It's hard to call our communication friendly, but at least it wasn't hostile. And a significant part of that was thanks to our fugitive acquaintance, who had already cautiously told about the circumstances of our meeting.
Thank him for omitting the cloaked ship and other interesting details.
"We are not looking for trade with those we don't know," Teyla said after we had sipped the tea. The brew, despite the floating leaves in the mug, turned out to be far better than anything I had tasted on Earth. And I've tried many types of tea, being not just a lover of this drink, but also a tough professional in dealing with it. "However, Alvar Jensen vouches for you."
"It seems he is respected among your people," I noted, taking a sip of the warming drink. Not only is it strong and clears the head, but it really invigorates the body and spirit. Energy drinks are nothing compared to it. "I wonder, for what merits?"
"Our peoples traded shortly before my world was attacked," the fugitive explained. "The first world I went to after what the Wraiths did to me was Athos."
"Our healers tried to help him. But unsuccessfully," Emmagan seconded. "However, you succeeded. Although Alvar says you are not a healer."
"Well, a little luck and ingenuity," I smiled. "And, to be honest, I was eager to help a person who could help me find decent tea in this galaxy."
Laughter was heard from the table.
Everyone smiled and chuckled, including Jensen.
Only Chaya remained silent, diligently hiding a scanner under the table, her fingers flitting across the screen. No matter how much I nudged her, the girl didn't react. And her activity clearly attracted attention.
"I like open people who don't wish harm," Teyla admitted. "We prefer to trade with such people."
"How lucky to be good," I smiled.
No, I wasn't bursting with unrestrained joy like a cornucopia. It would be foolish to suspect the Athosians of thinking that tea is just tea. Of course, local plants, including tea and the reed whose juice was used as a sweetener, could have affected my body in non-standard ways, but I simply enjoyed interacting with these simple people.
After conversations with the Ascended, where, as it turned out, a dagger was hidden behind every smile, the conversation with the good-natured and open Athosians literally warmed my soul. And I didn't want to chatter endlessly. Nor did I want to reveal secrets. I wasn't sleepy... In short, no side effects.
"That's true," Teyla agreed. "People are quite ambiguous now. Let the Wraiths sleep, but they come periodically... A few months ago, their 'arrows' attacked us and took many Athosians," the faces of those present darkened. "Although we tried to fight and flee, our forces were unequal. They surpass us – and all the humans we know. Recently, they repeated their raid – and there are even fewer of us."
Two raids in a few months?
Hmm... That wasn't in the series.
Oh, you idiot!
Of course not! Because during the first raid, on the same day the expedition arrived at Atlantis, the Wraiths attacked Athos, the locals fled to the city and never appeared on their home planet again. Logically, other raids were not covered – they simply didn't know about them.
"I think we have a solution to make you a little more combat-ready," I hinted.
"Really?" Jensen looked at me with surprise. "Didn't you say your people can't give us your weapons because of some gene?"
"What?" Chaya stirred. "What does a gene have to do with blasters?"
"It's all true," I put my hand on my companion's shoulder, urging her to be silent. "But I'm not talking about our weapons. No offense, but they are quite difficult to handle. It will take a lot of time to understand the principles of their operation. And repairing them is even more difficult."
"Then what are you talking about?" Teyla asked.
"I remember when we last met, you had a good rifle," I recalled, looking at Jensen.
"I still have my weapon," he said. "But the problem is that only cartridges produced on my planet fit it. There is a lot of firearms in the galaxy, but the calibers are different. Our weapons used large and special cartridges to increase their killing power. And all the factories for their production have been destroyed by the Wraiths. Perhaps, if I return to my homeland, I can find a couple of rifles or carbines under the rubble, a couple of boxes of cartridges... But that's hardly enough for a good fight with ground Wraith squads."
"That's why Chaya is with me," I explained, looking at the girl. "Do you think we can organize the production of firearms by studying a few samples?"
