A Diplomacy of Hope by Salifiable (Amnesty 2006/Culture Clash) 1/2
Title: A Diplomacy of Hope 1/2
Author: Salifiable
Rating: G
Characters: Teyla, Gen
Length: ~14,000 words
Spoilers: Through 3x13 Irresponsible
Warnings: None
Summary: "Seriously, there's absolutely no good reason for you to go out there; I never thought I'd see the day where Elizabeth's plans would sink to the level of Baldrick's, but hey, there's a first time for everything in the Pegasus Galaxy!" Rodney hissed.
A/N: All I can say is, I have no idea how this ended up so long. If you catch any canon/grammar/typo errors, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as possible!
"So," Elizabeth said, her voice artificially bright. "Who's going to volunteer?"
The words were hardly out of her mouth before both McKay and Sheppard jumped in, full force ahead.
"Elizabeth, I can't believe that you're even considering sending anybody to that planet, do you even know how many times they've tried to kill us already--"
"For once Sheppard's completely right, even though I find it hard to believe that for once he's actually being less enthusiastic about hurling himself into the face of certain danger than you are, of all people for god's sake--"
"Rodney! But seriously, Elizabeth, I bet even Rodney can't count that high, how many times they've tried to kill us already, seriously--"
Ronon said nothing, but his arms were folded and his glowering expression made it extremely clear what his attitude was. Teyla glanced back at Elizabeth; small lines of strain were beginning to show around her eyes.
"John, Rodney, enough! Yes, we may not have had the most friendly history with the Genii, I agree with you. However," and now there was steel in her voice. "Trying to find as many allies as possible is more important than ever, and I believe that Ladon Radim is truly making a good-faith effort to improve relations between our peoples. The opportunity to start fresh with these people is simply too valuable to pass up, despite the risks. Whether or not I am planning on sending somebody is not up for discussion here; the only question right now is who that somebody is."
Both Rodney and Sheppard opened their mouths, ready to begin protesting anew, but Elizabeth arched a commanding eyebrow at both of them, and after a few moments both of them subsided. Teyla bit down on her lip, telling herself not to smile; she fully approved of Elizabeth's commanding eyebrows-- she herself had often found it necessary to utilize her own eyebrows in a similar manner, sometimes to greater or lesser effect, with the Athosian children.
"So," Elizabeth asked, this time her tone brooking no argument. "Who's going to volunteer?"
John and Rodney were now both suddenly as quiet as they had been outspoken before. Teyla eyed Rodney's hand straying a little towards his right forearm, then saw out of the corner of her eye John tucking his chin down onto his chest, as if to protect it. It seemed that the memory of the injuries inflicted by the Genii on both of them still lingered, and even though Teyla could understand Elizabeth's reasoning, it still seemed too much to ask of either Rodney or John to go unarmed, alone, into Genii territory. Teyla slanted another glance towards Ronon, but he looked more implacable than ever, glowering at the room in general. Teyla stifled a sigh, and met Elizabeth's eyes with a resigned look.
"Very well," Teyla says. "I would be happy to undertake this mission, Elizabeth. Although the Genii certainly are not the people I once thought were, I believe that my experience trading with them before may still prove useful. I will be prepared to depart whenever is necessary."
"Thank you, Teyla. I'll notify Ladon of our decision. Please be at the gateroom two days from now at two o'clock, and be sure to pack sufficient clothing and whatever possessions you may need for your stay." Elizabeth nodded at the rest of the team. "Dismissed."
All three of her team members fell in step around her the moment they were in the hallway.
"Teyla, you can't seriously think that this is a good idea-- you're basically going to be their hostage for two weeks!" John said.
"Do you have any idea how crazy those people are? They build nuclear weapons without proper shielding! They try to take over cities of perfectly innocent people, and then when that doesn't work they try to kill us! Again! and again! oh, and just for a change, again! Good lord, they probably eat babies or something, you can't go in there by yourself--"
"I don't like it," Ronon grunted from behind as Teyla continued walking. "You should listen to them, it's good advice." A beat. "For once, anyways."
"Hey!"
"Excuse me, exactly what's that supposed to mean?"
Teyla let out a quiet sigh of relief as they finally reached her quarters, then she pivoted on her heel to face the three of them.
"John, you know as well as I do that the Genii will be sending their own representative to Atlantis, so you will all have your own Genii hostage as well if it should come to that. Rodney, we are the people who have repeatedly exploded nuclear weapons over our own city, met up with killer robots, injected Wraith with virus to turn them into humans, and unwittingly controlled foreign civilizations for entertainment." She turned to Ronon, ignoring Rodney's fishlike gaping. "Ronon, you do not need to like it. I myself am not entirely comfortable with the number of knives you keep in your hair, since I believe that adding any more may in fact detach all your hair from your head and then you would be without concealment for at least seven of your blades." She smiled serenely at the three of them. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to pack. Goodnight." She turned and went in, the door closing with a quiet swish behind her.
"Seven? Seriously? Is that-- um, is that healthy? Is your scalp made from Kevlar or something?"
--------------------------------------------
Two days later, Teyla stood in front of the stargate with her pack strapped securely to her back. John leaned in to whisper out of the corner of his mouth, "Teyla, you really don't have to do this, I can tell Elizabeth that I'm yanking you from this mission and that'll be that. Military situation, I have authority, end of story."
"John, this is not a military situation but a diplomatic one, and you know that. Diplomacy calls for a certain measure of trust, as well as granting the other party the benefit of the doubt." Teyla said, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
"I still say we should get'em before they get us," Ronon interjected.
"Yes, well, that certainly would turn the situation into a military one very quickly." Teyla said, refraining from the urge to roll her eyes.
"Seriously, there's absolutely no good reason for you to go out there; I never thought I'd see the day where Elizabeth's plans would sink to the level of Baldrick's, but hey, there's a first time for everything in the Pegasus Galaxy!" Rodney hissed. John made a few frantic shushing motions, glancing over a little worriedly at Elizabeth, who was fast approaching.
"Gentlemen, I'd appreciate it if you'd give me a few moments to speak to Teyla alone." The three of them cleared out a little reluctanly, and Elizabeth waited until they were a safe distance away before she began to speak.
"Teyla, I am grateful that you're willing to undertake this mission, and frankly of your team you're probably the best-- well, only-- hope of success in smoothing over relations with the Genii. But if you have any doubts about your own safety on this mission, we can call it all off right now. I'll tell John and Rodney that it was an executive decision so they won't give you any grief about it, if you like." Teyla shook her head, internally wondering exactly how it was that the Atlantis expedition had accomplished so much if they were constantly trying to find ways to shirk missions.
"Truly, it is not necessary. Although our recent relations with the Genii have been... strained, I do not believe that they are a bad people, but rather a people pushed to the extremes due to necessity. I will radio back twice a day, and I promise that I have memorized the duress code: I'm sorry, I had forgotten that Doctor McKay was allergic to citrus." Teyla grinned. Elizabeth shook her head.
"Well, certainly nobody here on Atlantis who knows Rodney would ever be able to believe that sentence, and it shouldn't be too hard to drop into ordinary conversation if necessary, considering that Rodney manages to bring it up every day, if not every hour," the other woman said ruefully. They both straightened up when the gate began to hum.
"Reading Radim's idc, maam. They're attempting to establish a radio channel." The gate tech called out. Weir nodded. "Drop the shield, and go ahead and put them on the com."
"Doctor Weir," Radim's voice came out into the gate room. "I believe that it is now time for us to exchange representatives. Is Ms. Emmagan ready?" Elizabeth turned to look at Teyla one last time; at Teyla's nod, she replied. "She is. And Doctor Corgan?"
"He is ready as well. Ms. Emmagan, you are welcome to cross anytime you choose." Teyla hitched up the straps of her pack one last time, then turned back to face the balcony, raising her hand in farewell to the rest of her team, ignoring their varying epxressions of discontent. Then she turned, and walked forthrightly through the stargate.
She blinked a little, the brightness of the day on the Genii homeworld catching her offguard. When her vision adjusted, she saw Radim step up to face her, two of his guards already at her sides scanning her body, although the entire company was dressed in farming clothes.
