Fic: The Messenger (Teyla Thing-A-Thon)
Title: The Messenger
Recipient: DragonLadyK
Author: elegantpi
Prompt: Team, elements of Athosian culture or perspective, bonus if Teyla saves the day
Word count: ~3000
Rating: G
Character/Pairing: gen, Teyla, team
Warnings: None
Summary: While exploring New Athos after Atlantis' return to Pegasus, the team falls into a strange encounter.
The Messenger
How long would it be, Teyla wondered as she walked among the domed dwellings of the New Athos settlement, before this new reality sank into her people's consciousness; the freedom from fear, from the Wraith, freedom from the necessity of a nomadic life? A light frost glistened on the ground in the early morning light, and her breath puffed into white mist. She could smell woodsmoke and baking bread, and in the distance she could hear the sound of axes biting into tree trunks, along with the songs and the hammers and drills of the workers building the structures that would make the beginnings of a permanent dwelling place for all of them.
Michael was dead, and his abominable experiments had been destroyed (at least, she hoped all were destroyed). Her people - those that remained - were reunited. The Wraith that had refused the transition drug had been eliminated by Todd and his hives, with help from Atlantis, and Todd had taken the remnant of his people, now stripped of their feeding apparatus, far across the galaxy.
As she watched the camp stir, Teyla doubted that she would ever be entirely free from the nightmares; likely none of the adults would fully surrender to the peace that now replaced the sense of a precarious existence. Two young girls and a boy darted across her path swinging their water pails on the way to the well, and their laughter rang out high and clear in the cold air. The children, this new generation of Athosians and all the children to come would grow up in a galaxy free from Wraith. Perhaps there would be other threats to face down, other challenges, but for now, there was peace, and here was a place where a child could grow up with hope unmarred by fear. She pictured Torren asleep in his bed, snuggled into the soft blankets that her mother had woven a long time ago.
Nearing the dwelling set aside for visitors, Teyla could hear that her team had already risen - two of them, at any rate. Smiling at the sound of their voices, she tapped lightly on the entrance frame and pushed past the heavy door covering.
"We're supposed to be on vacation," Rodney groused, still rolled up in his blankets with his back to the room. John was digging pebbles out of his boots and tossing them at Rodney, who pulled the covers up over his head for protection.
"We are on vacation," John said. "On a beautiful planet with fresh air and friendly people, and today we're going on a hike." He grinned a welcome at Teyla.
"I don't want to go for a hike," Rodney said. Then, poking his nose over his blanket, "Morning, Teyla." John hit him in the middle of the forehead with a pebble, and he disappeared back into his blanket fort.
On the other side of the dwelling, Ronon looked up to give her a nod and a quick grin. He crouched beside a small stove, stirring a pot to which he added a pinch of herbs. The Satedan breakfast stew (Ronon called it kareh, she remembered) smelled wonderful.
"Kanaan sent you bread," Teyla said, setting the basket beside the stove to keep warm. She also produced a kettle of water, which Ronon set down beside the pot. A teapot stood ready on a little table, and also a coffee press filled with fresh coffee grounds for Rodney.
"Five more minutes," Rodney said, his voice muffled by blankets. "It's nice and warm in here."
John winked at Teyla and jerked his head toward the bundle that was Rodney. He moved to stand over his teammate and grabbed a corner of the sleeping blanket. Teyla grabbed the other corner.
"Sheppard, what are you... hey!" Rodney found himself bereft of his blanket cocoon, unrolled and dumped onto the sleeping mat. Before he could tell Teyla and John exactly what he thought of them right that moment, the aroma of fresh coffee drifted over to them, and Rodney hauled himself upright and went to pour himself a cup.
