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phantismaFandom: Stargate Atlantis/Supernatural Crossover
Title: Don't Think We're in Kansas
Pairings/Characters: (this chapter) Sam, Dean, John/Ronon, Rodney, Teyla (will become Sam/Dean, & Sam/Dean/John/Ronon)
Word Count: 6950 (this chapter)
Rating: PG-13 due to theme, will evolve (devolve?) to NC-17 (yes, porn)
Summary: John Sheppard and his team are visiting a planet in hopes of establishing trade when John thinks two prisoners look suspiciously like they're wearing earth clothes.
A/Ns & Warnings: This is a bunny "given" to me by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
denyce36. I don't know if she knew what she was getting into. Um. So...warnings. This is a slave fic. This is Dean slave fic...nothing like the OTHER slave!Dean fic. This is new and different. This will involve dubious con, and kinky, kinky sex. Just not in this chapter.
“What do you mean by stuck?”
“I mean get comfortable, we’re not going anywhere.”
“Rodney.”
“Growling at me isn’t going to fix it.”
“What is?” John put his hands on his hips and stared at Rodney, but before Rodney could answer him, his radio crackled.
“Colonel Sheppard, come in.”
“Go ahead Teyla.”
“I have spoken to the negotiator of the Sagare. It appears that they are willing to discuss trade.”
“Good. Go ahead and get started. Rodney and I will just be fixing whatever it is he broke when he fiddled with stuff on our descent.”
“This is not my fault.” Rodney said.
John ignored him and turned to look for where Ronon was still scouting the area where they had…landed.
“I’m afraid they will not negotiate unless you are present, Colonel.”
“Come again?”
“They require that our Emir, our leader, preside over the negotiations.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake. Why didn’t we make you the Emir again?”
He could hear the amusement in her voice as she answered. “Because, Colonel, you introduced yourself as our leader when we first arrived.”
“Right. Okay. I’m on my way.” He looked up again, then pressed the button on the radio one last time. “Ronon. Get back here and cover Rodney’s ass while I’m gone.”
“No.” Rodney said suddenly, emerging from the shuttle. “No. You’re not leaving me with him. He’ll drive me crazy. I won’t get anything done.”
“So you want me to leave you alone?”
Rodney looked startled, but nodded. “Yes. That’s an excellent idea. Take Ronon with you. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
Rodney nodded as Ronon came trotting up. “What’s going on?”
“Teyla needs me in the village.” John gestured at Rodney. “He thinks you’ll drive him crazy. Would you?” Ronon smirked and John dropped his head. “Okay, you’re with me. Rodney, keep in touch.”
“Yes Colonel…I’ll call if I need you.”
“Just…don’t break anything…else.”
“I didn’t break this.” Rodney said, exasperated.
John smirked and clapped Ronon on the shoulder. “Maybe if we’re lucky, Teyla can score us some of those scone-things we had the last time.”
“Those were good. And that bread, with the butter?”
“Hey! Colonel Sheppard.” John stopped and looked back at Rodney who was closing up the jumper and coming toward them with his pack. “I—they might have something we could use to replace the coil…so I should come with you.”
He bustled past them, rambling on about the jam and the “pink honey-stuff” and John shook his head as Ronon laughed. “He’s so damn easy.”
Ronon leaned a little closer with his own smirk. “Not as easy as you.” He lifted both eye brows and then walked away.
“Look who’s talking.”
Rodney was still rambling about the food as they neared the village. Ronon tapped John’s shoulder and gestured with his chin toward a group of five men in chains were being led along the road from the east. John grabbed Rodney and turned him toward them. “Rodney, see anything…strange?”
“Prisoners?” Rodney squinted. “Criminals maybe.”
“Maybe…but not what I’m thinking. Look at the two on the end.”
The last two in the line were taller than the others, taller than any of the Sagare he’d met in his previous two trips here. More than that, they were dressed…differently. Ronon shook his head beside him. “They’re taller, but they could just be from elsewhere on the planet.”
John shook his head. “No. The taller one.” He pulled out his binoculars and adjusted them, focusing on the feet. “If I’m not mistaken, those are Converse.”
He handed the binoculars to Rodney who adjusted them for his eyes and swept them over the two in question. “Clothes…definitely not something we’ve seen in the Pegasus galaxy.”
“Not ours though.” John said, taking back the glasses. “Okay…let’s keep moving. We’ll see what we can find out.”
Teyla was easy enough to find, waiting for them on the steps to the meeting hall. She stood as they approached, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “They have adjourned for the midday meal.”
John nodded, his eyes scanning the area. “Okay…look. I want to do some looking around. If they were keeping prisoners, where do you suppose they’d do it?”
“Prisoners?”
“Yeah…like in chains.”
“I have seen no one in chains.”
“We did. And I want to know more.” John grabbed her arm and pointed toward one of the merchants. “Ask him.” She looked down at his hand on her arm, then up at him. He copied the look, then released her with a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”
Teyla’s face softened and she nodded to John before turning to the man and asked in her best approximation of their language. “He says they are unprocessed, but if you saw something which interests you the…Dakur Emir might be persuaded to show them.”
“Dakur Emir?”
She shrugged. “Ask him where.”
It bothered him. Jeans and t-shirts and jackets and Converse. Earth clothes. He wasn’t going into any negotiations until he knew.
“It is behind the main hall.”
John nodded and smiled at the merchant, who still looked puzzled by their questions. “What are we talking about here? Did he say what they did wrong?”
Teyla shook her head. “He called them hafine.”
“That’s the word they used to describe us.” Ronon said. “Isn’t it?”
Teyla took a deep breath and nodded. “I assumed it meant servant. Perhaps I am still not clear on the vocabulary. It is an obscure variation.”
“I’m not clear on a lot of things.” John muttered. The social structure of the Sagare mystified him. For one thing the title Emir seemed to imply leadership or at the very least wealth and importance. Hafine seemed to mean servant…and yet many hafine were clearly very close and very trusted by their Emirs.
They rounded the building and there were a series of tents. Emirs, trailed by anywhere from one to 5 hafine, milled around while barkers in brightly colored robes tried to entice them into their tents. “I shall see what I can find.”
John cleared his throat and she turned. “They were tall, and…dressed differently.” She nodded and jogged on ahead. “I’m not really liking this.”
“It does have all the markings of a slave market.” Ronon said softly. “I’ve seen my share.”
“If it’s a slave market, why is it we don’t see slaves?” Rodney asked.
John’s eyes swept the area in front of the tents where Teyla waited. “Well?”
“Colonel Sheppard, may I present Emir Dolan. Emir, bari noshe don Emir, Colonel Sheppard.”
The short man in brilliant blue robes bowed in semi-formal greeting, his hands folded in front of him, then spread wide to either side.
“Dude, calm down.”
“I will not calm down. You got us into this.”
“Why is it my fault?”
“Maybe if you didn’t feel the need to touch everything, we wouldn’t be…wherever the hell it is we are.”
John raised an eyebrow and looked at Rodney. “Dude?”
“Mon faire.” The man bowed slightly again and disappeared into the tent. It suddenly got quiet, and he returned a soft smile on his face. He spoke briefly with Teyla who turned to John.
“He apologizes for the outburst. They are very new and he had not yet activated their…” She made a face that indicated she couldn’t translate the words. “He says that they will be silent now.”
“Well…good. I want to see them, the two that were on the end.”
Teyla translated and the man held up his arms, shaking his head while he talked. “He…regrets that these are entirely too new for viewing. They haven’t been…groomed.”
John made a face. “I don’t care.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Get me in there, Teyla.”
“Easy, Colonel. I will do my best.” She took a breath and turned to the man, a soft smile on her face. She did her best to express the great desire her leader had to look upon the two that were on the end of the chained prisoners. The man fussed at her, then called over another man, slightly taller, his robes a ridiculous purple that John had already learned equated to a fair amount of power. This new man spoke to Teyla and she turned back to John finally. “This is the Dakur Emir. He runs the…market. He asks if your interest is…for a…personal hafine.”
“Personal hafine?” She shrugged and John looked at the older man. He opened his mouth to respond, but wasn’t sure what to say.
“It has been noted, Emir Colonel, that you possess no hafine to attend your person.” The Dakur Emir said in heavily accented English. “It would remain my honor to assist you in the choosing of such.”
“Yeah…okay…let’s do that. The tall one.”
The Emir held out a hand in gesture toward the tent and two in the brown tunics that marked the town’s guard held aside the flap. “I fear the tall one is unsuitable as such, Emir Colonel. But please to see the other.”