"Teyla Emmagan," He said, a smile--not entirely sincere, perhaps, but a smile nonetheless-- on his face as he extended his forearms in greeting. "You are welcome here." Teyla took a breath and placed her own forearms over his for a few seconds.
"Thank you, Ladon Radim. I hope that that welcome may one day extend more freely and openly between our peoples. I am unarmed," She added, just a trifle curtly as one of the Genii guards began scanning her again a little more closely than she was comfortable with. Radim waved off his guards, and turned halfway to gesture down the path.
"Now, Ms. Emmagan, if you would care to accompany me? My escort will be more than happy to take your luggage-- although perhaps you may wish to carry it yourself," He appended drily. Teyla felt a slight surge of irritation at having been so easily read, although perhaps he had just realized how such an offer might be perceived right after having made it.
"Thank you for the offer," She said, deliberately slipping off her pack and handing it to one of the waiting guards, then turned to walk side by side with Radim down to the Genii village.
The accomodations were adequate, though a little frighteningly spartan. They had given her a room in bunkers underground, and the moment that the door closed behind her Teyla felt a slight surge of uneasiness. On Athos and then on the mainland there was always some source of daylight even inside the stuffiest cabins, and on Atlantis of course, the windows in her room posed no barrier to the brightness and clearness of the sea and sky outside. She shook her head and moved to unpack. Ten days was not so long as to warrant bringing a substantial number of her belongings from Atlantis, but at least she could make herself comfortable.
The next four days passed in a general commotion of diplomacy, formalities, and administrativia. Despite John and particularly Rodney's tendency to describe to her during her radio check-ins their wild imaginings about her doings among the Genii, the truth was that there wasn't very much to engage her here, good or bad-- and being forced to carry unshielded nuclear bombs through packs of wild dogs would have certainly engaged her attention, whatever Rodney may have thought. Teyla had of course attended all of the Atlantis staff meetings led by Doctor Weir, and although Radim invited Teyla to a few similar meetings, the stilted conversation made her acutely conscious of her status as a diplomat among the Genii; too valuable to risk slighting, but too dangerous to allow any real knowledge. Besides of which, Teyla was not entirely clear on the political situation among the Genii, and she rather thought that some of the Genii were not either. She had not seen Sora at all, although that was perhaps unsurprising given the size of the base and the enormous number of Genii; but Sora had been a fairly high-ranking military officer, even if that had been before the coup. After much internal debate, Teyla decided against inquiring after her.
The first two nights, Teyla sat through dinners of state, painfully formal affairs where very little was said; then she realized with a jolt of unwelcome surprise that they were being held in her honor. A few words to Radim after the second dinner now meant that Teyla was free to eat her meals in the mess hall instead; the majority of the underground bunkers were apportioned for military use, with a great proportion of the population living in barracks as part of the armed forces.
And so Teyla found herself eating alone in mess hall; she was nearly the only person there, having arrived early in order to avoid the stares and whispers that had characterized the first time she had ventured into the mess hall during meal time. It seemed, however, that
she had only exchanged one set of stares and whispers for another, for as soon as she began eating she noticed two pairs of curious eyes sneaking looks at her from the near corner of the mess hall, hiding behind one of the screens partitioning the officers' eating area from the rest of the hall. She watched them out of the corner of her eye; she had not seen any children in the mess hall during her earlier meals, indeed, she had not seen any children whatsoever in her time at the Genii base. The whispering grew louder, until with a little effort Teyla could pick up some of the conversation.
"You go ask her!"
"No, you go, you're older! You're always saying so, so you go!"
"Yes, I'm more important, so you go first! It doesn't matter if she bites your head off!" There was a gasp of outrage.
"You take that back!"
"Not unless you go out there first!"
"Well, I'll tell Commander Mandle that you're a coward, and then you'll never get into the army! So there!" There was then a palpable silence tinged with smugness, as if the younger child knew he had scored an unanswerable hit. After a few more moments, two boys shuffled out from behind the screen towards her, the taller and presumably the older one glowering at the younger one even as they came to a stop in front of Teyla, being very careful to keep the table between her and them. She realized that there were, in fact, not two but three children standing in front of her; a small girl was holding hands with the younger boy, her face half-hidden against his body.
"Ambassador Emmagen?" The older one asked nervously. Teyla smiled, trying to project a welcoming aura.
"Yes?"
"We were wondering ... what color the sky is on your homeworld!"
"That's not what we wanted to ask her, Perlan!" The younger boy whispered loudly.
"Shut up, I'm getting there!" Teyla raised an eyebrow, but answered readily enough.
"The sky on my homeworld is blue, just as it is here, Perlan."
"Great, genius, now she knows my name! Thanks!" The older boy hissed at the younger boy, then turned back suddenly as if seized by a brilliant idea.
"Ambassador Emmagen, let me introduce myself and my friends. My name is Perlan Arthran, and this is Coren Rikath and his younger sister, Ana Rikath." Teyla smothered a smile as the younger boy now glared daggers at the older.
"I am pleased to meet all of you, Perlan, Coren, Ana." She nodded at each of them in turn, the two boys meeting her eyes forthrightly even if the expression in them was not entirely easy. "And I am more than willing to answer any questions you have for me, if I can." Twenty minutes later, after having patiently answered questions regarding her clothes, her hair, her marital status, her children or lack thereof, her favorite color, whether or not she could swim, whether or not she could breathe underwater, whether or not she could fly, it finally took Perlan asking her whether or not she'd ever turned into a bug that broke her.
"Perlan, I am indeed sorry to inform you that I have never had the opportunity, but I suspect that that is not question you actually wish to ask."
"We want to know if it's true that you eat babies!" Coren blurted out, then turned bright red and dropped his head, staring fixedly at his shoes. Teyla opened her mouth, then found herself at a loss for words. "Idaros said that the Atlanteans and the Athosians eat babies," Perlan said a little shamefacedly, also refusing to meet her eyes. "And, and we wanted to know whether it was true or not-- not that, um..." He trailed off uncertainly.
"Oh, no, Perlan, it's perfectly true." Teyla inserted smoothly, having recovered herself. "I love eating them; certainly they're the most young and tender, and I find that nothing compares to eating baby..." She looked at the twin expressions of horror in front of her-- Ana had hidden her face entirely in Coren's side, her hand fisted in Coren's shirt. "vegetables," Teyla finished, spooning a few tava beans into her mouth and then crunching them with relish, watching as the children's expressions slid from horror to surprise to embarrassement. Stifling the laughter that was threatening to break loose, Teyla gestured. "Come, please sit down, I won't bite any of your heads off-- you are all too old for my tastes, I promise you."
"Oh... you heard that, did you?" Coren asked sheepishly.
"Yes, Coren, I did. But the Atlanteans and the Athosians do not have very different tastes from the Genii; indeed, I hope that in the future we may trade for some of your tava beans."
"Well, you can have all of them for all I care," Coren said disgustedly. "I hate vegetables! I hate stupid harvesting duty, it's not fair!" Coren said, Perlan nodding in agreement.
"What does harvesting duty consist of? I thought that most of the Genii live underground," Teyla asked.
"We do, but we still keep fields growing above ground to give us food and to fool the Wraith and strangers into thinking we're simple farming people," Perlan explained. "Most of our food comes from hydroponic farming underground, but we still have to send people above ground to harvest food from those fields. This week, Coren and Ana and I are all on harvest duty, although next year I'm going to be a third-year military trainee and I won't have to go anymore until I become a soldier and take up guard duty."
"Guard duty?"
"It's if the Wraith come; they spread out a platoon of soldiers to protect the people on harvest duty if the Wraith attack, even though we can't use our really cool weapons because then the Wraith would know that we're more advanced than they think we are," Perlan explained matter-of-factly.
"And does everybody have to take up harvest duty, then?" Teyla asked, privately recoiling at the idea of sending out children as young as Coren and Ana-- and even Perland, who could not have been older than twelve-- to the surface with the possibility of being culled.
"Scientists don't have harvest duty at all, they're too important; of course Premier Radim doesn't because he's a scientist and the premier, none of the important generals and politicians have harvest duty either, but the rest of the military have month-long shifts. Kids before they're sorted have shifts that are two weeks long, and only a few go up at a time. And then all the useless people get dumped into the civilian population, and they're on the surface all the time, because no one cares if they get culled anyways." Perlan said.