Ronon passed the bowls around, and they crowded around the little table. The kareh was delicious - a mixture of root vegetables and grain flavored with a rich, smoked meat that was shredded into the stew. Teyla helped herself to a cup of tea. Ronon made it strong, the way she liked it. They ate in comfortable silence, and when they were done, Teyla helped Ronon wash out the bowls and cups and stack them neatly in a little standing cabinet above the stove. Then Ronon, John, and Teyla left Rodney sipping a fourth cup of coffee while reading something on his tablet. It was always better to give Rodney a little "alone time" in the mornings.
"So, this is new," John said.
"What is new?" Teyla asked.
"Getting to explore, instead of... I don't know." John waved his hand vaguely. "I mean, we've explored before, but this is different. Looking for possible new settlement areas for your people, or maybe other people who need a place to settle. And, I don't know, it's different, not having to worry about whether the Wraith are going to pop up out of nowhere."
"There are likely to be other dangers to contend with," Teyla said. "We ourselves have little knowledge of this planet and its peculiarities, yet."
"It takes some getting used to," Ronon said. "Knowing the Wraith are gone. It'll be a long time before people stop expecting the worst." He and Teyla exchanged a glance of mutual understanding.
"I can only imagine," John said.
Around them, the settlement was bustling as the sun rose behind the trees. A few people paused to say a quick hello to the team, but most only took a moment to smile at them as they hurried through the morning work. The sky arched clear and blue above them - a good day for exploration. Rodney emerged from the visitor's dwelling and trudged toward them, struggling into his backpack. Teyla settled hers more comfortably on her shoulders.
"All ready?" John asked, when Rodney reached them. Everyone nodded. "Good! Let's go climb a mountain!"
"I am not climbing a mountain," Rodney contested, and they turned toward the forest at the far end of camp.
* * * * *
"So why are we doing this by foot when we could be surveying the planet from the safety and comfort of a 'jumper?" Rodney asked, taking revenge on a branch that had hit him in the face by snapping it off and stepping on it.
"We're breaking a trail," John told him. He was enjoying the hike. "The Athosians will have to walk between the settlements. If there are dangers out here to people on foot, we won't find them from up in the air."
"I could fly the jumper, and you could walk. I could be air support," Rodney said. "In case you run into danger on foot."
"If anyone would be air support, it would be me," John said.
Rodney huffed.
Teyla sometimes thought that Rodney's fussing was mostly for show. He was much fitter than he had been when she first met him and the others from Earth. He wasn't even breathing heavily as he hiked along behind John. Or maybe the complaining had once been sincere, and now he complained out of habit. Certainly he and John enjoyed their banter. Listening to them, and with Ronon's capable silence beside her, Teyla's heart felt light enough to allow her to float up into the trees and beyond, until she could see the mountains in the distance, if she wished it.
Moments later, she blamed herself for relaxing too much and missing the possible signs of a trap when the ground gave way beneath their feet and slid them all into darkness.
* * * * *
"See," Rodney was the first to speak. "I told you we should have air support."
"Quiet, Rodney," John groaned.
"Is anyone hurt?" Teyla asked. "Ronon?"
"I'm fine."
John's flashlight clicked on, and in its light, Teyla could see Ronon hauling Rodney to his feet, then dusting himself off. John was looking up, and she moved to stand beside him. The ceiling seemed to be sealed tight again. She estimated the distance to be about seven or eight feet.
"It's some kind of trap door," he said. "I think it just flipped over to dump us in here, somehow."
"These walls aren't rock or dirt," Rodney said, shining his own flashlight around. "They're metal."
"Something built by the Ancestors?" Ronon asked.
"I don't know, maybe," Rodney replied. Their lights reflected off the surface of the walls, ceiling and floor, all of which were free from dirt, except for what had landed in the room with them. The surface gleamed with a faint, multi-colored iridescence very similar to substances Teyla had seen in the shells of some of the sea creatures from other worlds. "It doesn't look like any Ancient alloy I've seen."
"Do you see a door?" John asked.
"I don't..." But before Rodney could finish his sentence, the wall dissolved under his hand, and he jumped back with a yell. Light flooded the room, and five silhouettes stood in the bright corridor beyond. One of the figures waved a hand, and Teyla found herself unable to move, except for her head, just a little bit.