John ducked into the tent, his eyes sweeping over the five men in two cages. The two separated from the others looked back at him, the others dropped their eyes. “Is pretty, yes?” He pointed at the shorter of the two and John had to agree that yes, he was pretty.
It was obvious the man was yelling at them, the way his face turned red while his mouth moved. “He has sparked much talk as he came to be here. Already offers.”
John held up both hands, hoping it would calm them. Up close it was even more obvious that these were not Pegasus galaxy humans. “Rodney, don’t you have a pair of jeans like those?” John caught the eyes of the shorter, and older he could see, one and gestured for him to lift his shirt. The Dakur Emir made a twirling motion with his finger. There was fury in the man’s eyes as he glared back at John, then the Emir pressed something at his wrist and the man lifted his shirt and turned slowly. It was obvious he was fuming.
“Wranglers?” Rodney said quietly. He looked at John and back, his mouth slightly open. He squinted up at the taller one, then nodded. “Yeah. Brought them back last time I went home.”
The tall one was looking at them now…seeming to ask questions with just his eyes. “Where are they from?” John asked.
The Dakur Emir moved closer. He spoke to Teyla briefly and she nodded. “They came out of the place of which they do not speak.”
“What does that mean?”
“He will not explain further.” Teyla responded.
“He is most pleasurable?” The Emir looked hopeful.
“They are both…pleasurable.” John said, trying to figure out how to play this.
“No…he is too tall…too weak. Macunta. Macunta a par.”
John looked to Teyla. “He is injured.”
“So?”
The older one was staring daggers at John now, holding the younger one’s arm. He could see now the kid’s jacket was bloody, his arm cradled against his chest. The Emir spoke to Teyla and bowed briefly before disappearing out the front of the tent. “They are to be separated. The injured one is unfit for more than field work, and is not expected to survive long. The other is meant for softer duty.”
Both of them looked at Teyla, obviously taken back by that, though whether it was to the taller one’s survival expectancy or the statement about softer duty, John couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t sure what softer duty meant himself, but he had other concerns at the moment.
John stepped up close to the bars. “Tell me I’m not crazy here, boys. You are…from Earth, right?”
They looked at each other, then at him like he was crazy. The uninjured one bent down and scribbled a word in the sand. Kansas.
“Colonel John Sheppard, US Air Force.” John said softly. “I’m going to do everything I can to get you two out of there.”
He pulled his team together. “Okay, Rodney, you get back to the jumper. Get us in the air. Teyla, find out what we need to do to…get both of them.”
“I fear we will need to trade for them, and I am not certain we brought enough medicines for the price.”
“You’re my negotiator, Teyla, negotiate.”
“I have convinced the Dakur Emir that we are most serious in desiring both.” Teyla said as she rejoined John and Ronon at a café not far from the market. “He is considering the service the younger one is capable of.”
“What does it matter to him? It’s not like it matters to me.”
She held up her hands. “It is a law or tradition of some sort, that the hafine are…assigned duties before they are…sold. I confess, much of the language is mystifying.” She thanked the serving girl as she set a plate in front of her. “He will meet with us after our meal to tell us whether we will be able to take both and begin negotiations for the price.”
“I really don’t like this.” John said. “We came here looking to trade for food.”
Ronon chuckled and both John and Teyla turned to look at him. Ronon lifted his glass. “Dr. Weir is going to flip.”
John closed his eyes. “Elizabeth.” Ronon was right. She was going to get upset. “We’ll deal with that later. Right now I’m concerned with getting us off world without having to resort to violence to take these two with us.”
“Do you truly believe these men are from your world?” Teyla asked.
John nodded. “Yeah. Don’t know how they got here, and won’t until we can actually talk to them.”
She smiled. “The Dakur Emir is most anxious for trade with us. Apparently it will offer him some prestige. It should not be long before you are able to speak with them.”
John nodded and tried not to worry…but two men from Earth appearing out of nowhere on a planet with no planet-side Gate was troublesome. It meant that there was another way into the Pegasus galaxy…and if there was a way in, there was a way out too.
The Dakur Emir looked pleased to see them as they approached. He bowed in greeting and Teyla echoed his movement. “Emir Colonel, to be pleased. We have found the necessary. The pretty one to be your personal hafine, the other to attend him.”
“Attend him?”
The Emir nodded enthusiastically. “It is old tradition, for the hafine of mighty Emir be served by a hafine so Emir not having to bother with needs.”
“The slave gets a slave all his own?” John murmured to Teyla who shrugged.
“Is pleasing?”
John nodded. “Yes, most pleasing. How much?”
“Colonel.” Teyla hissed at him, rolling her eyes in annoyance . “There is tradition for the negotiations as well.”
John rolled his eyes. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Can we see them?”
The Dakur Emir spoke directly to Teyla who nodded, then turned to John. “They have been taken for…grooming…and to prepare them for the….gallo me parfit…a ceremony of some sort.”
“To excuse, Emir Colonel. I must went to business.”
John watched him go, then turned to Teyla. “Make sure that the injured one gets medical attention. And get this negotiation over with. I want to get back to Atlantis and rethink the whole trading with people who keep slaves thing.”
“Ah, the village Emir and the negotiators.” Teyla said, turning John to greet the leader of the village. “My Lord Emir. We apologize for our delay in returning.”
“No need, no need. We are most pleased that Emir Colonel would choose from our humble offerings. A man of his skill and stature should be attended with a full compliment of hafine.”
“Your English has improved since we were here last.” John observed wryly. Unlike the Dakur Emir, the Village Emir wore his purple more regally than ridiculous, his robes looking stately.
The Emir inclined his head. “I have always had fascination for the language of the Ancestors. Your visits have encouraged me to learn.” He leaned in toward John and lowered his voice. “There are those among our Emirs who worried you had no personal hafine to care for you…though many speculated that among your people you might chose one of your other hafine for such duty.” His eyes glanced up at Ronon, a sly grin on his face.
John looked at Ronon, a blush creeping up his neck. Ronon grinned at him. John wanted to smack him. Or maybe drag him somewhere more private. He wasn’t sure.
“We are most honored that you have chosen…and such a beautiful hafine.”
“I hope this will not preclude further discussion of trade.” Teyla said and the Emir inclined his head.
“Dakur Emir has spoken to me already and is willing to include the price of the hafine in our discussions.”
“Good.” John took a deep breath. “Let’s get to it then, I’d like to head home soon.”
“The gallo me parfit will be tomorrow morning. Then there is the first, to ensure the satisfaction of you. We have time to make all concerned happy in trade.”
John frowned. “I can’t just…take them?”
The Emir smiled. “What manner of trade partners would let you leave without knowing of your happiness with your purchase?”
John hung his head and gestured for Teyla to precede him into the meeting hall. He was beginning to think that the entire trading idea was over rated. They didn’t have the best track record. There were harvest festivals and strange customs, entire planets that wouldn’t negotiate with women, others that would only negotiate with women. Then there was the Genii, and the debacle that they became.
Of course, it was the Sagare’s relationship with the Genii that had kept them from seeking trade before now. But, with the Genii under new leadership and supposedly less of a threat, Elizabeth had decided the Sagare could be beneficial allies.
Which led them here, with enough medicine and tools for modest trade…and two men from Earth where they had no right to be…smack in the middle of a slave market. He felt eyes on him and looked up. Teyla was waiting for him, her smile strained. “Sorry.” He was glad to have Ronon at his back and Teyla to do the bulk of the talking. He unclipped his weapon as he sat, nodding to Teyla to take point. She smiled and inclined her head to their head negotiator.
There would be niceties and exchanges prior to beginning anything seriously. John just hoped he could manage to stay awake.
Dean Winchester was not a happy man. It had only a little to do with the fact that he was currently standing naked in knee high water while men moved around him, pouring water over him. It had more to do with the fact that the day had started out crappy and turned ugly and had devolved into bat-shit insane…and it wasn’t even over.
He fumed as they turned to scrubbing his naked flesh with soaps that smelled entirely too much like fruit for his taste, craning his neck to try to keep Sam in his sights. He’d been bathed as well, though not nearly as thoroughly and was sitting, also naked, on a sort of cot, having his arm wrapped in white bandages.
It was bad. He knew that. Too much blood and the frightening way his brother had gone pale and grabbed at it told him that it needed more attention than a bandage. He was worried about the bump on his head too…and the way Sam’s words slurred from time to time…although, that problem seemed to have been eliminated, along with their ability to speak.
It didn’t help that he couldn’t understand what anyone was saying, except for that supposed Air Force Colonel and the man in the purple dress.. He did understand cages though, and he’d pretty much made out that they were being sold.