"Shut up, Perlan! That's not true!" Coren shoved Perlan with surprising force, which Perlan looked ready to return with interest, but a look from Teyla and the older boy subsided, dusted himself off and lifted his chin with a condescending air.
"It is too and you know it, so don't try and be stupid, Coren."
"I am not stupid," the younger boy muttered, his face pinched and miserable. Teyla opened her mouth to inquire further, then thought perhaps it would be better to ask Coren in private, away from the older boy.
"Well, I'd be very interested in accompanying you on your harvest duties during your next shift, if you'll have me," Teyla started. Perlan's eyes went very wide and even Coren looked up in surprise.
"Would you? Really? But it's so boring!"
"Believe it or not, but in my culture it is a very fortunate year when we have a successful harvest. Farming requires staying in one place, which is sometimes a luxury my people cannot afford depending on how often the Wraith come," Teyla said.
"Oh." Coren said, very quiet; then, he looked round quickly and said, "Perlan, we have to get out of here, the soldiers will come for lunch any minute now, they can't catch us here!"
"We have our shift at eleven bells, we have to go change before we go up there," Perlan said quickly, already pulling away. "We can come by your room to get you after we're dressed, if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that very much, thank you. I look forward to seeing you all, Perlan, Coren, Ana!" She called out as the trio scampered away.
Teyla let out a breath didn't know she'd been holding as she stepped out into the clear sunlit field, the children tugging large baskets ahead of her into the rows of corn. Spending four days without seeing the sky had left her tenser than she'd realized, and not for the first time she wondered how the Genii stood it, living underground all the time; perhaps those who did were guaranteed safety, but Teyla was not sure that she would have been willing to pay so high a price. But it was clear that her feelings were not shared among the Genii; when she had approached Radim about accompanying the children, he had quickly assured her that she was more than welcome to help in harvest duties, but the note of surprise and incredulity in his voice was unmistakeable.
"All right, I suppose we'd better start picking, then." Perlan said, sighing as he reached up towards the ears of corn. Teyla slanted a glance towards Coren and Ana, the two of them standing on their tip-toes in order to reach.
"I remember when I was a girl, we used to race each other to see who could pick the most ears of corn," Teyla started, "at the end of harvesting, the winner would receive a prize--"
"Well, I bet that I can beat any of you," Perlan immediately interjected.
"Can not!" Coren fired back.
"Can too! Just watch!" Perlan immediately began harvesting as quickly as he could, wrenching the ears of corn from the stalks and dropping them into the basket before darting to the next one. Within a few minutes he had already moved out of earshot, down to the other end of the row. Teyla smiled inwardly; getting rid of Perlan had been easier than expected, but it seemed that boys behaved much the same, no matter what culture or society they were from, she reflected.
"But now there'll be no more corn in this row, we'll have to skip another row to get ahead of him," Coren said, disappointed.
"We can move in the opposite direction of Perlan, then we don't have to worry about running into him," Teyla reassured him. She remained silent for a few moments, then asked. "So I understand that Perlan is destined for the military; have you decided what you wish to do in the future?"
"Oh, we don't get to pick what we want to do, it's the exams that sort everybody out. The highest scorers become scientists, the next highest go military, and the rest are civilian. I'm in scientist training, but I don't get excused from harvest duty until second year." Teyla frowned. So it was not for himself that he was worried, then. She glanced over at Ana, working silently on the other side of her brother.
"And you, Ana? Have you been sorted as well?" Teyla called out. Ana darted a shy look at her before turning back to her work, with no other indication that she had heard.
"She won't talk." Coren said miserably, and with that the dam burst. "Not even to me, not since the last culling. And they won't take someone who can't talk as a scientist, even though she's smart, she's really smart, but nobody believes me when I tell them. And the military won't take her, which means..." Coren trailed off miserably. Teyla raised an eyebrow, thinking of Sora.
"Surely women can serve in the Genii military?"
"No, they can, it's just... have you seen Ana's left hand?" Coren asked, very low. Teyla looked over surreptitiously and realized with a start that the middle, ring, and little finger were missing on the girl's hand. "During the last culling, one of the Wraith knocked her over and stomped on her hand, the doctors had to amputate. Perlan says the only reason she was spared was because she was too little to be worth the trouble," Coren said, his thin voice sliding even lower. Teyla continued harvesting for a while, thinking; then stopped and put a hand on Coren's shoulder, stopping him from harvesting as well.
"Coren, when are the exams given?"
"Eighth year."
"And how old is Ana?" Coren looked around and saw that his sister was a safe distance away, then turned back and replied, staring at the ground.
"She's seven and a half." And now Coren sounded close to tears, the burden of misery clearly far too heavy for his small shoulders. Teyla suddenly frowned.
"Coren, can you not speak to your parents or some other adults about Ana's situation? I ca--" Teyla cut herself off abruptly when Coren turned to her in surprise.
"But our parents were killed in the last culling, Mum was military and on guard duty, and Da was civilian. That's how Ana got caught, she tried to run back to them. She-- I heard Tormin say that Ana saw the Wraith feed on Mum and Da, it's probably why she won't talk now." Coren swallowed hard, then visibly steeled himself to look back up at Teyla. "They only send orphans out on harvest duty, anyways; Perlan didn't say anything because he doesn't like to think about it, but his parents died five years ago." Teyla stared at him, the hot surge of anger in her blood nearly catching her off-guard in its intensity. She tamped down on it only with an enormous effort, closing her eyes to take a deep breath and holding it, before releasing it slowly.
"Am-- Ambassador Emmagen? Is everything all right?" Teyla took another breath before opening her eyes to smile reassuringly at Coren.
"No, I'm quite fine, thank you Coren. Shall we continue harvesting?" Coren readily began again, and Teyla started wrenching off the ears of corn with a grim intensity. Despite the importance of an alliance with the Genii, she would certainly have a few pointed words to say to Premier Radim, and Teyla was certain that Doctor Weir would as well when she learned how Genii society worked.
"I'm done! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!" Perlan panted triumphantly as he hauled his full basket of corn towards them. "I've beaten you all, I told you I could do it." He said, dropping his basket and dancing in circles around them.
"Indeed you have," Teyla said to him serenely. "Thank you for doing so much of our work for us, it is greatly appreciated." She smiled at his spluttering, and after a few moments Perlan realized he was beat and flopped to the ground in disgust.
"Fine, well, you guys can do the rest of the work, I'm done." Perlan grumbled as Coren laughed and pointed at him, even Ana daring a shy smile. "You're going to regret this when I'm a soldier, I swear, Coren." Perlan threatened. "See who's going to protect you then-- not me, you can count on that."
"Is that why you were in the mess hall, earlier?" Teyla inquired. "Since you're a military trainee?" Perlan flushed, looking a little embarrassed.
"Well, strictly I'm not supposed to be in there, the trainees have their own cafeteria, but the soldiers usually don't mind if the trainees drop by once in a while. And I took along Coren and Ana to see if we could sneak some food out, because all the best food always goes to the military," Perlan explained. "So we had to get out of there before the soldiers saw us, because even if they don't mind military trainees, they don't like other people going in there."
"I see." It was clear that for all his bluster, there was a strong bond of affection between Perlan and the siblings; something which, perhaps, with a little coaxing could get Perlan off of the ground, Teyla thought.
"Well, since you need to build up as much strength as possible in order to become the best soldier you can, I'm sure you'll have no problems helping with harvesting the rest of this field," Teyla said, then when Perlan opened his mouth in outraged protest, she nodded significantly towards Ana; it was clear that the small girl had tired, her arms trembling with effort. Perlan blinked in understanding, then shut his mouth and pushed himself off the ground.
"Well, if I must, I must," he sighed dramatically. "With only the three of you working, we'd be stuck here past nightfall, that's for sure." Teyla smiled; after another hour and half of hard work, the field was cleared, and the four of them trudged back from the fields hauling the harvested corn behind them, exhausted but satisfied that their hard work had accomplished a worthwhile job.