"Hey," John said. "We come in peace."
The figures moved toward them. They were pale, their skin almost greenish or blueish in hue, slender and strangely proportioned in a way that Teyla couldn't quite pin down. Their chests were wide, barrel-like, their shoulders sloped sharply. Their arms and legs were well-muscled; the arms seemed just a bit too long, and the legs just a bit too short. All were an inch or two shorter than Rodney. They wore their clothing wrapped and draped around their bodies. The fabric shimmered in the light.
It was their faces, though, that told her these beings did not share her evolutionary line. Cheekbones spread out much wider than any human face gave them a distorted look to her eyes. Their chins were blocky and firm, their mouths wide and thin, and their eyes were large, the sockets strangely curved. Their peripheral vision must be nearly as good as their forward vision, she thought. Long, thick hair of a shade Teyla couldn't quite make out was held back from their high, broad foreheads by intricately-worked, colorful metal bands. They did not appear to have noses, and their ears were swept back into points, flat against their skulls.
The five beings circled the team. One came to stand in front of Teyla. So close, she could see the colors of its hair now, deep, rich shades of copper and purple. She could not even begin to guess at gender. The being spoke, its voice soft, the words mostly sibilant with an occasional hard consonant. "I beg forgiveness," she said, using the Ancestor's language, which had the most chance of being known to them, more so than the galactic trade language. "I do not understand you. Can you understand me?"
The other four joined the first, crowding behind it to hear Teyla speak. They spoke among themselves for a moment. Teyla tried to read their emotions in the sounds of their voices and their body language, but she could not. Strangely, she did not feel threatened. These people carried no weapons, they had not touched or harmed the team, only immobilized them.
The being who had first spoken to Teyla waved the others to silence. Then it spoke to another, which hurried back up the brightly lit corridor. She squinted, and tried to see into the structure beyond, but she could see little more than an impression of sleek, curving walls.
In a moment, the being that had been sent back returned with another. The new one seemed a little smaller than the others. It came to stand before Teyla.
She found herself uncomfortable at not to be able to read their expressions and emotions, something she had been trained to do since childhood. A good leader and trader had to be able to effectively perceive the emotions of others. As alien as they were, even the Wraith had always been easy to read. They had evolved from humans thousands of years ago, and in their faces she could read pride, disdain, wrath, even hunger. These beings before her were nothing like the Wraith, and resembled humans only in the arrangement of limbs, body, and head. If there were emotions in this being's eyes, she could not read them. She wondered how she and her teammates looked to them.
The smallest being spoke to her, slowly. "You... intrude," it said, in the language of the Ancestors. "Why?"
"We were..." Teyla could not remember the word for exploring. "Traveling," she said, after a moment's thought. "My people settled on this world, and we were traveling to look at a new area when we fell."
One of the beings waved a hand, and she felt the invisible bonds dissipate. She shook her head slightly at John and Rodney, on her left, willing them not to raise their weapons. To her right, at a nod from her, Ronon simply sat down, his weapon in his lap. After a moment, John and Rodney did the same, leaving Teyla standing alone. None of her teammates spoke the Ancestor's language, though Rodney could read technical schematics and knew a few words.
The small being spoke again, haltingly. "You are of Lantea?"
"No," Teyla replied. "They have gone, many thousands of years ago, during the great war. I am called Teyla Emmagen, an Athosian."
"The war... goes on?"
"The war is over. The Wraith are gone and will not come again."
The being raised its hands to its cheeks. It seemed to Teyla an emotional gesture. It turned quickly to the others and spoke swift words. They all echoed the gestures, long-fingered hands to wide cheeks. Then the smallest one turned back to Teyla.
"We have hidden ourselves and our technology for thousands of years," it told her. "Once, we had a beautiful world of our own. The Wraith..." It seemed to struggle with words for a moment, then, giving up, it laid a single hand on its chest.
