Days Sixteen - Nineteen

The Daedalus goes into a giddy, concerned whirlwind of activity to get Elizabeth ready for her visit to Anbur's village.

Rodney scrounges up a loose PDA, loads Peter's translation program onto it and makes sure there are several fresh batteries to go with it, before giving it to Elizabeth. There are a couple of the crew who are annoyed as hell that they can't use their PDAs, but Rodney steamrolls over their objections with the hard fact that this mission might mean eating and not dying in the near future. He doesn't tell them that his was the first 'spare'.

John spends time with each person that Olander has chosen for the mission, feeling easier once he is sure they understand that the villagers are people and aliens, too. He realizes that he shouldn't have worried; all of them had been seasoned members back at the SGC. The only Marine he specifically requests to go along is Lieutenant Cadman.

Caldwell goes into a subtle funk, snapping and growling at people, but it's not too different from his regular snarl.

Carson puts together a medical emergency kit, and Dr. Cole tries to persuade him that the portable defibrillator is unnecessary, but she loses that battle. Most of the kit is for daily medical care, sunscreen, analgesics, antacids, and muscle relaxers.

Elizabeth is nearly beside herself with excitement. She doesn't sleep at all during the hot day and instead spends hours with the PDA to familiarize herself with the program.

In line with her declaration to keep the crew informed, Elizabeth announces a town hall meeting to take place at just before dusk the day before their departure. The entire crew and passenger manifest, some two hundred and thirty people, gather together in the starboard hangar bay. The 302s have been pushed to the side; those that arrive early find seats among the crates and toolboxes. The rest are forced to stand in the searing heat of the late afternoon. Though this is the only place on the entire ship that's large enough to hold everyone on board, it's still a tight squeeze, and there's a definite odor of stale sweat in the air. The bright light of the open doors leaves faces shadowed and grim.

There is a tension in the air, though they've been keeping it together as much as you can when you've been shipwrecked on a planet without a gate, and the dark current of fear and doubt in the room is almost palpable.

Elizabeth insists that John and Rodney stand with her and Colonel Caldwell. Rodney seems to take this as his due, but John is not exactly sure what part he has to play in her agenda here. Caldwell is the ranking officer, as well as ship's captain, and though John isn't really part of the ship's chain of command, she's adamant that it's important. John knows that Elizabeth is loyal to a fault, and so he's willing to play along.

The lights are on, the crowd is milling about and speaking with each other in low voices, when Elizabeth nods and climbs up onto a box.

"I would like to thank all of you for coming this evening, and I hope that this meeting will aid us in moving forward together.

"We're all scared, and I can't tell you what the future holds for us, only that we have to hold on together, and make the best of what we have here and now. We have each other, and from personal experience, that's our best, most important resource. I'm proud of each and every one of you, for your professionalism and dedication.

"As you probably already know, Lieutenant Swenson volunteered to attempt to reach Atlantis in a modified 302. It's possible that we may never know if he succeeds, but his courage and determination are not in question. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

"While it's true that our initial attempt to establish a relationship with the native peoples of this planet ended in failure, I made successful contact yesterday with one of the inhabitants of the village to the east. The language barrier is thick, but thanks to Dr. McKay we have a tool through which we can learn to communicate with them.

"To that end, tomorrow night we're going to go to their village and cement into place the friendly relations that were established, and continue to build the bridge between our peoples.

"Now, since this is a 'town' meeting, if any of you have questions, we'll do our best to answer them. If you have any suggestions, we'll take those into consideration and try to act on them. Anyone?"

An unidentified voice from the back of the crowd shouts, "Dr. Weir, why are you running the meeting and not Colonel Caldwell?"

Caldwell answers that one and his tone is absent of his capitulation to necessity. "Dr. Weir is uniquely qualified to run a colony, should it come to that. We've fallen into a position where the current military structure may not be viable in the future. Anyone who has a concern that is not directly related to the chain of command or official Daedalus business should feel free to consult with Dr. Weir." There are a few murmurs in the crowd, but no one raises any further objection.

Elizabeth fields many more shouted questions: food and if they plan to implement rationing; medical supplies; what are the chances for a rescue; what were the people like; what was the village like, and more, which she answers or passes onto the appropriate authority.

When it appears that there are no more questions, Elizabeth closes the meeting. "Before I depart tomorrow, I'll post the results of my personnel survey in the mess. Look it over, and keep it in mind when you need something done, or if you have a project in mind. Again, thank you for your time, and have a good evening."