"You can do that?" Emmagan was amazed. "That would be wonderful. We asked the rulers of Jensen's people for weapons, but they refused, saying that our level of development would not allow us to understand the mechanisms."
"The design of any firearm is thousands of times simpler than the device of a blaster," Chaya said, tearing herself away from her task. "I think we can't talk about a full-scale factory, of course. But a small workshop producing small batches can be organized. The only question is energy costs and resources for the production of casings, moving parts, and so on."
Teyla and Alvar exchanged glances.
"Are you serious?" the former fugitive asked.
"Not at all," I said. "Wraiths cause trouble for almost all people. And, in my opinion, people have the right to defend themselves."
"Why don't you do something better then?" Jensen couldn't help but say. "Your blasters are much more powerful. Even a heavy-caliber rifle requires several shots to take down a Wraith. Your weapon," he pointed to the Lantian blaster resting in the holster on his hip, "much less. You killed Wraiths with one shot."
"Do you want me to remind you how many shots it took for one hit?" I countered. "Not to mention other conventions."
"Quiet, friends," Teyla said conciliatorily. "We didn't gather here to quarrel."
"You're right," I said. "If Alvar doesn't mind showing us the planet, we'll inspect everything there, look for weapon samples, and try to produce as much as needed so that the Athosians feel protected."
"I understand what you're doing," Jensen said. "You don't want to give me and these people your weapons. Instead of us fighting better and more effectively, you want to complicate everything."
"That's just what you think," I objected.
The guy clearly doesn't intend to continue the verbal sparring.
"Alvar, please calm down," Teyla said. "We are just having a conversation. And my people could use powerful weapons against the Wraiths."
"Except that these weapons, for which my people paid with their blood," Jensen said. "And I know that Misha and Chaya can give us all much more."
"Perhaps we'll talk about it someday," Emmagan said peacefully. "Now we are just discussing the possibility of mutual assistance."
She looked at me.
"So, the weapons you supply won't be free for my people?" she clarified.
"We would like to," I said, "but it's not that simple. We have limited resources, so..."
"What do you want in return?" she asked.
"Food," I said. "Not too much, no more than for five hundred people... Every month."
Teyla looked a little taken aback. Jensen looked interested, the other Athosians – a little less friendly than before.
At this point, Chaya kicked me under the table. And it's not like she did it gently, like I would. No, the armored elements touched each other with a characteristic sound, which attracted everyone's attention.
"I don't think we'll need that much," Chaya quickly said.
"No, we will," I let her know with my voice that she shouldn't argue. Damn, I should have discussed everything in advance. But I was leaning towards the girl not getting involved in the conversation. "We need to think about everyone."
"Won't that be too much?" Sar made "scary eyes."
"Just right," I cut off, returning to Teyla. "Is this possible?"
"It's..." she hesitated. "It won't be easy. After the Wraith raid, a day and a half ago, our people lost many providers and workers... I don't think we can help you. We have many old people whom the Wraiths don't bother to take..."
Chaya and I looked at each other.
A day and a half ago?
Sounds too familiar.
"Old people have little life force," Jensen explained. "As I understand it, Wraith pilots orient themselves on fast-moving targets when collecting."
"Not only," Chaya said. "They have quite advanced scanners that can determine the parameters of human bodies."
"Is that so?" Teyla became interested. "We didn't know."
"We didn't either," Chaya sighed. "Until certain sad moments in our history..."
"Perhaps it's worth sharing such valuable information?" Jensen rasped. "If Wraiths can track people selectively... Does that mean they can hunt for a specific person?"
"In theory, it's possible," Chaya nodded. "Moreover, their collection beam can be adjusted to ignore obstacles, or to specific object parameters, so..."
"Are you afraid that even without a transmitter they can track you?" I figured out the reason for the man's anxiety.
"Not without that," he said. "Teyla, I don't think my stay here will be useful any longer. There's a chance that during the last raid, the Wraiths might have noticed me here. Sorry, I thought Mikhail and his people could help you," he looked at me searchingly. "But it seems it's not in his power. I can't risk exposing the Athosians by my presence."
