A barrel of water stood beside the cart, and he reached in for a scoop. When he raised it to his lips, the salty taste caught him unawares, and he spat it out.
The children shrieked when the water fell on them, then they began to giggle. With an apologetic smile, Shira picked up a gourd lying next to the barrel. "You must drink through this. It filters out the salt."
Self-consciously, Ronon accepted the gourd and dipped it into the water. Sure enough, the water that seeped out through the slits at the bottom was sweet. "Everything around here has adapted to a hard life "
"You could say that. All of our plants have this ability. Their tough skins make them resistant to the sand. We have long traded with other worlds who find such plants useful." Shira's voice took on a note of wonder. "I can hardly imagine what it will be like to see water fall from the sky. Many people have seen this on other worlds, and they say it is amazing. A cousin of mine even speaks of a planet that is nearly covered by a single, vast ocean." She turned shining eyes to him. "Have you ever encountered such a thing?"
He was considering how to reply when several people, still wearing their sand-resistant robes, entered the open area from an atrium that led outside. Ronon recognized the men as the search party sent out after McKay. One of them produced a small, flat metallic object from under his cloak.
"Where did you find it?" Ronon demanded, striding forward with his hand outstretched. The scientist often packed data discs inside such cases in order to protect them.
"It was lying right next to the 'gate," the man answered, passing it to him. "I regret to say that it was the only evidence we found of your friend."
"No clothing or shoes? Not even bones?" Although Ronon rarely paid much attention to the scientists' chatter, he knew the lightweight case was made of a soft metal called aluminum. Since it had survived with only deep pitting, something of McKay should have been nearby.
The man shook his head. "Perhaps he was able to travel through the 'gate after all."
"He wasn't," Ronon said, resolute. "We were talking to our people at the other end. He never made it through."
Shira looked away and busied herself with the cart once more. Her sudden reticence set off an alarm in his mind. Ronon's first instinct was to grab the man and force the truth from him, but his time on Atlantis had taught him that something called diplomacy might actually work more efficiently. "Thank you for your efforts," he told the man, then went back to her. "I have to take this disc back to the lab. Walk with me?"
After a moment's hesitation, she agreed. They traveled in silence for a few minutes. Despite this effort at diplomacy, his style of information gathering had never been subtle, so he simply came out and asked the question. "Why did you look so uncertain when I asked about McKay?"
"I am merely grieved that your people have suffered such a loss. The storms are cruel. They are the reason why so few are willing to travel here, why you had heard such dark tales about Polrusso."
Still she wouldn't meet his eyes. "That's not it," Ronon said bluntly. "I know what it's like to be an outcast. The Wraith hunted me for sport for years, punishing anyone who dared show me kindness. If it weren't for the people I travel with now, I'd still be living that life."
Shira blinked, surprised. "You are not of their world?"
"No. What binds us together is our desire to vanquish the Wraith-not just for ourselves, but for every world in this galaxy." He was sure he could see an inherent sense of honesty in this woman, and he wasn't above instilling a little guilt if it accomplished his ends. "If you know something that could help us, you shouldn't hide it, especially when we're trying to help your people."
She hesitated again, long enough for them to reach the lab. Stepping inside, Ronon noted through the still-open doors that the storm was abating. Sheppard was leaning on the lab bench a little too heavily, lines of strain etched into his face. "You okay?" Ronon asked.
"Headache. Damned sand," Sheppard replied curtly. "They find any sign of Rodney yet?"
"No, not even his GDO," Ronon answered. "But they did find this." Turning so that Shira couldn't see the expression on his face, he met Sheppard's gaze meaningfully as he handed Zelenka the disc.
The Czech hardly reacted, and Ronon wondered if he'd picked up on the situation. Sheppard surely had, because he froze, and his tone became deliberate. "Radek, if it doesn't work we'll need to go back for the other one."
After examining the glistening, unmarked disc inside, Zelenka met his eyes for a moment before nodding. "It has been damaged by the sand. We will need to return for a duplicate before we can continue." Pausing, he turned to Shira and added, "However, I have finished my calculations of the necessary sequence and timing to shut down the terraforming machine."
"The storm's almost passed," Sheppard said pointedly, his gaze also trained on Shira. "We need to get back to our people and find out what happened on their end."
Shira's eyes darted from him to Ronon and back. Her suddenly worried expression suggested that she knew exactly what was going on. "Of course," she said at last. "I will inform the Elders."
Zelenka had already packed away most of the equipment he'd brought. Outside, the wind had dropped away to nothing, and the three of them left the lab via the rear entrance and started back to the jumper. Only a few steps past the door, Sheppard began to list to the right, nearly falling. Ronon instinctively seized his arm and held fast until he was sure the other man wouldn't collapse. "This is `okay'?"
Cursing viciously under his breath, Sheppard righted himself. "Later."
Shira must have moved fast, because Vene and some of the other Elders arrived at the jumper as they finished loading the last of their equipment. The Polrussons looked stricken, terrified that their dreams of a better world were about to vanish through the Stargate.
Sheppard appeared to be in no mood to reassure them. "Dial the 'gate," he told Zelenka, who nodded stonily and moved to the DHD to comply. Ronon positioned himself at the jumper's open hatch, keeping one hand on his weapon and wondering why the Czech never came to the Marines' poker nights. Zelenka seemed more than ready to leave this wretched planet-ZPMs and all-behind. Perhaps permanently.
When the wormhole appeared, the Colonel activated his com. "Dr. Weir, this is Sheppard."
"It's good to hear from you, Colonel." Dr. Weir responded. "We've taken some damage to our dialing computer, so I'm relieved to know that establishing an incoming wormhole is still possible. You're on your way back?"
"We are," he confirmed, his eyes fixed on Vend. "Listen, I have to ask. Did Rodney ever make it back?"
None of them had expected to hear any differently, but the pause still hurt. "No, he didn't."
Vend couldn't hear the reply, of course, but he flinched under Sheppard's gaze, and Ronon felt a spark of fury. These people knew something, and even after all this, they were holding back.
"Surely you would not leave us when our deliverance is within reach," an Elder pleaded when Radek walked past him and stepped into the jumper.
"If we're being fed a lie about what happened to our friend? You bet your ass we would." Sheppard's voice was cold. "Yes, the sand is destructive. But even if we accept that every last bit of Dr. McKay, right down to the fillings in his teeth and buttons on his shirt, was either eaten away or blown away, you can't stand there and tell me with a straight face that a lousy DVD survived out here while McKay's weapon and GDO mysteriously vanished. That's impossible just based on weight alone. So either you tell me something that makes sense, or we're done here"
"John, we need your team back here now," Dr. Weir said over their coms. "We're running out of time. The exogenesis machine is gaining speed, and Teyla and Halling are trapped on the mainland, searching for Jinto. We need Dr. Zelenka to direct repairs to the dialing computer, for a start, and the list just keeps getting longer."