Nayleia's Heritage

***RETURN TO LAHAL***

Nayleia slipped out of Ronon’s room and headed for the lift to take it to her own level. She and Ronon had fallen into a languid sleep after their exertions and she was surprised to realize that two hours had passed. As she made her way back to her room, Nayleia found herself smiling as she replayed what had passed between herself and Ronon. She finally understood what is supposed to pass between a man and a woman. She finally understood why Harla had tried to deny her even this pleasure by making her past experiences so painful and degrading. It was difficult to imagine Harla in the throes of passion, experiencing the delights that Ronon had just initiated her to; yet Harla must have known about those pleasures. Her hatred of Nayleia was complete and her spitefulness well known. She would have done anything to deny Nayleia any joy in life.

Nayleia reached her room a short while after leaving Ronon’s and quickly showered and lay down to continue napping. She had not wanted to leave while Ronon slept, but felt that her presence in his room would raise too many questions; questions that she didn’t want to answer just yet. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Ronon, his was such a charismatic personality that she knew that her attraction to him was intensely powerful. His heated looks and patience seemed to indicate that he felt strongly about her also, but Nayleia was unsure if theirs was a relationship destined to have a future. It was confusing to try to look ahead with a dangerous mission just a few hours off. Nayleia tried to clear her mind yet tossed around for some time before finally falling into a light sleep.


**********

“Where’s Nayleia?” Ronon asked, as he burst into the Gate Room where the rest of the team had gathered for the appointed hour.

“She’s with Teyla, getting outfitted with some of our gear,” Sheppard answered, looking at his teammate quizzically.

Ronon ignored the questioning look and instead turned to head back out the door, only to find his pathway blocked by Sheppard’s lesser bulk.

“Whoa there, big fella!” Sheppard said, extending his hand across Ronon’s path. “I don’t mean to pry, but since we’re about to embark on a very dangerous mission…I think you should let me know if there’s something going on between you and Nayleia that I should be concerned about.”

Ronon contemplated Sheppard’s extended arm and his question.

~Was there something going on between him and Nayleia? ~ Ronon wondered.

He had awoken a short while ago to find that she had left while he slept. It was unnerving to realize that his heightened senses had chosen not to alert him to her movements. In the years he had spent ‘Running’, his senses had always warned him of movement close by. Those same senses had saved his life on more occasions than he wanted to recall. Now, they had failed him. Nayleia should not have been able to dress and leave his room without him knowing. There were only two people he could think of who should be able to disarm his internal defenses, both of whom had earned his trust indubitably. One of them stood blocking his way with an arm he knew he could break in a dozen places in less than a minute.

“There’s nothing going on that need concern you,” Ronon finally replied, as he tapped Sheppard’s arm and shook his head in disappointment.

“Well, that’s good to know,” Sheppard said, as he quickly removed his arm, having caught the train of Ronon’s thought. “As for Nayleia…she just came in with Teyla. I suggest you make it quick.”

Ronon spun around and sure enough Nayleia was walking into the Gate Room clad in the same dark grey and black uniform that Teyla wore. She did not carry a P-90 but sported a smaller revolver and the sharp serrated back-edge knife that the military favored. She advanced towards him, smiling brightly as if there was nothing wrong. In two strides he had closed on her and pulled her into his arms to cover her lips with a passionate kiss, much to her surprise as well as those gathered awaiting final instructions.

The fervor of Ronon’s kiss drew forth an instant response from Nayleia. Though surprised that he would kiss her so openly, she found her body leaning into his embrace and her lips parting to eagerly accept his deeply plunging tongue. Her body’s response to Ronon’s muscular physique was swift and undeniably eager. Nayleia could control neither the tightening of her nipples as they were pressed against Ronon’s chest, nor the pulsing sensation that started at her core as she was transported back to the previous hours’ activity. The answering throb of Ronon’s rapidly hardening maleness assured Nayleia that he was equally affected by her nearness.

“Ah-hem!”

Sheppard’s loud clearing of his throat acted as a bucket of cold water, drawing both Nayleia and Ronon back to an awareness of their surroundings. Reluctantly Ronon released his hold on Nayleia, yet he remained standing in close proximity. No one missed the display of typical Alpha male behavior…clearly he was daring the other males to challenge his claim to Nayleia.

