Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

Time	Event
6:31p	Third Evolution part 6 Fic: Title: Author:ellisedesade Characters:  Kavanagh, Relationships: Rating: Adult in some places due to language and violence Warnings: Angst Spoilers:None Summary: Betaed by victoriaely Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were. "She has no idea whether they have any weapons or not," Rodney said, "and the Major was acting strangely, so was Kavanagh."  "When is he not strange?" Radek asked, "the linguists say you mistranslated a word."  "And that's important because?" Rodney asked.  "The word was not weapon," he replied, "it was genetic, at least they think it is genetic." He had not wanted to get dragged into the middle of an argument by the linguists over the meaning of a single word. No doubt once they decided what the word meant they would let people know.  "Well, we didn't find any sort of lab," Rodney said, "just a lot of dead bodies and one survivor."  "They were very lucky," he said.  "According to the Major, too lucky," Rodney replied, "she might have a few screws loose but..."  "Or perhaps it is the Major," Radek suggested, pushing his glasses back from the tip of his nose.  "At least that cat thing wasn't there," Rodney said.  "If it was a gentics lab, then perhaps it was created there," he said, "you did say that it killed the Wraith."  "I'm sure that the ancients would have come up with something more effective than giant cats," Rodney scoffed, "unless you think that they were going to parachute them onto the wraith."  "Is possible," he replied. They came across a lot of ancient devices, some were faulty and others did nothing at all. The ancients had been grwat inventors until the Wraith had attacked them.  "I can see it now, hundreds of giant cats being pushed out of the back of puddle jumpers," Rodney said, "where would you get parachutes big enough from?"  "All I am saying is that you should not discount the possibility," Radek said, "it is possible that they decided to take a more organic approach to fighting the wraith."  So that was the survivor that people were talking about, Ronan thought, there was something about the clothes she was wearing that were familiar. He had been on many worlds during the seven years he'd been on the run from the wraith. Some worlds had wanted him to stay there, but he hadn't been able to, knowing that the wraith would track him down and feed on whoever was there. On one world he had met a man, not from there who had given him food and his sword. It was rare to find such generosity from a stranger, what had happened after he had left, he didn't know. He had learned that it was better not to think about such things.  "Teyla," he said, as she and the young woman joined him, "you are?"  "Usha Izzy Garin," she replied, "I know of your people, you are Satedan."  "Yes," he growled.  "I thought that you had not met any aliens before," Teyla said.  "It is possible to know of a people without having met them," Izzy explained, "I learn about people, that is what I do."  "And what do you know of my people?" Ronan asked.  "You fight the same enemy my people do," Izzy replied, "that some of you were blessed by Mashar so that the enemy cannot feed on you."  "Do you know of many such people?" Teyla asked.  "All the children of Mashar are so blessed," Izzy replied.  "I believe that Dr Weir will need to be informed of that fact," Teyla said.  "Let her eat first," he said. To be able to sit and eat a meal without having to worry about what might be coming after you was a luxury that he was still learning to appreciate.  "Physically she's going to be fine," Carson said, shoving his hands into his lab coat pockets, "Dr Biro is still performing autopsies on the bodies we brought back, but for so many people to have been killed so suddenly I'd say it was some sort of gas."  "Does she have any idea who might have done this?" Weir asked.  "No," he replied, "from what she's said she was in some sort of ancient lab and the quarantine feature came on and wouldn't let her leave until was safe to do so."  "The Major seems to have a few concerns about her," she admitted, "and Dr Kavanagh's behaviour while on the planet."  "Elizabeth, he found a school full of children," Carson said, "the lad was shaken up by seeing all those wee bodies."  "So there wasn't anything unusual about the way she made her presence known?" Weir asked.  "She had Rodney's bag, she'd seen him and the rest of his team at the ruins," Carson replied, "it took Dr Kavanagh and I a while to convince her that everyone else was dead. There was no way that she could have been faking her reaction to the news."    He didn't like the way Lorne was acting, Sheppard thought, it wasn't like the Major to take an instant dislike to someone. He wanted to know why he had, and what he could do, because their latest guest was probably what she claimed to be. They had grown a lot more cautious since running into people like the Genii. If he'd suspected for even one moment that she wasn't what she appeared to be then she would have been under guard in the brig and being questioned.  "Major," he said, entering Lorne's office. It was a lot tidier than his, Lorne probably did his paperwork when he got it instead of leaving it until the last possible minute.  "What can I do for you, Sir?" Lorne asked.  "About our guest..." he began.  "I knew that she couldn't be trusted," Lorne said, reaching for his P9o, "her type never can be."  "Her type?" Sheppard asked. It was obvious that there was something more than just instant dislike going on here.  "You know the type, looks like butter wouldn't melt in their mouth one minute, the next they've got a gun pointed at you and are ready to pull the trigger," Lorne replied, "we only have her word as to what might have happened."  "You saw the state she was in," Sheppard said.  "It's all an act," Lorne said, "wouldn't be the first time that someone's tried to pull a fast one on us."  "No, it wouldn't," he agreed, "but what does she get out of it?"  "There are humans who worship the wraith," Lorne replied, "what better way to find out if we're still here or not than by sending one of them to us."  "Those are sick people," Sheppard said.  "How sick do you have to be to live with a dead body for weeks?" Lorne asked.  This was stealing, Izzy thought, helping herself to several packets of food and bottles of water, but it was also a matter of survival. If these people sent her back then she would starve unless she had food with her. Perhaps she should have paid more attention when her father had tried teaching her how to hunt for her own food. She knew which plants on her home world were safe to eat, but winter would soon come and there would be no plants to eat.  Going to the other world was her only option, and she was not certain how she would be received there. They were all converts and she was a true child of Mashar. The Soastra could talk to them, tell that she had to live there now and that they had to be nice to her. Not everyone had been nice to her before, something to do with her father and his past. She hadn't wanted everyone to die though, and it might have been better if she had died with the others. Now she could be alone for the rest of her life, having to find shelter with strangers who would reject her as soon as they discovered what she was. Others had told her about being hunted like animals, all because they had tried to spread word of Mashar to other worlds.  She couldn't see how Mashar's promise was going to be kept now, but she had to believe that it would be. After all, Mashar had given her life in order to protect them from the enemy.  "She claims that the wraith cannot feed on her people," Teyla said.  "Really," Weir said.  "She also knows of Ronan's people, although she has never met them," she said, "I believe she is what you call an anthropologist. Ronan may have met some of her people while he was running from the wraith." There had been no sense that she was being deceived or lied to by their guest. "She has mentioned another world that her people live on," she added.  "Do you think that she's lying?" Weir asked.  "I do not believe she has it in her to deceive anyone," Teyla replied, "she has no idea what happened to her people."  "Major Lorne has a few concerns about her," Weir admitted, "and Dr Kavanagh."  "My people have never come across hers," she said, "but then there are many races that we have not met. As for Dr Kavanagh, I do not know him."  "He's not the sort of man who would risk his own life for anyone else," Weir said, "yet he did."  "Is it not possible that he touched one of the bodies and was merely concerned for his own safety?" she asked.  "Look at her stealing food," Lorne said, joining Ronan at his table, "and the Colonel thinks there's nothing off about her." If he was going to find an ally against her then his best hope would be Dex.  "She's hungry," Ronan growled, "with no idea when her next meal will be."  "For all we know she could be working for the wraith," he said, "she could be leading them straight to us. They share her in return for giving them Atlantis."  "They were already dead when the wraith got there," Ronan said, "and they would have sent more than one dart and a few foot soldiers. Nothing would have been left standing on the planet."  "Unless it was all an act," Lorne said. Who knew what the wraith thought, or what they would do, apart from sucking the life of out you that was.  "The wraith are what they are," Ronan said, "just like she is."  "You have no idea what she is," he said. Right now that thing was the biggest threat to the safety of Atlantis there was and he was going to deal with it.  "I've met a lot of different people while I was running," Ronan said, "one was of her people. They fed me, gave me a weapon. Most people would turn their backs on a runner, not him. If I'd known that they couldn't be fed on I might have gone with him."  "She probably knows something about that thing that attacked Mckay," Lorne said. This was not going as he had expected and that made him suspicious.  "It attacked the wraith not Mckay," Ronan corrected, "and something that can make a wraith scream is not something I'd want to try and hunt. Would make a lousy pet."  "You had pets?" Lorne asked.  "No, Sheppard explained what was one," Ronan replied, "we tamed animals to use not to spoil."  Losing three of his people had been worth it in order to bring retribution to those who had caused the disease that had decimated his people, First Minister Fry thought. They had their good friends and allies the Genii to thank for this. After the plague his world had descended into chaos, then their old allies had offered them help. He had seized the offer with both hands, had ordered the execution of the previous First Minister and his surviving cabinet on the grounds that the had committed treason. People had wanted someone other than themselves to blame and he had given them that. There had been a full and clear mandate to attack the old enemy, and that was what they had done. As soon as they had got rid of the rubbish that was laying the streets and houses his people would be able to move here and begin again safe in the knowledge that the technology left behind would protect them from the wraith.  In return for their help the Genii got the claim the other world that their enemy had occupied. If there were any survivors they would have to be quickly rounded up and made to become useful members of the new order. It was with a great deal of pleasure that he watched at the statue in the square was reduced to rubble. From now on there would be no more heretics, no more creatures claiming that they had a right to exist and rule over everyone else. The time of the Emarca was over. Decent Hoffans would no longer have to fear being attacked and turned into creatures that skulked in the shadows.  "This is a joyous day for both out people," he said, looking at his friend.  "It is," Actus Kolya smiled, "Atlantis would have been out next goal."  "There are rumours that it has not been destroyed," he said, "perhaps we should find out whether those rumours are true or not?" To claim a part of the prizes that lay in the city of the Ancients would ensure that his name went down in history as being something more than just the man who had saved his race.  "The Atlanteans are not an easy people to fight," Kolya warned him, "they killed my son without a second thought."  "Then you must have revenge against them," he said, "it is your right."  "When the time is right I will take it," Kolya replied.  "Dr Beckett, you need to see this," Dr Biro said. She'd just finished doing the autopsies on the remains brought back, However, it had been obvious that the first man had died a violent death.  "What is it?" Carson asked.  "The first man was shot," she replied, "I was able to retrieve the bullet."  "I didn't see any sign of violence on the other bodies," he said.  "I think that he died before the others," she said, "not long though."  "Aye, it's possible," Carson agreed, "he was the first body we came across."  "There's more," Biro said, "it was a Genii bullet that killed him."  "Are you sure about that?" Carson asked.  "Quite sure," she replied, "I compared it to the bullets fired when they tried to take over the city." There was something else as well, but she was hesitant to mention the word Hoffan to him, because it was bound to bring back some very painful memories for him. "He has a similar type of virus as the vaccination you worked on," she added.  "How similar?" Carson asked.  "It's more advanced," she replied, "I looked at your research notes and I think that they based their work on the virus this man was carrying."  "The lass has the same virus," Carson said, "she mentioned a race that her people called plague bringers."  "Do you think that the Hoffans might have had something to do with what happened to her people?" Biro asked.  "It's possible," Carson replied, "the virus is a part of her genetic makeup."  "We need to know how it might be transmitted," she said. Losing half their population would not be a good thing.  "It won't be," Carson assured her, "all the initial blood tests came back clear. We'll have a much bigger problem to deal with if the Genii and Hoffans have started to work together.  It was time that she had a one to one session with their guest because she was receiving conflicting advice from her people. The only way to know for certain was to ask outright whether she'd had anything to do with what had happened on that planet. If they had then she would have no choice but to make them leave Atlantis.  "Please take a seat," she said as Izzy entered her office, "I hope that you've been treated well so far."  "Very well thank you," Izzy said.  "There are a few questions that I need to ask you," she said, "Teyla says that you're an anthropologist."  "I do not know that word," Izzy said, "I am an Usha, it is my job to observe and study people."  "You must have been to a lot of worlds," she said.  "This is the first time I have left my world," Izzy said, "but I have learned the languages of many people, including the others."  "The Others?" Weir asked.  "The ones who lived in this city, but they left when the enemy came," Izzy replied, "Mashar was one of them, but she chose to stay with us."  "She was an ancient," she said.  "She was our mother," Izzy explained, "she gave us life and then she gave her life so that the enemy could not find us."  "You're descended from an ancient!" Weir exclaimed.  "Mashar created us to fight the enemy, her blessing means that they cannot feed on us," Izzy said, "the final battle was to have been soon. More converts were joining us everyday, now… I do not know why anyone would want to stop us from defeating the enemy, it would have been a good thing."  "Yes it would have," she agreed. They certainly could have done with an ally like that. "Do you have any idea who might have attacked your people?"  "In the past both the Slavers and the Plague bringers have come to my world," Izzy replied, "but not for many years. We spent a long time as slaves until we rose up and drove them off our world. They have not dared to return since."  "You told Dr Beckett that your people have another world..." Weir began.  "They need to be warned," Izzy said, "they may welcome me there, because I am in need of a home now."  "For the time being you're more than welcome to stay here," she said, "I think that Dr Mckay would appreciate some help translating those books he borrowed."  "If he is a Taskia they will be of no use to him," Izzy said.  "Taskia?" she asked.  "One who makes and repairs things," Izzy replied, "those books are ones you read for pleasure. Stories of the Others and their adventures."  "They're novels," she smiled. She wished that she could be there when Rodney was told that.  "There is a great deal you can learn about people from what they read," Izzy said. (Comment on this)
6:33p	Third Evolution part 7 Fic: Title: Author:ellisedesade Characters:  Kavanaugh, Relationships: Rating: Adult in some places due to language and violence Warnings: Angst Spoilers:None Summary: Betaed by victoriaely Disclaimer: The characters, the setting, etc. are NOT mine, even if I wish they were. The battle was not going as well as he had hoped, Kolya thought, the enemy was putting up a well organized and strong defense. He was going to lose a lot of his men if the Hoffans didn't deliver that gas in time. He should have insisted that it was used on this world first, but tactically, it had made sense to wipe out the native population first, and the Hoffans would be getting a share of any technology discovered. When this would be over and he would be victorious, there wouldn't be a single Emarca left alive in the galaxy.  Ideally they should have been wiped out generations ago, but they had proved useful in distracting the wraith. Now that the Genii had a weapon which could take out a hive ship, they didn't need the Emarca anymore. There would be no more defectors converting, no more polluted blood seeping into the Genii's. Those things were an abomination, something that should have never been allowed to live and breed in the first place.  While some worlds might hold the Ancients in high regard, the Genii did not. They had been fools not to have wiped out the wraith before they had had a chance to become a threat. You never allowed that to happen. In order to have a strong empire you had to do unpleasant things, to your people. The days when the Genii people hid in the dark were over, now they were rebuilding their empire world by world. All opposition would be crushed. It was not going to be an easy process, sacrifices were going to have to be made and that was something that his people knew only too well.  Like all the others of her kind, she had spent some time both teaching and caring for children, but they had not been so difficult to deal with. This man deserved a good smack around the head in the hope that it would teach him some manners, but she could not do that. The other one was nicer, he reminded her of her first tutor, the man who had given her a passion for learning.  "That is enough," she said, "these books are not for repairing things, they are for reading and enjoying."  "Then perhaps you could explain why they are in different languages," Rodney said.  "Because they are from different worlds," Izzy replied.  "Yes, Well..." Rodney began.  "I have many such books," she said, "all books for repairing are held in the Parkia Choi."  "The what?" Rodney asked.  "It is a big building with Mashar standing in front of it," Izzy explained, "but it is forbidden to go inside without a Soastra escorting you."  "Of course it is," Rodney snarked.  "Mashar guards the knowledge that she has given us zealously," she said, "if you cannot find a Soastra then the knowledge will be lost." She knew that there was one here, but she could not tell them that. "Terrible things have happened to those who tried to enter the building alone. Lights have come out of Mashar and struck the person down," she added.  "I'm sure that they have, but it is just a form of technology, which happens to be my field of expertise," Rodney said, "religion has no place in science, but you obviously don't understand that."  "I understand that you are going to get yourself killed," Izzy said, "and that is sad, because I am certain that Mashar has a purpose in mind for you." Not that it was her place to question such things, Mashar would do what she wished.  "He was shot," Carson said, "presumably so that he couldn't raise the alarm." He knew that he should be telling Elizabeth this first, but Kavanagh was a Soastra and he needed to know what was going on.  "Hunter?" Calvin asked.  "Genii," he replied, "that would probably explain the lass's comments about slavers."  "It's not the first time that someone's tried to attack us all at once," Calvin reminded him.  "The gas was probably created by the Hoffans," Carson said. He could be partially blamed for that, losing half their population must have had a devastating effect on them. It was possible that the survivors has wanted to blame someone for what had happened and the lass's people had fitted the bill nicely.  "What happened there wasn't your fault," Calvin assured him, "how many of our kind do you think that they killed so that they could start trying to make that vaccine?"  "I wouldn't want to think," he replied, "if they have more gas, then that other world is in danger, and we could be as well." The Genii would like nothing more than to get their hands on Atlantis, and they would do anything in order to get it.  "We need to have a plan in case they decide to come here next," Calvin said.  "And what if the Major finds out what we are?" he asked.  "You should be safe," Calvin replied, "as for me... Well, Weir would really like a reason to get rid of me once and for all."  "I dinnea think that Elizabeth would-" he began.  "Carson, she was going to let Dex torture me without any proof that I'd done anything wrong," Calvin reminded him, "it's just a short step from torture to murder and I'm sure that the Major could make a very convincing case for it. Even Mckay."  "Rodney was the voice of dissent," Carson said, "and people aren't going to react too kindly when they find out that they've been treated by a … I won't be safe either."  He watched in horror as yet another of his men disappeared in a bright light as they tried to get into the building in front of him. It should have been a simple matter of walking inside, but there was some sort of weapon protecting it and they hadn't found a way to disarm it yet. The sooner that his Genii allies started sending through prisoners, the better. No doubt they could find out through torture the information as to how to disarm the weapon out of them and be able to save more Hoffan lives from being lost.  Besides, he was under no illusions as to what would happen if he failed to keep his side of the bargain. In times of emergency you had to make hard choices and he was used to making them. The few of his people who had refused to be vaccinated had been amongst the first to be dealt with. If they were ever going to be able to defeat the wraith then they needed a united front. His own mother had been one of those who had voted no, and as much as he had loved her there could be no room for dissension. She had been the first he had had killed.  "Get me something that will blow those doors off," he ordered. He didn't want to damage the building, but he had to get inside. Kolya was expecting results and he had to produce them.  His people were relying on him to give them an advantage when the Wraith came back. Besides, he had doctors waiting for access to Emarca medical technology so that they could refine the vaccine further and make more gas with which to deal with other worlds who wouldn't bow down and accept the superior might of the Hoffan-Genii alliance. They'd already spread word of the vaccine to several other worlds while omitting the fact that it killed some of  the people who took it. There were plenty of people who were desperate enough to pay any price that was asked in order to save themselves from the Wraith.  He should have known that Mckay would just push her to one side when he realized that she didn't know anything about the technology her people had, Calvin thought, entering the lab and seeing Izzy knelt in a corner, her head bowed in prayer. It was a struggle not to join her, as a Soastra he was supposed to reach out to those of his kind who were in need of help and guidance. His mother had said those exact same words after his father had been murdered. They were a prayer for Mashar to bring death to your enemies.  Totally ignoring Mckay and Zelenka who were having another of their pointless arguments, he walked over to where Izzy was.  "I have news about those who have attacked your people," he said. She had a right to know what was going on even though some people would prefer her to be kept in the dark for reasons of security.  "Who ?" Izzy asked, looking up at him.  "Two races, the Genii and the Hoffans," he replied, "have you heard of them?"  "Slavers and plague bringers," she said, "older lesser enemies. Mashar will have her revenge on them."  "How??" Calvin asked.  "When the last of her children are gone she will unleash her destruction," Izzy replied, "my father believed that it was some sort of weapon, that she would never allow her knowledge to fall into enemy hands."  "Of course she wouldn't," he agreed. It would have to be a pretty big weapon to destroy an entire planet.  "What will happen to me now?" she asked, "I have nowhere to go."  "You will stay here," he replied, "and you will survive. Mashar would want you to." He knew that she had to be thinking that it would be easier to give up. "We were made to fight and that is what you will do. You will have your revenge on them, you just have to be patient."  "I can be that," Izzy replied, "I keep hearing them and..."  "I will help you," he said placing a hand on one of her shoulders. It wasn't going to be easy, but he would do his best and Carson would help him.  Rodney had been right and Kavanagh was acting strangely, Radek decided, but then if he had seen a building full of dead children he would have been acting strangely as well. No matter what Rodney had said about Kavanagh, he had always believed that there was some redeemable part of Kavanagh, it was just that no one on Atlantis had ever found it. However, their guest seemed to have found that part of Kavanagh which had feelings.  He had to admit that he had doubts about Rodney's claims that even if there was a lab it wouldn't be of any use to them. He couldn't help but think about the stories his grandmother had told him when he'd been a child. There had been something living in the forest close to the village where she had been born, something that had protected the villagers from anyone who tried to harm them in any way. What his grandmother did not know, just that many bad people had been lured into the forest and had never been seen alive again. Their torn apart bodies were found at the edge of the forest days later. His father had joked that it had either been wolves or that they had killed each other, at which point his grandmother had always said the same word, Emarca. It was not a Czech word and he had always assumed that she had made it up instead of swearing in front of him.  "The lab..." he began.  "There is no lab," Rodney replied, "the database was wrong. If there was a lab then I would have found it."  "She said one of the buildings was protected, it is possible that the lab was similarly protected. The Ancients would not have wanted the Wraith to find anything they left behind."  "You, Its..." Rodney began turning towards the girl.  "Izzy," she said correcting him.  "The place you were spying on us from, what was it?" Rodney asked.  "You mean the birthplace," Izzy said, "it was where Mashar created her children."  "How?" Rodney asked.  "I do not understand," she replied.  "Mashar created you, yes," Radek said, "Rodney wishes to know how."  "She took the blocks and rearranged them so that we could fight and never be fed on," Izzy replied, "Do you not have stories of Mashar on your world?"  "No," Radek replied.  "These blocks," Rodney said impatiently, "what were they made of?"  "DNA," Radek smiled, "the building blocks of life. Mashar was an ancient geneticist." He would never hear the last of it from Rodney if he was right.  "She was our mother," Izzy said.  "You're the weapon!" Rodney exclaimed in disbelief, "You can't be, it's supposed to be big not..."  "Nowhere in database does it say lab was for making machines," Radek reminded him, "obviously it was a long term project."  "If you're such an impressive weapon, why haven't you wiped the Wraith out?" Rodney asked.  "McKay, even you should know that it takes time to build an army," Calvin said.  "Ten thousand years should have been more than long enough," Rodney said.  "Not when you are hunted and turned into slaves it is not," Izzy replied, "now there is only me and I do not know how to fight the enemy and win. He keeps telling me that I have to, but I don't know how to."  "Who keeps telling you?" Radek asked.  "My father," she replied, "please make him stop," tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.  "Just a few more questions," Rodney said.  "She's not in any state to answer questions," Calvin growled, "so leave her alone."  "He is right," Radek said.  "I'm taking her back to the infirmary," Calvin said.  "Elizabeth needs to know about this," Rodney frowned, "we've found the weapon that the ancients were building..."  "She's a person, not a weapon," Calvin snapped, "and you can tell who the hell you want, but they're going to have to go through me if they want to talk to her." He then picked Izzy up and carried her out of the lab.  "He can't talk to me like that," Rodney frowned.  "Rodney, do not make things worse," Radek warned him, "go tell Dr.Weir and let her sort it out." (2 Comments | Comment on this)

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