Ranks continued to part for them, allowing them passage. Most of the fighting in the vicinity had stopped, combatants edging back toward their respective lines in light of the new development. Cestan's group had almost reached the foot of the hill when a raised bow caught Ronon's attention. He'd spent enough time hunting with the people who made and used those bows to recognize that it was not Falnori.
In an instant, the situation was clear. Just as he'd feared, a Nistra hunter was bearing down on Cestan from behind a group of unwitting Falnori soldiers, ready to become a hero by felling the enemy leader… and in so doing he would destroy any chance this world had of finding peace.
Ronon's instincts had always served him well. When the bow was drawn back to loose its arrow, there was no hesitation-he lunged forward and placed himself in its path.
Sergeant Alderman's shout of warning came too late. Before Elizabeth knew what was happening, Ronon was on the ground at Cestan's feet, an arrow embedded in his shoulder, and a group of Falnori soldiers had seized the arms of a defiant Nistra hunter in the crowd.
The would-be assassin quickly found himself in danger of being mauled by the enraged soldiers. They swarmed around him, fists tangling and shouts mingling until Cestan, in a powerfully resonant voice, commanded: stop! „
His order produced immediate results. The soldiers went silent, keeping hold of the hunter's arms but no longer dispensing their own justice. Cestan, for his part, stared openly down at the off-worlder sprawled in the grass.
All at once Elizabeth's brain snapped back into real time, and she knelt to help Ronon sit up. The whip that had bound his wrists now lay loosely beside him. She pulled the last slackened loops free. "Are you all right?"
Normally that would be a silly question to ask someone with a projectile sticking out from under his collarbone, but this was Ronon, after all.
The Satedan grunted. "Had plenty worse." He reached up to remove it, and she instinctively swatted his hand away.
"Carson will lay into both of us if I let you pull that out." Elizabeth took the field dressing Lorne offered and made a haphazard effort to stop the sluggish bleeding.
A repetitive brush-brush of motion in the grass grew louder before Teyla burst through the circle that had formed around them. The Nistra flag of conference wasn't far behind. "What has happened?" she demanded, flushed from running. "We saw…"
"One of the hunters made an attempt on the governor's life," Kellec informed her, stooping to reclaim his whip from where it had fallen.
Cestan's nod was vague, as if he'd gone elsewhere to assemble his thoughts. "And the off-worlder moved to protect me."
Amazed, the chief warrior made no move to restrain Ronon again. "You're fortunate that I didn't activate my whip on instinct."
"Yeah, I am," Ronon agreed. He answered the unspoken question as well. "Didn't see another way."
Galven and the rest of his entourage showed up then, visibly caught off-guard by the turn of events. The minister fumbled for a few seconds before stating to Cestan, in lieu of a greeting, "I expect you'll accuse me of having orchestrated this."
For Elizabeth, still crouched next to Ronon, the first glimpse of light at the end of this tunnel appeared when the governor shook his head. "Not this time, Minister." His gaze never left Ronon. "You knew you were to face grave punishment," he said quietly. "Yet you risked your life for the one who planned to execute you."
Elizabeth felt the scrutiny of the surrounding Falnori fall on them. The soldiers, seeing the entirety of the situation, now looked at least as incredulous as their leader.
Only Ronon seemed unfazed. "Guess I did."
Cestan might have suspected the answer, but he asked the question anyway. "Why?"
"If I hadn't, a leader would be dead and no truce would be possible. Your people would have gone on killing each other, and they wouldn't have stopped until long after anyone could remember why the war even started."
"It is as I told you, Minister." Teyla addressed Galven, whose surprise was fading remarkably quickly into comprehension. "When our convictions are strongly held, we are willing to take extraordinary steps to further them. You have seen our actions on both sides of this conflict. Would we do these things if we wished to favor one over the other? Would we risk our lives if we were less than absolutely certain that both are deserving of peace and prosperity?"
As Teyla crossed the open space to join her teammate, Elizabeth watched Cestan's expression and realized what the Athosian must have deduced some time ago in order to bring Galven to this point. Once again she found herself admiring Teyla's gift for insight.
"You're more alike than you know," she told Galven and Cestan, giving the bandage to Teyla and rising. "We're here, standing under the flags of conference instead of doing battle, because you both allowed us to demonstrate our intentions on a personal level, through the actions of individuals. Now we have the opportunity to take another step. We have the raiders who inflamed the tensions in custody. We have the means to open up the second Stargate on this planet for use and shield both gates from any further attacks." She delivered that last part smoothly, without adding the I hope that dangled in her mind; they hadn't heard from John or Rodney.
"There are adversaries in this galaxy against whom we have to stand firm," she maintained. "You know of the Wraith, and you know that they eventually will come again. That makes it even more important for us to stop fighting wars that don't need to be fought. Let's step back and examine what we've discovered here so that we can go forward with a real understanding of each other and our common goals. We can end this."
For a moment, the two leaders regarded each other without speaking. Just when Elizabeth began to consider asking Teyla to try, Galven spoke up, only a trace of an accusation in his tone. "Can the Falnori view the Nistra as equals, despite the fact that we do not share the birthright of the Ancestors?"
"We can," answered Cestan, "else my people would not have chosen me to lead them. Like many, I do not possess the ability." He gave the other man only a moment to react to that disclosure before turning the tables. "Can the Nistra accept the loss of the mines?"
"If it is the wisest course, and if we are compensated with the establishment of a new industry, I believe we can adapt."
With that, the ember of hope Elizabeth had harbored for so long finally flared to life. "Gentlemen, may I suggest that you send your armies home so that we can freely discuss details?"
For all her experience in diplomacy, she had never before been so close, quite literally, to organized combat. The cessation of hostilities was fascinating to witness. Much like the start of the talks, there was no grand, formal act. Cestan sent his warriors out to spread the word along the Falnori lines, and Galven returned to the Nistra side, each pledging to approach the Hall of Tribute in a day's time. Perhaps inspired by Ronon's selfless act, Cestan permitted Galven to take the would-be Nistra assassin back to be dealt with by his own people. It was decided that the Cadre prisoner would stay with the Lanteans for now, although both the Falnori and Nistra had some rather understandable questions for him.
On his feet again, the arrow sticking almost comically out of his bandaged shoulder, Ronon eyed Kellec with some distrust. "Rest easy," Cestan reassured him with a smile. "Unless you feel you have not done enough to annul your earlier deeds?"
The Satedan relaxed, even submitting to take a couple of pain tablets from one of the Marines' kits. While he badgered the sergeant to break the end off the arrow-"so I don't take out someone's eye"-the remainder of the Atlantis team watched the armies slowly start to withdraw toward their respective territories, gathering their wounded and dead as they went.