Elizabeth's plan works to some extent, there is a slight reduction of the tension in the room, but it does nothing to ease the haunted fear that's still shadowing most of the crew and passengers. The crowd slowly disburses and Elizabeth's smiling as a few people come up to speak with her and shake her hand, but John still feels like a fifth wheel. Off to her side, McKay is talking with Caldwell about some detail about ship repair, so John drifts towards the open end of the hangar bay. In defiance of Beckett's recommendation, there are a handful of people sitting on the lip, watching a few of the Marines out in the sand toss a football back and forth. Others are just standing around, but several people are watching the western horizon with a peculiar intensity.

John climbs down Lorne's makeshift ladder to see what they're looking at, even though he suspects what it is. A figure is standing at the peak of the ridge, limned by the last of the sunset. On impulse he raises his arm in a wave and surprisingly gets a reaction--a wave in return, though the figure doesn't move any closer. John turns his head to call out to Lorne, but when he looks back towards the setting sun, the person is gone.

Lorne reaches his side. "Sheppard."

"Sorry, Major. I got a wave out of today's watcher, but he's gone now."

"That's interesting. I wish we knew what their damage is."

John shrugs and turns away. He'll tell Elizabeth about it later. "They'll be back. Let's play some football." Beckett couldn't really expect them to stay inside all of the time.

 

Day Twenty

The eastern town doesn't seem that different from its counterpart in the west; it's laid out in a similar fashion, with the market place near the gate and a fountain in the central plaza. It's neat and free of debris if more than a little dusty. The buildings of white stone are one or two stories tall, but stairs carved down into the ground suggest that the first floors may be underground. There are a few straggly trees on the street, but glimpses over stone walls reveal gardens contained within the courtyards.

The main market area is swarming with throngs of people, more than in the other town. There are heavy, wooden carts piled with foodstuffs, pulled by large shaggy buffalo-ish dray animals that snort and honk, and small pack animals resembling donkeys with heavy packs on their backs.

They thread through the crowds making eye contact, and, in return, people wave and smile, and the shopkeepers call out to them. Everyone seems to dress similarly, short capes or long robes over baggy trousers or simple shifts, and all the clothing appears to sport rich, intricate embroidery, and is designed to protect the wearer from the sun.

The main road leads them to the fountain, where Anbur meets them with a large retinue trailing behind him. They all bow at the waist then fold to their knees in a brief genuflection. Elizabeth follows suit, but John isn't that flexible, so he opts to just bow a little. His Marines look at each other, but they follow his lead. It's a little surreal, seeing three Marines in desert camouflage armed to the teeth, bowing at the natives.

Anbur looks pleased and makes a little gesture with his hands and Elizabeth pulls the PDA out of her vest and hands it to him with a smile. He gives a loud belly laugh and he's speaking quickly in the unknown dialect, pulling on Elizabeth's arm. She shoots a smile at John and they obediently follow Anbur to a large building much taller than those around it, perhaps four or five stories, surrounded by a low stone wall. John falls back and surreptitiously activates his headset and reports their status back to the Daedalus.

It's not a home, it's not a library, and it's not a school, but something like all three together. John immediately begins to prowl around the large room, doing recon under the disguise of curiosity.

Delicate screens of brass filigree worked into familiar Ancient designs divide parts of the large airy space, and low, familiar looking sofas form pit groups. Lanterns covered in the same filigree cast pretty blue light and shadows, and there is art everywhere. Statues of stone and metal stand on tables and on the floor, and one particular screen creates an alcove with a huge, towering statue of a man wearing an antiquated form of the same clothing that they've seen everyone wearing. The statue has a solemn face, but there's warmth and humor there, too. As art it's exquisitely done, though the meditating students arrayed at its base speak to another purpose altogether.

One of Anbur's men gently pulls John away, pointing at the statue. "Qaral."

John repeats the word, assuming that it's probably a name, "Qaral," and allows himself to be dragged over to the meeting.

Elizabeth and Anbur are seated on one of the couchettes, having a slow tortuous conversation about quarters and dinner, sounding out words and teaching each other Ancient and English phrases for we have place to sleep, and there is food.

Despite the unfamiliarity of the setting, the dynamic is familiar; hurry up and wait. John slouches back into the settee, keeps an ear on the conversation and gets comfortable as he can while still wearing the P90. He's feeling conflicted about this, good manners would dictate that he leave his weapons at the door in the same way that one might remove one's cap, but Anbur's people are still strangers with an unknown agenda. He's been fooled before, and he isn't planning on appreciably letting his guard down. Cadman, Lu and Timmons are sitting nearby, and they look as uncomfortable as John feels.