Teyla waited until the next day, when she was seated at Radim's cabinet meeting in order to speak. Radim had begun the other cabinet meeting Teyla had attended by asking Teyla whether she wished to speak or had any questions for the cabinet. At that meeting, Teyla had been surprised and appreciative of the courtesy, but had declined, wishing instead to observe. This time, Teyla thought determinedly, that would certainly not be the case.
"Ambassador Emmagen? If there's anything you wish to say or ask of the cabinet, I'd like to invite you to do so." Radim said after the first few initial formalities on the agenda had been dealt with. Teyla took a deep breath.
"Premier Radim, as a matter of fact, there are a few issues I wish to address." She stood up smoothly, wishing to speak from a position of what small authority she could assume among strangers. "Premier Radim, Honored Cabinet, in my past few days among your people, I have seen that the Genii have built a great and advanced society, working with and inventing many admirable technologies, and training and directing a vast and highly disciplined military. But it has come to my attention that this progress may have come at the expense of the civilian population, particularly the children," Teyla continued, her voice sharpening.
"I believe that the first and most precious duty of the soldier is to protect the civilians entrusted to his or her care, and it certainly is not fitting of any military to coerce civilians to bear risks that itself is not willing to shoulder. The Genii have learned how to survive, it is true, but that survival has cost you dearly, whether you know it or not-- furthermore, survival for its own sake is poor goal; it is only in the service of living that survival becomes precious."
Teyla paused, trying to calm the frustration that always rose when she felt that words were not enough to express what she felt. "I have seen your technologies, watched your soldiers, lived among your military, but these are all accomplishments devoted to ends of destruction, not creation. I can only imagine the greatness achievable if Genii ingenuity turned towards innovation for the sake of peace and happiness of the Genii people, rather than the destruction of the Wraith; and I am certain the heights that are in reach of your people might even surprise you yourselves."
Teyla stopped for a moment, collected herself, then continued, a little quieter. "One last point, Premier Radim, Honored Cabinet, and then I have done. Whatever you may collectively choose to do as a society, I would ask you to consider the fate of the children; they represent all the hope and possibility that any of us who fight against the Wraith have. To shelter them excessively would lead to disaster, I know it is true; but whatever training they may have had they are still children, not soldiers, not scientists, and if you choose to distinguish the class of citizens who must bear the majority of the risk of Wraith attack, then they certainly do not deserve to be classed among the civilians. To willingly endanger the welfare of children goes beyond mere folly, it crosses the line into the territory of inhum--" Teyla cut herself off, aware that she was verging on recrimination, an even worse sin in the work of diplomacy than open hostility.
Teyla looked at her audience; the men and women around her were looking at her with shuttered expressions: Teyla could not read any feeling against her or in her favor, and the feeling unnerved her despite the unshaking surety of her rage. She took a deep breath; she could not trust herself to continue, and there was clearly nothing more to be said here, for good or for ill.
"I would only ask you all to consider," she said quietly, "And consider very carefully what kind of people the Genii wish to be; a society and culture defined exclusively by the limits dictated by the Wraith, or a civilization determined to live, and thrive, and flourish, on its own terms." Teyla looked around the table, trying to look each member of the cabinet in the eye; she finally raised her head to look at Premier Radim; his eyes were dark with some unreadable emotion, but he raised an eyebrow, asking whether she had finished. Teyla nodded, then sat down, feeling exhausted and drained.
"Thank you, Ambassador Emmagen." Radim said, then nothing more on the subject as the cabinet moved on other matters. Teyla listened quietly as the rest of the meeting progressed through the remaining agenda, then remained in her seat, waiting for the others to exit before she got up, as the door was on the far side of the room. Premier Radim remained as well, taking care of a few matter when cabinet members wished for a few words in private, but when the room had entirely cleared, he walked over to Teyla and seemed about to sit down down he veered to the side and touched a panel; it slid back, revealing a small cavity. He reached in and withdrew a bottle filled with amber-colored liquid and two glasses, bringing them over to the table.
"I keep it in here for the truly difficult meetings," Radim said, uncorking the bottle and pouring a generous measure into both glasses. He offered Teyla a glass, which she took and swirled once before sniffing; the contents were undoubtedly alcoholic. "During the worst meetings, I sometimes have to restrain myself from reaching for it while the meeting is still underway," he said, settling into the seat next to her. Teyla felt the corner of her mouth quirking upwards; she was certain that both John and Rodney had similar urges during some of Doctor Weir's staff meetings, and if she were completely honest, she was not totally immune to the feeling herself.
"Well?" Radim looked pointedly at her glass. "I promise it's very high quality-- one of the few benefits of being premier, I find." Teyla took a sip, the smooth rich burn settling in the back of her throat, then descending to her stomach. They sat in silence for a few moments, simply savoring the drink, when Radim abruptly broke with, "You're absolutely right, of course." Teyla looked at him in surprise; it seemed that they were both intent on breaking the rules of diplomacy today.
"The way Genii society has worked--or failed to work, for too long, it's--" Radim shook his head, and Teyla recognized this expression well enough: frustrated anger. "It's barbaric, is what it is." He concluded. "I agree with you, and I promise that I am trying to change things. I will admit that I have not always thought so, but when Dahlia-- my sister, when they told me I had to send her away to die from radiation sickness... " he took a generous swallow from his drink, looked at the glass as he continued speaking. "I had not been precisely happy before then, but that was the moment that I knew the Genii had to change if we were to remain people and not beasts." He finished, his voice rough. He was silent for a very long moment, then looked up, his eyes clearer.
"We're both very lucky, you know, that you decided to speak at my cabinet meeting and not at any of the more general meetings, especially not with the military. I've handpicked the people in my cabinet as people who are determined to work for change, people who share the ideas that you and I have. But there is still widespread resistance; I'm afraid that the Genii are people who have fear as well as strength bred in their bones-- indeed, the strength, I find, is often meant to hide the depth of our fear. There are still large factions who were once loyal to Kolya or Cowen, and getting them to accept our ideas is proving to be slow work. I am having slightly more success with the scientists, considering my previous relationship with them, but they are decidedly unhappy at any suggestion that they, too, must bear some of the risk of a Wraith attack." Radim set his empty glass on the table, then straightened in his seat, leaning forward a little.
"Tell Doctor Weir that the Genii are trying to change," Radim said softly, his eyes intense. "But we need a little time." He looked at her, obviously waiting for an answer. Teyla stared back, torn; these were people who had, as Rodney and John had pointed out so forcefully, tried to kill and destroy the people Teyla held dear numerous times. But, her own earlier words echoed back to her, diplomacy calls for a certain measure of trust. No, she amended silently, it calls for hope. And hope is so nearly all we have, now. Given the choice between hope and despair, between courage and fear, I know how to choose. And I believe you would choose the same, Elizabeth, John, even you, Rodney and Ronon, She said silently to her distant but always dear friends.
"Very well," Teyla answered quietly. "I understand." There was a moment of silence, then Radim smiled and gestured at her hands.
"Have you finished your drink?"
"Oh-- um, yes." Startled, Teyla set her empty glass down on the table. Radim stood and returned the bottle to the wall cavity, then slid the panel shut. He returned to the table, collected the two glasses, and began walking towards the door.
"Premier Radim," Teyla called out, standing up. Radim turned back to face her. "May I accompany Perlan, Coren and Ana again to harvest duty tomorrow?" The same unreadable expression came over his face.
"Ambassador Emmagen," He said, very formal. "I would be deeply honored if you would; and though they may not know it, you are doing them a profound honor in allowing them your company." She stared at him a while longer, feeling herself beginning to blush even against her best efforts, then recognized, suddenly, Radim's expression: a deep admiration mixed with a healthy amount of shame. She had, she realized slowly, shamed him. And for a leader of the Genii to bear such shame with such grace and resolve to do better--
"Premier Radim," she called out again; he had already reached the door, and when he turned back he was silhouetted against the light of the hallway. "Thank you," She said, hoping he would hear the weight she meant by those words.
"No," He said, quite low, the words quiet in her ears. "Thank you. And please-- if the situation does not require it, call me Ladon."
"Teyla," She offered, equally quiet. He nodded once, then asked very tenatively, "Teyla, would you like to come with me to dinner?" She smiled, and walked towards him.
