"Trust in a Stranger" by shinchansgirl
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairings: none
Rating: PG-PG13ish
NOTE: because lucentliz asked me to, like, forever ago...and I never did.
Trust
no one unless you have eaten much salt with him. ~
Runners were not made for intelligence or training. There was no higher purpose to them. The Wraith made them because the Wraith could not, for whatever reason, feed from them - and then the runners were set free so that they could be hunted down for sport.
Ronon had been a runner for a long time. He had learned to avoid villages so that the Wraith would not follow and cull the people because of his presence. He had learned quickly the most efficient ways of dealing with both people and Wraith who got in his way, how to live off the land, how to take what he needed from those who could spare the food, the wealth - the women and men for relief. He had learned not to be choosey, and how to jump from planet to planet in order to survive from day to day. He had gone through nearly every planet in his memory before learning how to listen to the conversation of others for coordinates - or pay those few wanderers who could supply a few new planets � and how to stay in a village just long enough that his presence did not call the attention of the Wraith to the area.
A few times he had not made it out in time, sacrificing the townspeople to hungry Wraith as he fought to get away. He tried hard not to dwell on those times.
Then he had found the man who called himself Major John Sheppard. Ronon had, at first, stunned the man and the woman with him. They had supplies - in plenty it seemed - and he was in need. He had run with Sheppard over his shoulder before their friends had closed in; he had not had the time or energy to take the female with them.
Ronon did not trust Sheppard.
There was nothing in the man�s words that said it, but it was in his tone and in his manner - his captive was, for lack of a better term, flirty.
Ronon had had a woman once - a woman that had been his. He had thought that this man was with the woman he had left stunned, but appearances were, apparently, not to be believed. Ronon's second thought was that they were together only for mutual relief, like the long string of women and men that had followed his one woman. There had been something of a risk in leaving the girl behind, but he had heard the others close by - too close for comfort, really.
And it had felt right to take the male.
"Look - do you have a name? 'Cause I really don't want to keep calling you 'caveman' in my head, and you look like the kinda guy that might be somewhat irked by name-calling."
Ronon thought for a moment, watching Sheppard out of the corner of his eye, but never taking his gaze off the surrounding woods. He did not feel safe - he never really felt safe anymore. It seemed silly not to answer the man's question, and Sheppard had provided his own name. Granted, this was the same man who had not reacted to the mention of runners - who had not understood until Ronon had mentioned the Wraith tracking device - so his intelligence probably wasn�t something to go on. "Specialist Ronon Dex."
"Specialist?"
"Military," Ronon answered in explanation. He did not explain further; he did not have to, as Sheppard's uniform was an answer in and of itself. Sheppard understood, and Ronon did not like explaining. He�d said less than ten words since the other man had woken from the stunner - and that included telling him about the Wraith tracking device.
"I see," Sheppard answered slowly,
in a tone that said he did, but he did not know what to do about it. "How about I strike a deal with you
then? You give me back my radio and let
me talk to my people, and I'll have
Ronon eyed Sheppard, weighing the words against what he knew of the situation. He found it unlikely that it would work out so simply with Sheppard's friends, since he had, in effect, taken Sheppard as a hostage. It had not been his intent, but that was how it would appear to an outsider. He knew he would not - could not - travel to this 'home base' of Sheppard's. He would be a prisoner himself, and barring that he would be an outcast due to his differences. From what he had seen of Sheppard's 'people', they were all scrawny and light, relying on their weapons to make up the difference.
As he had proven not too long previous, their weapons could be overcome.
What was more was that Sheppard did not carry the haggard look of one who has spent his entire life fearing the Wraith. He had never seen a grown man who did not keep an eye on the sky and an ear open for the Ring's Opening - the signals of the coming of the Wraith. Sheppard carried the manner of a man who had the primary goal of getting what he wanted, either through innocent seduction or through force. It had set Ronon on edge since the moment he had seen the man set foot on land.
He would show Sheppard where such flirtatious actions could land him, but not now. Now was not the time to show the innocent the dangers of the world.
He moved toward Sheppard, who bravely faced him with a small little smile on his face, and retied the man's hands in front of his body. Without waiting for the man to get comfortable to the new arrangement - his arms must have been getting sore, for all the time he had been tied - Ronon shoved the small black radio into his hands and then stood back, his gun aimed at Sheppard's heart. Sheppard did not need to know that it was set for stun. "Call the doctor."
Sheppard pressed a button on the radio, a mild flash of irritation crossing his face as he brought it up with both hands. "This is Major Sheppard to any on-site teams."
"Major!" A man's voice came through loud and clear as the button was lifted, Ronon making careful note of how to work it. The tone from the other side was pleased. "When we found Teyla, we thought you were dead!"
Sheppard smiled, the flirty tone entering his voice once more. It seemed natural - almost unconscious. "It's nice to see you have so much faith in me, Rodney."
"Yes, well, what happened anyways? While you were off playing he-man, Teyla was out cold."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Long story short, I got carried off by a guy who's in a bit of a fix. I'm going to need Beckett brought on-site with everything he needs to remove a surgically implanted tracking device."
"It's been implanted?"
"I don't suppose Teyla's awake, is she?" Sheppard asked, ignoring the question.
"I am awake and well, Major," a strong female voice answered - the woman from before, if Ronon was not mistaken.
"You wouldn't happen to know what a 'runner' is, would you?"
"There have been legends of such people among my kinsmen, yes. I have never had the honor of meeting one, and yet I would not doubt that they are in existence. Hunting them down would be something like a sport that the Wraith enjoy."
"Well, that's what we're dealing with, so try to explain to the good ol' doc everything that he'll need, all right?"
"I will do my best, Major."
"Contact me when everything's ready. Sheppard out."
Ronon snatched up the radio almost before Sheppard's finger was off the button, moving quickly to retie the smaller hands behind Sheppard's back. That finished, he retook his place by the cave entrance, watching the woods around them and guarding the entryway.
Sheppard moved his hands behind his back, and Ronon realized that he might have tied them a bit tighter in his haste - but it was no matter; Sheppard should be able to withstand it.
"You know," the captive said, his voice light, "I think, once we get over these little trust issues, you and I could get to be friends."
Ronon almost smirked - Sheppard had no idea what lay in store for him. There was no way he could know that Ronon had no plans to stay with the group once the tracking device was removed. He did have plans, though; plans that included going underground and taking Major Sheppard with him featured foremost in his mind.
After all, it would not do any good
to leave the less intelligent man behind.
THE END.
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