Sold.
And maybe his life was screwed up, but this was nuts. He looked for Sam again, panicking when he wasn’t immediately visible. Then he saw him, towering over the men handling him, dressing him. Dean shook his head as he was led up out of the shallow water.
The whole bath thing was fine…though he’d prefer it were five pretty girls than five short guys…but at least he was clean. He still didn’t understand where they were, and Air Force guy had asked if they were from Earth…which sounded ominously like that meant they weren’t on Earth…and that was too much to consider, so he didn’t, just glowered at the men who were guiding him toward something that looked like a dentist’s chair with a Robocop kit.
He shook his head when they indicated he should sit in it. He tried to say “No,” but of course his voice was still AWOL. Eventually they poked and prodded him into the contraption and strapped him down.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to go far into making him feel any more comfortable with the whole situation. He couldn’t see Sam, couldn’t move…and that was a needle…entirely too close to his head. He felt it bite into him and yelled silently until he felt something shift and he relaxed into the chair.
It took a moment to recognize that they had probably drugged him…and a few minutes later he was grateful as the chair moved and tiny needles pricked his back and something pressed against his naked ass. He probably would have bolted if he hadn’t been strapped down and if the drug hadn’t made the whole thing…softer.
Images filled his mind…memories mixed with faces…the Air Force guy, Sam, then there was other stuff…Dean was startled at first to see naked people, touching, kissing…sex in every position he could imagine and a few he couldn’t. He didn’t have to look to know he was aroused. Kinky shit followed…toys and spankings, restraints, groups…and yeah that was his dick leaking onto his stomach…which should bother him…but oddly didn’t.
Eventually, his eyes closed and he lost himself to the stimulus.
His next conscious thought was that he was cold. He opened his eyes. He wasn’t in the chair. He was on one of the cots, still naked. Sam sat on another, his long legs in white wispy pants, and he was staring at him. Dean sat up slowly. His body ached vaguely like he’d had an extra long workout.
He swept his eyes over his brother. “You okay?” Sam asked and Dean jumped.
“Voices?”
Sam shrugged. “Apparently. I figured it out when you were moaning.”
“Moaning? Great.”
“What the fuck is going on, Dean?”
Dean shook his head and stood up. They were in a curtained off space, the two cots with three feet between them and little else. “We alone?”
“Haven’ t seen anyone.”
Dean paced a little, chewing on his lip. He didn’t want to face it. It was too unreal…too…so he turned to look at Sam, squatting beside him to look at his arm. “How bad?”
Sam made a face and pulled the arm away from Dean, cradling it against his chest. “It’s broken, and ripped up, and it fucking hurts.”
Dean nodded, abandoning his attempts to look at it. The bandaging was at least keeping it from being injured further. “Your head?”
Sam’s good hand fluttered to the left side of his head that had connected pretty hard with the rock walls of the cave they’d found themselves in after…”I’m okay…for now. But this is…”
“Insane, I know.” Dean went back to pacing. “I don’t know what we stumbled into, Sam. But this is way beyond our normal gig.”
Sam chuckled. “You think?”
“What do you make of that Air Force guy?”
“Sheppard?” Sam blew out slowly. “I’m not sure. He seemed…legit.”
“Except for the fact that he asked us if we were from Earth…which I find a little odd, considering I don’t remember leaving Earth, Sammy…and the fact that he’s apparently buying us from the guy in the purple dress.”
“Okay, see that’s what bothers me. The way they were talking.” Sam shuddered. “I don’t know where we are or what exactly is going on, Dean, but I’m not liking it.”
The curtain opened and the man in purple stood in the opening. “I am to see that you are speaking the language of the Emir Colonel?”
They looked at one another, then nodded slowly. A smile spread across the man’s face. “Then I can help to instruct you for the coming gallo me parfit.”
“The gallo what?” Dean asked.
“We are to prepare you for your Emir. Please to sit for my words.”
Sam sat first, pulling on Dean’s arm when he didn’t immediately follow suit. Slowly, Dean sat down beside his brother. “There will be small food. The carden,” he pointed to a spot on his neck and both Sam and Dean reached for the spot on their own necks, “…will return, so you can not break the silence. The pretty one will be go to bathe and groom for the gallo me parfit. The broken one will be go to present Emir Colonel.”
“Can I ask a question?” Sam asked, his forehead all crinkled.
The man in purple nodded. “It is to help you that I am come.”
“Okay…why is this happening? What did we do?”
“You were in the place we will not speak of. You are wrong.”
“Wrong?” Dean asked.
“Punished.”
“Punished? For what?”
The man sighed explosively. “It is wrong to go there. Those that go do not return. You did not go, but you came.”
“I’m starting to get dizzy.” Dean murmured to Sam. “So…because we came out of that cave, we get sold to be slaves?”
“All wrong is punished.” He clapped his hands. “We go now to food.”
The bevy of men that had been buzzing about before were back, urging them to their feet and escorting them out of the curtained room and past the bathing area into another room where there were soft pillows on the floor around a low table. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were in a harem.” Dean joked.
Sam poked him and followed the man who was urging him to sit. The table had a few plates of breads and fruits, none of which looked very familiar. “Sit and to eat. Soon to come your Emir.”
Dean rolled his eyes as Sam settled onto one of the pillows, his long, gangly legs looking ridiculous as he tried to keep balance and not jar his arm against the table. “Okay. Fine. Eat. I can do—“ And just like that his voice was gone. He cursed and fought the urge to throw himself at the ridiculous man in his ridiculous dress. Instead he forced himself to sit beside Sam and reach for something that vaguely resembled an apple.
“Rodney, this is Sheppard, come in.”
“Oh, nice to hear from you, Colonel.”
“Just tell me you fixed it.”
“More or less.”
“What does that mean?”
“It should fly enough to get us off world and through the gate.”
“Should?” John exhaled and looked at Teyla and Ronon. It had been a very long night of negotiations and he didn’t think he had enough brain left to deal with Rodney on top of everything else.
“Yes. With you flying, everything should be fine.”
“I’m not flying, Rodney. You are.”
“What? Why?”
“I need to stay here while you and Teyla go back to Atlantis for the rest of our trade. Ronon and I are staying here, to show our good faith.”
“You’re the better pilot…and this is going to be shaky. I had to sabotage some systems to get us in the air.”
“I can’t leave, Rodney. You’re flying. You’ll do fine. Just…You have until Teyla and the Emir’s transport team get there to make it as safe as you can. Then you’re gone. Sheppard out.” He wasn’t going to argue or stroke the man’s ego, he just wasn’t in the mood.
Teyla hefted her pack and strapped it on. “Are you certain you will not need my services?”
“Keep Rodney on track and give Elizabeth a heads up. I’ll be fine. After all, I have my other hafine to keep me safe.” He smirked at Ronon who crossed his arms and stared back.
“You’re having way too much fun with that.”
John chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any such thing. I mean…come on, Ronon. The way the Emir defined you guys.” He inclined his head to Teyla. “My diplomatic hafine, who gets me what I want. Rodney, my scientific hafine, who makes sure that what I get is what I wanted.” His smirk grew into a grin. “And you, my body guard hafine, who…covers my ass.” John’s smirk grew as he met Ronon’s eyes, then he let it drop as Teyla’s eyebrow raised.
There was a knock at the door and Teyla went to answer it. “I will return as quickly as I can with the remainder of the supplies for trade.”
John nodded and watched her go. When the door was closed John stood and moved closer to Ronon. “Hey.”
Ronon looked away as John tilted his face up. “Cover you ass?”
John nodded. “Well, you do.”
Ronon snorted.
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
“Oh, come on. We’re alone.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ronon huffed and shook his head. “You’re impossible.”
John grinned. “I know.”
Ronon cocked an eyebrow, then bit lightly into his lower lip, dragging it inward. It was mystifying to John why that simple thing did…that to him. “Just a little one?” But he knew the look, and when Ronon crossed his arms, he knew he’d just been shut down.
Another knock pulled them apart and Ronon pulled the door open, looking over the men the village Emir had sent to get them. “They’re ready for us, Emir Colonel.” Ronon said, his voice teasing.
“You think you’re cute?” John asked as he grabbed his gear and headed for the door.
“I know I am.” Ronon answered as John slid past him.
The Emir’s personal guards escorted John and Ronon through the market and up the hill to a building John had considered a personal residence. It was obvious as they came closer that this wasn’t the case.
The receiving hall was spacious and dotted with potted plants and trees that seemed to be growing out of the floor. They passed through it and into a private office where they were pointed to chairs and left alone.