"I," She said, accepting his proffered arm, "would be honored."
Part 2/2
Author: Salifiable
Rating: G
Characters: Teyla, Gen
Length: ~14,000 words
Spoilers: Through 3x13 Irresponsible
Warnings: None
Summary: "Seriously, there's absolutely no good reason for you to go out there; I never thought I'd see the day where Elizabeth's plans would sink to the level of Baldrick's, but hey, there's a first time for everything in the Pegasus Galaxy!" Rodney hissed.
A/N: All I can say is, I have no idea how this ended up so long. If you catch any canon/grammar/typo errors, please let me know and I'll fix it as soon as possible!
"So," Elizabeth said, her voice artificially bright. "Who's going to volunteer?"
The words were hardly out of her mouth before both McKay and Sheppard jumped in, full force ahead.
"Elizabeth, I can't believe that you're even considering sending anybody to that planet, do you even know how many times they've tried to kill us already--"
"For once Sheppard's completely right, even though I find it hard to believe that for once he's actually being less enthusiastic about hurling himself into the face of certain danger than you are, of all people for god's sake--"
"Rodney! But seriously, Elizabeth, I bet even Rodney can't count that high, how many times they've tried to kill us already, seriously--"
Ronon said nothing, but his arms were folded and his glowering expression made it extremely clear what his attitude was. Teyla glanced back at Elizabeth; small lines of strain were beginning to show around her eyes.
"John, Rodney, enough! Yes, we may not have had the most friendly history with the Genii, I agree with you. However," and now there was steel in her voice. "Trying to find as many allies as possible is more important than ever, and I believe that Ladon Radim is truly making a good-faith effort to improve relations between our peoples. The opportunity to start fresh with these people is simply too valuable to pass up, despite the risks. Whether or not I am planning on sending somebody is not up for discussion here; the only question right now is who that somebody is."
Both Rodney and Sheppard opened their mouths, ready to begin protesting anew, but Elizabeth arched a commanding eyebrow at both of them, and after a few moments both of them subsided. Teyla bit down on her lip, telling herself not to smile; she fully approved of Elizabeth's commanding eyebrows-- she herself had often found it necessary to utilize her own eyebrows in a similar manner, sometimes to greater or lesser effect, with the Athosian children.
"So," Elizabeth asked, this time her tone brooking no argument. "Who's going to volunteer?"
John and Rodney were now both suddenly as quiet as they had been outspoken before. Teyla eyed Rodney's hand straying a little towards his right forearm, then saw out of the corner of her eye John tucking his chin down onto his chest, as if to protect it. It seemed that the memory of the injuries inflicted by the Genii on both of them still lingered, and even though Teyla could understand Elizabeth's reasoning, it still seemed too much to ask of either Rodney or John to go unarmed, alone, into Genii territory. Teyla slanted another glance towards Ronon, but he looked more implacable than ever, glowering at the room in general. Teyla stifled a sigh, and met Elizabeth's eyes with a resigned look.
"Very well," Teyla says. "I would be happy to undertake this mission, Elizabeth. Although the Genii certainly are not the people I once thought were, I believe that my experience trading with them before may still prove useful. I will be prepared to depart whenever is necessary."
"Thank you, Teyla. I'll notify Ladon of our decision. Please be at the gateroom two days from now at two o'clock, and be sure to pack sufficient clothing and whatever possessions you may need for your stay." Elizabeth nodded at the rest of the team. "Dismissed."
All three of her team members fell in step around her the moment they were in the hallway.
"Teyla, you can't seriously think that this is a good idea-- you're basically going to be their hostage for two weeks!" John said.
"Do you have any idea how crazy those people are? They build nuclear weapons without proper shielding! They try to take over cities of perfectly innocent people, and then when that doesn't work they try to kill us! Again! and again! oh, and just for a change, again! Good lord, they probably eat babies or something, you can't go in there by yourself--"
"I don't like it," Ronon grunted from behind as Teyla continued walking. "You should listen to them, it's good advice." A beat. "For once, anyways."
"Hey!"
"Excuse me, exactly what's that supposed to mean?"
Teyla let out a quiet sigh of relief as they finally reached her quarters, then she pivoted on her heel to face the three of them.
"John, you know as well as I do that the Genii will be sending their own representative to Atlantis, so you will all have your own Genii hostage as well if it should come to that. Rodney, we are the people who have repeatedly exploded nuclear weapons over our own city, met up with killer robots, injected Wraith with virus to turn them into humans, and unwittingly controlled foreign civilizations for entertainment." She turned to Ronon, ignoring Rodney's fishlike gaping. "Ronon, you do not need to like it. I myself am not entirely comfortable with the number of knives you keep in your hair, since I believe that adding any more may in fact detach all your hair from your head and then you would be without concealment for at least seven of your blades." She smiled serenely at the three of them. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to pack. Goodnight." She turned and went in, the door closing with a quiet swish behind her.
"Seven? Seriously? Is that-- um, is that healthy? Is your scalp made from Kevlar or something?"
--------------------------------------------
Two days later, Teyla stood in front of the stargate with her pack strapped securely to her back. John leaned in to whisper out of the corner of his mouth, "Teyla, you really don't have to do this, I can tell Elizabeth that I'm yanking you from this mission and that'll be that. Military situation, I have authority, end of story."
"John, this is not a military situation but a diplomatic one, and you know that. Diplomacy calls for a certain measure of trust, as well as granting the other party the benefit of the doubt." Teyla said, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
"I still say we should get'em before they get us," Ronon interjected.
"Yes, well, that certainly would turn the situation into a military one very quickly." Teyla said, refraining from the urge to roll her eyes.
"Seriously, there's absolutely no good reason for you to go out there; I never thought I'd see the day where Elizabeth's plans would sink to the level of Baldrick's, but hey, there's a first time for everything in the Pegasus Galaxy!" Rodney hissed. John made a few frantic shushing motions, glancing over a little worriedly at Elizabeth, who was fast approaching.
"Gentlemen, I'd appreciate it if you'd give me a few moments to speak to Teyla alone." The three of them cleared out a little reluctanly, and Elizabeth waited until they were a safe distance away before she began to speak.
"Teyla, I am grateful that you're willing to undertake this mission, and frankly of your team you're probably the best-- well, only-- hope of success in smoothing over relations with the Genii. But if you have any doubts about your own safety on this mission, we can call it all off right now. I'll tell John and Rodney that it was an executive decision so they won't give you any grief about it, if you like." Teyla shook her head, internally wondering exactly how it was that the Atlantis expedition had accomplished so much if they were constantly trying to find ways to shirk missions.
"Truly, it is not necessary. Although our recent relations with the Genii have been... strained, I do not believe that they are a bad people, but rather a people pushed to the extremes due to necessity. I will radio back twice a day, and I promise that I have memorized the duress code: I'm sorry, I had forgotten that Doctor McKay was allergic to citrus." Teyla grinned. Elizabeth shook her head.
"Well, certainly nobody here on Atlantis who knows Rodney would ever be able to believe that sentence, and it shouldn't be too hard to drop into ordinary conversation if necessary, considering that Rodney manages to bring it up every day, if not every hour," the other woman said ruefully. They both straightened up when the gate began to hum.
"Reading Radim's idc, maam. They're attempting to establish a radio channel." The gate tech called out. Weir nodded. "Drop the shield, and go ahead and put them on the com."
"Doctor Weir," Radim's voice came out into the gate room. "I believe that it is now time for us to exchange representatives. Is Ms. Emmagan ready?" Elizabeth turned to look at Teyla one last time; at Teyla's nod, she replied. "She is. And Doctor Corgan?"
"He is ready as well. Ms. Emmagan, you are welcome to cross anytime you choose." Teyla hitched up the straps of her pack one last time, then turned back to face the balcony, raising her hand in farewell to the rest of her team, ignoring their varying epxressions of discontent. Then she turned, and walked forthrightly through the stargate.
She blinked a little, the brightness of the day on the Genii homeworld catching her offguard. When her vision adjusted, she saw Radim step up to face her, two of his guards already at her sides scanning her body, although the entire company was dressed in farming clothes.