"I understand."
It lowered its hand. "We scattered to many worlds, the ones your kind abandoned, and lived... as you see. We despaired of regaining what was lost, and we have...diminished with time. It has been... very long since we sought out news of the... world above. I... thank you for the news you bring."
While it had been speaking, all but one of the others disappeared down the corridor. This last spoke to the smallest being. It listened, then turned back to Teyla. "We will return you and your people to the surface now."
"Wait," Teyla said. "My people - those who are settled here - we do not wish to intrude upon you, but we may encounter you again. We will not settle here, of course..."
The smaller being conferred with the other. "Do not be troubled," it told her. "We are leaving this place, to gather our people, now that we have no need to fear the Wraith. Live here in peace."
"Wait," Teyla said again. She did not know what she wanted to say, but she had so many questions that were hard to articulate in a language that she spoke only in ritual or prayer.
The look the being gave her seemed to Teyla a kindly look. Perhaps in time she would be able to read emotions in the features of these beings. "It is possible that we shall meet again, Teyla Emmagen. We will remember you as the bringer of a great message to our people."
The other, taller being spoke once more, and between one blink and the next, Teyla and her team found themselves in the forest. The morning sun was gone. It was deep night.
Distantly, Teyla heard someone shouting her name. She heard other calls ringing out through the forest, naming John and Rodney and Ronon. Between the trees, lantern-light flashed.
Ronon was the first to recover from surprise. "Here," he shouted, his voice booming through the trees. "We're all safe."
"What did they say to you?" John asked. "I only caught a word here and there."
Some inexplicable emotion rose up in Teyla's chest. It threatened to overwhelm her. She did not understand it, but she knew it had something to do with hope and freedom and the fate of a galaxy that had suffered under a great oppression which had now been lifted. She shook her head, unable just now to answer John's question.
"You can give me a full report when we get back to the settlement," he said, awkwardly clasping her shoulder. She nodded.
"Why is it night?" Rodney asked. "We were only down there for what, an hour?"
The team hurried through the trees toward the nearest lantern, stumbling over roots and rocks that the flashlights failed to show. Jinto met them, clutching a lantern, his bantos rods clacking at his waist. "Where have you been?" he asked. "You were only supposed to be gone half a day."
"How late is it?" Teyla asked. The forest canopy hid the stars.
"Three hours past sundown," Jinto said. "We've been searching for days. People from Atlantis have been flying over with the puddlejumpers, and one of the spaceships was here, and they couldn't find you either."
"Days?" John's voice was sharp with disbelief.
"Three days," Jinto confirmed.
"How the..." Rodney began, but he didn't seem to know what to say. "A time distortion field, maybe? Or did they do something to our brains that messed with our sense of time?"
"I'm kind of hungry," Ronon said. "But not hungry like I haven't eaten for three days."
"Never mind," Teyla said. "Let us return to the settlement. You can come back tomorrow and see what these beings left behind."
"They were going somewhere?" Rodney asked, sounding both relieved and disappointed.
"Beings?" Jinto asked.
"We'll tell you everything on the way back," John promised.
Just then, Halling arrived with several other Athosians. Relieved, he touched foreheads with Teyla, then each of the others. Teyla lingered behind just a moment as the others started toward the settlement. In the circle of her flashlight beam, the ground under which the trapdoor must have been lay undisturbed, as if nothing had been there at all.
* * * * *
The team returned to the spot with several teams and engineers. Rodney insisted on not one but two puddlejumpers for "air support" and also so that they could more easily scan for the dimensions of the underground complex. He was eager to get a sample of the metal walls they had seen. Maybe, he speculated, they had left something interesting behind.
They found nothing.
No trapdoor, no corridors, no metal. Nothing but dirt and leaves.
It began to snow, flakes drifting down through the forest canopy to land on Teyla's jacket. She shivered. Lost in thought, she made her way back to the settlement to have dinner with Kanaan and Torren. The future of the galaxy could wait for a little while.