“So…what are we doing here?” Ronon asked when it was obvious they’d be alone a while.
“The way Teyla explained it, there’s a ceremony or something. It involves me accepting my new hafine.” John fidgeted. “Something to do with collars and some mumbo jumbo she didn’t quite understand.”
“Kinky.” Ronon said with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
“Stop it. I’m sure it’s perfectly innocent.”
Ronon looked like he was going to say something, but the door opened and the village Emir swept in, bowing and smiling. “So happy to have you, Emir Colonel. We are close to be ready.”
“Good. I’d really like to see my new hafine.”
“In time, Emir, in time. First comes preparing.”
“Okay, what do I do?”
“The room is almost. Patient is good.”
“I’m patient, Emir. Plenty patient. It is obvious that your traditions for this transaction are different than ours. I was hoping you would explain.”
The village Emir squinted at him, then seemed to parse through his words, his face lighting up. “Of course. Yes. We make your hafine perfect for you. We test them. We test you. We prepare the har to best performance.”
“Best performance?”
“You see. You will like.”
There was a knock on the door and a young woman bowed to the Emir. “Come, the room is.”
“Okay.” John and Ronon followed the Emir into a small white room with an odd looking chair. As he got closer he decided it wasn’t unlike the chair in Atlantis that controlled the drones.
“You to sit. Remove shirt.”
John eyed the chair suspiciously, but unbuckled his P90 and handed it to Ronon before pulling off his vest and jacket, down to his t-shirt. He shivered a little in the cool of the room before pulling the t-shirt off and settling uneasily into the chair. “So what is this?”
“Test, to make har.” John looked at Ronon again and Ronon shrugged minutely.
“Small sting. To sit still please.” A small woman in a blue lab coat said as she approached him. John tensed as she moved to strap down his right hand and had to hold up his left hand to keep Ronon from crossing the room.
Almost before she had strapped his left hand in place, spreading his fingers over the end of the chair arm, a needle pricked into the back of his neck and the room swam for a minute. “Shit.”
Ronon moved closer. John shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The chair hummed under him, tilting back and thousands of tiny fingers moved over his skin. “Is good. Please more to be still.”
John could hear her fussing with equipment and speaking in her own language to her assistant. “Is strong, Emir Colonel. Very unusual strong. This sample make good har.”
“Glad to hear it.” The chair moved back to upright and she released the restraints.
“You may up now. I will prepare har.”
John got up and dressed, then the village Emir was once again escorting them down a long hallway and into a lift that took them up several floors. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the room that they were led into.
“Whoa.” Ronon muttered as they stopped inside the door.
“You can say that again.” Like a bedroom fit for royalty, the suite was an incredible mix of beauty and functionality, dressed in shades of gold and maroon. There was a table near the huge picture window overlooking the receiving hall and a sunken sitting area of low couches and pillows around a small circular fireplace to the left. To the right a raised dias held a huge bed.
“Is good, yes?” the Emir asked, smiling broadly.
“Is very good.” John answered.
“Until you leave us, for you.” The Emir looked particularly pleased with himself.
“There’s no need, Emir, really. We can stay at the inn.”
“It is for your hafine as well as for you. To comfort transition. I go make check on har.”
As the door closed behind the Emir, John whistled low and started walking through the room. “One bed.” Ronon said, as he climbed the stairs. “Big bed.”
“Maybe there are extra rooms or something.”
Ronon sat on the bed and bounced, then a slow grin broke over his face. “Or something.”
“What?”
Before John could join him on the bed, there was a knock on the door and he turned back to find the small woman from the lab, carrying a case. Behind her the tall man came with two male escorts…and John was going to have to find out their names before he went crazy.
He looked different, the clothes that gave him away as being from Earth were gone and in their place was a pair of gauzy white pants that were slung low on his hips and nothing else.
John licked his lips and looked aside at Ronon. Hips. He shook his head. It was one of the things about Ronon that drove him crazy. The woman smiled and crossed to the table, setting down the case and opening it.
The men escorting John’s new hafine walked him to where the woman put a pillow on the floor, then pushed him to his knees. “Come.” The woman beckoned.
John stopped long enough to drop his gear on the floor by the bed, then approached the woman. He glanced at the man…kid…this close he looked a lot younger than he first assumed. She held out her hands for his and he lifted them slowly. “Which is strong?”
“Strong?” She hefted both hands and he figured she meant dominant. “Oh, this one.” He lifted his right hand and she nodded.
She turned away and held up a filmy strip of something that looked soft and flexible. “For Emir, har-ta, to project.”
Before he could say anything, she was pressing the band to his wrist. It was cool and strange and when she took her hands off of it, it came to life, wiggling against his skin, stretching and moving and then it shrunk tight before slowly melting into the flesh of his wrist. He looked up at her, his eyes wide. He could almost feel it searching around inside him, over nerves and veins and…”Whoa.” A rush of…something ran through him, leaving him dizzy, flushed and vaguely aroused.
Ronon was at his side with a hand on his arm instantly. John felt another rush of arousal at the touch, but held up a hand to hold Ronon off when he growled at the woman. “It’s okay, Ronon, I’m fine.”
“Is good?” The woman asked and John shook his head.
“I wouldn’t say that. You should have warned me.” He could feel it inside him…adjusting, worming it’s way up his arm.
He looked down at the kid waiting on his knees. Those green eyes were wide with what was probably fear. “It’s okay Kid. I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
John was amused when he crinkled his face at the pejorative, but didn’t have time to respond as she was holding another of the filmy bands. This one was longer, not as wide. “For hafine. You put.” She gestured with it toward the kid, then imitated putting it around her own neck.
He didn’t like that idea, but he took it from her and held it between him and the kid. “Okay…whatever it takes if it gets us out of here. Right?”
He could feel the anger rolling off of him, could see it in his eyes. “Just trust me, Kid. I’m doing the best I can.” He pressed it to the skin around his neck and lifted his hands away. Those green eyes closed and his fists clenched as the film did its thing, morphing and molding itself. John watched in fascination as the collar disappeared under the skin, with hardly an indication it was there. If he didn’t know where it was, he would never find it. The kid swayed a little, then sagged so that his hip was on the floor.
“Is good.” The woman declared. “I go finish har.”
When they were alone, John squatted in front of the kid. “Hey…you okay?”
There was confusion in his eyes, and still a little of the anger, but he nodded slowly. “Ronon, get me something to write with and that pad of paper in my vest.” When he had it in his hand, John held it out. “Tell me your name?”
He swallowed hard, one hand sliding up to where the collar was. John’s eyes went to his own wrist. He wished the kid would trust him. He felt the paper leave his hand and looked up. “Sam?”
He nodded and John smiled. “Good. I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but under the circumstances…” He stood and Sam did as well, although a little shaky. “I already told you I’m John Sheppard. This is my…associate, Ronon Dex.”
Ronon nodded to Sam who took a deep breath and nodded back. Sam scribbled on the paper and held it up. “Where? Oh boy…right to the hard questions?” John paced away and came back. “Where…you’re in the Pegasus galaxy.”
Sam’s face squished up in question and John held up his hands. “Before you ask how you got here, I don’t know. We’ll have a lot of time for that. Do you know if the voice thing is permanent?”
Sam scribbled more and held up the pad and pointed to a spot on the side of his neck. There was a soft green glow like there was something under his skin. . “What does that mean?” John stepped closer. “Until you’ve accepted? Accepted what?”
John exhaled heavily and turned to Ronon before Sam was snapping his fingers at him for attention. He held up the pad. “Where’s Dean?” John read aloud. “Dean? The other guy is Dean?”
Sam nodded. It was obvious there was some serious concern there. “He’ll be here soon. I think.”
Sam dropped the pen, his face filled with pain, drawing John’s attention to the bandage on his arm. “Are you okay?” He moved to reach for it, but Sam pulled back. “Okay…you don’t trust me yet. I get that. But really…I’m only try to help here.”
Sam went to his knees, fishing around for the pen again. He scribbled messily and dropped the pad. John picked it up. “Broken? Okay. We can handle that, as soon as we get back to Atlantis.” John paced a little, staring at his wrist. This whole thing wasn’t as simple as he’d hoped, and he almost wished he’d paid more attention to what Teyla had told him about this…thing. With any luck, Rodney or Carson would be able to remove the technology. The chair looked like the Ancients’, though he didn’t think he’d ever seen Ancient technology do what this did, but it stood to reason that this stuff was similar too. He rubbed his left hand along the wrist, trying to feel it under his skin. He turned to look at Sam, who still seemed a little dazed.
“It’s going to be okay, Sam. I promise.”
