Chapter Thirteen: Instinct

“The very essence of instinct is that it's
followed independently of reason.”
-Charles Darwin

“There is no instinct like that of the heart.”
-Lord Byron

A high pitched tone broke the monotony of the darkness and light flooded Faith’s vision. She blinked rapidly, fuzzy shapes becoming coherent. The tone sounded again, and she rolled into a sitting position, reaching for her slippers.

“What is it?” came a low grumble from behind her on the bed.

“Don’t know.”

She shuffled to the quarters’ door, opening it with the wave of her hand. The doors slid open to reveal an olive skinned woman with dark hair.

“Oh Tazia,” said Faith, stifling a yawn.

“Thought I’d find you here,” the older woman said, smiling. “Larson sent me to get you guys.”

“For what?”

“Team meeting in a half hour.”

Faith lifted an eyebrow. “But it’s New Year’s Day. Our mission isn’t till Monday.”

“You told me how uptight he is about mission stuff since he got back,” said Dr. Anelli with a sigh.

“I wonder if he has some sixth sense,” said Collins, as he appeared behind Faith, crutches in hand. “About knowing when to ruin our fun.”

“Don’t mention it at the meeting Faith,” said Dr. Anelli. “Or he’ll be asking questions about how you two managed to you know…”

“Point taken.”

Collins draped Faith’s jacket over her shoulder helpfully, pecking her on the cheek.

“I can tell you’re enjoying this,” said Faith lowly, smirking. “Have a nice day off.”

.-.-.-.

“Erne, give me the controls.”

“No way. Last time you tried to fly, you punched me and nearly got us blown apart by Wraith.”

“You know Dr. Heightmeyer told you to stop bringing that up,” snapped Faith.

“The exact person you’re going to see after this,” said Tazia. “If you don’t quit bitching.”

The scientist settled back into her seat and picked up a tablet, scanning the readings once more. Larson gripped the jumper controls tightly, bringing up the screen which showed data from the planet below.

“It’s been twenty minutes; we’re not going to find anything.”

“Okay really, shut up Captain,” said Dr. Anelli. “I read an energy signature somewhere, and we’ve only been in orbit—“

A small beep suddenly interrupted her, the puddlejumper readings zeroing on a faint signal from the continent below.

“That could be anything,” said the soldier skeptically.

“On a planet whose known population technology levels date to the Renaissance? Sure.”

Grudgingly Larson let the scientists guide their flight back to the planet. They landed on the forested foothills of a weathered mountain range. The sun was low over the trees, casting long shadows at their feet as they left the jumper.

“We spent too much time in the village,” said Larson, watching Dr. Anelli walk away with her scanner. “I think we should come back—hey!”

He scrambled after the others, dogging their steps. The woods thinned an hour later, and they climbed onto the rocky slopes of the mountainside. Upon the edge of a hill, Tazia stopped abruptly, raising her scanner in triumph.

“It’s right below us, underground,” she said, peering over its side.

“Whoa there doctor,” said Damon, grabbing her by the shirt. “Don’t fall.”

“There’s probably a cave or something,” said Faith, studying the ground.

“Y’know, this is starting to seem awfully familiar.”

Tazia tucked her scanner into her belt and rolled up her sleeves. “Captain, if you do not want to come with, that’s fine. However, I’m going down there.”

“I highly advise against such action. It’s hard to see anything.”

Faith flicked on her flashlight, pointing the beam at the soldier. “That’s what these are for.”

“Ha ha.”

The two women proceeded slowly down the hillside, followed shortly thereafter by the men. They found a craggy entrance to a moderately large cave, which opened towards them. Dr. Anelli took the lead, carefully navigating the cave with her scanner. The route split several times, until they found themselves in a high vaulting cavern. A metallic thud echoed throughout the area as Damon suddenly walked into a tall object. He shone his flashlight ahead of him, and jumped.

“What the heck—“

“Is this place?” finished Larson.

Their lights trailed around, highlighting a series of strange equipment, full of electronics panels and glass chambers. Faith stepped closer to the equipment, causing it to spring to life. Dr. Anelli’s scanner beeped in response, flickering as it pointed out the origin of the energy signature.