Recipient: DragonLadyK
Author: elegantpi
Prompt: Team, elements of Athosian culture or perspective, bonus if Teyla saves the day
Word count: ~3000
Rating: G
Character/Pairing: gen, Teyla, team
Warnings: None
Summary: While exploring New Athos after Atlantis' return to Pegasus, the team falls into a strange encounter.
The Messenger
How long would it be, Teyla wondered as she walked among the domed dwellings of the New Athos settlement, before this new reality sank into her people's consciousness; the freedom from fear, from the Wraith, freedom from the necessity of a nomadic life? A light frost glistened on the ground in the early morning light, and her breath puffed into white mist. She could smell woodsmoke and baking bread, and in the distance she could hear the sound of axes biting into tree trunks, along with the songs and the hammers and drills of the workers building the structures that would make the beginnings of a permanent dwelling place for all of them.
Michael was dead, and his abominable experiments had been destroyed (at least, she hoped all were destroyed). Her people - those that remained - were reunited. The Wraith that had refused the transition drug had been eliminated by Todd and his hives, with help from Atlantis, and Todd had taken the remnant of his people, now stripped of their feeding apparatus, far across the galaxy.
As she watched the camp stir, Teyla doubted that she would ever be entirely free from the nightmares; likely none of the adults would fully surrender to the peace that now replaced the sense of a precarious existence. Two young girls and a boy darted across her path swinging their water pails on the way to the well, and their laughter rang out high and clear in the cold air. The children, this new generation of Athosians and all the children to come would grow up in a galaxy free from Wraith. Perhaps there would be other threats to face down, other challenges, but for now, there was peace, and here was a place where a child could grow up with hope unmarred by fear. She pictured Torren asleep in his bed, snuggled into the soft blankets that her mother had woven a long time ago.
Nearing the dwelling set aside for visitors, Teyla could hear that her team had already risen - two of them, at any rate. Smiling at the sound of their voices, she tapped lightly on the entrance frame and pushed past the heavy door covering.
"We're supposed to be on vacation," Rodney groused, still rolled up in his blankets with his back to the room. John was digging pebbles out of his boots and tossing them at Rodney, who pulled the covers up over his head for protection.
"We are on vacation," John said. "On a beautiful planet with fresh air and friendly people, and today we're going on a hike." He grinned a welcome at Teyla.
"I don't want to go for a hike," Rodney said. Then, poking his nose over his blanket, "Morning, Teyla." John hit him in the middle of the forehead with a pebble, and he disappeared back into his blanket fort.
On the other side of the dwelling, Ronon looked up to give her a nod and a quick grin. He crouched beside a small stove, stirring a pot to which he added a pinch of herbs. The Satedan breakfast stew (Ronon called it kareh, she remembered) smelled wonderful.
"Kanaan sent you bread," Teyla said, setting the basket beside the stove to keep warm. She also produced a kettle of water, which Ronon set down beside the pot. A teapot stood ready on a little table, and also a coffee press filled with fresh coffee grounds for Rodney.
"Five more minutes," Rodney said, his voice muffled by blankets. "It's nice and warm in here."
John winked at Teyla and jerked his head toward the bundle that was Rodney. He moved to stand over his teammate and grabbed a corner of the sleeping blanket. Teyla grabbed the other corner.
"Sheppard, what are you... hey!" Rodney found himself bereft of his blanket cocoon, unrolled and dumped onto the sleeping mat. Before he could tell Teyla and John exactly what he thought of them right that moment, the aroma of fresh coffee drifted over to them, and Rodney hauled himself upright and went to pour himself a cup.
Ronon passed the bowls around, and they crowded around the little table. The kareh was delicious - a mixture of root vegetables and grain flavored with a rich, smoked meat that was shredded into the stew. Teyla helped herself to a cup of tea. Ronon made it strong, the way she liked it. They ate in comfortable silence, and when they were done, Teyla helped Ronon wash out the bowls and cups and stack them neatly in a little standing cabinet above the stove. Then Ronon, John, and Teyla left Rodney sipping a fourth cup of coffee while reading something on his tablet. It was always better to give Rodney a little "alone time" in the mornings.