Title: Don't Think We're in Kansas
Pairings/Characters: (this chapter) Sam, Dean, John/Ronon, Rodney, Teyla (will become Sam/Dean, & Sam/Dean/John/Ronon)
Word Count: 6950 (this chapter)
Rating: PG-13 due to theme, will evolve (devolve?) to NC-17 (yes, porn)
Summary: John Sheppard and his team are visiting a planet in hopes of establishing trade when John thinks two prisoners look suspiciously like they're wearing earth clothes.
A/Ns & Warnings: This is a bunny "given" to me by
denyce36. I don't know if she knew what she was getting into. Um. So...warnings. This is a slave fic. This is Dean slave fic...nothing like the OTHER slave!Dean fic. This is new and different. This will involve dubious con, and kinky, kinky sex. Just not in this chapter.“What do you mean by stuck?”
“I mean get comfortable, we’re not going anywhere.”
“Rodney.”
“Growling at me isn’t going to fix it.”
“What is?” John put his hands on his hips and stared at Rodney, but before Rodney could answer him, his radio crackled.
“Colonel Sheppard, come in.”
“Go ahead Teyla.”
“I have spoken to the negotiator of the Sagare. It appears that they are willing to discuss trade.”
“Good. Go ahead and get started. Rodney and I will just be fixing whatever it is he broke when he fiddled with stuff on our descent.”
“This is not my fault.” Rodney said.
John ignored him and turned to look for where Ronon was still scouting the area where they had…landed.
“I’m afraid they will not negotiate unless you are present, Colonel.”
“Come again?”
“They require that our Emir, our leader, preside over the negotiations.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake. Why didn’t we make you the Emir again?”
He could hear the amusement in her voice as she answered. “Because, Colonel, you introduced yourself as our leader when we first arrived.”
“Right. Okay. I’m on my way.” He looked up again, then pressed the button on the radio one last time. “Ronon. Get back here and cover Rodney’s ass while I’m gone.”
“No.” Rodney said suddenly, emerging from the shuttle. “No. You’re not leaving me with him. He’ll drive me crazy. I won’t get anything done.”
“So you want me to leave you alone?”
Rodney looked startled, but nodded. “Yes. That’s an excellent idea. Take Ronon with you. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
Rodney nodded as Ronon came trotting up. “What’s going on?”
“Teyla needs me in the village.” John gestured at Rodney. “He thinks you’ll drive him crazy. Would you?” Ronon smirked and John dropped his head. “Okay, you’re with me. Rodney, keep in touch.”
“Yes Colonel…I’ll call if I need you.”
“Just…don’t break anything…else.”
“I didn’t break this.” Rodney said, exasperated.
John smirked and clapped Ronon on the shoulder. “Maybe if we’re lucky, Teyla can score us some of those scone-things we had the last time.”
“Those were good. And that bread, with the butter?”
“Hey! Colonel Sheppard.” John stopped and looked back at Rodney who was closing up the jumper and coming toward them with his pack. “I—they might have something we could use to replace the coil…so I should come with you.”
He bustled past them, rambling on about the jam and the “pink honey-stuff” and John shook his head as Ronon laughed. “He’s so damn easy.”
Ronon leaned a little closer with his own smirk. “Not as easy as you.” He lifted both eye brows and then walked away.
“Look who’s talking.”
Rodney was still rambling about the food as they neared the village. Ronon tapped John’s shoulder and gestured with his chin toward a group of five men in chains were being led along the road from the east. John grabbed Rodney and turned him toward them. “Rodney, see anything…strange?”
“Prisoners?” Rodney squinted. “Criminals maybe.”
“Maybe…but not what I’m thinking. Look at the two on the end.”
The last two in the line were taller than the others, taller than any of the Sagare he’d met in his previous two trips here. More than that, they were dressed…differently. Ronon shook his head beside him. “They’re taller, but they could just be from elsewhere on the planet.”
John shook his head. “No. The taller one.” He pulled out his binoculars and adjusted them, focusing on the feet. “If I’m not mistaken, those are Converse.”
He handed the binoculars to Rodney who adjusted them for his eyes and swept them over the two in question. “Clothes…definitely not something we’ve seen in the Pegasus galaxy.”
“Not ours though.” John said, taking back the glasses. “Okay…let’s keep moving. We’ll see what we can find out.”
Teyla was easy enough to find, waiting for them on the steps to the meeting hall. She stood as they approached, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “They have adjourned for the midday meal.”
John nodded, his eyes scanning the area. “Okay…look. I want to do some looking around. If they were keeping prisoners, where do you suppose they’d do it?”
“Prisoners?”
“Yeah…like in chains.”
“I have seen no one in chains.”
“We did. And I want to know more.” John grabbed her arm and pointed toward one of the merchants. “Ask him.” She looked down at his hand on her arm, then up at him. He copied the look, then released her with a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”
Teyla’s face softened and she nodded to John before turning to the man and asked in her best approximation of their language. “He says they are unprocessed, but if you saw something which interests you the…Dakur Emir might be persuaded to show them.”
“Dakur Emir?”
She shrugged. “Ask him where.”
It bothered him. Jeans and t-shirts and jackets and Converse. Earth clothes. He wasn’t going into any negotiations until he knew.
“It is behind the main hall.”
John nodded and smiled at the merchant, who still looked puzzled by their questions. “What are we talking about here? Did he say what they did wrong?”
Teyla shook her head. “He called them hafine.”
“That’s the word they used to describe us.” Ronon said. “Isn’t it?”
Teyla took a deep breath and nodded. “I assumed it meant servant. Perhaps I am still not clear on the vocabulary. It is an obscure variation.”
“I’m not clear on a lot of things.” John muttered. The social structure of the Sagare mystified him. For one thing the title Emir seemed to imply leadership or at the very least wealth and importance. Hafine seemed to mean servant…and yet many hafine were clearly very close and very trusted by their Emirs.
They rounded the building and there were a series of tents. Emirs, trailed by anywhere from one to 5 hafine, milled around while barkers in brightly colored robes tried to entice them into their tents. “I shall see what I can find.”
John cleared his throat and she turned. “They were tall, and…dressed differently.” She nodded and jogged on ahead. “I’m not really liking this.”
“It does have all the markings of a slave market.” Ronon said softly. “I’ve seen my share.”
“If it’s a slave market, why is it we don’t see slaves?” Rodney asked.
John’s eyes swept the area in front of the tents where Teyla waited. “Well?”
“Colonel Sheppard, may I present Emir Dolan. Emir, bari noshe don Emir, Colonel Sheppard.”
The short man in brilliant blue robes bowed in semi-formal greeting, his hands folded in front of him, then spread wide to either side.
“Dude, calm down.”
“I will not calm down. You got us into this.”
“Why is it my fault?”
“Maybe if you didn’t feel the need to touch everything, we wouldn’t be…wherever the hell it is we are.”
John raised an eyebrow and looked at Rodney. “Dude?”
“Mon faire.” The man bowed slightly again and disappeared into the tent. It suddenly got quiet, and he returned a soft smile on his face. He spoke briefly with Teyla who turned to John.
“He apologizes for the outburst. They are very new and he had not yet activated their…” She made a face that indicated she couldn’t translate the words. “He says that they will be silent now.”
“Well…good. I want to see them, the two that were on the end.”
Teyla translated and the man held up his arms, shaking his head while he talked. “He…regrets that these are entirely too new for viewing. They haven’t been…groomed.”
John made a face. “I don’t care.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Get me in there, Teyla.”
“Easy, Colonel. I will do my best.” She took a breath and turned to the man, a soft smile on her face. She did her best to express the great desire her leader had to look upon the two that were on the end of the chained prisoners. The man fussed at her, then called over another man, slightly taller, his robes a ridiculous purple that John had already learned equated to a fair amount of power. This new man spoke to Teyla and she turned back to John finally. “This is the Dakur Emir. He runs the…market. He asks if your interest is…for a…personal hafine.”
“Personal hafine?” She shrugged and John looked at the older man. He opened his mouth to respond, but wasn’t sure what to say.
“It has been noted, Emir Colonel, that you possess no hafine to attend your person.” The Dakur Emir said in heavily accented English. “It would remain my honor to assist you in the choosing of such.”
“Yeah…okay…let’s do that. The tall one.”
The Emir held out a hand in gesture toward the tent and two in the brown tunics that marked the town’s guard held aside the flap. “I fear the tall one is unsuitable as such, Emir Colonel. But please to see the other.”