“A lab of some kind,” said Anelli, touching it tentatively.

Faith nodded. “Ancient in design.”

“Not like anything I’ve seen before.”

Larson stepped between the panels and the scientists, his knuckles white from his grasp on his gun. “Don’t go touching anything then.”

“For Christ’s sake.”

“Sir,” interrupted Damon. “I think they know what they’re doing.”

“Take pictures, send them to Atlantis, get back-up, then you can play.”

The Captain slipped Faith’s camera from the outer pocket of her backpack, and shoved it in her hands. She rolled her eyes and elbowed him away, popping the flash on the camera.

“Fine.”

A half hour later they walked towards the exit of the cave, every corner of the cavern documented and photographed. The soldiers marched behind the scientists, to keep them from darting back. The women passed the camera in between themselves, chattering and pointing out details on the camera’s LCD screen.

“You could probably pull up some kind of log via that screen.”

“If I can read it, though the initial inscriptions are all in Ancient.”

The lit entrance ahead suddenly dulled, a series of figures standing against it. A second later, they broke towards their group, their loud footsteps echoing through the cave.

“Retreat to the cavern,” yelled Larson, pointing his P90.

The scientists dashed ahead, flying through the cave’s passages. There were clattering sounds of thrown objects hitting against the stone. They re-entered the cavern, and Damon pulled the women behind the lab consoles. A spear lodged itself in a screen a second after Faith ducked. Showers of sparks hit the air, torches landing on the cavern floor around them. The soldiers fired rounds into the darkness, breaking their attackers’ yells with cries of pain. Faith peered around the edge of the console, wide-eyed as she watched. A series of mannish individuals dressed in animal skins were dodging behind other equipment to avoid the bullets, spears and clubs in their hands. The glass chambers shattered in the spray, sending glass splattering into the air. A moment later, a series of loud thuds hit the console, and a large misshapen face appeared in the shadows above Faith. Another clouted Damon repeatedly, knocking the weapon from his hands and sending him to the floor in retreat.

Faith threw her bag at the hands reach for her and scrambled away, glass cutting her arms and pants. A large body fell onto her, then wrestled her off the ground. She clawed at the flesh of her attacker to no avail, and was hoisted onto a large bony shoulder. They jolted into a run, disappearing into the darkness and leaving everyone else behind.

.-.-.-.

Splinters of pain broke the dark numbness, causing Faith to bolt awake. She struggled as a pair of hands held her by the arm and shoulder, pushing her to the ground.

“Shh, stay still Faith.”

Faith’s head rolled backwards and she met the eyes of Dr. Anelli. “Tazia?”

“Hold still, I’m almost done.”

Sharp pain stung her where a piece of glass was pulled out of her skin with a pair of tweezers. It was replaced by a white gauze bandage, which was taped across her wrist. Faith studied her comrade, noticing in shock she was only dressed in a t-shirt. Their surroundings were stone cave walls, crudely painted with various scenes of animals and landscapes. At the far end of the passage were two hulking figures lurking in the shadows. Faith herself was dressed in some sort animal skin, with a belt of flowers around her waist and painted patterns encircling her limbs.

“What the hell happened? Where are we? Why are you—“

Tazia helped her to sit up, patting reassuringly. “We were kidnapped by some sort of cavemen.”

“Great.”

“The Kashi,” said a small voice in the corner, startling them. A blonde woman crept from the shadows, dressed in a similar fashion. “The Accursed. They are wild men, sick and cruel. They are ruled by instinct and live in the mountains, coming into our villages to kidnap women and kill our men.”

“Why?”

“It is their mating season.”

A shiver of fear ran down Faith’s spine while she glanced at the figures lurking nearby. “We have to escape. I am not waiting around for that.”

.-.-.-.

“I still cannot believe Weir only sent you,” said Larson, drumming his fingers on the edge of the console.

“Thanks for the trust,” said Stackhouse.

The Captain waved his hands in the direction of the scientist sitting behind the broken battered equipment. “I believe in you Sergeant and the others…except for this yahoo.”

Corrigan stood up behind the console, holding a computer tablet tightly. “For your information, I was able to translate fragments of the data we recovered from those devices you shot up.”