"Or they could have realized you were here by the weapon you used," Emmagan agreed. "Mikhail, I'm sorry, but it seems we won't be able to reach an agreement. We would be happy to have the opportunity to defend ourselves more effectively, but... Weapons are not enough for my people to work in the fields, sparing no effort. Especially since the threat is increasing."
"You know, Alvar, my offer to join is still valid," I said casually.
"As are my demands," the fugitive replied.
"Are you recruiting warriors?" Teyla became interested.
"We need people who know the planets of the galaxy well," I generalized. "And are ready, if necessary, to repel Wraith attacks, if we have to fight."
"There are many valiant warriors among the Athosians," Teyla said. "We can fight. And we hate Wraiths with all our souls. Like all honest people in the Pegasus galaxy."
"Yes, but how much will your people be weakened if we take their warriors for our service?" I decided to cool the alien woman's ardor. "It might happen that you'll need help, and your people will be far from their homeland. This could create problems."
Like the fact that Athosians are familiar with many local civilizations. And not all of them have skeletons in their closets. Besides, what is the probability that, if captured by Wraiths, the Athosians will not reveal our secret? We can't keep our infantry scouts on another planet. Separate existence will cause too many problems.
And I don't feel like relocating the Athosians to Atlantis – in the events I know, they've already managed to "mess up."
"What if you don't have to fear Wraith attacks?" Chaya asked. Yes, she ignored my under-the-table kick.
"Excuse me?" Emmagan was amazed. "How can you not fear Wraiths when they come through the Ring of the Ancients? We are unable to prevent this."
"But our good friends, I think, can," Alvar looked at me searchingly, leaning on the table so that he was half-turned towards us. "Or am I wrong, Misha, and your ship has nothing to do with Ancestral technology?"
"The ship?" Teyla asked. "What ship are you talking about?"
"Do you have an Ancestral ship?" other Athosians became interested. "They possessed great power! You could protect us!"
What the hell...
I looked at Jensen's smirk.
You think you've cornered me, leaving me no choice? Clever, kid. He wanted answers at our parting. And decided to get them this way.
"Alright," I said. "I think we can talk more openly. But, just the four of us."
"That won't do," one of the young Athosians stood up. "Teyla won't stay with strangers..."
"I can stand up for myself," Emagan said softly but firmly. "Leave us. And make sure we're not disturbed."
A couple of minutes, and the "yurt" was empty.
"Don't hold it against me," Alvar said when there was no one else left inside but the four of us. "But I see you want help from these people. And from me. I won't work with someone I don't trust. And those who hide the truth from me, I don't really want to believe. So, let's be honest."
"Ah, let's," I agreed. "But, you understand that you'll have to take our secrets to your grave, won't you?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth," the former fugitive grinned.
"On behalf of my people, I promise that everything you say will not leave this hut," Teyla promised.
Even if she was hiding her interest, I wouldn't be fooled.
"Well, then..." I exhaled. "I guess I'll start by telling you who we are..."
"That's it?" Jensen asked me incredulously after an hour of conversation and three mugs of tea.
"In general terms," I nodded.
"Amazing," Teyla breathed, looking at me and Chaya with delight. The latter even blushed. "You are the living Ancestors! This... This is a miracle! We thought you were long gone."
"Technically, we're not exactly Ancestors," I clarified. "We just have a direct connection to them."
"Those you call Ancestors are a confederation of many peoples," Chaya explained.
"It's not that important to my people," Emagan said. "Just imagine... You live in the city of the Ancestors, you control their technology..."
"I wouldn't say we're entirely confident," Jensen said. "I saw Misha fly. Shameful."
"Experience comes with training," I said. "It will get better with time."
"Can you ensure our safety?" Emagan asked. "Settle us in your city and protect us from the Wraiths? My people revere the Ancestors and everything connected to them. We won't cause you any inconvenience, I promise."
She might vouch for the adults.
