Brimstone

Chapter Twelve

Mara held Sheppard’s hand as she pulled him through the door and into the darkened passageway beyond. They stood together in the cool darkness, until she passed her hand over a small panel. A series of lamps illuminated a long, winding staircase that passed up into more darkness. Sheppard stopped for a moment, disoriented by the sudden change in light, but Mara tugged insistently at his hand, urging him forward.

“Come on, John Sheppard,” she said. “I have something to show you — something important. You’re going to love the view from up here. It’s extraordinary.”

“I’ll bet.”

He followed her up the stone steps, trying not to watch her too closely as she climbed ahead of him. He scanned the walls as they went, looking for anything that might help him understand what was going on, or give him insight into the city’s systems. They climbed for a very long time, until finally stepping out into some sort of observatory. The ceiling was domed and appeared to be made of crystal, or heavy glass. He stared up through it into the night sky. >From that vantage point he felt like he could see every star in the universe.

“We’re not supposed to come up here,” Mara said. “Saul says that it’s too close to the surface, and that if there were scans in progress we might be detected, but I’ve been here many times over the years. I’ve watched Wraith craft fly directly over the city, and they never suspected a thing. I think he just doesn’t want us away from his entertainments. It’s very beautiful, don’t you think? I wanted to share it with you.”

Sheppard felt her press against his back, felt her breath against his neck. “It is beautiful,” he replied. “It feels like we’re standing right in the middle of all those stars. I can see why you come here.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. “Exactly.”

Carefully, Sheppard disentangled himself from her grasp. “Listen, I know this is probably not what you expected from me just now, but let me ask you a few questions, okay?”

The corners of her lips drooped. “I suppose.”

She drew nearer once more, playing with the buttons on his shirt. “You ask your questions, and I’ll try not to get…distracted.”

“We’re staring out at the night sky, right?”

She frowned. “Of course, you can see it…”

“Where’s the storm?” Sheppard said. “Saul told us that we couldn’t go to the surface to contact our people because of horrible storms sweeping across the surface.”

She looked down in silence.

“What’s really going on here?” he pressed. “Is there any way that I can get a message back to my people? I need to be able to contact them next time they open the gate.”

Mara bit her lip and turned away. Then, as if making up her mind about something important, she turned back.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” She drew closer, her lips brushing his neck as she sighed deeply. “Saul isn’t going to take you to the surface, and there aren’t any storms. There never have been any storms. I’m sorry, but you can’t contact your people.”

Sheppard stepped closer and reached out a hand, laying his palm on her cheek. He smiled and said, “That’s a shame. I have dozens of friends back in Atlantis who would love this place.”

He leaned in, close enough to breathe his words softly into her ear. She shivered, and he knew that his moment had come. It was a cruel trick to play, but he had no choice.

“But they can’t come if they don’t know. There must be a way I can get word to them, to tell them about the wonders and the entertainment — the hospitality. How can I reach them? How can I let them know?”

She glanced up at him, as if checking his sincerity, then dropped her eyes. “I’m sorry, it’s impossible. You can’t dial out and they can’t dial in — there are protocols in place that prevent any gate from connecting with Admah more than once.”

“Protocols?” He drew back with a sick feeling, eyes narrowing. “What sort of protocols?”

“Once a connection has been established with another gate, it can never be dialed again. That’s how we’ve kept our secrets all these years. We’ve had our problems, and our small invasions, but they were cut off from their people and eventually they were forgotten. No one who comes here can ever leave and their home world can never send a search party.”

“What?” He stepped back in horror. “No one can leave…?”

“You think us cruel?” She sighed. “I understand, but you must try to understand too — our people fled this galaxy, abandoned us alone here. What choice did we have? How else could we survive? Saul believed — ”

“Saul.” And how come that wasn’t a surprise?

“Saul created the protocol,” Mara confessed. “Long ago, he was head of our science counsel. It was his plan to seal us off, to install the dampeners and separate us from those who meant us harm. I’m not familiar with the technology used to create it, I only know that it has been in place and has protected us for a very long time.”

Sheppard pushed her out to arm’s length. “Protected you? By trapping your enemies here? If the Wraith ever dialed your gate, they’d come through and be trapped — but they’d still be here.”

“I told you,” she said, “the Wraith have come through. We aren’t without defenses, and they thought they were trapped on a lifeless world. We picked them off a few at a time. The protocols limit the numbers and assets of any attackers. Saul and his men have handled the rest.”

“And what about travelers who aren’t your enemies? What about those who only came here to explore or offer trade? Where are they?”

“The protocols are in place to keep us safe,” she repeated.

He stepped back, disgusted. “Do you know what’s funny?” he said. “When we came here, our first priority was to search for survivors. We saw that your city was plunging into the sun and we thought ‘Hey, there might be people in trouble over there.’ Some gratitude.”

“We did not ask for your help.”

He glared at her. “Fine. Well, if Saul created the protocols, then Saul can reverse them. We’re just going to have to get them switched off.”

“There is no way to reverse them. They have been engineered into the system itself. Saul says — ”

“I don’t care what Saul says. I’m getting my team the hell out of this city and you can either help me or get out of my way.” He pushed past her. “Maybe you’re happy to be a prisoner for the rest of your life, but that doesn’t work for me.”

She looked stung, like he had just slapped her in the face. “I thought you liked me, John Sheppard.”

“Are you kidding me? You just told us we’re trapped here.” He took a breath. “Look, I do like you. Why wouldn’t I? You’re a beautiful woman and you’re the first person in this city to tell me the truth, but this changes everything. You have to see we can’t just stay here.”

She nodded and bit her lip. The corners of her eyes welled with tears, but she managed to keep them under control.

Sheppard watched her for a moment longer and then turned away. He hurried down the stairs and back toward the main room where he’d left the others. After a moment he heard Mara’s footsteps echoing on the stairs as she followed.