But right now he was too busy listening. “There’s one,” the shorter man was saying. His tone was strange — Sheppard would have described it as “faraway,” like when someone talked about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or some other favorite childhood memory. Wistful, hopeful, but not completely convinced.
“He doesn’t exist,” his companion said bluntly.
“He might. Think about it. A Runner who’s shut down his tracking device. A Runner who hunts freely, and can’t be traced.” The shorter guard was practically bouncing with excitement now. “If it’s true, there’s a way to do it. And that means we could do it, too.”
“There isn’t,” the tall man insisted. “It can’t be done. Nekai’s seen what happens when someone tries.” He seemed to feel that was the end of the discussion, and turned away slightly.
“Yeah, I know what he said,” his companion continued, “but think about it. What if — ”
He didn’t get any further, because just then a shadow fell across him. The guard glanced up, just in time to see a tall, powerfully built figure dropping down on top of him. Sheppard almost shouted with relief! Ronon!
The Satedan landed hard on the guard, both boots coming down on the smaller man’s chest and shoulders, slamming him into the ground. The guard grunted in pain and surprise, his pistol flying from his hand, and then collapsed. Ronon was already rolling off him, dodging away as the taller guard turned, bringing his weapon to bear.
Well, time to get involved, Sheppard decided. He sprang to his feet, lunging forward as he did so that his bound hands came up and struck the tall guard’s forearm from underneath. The clumsy blow was enough to jolt the man’s arm upward, throwing off his aim, and his first shot went wide. Teyla had gained her feet as well and moved around to the other side, flanking their remaining captor, and Sheppard saw another figure appear at the far end of the ledge, moving carefully. Rodney.
A shot flew toward them, its coloring a familiar crimson, but the tall man was partially shielded behind Sheppard himself, and Ronon’s first shot sizzled past. It did make the guard turn, however, and Teyla took that opportunity to step forward and slam both fists into the tall man’s side just below the ribs. The blow doubled him over and Sheppard hammered him across the back of the neck. He couldn’t put enough force behind the blow, however, and the tall man shoved him away and backed up himself, putting himself against the rock wall.
“Get back!” he shouted. “I’ll shoot you all!” His gun was waving wildly between them, though it didn’t look like he’d seen Rodney yet.
“I doubt it,” Ronon answered, straightening and stepping forward. “You were never a killer, Adarr.”
The tall man stared, and his pistol dropped down to point at the ground between his feet. “Ronon? You’re alive?” Sheppard couldn’t see his face, but he was guessing the man’s mouth was hanging open. “It’s true?”
Ronon shrugged. “I don’t know what’s true,” he replied, “but yes it’s me, and yes, I’m still alive.” He grinned.
The man he’d called Adarr was still in shock. “Nekai said — ” His words trailed off. “I thought you were — ”
“Dead? Captured?” Ronon moved closer, holstering his pistol as he did. “I did get captured again, actually. But that was a long time ago now. I escaped. And now I’m free. No tracking device, Adarr. The Wraith can’t find me.”
“What? But — how?” They were only a few feet apart, and the thin man seemed to suddenly realize that. “Stay back!” he insisted, starting to raise his pistol. “I mean it, Ronon! I will shoot you!”
Before he had the chance, however, Ronon had closed the distance. The big Satedan covered the last few feet with a single quick step, one hand shooting down to trap Adarr’s pistol and keep it pointed at the ground. The other fist rose and lashed out, catching the tall man hard on the jaw. Adarr crumpled without a sound, and Ronon caught him.
“You probably would have,” Sheppard heard his friend admit quietly as he quickly tied Adarr’s ankles and wrists. “I’m sorry.”
“We have to hurry,” Rodney said as he finally reached them. He drew a knife from his belt and began cutting Teyla’s bonds. “The others could come back at any time.”
Ronon nodded and drew his own knife. Within seconds Sheppard and Teyla were free.
“Took you long enough,” Sheppard told his friends, rubbing his wrists. But he was smiling as he said it.
“Had to keep the rest of them occupied,” Ronon answered, returning his grin. He turned serious again in a second. “Rodney’s right,” he admitted, though having to say that clearly galled him. “They could be back soon. We need to move.”
Sheppard nodded and grabbed the guards’ fallen pistols. Rodney had apparently paused earlier, where the guards had been camping, and he handed Sheppard and Teyla their P90s without a word. Then the four of them walked quickly back toward the end of the ledge — if there was another way off, Sheppard couldn’t see it.
Ronon led, moving as quickly and quietly as ever, and Sheppard took the rear, making sure Rodney and Teyla were clear before he hauled himself up onto that outcropping overhead. Now wasn’t the time to ask questions. But once they were safely away, Ronon had some explaining to do.
Chapter Twenty-five
“You’ve got some explaining to do, mister.”
They had hiked for an hour or more, glancing around constantly in case the remaining strangers found their tracks. Ronon would lead them for a ways, then guide them to a clearing or a cluster of rocks or a small ledge and leave them there while he circled back and hid their tracks. Those had been particularly tense moments, with Sheppard, Teyla, and Rodney starting at every little sound or shadow. They’d have come close to shooting Ronon himself a few times if he hadn’t simply appeared beside them and blocked their weapons before they could react — by the time they could wrestle free, their brains had registered who it was.
Eventually Ronon led them to a series of low cliffs. He knelt and brushed aside some scraggly bushes that were growing against the rock, and Rodney groaned.
“Again?” he whined. “Really?”
“Again,” Ronon agreed. The displaced foliage revealed a dark hole in the stone — its smoothed edges and irregular outline suggested it was natural. Probably a fissure that had simply expanded over time. But now it was a cave.
Ronon gestured them in, and followed a few minutes later after sweeping away their remaining tracks and concealing the cave’s entrance again. By the time he did, the others had shuffled deeper into the hidden passage, which widened and rose slightly as it went. Luckily this world didn’t seem to have any native fauna, so they didn’t have to battle a bear or a cougar for the prime location. There was a section where they could sit and stretch their legs out in front of them, and they did so, Sheppard on one side and Rodney next to him. Teyla was sitting facing them, and when Ronon returned he slid down beside her.
“We’re safe for now,” he told them quietly. “They won’t find us here.”
“Good, great, glad to hear it,” Sheppard said. He did his best to glare at his friend in the near-darkness — some hairline cracks above filtered in just enough light for him to make out the others’ outlines, but nothing more. “So let’s talk. You first.”
He could just barely see the Satedan’s slow nod. “They’re called the V’rdai,” he said. “They’re Runners who’ve banded together to hunt the Wraith instead of the other way around.” He sighed. “I used to be one of them.”
As Ronon explained about his past, and his association with these people, Sheppard marveled. Ronon was one of his best friends, someone he trusted with his life without a second thought. They’d fought together countless times, saved each other more times than he could count, and hung out together both at Atlantis and at some of the towns and cities they’d visited. Yet for all that, he’d never heard any of this before. He’d known about Ronon’s upbringing on Sateda, and had heard a bunch of stories about Ronon’s grandfather, who’d also been a military man. He knew about the Wraith’s attack, and about Ronon’s dead wife, Melena. And he knew far more than he’d ever wanted to about the Wraith and how they’d captured Ronon and turned him into a Runner.