There's a bizarre multitude of languages being thrown out. Anbur is learning English while he's teaching Elizabeth the local patois as well as improving her Ancient. John would never admit it, but he's picked up a smattering of Ancient, and hearing Anbur speak the words gives them meaning, a context that had previously eluded him.

He's also getting the drift of the other language. It's clear that Ancient is their religious 'high' language, and daily business is conducted in what John is coming to think of as the 'low' language. It'll take him some time to get fluent enough to wander around town and meet people.

John might as well get something out of the trip. If they are going to be here for a while, they need to be able to get along with the neighbors, and that means speaking the language.

Another aide approaches Anbur, and they hold a brief conversation. Anbur explains to Elizabeth, slowly and in Ancient, and then repeats in English. "We have room."

John uncurls and stands up, and the Marines nearly jump out of their seats. It's been a long night, and they're all tired and edgy. Elizabeth smiles at their eagerness, though she too looks a little worn around the edges.

Anbur leads them upstairs to a room that's clearly a student dormitory that's been hastily evacuated to provide room for guests.

It's a plain room, long and narrow with a large bathing facility at the far end of the room. Six beds line the walls, with an ornate trunk at the foot and a desk situated to the side of each bed. The walls are whitewashed, and broad windows are cut into the thick stone. The glass windows are cranked wide open, and the two sets of shutters are open to allow the bright light and a small breeze to spill into the room.

"Elizabeth, you're going to bunk in here with us?" John poses it as a question but there is only one answer he expects.

"I don't see why not, there's plenty of room." She doesn't look at all concerned about blurring the line between leader and follower, and John appreciates that. He really doesn't want to have to make a scene if Anbur tries to separate Elizabeth into another room. Maybe in a few days he'll feel a little more comfortable, but right now it's still too new, and he feels jittery.

John chooses one of the beds closest to the door, and Timmons gets the one on the other side of the room, with Lu next to him. Elizabeth and Cadman take the beds nearest the bathroom.

All of the packs are dumped on the spare bed, and Anbur waits politely by the door as they settle in and arrange themselves. A few minutes later, several teenagers arrive bearing a portable table, chairs and a heavy tray laden with food and drink.

Elizabeth thanks him in Ancient, and he replies in English. "Refresh. Rest. Safe." Anbur motions to them to sit and partake and gives them a slight bow as he leaves the room.

The teenagers stand at the door and gawk at the strangers, until Anbur returns with a soft curse and a light cuff to shoo the kids away. It's comforting to know that teenagers are the same across two galaxies. John chuckles as he inspects the tray of food. "So you and Anbur seem to be picking up the language pretty quickly."

Elizabeth motions to the Marines who are lounging on their beds. "Come on, have a bite to eat." There is a shuffle of chairs and soon everyone is grazing the food, Ethiopian style.

"Dr. Grodin's database is invaluable, it's taken months off the learning curve, and I don't know what we would have done if they didn't speak any Ancient."

"I'm curious to know how they know Ancient, and who this Qaral guy is."

"Qaral?"

"Oh, there's a statue behind one of screens who I think was introduced as 'Qaral'. There were a few people praying around it."

"Did they seem upset that you went in there?"

"Not really, the guy just pulled me away. I have to admit that they are doing their best to put us at ease." He pauses to chew on a bite of the unleavened bread. "It's like they were surprised to find out that we're strangers, but don't act surprised that we are strangers."

Elizabeth quirks an eyebrow at John with a questioning look.

"Okay, that didn't make sense even to me. Must be the sun." John gives Elizabeth a cocky smirk.

"They were surprised when we were strangers, but not that we were aliens and know a little Ancient."

"Yeah, that works."

The conversation grinds to a halt as they eat. It's obvious to John that Elizabeth is mentally working on a problem, but even so, when she speaks, he gets a small jolt of surprise.

"So, now that we're all here I think I should lay out some ground rules." The Marines stop eating and look at Elizabeth with perfect attention.

"First, you should call me Elizabeth; I think we might be here for a while. Second, I'm sure that you three have first names--I'm going to find out what they are, and I'm going to use them. Third, I need all of you to do your best to learn as much as you can and report even the smallest detail to me - like that statue. Lieutenant, why don't we start with you?"

John nods at the Marines and gives them a look that says 'humor her'; he'll take Elizabeth aside later and explain that the Marines would probably gouge their own eyes out before they'd offer her any disrespect by the familiarity of addressing her by her first name.