John ducked into the tent, his eyes sweeping over the five men in two cages. The two separated from the others looked back at him, the others dropped their eyes. “Is pretty, yes?” He pointed at the shorter of the two and John had to agree that yes, he was pretty.
It was obvious the man was yelling at them, the way his face turned red while his mouth moved. “He has sparked much talk as he came to be here. Already offers.”
John held up both hands, hoping it would calm them. Up close it was even more obvious that these were not Pegasus galaxy humans. “Rodney, don’t you have a pair of jeans like those?” John caught the eyes of the shorter, and older he could see, one and gestured for him to lift his shirt. The Dakur Emir made a twirling motion with his finger. There was fury in the man’s eyes as he glared back at John, then the Emir pressed something at his wrist and the man lifted his shirt and turned slowly. It was obvious he was fuming.
“Wranglers?” Rodney said quietly. He looked at John and back, his mouth slightly open. He squinted up at the taller one, then nodded. “Yeah. Brought them back last time I went home.”
The tall one was looking at them now…seeming to ask questions with just his eyes. “Where are they from?” John asked.
The Dakur Emir moved closer. He spoke to Teyla briefly and she nodded. “They came out of the place of which they do not speak.”
“What does that mean?”
“He will not explain further.” Teyla responded.
“He is most pleasurable?” The Emir looked hopeful.
“They are both…pleasurable.” John said, trying to figure out how to play this.
“No…he is too tall…too weak. Macunta. Macunta a par.”
John looked to Teyla. “He is injured.”
“So?”
The older one was staring daggers at John now, holding the younger one’s arm. He could see now the kid’s jacket was bloody, his arm cradled against his chest. The Emir spoke to Teyla and bowed briefly before disappearing out the front of the tent. “They are to be separated. The injured one is unfit for more than field work, and is not expected to survive long. The other is meant for softer duty.”
Both of them looked at Teyla, obviously taken back by that, though whether it was to the taller one’s survival expectancy or the statement about softer duty, John couldn’t be sure. He wasn’t sure what softer duty meant himself, but he had other concerns at the moment.
John stepped up close to the bars. “Tell me I’m not crazy here, boys. You are…from Earth, right?”
They looked at each other, then at him like he was crazy. The uninjured one bent down and scribbled a word in the sand. Kansas.
“Colonel John Sheppard, US Air Force.” John said softly. “I’m going to do everything I can to get you two out of there.”
He pulled his team together. “Okay, Rodney, you get back to the jumper. Get us in the air. Teyla, find out what we need to do to…get both of them.”
“I fear we will need to trade for them, and I am not certain we brought enough medicines for the price.”
“You’re my negotiator, Teyla, negotiate.”
“I have convinced the Dakur Emir that we are most serious in desiring both.” Teyla said as she rejoined John and Ronon at a café not far from the market. “He is considering the service the younger one is capable of.”
“What does it matter to him? It’s not like it matters to me.”
She held up her hands. “It is a law or tradition of some sort, that the hafine are…assigned duties before they are…sold. I confess, much of the language is mystifying.” She thanked the serving girl as she set a plate in front of her. “He will meet with us after our meal to tell us whether we will be able to take both and begin negotiations for the price.”
“I really don’t like this.” John said. “We came here looking to trade for food.”
Ronon chuckled and both John and Teyla turned to look at him. Ronon lifted his glass. “Dr. Weir is going to flip.”
John closed his eyes. “Elizabeth.” Ronon was right. She was going to get upset. “We’ll deal with that later. Right now I’m concerned with getting us off world without having to resort to violence to take these two with us.”
“Do you truly believe these men are from your world?” Teyla asked.
John nodded. “Yeah. Don’t know how they got here, and won’t until we can actually talk to them.”
She smiled. “The Dakur Emir is most anxious for trade with us. Apparently it will offer him some prestige. It should not be long before you are able to speak with them.”
John nodded and tried not to worry…but two men from Earth appearing out of nowhere on a planet with no planet-side Gate was troublesome. It meant that there was another way into the Pegasus galaxy…and if there was a way in, there was a way out too.
The Dakur Emir looked pleased to see them as they approached. He bowed in greeting and Teyla echoed his movement. “Emir Colonel, to be pleased. We have found the necessary. The pretty one to be your personal hafine, the other to attend him.”
“Attend him?”
The Emir nodded enthusiastically. “It is old tradition, for the hafine of mighty Emir be served by a hafine so Emir not having to bother with needs.”
“The slave gets a slave all his own?” John murmured to Teyla who shrugged.
“Is pleasing?”
John nodded. “Yes, most pleasing. How much?”
“Colonel.” Teyla hissed at him, rolling her eyes in annoyance . “There is tradition for the negotiations as well.”
John rolled his eyes. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Can we see them?”
The Dakur Emir spoke directly to Teyla who nodded, then turned to John. “They have been taken for…grooming…and to prepare them for the….gallo me parfit…a ceremony of some sort.”
“To excuse, Emir Colonel. I must went to business.”
John watched him go, then turned to Teyla. “Make sure that the injured one gets medical attention. And get this negotiation over with. I want to get back to Atlantis and rethink the whole trading with people who keep slaves thing.”
“Ah, the village Emir and the negotiators.” Teyla said, turning John to greet the leader of the village. “My Lord Emir. We apologize for our delay in returning.”
“No need, no need. We are most pleased that Emir Colonel would choose from our humble offerings. A man of his skill and stature should be attended with a full compliment of hafine.”
“Your English has improved since we were here last.” John observed wryly. Unlike the Dakur Emir, the Village Emir wore his purple more regally than ridiculous, his robes looking stately.
The Emir inclined his head. “I have always had fascination for the language of the Ancestors. Your visits have encouraged me to learn.” He leaned in toward John and lowered his voice. “There are those among our Emirs who worried you had no personal hafine to care for you…though many speculated that among your people you might chose one of your other hafine for such duty.” His eyes glanced up at Ronon, a sly grin on his face.
John looked at Ronon, a blush creeping up his neck. Ronon grinned at him. John wanted to smack him. Or maybe drag him somewhere more private. He wasn’t sure.
“We are most honored that you have chosen…and such a beautiful hafine.”
“I hope this will not preclude further discussion of trade.” Teyla said and the Emir inclined his head.
“Dakur Emir has spoken to me already and is willing to include the price of the hafine in our discussions.”
“Good.” John took a deep breath. “Let’s get to it then, I’d like to head home soon.”
“The gallo me parfit will be tomorrow morning. Then there is the first, to ensure the satisfaction of you. We have time to make all concerned happy in trade.”
John frowned. “I can’t just…take them?”
The Emir smiled. “What manner of trade partners would let you leave without knowing of your happiness with your purchase?”
John hung his head and gestured for Teyla to precede him into the meeting hall. He was beginning to think that the entire trading idea was over rated. They didn’t have the best track record. There were harvest festivals and strange customs, entire planets that wouldn’t negotiate with women, others that would only negotiate with women. Then there was the Genii, and the debacle that they became.
Of course, it was the Sagare’s relationship with the Genii that had kept them from seeking trade before now. But, with the Genii under new leadership and supposedly less of a threat, Elizabeth had decided the Sagare could be beneficial allies.
Which led them here, with enough medicine and tools for modest trade…and two men from Earth where they had no right to be…smack in the middle of a slave market. He felt eyes on him and looked up. Teyla was waiting for him, her smile strained. “Sorry.” He was glad to have Ronon at his back and Teyla to do the bulk of the talking. He unclipped his weapon as he sat, nodding to Teyla to take point. She smiled and inclined her head to their head negotiator.
There would be niceties and exchanges prior to beginning anything seriously. John just hoped he could manage to stay awake.
Dean Winchester was not a happy man. It had only a little to do with the fact that he was currently standing naked in knee high water while men moved around him, pouring water over him. It had more to do with the fact that the day had started out crappy and turned ugly and had devolved into bat-shit insane…and it wasn’t even over.
He fumed as they turned to scrubbing his naked flesh with soaps that smelled entirely too much like fruit for his taste, craning his neck to try to keep Sam in his sights. He’d been bathed as well, though not nearly as thoroughly and was sitting, also naked, on a sort of cot, having his arm wrapped in white bandages.
It was bad. He knew that. Too much blood and the frightening way his brother had gone pale and grabbed at it told him that it needed more attention than a bandage. He was worried about the bump on his head too…and the way Sam’s words slurred from time to time…although, that problem seemed to have been eliminated, along with their ability to speak.
It didn’t help that he couldn’t understand what anyone was saying, except for that supposed Air Force Colonel and the man in the purple dress.. He did understand cages though, and he’d pretty much made out that they were being sold.
Sold.