Nayleia also noted Ronon’s possessive display, and was heartened by it. She had thought he would be embarrassed if it were publicly known that they had made love, which was why she had crept out of his room. Now she realized that her fears were groundless. He had all but proclaimed to everyone that he was in a relationship with Nayleia; and their near public ravishment of each other definitively indicated the sexual nature of their relationship.

“Okay, now that I have everyone’s attention,” Sheppard said, with a pointed look in Ronon’s direction, “we all have our orders. Remember we don’t want a second run-in with these people.”

“Colonel Sheppard,” Dr Weir had come into the Gate Room and was striding towards him at the center of the room, “as you are aware, it is our policy not to use deadly force on the less advanced peoples of Pegasus. Unfortunately, your team’s previous experience in Lahal indicated that this directive put you in jeopardy. I’m here to tell you that for this mission, deadly force has been authorized.”

Sheppard did not respond at first to this change in the directives governing the level of engagement allowed. He was not totally in agreement with this change, but he could understand the need to have the option.

“People, you’ve heard Dr Weir,” Sheppard said to the assembled teams, “deadly force is authorized. I should say though that before deadly force is used, we need to be sure that our other options have been exhausted. Use hand-to-hand combat, and your knives before you resort to the P-90s.”

“Okay Colonel, teams.” Dr Weir nodded to the team members gathered and then signaled to the Gate Technician to engage the dialing sequence for the Lahalan Gate “Good luck!”

The whooshing sound of an active wormhole opening filled the Gate Room, and the nine members of the away teams quickly shouldered their gear in anticipation of the commencement of their mission. The M.A.L.P. was sent through first and the infrared images indicated that the Gate on the other side was unguarded. The signal was then given for the teams to proceed on the mission, and one by one they stepped through the event horizon.


**********

Nayleia led the team along the outskirts of Lahal towards the entrance of her mother’s cave. Their progress thus far had been steady and without incident, since every precaution was taken to ensure that the villagers slept undisturbed. Nayleia had informed Sheppard and the rest of the team that Janta usually stationed two sentries to alert the village to the presence of raiding Wraith darts. She led the team away from these sentry stations and kept them to the undergrowth and thickets that surrounded the living areas.

One hour after their arrival through the Gate, the team approached the cave that Nayleia had identified as the location of her mother’s special place. This was no surprise, since for the last fifteen minutes McKay had been getting more and more excited by the readings on his hand held monitor. Several times he had to be quieted by Teyla, who had taken up a position close to him for just that purpose.

Nayleia quickly entered the cave followed closely by Ronon and Sheppard, and finally McKay. Teyla had been assigned the task of watching the cave entrance and so she took up a concealed position that afforded her a clear view of the cave’s immediate vicinity.

Inside the cave was dimly lit by the natural glow of bioluminescent algae growing on the walls of the cave. The team drew out their torch lights and followed Nayleia to the back of the cave where a series of hand-painted drawings covered the walls.

“Clear the way, coming through. This calls for brain, not brawn.” McKay indiscriminately pushed his way to the front of the group and used the instrument he still held to scan the wall where most of the paintings were clustered.

“Ahhh…just what I suspected.” McKay muttered to himself and then searched amongst his gear for another instrument which he then used to collect additional data.

“What is it Rodney?” Sheppard asked, stepping up to the busy scientist, who spared him a single look that said ‘Don’t interrupt, genius at work’.

Sheppard shook his head at Ronon and Nayleia, who understood that they would have to wait for McKay’s analysis of his scans. The paintings on the wall drew Nayleia, who stepped towards a group that she recognized must have been done just before her mother’s mysterious illness made it impossible for her to visit the cave. Nayleia remained staring at one particular panel for several minutes until she felt Ronon’s presence close behind her.

“It’s the strangest thing,” she began to speak to no one in particular, “I know I shouldn’t be able to recognize this, but something keeps telling me that I should.”

“What is it, what do you see?” Ronon asked, leaning closer to Nayleia, trying to see what she saw.

“This section here,” Nayleia said, reaching out her hand towards the wall. “It’s very fam---” Nayleia’s words trailed off in shock as the section of wall moved away from her hand.

