Lions and Tigers and Conspiracies, Oh My. (Patreon)

This series starts out NCIS heavy with Tony discovering Stargate aliens in the worst way possible. It then transitions to more of a full crossover with Tony and Gibbs (and Samas) going to Atlantis. You then have the events of Atlantis playing out very differently when the Igigi queen who once wanted to destroy his cousins the goa’uld turned his attention to helping to build a new city and culture.

The entire series on AO3

This story only, which takes place more than a decade after the events of Stargate Atlantis.

Chapter Ten

“General?”

John really wished Aleigheta would not speak to him in the bathroom. It was bad enough that they had a sentient computer that watched everything they did, but a man liked to pretend that he was by himself in the bathroom. Especially after he had forced himself to eat Teyla’s cooking in a misguided attempt at team unity. His intestines were not young enough to endure that brand of torture anymore. “What can I do for you?”

“I have some concerns about the duty rosters for tomorrow.”

“You do know I'm not in charge of duty rosters anymore, don't you? Let's be honest, even when I oversaw duty rosters, I wasn't actually in charge of duty rosters because I let Evan do all that work.” John was not arrogant enough to claim credit for Lorne’s terrifying powers of organization. Now that Lorne was going to be part of Miko’s ruling trio in their new city, that was going to be the most well-organized city ever. John was a little envious.

“I am well aware of your ability to ignore duties which you find pointless.”

John frowned at his reflection in the mirror. “Are you going me a slacker?”

“Perhaps,” Aleighta said. She had definitely exceeded the programming the Ancients had originally set up. And since John was almost certain that he had helped program her back when he had been Ancient, he could say that with some certainty. Of course, the fact that the Ancients had stripped any conscious memory of his previous lifetimes made it impossible for him to be sure but giving someone shit because you liked them was not really an Ancient trait.

“You know, now that I'm retired, slacking is technically my job description.”

“You have never avoided duties which you found valuable.”

The hairs on the back of John's neck stood up. “Is there something I would find valuable in the duty roster for tomorrow?”

In response, Aleigheta turned the bathroom mirror into a giant display. Names flashed, showing the placement of various soldiers, airmen and Marines around the city. General Helms had called for an all hands on deck meeting tomorrow, but that didn't mean that every single soldier could afford to attend. Some soldiers were stationed throughout the city for security while the majority of soldiers and all off-duty soldiers were ordered to the main meeting hall. Of course, most of the Pegasus galaxy considered that meeting hall to be their trading bizarre and so declaring it off-limits for citywide meeting had required merchants to clear out their various booths and shuttle all the goods to one of the adjacent storerooms.

If Jackson Gibbs were still alive, he would have given the general a piece of his mind, and that man was scary enough that he could intimidate Gibbs. However, none of the traders who worked in the hall now had the sort of personal gravitas to make a general back down. And even if Jackson Gibbs were alive, General Helms was a big enough asshole he might've ignored Jackson just for the sheer pleasure of refusing to do anything kind for someone loyal to Atlantis.

So John was not surprised when the vast majority of military assets were listed under the main hall. John thought it was pretty much an asshole move to also ask soldiers to attend during their off-duty hours. While the military allowed for that, John had always tried to avoid interrupting soldiers sleep schedules. The guys who had to work overnights had a hard enough time without officers demanding that they show up for spit-and-polish shows during what would, for them, be the middle of the night.

But John recognized any number of names from of night shift workers who would normally be manning the city corridors when both moons were still high in the sky. John might be a retired general, but Rodney was still the chief scientist, and John made a point of knowing who on duty was responsible for making sure that Rodney and the entire science crew was safe.

But other than evidence of general assholery, nothing in the list concerned him. John started reading the names of the soldiers who had been assigned to guard duty during the meeting. The ZPM room, jumper bay, entrance to hydroponics, and main corridor that led to the Travelers’ living quarters were all guarded by service members that John didn't know well, recent arrivals who had shown up with their General Helms and would probably disappear with him the minute the IOA discovered that this particular combination of military leader and civilian IOA representative were just as ineffective as all the previous combinations.

Maybe one day they would figure out that the city would run better if they just left it in Teyla’s hands, but John wasn’t going to hold his breath, especially since the world governments seemed to have lost their collective minds.

Either way, it wasn’t surprising that the general would have assigned the most critical duty stations to soldiers he knew best. John didn’t see anything concerning until he started reading the names of those assigned to the exterior structures. These were the men and women responsible for keeping an eye out for terrestrial threats—drunk idiots who fell off the piers and kids trying to scale the exterior of buildings. The only military threats would be invaders who had miraculously escaped the notice of the planetary security net, the city’s artificial intelligence, the entire science department, a division of Travelers who tended to keep patrol ships in orbit, and all of the Turi. The city was safer than most places on Earth. Looking at the men and women stationed at these superfluous stations, John knew something was wrong. He knew every single one personally. If those stationed at critical stations were Helms’ favorites, these were John’s. Almost all the remaining Russian units were on the east pier and Gate Team 12, the unit made up of soldiers who had regularly took Turi brothers into the field were all stationed at the North pier. The North side didn't even have towers with external climbing ridges to tempt the city teens.

“What is going on?”

“I am unsure,” Aleigheta said.

“Can you make some guesses based on what's been going on in command meetings?” John asked. Since Rodney had been with him during their recent side-trip to earth, John was feeling a little out of the loop in terms of what command was up to. Normally he didn’t have to spy on command because Rodney would come out of the meetings raving about idiots in power. And if John needed more nuanced intel, Tony and Teyla could provide that. He supposed he could track down Teyla and see if she had picked up anything during the meetings that Rodney had missed, but she was busy putting all the pieces in place for their eventual break for independence.