Cadman swallows her bite hurriedly. "Laura. I like to blow things up, and I've been known to tap-dance."

That gets a laugh, and the faint tension in the air disappears.

Sergeant Lu goes next. "Chin, Lu Chin. I gave up professional golf to join the Marines."

"And last but not least, me. My mother must've been dropping acid, because Valentine Timmons is my name. Just call me Val."

John grins. "Or was she was a Heinlein fan."

Val gives Sheppard a startled look, as if he's reevaluating him. "Sir, I seriously doubt that."

Elizabeth beams with pleasure. "Val, Chin, Laura. Now that we all know each other a little better, does anyone speak a second language?"

Chin smiles, "Cantonese, actually. English is my second language."

"I think you might be learning a third and fourth here."

"Yes, ma'am, after you learn English and Chinese, it's all downhill from there."

"Laura? How about you?"

"Four years of high school Spanish, but I've forgotten most of it."

"I've found that I always remember more than I thought I did, but the experience should come in handy."

Val didn't need to be asked. "Twelve years of Latin—I went to a Catholic school, and it was a required subject."

"Have you been able to pick up anything by just listening in?

"It sounds a little familiar, and I can guess at what it might mean, but not really, no."

"I believe that you're going to be joining Chin in learning a few new languages."

Val smiled. "Yes ma'am. I'd like that."

"John, how about you?"

John soft-pedals his answer. "I can order a beer and find the bathroom in a handful, but I picked up more than a little Farsi."

"I'm sure that you must also have learned a little Ancient, even if only by osmosis." Elizabeth favors John with a sly smile.

John shifts uncomfortably and avoids Elizabeth's eyes. "Maybe some."

She lets him off the hook. "I'm really looking forward to knowing more about these people."

John muses about their two vastly dissimilar experiences. "I wonder why they seem so friendly while the other village was so indifferent—cold."

"Perhaps Anbur will be able to explain that—or at least his interpretation of it."

"I have a bad feeling about it; I don't want to get caught in the middle of something where we have no idea what's going on," John says.

Elizabeth reassures him, "We'll just have to wait and see."

 

Days Twenty-One - Forty-Two

After a couple of days of meeting with Anbur in the lounge, he invites them to stay longer, and offers to allow them to take regular classes with the students. Elizabeth readily agrees, they have nothing but time.

Colonel Caldwell isn't so sanguine about the plan, but he doesn't overly object, because it presents an opportunity to ingratiate the Expedition with the local population.

They spend a several of weeks learning Ancient along with other students. The Ludahsediat is a religious school, and excerpts from the Avaxqaral, painted onto thick soft paper with tiny brushes, serve as classroom materials and religious texts. Anbur is not at all reticent to explain that the Avaxqaral is a machine left to them by Qaral, the Ancient that had seeded the planet at the time they evacuated the Pegasus galaxy. John thinks Rodney would probably commit murder to get his hands on an Ancient database with skilled human translators.

Elizabeth and Val pick up the Ancient most quickly and move up in the classes, until they are with the oldest students. Chin isn't far behind them, but Laura and John are still sitting with the younger students.

John is learning Peragro from the kids in the class and teaching them English in return. The Ancient is fine, and he's sure that Elizabeth is in heaven learning it, but her agenda is still skewed towards what it will mean if they return to Atlantis.

He's trying to stop thinking in terms of when.

Their carefully adjusted diurnal schedule is rearranged to meet that of the school. Very early morning is reserved for language classes, and at dawn the class stops as the qerato calls the faithful to meet the day, curled down to the floor in prayer. After prayer, they breakfast and then have a few hours of free time to wander around and explore the town, meeting people. At midday they have another meal, and then it's classes of math or science, followed by a rest period in the hottest part of the day.

When the evening call to prayer is through, everyone gathers in the salon with the statue. It's an elective evening gathering, which is conducted exclusively in Ancient for learned discussion on a variety of topics—science, politics, math, or any subject one cares to bring up. It feels like an odd confluence of formal and casual; they lounge around on the sofas and nibble on the trays of snacks like it's a cocktail party, but the language and actual conversation is generally reserved and academic.

John prefers to wander around the town of N'vellesem and explore the territory. It's incredible what the aurora does to the town, the shifting light plays off the white buildings, transforming them into a gorgeous, glowing canvas of colored light.

