It's hard to call our interaction friendly, but at least it wasn't hostile. And a significant part of that was thanks to our fugitive acquaintance, who had already cautiously recounted the circumstances of our meeting.
Thank him for keeping quiet about the invisible ship and other interesting details.
"We don't seek trade with those we don't know," Teyla said after we had sipped our tea. The brew, despite leaves floating in the mug, was an order of magnitude better than anything I'd tried on Earth. And I'd tried plenty of tea varieties, being not just a fan of the drink but a real pro at consuming it. "However, Alvar Jensen vouches for you."
"He seems to be respected among your people," I noted, taking a sip of the warming drink. Not only was it strong and clearing the head, but it genuinely invigorated body and spirit. Energy drinks are jealous. "I wonder, for what merits?"
"Our peoples traded shortly before my world was attacked," the fugitive explained. "The first world I went to after what the Wraiths did to me was Athos."
"Our healers tried to help him. In vain," Emmagan echoed. "But you succeeded. Although Alvar says you're not a healer."
"Well, a bit of luck and quick thinking," I smiled. "And, why hide it — I was eager to help someone who could help me find decent tea in this galaxy."
Snickers went around the table.
Everyone was smiling and chuckling, Jensen included.
Only Chaya remained silent, diligently hiding a scanner under the table, her fingers dancing across its screen. No matter how I nudged her, the girl didn't react. And her activity was clearly drawing attention.
"I like open people who wish no harm," Teyla admitted. "We prefer to trade with those."
"How fortunate that we're good people," I smiled.
No, undying joy wasn't gushing out of me like a cornucopia. It would be foolish to suspect the Athosians of lacing the tea. Sure, local plants, including the tea and the cane whose sap was used as a sweetener, could have had an unusual effect on my system, but I just enjoyed talking to these simple people.
After conversations with the Ascended, where, as it turned out, there was a dagger hidden behind every smile, talking to the kind and open Athosians truly warmed my soul. I didn't want to chatter endlessly. Or give away secrets. I wasn't getting sleepy... In short, no side effects.
"That's for sure," Teyla agreed. "People are quite complicated these days. The Wraiths may slumber, but they visit periodically... A few months ago, their 'darts' attacked us and took many Athosians," the faces of those present darkened. "We tried to fight and flee, but the forces were unequal. They surpass us — and all the people we know. Recently they raided again — and there are even fewer of us now."
Two raids in a few months?
Hmm... That didn't happen in the series.
Oh, you dummy!
Of course it didn't! Because with the first raid, the same day the expedition arrived at Atlantis, the Wraiths attacked Athos, the locals fled to the city and never returned to their home planet. It's logical that other raids weren't shown — they simply didn't know about them.
"I think we have a solution to make you a bit more capable of fighting," I cast my line.
"Really?" Jensen looked at me in surprise. "Didn't you say your people can't give us your weapons because of some gene?"
"What?" Chaya stirred. "What does the gene have to do with blasters?"
"True enough," I put my hand on my companion's shoulder, signaling her to be quiet. "But I'm not talking about our weapons. No offense, but they're quite complicated to use. It would take a lot of time to understand how they work. And repairing them is even harder."
"Then what are you talking about?" Teyla asked.
"I recall when we met last time, you had a good rifle," I remembered, looking at Jensen.
"My weapon is still with me," he said. "But the problem is that only ammunition produced on my planet works with it. There's plenty of firearms in the galaxy, but the calibers are different. Our weapons used large, special cartridges for increased stopping power. And all the factories that produced them were destroyed by the Wraiths. Maybe if I return home, I could find a couple of rifles under the rubble, a few crates of ammo... But that's hardly enough for a good fight against Wraith ground troops."
"That's why Chaya is with me," I explained, looking at the girl. "Do you think we can organize the production of firearms by studying a few samples?"