And she had to find places to hide all the immigrants John had escorted back from Earth. Since the U.S. government was still hiding behind the facade of paperwork and regulations, Teyla didn’t want to openly challenge them yet. Russia might be blatant in their treaty violations, but she wanted all the IOC power players firmly on the wrong side of the political line before she pulled the trigger on independence.

“Nothing in any command meetings would explain the current distribution of personnel,” Aleightea said. “In fact, command meetings have lacked any substance or discord. That is not normal for those meetings since Elizabeth resigned.”

Now all John's Spidey senses started to tingle. General Helms couldn't wipe his own ass without having four meetings and discussing the political, historical, and military implications of any given decision. And with Teyla and Tony in the meetings, Earth stupidity generally met a solid wall of local objection. Sure, Teyla was calm about it, and Tony made a joke, but they controlled huge parts of the city, and they regularly dug their heels when Earth nationalism crept into policies that Helms and Dr. Knight suggested.

“What possibilities are you considering that might explain this?” John asked.

“I have no explanation,” Aleigheta said. “The entire distribution of personnel is illogical and I can find no reference to any command meeting notes as to the objective of a citywide meeting.”

That was even more concerning. That suggested Knight and Helms were intentionally concealing the topic. “Have you shown Rodney this?”

Aleigheta hesitated before answering. “I was unsure as to whether I should show Beloved this current data. He will be exceptionally displeased if the general is doing something to move against the city or the citizens of Atlantis. He has strong protective instincts.”

Putting that through his artificial intelligence translator, John assumed that meant she was afraid that Rodney would completely lose his shit. He probably would, even if it wasn't clear that General Helms was doing anything nefarious. He might just hate all of John's troops. Of course, John's troops had the highest performance ratings of almost anyone in the military and they were the only ones with experience handling wraith in hand-to-hand combat. Todd had most of the Wraith firmly in hand, so there weren’t many battles on that front.

Or maybe Helms was incompetent or Knight was playing some political game and had left Knight in the dark along with Teyla and Tony and Rodney and Aleigheta. Yeah, not likely. “Is Teyla available?”

“She is currently off world. Dr. Knight believes she is negotiating with Todd for increased access to the ancient platform found orbiting the Whitehall world.”

“And what is she actually doing?”

“She is still arranging for homes for the most recent immigrants. The group was larger than expected. She had not anticipated that so many people had been blocked from immigrating.”

The group would have been smaller if they hadn’t cleared out a good portion of a small Mexican town. John still couldn’t believe that the U.S. government had the nerve to say that family visas didn’t count if the family was from another country. If people didn’t vote the xenophobes out during the next election, he was going to… he was going to do nothing be Earth essentially wasn’t his home planet anymore. But he’d complain. And the nice thing about being married to Rodney was that he could complain all he wanted and no one would ever notice because Rodney cast such a large shadow in the complaints department.

John considered the layout of soldiers displayed on his bathroom mirror. “Use the emergency beacon. It's time for everyone involved in Teyla’s plan to get their asses home. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but something is.”

“I still have not received any contact from Gibbs or Tony.”

John grimaced. “Are you Earth-side listening beacons still active?”

“Yes, which is how I know I haven’t heard from them.” Aleighta’s voice had a sharpness now. She loved everyone who lived in Atlantis, but the Turi were her special children. John didn’t understand the relationship they shared, but he knew if a Turi queen was in danger, Aleigheta would happily burn through a planet to save her. Now was not the time for thermonuclear war, no matter what Rodney said. “They are two of the most terrifying creatures in the universe. We can't do anything to suggest that we are conspiring with them, not without potentially ruining not only Teyla’s plan but any plans they may have running. Continue to keep any outposts on earth active and listen for signals, but until we have word, I think we need to assume that Tony and Gibbs are doing something to back Teyla’s play.” Or at least John hoped so. Gibbs was the one who came up with the plan to let himself be captured back when Aiden had been addicted to the Wraith enzyme.

“They could have left Earth to hunt down a goa’uld in the Milky Way,” Aleigheta mused.

“That's true. All of the Turi have a very strange hard-on for killing the corrupted brothers.” John really did not understand that particular obsession. He had a brother that he considered pretty damn corrupted by greed and selfishness and the same kind of bigoted narrow-minded thinking that it made him cut contact with his father. The old man probably would have supported the current administration. But despite the fact that he did not consider his family good, he had never been tempted to hunt his brother down eat him alive and then vomit him back out on dry land. That was a Turi sort of quirk.

“I will keep an eye out for them.” Aleigheta was unhappy; however, the situation was so fragile with nationalistic agendas ruling earth and Teyla and Elizabeth trying to work quietly behind the scenes that John feared that any wrong the move would on up and some planned that they could not afford. So they would wait.

“I have sent out the recall message,” Aleigheta said after a pause. “Teyla chooses to return on a Traveler ship rather than risk being denied access to the Stargate. She will appear an hour or two before the meeting. Many Turi report that they shall wait in the shadow of the moon to see if we require assistance. They fear if they return in mass that they will alarm those from Earth.”

“In other words, either Teyla or Elizabeth told them not to return unless it had broken out into all-out warfare.” The Turi put more stock in Teyla’s requests because they recognized that Elizabeth was more invested in maintaining a friendly relationship with Earth even while cutting the lines of political control. Teyla didn’t want to make enemies; however, she was also willing to do whatever it took to free Atlantis. So John figured that was Teyla’s influence.

“I suspect as much, Aleigheta agreed. The Turi are not normally subtle when it comes to defending their home.”

“Well let's hope they won't have to. I am still hoping that this plan is going to lead to a lot of political bloodshed while avoiding any actual stab wounds.”