And maybe his life was screwed up, but this was nuts. He looked for Sam again, panicking when he wasn’t immediately visible. Then he saw him, towering over the men handling him, dressing him. Dean shook his head as he was led up out of the shallow water.
The whole bath thing was fine…though he’d prefer it were five pretty girls than five short guys…but at least he was clean. He still didn’t understand where they were, and Air Force guy had asked if they were from Earth…which sounded ominously like that meant they weren’t on Earth…and that was too much to consider, so he didn’t, just glowered at the men who were guiding him toward something that looked like a dentist’s chair with a Robocop kit.
He shook his head when they indicated he should sit in it. He tried to say “No,” but of course his voice was still AWOL. Eventually they poked and prodded him into the contraption and strapped him down.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to go far into making him feel any more comfortable with the whole situation. He couldn’t see Sam, couldn’t move…and that was a needle…entirely too close to his head. He felt it bite into him and yelled silently until he felt something shift and he relaxed into the chair.
It took a moment to recognize that they had probably drugged him…and a few minutes later he was grateful as the chair moved and tiny needles pricked his back and something pressed against his naked ass. He probably would have bolted if he hadn’t been strapped down and if the drug hadn’t made the whole thing…softer.
Images filled his mind…memories mixed with faces…the Air Force guy, Sam, then there was other stuff…Dean was startled at first to see naked people, touching, kissing…sex in every position he could imagine and a few he couldn’t. He didn’t have to look to know he was aroused. Kinky shit followed…toys and spankings, restraints, groups…and yeah that was his dick leaking onto his stomach…which should bother him…but oddly didn’t.
Eventually, his eyes closed and he lost himself to the stimulus.
His next conscious thought was that he was cold. He opened his eyes. He wasn’t in the chair. He was on one of the cots, still naked. Sam sat on another, his long legs in white wispy pants, and he was staring at him. Dean sat up slowly. His body ached vaguely like he’d had an extra long workout.
He swept his eyes over his brother. “You okay?” Sam asked and Dean jumped.
“Voices?”
Sam shrugged. “Apparently. I figured it out when you were moaning.”
“Moaning? Great.”
“What the fuck is going on, Dean?”
Dean shook his head and stood up. They were in a curtained off space, the two cots with three feet between them and little else. “We alone?”
“Haven’ t seen anyone.”
Dean paced a little, chewing on his lip. He didn’t want to face it. It was too unreal…too…so he turned to look at Sam, squatting beside him to look at his arm. “How bad?”
Sam made a face and pulled the arm away from Dean, cradling it against his chest. “It’s broken, and ripped up, and it fucking hurts.”
Dean nodded, abandoning his attempts to look at it. The bandaging was at least keeping it from being injured further. “Your head?”
Sam’s good hand fluttered to the left side of his head that had connected pretty hard with the rock walls of the cave they’d found themselves in after…”I’m okay…for now. But this is…”
“Insane, I know.” Dean went back to pacing. “I don’t know what we stumbled into, Sam. But this is way beyond our normal gig.”
Sam chuckled. “You think?”
“What do you make of that Air Force guy?”
“Sheppard?” Sam blew out slowly. “I’m not sure. He seemed…legit.”
“Except for the fact that he asked us if we were from Earth…which I find a little odd, considering I don’t remember leaving Earth, Sammy…and the fact that he’s apparently buying us from the guy in the purple dress.”
“Okay, see that’s what bothers me. The way they were talking.” Sam shuddered. “I don’t know where we are or what exactly is going on, Dean, but I’m not liking it.”
The curtain opened and the man in purple stood in the opening. “I am to see that you are speaking the language of the Emir Colonel?”
They looked at one another, then nodded slowly. A smile spread across the man’s face. “Then I can help to instruct you for the coming gallo me parfit.”
“The gallo what?” Dean asked.
“We are to prepare you for your Emir. Please to sit for my words.”
Sam sat first, pulling on Dean’s arm when he didn’t immediately follow suit. Slowly, Dean sat down beside his brother. “There will be small food. The carden,” he pointed to a spot on his neck and both Sam and Dean reached for the spot on their own necks, “…will return, so you can not break the silence. The pretty one will be go to bathe and groom for the gallo me parfit. The broken one will be go to present Emir Colonel.”
“Can I ask a question?” Sam asked, his forehead all crinkled.
The man in purple nodded. “It is to help you that I am come.”
“Okay…why is this happening? What did we do?”
“You were in the place we will not speak of. You are wrong.”
“Wrong?” Dean asked.
“Punished.”
“Punished? For what?”
The man sighed explosively. “It is wrong to go there. Those that go do not return. You did not go, but you came.”
“I’m starting to get dizzy.” Dean murmured to Sam. “So…because we came out of that cave, we get sold to be slaves?”
“All wrong is punished.” He clapped his hands. “We go now to food.”
The bevy of men that had been buzzing about before were back, urging them to their feet and escorting them out of the curtained room and past the bathing area into another room where there were soft pillows on the floor around a low table. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were in a harem.” Dean joked.
Sam poked him and followed the man who was urging him to sit. The table had a few plates of breads and fruits, none of which looked very familiar. “Sit and to eat. Soon to come your Emir.”
Dean rolled his eyes as Sam settled onto one of the pillows, his long, gangly legs looking ridiculous as he tried to keep balance and not jar his arm against the table. “Okay. Fine. Eat. I can do—“ And just like that his voice was gone. He cursed and fought the urge to throw himself at the ridiculous man in his ridiculous dress. Instead he forced himself to sit beside Sam and reach for something that vaguely resembled an apple.
“Rodney, this is Sheppard, come in.”
“Oh, nice to hear from you, Colonel.”
“Just tell me you fixed it.”
“More or less.”
“What does that mean?”
“It should fly enough to get us off world and through the gate.”
“Should?” John exhaled and looked at Teyla and Ronon. It had been a very long night of negotiations and he didn’t think he had enough brain left to deal with Rodney on top of everything else.
“Yes. With you flying, everything should be fine.”
“I’m not flying, Rodney. You are.”
“What? Why?”
“I need to stay here while you and Teyla go back to Atlantis for the rest of our trade. Ronon and I are staying here, to show our good faith.”
“You’re the better pilot…and this is going to be shaky. I had to sabotage some systems to get us in the air.”
“I can’t leave, Rodney. You’re flying. You’ll do fine. Just…You have until Teyla and the Emir’s transport team get there to make it as safe as you can. Then you’re gone. Sheppard out.” He wasn’t going to argue or stroke the man’s ego, he just wasn’t in the mood.
Teyla hefted her pack and strapped it on. “Are you certain you will not need my services?”
“Keep Rodney on track and give Elizabeth a heads up. I’ll be fine. After all, I have my other hafine to keep me safe.” He smirked at Ronon who crossed his arms and stared back.
“You’re having way too much fun with that.”
John chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any such thing. I mean…come on, Ronon. The way the Emir defined you guys.” He inclined his head to Teyla. “My diplomatic hafine, who gets me what I want. Rodney, my scientific hafine, who makes sure that what I get is what I wanted.” His smirk grew into a grin. “And you, my body guard hafine, who…covers my ass.” John’s smirk grew as he met Ronon’s eyes, then he let it drop as Teyla’s eyebrow raised.
There was a knock at the door and Teyla went to answer it. “I will return as quickly as I can with the remainder of the supplies for trade.”
John nodded and watched her go. When the door was closed John stood and moved closer to Ronon. “Hey.”
Ronon looked away as John tilted his face up. “Cover you ass?”
John nodded. “Well, you do.”
Ronon snorted.
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
“Oh, come on. We’re alone.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ronon huffed and shook his head. “You’re impossible.”
John grinned. “I know.”
Ronon cocked an eyebrow, then bit lightly into his lower lip, dragging it inward. It was mystifying to John why that simple thing did…that to him. “Just a little one?” But he knew the look, and when Ronon crossed his arms, he knew he’d just been shut down.
Another knock pulled them apart and Ronon pulled the door open, looking over the men the village Emir had sent to get them. “They’re ready for us, Emir Colonel.” Ronon said, his voice teasing.
“You think you’re cute?” John asked as he grabbed his gear and headed for the door.
“I know I am.” Ronon answered as John slid past him.
The Emir’s personal guards escorted John and Ronon through the market and up the hill to a building John had considered a personal residence. It was obvious as they came closer that this wasn’t the case.
The receiving hall was spacious and dotted with potted plants and trees that seemed to be growing out of the floor. They passed through it and into a private office where they were pointed to chairs and left alone.
“So…what are we doing here?” Ronon asked when it was obvious they’d be alone a while.