"So, this is new," John said.
"What is new?" Teyla asked.
"Getting to explore, instead of... I don't know." John waved his hand vaguely. "I mean, we've explored before, but this is different. Looking for possible new settlement areas for your people, or maybe other people who need a place to settle. And, I don't know, it's different, not having to worry about whether the Wraith are going to pop up out of nowhere."
"There are likely to be other dangers to contend with," Teyla said. "We ourselves have little knowledge of this planet and its peculiarities, yet."
"It takes some getting used to," Ronon said. "Knowing the Wraith are gone. It'll be a long time before people stop expecting the worst." He and Teyla exchanged a glance of mutual understanding.
"I can only imagine," John said.
Around them, the settlement was bustling as the sun rose behind the trees. A few people paused to say a quick hello to the team, but most only took a moment to smile at them as they hurried through the morning work. The sky arched clear and blue above them - a good day for exploration. Rodney emerged from the visitor's dwelling and trudged toward them, struggling into his backpack. Teyla settled hers more comfortably on her shoulders.
"All ready?" John asked, when Rodney reached them. Everyone nodded. "Good! Let's go climb a mountain!"
"I am not climbing a mountain," Rodney contested, and they turned toward the forest at the far end of camp.
* * * * *
"So why are we doing this by foot when we could be surveying the planet from the safety and comfort of a 'jumper?" Rodney asked, taking revenge on a branch that had hit him in the face by snapping it off and stepping on it.
"We're breaking a trail," John told him. He was enjoying the hike. "The Athosians will have to walk between the settlements. If there are dangers out here to people on foot, we won't find them from up in the air."
"I could fly the jumper, and you could walk. I could be air support," Rodney said. "In case you run into danger on foot."
"If anyone would be air support, it would be me," John said.
Rodney huffed.
Teyla sometimes thought that Rodney's fussing was mostly for show. He was much fitter than he had been when she first met him and the others from Earth. He wasn't even breathing heavily as he hiked along behind John. Or maybe the complaining had once been sincere, and now he complained out of habit. Certainly he and John enjoyed their banter. Listening to them, and with Ronon's capable silence beside her, Teyla's heart felt light enough to allow her to float up into the trees and beyond, until she could see the mountains in the distance, if she wished it.
Moments later, she blamed herself for relaxing too much and missing the possible signs of a trap when the ground gave way beneath their feet and slid them all into darkness.
* * * * *
"See," Rodney was the first to speak. "I told you we should have air support."
"Quiet, Rodney," John groaned.
"Is anyone hurt?" Teyla asked. "Ronon?"
"I'm fine."
John's flashlight clicked on, and in its light, Teyla could see Ronon hauling Rodney to his feet, then dusting himself off. John was looking up, and she moved to stand beside him. The ceiling seemed to be sealed tight again. She estimated the distance to be about seven or eight feet.
"It's some kind of trap door," he said. "I think it just flipped over to dump us in here, somehow."
"These walls aren't rock or dirt," Rodney said, shining his own flashlight around. "They're metal."
"Something built by the Ancestors?" Ronon asked.
"I don't know, maybe," Rodney replied. Their lights reflected off the surface of the walls, ceiling and floor, all of which were free from dirt, except for what had landed in the room with them. The surface gleamed with a faint, multi-colored iridescence very similar to substances Teyla had seen in the shells of some of the sea creatures from other worlds. "It doesn't look like any Ancient alloy I've seen."
"Do you see a door?" John asked.
"I don't..." But before Rodney could finish his sentence, the wall dissolved under his hand, and he jumped back with a yell. Light flooded the room, and five silhouettes stood in the bright corridor beyond. One of the figures waved a hand, and Teyla found herself unable to move, except for her head, just a little bit.