Aleigheta did not answer, but the display on the bathroom window faded out.

Rodney stumbled into the bathroom, his eyes half closed as he rubbed them. “You don't even work anymore. Why do you insist on getting up at the crack of dawn?” he complained. He promptly wrapped his arms around John and leaned his head against John's shoulder before closing his eyes.

John brushed the backs of his fingers across the stubble of Rodney's face. “You didn't have to get up with me.”

“You were talking so loud that I couldn't sleep,” Rodney muttered. “What has Aleigheta so cranky?”

“She's uncomfortable about this general meeting that's been called.”

Rodney snorted. “Her and everyone else. The science division thinks that the general's going to announce that we are officially becoming a military expedition despite the fact that were safer now than we ever have been. The most we have to fear is Todd's horrible sense of humor.”

“I hope it's something that innocuous,” John said. He rested his hands on Rodney's strong shoulders. They'd been together for so many years that it was hard to imagine life without having Rodney as the rock he could count on. Maybe John couldn't figure out what the hell was going on with General Helms or Dr. Knight or, quite frankly, Teyla and Elizabeth. All of them danced around each other in this political world where words didn't mean what they actually meant. Not only did John not understand this version of battle, but he didn't want to. He wanted things that were real, things he could put his hands on and trust and believe in. He wanted the world to be more like Rodney. But there was only one Rodney. John pulled him close and kissed the top of Rodney's head.

Rodney tilted his head back and opened one eye just enough to squint at John. “Are you that worried?”

“Yes, but then I always worry when the problem is one that I can't shoot.”

“As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to shoot General Helms or Dr. Knight. Bonus if you can shoot both of them with one bullet.”

That startled bray of laughter out of John. He slapped Rodney on the ass. “Come on, we gotta get our day started. Someone was bitching last night that he had an experiment to check on because one of his baby scientists is not very good at scienceing .”

“Scienceing is not a word. Never let that pass your lips again.” Rodney poked John in the chest hard enough to leave a bruise.

John waggled his eyebrows and would've said something, only Rodney caught John by the waist of his running pants and pulled him close. “Science later, right now I have one unhappy, retired general to put in a better mood. And I think I know how to do that.” Rodney's smile turned wicked.

Chapter Eleven

John walked into the meeting space. Colored light spilled across the floor, and someone had shoved several wooden booths over to one side. Clearly not all the trading partners had agreed to move their shit for the day. Shocking. John figured that Knight and Helms had just finished alienating the entirety of the Pegasus galaxy by trying to reclaim this space.

On the opposite end of the room someone had built a stage near where John had been standing when Vish had handed him a welcome home gift—a scroll with the formula for recharging ZPM. In John’s mind, that moment had put them on a path where a break from Earth was inevitable. Back when John had been in the military, he hadn’t been willing to admit it, but the IOC did not like allies who were equals. The moment the Jaffa nation had gotten established, the relationship had soured. When the onac demanded autonomy on their own homeworld and the ability to decide who had access to the water, Earth had thrown a fit and eventually locked the address out of their DHD. Earth. Some days John wondered when they had gone crazy and other days he wondered if they had always been crazy, and he hadn’t noticed.

Even with his inability to read social cues, he was fairly sure he would have noticed if the U.S. had been this nationalistic when he was young. Hell, from the little he’d seen or heard about from active members of the council, even the representatives from Canada and France had largely fallen silent instead of being voices of reason. Okay, maybe LaPierre hadn’t been a voice of reason, but he had helped check the ambitions of China, Russia, and the U.S. who had treated the Stargate like a ball in some twisted three-way version of football.

John started wandering toward the stage. Knight and Helms were already up there along with Captains Dorset, Milt, and Cooper—all the personal favorites of Helms. John sauntered that direction to see if he could get a few hints about why the military had been summoned. He was approaching the informal security line formed by airmen standing on guard when a lieutenant he didn’t recognize stepped in front of him.

“Sorry sir, but General Helms is ordered that only on-duty personnel are allowed beyond this point.”

John raised his eyebrows and was just about to give this snot-nosed punk an education when Teyla swooped in from the side and slipped her arm under his.

“John, perhaps you would agree to stand with me.”

John glowered at the lieutenant for a moment before he allowed Teyla to drag him off. “Did General Helms just ban me from part of my own city?” he asked. He kept his voice low, but he was angry enough that he was struggling to control his reactions. Overhead, the city lights dimmed.

“He already banned you from his office, I believe.” Teyla kept a firm hold on John’s arm.

“Yes, but I don't want to be in his office. That's not the same.” The lights flickered overhead.

“John, calm yourself,” Teyla advised.

John glared down at her. She was in the middle of all these political machinations so she should have heartburn three times worse than him. It just annoyed him that she looked so calm. However, she had long since grown immune to his glares. She steered them over to where Elizabeth sat with Ladon. Their two younger kids had gathered with a dozen other teens and tweens in the corner of the room where they watch the adults with barely hidden suspicion. Their oldest was missing. Either he’d slept in, or he was with one of the groups ready to sweep in if Earth got stupid. Most people were standing, but like a dozen other civilians who had shown up uninvited, she had brought folding chairs. She smiled up at him and gestured toward one.

John took the chair next to Elizabeth and leaned close. “Should you really have the kids here?” He whispered. Personally, he would rather all those kids went back to their quarters, but he was particularly fond of Elizabeth’s. They had her indomitable core without the inflexibility that had sometimes caused her to be a pain in his ass that first year in Pegasus.

She gave him a smile that suggested she had taken lessons in calm from Teyla. “I'm sure that all is well. Appearing with my family shows that I am confident in the security of the city.”