"Can you do that?" Emmagan was amazed. "That would be wonderful. We asked the rulers of Jensen's people for weapons, but they refused, saying our level of development wouldn't allow us to understand the mechanisms."
"The design of any firearm is thousands of times simpler than a blaster," Chaya said, tearing herself away from her work. "I don't think we're talking about a full-scale factory, of course. But a small workshop producing small batches is quite feasible. The question is just the energy costs and resources for producing frames, moving parts, and so on."
Teyla and Alvar exchanged glances.
"You're not joking?" the former fugitive asked again.
"Not at all," I said. "The Wraiths bring trouble to almost all people. And in my opinion, people have the right to defend themselves."
"Why not make something better then?" Jensen couldn't hold back. "Your blasters are much more powerful. Even a large-caliber rifle takes several shots to put down a Wraith. Your weapon," he pointed to the Lantean blaster holstered at my hip, "takes much less. You killed Wraiths with one hit."
"Need me to remind you how many shots it took to get one hit?" I countered. "Not to mention other conditions."
"Easy, friends," Teyla said placatingly. "We're not here to quarrel."
"Well said," I agreed. "If Alvar doesn't mind showing us the planet, we'll look around, find some weapon samples, and try to produce as many as needed so the Athosians feel protected."
"I see what you're doing," Jensen said. "You don't want to give me and these people your weapons. Instead of letting us fight better and more effectively, you want to complicate everything."
"That's just how it seems to you," I objected.
The guy clearly didn't want to continue the verbal sparring.
"Alvar, please calm down," Teyla said. "We're just having a conversation. And my people could use some powerful weapons against the Wraiths."
"Except these are the weapons my people paid for with their blood," Jensen said. "And I know that Misha and Chaya can give us all much more."
"Perhaps we'll discuss that someday," Emmagan noted peaceably. "Right now we're just discussing the possibility of helping each other."
She looked at me.
"So I take it the weapons you're supplying won't be free for my people?" she clarified.
"We'd like to," I said, "but it's not that simple. Our resources are limited, so..."
"What do you want in return?" she asked.
"Food," I said. "Not too much — no more than what five hundred people would need... each month."
Teyla looked a bit taken aback. Jensen seemed interested; the other Athosians appeared slightly less friendly than before.
At that point, Chaya kicked me under the table. And if only she'd done it neatly, like I did. But no, her armored element met mine with a distinct clang that drew everyone's attention.
"I don't think we'll need that much," Chaya said quickly.
"Yes, we will," I said, my tone making it clear she shouldn't argue. Damn, I should've discussed this beforehand. But I figured she wouldn't butt into the conversation. "We have to think about everyone."
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Sar made "scary eyes."
"It's just right," I cut her off, turning back to Teyla. "Is that possible?"
"That's..." she hesitated. "That won't be easy. After the Wraith raid a day and a half ago, our people lost many of our providers and workers... I don't think we can help you. We have many elderly people that the Wraith aren't eager to take..."
Chaya and I looked at each other.
A day and a half ago?
That sounds too familiar.
"The elderly have little life force," Jensen explained. "As I understand it, Wraith pilots focus on fast-moving targets during harvest."
"Not only that," Chaya said. "They have pretty advanced scanners that can determine the parameters of human bodies."
"Is that so?" Teyla became interested. "We didn't know that."
"Neither did we," Chaya sighed. "Until certain sad moments in our history..."
"Perhaps it would be worth sharing such valuable information?" Jensen rasped. "If the Wraith can selectively track people... does that mean they can hunt a specific person?"
"In theory, it's possible," Chaya nodded. "Moreover, their gathering beam can be tuned to ignore obstacles or target specific object parameters, so..."
"You're worried that even without the transmitter, they could track you down?" I caught on to the man's concern.
"That's part of it," he said. "Teyla, I don't think my staying here will be useful any longer. There's a chance the Wraith noticed me here during the last raid. I'm sorry — I thought Mikhail and his people could help you." He gave me a probing look. "But it seems that's beyond his power. I can't risk exposing the Athosians to danger by my presence."