"Hey," John said. "We come in peace."
The figures moved toward them. They were pale, their skin almost greenish or blueish in hue, slender and strangely proportioned in a way that Teyla couldn't quite pin down. Their chests were wide, barrel-like, their shoulders sloped sharply. Their arms and legs were well-muscled; the arms seemed just a bit too long, and the legs just a bit too short. All were an inch or two shorter than Rodney. They wore their clothing wrapped and draped around their bodies. The fabric shimmered in the light.
It was their faces, though, that told her these beings did not share her evolutionary line. Cheekbones spread out much wider than any human face gave them a distorted look to her eyes. Their chins were blocky and firm, their mouths wide and thin, and their eyes were large, the sockets strangely curved. Their peripheral vision must be nearly as good as their forward vision, she thought. Long, thick hair of a shade Teyla couldn't quite make out was held back from their high, broad foreheads by intricately-worked, colorful metal bands. They did not appear to have noses, and their ears were swept back into points, flat against their skulls.
The five beings circled the team. One came to stand in front of Teyla. So close, she could see the colors of its hair now, deep, rich shades of copper and purple. She could not even begin to guess at gender. The being spoke, its voice soft, the words mostly sibilant with an occasional hard consonant. "I beg forgiveness," she said, using the Ancestor's language, which had the most chance of being known to them, more so than the galactic trade language. "I do not understand you. Can you understand me?"
The other four joined the first, crowding behind it to hear Teyla speak. They spoke among themselves for a moment. Teyla tried to read their emotions in the sounds of their voices and their body language, but she could not. Strangely, she did not feel threatened. These people carried no weapons, they had not touched or harmed the team, only immobilized them.
The being who had first spoken to Teyla waved the others to silence. Then it spoke to another, which hurried back up the brightly lit corridor. She squinted, and tried to see into the structure beyond, but she could see little more than an impression of sleek, curving walls.
In a moment, the being that had been sent back returned with another. The new one seemed a little smaller than the others. It came to stand before Teyla.
She found herself uncomfortable at not to be able to read their expressions and emotions, something she had been trained to do since childhood. A good leader and trader had to be able to effectively perceive the emotions of others. As alien as they were, even the Wraith had always been easy to read. They had evolved from humans thousands of years ago, and in their faces she could read pride, disdain, wrath, even hunger. These beings before her were nothing like the Wraith, and resembled humans only in the arrangement of limbs, body, and head. If there were emotions in this being's eyes, she could not read them. She wondered how she and her teammates looked to them.
The smallest being spoke to her, slowly. "You... intrude," it said, in the language of the Ancestors. "Why?"
"We were..." Teyla could not remember the word for exploring. "Traveling," she said, after a moment's thought. "My people settled on this world, and we were traveling to look at a new area when we fell."
One of the beings waved a hand, and she felt the invisible bonds dissipate. She shook her head slightly at John and Rodney, on her left, willing them not to raise their weapons. To her right, at a nod from her, Ronon simply sat down, his weapon in his lap. After a moment, John and Rodney did the same, leaving Teyla standing alone. None of her teammates spoke the Ancestor's language, though Rodney could read technical schematics and knew a few words.
The small being spoke again, haltingly. "You are of Lantea?"
"No," Teyla replied. "They have gone, many thousands of years ago, during the great war. I am called Teyla Emmagen, an Athosian."
"The war... goes on?"
"The war is over. The Wraith are gone and will not come again."
The being raised its hands to its cheeks. It seemed to Teyla an emotional gesture. It turned quickly to the others and spoke swift words. They all echoed the gestures, long-fingered hands to wide cheeks. Then the smallest one turned back to Teyla.
"We have hidden ourselves and our technology for thousands of years," it told her. "Once, we had a beautiful world of our own. The Wraith..." It seemed to struggle with words for a moment, then, giving up, it laid a single hand on its chest.
"I understand."