Ladon snorted. He might be as bad at politics as John, but he knew when his wife was working an angle. John did too, and that meant he wasn’t free to ask pointed questions in a room where so many people might be listening. He wished Rodney was here to simply demand straight answers, but Rodney was up standing next to Dr. Knight, and from the way his arms were flapping about, he was giving the man an earful. Good for Rodney.

Ronon came up from behind and rested one hand on Elizabeth's chair and one on John’s. “Do we know what the hell we’re doing here?”

“Were you even invited?” John asked. Ronon was the leader of the Turi warriors, but neither Knight nor Helms seemed to respect that position.

Ronon gave a wolffish grin. “Nope. If I waited for invites, I would never go anywhere. Luckily, I don't give a shit if people invite me.”

Ladon cleared his throat in a poorly disguised laugh.

“Does anyone know what this is about?” Ronon asked. “Seems kind of stupid to have so many high value targets in one place at a time.”

“I assure you that the security is impeccable. I am certainly not relying on Earthers,” Aleigheta said through the private com-channel they had set up back before John had been forcibly retired. Ronon snorted and rested his hand on the handle of his blaster. Four people were carrying a box from the back area now, and Rodney's hands were flapping more wildly.

An uncomfortable flutter in his stomach forced to John to his feet. I should go check on Rodney. Before he could take a step, Teyla caught his arm caught his arm. “You've already been denied entrance to that area. Their answer will not change.”

“No, but I am the great and wonderful General Shepherd. It's like being the Wizard of Oz only with actual powers.”

“Yeah? Like the power to fuck up people's plans?” Ronon asked quietly. John glared daggers at him.

“Both of you, settle down,” Elizabeth said quietly. She looked around, but everyone in their immediate area were allies. Most of Rodney's science department was milling about. Nau and Nihtay from Helia’s old Tria crew stood near the back of the old-guard Atlantis crowd, arms crossed as they watched with overt suspicion. Jonas Quinn and his family had the seats immediately on the other side of Ladon, and there was a certain stiffness in the way he moved that suggested he was ready to go flying into a fight.

John settled back into his chair, but he muttered, “Does anyone else feel like they're sitting on a powder keg?”

“All the time,” Elizabeth said calmly.

Ronon shifted and his right hand rested against the end of his blaster before he ran his thumb along the edge of one of the knives clipped to his belt. It was a rather unsubtle show unsubtle threat of violence. The four men placed the large box in front of Rodney with enough of a thump to make it clear that it was heavy.

“Any idea what's in there?” John asked. Ronon grunted and bounced on his toes. Yep, someone was risking imminent death.

“The contents are shielded. I can't identify the contents,” Aleigheta said.

Elizabeth shifted in her seat, which for her was a fairly significant mark of discomfort. “Could it be symbiont poison?” she asked. She glanced around the room, no doubt calculating how many of the Turi were with them.

Ladon took her hand. “If it is poison, we’re prepared to counter it. The neutralizing agents are ready in the ventilation system, and Aleigheta has countermeasures prepared.”

“Hopefully those countermeasures include aerosolized sedative,” John said. The on-duty personnel were Helms’ favorites, and they were all carrying P-90s. That was a level of security that seemed unnecessary since the Wraith war was over. Colonies got raided, but the rebel Wraith wouldn’t risk angering both Atlantis and Todd by coming after the city. or they would, but only if they had another superweapon, and the Travelers and Genii excelled and hearing about those before any ships showed up in orbit.

Ronon slapped John on the shoulder. “Don't worry. I have a little brother with me, so I can withstand the sedative. I'll protect you.” John stuck his middle finger up, and then had to jerk his hand away because Ronon was grabbing for it.

General Helms stepped toward the verbal altercation Rodney was having with Dr. Knight and physically stepped between the two of them. Rodney threw his arms up and then focused his hand flapping on the general. That left Dr. Knight free to move to the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this meeting.”

What a dumbass way to start a meeting. Most of these men and women hadn't been invited, they been ordered. You didn't thank people for following orders, especially when the people in question would rather be in bed asleep.

Dr. Knight continued. “The United States government has grown increasingly concerned about alien influences on Atlantis.” A ripple went through the crowd. Most of the people in the room looked uncomfortable, but a significant number nodded or gave those standing near them knowing looks.

“However, we have obtained a tool that will allow us to ensure the truth is revealed,” Knight said with a confidence he didn’t normally possess. John looked over and both Elizabeth and Jonas looked equally confused. A glance in the other direction suggested that neither Ronon nor Teyla knew what Dr. Knight was referring to. Rodney stilled, something which inspired terror in John's soul. Experience had taught him that when Rodney got quiet, universes collapsed. At the front of the stage, Dr. Knight rambled on.

“The ancients had the ability to share the essential truth of an issue, and we wanted everyone here when we shared the truth with you.” Two of the soldiers who carried the box in unfastened the top and lifted out an artifact that was clearly Ancient.

Elizabeth shot to her feet, her mouth falling open. “They wouldn’t.” Her voice trembled with anger.

Teyla moved to her side. “Elizabeth, what is it?”

“I offer you the truth,” Dr. Knight said. He gestured, and Rodney darted forward as though trying to tackle Dr. Knight. However, General Helms caught Rodney's arm and swung him away from the doctor. The minute the general grabbed Rodney, John bolted to his feet. Two dozen others did the same, and at that signal, most of General Helms's soldiers closed ranks, creating a solid wall of guards between the stage and the audience. Anger made the crowd mutter as the personnel began to split. Most moved toward John and his group, some hurried to the far side near the stage and a large group milled in the middle, unsure about what was going on. John wished he knew.