"Teyla Emmagan," He said, a smile--not entirely sincere, perhaps, but a smile nonetheless-- on his face as he extended his forearms in greeting. "You are welcome here." Teyla took a breath and placed her own forearms over his for a few seconds.
"Thank you, Ladon Radim. I hope that that welcome may one day extend more freely and openly between our peoples. I am unarmed," She added, just a trifle curtly as one of the Genii guards began scanning her again a little more closely than she was comfortable with. Radim waved off his guards, and turned halfway to gesture down the path.
"Now, Ms. Emmagan, if you would care to accompany me? My escort will be more than happy to take your luggage-- although perhaps you may wish to carry it yourself," He appended drily. Teyla felt a slight surge of irritation at having been so easily read, although perhaps he had just realized how such an offer might be perceived right after having made it.
"Thank you for the offer," She said, deliberately slipping off her pack and handing it to one of the waiting guards, then turned to walk side by side with Radim down to the Genii village.
The accomodations were adequate, though a little frighteningly spartan. They had given her a room in bunkers underground, and the moment that the door closed behind her Teyla felt a slight surge of uneasiness. On Athos and then on the mainland there was always some source of daylight even inside the stuffiest cabins, and on Atlantis of course, the windows in her room posed no barrier to the brightness and clearness of the sea and sky outside. She shook her head and moved to unpack. Ten days was not so long as to warrant bringing a substantial number of her belongings from Atlantis, but at least she could make herself comfortable.
The next four days passed in a general commotion of diplomacy, formalities, and administrativia. Despite John and particularly Rodney's tendency to describe to her during her radio check-ins their wild imaginings about her doings among the Genii, the truth was that there wasn't very much to engage her here, good or bad-- and being forced to carry unshielded nuclear bombs through packs of wild dogs would have certainly engaged her attention, whatever Rodney may have thought. Teyla had of course attended all of the Atlantis staff meetings led by Doctor Weir, and although Radim invited Teyla to a few similar meetings, the stilted conversation made her acutely conscious of her status as a diplomat among the Genii; too valuable to risk slighting, but too dangerous to allow any real knowledge. Besides of which, Teyla was not entirely clear on the political situation among the Genii, and she rather thought that some of the Genii were not either. She had not seen Sora at all, although that was perhaps unsurprising given the size of the base and the enormous number of Genii; but Sora had been a fairly high-ranking military officer, even if that had been before the coup. After much internal debate, Teyla decided against inquiring after her.
The first two nights, Teyla sat through dinners of state, painfully formal affairs where very little was said; then she realized with a jolt of unwelcome surprise that they were being held in her honor. A few words to Radim after the second dinner now meant that Teyla was free to eat her meals in the mess hall instead; the majority of the underground bunkers were apportioned for military use, with a great proportion of the population living in barracks as part of the armed forces.
And so Teyla found herself eating alone in mess hall; she was nearly the only person there, having arrived early in order to avoid the stares and whispers that had characterized the first time she had ventured into the mess hall during meal time. It seemed, however, that
she had only exchanged one set of stares and whispers for another, for as soon as she began eating she noticed two pairs of curious eyes sneaking looks at her from the near corner of the mess hall, hiding behind one of the screens partitioning the officers' eating area from the rest of the hall. She watched them out of the corner of her eye; she had not seen any children in the mess hall during her earlier meals, indeed, she had not seen any children whatsoever in her time at the Genii base. The whispering grew louder, until with a little effort Teyla could pick up some of the conversation.
"You go ask her!"
"No, you go, you're older! You're always saying so, so you go!"
"Yes, I'm more important, so you go first! It doesn't matter if she bites your head off!" There was a gasp of outrage.
"You take that back!"
"Not unless you go out there first!"
"Well, I'll tell Commander Mandle that you're a coward, and then you'll never get into the army! So there!" There was then a palpable silence tinged with smugness, as if the younger child knew he had scored an unanswerable hit. After a few more moments, two boys shuffled out from behind the screen towards her, the taller and presumably the older one glowering at the younger one even as they came to a stop in front of Teyla, being very careful to keep the table between her and them. She realized that there were, in fact, not two but three children standing in front of her; a small girl was holding hands with the younger boy, her face half-hidden against his body.
"Ambassador Emmagen?" The older one asked nervously. Teyla smiled, trying to project a welcoming aura.
"Yes?"
"We were wondering ... what color the sky is on your homeworld!"
"That's not what we wanted to ask her, Perlan!" The younger boy whispered loudly.
"Shut up, I'm getting there!" Teyla raised an eyebrow, but answered readily enough.
"The sky on my homeworld is blue, just as it is here, Perlan."
"Great, genius, now she knows my name! Thanks!" The older boy hissed at the younger boy, then turned back suddenly as if seized by a brilliant idea.
"Ambassador Emmagen, let me introduce myself and my friends. My name is Perlan Arthran, and this is Coren Rikath and his younger sister, Ana Rikath." Teyla smothered a smile as the younger boy now glared daggers at the older.
"I am pleased to meet all of you, Perlan, Coren, Ana." She nodded at each of them in turn, the two boys meeting her eyes forthrightly even if the expression in them was not entirely easy. "And I am more than willing to answer any questions you have for me, if I can." Twenty minutes later, after having patiently answered questions regarding her clothes, her hair, her marital status, her children or lack thereof, her favorite color, whether or not she could swim, whether or not she could breathe underwater, whether or not she could fly, it finally took Perlan asking her whether or not she'd ever turned into a bug that broke her.
"Perlan, I am indeed sorry to inform you that I have never had the opportunity, but I suspect that that is not question you actually wish to ask."
"We want to know if it's true that you eat babies!" Coren blurted out, then turned bright red and dropped his head, staring fixedly at his shoes. Teyla opened her mouth, then found herself at a loss for words. "Idaros said that the Atlanteans and the Athosians eat babies," Perlan said a little shamefacedly, also refusing to meet her eyes. "And, and we wanted to know whether it was true or not-- not that, um..." He trailed off uncertainly.
"Oh, no, Perlan, it's perfectly true." Teyla inserted smoothly, having recovered herself. "I love eating them; certainly they're the most young and tender, and I find that nothing compares to eating baby..." She looked at the twin expressions of horror in front of her-- Ana had hidden her face entirely in Coren's side, her hand fisted in Coren's shirt. "vegetables," Teyla finished, spooning a few tava beans into her mouth and then crunching them with relish, watching as the children's expressions slid from horror to surprise to embarrassement. Stifling the laughter that was threatening to break loose, Teyla gestured. "Come, please sit down, I won't bite any of your heads off-- you are all too old for my tastes, I promise you."
"Oh... you heard that, did you?" Coren asked sheepishly.
"Yes, Coren, I did. But the Atlanteans and the Athosians do not have very different tastes from the Genii; indeed, I hope that in the future we may trade for some of your tava beans."
"Well, you can have all of them for all I care," Coren said disgustedly. "I hate vegetables! I hate stupid harvesting duty, it's not fair!" Coren said, Perlan nodding in agreement.
"What does harvesting duty consist of? I thought that most of the Genii live underground," Teyla asked.
"We do, but we still keep fields growing above ground to give us food and to fool the Wraith and strangers into thinking we're simple farming people," Perlan explained. "Most of our food comes from hydroponic farming underground, but we still have to send people above ground to harvest food from those fields. This week, Coren and Ana and I are all on harvest duty, although next year I'm going to be a third-year military trainee and I won't have to go anymore until I become a soldier and take up guard duty."
"Guard duty?"
"It's if the Wraith come; they spread out a platoon of soldiers to protect the people on harvest duty if the Wraith attack, even though we can't use our really cool weapons because then the Wraith would know that we're more advanced than they think we are," Perlan explained matter-of-factly.
"And does everybody have to take up harvest duty, then?" Teyla asked, privately recoiling at the idea of sending out children as young as Coren and Ana-- and even Perland, who could not have been older than twelve-- to the surface with the possibility of being culled.
"Scientists don't have harvest duty at all, they're too important; of course Premier Radim doesn't because he's a scientist and the premier, none of the important generals and politicians have harvest duty either, but the rest of the military have month-long shifts. Kids before they're sorted have shifts that are two weeks long, and only a few go up at a time. And then all the useless people get dumped into the civilian population, and they're on the surface all the time, because no one cares if they get culled anyways." Perlan said.