“It only took two days,” snapped Larson.

The anthropologist rolled his eyes. “Well if you’re going to be like that—“ Damon tapped Corrigan on the back and said something low to him. The scientist’s eyes opened wide and he flubbed wordlessly a minute before continuing. “We uh managed to find out what was going on here. A series of experiments were being conducted, to explore an alternative food source for the Wraith.”

“Like what?”

“Genetically altered retrograde evolved humans.”

“Huh?”

“Something genetically similar to the human species’ closest ancestor, known in mainstream culture as the ‘caveman’.”

“I already knew that,” said Damon, pointing to his black eye.

“This galaxy keeps getting weirder and weirder,” said Larson.

“This is exciting. Whoever did these experiments—“

“You can stop now Miles,” said Stackhouse, putting a hand up. “Captain, what’re we going to do?”

“Track them down.”

.-.-.-.

“You need to eat. We need strength,” said Alara, holding up a piece of meat towards Dr. Anelli.

The scientist shirked and politely pushed it away. “Sorry I have a thing about eating charred rat and plants that resemble vomit.”

“You’re forcing us to eat your share,” said Faith. “I am not watching them beat you again for not eating. It’s not that bad. It tastes like mutated chicken.”

Tazia made a face and turned away. “What I’d give for some good Indian food—“

A thunderous boom echoed in the distance, followed by the sounds of yells and pops. The women leapt to their feet, knocking aside the remnants of dinner.

“Gunfire!”

The sound of yelling came closer, their captors coming madly in their direction down the long tunnel.

“We’re going to ambush them.”

“Faith, what?”

Alara dropped off her dress and tossed it to them. “We shall drop it on their heads.”

Faith uncinched hers, spread it in her hands and they aligned themselves on either side of the entranceway. Another boom caused two of the cavemen to come rushing wildly into the area. The women simultaneously leapt towards them, throwing the dresses over their captors’ heads. They yelped in pain as all three women punched and kicked them, then used the men’s dropped weapons. One more boom echoed nearby, rattling the rocky walls. Three more captors rushed towards them, but stopped in their tracks, slumping dead to the ground. Dumbfounded the women paused over the downed men. A group of six Atlantians appeared in the rocky aisle, guns and stun grenades in their hands. They stared at each other a long moment, until the naked women sheepishly picked up their blood covered dresses.

Quickly all five of the soldiers held out their jackets, averting their eyes. Faith slipped on Damon’s and zipped it.

“So hi,” said Faith, breaking the awkward silence.

“You look like you went on a cave themed spring break,” he said, chuckling.

Faith punched him in the ribs and pointed at Larson. “What took so long?”

“Little bit of this, little bit of him,” said the Captain, motioning to Corrigan.

Alara stepped over the unconscious men, shrugging. “At least you came before the mating ritual.”

“Mating ritual?”

“Don’t ask.”

.-.-.-.

The infirmary lights blazed white along the walls, too bright after the days Faith had spent in captivity. She flinched as Beckett sponged her cuts, tsking when she moved.

Tazia moved the ice pack off her black eye and looked at them. “Did I do an okay job Carson?”

“Suitable, just ensuring this is not infected.”

Faith gagged at the bloody bandages he pulled off, and turned her head away. In the entrance, she saw Collins staring at her.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

The scientist clunked his way over, giving the bed a wide berth. He allowed Beckett to finish and leave before he settled on the bed next to her. Carefully he pushed a strand of her wet hair aside, examining her bandaged arms.

“Larson caught me in the hall, told me about something to do with cavemen kidnapping you. Is this why I haven’t seen you in three days?”

“Yes,” sighed Faith. “But our team and Stackhouse’s managed to save us.”

“Sounds like one hell of an encounter.”

“I’m sure next week’s mission will be less exciting.”

Collins tightened his grip on her hand, causing her to wince. “About that,” he said. “Maybe you should take some time off. Stop taking so many risks.”

“What? Why are you even asking me that?” said Faith, sitting upright in bed. “It’s not like this was one of our more dangerous missions.”