"Or they might have figured out you were here from the weapon you used," Emmagan agreed. "Mikhail, I'm sorry, but it seems we won't be able to reach an agreement. We'd be glad for a chance to defend ourselves more effectively, but... weapons alone aren't enough to make my people work the fields without sparing themselves. Especially since the threat is growing."
"You know, Alvar, my offer to join us still stands," I said casually.
"As do my conditions," the fugitive replied.
"Are you recruiting warriors?" Teyla asked with interest.
"We need people who know the planets of this galaxy well," I explained broadly. "And who are ready, if necessary, to fend off Wraith attacks if we have to fight."
"There are many valiant warriors among the Athosians," Teyla said. "We can fight. And we hate the Wraith with all our hearts. Like all honest people in the Pegasus galaxy."
"Yes, but how much will your people weaken if we take their warriors for our service?" I decided to cool the alien woman's enthusiasm. "It might happen that you'll need help, but your people will be far from home. That could create problems."
Such as the fact that the Athosians are familiar with many local civilizations. And not all of them have clean hands. Besides, what's the probability that, captured by the Wraith, the Athosians wouldn't give away our secret? I can't very well keep my scout-infantry on another planet. Separate existence would cause too many problems.
And I'm not eager to relocate the Athosians to Atlantis — in the events I know, they've already managed to "cause trouble."
"What if you didn't have to fear a Wraith attack?" Chaya asked. Yes, she ignored my under-the-table kick.
"Excuse me?" Emmagan was astonished. "How can you not fear the Wraith when they come through the Ring of the Ancients? We can't prevent that."
"Well, our good friends here might be able to," Alvar said, studying me as he leaned on the table so he sat half-turned toward us. "Or am I wrong, Misha? Doesn't your ship have something to do with Ancient technology?"
"Ship?" Teyla asked. "What ship are you talking about?"
"You have an Ancient ship?" the other Athosians became interested. "They possessed great power! You could protect us!"
Well, shit...
I looked at the smirking Jensen.
You think you've backed me into a corner with no choice? Clever, kid. He wanted answers when we parted ways. And he decided to get them like this.
"Alright," I said. "I think we can talk more openly. But just the four of us."
"That won't work," one of the young Athosians stood up. "Teyla won't stay with outsiders..."
"I can take care of myself," Emmagan said softly but definitively. "Leave us. And make sure we're not disturbed."
A couple of minutes later, the "yurt" was empty.
"Don't hold it against me," Alvar said when no soul remained inside except the four of us. "But I see you want help from these people. And from me. I won't work with someone I don't trust. And I don't much want to believe those who hide the truth from me. So let's be straight."
"Fine by me," I agreed. "But you do understand that you'll have to take our secrets to the grave?"
"You read my mind," the former fugitive smirked.
"On behalf of my people, I promise that everything said here will not leave this hut," Teyla vowed.
Even though she hid her interest, I couldn't be fooled.
"Well, then..." I exhaled. "I suppose I'll start by telling you who we are..."
* * *
"That's it?" Jensen asked me incredulously an hour later, after three cups of tea.
"In general terms," I nodded.
"Amazing," Teyla breathed, looking at Chaya and me with delight. The latter even blushed. "You are living Ancients! This is... a miracle! We thought you were long gone."
"Technically, we're not exactly Ancients," I clarified. "Just directly related to them."
"Those you call the Ancients were a confederation of many peoples," Chaya explained.
"That doesn't matter much to my people," Emmagan said. "Just think... You live in the City of the Ancients, you control their technology..."
"I wouldn't say confidently," Jensen said. "I've seen Misha fly. Embarrassing."
"Practice comes with training," I said. "It'll get better over time."
"Can you provide us with safety?" Emmagan asked. "Settle us in your city and protect us from the Wraith? My people revere the Ancients and everything connected with them. We won't cause you any trouble, I promise."