Teyla pressed a hand to John’s chest. “Gentlemen, ladies, let us be calm.” That might've worked better if her voice didn’t have that buried hint of steel and fire that suggested that she was inches from gutting someone. Ronon moved to her side.

John was still trying to figure out what was going on when one of the soldiers opened the artifact. Light blinded him, and information slammed through him. Swimming. Whales. A desire for more. Hunger. Anger. Love. Twining a body around another so that the cold and dark was chased away by the feel of two creatures sliding against each other, fins scraping. Shadows and hope and an powerful mind staring at John from the darkness. Screams filled the hall and John passed out.

Chapter Twelve

John groaned it to life. “Who tried to kill me this time?”

“General Shepherd. You're awake. You need it to do something about this,” Dr. Knight demanded. The asshole was using John’s correct rank. Now John knew something was wrong.

John peeled an eyelid back. “About what?” He groaned and sat up, taking in his surroundings. This was one of the VIP containment areas. Comfortable couches were scattered around the large room and a sealed window offered a view of the ocean. But John knew that this room also had only one exit that securely locked from the outside. The window didn't open, and the view offered not even a glimpse of any parts of the city. It had access to two bathrooms and absolutely nothing that would be helpful in an escape.

At one point, they had held twenty Genii soldiers who were attempting to go back to their old rebellious ways in this room, and those soldiers had not come close to escaping. So this was the closest thing the city had to an escape-proof room outside of the Wraith cage which was not designed for human prisoners.

“What happened?” John sat up and swung his feet to the floor. He rubbed his temples as his head throbbed. Someone had shoved a lot of thoughts into his head during his impromptu nap. Miko had a Turi. Yeah, he knew that. But he could see the city she’d picked out. He knew how she wanted to design her ruling council, and it looked a lot like Elizabeth’s only the queen got two favorites to put on the council and at least one would have to veto her to force her to make a different choice.

And he knew her queen. Spidersilk had Tony’s memories and she loved Miko, but she also had a quiet longing for Tony. But Jo made that hard because she wanted to kill Jo, but if she did, she would make both Tony and Samas unhappy. There was a such a tangled knot of feelings that John couldn’t sort them. Hell, most days he couldn’t handle his own emotions, so sorting those of a symbiote was a task beyond him.

John rubbed his temples and tried to think past the pain that surround through his head. “Why do I have all these facts about symbiotes shoved in my head?”

“This has been a complete military failure,” General Helms complained. He stood next to the door. “General Sheppard, you need to connect with the computer and order it to open these doors. Who knows what's going on out there. The city is in full rebellion.”

“Rebellion? Who's rebelling?” John really hoped the answer was Teyla because his head hurt too much to deal with Genii antics. Or Wraith antics. Todd might embrace an odd brotherhood with John, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to steal any technology that wasn’t nailed down. He reached for his com, but the earpiece was missing. Damn.

General Helms took a step closer, and John was caught between a desire to get on his feet and meet the enemy and the certainty that if he did, he would vomit on either General Helms or himself. Instead, he leaned against the back of the couch and studied Helms. “Would you like to give me a sitrep starting with what happened in the main hall and why I suddenly know a lot of stuff I didn’t know before?” John tried to avoid any specifics since they tended to put Miko, and by extension Lorne and Abby, in a bad light. He did, however, worry about whether anyone else had gotten that information update.

General Helms' expression grew thunderous. “Dr. Kusanagi and those traitors she’s taken to her bed have plans to take a functional Ancient city away from us. I won't stand for that sort of theft.”

John ran his fingers through his hair. “Given that you're locked in a secure room, I think the choices are to stand for it or sit for it.”

Helms slapped his hand against the wall. “You need to connect to the computer and get us out of here so we can do something. I can’t believe that woman has smuggled a queen goa’uld onto Earth. That snake could be infecting the country right now.”

John ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. Spidersilk wasn’t a goa’uld, and Samas had been on Earth for thousands of years by the time Gibbs had found him, so that felt a little dramatic, but Helms clearly believed his own rant. “There is one small problem with your plan. Of all of the ancient gene holders in the city, I am the one least capable of connecting to the computer. The Ancients blocked me. You would have more of a chance to connect with the computer than I would. Now, would someone like to explain why I have information that is been shoved into my head using a carving knife?”

Dr. Knight sat on the couch next to John. “We reassembled a second Ark of Truth. The Ark was set to identify the frequency that the symbionts used and reveal their secrets. I always knew the symbiotes were plotting against Earth. That's not a surprise. But they are moving against the galaxy by setting up a second base. Think about the technology they might be able to find. This city yielded the formula for recharging ZPMs. What sort of weapons might we find in that second city? We have to get out of here and claim that city before the Travelers and the Turi can make an unholy alliance toexclude us.” Knight sounded near hysteria.

John tried running the speech through his head a couple of times but he absolutely could not decipher that logic. Maybe it was the headache that was currently attempting to split his head in half, but he could not understand how Miko’s decision to move to a new city was an unholy alliance. “Setting aside the Miko issue, how did we get in here?”

“Setting aside the Miko issue?” General Helms demanded. “She is moving against Earth, and those ragamuffin pirates are helping her. They have taken the largess of Earth and now that they don’t need us, they are stealing anything not nailed down to the deck. If Earth hadn’t come here, if we hadn’t spent money and the blood of our service members saving this galaxy from the Wraith, they would still be little more than cows.” Helms was turning a shade of red that wasn’t healthy.

At least half the people in the room were nodding along with the general. This was definitely not an audience friendly to John's point of view. “Can we start with how we got in here?” John asked. Again.

“The city sedated anyone who didn't have a goa’uld,” General Helms said.

“Turi,” John corrected him automatically.