But the children... How to keep an eye on them? In my memory, it was an Athosian child who caused an energy-absorbing creature to be released in Atlantis, which caused a lot of problems.
And how many more problems could it cause, given the danger of most of Atlantis's laboratories?
I told Teyla about the latter without mincing words.
"They don't necessarily have to live in the city," Chaya said. "There's a continent on Lantea. We could resettle the Athosians there and help them settle in a new place. That would be much easier."
"Yes, but the city is underwater," I reminded her. "If something happens, like a hurricane, we'll have to evacuate people from there to the city. And we only have two people who can operate the jumpers. Which means we'll have to make hundreds of trips, and that's a waste of time and energy."
Not to mention that only one of our "jumpers" is in perfect working order. The rest will need maintenance, repair... Spare parts are scarce, so the only way is to dismantle some "jumpers" for parts for the others. And, again, it all comes down to time – Chaya is the only person I know who could handle the repair of Ancestor technology.
"Yes, that's a problem," she admitted.
"Besides, my people are traders," Teyla reminded us. "We can't stop trading with our other partners. We'll need fertilizer, tools, and much more."
"Which means we need free passage to the gates," Alvar concluded. "The city should be a restricted facility. We can't regularly schedule trips to other planets. Besides, we'll need at least one of your ships to constantly fly to the mainland to pick up traders, deliver them to the city, and send them through the gates to other planets."
"But there's a way," I said. "What if we find a planet with gates for the Athosians, but one where Wraiths don't appear?"
"Does such a thing even exist?" Alvar doubted. "The galaxy is teeming with them. I don't know of any race that hasn't encountered Wraiths."
"The planet doesn't have to be inhabited," Chaya's idea lit up. "As far as I know the principles of planet colonization, the Lantians tried to create similar living conditions on them. So, if nothing has changed, the Athosians will find suitable conditions in almost any world. The only problem is clearing land for fields, building houses, and other infrastructure. Besides, I can come up with something about protecting the gates and an early warning system for approaching Wraiths."
"Are you suggesting we install long-range sensors on the new planet?" I asked. "That will be very costly."
Long-range sensors allowed Atlantis to detect ship movements, including in hyperspace. Not across the entire galaxy, but in a certain, and quite significant, area of Pegasus.
I don't know how many resources it would take to produce a set of sensors, but one thing is certain – there are no others like those installed on the Lantian city-ships in the galaxy.
"I'll agree with that, I suppose," Chaya said. "However, we can use simple satellites for such purposes. If we get the necessary materials, I'll build simple satellites that will at least warn people about the appearance of ships in orbit a couple of dozen minutes before they exit hyperspace. If the settlement is near the gates, it will help escape the Wraiths."
"Can't you put some big gun here that would shoot down the Wraiths?" Alvar asked.
I didn't miss that Chaya flinched at this question. She doesn't seem to be a fan of large calibers.
"No," she said. "Installing a universal weapon that could effectively shoot down both fighters and large ships would take a very long time."
"Well, it's there, since the Wraiths are sleeping," Jensen shrugged.
"And it would require very powerful energy sources," Chaya continued.
"I assume portable generators, like those used on my planet to power military camps, won't work here?" the former fugitive clarified.
"If they can at least draw zero-point energy, then yes, they will," Chaya looked at the man with such kindness and a slight smile that I wanted to applaud her and tell everyone that the first Ancestor sarcasm in my life had just been voiced.
Zero-point energy... It sounds similar to the zero-point module. It's unlikely to be a coincidence. I'll have to talk to her, at least in general terms, about how Lantian technology works. I can't just press buttons without understanding what I'm doing on a basic mechanical level?
At least it wouldn't hurt.
"Zero-point energy?" Teyla asked a very timely question. Only she asked it to me.
"Exactly," I confirmed with a straight face. And then, realizing I couldn't answer the question, I looked at Chaya. "Could you..."
"No," the Ancient said in a categorical tone. "It's enough that it's one of the highest orders of energy generation in the Universe. And we don't have enough resources to power a planetary defense system."