“What!” Ronon cried in surprise as he too noted the inward movement of the section of the wall. Grabbing Nayleia, he pushed her behind him as he drew his gun in preparation for any additional surprises.

“Hold on, hold on! Don’t go shooting up everything just yet!” McKay had rushed over to the section of wall that had now stopped moving. “I was counting on this!” he cried in excitement, running his scanner over the partially open section.

“Rodney…you care to cue in the rest of us on what’s going on?”

Sheppard sounded aggravated, and clearly at the end of his patience. The others knew that he hated leaving Teyla outside alone in such hostile territory, though he would never admit it to himself. A quick glance at his face was enough to convince McKay that it was time to let the others know what he suspected was at work in the cave.

“Okay. This…” McKay spun around indicating the surrounding walls, “is all one big hologram, created over time by one very smart woman.”

“What…”

“A hologram…”

Everyone seemed to be shocked and trying to speak at the same time, much to McKay’s amusement. He held up his hand for silence then proceeded to explain.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said all of it is a hologram. Actually, most of it is a hologram. The section that Nayleia just revealed is not a hologram, that’s the portal to whatever is being concealed by the hologram.” McKay held up his hand to forestall the barrage of questions he saw bubbling up from his audience. “And before you all go talking and asking questions again, let me finish explaining.”

“Nayleia told us that her mother came to Lahal from some other planet. When she came, she must have had some form of technology that can create holograms. She must have used that technology to hide what ever is behind that portal and to create the illusion that this cave is only a cave. The portal seems to have been keyed to Nayleia and so she was drawn to the section of the hologram that opens the portal. Now if my over protective friend here had not pushed Nayleia aside,” McKay indicated a glaring Ronon, “we’d know what’s behind that slab of stone. My scans clearly indicated that what we seek is located there.”

“So…can we get on with it?” Sheppard’s impatient question reminded the others of their precarious position and the need to complete their investigations before the Lahalans started to stir.

“If Nayleia would oblige…?” McKay gestured Nayleia forward as he stepped back. “Just stare at the wall like before, until a section beckons you to touch it.”

Nayleia stepped forward and did as he had instructed. It was not long before a specific design drew her eyes to it and her hands seemed to reach towards it by their own volition. As before the section of wall slide back, away from her reaching in hand. The wall section that opened revealed a shallow recess, no larger than an eight inch square in size. Nayleia stared in astonishment at the carved jewel encrusted cavity that had been hidden by the wall section. She recognized the design as one she had seen all her life. Without being told, her hands reached for the ring she wore on her chain as a pendant, and fitted its jewel encrusted surface into the complementary slot reveal on the wall.

The crystal jewels on the ring matched exactly those encrusting the wall slot. As the two sets of crystals met, the entire section of wall sluggishly slid away to reveal an inner chamber. Nayleia stepped into the chamber, closely followed by Ronon and McKay. As she crossed the threshold, a soft light flickered on to bathe the small chamber in amber light. McKay rushed over to the sole piece of equipment that seemed to be some kind of Ancient computer interface. It instantly responded to his touch by coming to life and spewing out data encoded in hieroglyphics that everyone recognized as being of Ancient origin.

Everyone stood back to allow McKay free access to the equipment as he connected his Tablet PC to the Ancient computer and began to configure a compatibility interface so that he could download the data stored on what was obviously some type of Ancient repository. The process of transferring the data to a compressed file took a little over an hour, during which time Sheppard reconnoitered outside the cave to assure himself that both Teyla and their position were safe from discovery. As the others looked on McKay quickly disconnected his computer interface, then opened the power chamber to reveal that it did in fact contain a smaller version of the prized Z.P.M.s. McKay quickly removed it and stored it in the special case brought with them for that purpose. The removal of the Z.P.M. plunged the chamber into darkness so they drew out their torch lights once more, before re-entering the main cave.