“I don't give a fuck what you call them. They’re alien parasites. And the city has taken control.”

“Perhaps we should all take a deep breath,” Dr. Knight suggested. He gave Helms a meaningful look.

“We don’t have time for this,” Helms said. “I had my men in key positions, but I don’t know how long they can hold out or how widespread the sedative was.”  Helms sighed and sat on the couch across from John. “General Sheppard, I know your record. You have done the impossible in defense of this city. You have alliances among these aliens, but you have always been loyal to Earth. I need you to step up and help us address this problem.”

“General Helms, I helped create this room, so I know that I can’t escape it, especially not when my head is trying to fall off my shoulders. In fact, we may want to call for a doctor because I seem to be having a stronger reaction to the sedative than the rest of you.”

“A doctor checked on you earlier,” Dr. Knight said. “Apparently all of the Alterans reacted badly to the sedative. However, there aren’t supposed to be any side effects other than the headache.”

That was a relief, at least.

“Your so-called friends used a sedative that they knew it would have side effects with your biology, and they then locked you in here. Does that tell you which side you should be on?” Helms asked.

“Right now, I hurt too much to be on any side.”

“I understand that this is a difficult position for you, General Sheppard,” Dr. Knight said. “However, these actions could permanently damage Atlantis the locals’ relationship with Earth.”

“Does the IOC want a relationship with Atlantis at this point? Because you seem to be moving against the Turi, and Turi are fairly popular on Atlantis.”

Helms narrowed his eyes. “As the military commander at the time, you never should’ve allow that relationship to be established. You were far too inexperienced with political posturing to understand the ways that Dr. Weir and her alien allies manipulated you. I’m fairly sure that not even the great General O’Neill understood the true depths of Weir machinations.”

“He probably did,” John said. “If Jack ever gets his glowing, fluffy ass back here, you can ask him yourself.”

“Unfortunately, those in power assumed that removing Weir from office would remove her from the levers of power. That was clearly an error,” Dr. Knight added. “But then, so many people misunderstand the true nature of power. And I have no doubt that she will have invested considerable time in convincing you that she is a friend.” Knight put his hand on John’s knee. “John, she is not a friend. She manipulated the leader of the Genii people to ensure that she had an alliance that was too solid to ever fall. I never would’ve believed that a liberal woman from Earth would use marriage to maintain a political alliance, but I suppose that is one of the oldest plays in the book.”

John turned to look at Knight. “I know you did not just suggest that she was manipulating Ladon.”

“Can you think of another reason for her to marry the former leader of the Genii people?” Helms asked.

“Love? That would be my first guess. I can’t tell you why she loves him because I’ve always had an iffy relationship with Ladon. It has something to do with him kidnapping my people. But I can respect that he loves Elizabeth in return, and they have a healthy relationship.”

Knight looked at him with pity, but Helms demanded, “You can’t be naive enough to believe that.”

“Sure I can. John would’ve continued this particular conversation, But the force field around the door flickered and flared into existence, creating a secured area in front of the door before it opened. Teyla walked in looking as self-assured as always.

John pushed himself to his feet and walked her way. “Teyla,” he said in a questioning voice. He was fairly sure that no part of their plan included him getting locked up with the Earthers.

“John.” She sounded amused. “I’m glad to see you’re looking better.”

“My head is killing me.”

“Doctor Brumfield assures me that it will wear off quickly. Alterian and human biology is different enough that the sedative reacts more strongly in your body. The Atlantis IA is so concerned that we may have trouble getting her to use the sedative again.”

John glanced over at Dr. Knight and General Helms. Sure enough, they were avidly listening.

“Is there a reason I’m in here? Is there a reason any of us are in here?” he amended his question. When all else failed, John found that playing stupid worked well. He didn’t understand where in Teyla‘s plan they were, but if she wanted to hide John’s involvement with the rebellion, then clearly there was a reason for him to hide that.

She smiled. “John, I have no doubt that you have Atlantis is good interests at heart, but you are sometimes overly influenced by your deep love for your home planet. But this time, your home planet has gone too far and has declared war on one of the foundational populations of the city.”

“Excuse me?” Dr. Knight demanded, all outrage and stiff spine. “Where is Dr. Weir? I would like to speak with her.”

“Why?” Teyla looked at Knight with polished innocence. That was an expression that generally meant she was holding a royal flush and was about to make a killing in poker.

Knight took a step forward. “We would like to negotiate for our release. No doubt this is some misunderstanding. All we did was bring an Ark of Truth to the city. I know you probably don’t understand the technology, but it is impossible for that technology to be used to share anything other than the facts. At most, we took action to reveal the true motives of the Turi. If their actions are not dishonorable, then surely, they do not object to having the truth revealed.”

“I have no doubt they would have shared the truth eventually. After all, Miko could not establish her city without some sort of relationship with Atlantis. Onac are solitary creatures who are far more likely to turn on each other than cooperate, but Turi are different.”

“I don’t know about that,” John said. “I got a pretty good look at just how frustrated Spidersilk is.”

Teyla focused on him. “I know you’ve just woken, and it will take time to sort through the information that was stolen and forced into your mind. However, when you take time to sort through the memories, you will see the love that exists between those sisters even if their competitive nature makes their relationship difficult. I have no doubt that Jo and Spidersilk will have an alliance, or at the very least, a mutual nonaggression pact.”

“Will you tell Dr. Weir that we’re looking for her?” Dr. Knight asked, completely ignoring the conversation John and Teyla were having.

“She will not negotiate with you,” Teyla promised.

“Of course she won’t. She’s a traitor to her country and her world. Others have tried to take Atlantis away from Earth, and it never ended well,” Helms said. He clearly wanted to issue more direct threats, but he crossed his arms without saying more.

