The invisible energy barrier enveloping the Stargate flashed as it fell, allowing unfettered egress through the metal ring. Weir was halfway down the broad staircase from the control room when John Sheppard marched through the Gate, his face unreadable. With a whoosh of displaced energy, the wormhole evaporated behind him. Elizabeth saw it instantly; the man's body language rang a warning bell in her mind. Questions crowded her thoughts. Why was he here in person, instead of just sending a radio message? Where were the rest of the squad?
"John?"
Sheppard threw her a weary nod. "The others are still on Halcyon, as guests of our gracious hosts." He said, anticipating her thoughts. The word `guests' was laden with heavy sarcasm. "McKay asked me to pass this on to you, it's his preliminary field report." John offered her a data screen and she took it.
"Diplomacy taking its toll on you?" She managed a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood.
"And then some." Sheppard frowned. "I've learned a few things about these people, Elizabeth, and it's not promising."
She was paging quickly through McKay's report, scanning the gist of it. "Ancient constructions… Possible presence of a ZPM…" Weir paused. "Is this a good news, bad news thing?"
"Not so much of the good," John noted. "I wouldn't trust these people as far as I could throw `em."
She returned a wry grin. "Welcome to my world, Colonel." They walked away from the silent Gate. "Let's adjourn to the briefing room, and you can bring me up to speed."
A nod. "I think Beckett should sit in on this as well. His input could be useful."
Weir tapped her communicator headset. "Carson?"
A Scots brogue sounded in her ear. "Beckett here."
"Can you come up to the central tower?"
"Aye, I'm on my way."
Weir looked back at Sheppard and saw the hollow, troubled look in his eyes. "John? What did you see out there?"
"It's a long story."
Elizabeth steepled her fingers and remained silent throughout all of the colonel's report, now and then scrolling through the data screen's collection of digital images captured by Rodney McKay's camera, but content to let Sheppard find his way and tell them his impressions of Halcyon without interruption. A veteran of hundreds of conferences where a taciturn poker face was a basic requirement, Weir kept her own emotional reactions under tight rein, retaining a neutral aspect. Throughout her diplomatic career, in the days before the Stargate Program took over her life, Elizabeth had made a skill of listening to troubling discussions without revealing her own opinions. By contrast, Dr. Carson Beckett, the resident chief medical officer on Atlantis, bore his reactions with no artifice at all. The soft-spoken Scotsman cursed under his breath at some of Sheppard's descriptions of life on the other planet, shaking his head in disbelief.
"How can they exist like that?" Beckett asked. "Blood sports, and warfare as an organized team game? It's barbaric, that's what it is."
"There are several tribal cultures on Earth that used ritualized combat as a form of entertainment or to solve disputes," offered Weir, "but nothing on the scale you described, John."
Sheppard laid his hands flat on the table. "And from what I was told, the battle we witnessed was just a small-scale skirmish. A minor disagreement."
"It's not just that," added the doctor, "it's this racial ruthless ness that I can't stomach. I can't see how a culture so callous could survive for long."
"Cossacks, Romans, Vikings… All of those peoples had societies with customs that would seem horrible to us today," continued Elizabeth. "Of course, none of them had the level of technology present on Halcyon."
"Yeah. If there was ever a planet in line for a regime change, it's this one." Sheppard rubbed his face wearily.
"What about the Wraith issue, these `Hounds'?" Weir looked at a still photo of the aliens in battle armor. "Can we be sure that the Halcyons aren't just working with the Wraith? We've seen that before."
John shook his head. "No, you know the Wraith. They'd never accept a subordinate position to humans. I don't know how they've done it, but the Wraiths on Halcyon have been stripped back to a feral state. They're not much more than savages, kept on leash with those collars." He pointed at the picture. "It's the only explanation as to why the Hounds haven't risen up and torn them all to shreds."
"Do you think the Wraith know about Halcyon?" she asked.
"McKay seems to think not. The planet's way off in the sticks, a long hike from any Wraith territory we know of."
Elizabeth studied the data screen again. "Quite frankly, John, there's a part of me that wants to recall the team right now and lock the Halcyon address out of the dialing computer."
"Me too. But…"
"But indeed." She tapped the panel. "The fact is, as objectionable as we might find Lord Daus and his people, if there's even the very faintest chance that we could locate a zero point energy module on this planet, we have to investigate. Atlantis is running on one ZPM right now and it's designed for three. If we could get our hands on another…"
"And you think the Halcyons will just hand over a piece of Ancient technology to us, no questions asked?" Beckett shook his head. "They'll probably want to fight us for it, or something."
"They don't care about the Precursors… The Ancients," said Sheppard. "McKay told me their top egghead Kelfer dismissed the whole thing out of hand. It's likely they don't have the first clue about Ancient science. If they have a ZPM, they'd be more likely to use it as a paperweight. I get the feeling Daus and his gang wouldn't be too comfortable with the idea of someone being smarter than them."
"Egotistical and in denial, then? Sounds like a case for Dr. Heightmeyer."
"We should be thankful for small mercies. A society like this with access to Ancient science… I dread to think what could happen." Elizabeth considered the situation for a moment. "These people are arrogant, so we should use that. You said Daus accused you of being weak?"
"Several times. Hurt my feelings something terrible."
"Then let's play to that. If the Halcyons want to underestimate us, we should let them. If we don't disabuse them of that belief, we might be able to convince them to part with the ZPM-"
"If they have one," Carson broke in.
"— If they have one, and they'll be none the wiser. Daus will have us in his debt, and there's nothing people like him enjoy more than having someone owe them a marker."
Carson considered this for a moment. "Of course, if they realize we're trying to pull a fast one, they won't be nice about it."
Sheppard sighed. "Okay. So I'll Gate back and we'll bite our lips until McKay gets his look-see inside this dolmen. If there's a ZPM, we bag it, if not, we smile politely and go home."
"That's the gist of it, yes," said Elizabeth. "But I don't want another Genii situation with these people, John. If Daus starts demanding weapons or technology in exchange, tell him no. Food or medicine they can have, but nothing military in nature."
"Way ahead of you on that one."
Beckett tapped the table. "On the subject of medical aid, I'd like to add something."
"Go on."
The doctor sighed. "I'm going back to Halcyon with Colonel Sheppard."
John shook his head. "Uh-uh, no way. Remember the organized war and blood sport thing? I've got too many people on that planet as it is, I'm not taking another one."
"Another three, actually," continued Beckett. "I'm going to turn over the Atlantis infirmary to Dr. Cullen for the duration and take Holroyd and Kenealy with me. This illness you mentioned in your report, the `bone-rot'. The symptoms sound like something connected to malnutrition, maybe toxins in the water supply. If I'm right, it would be simple enough to address."
"Carson-" began the colonel.
"I'm not going to stand by if there are sick people out there and I can do something about it. It's my job, John. I have to try to help." He looked away. "Besides, saving the lives of their workers might make these nabobs a little more well-disposed towards us when the time comes."