She can vouch for the adults, sure.
But the children... How do you keep an eye on them? As I recall, it was an Athosian child who caused the release of an energy-absorbing creature on Atlantis that caused a lot of problems.
And how many more could it cause, given the danger of most of Atlantis's labs?
I told Teyla the latter bluntly.
"They don't have to be settled in the city," Chaya said. "There's a continent on Lantea. We could move the Athosians there and help them settle in a new place. That would be much easier."
"Yes, but the city is underwater," I reminded. "If something happens, say a hurricane, we'd have to evacuate people from there to the city. And only two of us can fly 'jumpers.' That means hundreds of trips, costing time and energy."
Not to mention that only one "jumper" is fully operational. The rest need servicing, repairs... Spare parts are scarce, so the only option is to cannibalize some jumpers for parts for the others. And again, it comes down to time — Chaya is the only person I know who could handle repairing Ancient tech.
"Yes, that's a problem," she admitted.
"Besides, my people are traders," Teyla reminded. "We can't stop trading with our other partners. We'll need fertilizer, tools, many other things."
"So you need free passage to the gate," Alvar concluded. "The city would have to be a restricted facility. You can't regularly schedule planned trips to other planets. Also, at least one of your ships would constantly have to fly to the mainland to pick up traders, bring them to the city, and send them through the gate to other planets."
"But there's a way out," I said. "What if we find the Athosians a planet with a gate, one where the Wraith don't show up?"
"Does such a planet even exist?" Alvar doubted. "The galaxy is swarming with them. I don't know a single race that hasn't encountered the Wraith."
"It doesn't have to be inhabited," Chaya lit up with an idea. "As far as I know the principles of planetary colonization, the Lanteans tried to create the same living conditions on all of them. So, if nothing has changed, the Athosians could find suitable conditions on almost any world. The problem is only clearing land for fields, building houses, and other infrastructure. Also, I can think of something for gate defense and an early warning system for approaching Wraith."
"You're suggesting installing a set of long-range sensors on the new planet?" I asked. "That would be very costly."
Long-range sensors allowed Atlantis to detect ship movement, including in hyperspace. Not across the entire galaxy, but in a specific, quite vast area of Pegasus.
I don't know how many resources it takes to produce a sensor array, but one thing is certain: there are none like those installed on the Lantean city-ships left in the galaxy.
"I'd agree with that," Chaya said. "However, we could use simple satellites for such purposes. If we get the necessary materials, I'll build simple satellites that will at least warn people of ships appearing in orbit a couple dozen minutes before they drop out of hyperspace. If the settlement is close to the gate, that would help them get away from the Wraith."
"Can't you set up some big cannon here that would shoot down the Wraith?" Alvar asked.
I noticed Chaya flinch at the question. She's apparently not a fan of big guns.
"No," she said. "Installing a universal weapon that could equally effectively take down fighters and large ships would take a very long time."
"Well, there is one, since the Wraith are asleep," Jensen shrugged.
"And it would require very powerful energy sources," Chaya continued.
"I suppose the portable generators used on my planet to power military camps won't work here?" the former fugitive clarified.
"If they can at least draw zero energy, then yes, they would," Chaya looked at the man with such kindness and a slight smile that I felt like applauding her and telling everyone that the first Ancient sarcasm in my life had just been uttered.
Zero energy... Sounds similar to a zero point module. Unlikely to be a coincidence. I'll need to at least talk to her in general terms about how Lantean technology works. I can't just push buttons without understanding what I'm doing at even a basic mechanical level?
At the very least, it won't hurt.
"Zero energy?" Teyla asked a very timely question. She even directed it at me.
"Exactly," I confirmed with an honest face. And then, realizing I couldn't answer that question, I looked at Chaya. "Could you..."
"No," the Ancient said in a categorical tone. "It's enough to know that it's one of the highest orders of energy generation in the universe. And we don't have enough resources to power an installation to protect an entire planet."