Teyla smiled at General Helms. “She will not negotiate with you because she is retired. I am now the elected Commander of Atlantis.”

“Commander?” John’s eyebrows went up. “Commander Teyla?”

“Commander Emmagan,” Teyla corrected him. We considered using the Traveler title of captain, but it seemed inappropriate given that Atlantis rarely flies. Therefore we have settled on commander. As soon as the negotiations with Earth regarding our division of assets is finalized, I will allow anyone who wishes to travel back to Earth.”

For the first time, Helms seemed worried. “What are you talking about?”

“We have already contacted Earth and explained that an attack on the Turi is a violation of the treaty we share. That, combined with Earth governments’ failure to honor the terms of immigration means that we have enacted the separation clause. We have a hearing in front of the United Nations this week. Travelers have already taken ships to Earth with my representatives.”

John sank back down onto a couch. If Teyla wanted him to play nice with Helms and Knight, he needed to get aggravated at that announcement, even though all he could feel was relief. Elizabeth, Tony, and Rachel should be on that delegation. “And who are your representatives on this so-called hearing?” John mimicked Helms’ body language.

“I believe Ronon can successfully communicate the depth of my aggravation.”

Shit, shit, shit. Ronon wasn’t anyone’s idea of a diplomat. If Teyla was telling the truth, something had gone so wrong that she had chosen to send the more dangerous warriors in place of the representatives most likely to verbally or legally shred the IOC. Even General Helms turned white at that announcement. It was good to know he had an ounce of common sense. The room started to spin and nausea rose from the pit of John’s stomach. He grabbed the arm of the couch and tried to fight off the vertigo that swept through him.

“John?”

John held up a hand to stop her from talking to him. John trusted Teyla and he knew that this was part of some plan she had, but he was not feeling well enough to sort through her words and figure out what part he was supposed to be playing. He wasn’t even feeling well enough to be sitting up. John leaned back on the couch when his dinner heaved in his stomach and vomiting all over the floor. People yelled, and it was like a knife through John’s head. A cold wave rushed over him, which suggested the force field had just traveled through him.

He looked up and he was on the side of the force field with Teyla and all the others were pushed back against the walls. Before John could ask what was going on, he started dry heaving, his stomach cramping as he fought his body’s instinct to reject every bit of food in his stomach.

“John, the medics are coming. Take deep breaths.”

John was too busy trying to get any air in between the dry heaves to even answer. She knelt next to him despite the mass of body fluids and rubbed her hand over his lower back. John was draped over the arm of the couch and all he could do is groan as another round of heaves racked his body.

Medics rushed into the room with an anti-grav sled between them. In a heartbeat, they shifted him over to the sled and then rushed him out of the room.

Chapter Thirteen

A familiar looking nurse met them at the transporter, a syringe in hand. She pushed it into John’s thigh and two breaths later, the nausea faded.

“What the hell was that?”

Teyla rested her hand on his arm. “John, I am so sorry. We needed a way to get you out of the room without making the others suspicious about your loyalties.”

“We need them to think I’m on their side?” Of all the people on Atlantis who would be capable of doing spy duty, John would rank himself up there with one of the worst. “Why do they need to think I’m on their side?”

Rodney came bolting out of the transporter, took one look at John, and practically threw himself on the anti-grab sled with him. “You promised that that chemical wouldn’t hurt him. He looks like he’s hurting.” Rodney was yelling at the ceiling, so John assumed that Aleigheta had been responsible for that part of the plan.

“I am fine now, buddy. It wasn’t any worse than a bad hangover.” John wrapped his arms around Rodney and pulled him close. The threat of losing someone always made Rodney a little cranky.

“That’s what you say now, but you’re a self-sacrificing moron.” Rodney pointing a finger at the ceiling, and you’re supposed to take care of him.”

Teyla held out a comm, and John slipped it into his ear.

“I do apologize for the physical discomfort,” Aleigheta said.

“If it was necessary, it was necessary. Would someone like to explain why it was necessary?” John slid off the side of the sled but held onto Rodney he worked through the last of the vertigo. That was Rodney, his rock. Even when John was splattered with his own vomit, Rodney never wavered. Now as soon as Rodney knew John was healthy and everyone was safe, he was going to bitch about how unsanitary bodily fluids were, but John took comfort in the predictability of that. “And how did you make me sick without affecting everyone in the room?”

“I told the truth about the sedative having stronger affects with Alterians. Aleigheta introduced a compound to the ventilation system that would aggravate the symptoms.” Teyla waved the medics away, and they packed up the medical sled and offed John a jaunty and completely unmilitary salute before heading into the transporters. That left Teyla and Rodney.

“Good times. Now would one of you like to explain why we’re going through all of this?”

Rodney slipped his arm around John’s waist. “What do you know about the Ark of Truth.”

“It’s an Ark and it reveals the truth.” Neither of them seemed to appreciate John’s humor so he added, “Almost nothing. I know that Daniel Jackson used it against the Ori to stop them from invading our galaxy.”

“Well that’s a horrific overgeneralization.”

“I’m so sorry that I don’t keep up on recent historical events,” John said dryly. “You know you like explaining, so tell me what is important about the Ark of Truth that would explain why I need to play nice with idiots from Earth.”

“The ark is essentially a brainwashing device, but it can’t brainwash you into believing that which is not true.”

“I got that much from the truth part.”

“What you don’t know is how the device works,” Rodney said. “Which is fair because I don’t understand the specifics of the technology. But I do know the device worked against the Ori because the Alterians had a sample brain scan from the Ori or whatever counts as a brain scan when a creature is ascended. The technology can’t share all the truth of the universe… if it did that, it would be like the facehuggers that are always downloading databases into O’Neill’s head. Instead, the Ark uses the detailed scans of a particular group or individual and then uses that to either scan the target individual’s brain or it uses the data to decide whose brains to scan before downloading the information into anyone who sees the light of the arc.”