It lowered its hand. "We scattered to many worlds, the ones your kind abandoned, and lived... as you see. We despaired of regaining what was lost, and we have...diminished with time. It has been... very long since we sought out news of the... world above. I... thank you for the news you bring."
While it had been speaking, all but one of the others disappeared down the corridor. This last spoke to the smallest being. It listened, then turned back to Teyla. "We will return you and your people to the surface now."
"Wait," Teyla said. "My people - those who are settled here - we do not wish to intrude upon you, but we may encounter you again. We will not settle here, of course..."
The smaller being conferred with the other. "Do not be troubled," it told her. "We are leaving this place, to gather our people, now that we have no need to fear the Wraith. Live here in peace."
"Wait," Teyla said again. She did not know what she wanted to say, but she had so many questions that were hard to articulate in a language that she spoke only in ritual or prayer.
The look the being gave her seemed to Teyla a kindly look. Perhaps in time she would be able to read emotions in the features of these beings. "It is possible that we shall meet again, Teyla Emmagen. We will remember you as the bringer of a great message to our people."
The other, taller being spoke once more, and between one blink and the next, Teyla and her team found themselves in the forest. The morning sun was gone. It was deep night.
Distantly, Teyla heard someone shouting her name. She heard other calls ringing out through the forest, naming John and Rodney and Ronon. Between the trees, lantern-light flashed.
Ronon was the first to recover from surprise. "Here," he shouted, his voice booming through the trees. "We're all safe."
"What did they say to you?" John asked. "I only caught a word here and there."
Some inexplicable emotion rose up in Teyla's chest. It threatened to overwhelm her. She did not understand it, but she knew it had something to do with hope and freedom and the fate of a galaxy that had suffered under a great oppression which had now been lifted. She shook her head, unable just now to answer John's question.
"You can give me a full report when we get back to the settlement," he said, awkwardly clasping her shoulder. She nodded.
"Why is it night?" Rodney asked. "We were only down there for what, an hour?"
The team hurried through the trees toward the nearest lantern, stumbling over roots and rocks that the flashlights failed to show. Jinto met them, clutching a lantern, his bantos rods clacking at his waist. "Where have you been?" he asked. "You were only supposed to be gone half a day."
"How late is it?" Teyla asked. The forest canopy hid the stars.
"Three hours past sundown," Jinto said. "We've been searching for days. People from Atlantis have been flying over with the puddlejumpers, and one of the spaceships was here, and they couldn't find you either."
"Days?" John's voice was sharp with disbelief.
"Three days," Jinto confirmed.
"How the..." Rodney began, but he didn't seem to know what to say. "A time distortion field, maybe? Or did they do something to our brains that messed with our sense of time?"
"I'm kind of hungry," Ronon said. "But not hungry like I haven't eaten for three days."
"Never mind," Teyla said. "Let us return to the settlement. You can come back tomorrow and see what these beings left behind."
"They were going somewhere?" Rodney asked, sounding both relieved and disappointed.
"Beings?" Jinto asked.
"We'll tell you everything on the way back," John promised.
Just then, Halling arrived with several other Athosians. Relieved, he touched foreheads with Teyla, then each of the others. Teyla lingered behind just a moment as the others started toward the settlement. In the circle of her flashlight beam, the ground under which the trapdoor must have been lay undisturbed, as if nothing had been there at all.
* * * * *
The team returned to the spot with several teams and engineers. Rodney insisted on not one but two puddlejumpers for "air support" and also so that they could more easily scan for the dimensions of the underground complex. He was eager to get a sample of the metal walls they had seen. Maybe, he speculated, they had left something interesting behind.
They found nothing.
No trapdoor, no corridors, no metal. Nothing but dirt and leaves.
It began to snow, flakes drifting down through the forest canopy to land on Teyla's jacket. She shivered. Lost in thought, she made her way back to the settlement to have dinner with Kanaan and Torren. The future of the galaxy could wait for a little while.