"What if we camouflage the planet?" Alvar asked. "Your ship can become invisible, right?"
"Is that true?" It seemed Teyla was experiencing catharsis after catharsis today.
"Yes, it's true," I said. "Invisible to scanning systems, but it's still real. If the Wraith who know about Athos fly here in ships, don't find the planet in its place, get curious, and just for fun decide to shoot at where it was, that won't save it from destruction. Not to mention that a cloaking field of that size would also be difficult to build..."
"Simply," Chaya replied.
."..and power," I finished my sentence.
"So it all comes down to energy sources?" Jensen asked.
"As always," I agreed.
"Let's raid a Wraith base," he suggested. "They must have some kind of generator."
"Their efficiency is far below what we need," Chaya rejected the proposal. "Relocating to another planet is the only reasonable option in your case. This place is too dangerous."
"If your plan works and we get weapons," Teyla hinted meaningfully at what had already been said, "our home won't be so dangerous."
"You're dealing with Ancient technology," Jensen seconded. "So you must know how to make the Ring not let the Wraith through."
"That won't save you when they arrive in ships," I countered. "I understand you don't want to move to another planet. But we're offering you a chance to live in peace and safety. At least for a considerable time. As soon as we have the means to secure Athos, we'll do it, of course."
"We won't," Chaya interrupted me. "Your planet is a dangerous place to live."
"I'm sorry," Teyla forced a smile. "But we've lived here for generations. Except for the Wraith, Athos is a wonderful place."
"Yes," I agreed. "It's lovely here..."
"Until the supervolcano erupts — the one whose caldera holds your settlement, the entire valley around it, and the ruins of the city on the other side of the river," Chaya showed everyone her datapad. The screen displayed several diagrams and a few pulsing dots. Also visible were the uneven edges of something that looked very much like a volcanic caldera. Only very large. "Since we're being honest, your planet threatens you and your children. A supervolcano eruption could not only kill you all with magma flows or volcanic gas emissions, but also destroy the entire biosphere."
"I think you're exaggerating," Alvar said. "I've seen several volcanic eruptions on my home planet. Yes, it's scary and uncomfortable to be near them, but they didn't threaten the whole planet."
"The caldera of this volcano reaches a radius of a thousand settlements like this one," Chaya explained. "If the supervolcano awakens, an ash ejection would quickly fill the atmosphere, making it impermeable to the local star's light. No light, no heat. So the surface would cool, plants and animals would gradually die off. Your turn would follow."
Emmagan looked stunned. You don't meet your Ancestors — or rather, their descendants, as Chaya and I introduced ourselves — every day. And you certainly don't expect from that meeting to be told about the end of your civilization in such colorful terms.
Even I had nothing to say.
"You can always escape through the Ring of the Ancients in case of danger," Jensen suggested.
"The gate is built from a material called naquadah," Chaya said. There was an unclear intensity in her voice. From the moment she told them about the giant problem under our feet, she seemed transformed. Usually calm and unruffled, she now spoke as if convincing the Athosians to get out of here was the mission of her life. Which is actually strange... But I wasn't going to interrogate her in front of strangers. It seems the girl developed a savior complex after losing her own people, and she's trying to fulfill it fully here. Well, I won't stop her — not because debating someone smarter than you is stupid. I have my own interests in what's happening. "The density of this substance affects its mass. As soon as the rock beneath us becomes unstable, the gate will fall straight into the magma. You won't be able to use it anymore and will be trapped on the planet. You'd be very lucky if by that time we have a spaceship with a hyperdrive that can descend into the atmosphere and take all refugees on board. Otherwise, the death toll would be measured in..."
Chaya fell silent, looking at those present with the expression of a teacher explaining to children in class that naming a triangle by its vertices "A-B-C" instead of "X-Y-Z" is not a good idea when you're participating in the Olympiad.