The Bribe Book 2 - Part Four
The Bribe, Book Two Part Four
Author : Fenchurch
Warnings: Slavefic so NC-17
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Beta: My own Goddess47 to whom be all thanks and praise.
***
Story so far…
Rodney made one big mistake in his life; one that nearly cost the life of a member of SG-1, and he is now a slave. He was offered to Major John Sheppard as a bribe to influence his decision to go to Atlantis, Sheppard accepted him because he thought Rodney needed saving. In the run up to departure Sheppard has learned that slave ownership is not as easy as it looks!
At the end of Book One, they made it through the gate.
***
“Major Sheppard?”
Rodney nearly spilled his cereal in surprise as the Warrior Princess... Tanya.... Teyla... suddenly appeared in front of their table.
“Teyla?” the Major smiled and slouched.
“I would like to speak with Rodney and I have been informed that I must seek your permission,” Teyla spoke with a smile that intrigued Rodney. He had no idea what it meant, but she seemed amused by something.
“Sure!” Rodney’s Master handed over the leash’s handle.
“Must I hold this?” Teyla asked with distaste, not reaching out to take it.
The Major leaned forward over the top of Rodney’s head and spoke confidentially. “He wanted to wear it. I think it gives him some kind of security, but he can take it off himself if he wants to.”
Teyla’s eyebrows rose in surprise, so Rodney unclipped the leash, looking up at the Athosian from his kneeling position.
“Do you wish to finish your breakfast first?” she offered.
“If I may, Miss Teyla,” Rodney replied, spooning oatmeal into his mouth with enthusiasm.
“He will be needed back at the labs as soon as you have finished with him,” the Major told the lady and Rodney nodded. They had discovered labs and he was impatient to go and start working there, finding out what the Ancients had left behind for them.
The cereal was soon finished and Rodney took both his and his Master’s dirty dishes to the counter to be washed, after which he rejoined Teyla and waited to see where she wanted to take him.
The answer appeared to be the room that the Athosians had taken over as a kind of common room, and it was full of people of all ages in leather tribal-style dress, sitting in groups and doing unidentifiable things together. A part of Rodney wanted to complain that the people were making a mess of the clean lines of Atlantis, but most of him wanted to grin with smug pride that it was his Master who had saved them and given them a home.
Teyla pointed to a chair and indicated that Rodney was to sit with her. Rodney knew that he was supposed to kneel at her feet, but she didn’t know that, so he obeyed quickly.
“I wanted to ask you more about your situation,” Teyla told him directly and Rodney appreciated the lack of waffling introduction. “How many slaves are there on your planet?”
“Er...” Rodney was momentarily stumped by this bizarre question, but then he remembered that Teyla would know every single person who had lived on Athos. “Miss Teyla, there are seven billion people living on our planet.”
“I... seven... seven billion?” Teyla asked faintly, clearly shocked. “How do you all eat?”
“We have industry and mass production... and there are plenty who don’t... eat that is. I have no idea how many are slaves as they don’t really keep close records, but there are fifty in the Custodian Corps and about a dozen others here.”
“The Custodian Corps,” Teyla repeated with that same note of disapproval. “Who are they and what do they do?”
“They are military people... in this case Marines, who have been condemned to slavery by the Military Court. As far as I know, most of them disobeyed the rules in a really bad way... some are murderers and some... rapists, but I don’t think any of those are here. I don’t know Military law... which is ironic given that I was tried under Military Law.”
“What did you do?”
“I was reckless with a life...” Rodney’s head dropped in shame. “I was prepared to let someone die just because I thought I was right... I was right, but there was another way. We had to destroy the DHD device to save him, but he was saved in the end. I was too ready to give up on him.”
Teyla seemed to give this some consideration.
“Was this man important?”
“Oh yes! He’s a member of SG-1... he’s a member of the top team back home,” Rodney elaborated. “I know what you’re saying... if it had been anyone else, would I have been convicted? No. I would have been punished, but I believe that I wouldn’t have been enslaved. I don’t think Sam Carter, another member of the team and SGC’s golden girl, likes me very much.”
“What do the Custodian Corps do?” Teyla enquired.
“Officially?” Rodney replied, “They clean toilets and serve in the kitchens. They do all the dirty work like digging and cleaning, but they are not allowed to fight.”
“And unofficially?”
“What do you think?” Rodney challenged her drily... then realized how rude he had been. “I’m sorry, Ma’am! I didn’t mean to be rude...” he slid off the chair and went to his knees, but Teyla’s hand landed gently on his shoulder.
“I am not offended,” she reassured him. “I have encouraged you to speak freely to me and you are doing exactly as I wished. Will you please be seated?”
“I’m not really supposed to sit on chairs,” Rodney confessed and Teyla grinned.
“I suspected as much,” Teyla acknowledged, “but I wish you to be comfortable and I believe that these chairs are more comfortable than the floor.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Rodney gratefully took his seat again. “I can’t believe that these chairs have survived 10000 years below the sea. Either the Ancients really knew a lot about furniture or else Atlantis must have some way of preserving things. Even the plants appear to have merely decayed when you’d expect them to have either died completely away, or to have grown into a kind of jungle.”
“The Ancestors left us many treasures and many planets have such places where such things have occurred, but none that I have seen are as beautiful as this place,” Teyla commented, looking around the room.
“She’s amazing,” Rodney agreed.
“She?” Teyla asked, puzzled.
“The city. She’s an advanced A.I.... I mean, she does things by herself, even though she’s a machine... I think of her as a ‘she’,” Rodney explained with a shrug.
“And yet our people are not happy here. They are used to canvas and wide open spaces. Also they are treated with suspicion,” Teyla told him.
“Really? Who by?” Rodney questioned, after all, they had been brought here from a world culled by a horrible race of space vampires - who here would be resentful?
“There is a man named Bates who seems to regard my people as savages. He served your Colonel, I believe.”
“Sergeant Bates?” Rodney remembered his own run-ins with the man. “He’s in charge of security here and I think he resents my Master being in charge now. We brought Marines here as the soldiers, but my Master is Air Force... a different branch of military. They fly planes instead of fighting on the ground. The Major has the highest rank now that the Colonel is dead, but he’s not one of them.”
“I see.” Teyla nodded and reflected on this while Rodney worried that he had explained too much.
Two boys ran past them, chasing each other, and this made Teyla sigh.
“They are not used to being cooped up. My people will want to move on to another place where they can begin again, but we are grateful to your Master for giving us sanctuary. Trust is not earned easily, but your Master is honourable and we trust him. As long as he is the one in charge, my people will be friends with yours.”
Rodney hadn’t a clue what the proper response to such a statement should be, but it seemed like a good thing, so he stuttered. “That’s... good, thank you.”
Teyla found this amusing, but she said. “You have work to do, do you not?”
Rodney beamed. “Yes! Ancient labs!”
“Then I shall release you from your torment. Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me,” Teyla said graciously.
“Er... no problem, ma’am. Thank you for... you know,” Rodney shrugged, leaping to his feet.
“Rodney?” Rodney stopped and waited. “My people will always provide sanctuary for those escaping from oppression. If you wish to leave your Master, then you will have a place of honour among the Athosians.”
Rodney was surprised and had to consider his reply.
“To be honest, I think that the Major is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’ve never felt so secure and safe. I was given to him, like a new gun or a new uniform, but I think that he takes care of his things... and that includes me now. I’ve never had anyone care for me before, so... thank you for the offer.”
“You are very welcome, Rodney,” Teyla smiled and Rodney headed for the labs.
Part Five