“It’s not the first time,” he said lowly. “You managed to constantly get yourself beat up, knocked out, and cut to pieces. How many scars can I count on you? At least a dozen.”

“Scott, I am not taking a break,” she snapped. “End, finale, finito.”

“You’re being reckless.”

“You’re starting to sound like Larson. And guess what, I don’t date him anymore.”

His eyes hard, he picked up the crutches, hobbling out of the infirmary in silence.

.-.-.-.

“C’mon, you have to stop sulking,” said Connie, flipping her pen in Faith’s direction.

The other woman gave her an evil look and continued typing. “I came in here to work with you on that research, not to distract myself with him.”

“So what, you two are over? Face it; he’s the best thing that’s happened to you besides the expedition.”

“So you don’t want to discuss the gene we found?” asked Faith.

“No.”

“Then I’m leaving.”

Faith closed the laptop and slipped it under her arm. She shook her head and turned on her heel. At entrance, she was stopped by Beckett, who slid the doors shut in front of her.

“Sorry m’dear, but only authorized medical personnel are leaving this area for the next few hours.”

“Huh?”

“Dr. Weir is instituting self regulated level four quarantine till further notice,” he said, wandering away. “There were two deaths and a possible viral outbreak on one of the piers.” He motioned to Connie, handing her a hazmat suit. “Zip up Dr. Elliot.”

She pointed at Faith as she stepped into the cumbersome garment. “Lady, we’re having a talk when I get back.”

Most of the infirmary staff went on call, leaving the wards fairly empty. After nearly an hour, Faith’s boredom got the best of her and she sat near Kirkland to talk. He looked at her oddly, then moved his equipment three feet away from her.

“There is no way you or I are infected yet,” she said.

“Unless it’s airborne, then we’re all screwed,” he said, frowning.

Faith fake sneezed in his direction, causing the scientist to skitter away frantically.

The hours passed slowly, with little information dripping into the infirmary. More people had died, and many were now infected. The city sensing the outbreak, had locked them all within their sections, leaving them trapped. Faith had abandoned her work and sat quietly on a corner bed, surrounded on all sides by anxiety and worry. An insistent warning bugged her, that there was little hope for their predicament. She flipped onto her side, her head swimming from frustration and pain.

I could die, there is no cure for this. And I would leave what behind? No children, no legacy of work. A broken relationship and screwed up friends. I can see why Collins fears for me now. But I cannot give in. Can I?

.-l.-.-.

“Hello? Earth to Dr. Stuart.”

The blank mindlessness snapped, returning Faith to the brightness of the infirmary. She rolled over, finding Connie standing over her in a lab coat.

“Con, why are you here?”

She took a seat on the bed, shrugging. “A few people died from the nano-virus. We knocked it out with an EMP by detonating a naquadah generator above the city. I’ve been trying to wake you up for a couple minutes, what happened to you?”

“Just did a lot of thinking.’

“About that?”

“Yeah. I’m going to take care of it,” she sighed. “I’ve been an idiot.”

.-.-.-.

Faith took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before walking into the lab. She found several people hunched over computers and equipment, working busily. She poked Collins, he glanced in her direction and went back to tapping his tablet.

“Can I speak with you?” she said lowly.

“No.”

“It’s been ten days.”

“I can wait.”

“Scott, you’re leaving this lab, even if I have to break your other leg.”

He glanced at her a moment then lowered the tablet. He followed her out under the watchful eyes of other scientists. They rounded a corner and stopped, looking at each other anxiously.

“I came to tell you I won’t give up going on missions,” she said.

He groaned and turned. “That isn’t what I wanted to hear.”

“Because I know you don’t want to either. But—“ she said,” grabbing his arm. “I demanded Larson ask for secondary science based missions. No more primary reconnaissance.”

He eyed her a moment, then stepped closer, taking her hands. He gripped her gently and whispered to her. “It’ll do. I want you around for a long time.”

Among a flood of relief, she felt a sting of resentment and frustration.

.-.-.-.

A/N: To be honest, I am not entirely happy with this chapter. It is mostly filler and I felt no emotional development of the characters here. I am hopefully going to change that as I get back into writing this story again. I just got my Atlantis series DVD set in the mail, so hopefully that’ll help!