"What if we camouflage the planet?" Alvar asked. "Your ship can become invisible."
"Is that true?" Teyla seemed to be experiencing one catharsis after another today.
"Yes, it's true," I said. "It's invisible to scanning systems, but it's still real. If the Wraiths, who know about Athos, come here in ships, don't find the planet in its place, are surprised, and out of curiosity want to shoot at the place where it was, it won't save us from destruction. Not to mention that a cloaking field of such size is also difficult to build..."
"And power," I finished my speech.
"So, it all comes down to energy sources?" Jensen asked.
"As always," I agreed.
"Let's raid a Wraith base," he suggested. "They definitely have some kind of generator."
"Their efficiency is much lower than what we need," Chaya rejected the proposal. "Relocating to another planet is the only sensible option in your case. This place is too dangerous."
"If your plan succeeds and we get weapons," Teyla hinted meaningfully at what had already been said, "then our home won't be so dangerous."
"You're dealing with Ancestor technology," Jensen echoed her. "So you also know how to make sure the Ring doesn't let Wraiths through."
"That won't save us when they arrive in ships," I objected. "I understand you don't want to move to another planet. But we're offering you the opportunity to live in peace and safety. At least for a considerable time. As soon as we have the means to secure Athos, we will, of course, do so."
"We won't," Chaya interrupted me. "Your planet is a dangerous place to live."
"Sorry," Teyla gave a strained smile. "But we've lived here for many generations. And, apart from the Wraiths, Athos is a beautiful place."
"Yes," I agreed. "It's wonderful here..."
"Until the supervolcano, in whose crater your settlement is located, the entire valley around it, and the ruins of the city on the other side of the river, wakes up," Chaya showed the present company her handheld device. On the screen were several diagrams and several pulsating dots. There were also uneven edges of something that looked very much like a volcano crater. Only a very large one. "Since we're being honest, your planet is threatening you and your children. A supervolcano eruption could not only kill you all with lava flows or volcanic gas emissions, but also destroy the entire biosphere."
"I think you're exaggerating," Alvar said. "I've seen several volcanic eruptions on my home planet. Yes, it's scary and uncomfortable to be near them, but at the same time, they didn't threaten the entire planet."
"The crater of this volcano reaches a thousand settlements like this one within its radius," Chaya explained. "As soon as the supervolcano wakes up, the ash emission will fill the atmosphere in a short time, making it impenetrable to the light of the local star. There will be no light, no heat. Which means the surface will cool down, plants and animals will gradually die out. Following them, your turn will come."
Emagan looked stunned. It's not every day you meet your Ancestors, or rather, their descendants, as Chaya and I introduced ourselves. And you certainly don't expect from this meeting to be told about the end of your civilization in a very colorful way.
Even I had nothing to say.
"You can always go through the Ancestors' Ring in case of danger," Jensen suggested.
"The gates are built from a material called naquadah," Chaya said. There was an unclear expression in her voice. From the moment she talked about the giant problem under our feet, she seemed to have changed. Usually calm and collected, now she spoke as if convincing the Athosians to leave was the task of her entire life. Which, in general, is strange... But I wasn't going to interrogate her in front of strangers. It seems that after losing her own people, the girl developed a savior complex, which she is trying to fully realize here. Well, I won't interfere – but not because it's foolish to debate with someone smarter than you. I have my own interests in what's happening. "The density of this substance is reflected in its mass. As soon as the rock under our feet becomes unstable, the gates will fall directly into the magma. You will no longer be able to use them and will be trapped on the planet. You will be very lucky if, by then, we have a spaceship with a hyperdrive that can descend into the atmosphere and take on all the refugees. Otherwise, the number of victims will be measured..."
Chaya fell silent, looking at those present with a gaze as if a teacher explaining to children in class that calling a triangle by its vertices "A-B-C" and "x-y-short y" is not the best idea when participating in the All-Russian Geometry Olympiad.