine the night’s prospects.
Chapter Twenty-three
Almost as soon as Sheppard and Mara were out of sight, Saul returned to the circular chamber. He was accompanied by a small army of guards. He walked straight to the cell where the team was being held and pressed the button, opening it up so that only the energy beams contained the prisoners. He examined them for a long moment, and then began to speak.
“I wish we’d had time to run all of you through our training, but it can’t be helped. Gravity has put somewhat of a crimp in my ability to alter schedules, so I’m afraid the time has come,” he said. “If we are going to get through all the planned levels of the night’s grand entertainment, we have to start soon.”
He gazed at each of them in turn. “The only question that remains is, who shall I choose?”
Unable to contain a sudden burst of rage, Ronon charged at Saul. He struck the beams of force containing them with incredible force. The air crackled with energy, and he cried out. The force of the collision knocked him back, dazed, and he dropped to one knee, shaking his head, stunned.
“You really should save your energy for the arena,” Saul said drily. “All of you will get your chance.” He glanced down at Ronon. “You will be one of the last. There has been much speculation about you — a lot of money has changed hands.”
“Money?” Rodney spluttered. “Who cares about money? We’re all going to die!”
“As I would have expected from one so caught up in the science of things,” Saul said, “you have missed the point entirely.”
He gestured to one of the guards, and the man deactivated the energy beams. “That one,” Saul said, pointing directly at Teyla.
“Wait a minute,” Rodney said, stepping between Teyla and the advancing guards. “You don’t want her. I know, I know, she looks tough and athletic, but really — she hasn’t got what it takes for your arena. She’s a teddy bear, and besides — Saul has lied to you. This lady,” he pointed back at Teyla, “can’t even turn on your weapons. She won’t last five minutes in there. You should take me.”
Teyla stared at Rodney. All of them did. Ronon stood, still groggy.
“I know who I want, and in what order, Dr. McKay,” Saul said. “I’m also aware of Colonel Sheppard’s claim that only the two of you contain the genetic makeup to use our weapons. I find it odd, though, that he’s not here. I find it unlikely that, if he was the only one who could enter that arena and survive, that he’d walk away and leave all of you to take his place. He seems a more courageous and honorable leader than that. Unless there’s something else you’d like to tell me?”