He soon discovers a public drinking establishment, where the patrons greet him like he's a long lost hero and invite him in for a drink. He has a little of the common tongue under his belt, and John learned long ago that it's not always about the words, which he usually fails at anyway. They buy him rounds of a strong, sweet tea and short glasses of a fiery liquor they call ekal, which he appreciates since he hasn't got a single lamnat, the local coinage, on him.

He mostly sticks to the tea and listens while they talk. It's too fast, and he doesn't understand, but that's fine. The patrons are an even mix of men, and women, who don't appear to be barflies or prostitutes. He asks a few questions in slow halting Peragro, and that amuses them. They answer slowly, as if speaking to a child, but John isn't offended. He doesn't always get the explanation, but it doesn't matter. He's here to interact, make a few friends, and he succeeds; that he picks up more phrases and memorizes a few faces is just the icing on the cake.

Sometimes when he goes to the public teahouse, he'll take Cadman or Lu or Timmons, and on one memorable occasion Elizabeth. She has a far better command of Ancient than Peragro; when she uses Ancient to ask a question every one of them falls to their knees and hugs the floor, which really wasn't her intention. John advises her, "Stick to Peragro, Elizabeth."

John checks in daily with the Daedalus, though nothing interesting is happening there, and Rodney calls a few times to rant about John having all the fun. It would be interesting to see Rodney at the teahouse and John thinks that they'll be coming back again.

~*~

Between John and Anbur, they've each picked up a smattering of languages, and John finds that Anbur's a pretty interesting guy. He has an atrocious, almost juvenile sense of humor and he always laughs at his own jokes, which John finds amusing. Anbur is also a schoolteacher at heart; he loves answering questions and has a deep thirst for knowledge.

Anbur shows John his favorite hobby, an aviary of sorts, with a handful of small raptor-type birds. They're not hooded or leashed, and Anbur uses the birds to start a conversation, asking John all sorts of questions about the Daedalus, their people and customs. John knows that Anbur is using John as a sounding board to compare and contrast whatever Elizabeth has explained. He also knows that under that genial smile lies a quick, sharp intellect; he's probably building a very thorough account of the crew of the Daedalus.

In return, Anbur is willing to answer almost any question John has. He hedges the answer when John's curious that Elizabeth doesn't seem to go to a classroom any more, but is off doing 'special studies'; Elizabeth had been close-mouthed on the subject. John figures that out of all of them, Elizabeth is probably the smartest, and it doesn't surprise him at all that she 'graduated' in a matter of weeks.

Anbur tries to explain the difference between the Peragroilla and the Qaroptimat—the main sects of the two towns, but it's a vast and complicated answer, and John tries to not let his eyes glaze over. If ever he wished that Teyla were here, it would be now. He cuts himself off from that train of thought, no sense in indulging in self-torture.

John does get a better sense of the social geography from his conversations with Anbur. The town they're in, N'vellesem, is mainly composed of the sect Peragroilla, though not exclusively, and they tend to interpret their religious text, the Avaxqaral, the Voice of Qaral, more literally than the followers of Qaroptimatia-the other main sect.

The town to the west of the Daedalus is Ayse, but they are mostly Qaroptimat, whose followers generally rely upon the 'religious' leader's interpretations of the Avaxqaral. Peragroilla and Qaroptimat aren't exactly just religions or tribes, and yet they are.

It's a bad habit, and despite a lifetime of being exposed to foreign cultures, John knows that he's trying to shoehorn the nuances of an alien culture into his somewhat privileged American point of view. A year in the Pegasus galaxy has worn the edges off of that tendency, but he figures if the shoe fits, it works for him.

Day Forty-Three

They're taking advantage of the Ludahsediat's day off, wandering around N'vellesem. Anbur had given them a handful of the tiny, but surprisingly heavy, silver-colored lamnat coins to share and sent them out to shop. The market is busy in the hot morning sun, the tables of wares outside shops are loaded with food, clothing, glassware, and almost anything that can be traded or sold is available. John has explored the town a little bit in the few weeks they've been here, but the market is where all the action is.

Elizabeth is wandering around with Cadman, and ostensibly John is keeping an eye on them, but it's more like asynchronous orbits. He runs into them every few minutes, though he's always aware of what shop they've gone into, and that Timmons and Chin are staying within shouting distance. They are still walking around with their P90s, John's not so far gone that he's ready to give them up, even though the town seems friendly and accommodating.

John stops in front of a music shop where the proprietor's band is giving an impromptu sidewalk concert. The flute recorder things have an odd atonal sound, though the drums are pretty much like any other, a shallow brass bowl with some hide stretched over it. There are a couple of string type instruments too, plucked and bowed, and all of them together make for a harsh, but still compelling, sound.