“The way Teyla explained it, there’s a ceremony or something. It involves me accepting my new hafine.” John fidgeted. “Something to do with collars and some mumbo jumbo she didn’t quite understand.”
“Kinky.” Ronon said with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
“Stop it. I’m sure it’s perfectly innocent.”
Ronon looked like he was going to say something, but the door opened and the village Emir swept in, bowing and smiling. “So happy to have you, Emir Colonel. We are close to be ready.”
“Good. I’d really like to see my new hafine.”
“In time, Emir, in time. First comes preparing.”
“Okay, what do I do?”
“The room is almost. Patient is good.”
“I’m patient, Emir. Plenty patient. It is obvious that your traditions for this transaction are different than ours. I was hoping you would explain.”
The village Emir squinted at him, then seemed to parse through his words, his face lighting up. “Of course. Yes. We make your hafine perfect for you. We test them. We test you. We prepare the har to best performance.”
“Best performance?”
“You see. You will like.”
There was a knock on the door and a young woman bowed to the Emir. “Come, the room is.”
“Okay.” John and Ronon followed the Emir into a small white room with an odd looking chair. As he got closer he decided it wasn’t unlike the chair in Atlantis that controlled the drones.
“You to sit. Remove shirt.”
John eyed the chair suspiciously, but unbuckled his P90 and handed it to Ronon before pulling off his vest and jacket, down to his t-shirt. He shivered a little in the cool of the room before pulling the t-shirt off and settling uneasily into the chair. “So what is this?”
“Test, to make har.” John looked at Ronon again and Ronon shrugged minutely.
“Small sting. To sit still please.” A small woman in a blue lab coat said as she approached him. John tensed as she moved to strap down his right hand and had to hold up his left hand to keep Ronon from crossing the room.
Almost before she had strapped his left hand in place, spreading his fingers over the end of the chair arm, a needle pricked into the back of his neck and the room swam for a minute. “Shit.”
Ronon moved closer. John shook his head. “I’m fine.”
The chair hummed under him, tilting back and thousands of tiny fingers moved over his skin. “Is good. Please more to be still.”
John could hear her fussing with equipment and speaking in her own language to her assistant. “Is strong, Emir Colonel. Very unusual strong. This sample make good har.”
“Glad to hear it.” The chair moved back to upright and she released the restraints.
“You may up now. I will prepare har.”
John got up and dressed, then the village Emir was once again escorting them down a long hallway and into a lift that took them up several floors. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the room that they were led into.
“Whoa.” Ronon muttered as they stopped inside the door.
“You can say that again.” Like a bedroom fit for royalty, the suite was an incredible mix of beauty and functionality, dressed in shades of gold and maroon. There was a table near the huge picture window overlooking the receiving hall and a sunken sitting area of low couches and pillows around a small circular fireplace to the left. To the right a raised dias held a huge bed.
“Is good, yes?” the Emir asked, smiling broadly.
“Is very good.” John answered.
“Until you leave us, for you.” The Emir looked particularly pleased with himself.
“There’s no need, Emir, really. We can stay at the inn.”
“It is for your hafine as well as for you. To comfort transition. I go make check on har.”
As the door closed behind the Emir, John whistled low and started walking through the room. “One bed.” Ronon said, as he climbed the stairs. “Big bed.”
“Maybe there are extra rooms or something.”
Ronon sat on the bed and bounced, then a slow grin broke over his face. “Or something.”
“What?”
Before John could join him on the bed, there was a knock on the door and he turned back to find the small woman from the lab, carrying a case. Behind her the tall man came with two male escorts…and John was going to have to find out their names before he went crazy.
He looked different, the clothes that gave him away as being from Earth were gone and in their place was a pair of gauzy white pants that were slung low on his hips and nothing else.
John licked his lips and looked aside at Ronon. Hips. He shook his head. It was one of the things about Ronon that drove him crazy. The woman smiled and crossed to the table, setting down the case and opening it.
The men escorting John’s new hafine walked him to where the woman put a pillow on the floor, then pushed him to his knees. “Come.” The woman beckoned.
John stopped long enough to drop his gear on the floor by the bed, then approached the woman. He glanced at the man…kid…this close he looked a lot younger than he first assumed. She held out her hands for his and he lifted them slowly. “Which is strong?”
“Strong?” She hefted both hands and he figured she meant dominant. “Oh, this one.” He lifted his right hand and she nodded.
She turned away and held up a filmy strip of something that looked soft and flexible. “For Emir, har-ta, to project.”
Before he could say anything, she was pressing the band to his wrist. It was cool and strange and when she took her hands off of it, it came to life, wiggling against his skin, stretching and moving and then it shrunk tight before slowly melting into the flesh of his wrist. He looked up at her, his eyes wide. He could almost feel it searching around inside him, over nerves and veins and…”Whoa.” A rush of…something ran through him, leaving him dizzy, flushed and vaguely aroused.
Ronon was at his side with a hand on his arm instantly. John felt another rush of arousal at the touch, but held up a hand to hold Ronon off when he growled at the woman. “It’s okay, Ronon, I’m fine.”
“Is good?” The woman asked and John shook his head.
“I wouldn’t say that. You should have warned me.” He could feel it inside him…adjusting, worming it’s way up his arm.
He looked down at the kid waiting on his knees. Those green eyes were wide with what was probably fear. “It’s okay Kid. I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
John was amused when he crinkled his face at the pejorative, but didn’t have time to respond as she was holding another of the filmy bands. This one was longer, not as wide. “For hafine. You put.” She gestured with it toward the kid, then imitated putting it around her own neck.
He didn’t like that idea, but he took it from her and held it between him and the kid. “Okay…whatever it takes if it gets us out of here. Right?”
He could feel the anger rolling off of him, could see it in his eyes. “Just trust me, Kid. I’m doing the best I can.” He pressed it to the skin around his neck and lifted his hands away. Those green eyes closed and his fists clenched as the film did its thing, morphing and molding itself. John watched in fascination as the collar disappeared under the skin, with hardly an indication it was there. If he didn’t know where it was, he would never find it. The kid swayed a little, then sagged so that his hip was on the floor.
“Is good.” The woman declared. “I go finish har.”
When they were alone, John squatted in front of the kid. “Hey…you okay?”
There was confusion in his eyes, and still a little of the anger, but he nodded slowly. “Ronon, get me something to write with and that pad of paper in my vest.” When he had it in his hand, John held it out. “Tell me your name?”
He swallowed hard, one hand sliding up to where the collar was. John’s eyes went to his own wrist. He wished the kid would trust him. He felt the paper leave his hand and looked up. “Sam?”
He nodded and John smiled. “Good. I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but under the circumstances…” He stood and Sam did as well, although a little shaky. “I already told you I’m John Sheppard. This is my…associate, Ronon Dex.”
Ronon nodded to Sam who took a deep breath and nodded back. Sam scribbled on the paper and held it up. “Where? Oh boy…right to the hard questions?” John paced away and came back. “Where…you’re in the Pegasus galaxy.”
Sam’s face squished up in question and John held up his hands. “Before you ask how you got here, I don’t know. We’ll have a lot of time for that. Do you know if the voice thing is permanent?”
Sam scribbled more and held up the pad and pointed to a spot on the side of his neck. There was a soft green glow like there was something under his skin. . “What does that mean?” John stepped closer. “Until you’ve accepted? Accepted what?”
John exhaled heavily and turned to Ronon before Sam was snapping his fingers at him for attention. He held up the pad. “Where’s Dean?” John read aloud. “Dean? The other guy is Dean?”
Sam nodded. It was obvious there was some serious concern there. “He’ll be here soon. I think.”
Sam dropped the pen, his face filled with pain, drawing John’s attention to the bandage on his arm. “Are you okay?” He moved to reach for it, but Sam pulled back. “Okay…you don’t trust me yet. I get that. But really…I’m only try to help here.”
Sam went to his knees, fishing around for the pen again. He scribbled messily and dropped the pad. John picked it up. “Broken? Okay. We can handle that, as soon as we get back to Atlantis.” John paced a little, staring at his wrist. This whole thing wasn’t as simple as he’d hoped, and he almost wished he’d paid more attention to what Teyla had told him about this…thing. With any luck, Rodney or Carson would be able to remove the technology. The chair looked like the Ancients’, though he didn’t think he’d ever seen Ancient technology do what this did, but it stood to reason that this stuff was similar too. He rubbed his left hand along the wrist, trying to feel it under his skin. He turned to look at Sam, who still seemed a little dazed.
“It’s going to be okay, Sam. I promise.”