"Shut up, Perlan! That's not true!" Coren shoved Perlan with surprising force, which Perlan looked ready to return with interest, but a look from Teyla and the older boy subsided, dusted himself off and lifted his chin with a condescending air.
"It is too and you know it, so don't try and be stupid, Coren."
"I am not stupid," the younger boy muttered, his face pinched and miserable. Teyla opened her mouth to inquire further, then thought perhaps it would be better to ask Coren in private, away from the older boy.
"Well, I'd be very interested in accompanying you on your harvest duties during your next shift, if you'll have me," Teyla started. Perlan's eyes went very wide and even Coren looked up in surprise.
"Would you? Really? But it's so boring!"
"Believe it or not, but in my culture it is a very fortunate year when we have a successful harvest. Farming requires staying in one place, which is sometimes a luxury my people cannot afford depending on how often the Wraith come," Teyla said.
"Oh." Coren said, very quiet; then, he looked round quickly and said, "Perlan, we have to get out of here, the soldiers will come for lunch any minute now, they can't catch us here!"
"We have our shift at eleven bells, we have to go change before we go up there," Perlan said quickly, already pulling away. "We can come by your room to get you after we're dressed, if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that very much, thank you. I look forward to seeing you all, Perlan, Coren, Ana!" She called out as the trio scampered away.
Teyla let out a breath didn't know she'd been holding as she stepped out into the clear sunlit field, the children tugging large baskets ahead of her into the rows of corn. Spending four days without seeing the sky had left her tenser than she'd realized, and not for the first time she wondered how the Genii stood it, living underground all the time; perhaps those who did were guaranteed safety, but Teyla was not sure that she would have been willing to pay so high a price. But it was clear that her feelings were not shared among the Genii; when she had approached Radim about accompanying the children, he had quickly assured her that she was more than welcome to help in harvest duties, but the note of surprise and incredulity in his voice was unmistakeable.
"All right, I suppose we'd better start picking, then." Perlan said, sighing as he reached up towards the ears of corn. Teyla slanted a glance towards Coren and Ana, the two of them standing on their tip-toes in order to reach.
"I remember when I was a girl, we used to race each other to see who could pick the most ears of corn," Teyla started, "at the end of harvesting, the winner would receive a prize--"
"Well, I bet that I can beat any of you," Perlan immediately interjected.
"Can not!" Coren fired back.
"Can too! Just watch!" Perlan immediately began harvesting as quickly as he could, wrenching the ears of corn from the stalks and dropping them into the basket before darting to the next one. Within a few minutes he had already moved out of earshot, down to the other end of the row. Teyla smiled inwardly; getting rid of Perlan had been easier than expected, but it seemed that boys behaved much the same, no matter what culture or society they were from, she reflected.
"But now there'll be no more corn in this row, we'll have to skip another row to get ahead of him," Coren said, disappointed.
"We can move in the opposite direction of Perlan, then we don't have to worry about running into him," Teyla reassured him. She remained silent for a few moments, then asked. "So I understand that Perlan is destined for the military; have you decided what you wish to do in the future?"
"Oh, we don't get to pick what we want to do, it's the exams that sort everybody out. The highest scorers become scientists, the next highest go military, and the rest are civilian. I'm in scientist training, but I don't get excused from harvest duty until second year." Teyla frowned. So it was not for himself that he was worried, then. She glanced over at Ana, working silently on the other side of her brother.
"And you, Ana? Have you been sorted as well?" Teyla called out. Ana darted a shy look at her before turning back to her work, with no other indication that she had heard.
"She won't talk." Coren said miserably, and with that the dam burst. "Not even to me, not since the last culling. And they won't take someone who can't talk as a scientist, even though she's smart, she's really smart, but nobody believes me when I tell them. And the military won't take her, which means..." Coren trailed off miserably. Teyla raised an eyebrow, thinking of Sora.
"Surely women can serve in the Genii military?"
"No, they can, it's just... have you seen Ana's left hand?" Coren asked, very low. Teyla looked over surreptitiously and realized with a start that the middle, ring, and little finger were missing on the girl's hand. "During the last culling, one of the Wraith knocked her over and stomped on her hand, the doctors had to amputate. Perlan says the only reason she was spared was because she was too little to be worth the trouble," Coren said, his thin voice sliding even lower. Teyla continued harvesting for a while, thinking; then stopped and put a hand on Coren's shoulder, stopping him from harvesting as well.
"Coren, when are the exams given?"
"Eighth year."
"And how old is Ana?" Coren looked around and saw that his sister was a safe distance away, then turned back and replied, staring at the ground.
"She's seven and a half." And now Coren sounded close to tears, the burden of misery clearly far too heavy for his small shoulders. Teyla suddenly frowned.
"Coren, can you not speak to your parents or some other adults about Ana's situation? I ca--" Teyla cut herself off abruptly when Coren turned to her in surprise.
"But our parents were killed in the last culling, Mum was military and on guard duty, and Da was civilian. That's how Ana got caught, she tried to run back to them. She-- I heard Tormin say that Ana saw the Wraith feed on Mum and Da, it's probably why she won't talk now." Coren swallowed hard, then visibly steeled himself to look back up at Teyla. "They only send orphans out on harvest duty, anyways; Perlan didn't say anything because he doesn't like to think about it, but his parents died five years ago." Teyla stared at him, the hot surge of anger in her blood nearly catching her off-guard in its intensity. She tamped down on it only with an enormous effort, closing her eyes to take a deep breath and holding it, before releasing it slowly.
"Am-- Ambassador Emmagen? Is everything all right?" Teyla took another breath before opening her eyes to smile reassuringly at Coren.
"No, I'm quite fine, thank you Coren. Shall we continue harvesting?" Coren readily began again, and Teyla started wrenching off the ears of corn with a grim intensity. Despite the importance of an alliance with the Genii, she would certainly have a few pointed words to say to Premier Radim, and Teyla was certain that Doctor Weir would as well when she learned how Genii society worked.
"I'm done! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done!" Perlan panted triumphantly as he hauled his full basket of corn towards them. "I've beaten you all, I told you I could do it." He said, dropping his basket and dancing in circles around them.
"Indeed you have," Teyla said to him serenely. "Thank you for doing so much of our work for us, it is greatly appreciated." She smiled at his spluttering, and after a few moments Perlan realized he was beat and flopped to the ground in disgust.
"Fine, well, you guys can do the rest of the work, I'm done." Perlan grumbled as Coren laughed and pointed at him, even Ana daring a shy smile. "You're going to regret this when I'm a soldier, I swear, Coren." Perlan threatened. "See who's going to protect you then-- not me, you can count on that."
"Is that why you were in the mess hall, earlier?" Teyla inquired. "Since you're a military trainee?" Perlan flushed, looking a little embarrassed.
"Well, strictly I'm not supposed to be in there, the trainees have their own cafeteria, but the soldiers usually don't mind if the trainees drop by once in a while. And I took along Coren and Ana to see if we could sneak some food out, because all the best food always goes to the military," Perlan explained. "So we had to get out of there before the soldiers saw us, because even if they don't mind military trainees, they don't like other people going in there."
"I see." It was clear that for all his bluster, there was a strong bond of affection between Perlan and the siblings; something which, perhaps, with a little coaxing could get Perlan off of the ground, Teyla thought.
"Well, since you need to build up as much strength as possible in order to become the best soldier you can, I'm sure you'll have no problems helping with harvesting the rest of this field," Teyla said, then when Perlan opened his mouth in outraged protest, she nodded significantly towards Ana; it was clear that the small girl had tired, her arms trembling with effort. Perlan blinked in understanding, then shut his mouth and pushed himself off the ground.
"Well, if I must, I must," he sighed dramatically. "With only the three of you working, we'd be stuck here past nightfall, that's for sure." Teyla smiled; after another hour and half of hard work, the field was cleared, and the four of them trudged back from the fields hauling the harvested corn behind them, exhausted but satisfied that their hard work had accomplished a worthwhile job.