It's loud enough that John can't hear when the Daedalus calls him on the radio. "Hang on, let me find someplace I can hear you." John quickly jogs to a quieter spot. "Okay, sorry. I'm reading you now."

"Colonel, I'm patching you through to Dr. McKay."

"Standing by." John hears static and then a click and open frequency. "Rodney, what's going on?"

Rodney sounds breathless and excited. "Colonel, we have a visitor. Came running into the volleyball court."

"You have a volleyball court?" John grins to himself as he winds Rodney up a little.

Rodney snaps crossly, "Pay attention, please. I've exhausted my command of conversational Ancient. How much have you learned of the other language?"

"I can order a beer and find the bathroom."

"Naturally. Well, you need to expand on that a little here. I'm going to try to give her the radio. Her name's Shaaziya."

"Sure, I can try, but I'll go back to the school and find Anbur. Elizabeth is at the market with Cadman, and I'm on guard duty."

"Who? What?" Rodney sounds distracted.

"Lieutenant Cadman and Elizabeth are shopping. Hang on." Sheppard calls out, "Timmons! Stick with Dr. Weir and Cadman; I'm going back to the school. Okay, Rodney."

"Shopping? With what?"

"Anbur gave us a little money and shoved us out the door."

"Great. I'm stuck here with the morons, and you're out shopping."

"I'll take you shopping, Rodney. So, are you going to put her on, or not?"

"Right."

John hears Rodney trying to explain the radio to someone, and then only back ground noise before there is a rustling sound. Caldwell comes on the frequency, "Colonel Sheppard, she has the radio, please initiate contact."

He has no earthly idea what to say, and even less idea of how to say it in Peragro. "My name is John Sheppard. Who are you?" He's totally not prepared for the fast rush of a strange dialect; admittedly he's still learning, but he can only pick out a word here and there—he hadn't minimized his comprehension of Peragro to McKay by much. "I am almost there, slow down."

He does manage to get where she's from, Ayse. Shaaziya has a great voice for the radio. The language is kind of musical, and he stops trying to understand and just listens to the fascinating rise and fall of her voice as he waits for Anbur to excuse himself from the classroom.

He's smiling and not at all upset to have been pulled out of class. "Colonel Sheppard, what can I help?"

"Anbur, please translate." Sheppard hands him the radio and ear piece, "Put this on, like this. Her name is Shaaziya and she's from Ayse. I don't understand."

Anbur takes the radio with an immensely pleased expression. Fortunately, Anbur has a far better talent for languages, and he's obviously familiar with her dialect, because they launch into a fast conversation that John doesn't follow at all. Anbur's face grows grim, and he takes the radio off, handing it back to Sheppard and gesturing. "Find Elizabeth, great danger."

John takes off running, shouting into the radio. "Timmons, Cadman, report your position. Where's Elizabeth?" Anbur is right behind him.

Laura comes back with "We're at the cloth merchant."

"Stop what ever you're doing and get her back to the school. Now."

"Roger, we're on our way."

"Timmons, where are you?"

"I've got them in sight, sir. Heading towards the school, Cadman is taking the shortcut just behind the pottery shop."

John heads off to the left to intercept them at the end of the small alleyway a few hundred yards away, and he's got Elizabeth and Cadman in sight. "Anbur, what is going on?"

"The Abnepa of the Qaroptimatia is very unhappy you are studying with us. Elizabeth is target for nixat, to make example because of studying Avaxqaral."

Damn it, John knew he should have worried more about what Elizabeth was doing on her 'special project'.

Just as Anbur's words are spoken, John sees it happen in slow motion; a dart strikes Elizabeth in the neck, and she crumples down to the ground. Timmons is quickest on the shot, and he takes down the assassin, who makes no attempt to escape. John puts on a short burst of speed to make it to Elizabeth's still form.

He should've expected this. Nothing ever happens without having some effect; he just didn't expect it to be attempted murder. John reports to the Daedalus, "Elizabeth is down, we need medical assistance immediately."

Caldwell replies crisply, "I'll have one of the doctors in a 302 ASAP."

Anbur pulls the dart out of her and throws it down in disgust. "Must get rememdium, quickly." He easily picks Elizabeth up and rushes through the gathering crowd.

They've been through this before, and John picks up the dart for safekeeping. "Cadman, wait outside the gates for the 302. Someone pick up that guy and follow us," John is still shouting orders as he follows Anbur, who's holding Elizabeth limp in his arms.

 

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