“I love how animated you get when describing technology, but is there a point?” John asked.

Rodney chewed on his lip. Oh shit. That was horrifically bad. “Meaning the only way for the arc to do what it did here is for them to have access to a symbiote. Specifically, they would’ve needed a Turi symbiote. Samas changed his children genetically, and the shift is dramatic enough that my geneticists insist that onac DNA and Turi DNA are as different as human and chimpanzee or Alterian and human.”

“What does that mean?” If someone had sneaked a brain scanner into the Turi section, John was both impressed with the size of the spy’s balls and disappointed in Turi security. And Earth security, but that wasn’t new. Since John had retired and the troops had revered back to all human training sergeants, the quality of the training had slipped significantly. John hoped to encourage Teyla to reverse that trend, and he knew Ronon would love to get back to beating up gate teams.

“John.” Teyla’s voice was terrifyingly serious. “We still can’t get in contact with Tony and Gibbs. The Travelers have made contact with their cloaked ship, and the crew reports that they haven’t heard from either of them. We believe someone on Earth has them and used them to program the ark.”

John’s stomach dropped. “We need to get to Earth. Now.”

“Of course,” Teyla agreed.

John started for the transporter, but Teyla stepped in front of him. “But you are needed here.”

“I’m needed there.” Tony and Gibbs were two of John’s closest friends. He would burn the fucking White House down before he would leave them in the hands of the enemy. He tried to push past Teyla, but she stepped in his path again.

“Others can go to Earth. Only you can walk back into that room with General Helms and attempt to gain their confidence. They may have information critical to finding Tony and Gibbs, but they will not share that with us. And we do not have time to experiment with the less ethical forms of persuasion Ladon has already suggested.”

“Ladon?” John didn’t know how he had come into the conversation.

Teyla rested her palm over John’s heart. “The Genii consider Gibbs and Samas great saviors who moved the Genii off a path of self-destruction. Some have heard Rodney’s explanation for why he believes that many of your people are reborn Alterians, and they suggest that either Tony or Gibbs was the Alterian chosen to save the Genii people just as you offered to save the Alterians who had fallen from the path and Todd saves those Wraith who have abandoned their arrogance. Do you believe that any Genii would leave Gibbs or Tony in the hands of their enemies?”

John took a deep breath. Of course, they wouldn’t. John might have a deep set distrust for Genii, but even he had seen how much those bastards loved the Gunny. And while they didn’t understand Tony as well, they considered Tony the heir apparent to Samas’ empire. But walking back into the lockdown quarters with Helms and Knight and all their cronies—that felt like walking away from a fight.

“John,” Teyla said softly. “We need you to get them to talk. Aleigheta can record even the faintest of whispers, and we have never told those from Earth about her abilities, so they won’t be on their guard, but you must be there. You must guide the conversation. We locked you in there as though your loyalty to Earth was unassailable, and now you are the only one who can complete this task.”

John ran his fingers through his hair. “I hate this. I should be out there looking for Gibbs and Tony.”

“We will send our best. Larrin has taken Ronon in her fastest ship.”

“And you know I built her a fast ship,” Rodney said. “Her lifeboat is faster than anything else out there.”

“But it only has room for two. They are the two I chose to send, and my command crew has not chosen to veto that choice,” Teyla said. “Or rather the rest of my command crew. I assume you will accept the last position and that you will strenuously object. However, since the others have agreed to my plan to send you in to gain information from the inside, your objection cannot change the course we have set.”

John took a deep breath. If he were still the general, he would insist this was a military situation and that he had command. Teyla outranked him in the city, but he had always had the final say in how battles were fought… well, unless Earth was overriding him, but that’s why John typically didn’t tell them what was going on until after the fighting had ended. But he had agreed that after they broke away from Earth, they needed to have one council leader. They wouldn’t split the authority.

John eventually nodded. “I hate this,” he said.

She offered a sympathetic smile. “At least you are moving against our enemies by trying to get them to reveal their plans. I am left to sit in Elizabeth’s office as I read reports from Earth and hope to find the Earth needle in many, many stacks of useless Earth needles.” She leaned forward, and John mirrored her motion until their foreheads touched.

“Right, so are we looking for anything specific?”

Teyla straightened. “I wish I knew where to even start. Ronon says he knows something about their technical resources on Earth, so he will start there. Rachel and Elizabeth are still working on the legal documents for the United Nations, and I have any personnel with links to Earth under house arrest with Aleigheta watching them. Until the other side makes a move or until Gibbs and Tony free themselves from whoever took them, we must wait.”

John nodded. “Okay. I’m terrible at waiting, but if getting those blowhards to talk is the best way to help, I’ll do it.”

Teyla smiled. “When Rodney told me that revealing Turi secrets meant that Earth had control of a Turi, I knew you would take any mission to help, even if it required you to entertain those from Earth. We must get you back to the cell before they have time to form doubts.” Teyla pulled a set of heavy restraints out of her bag.

John sighed and hugged Rodney one more time before holding his hands out. If he was playing the part of a prisoner, they had to make it believable. “When you open the door, I have to make a move to free everyone from the room.”

Teyla smiled. “Of course, you will. Unfortunately, you are a retired general while I still actively teach combat. When you make your move, I will be apologetic for how easily I will subdue you.”

“Of course, you will,” John said as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll do whatever I can to help, but you make sure you send enough resources to help Ronon. I want our people back.”

“As do I,” Teyla agreed.