Teyla waited until the next day, when she was seated at Radim's cabinet meeting in order to speak. Radim had begun the other cabinet meeting Teyla had attended by asking Teyla whether she wished to speak or had any questions for the cabinet. At that meeting, Teyla had been surprised and appreciative of the courtesy, but had declined, wishing instead to observe. This time, Teyla thought determinedly, that would certainly not be the case.
"Ambassador Emmagen? If there's anything you wish to say or ask of the cabinet, I'd like to invite you to do so." Radim said after the first few initial formalities on the agenda had been dealt with. Teyla took a deep breath.
"Premier Radim, as a matter of fact, there are a few issues I wish to address." She stood up smoothly, wishing to speak from a position of what small authority she could assume among strangers. "Premier Radim, Honored Cabinet, in my past few days among your people, I have seen that the Genii have built a great and advanced society, working with and inventing many admirable technologies, and training and directing a vast and highly disciplined military. But it has come to my attention that this progress may have come at the expense of the civilian population, particularly the children," Teyla continued, her voice sharpening.
"I believe that the first and most precious duty of the soldier is to protect the civilians entrusted to his or her care, and it certainly is not fitting of any military to coerce civilians to bear risks that itself is not willing to shoulder. The Genii have learned how to survive, it is true, but that survival has cost you dearly, whether you know it or not-- furthermore, survival for its own sake is poor goal; it is only in the service of living that survival becomes precious."
Teyla paused, trying to calm the frustration that always rose when she felt that words were not enough to express what she felt. "I have seen your technologies, watched your soldiers, lived among your military, but these are all accomplishments devoted to ends of destruction, not creation. I can only imagine the greatness achievable if Genii ingenuity turned towards innovation for the sake of peace and happiness of the Genii people, rather than the destruction of the Wraith; and I am certain the heights that are in reach of your people might even surprise you yourselves."
Teyla stopped for a moment, collected herself, then continued, a little quieter. "One last point, Premier Radim, Honored Cabinet, and then I have done. Whatever you may collectively choose to do as a society, I would ask you to consider the fate of the children; they represent all the hope and possibility that any of us who fight against the Wraith have. To shelter them excessively would lead to disaster, I know it is true; but whatever training they may have had they are still children, not soldiers, not scientists, and if you choose to distinguish the class of citizens who must bear the majority of the risk of Wraith attack, then they certainly do not deserve to be classed among the civilians. To willingly endanger the welfare of children goes beyond mere folly, it crosses the line into the territory of inhum--" Teyla cut herself off, aware that she was verging on recrimination, an even worse sin in the work of diplomacy than open hostility.
Teyla looked at her audience; the men and women around her were looking at her with shuttered expressions: Teyla could not read any feeling against her or in her favor, and the feeling unnerved her despite the unshaking surety of her rage. She took a deep breath; she could not trust herself to continue, and there was clearly nothing more to be said here, for good or for ill.
"I would only ask you all to consider," she said quietly, "And consider very carefully what kind of people the Genii wish to be; a society and culture defined exclusively by the limits dictated by the Wraith, or a civilization determined to live, and thrive, and flourish, on its own terms." Teyla looked around the table, trying to look each member of the cabinet in the eye; she finally raised her head to look at Premier Radim; his eyes were dark with some unreadable emotion, but he raised an eyebrow, asking whether she had finished. Teyla nodded, then sat down, feeling exhausted and drained.
"Thank you, Ambassador Emmagen." Radim said, then nothing more on the subject as the cabinet moved on other matters. Teyla listened quietly as the rest of the meeting progressed through the remaining agenda, then remained in her seat, waiting for the others to exit before she got up, as the door was on the far side of the room. Premier Radim remained as well, taking care of a few matter when cabinet members wished for a few words in private, but when the room had entirely cleared, he walked over to Teyla and seemed about to sit down down he veered to the side and touched a panel; it slid back, revealing a small cavity. He reached in and withdrew a bottle filled with amber-colored liquid and two glasses, bringing them over to the table.
"I keep it in here for the truly difficult meetings," Radim said, uncorking the bottle and pouring a generous measure into both glasses. He offered Teyla a glass, which she took and swirled once before sniffing; the contents were undoubtedly alcoholic. "During the worst meetings, I sometimes have to restrain myself from reaching for it while the meeting is still underway," he said, settling into the seat next to her. Teyla felt the corner of her mouth quirking upwards; she was certain that both John and Rodney had similar urges during some of Doctor Weir's staff meetings, and if she were completely honest, she was not totally immune to the feeling herself.
"Well?" Radim looked pointedly at her glass. "I promise it's very high quality-- one of the few benefits of being premier, I find." Teyla took a sip, the smooth rich burn settling in the back of her throat, then descending to her stomach. They sat in silence for a few moments, simply savoring the drink, when Radim abruptly broke with, "You're absolutely right, of course." Teyla looked at him in surprise; it seemed that they were both intent on breaking the rules of diplomacy today.
"The way Genii society has worked--or failed to work, for too long, it's--" Radim shook his head, and Teyla recognized this expression well enough: frustrated anger. "It's barbaric, is what it is." He concluded. "I agree with you, and I promise that I am trying to change things. I will admit that I have not always thought so, but when Dahlia-- my sister, when they told me I had to send her away to die from radiation sickness... " he took a generous swallow from his drink, looked at the glass as he continued speaking. "I had not been precisely happy before then, but that was the moment that I knew the Genii had to change if we were to remain people and not beasts." He finished, his voice rough. He was silent for a very long moment, then looked up, his eyes clearer.
"We're both very lucky, you know, that you decided to speak at my cabinet meeting and not at any of the more general meetings, especially not with the military. I've handpicked the people in my cabinet as people who are determined to work for change, people who share the ideas that you and I have. But there is still widespread resistance; I'm afraid that the Genii are people who have fear as well as strength bred in their bones-- indeed, the strength, I find, is often meant to hide the depth of our fear. There are still large factions who were once loyal to Kolya or Cowen, and getting them to accept our ideas is proving to be slow work. I am having slightly more success with the scientists, considering my previous relationship with them, but they are decidedly unhappy at any suggestion that they, too, must bear some of the risk of a Wraith attack." Radim set his empty glass on the table, then straightened in his seat, leaning forward a little.
"Tell Doctor Weir that the Genii are trying to change," Radim said softly, his eyes intense. "But we need a little time." He looked at her, obviously waiting for an answer. Teyla stared back, torn; these were people who had, as Rodney and John had pointed out so forcefully, tried to kill and destroy the people Teyla held dear numerous times. But, her own earlier words echoed back to her, diplomacy calls for a certain measure of trust. No, she amended silently, it calls for hope. And hope is so nearly all we have, now. Given the choice between hope and despair, between courage and fear, I know how to choose. And I believe you would choose the same, Elizabeth, John, even you, Rodney and Ronon, She said silently to her distant but always dear friends.
"Very well," Teyla answered quietly. "I understand." There was a moment of silence, then Radim smiled and gestured at her hands.
"Have you finished your drink?"
"Oh-- um, yes." Startled, Teyla set her empty glass down on the table. Radim stood and returned the bottle to the wall cavity, then slid the panel shut. He returned to the table, collected the two glasses, and began walking towards the door.
"Premier Radim," Teyla called out, standing up. Radim turned back to face her. "May I accompany Perlan, Coren and Ana again to harvest duty tomorrow?" The same unreadable expression came over his face.
"Ambassador Emmagen," He said, very formal. "I would be deeply honored if you would; and though they may not know it, you are doing them a profound honor in allowing them your company." She stared at him a while longer, feeling herself beginning to blush even against her best efforts, then recognized, suddenly, Radim's expression: a deep admiration mixed with a healthy amount of shame. She had, she realized slowly, shamed him. And for a leader of the Genii to bear such shame with such grace and resolve to do better--
"Premier Radim," she called out again; he had already reached the door, and when he turned back he was silhouetted against the light of the hallway. "Thank you," She said, hoping he would hear the weight she meant by those words.
"No," He said, quite low, the words quiet in her ears. "Thank you. And please-- if the situation does not require it, call me Ladon."
"Teyla," She offered, equally quiet. He nodded once, then asked very tenatively, "Teyla, would you like to come with me to dinner?" She smiled, and walked towards him.
"I," She said, accepting his proffered arm, "would be honored."
Part 2/2