"All the more reason we need a defensible position should we have to abandon Atlantis," Sumner said. So much for listening to local intel… "Stay here and find out what you can. Ford, you head back to the gate and report in to Weir. Tell her we'll have an answer for her in a few hours."
With that Sumner strode off through the ragged encampment to join the two security teams. Sheppard watched him for a moment, watched the over confident swagger, the clipped orders as the Colonel gestured toward the city, and couldn't shake the feeling that they were making a huge mistake. Sumner was treating this as just another mission, but he was a fool. This was a new world — a new galaxy — and they had no idea, no idea at all, what they were getting into.
With a sigh, he turned away and headed back toward the tent. At least with Sumner out of the way he might get further with Teyla. While the Colonel was busy looking for things to help them, Sheppard had a feeling that allies would ultimately be of greater use. They needed a guide, someone who could help them make sense of this galaxy in which they found themselves, and right now Teyla Emmagan and her people were their best shot.
So, taking a deep breath and pasting on a smile, he pushed past the flap and back into the tent. Teyla and Toran were talking quietly, but stopped as he entered to watch him cautiously. "Well," he said, "I guess it's just you and me…" Then, with a glance at Toran, he added, "and him."
Teyla ignored his attempt at humor and said, "Your leader looks through me as if I were not there."
She was right. He cocked his head. "Do I?"
"No." After a beat she added, "You truly cannot return to your world?"
"No."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Then there is something you should see…"
The something turned out to be quite a hike from the village. The forest was dense and foot-tangling, and Teyla weaved her way through it with the grace of a predator. If necessary, Sheppard imagined, she could disappear into the forest like mist on a hot day. She never put a foot wrong, never tripped or stumbled, and was consistently a couple of paces ahead of him. He had the feeling she was deliberately slowing her pace, but it was fast enough and he found himself breathing hard. Should've spent more time at the gym… "How far is this place?" he gasped at last, struggling up a hill after Teyla.
"Not far," she called back.
"Define `far'."
She turned at that, smiled, and with a raised eyebrow handed him back his power bar. "Here."
He grinned. She had a sense of humor; he liked that. Ripping open the wrapper, he offered her half the bar. But perhaps the scent of artificial lemon flavoring had already reached her, because she grimaced and pulled a piece of fruit from the satchel slung across her shoulder and took a bite. Truth be told, she had the right idea. In a silence that grew increasingly companionable they kept walking through the trees until, at last, he saw a short wall of rock ahead of them.
"In here?" he asked as they drew nearer.
Teyla stopped and nodded, but her eyes were fixed on the craggy rock face. The sandy colored stone was broken in sharp angles, and vines and other forest life spread across much of the escarpment. A narrow, barely visible path sliced through the dense under growth, and without word Teyla led the way along the trail. "I have not come here for many years," she told him quietly.
He followed and after a moment saw a low, narrow doorway that had been cut into the rock. It seemed to have been a natural cave that had been widened and squared off, now hidden behind the brush. Teyla pushed her way past, inviting him to join her with a look as she stepped through the entrance and disappeared into the dark. Sheppard hesitated. There could, literally, be anything inside the cave and entering it without backup was probably pretty dumb. Sure, he trusted Teyla — but tactically speaking…
Tactically speaking it came down to trust. Did he trust Teyla? Truth was he did. His gut told him that she and her people were trustworthy, and if they were ever going to make friends here, they'd better start with a little trust. It was all give and take; if he trusted Teyla, she'd be more inclined to trust him. Sumner might have his ass for breaching protocol, but he had ordered him to find out everything he could…
Taking a deep breath, Sheppard decided to choose trust over suspicion and, keeping his weapon at the ready, headed into the cave after Teyla.
"I used to play in here as a child," she said. If she'd noticed his hesitation, she didn't comment. "I believe it's where the survivors hid from the Wraith during the last great attack."
The only illumination came from the flashlight on Sheppard's P90. It cast harsh shadows about the small room, bouncing off rough-hewn stone and dust. The air was stale and cold. He still didn't know who these Wraith were, but he could imagine the fear of the survivors hiding in this dank cave and waiting to be discovered. He could almost taste the tang of desperation in the air.
Apparently unaffected by the ghosts of her own people, Teyla had found an old torch; clearly these folks had no power beyond fire. But the warmth of its light would be welcome in this forbidding place, and so Sheppard reached into his vest for a lighter. He couldn't help thinking that he might impress her at last with his ability to instantly create fire. "Here," he offered, "let me-"
Teyla smiled that dry smile of hers. "We mastered fire long ago," she said, pulling out what looked like a penlight. With a flick of her thumb, a scarlet laser zapped out and onto the torch, which lit instantly.
"I can see that." So much for impressing her…
Still smiling, Teyla offered him the device. Too bad they weren't here to trade, this would be handy on a- Suddenly something caught his attention, something glowing half-buried beneath a decade of dust. Reaching down, he pulled a dainty necklace from the dirt. "What's this?"
"I lost it years ago," Teyla gasped softly. "How did you…?"
"Caught my eye. Must have reflected the torchlight." He noticed Teyla's look of genuine delight, and because he'd been raised to be a gentleman he held out the necklace and said, "May I?"
Her smile deepened, and she turned around, sweep ing her hair up to allow him to fasten the clasp. It really was the gentlemanly thing to do, he reminded himself, trying not to pay too much attention to the elegant sweep of her neck. Instead he focused his eyes on the- "Whoa," he breathed. "Someone's been busy."
The wall ahead of them was covered in pictures. At first glance they looked like the scratchings of a child, until you looked more deeply and understood the images. They were no innocent childhood sketches, but the brutal history of a people.
"The drawings in the caves are extensive," Teyla said quietly, moving away from him and bringing the light of the torch closer to the pictures. "Many must date back thousands of years or more."
Thousands of years? Sheppard joined her at the wall, running his fingers over an image that seemed to depict the annihilation of a vast city. He could see people screaming, running, and what looked like some kind of energy weapon sweeping the city itself. "This represents the destruction of your city?"
Teyla shook her head. "This drawing far predates that."
"Then…what?" It made no sense. "Someone knew it was going to happen?" This was beginning to sound more and more like science fiction.
"No," Teyla said, turning to face him. In the flickering light of the torch her dark eyes shone brightly, at once sad, proud and resilient. "I believe it happens again and again. The Wraith allow our kind to grow in number, and when that number reaches a certain point they return to cull their human herd."
Herd? Human herd? There was no question in his mind now, these had to be the terrible enemy the Ancient hologram had described. And they were still out here…