Nayleia stood by numbly watching as McKay quickly panned the camcorder they had brought, across the painted walls. They recorded the paintings and writings her mother had left her, hoping that when the footage was analyzed it would give them clues about her mother’s origins and the purpose of the databank they had just found. Ronon came to stand behind her, and gently laid his hands on her shoulders to squeeze them in support. He seemed to understand her mood. It was the last time she would see this cave again. She now understood that her mother had left a legacy for her upon and behind its walls. Her heritage was somehow encrypted in the data they had just retrieved. Answers to questions that had plagued her all her life would be revealed, her mother had seen to it. That was her final gift to Nayleia.

“How about we move out people?”

Sheppard suggestion broke through Nayleia’s musings and saw her moving out of the cave along with the others. Teyla rejoined them soon after and reported that there had been no activity in the vicinity of the cave. So far the mission was going according to plan, though they had not expected to have to download an Ancient database, and so it was close to dawn when they finally left the cave. A quick call to Major Lorne ensured that he was informed about their impending return to the Gate.

The team’s progress back through the village outskirts proved to be uneventful, and they were convinced that their precautions had been more than adequate to see them past the sentries undetected. The first rays of the rising sun were just reaching across the horizon when they got the first indication that all was not right. Ronon dived towards Nayleia as he called out a warning to the others. There was little time to react, as a bevy of spears were flung their way. The ploy was similar to that used before to capture the team on their prior visit and as before it caused them to cluster.

Sheppard quickly assessed their situation. He saw the precarious position they were in, with the Gate and Lorne’s team still several minutes away, and an indeterminate number of Lahalans beginning to surround them. Making a decision, he quickly fired off several shots into the bushes lining their route back to the Gate and shouted to his team to make a break for it.

McKay led the way in the dash for the Gate, and was covered by the others who took turns firing warning shots back towards the way they had come. Major Lorne was radioed and informed of their rapid flight towards the Gate. He quickly signaled to his team to lay down cover fire to give Sheppard and the rest of the team time to reach the Gate. As McKay’s fleeing form came into view, Lorne quickly dialed the Atlantis Gate and sent his team’s G.D.O. code through.

The team had managed to avoid being hit by the spears being hurled their way. They ran steadily towards the Gate, and from time to time one or the other would sprinkle shots towards the ground cover where they could make out the outlines of lurking forms. Nayleia ran along with the others towards the Gate, dodging any spears hurled her way. Ronon had kept close to her at all times, and due to his keen hearing, was able to warn her when spears were being hurled her way. The first indication she had that she was hit was a fiery sensation in her calf. When Nayleia looked down she barely made out the small dart protruding from her flesh before unconsciousness claimed her sending her crashing to the ground.

Ronon had been watching out for Nayleia, not being sure of the extent to which she could defend herself in a fight. His special gun had stunned several of the Lahalans and as he fired it he had noted Nayleia’s interest in its uniqueness. His first indication that something was wrong with Nayleia came when she stumbled to a stop, then fell down heavily. His greater stride and momentum carried him forward several steps before he realized that she was not rising. Ronon quickly rushed back to her prone body and bent to lift her into his arms intending to carry her the remaining distance to the Gate. The sharp stinging sensation in his back, followed by similar sensations in his neck and arm, were the last thing he felt before he crashed down to sprawl beside Nayleia.

Sheppard reached the Gate behind McKay and Teyla. They had each turned to assure themselves that the others in the team were following behind, before jumping into the active Gate. Sheppard signaled to Lorne and his team to go through the Gate while he laid down cover fire for Ronon and Nayleia who were making their way across the final meters. When Sheppard saw Nayleia go down, it sent a chill through him as he recognized that she had been drugged. He called out a warning to Ronon, but was too late. He saw multiple darts pierce Ronon’s back and neck and was not surprised when the combined effect of the drugged darts caused him to fall unconscious beside Nayleia. It was with dread that Sheppard watched the Lahalans quickly surround Nayleia and Ronon’s bodies, shaking their hands in defiance at the fleeing Atlanteans.

Sheppard quickly assessed the situation. Both Ronon and Nayleia were down and surrounded by Lahalans, and half of his teams had already gone through the Gate leaving him with only Lorne and another marine for support. If they fired on the Lahalans there was a definite possibility they would hit either Ronon or Nayleia. The time to fight had passed; the Lahalans had won this round. Sheppard signaled to Lorne and his teammate to go through the Gate and with a final look at the hopeless situation, followed the last man through the Gate.

TBC