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11/07/2005: "Nanowrimo Day 1"

music: n/a
mood: n/a

The first day of Nanowrimo was a roaring success, with 2700 words to start me off.

Since I'm doing a simple cut and paste, there will be no formatting when I'm blogging each day's entries.

Word Count for Day 1: 2672

“Twilight of the Idols”

twi•light (Pronunciation: 'twI-"lIt)
1 : the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night produced by diffusion of sunlight through the atmosphere and its dust
2 a : an intermediate state that is not clearly defined

Chapter One: A Statuesque Figure

Sheppard eyed the area around the Stargate, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Trees, just like the MALP had said. Lots and lots of trees. Pines and cypresses huddled together, reminding Sheppard of the time he had gone camping in Washington State. Only that time it had been him and a few college buddies one summer, not an overgrown Satedan that resembled a bear more than a man, a graceful but deadly negotiator, and certainly no one like the acerbic scientist that lagged at the end of their line. He tossed a quick glance back to the rest of his team.

Ronon was eyeing the area warily, still trying to grow accustomed to not being on the run. He could see the man’s broad shoulders tense and ready for battle or ambush. The long dreadlocks followed the movement of his head as he looked over to the next member of the team.

Teyla, like both Sheppard and Ronon, was scanning the area for potential threats, but her stance was relaxed, at peace. Her home planet of Athos resembled this place a lot, so perhaps it was giving her a sense of security that was almost foreign to Sheppard. Her sharp gaze belied her relaxed demeanor. Of all of them, Ronon included, Sheppard trusted Teyla’s instincts to warn them of any danger. She always seemed more in tune to nature than the rest of the team.

The caboose to their train had slowed to a shuffle and was engrossed in the dancing dots on what Sheppard had dubbed a ‘tricorder’. He was sure there was some sort of great energetic phenomenon that had started up just prior to their arrival, but in all honestly, Sheppard really didn’t care. This was a routine exploratory mission, they were only going to be here for a few hours.

“Hey McKay, want to pick up the pace a little?”

An annoyed expression flitted across the astrophysicist’s face, but he didn’t look up. He only bothered to remove one hand from the device long enough to wave Sheppard away. “I’m picking up an odd energy signature. Very faint though.”

“Really? How interesting,” Sheppard dead panned, and caught Ronon and Teyla exchanging a familiar expression that was a mix of annoyance and amusement. This sort of conversation was par the course on their missions. It was a familiar routine: McKay would spout some technobabble nonsense about something or another, they’d investigate, meet with the local populace, and usually wound up having to escape by the skin of their teeth from a lynch mob armed with pitchforks or something similar.

McKay made a noncommittal grunt as he pushed a few buttons on the device.

“Just keep up. Don’t want to have to go chasing down your ass because you got lost,” Sheppard pushed aside a low-hanging branch, holding it long enough for Teyla to duck under.

“I think you’re confusing my sense of direction with what you try to pass for yours,” McKay mumbled, still not looking up.

Ronon grabbed the branch as he passed it, either forgetting to hold it or intentionally letting it fly, smacking the unsuspecting scientist. The device soared out of his hand as he cradled his stinging hand.

“Watch it!” He hissed.

“I am,” Ronon shrugged, “it’s not my fault that you’re not.”

McKay grumbled to himself as he retrieved the fallen scanner and carefully sidestepped the offending branch, giving it and Ronon a good glare before returning to his scans, although now glancing up every few seconds to make sure there weren’t any branches that decided to step into his ways.

Sheppard caught the wolfish half-grin Ronon flashed McKay, before glancing at Teyla. She looked apprehensive, and he immediately felt his guard go up.

“Teyla?”

“I believe someone may be coming.”

Ronon glanced at Teyla, then tilted an ear up, as if that would help him hear better. “She’s right. At least two by the sound of it.”

Ronon’s hand fell to his side where his holster rested, while Teyla hefted her P-90 in one hand. Sheppard tightened his grip on his own gun and glanced back at McKay, who had already stowed away the scanner, hand hovering near his standard issue 9mm. Satisfied, he returned his attention to his surroundings, waiting for their visitors to make their move.

Teyla swiveled one way, pointing her P-90 up into the tree line. Sheppard frowned, wondering what alerted to her. He scanned the tree line, but couldn’t see anything amiss. Behind him Ronon circled around so that McKay was now in the center of them. He aimed the gun, arm ramrod straight, as he stared intently at a densely packed section of the forest.

Sheppard heard nothing for a moment, before finally he heard the creak of the branches to where Teyla had her gun trained, and the faint rustling off in the direction Ronon was studying intently.

The movement and noises stopped, and silence hung in the still air for a moment. Sheppard tensed, knowing whoever was out there was about to make their move.

“Hello there!” A friendly sounding voice called out from the woods. The words were softly accented, which was to be expected, it being an alien planet and all. “We will come out if you drop your weapons.”

Sheppard raised an eyebrow at that.

“Your weapons appear to be far more advanced than ours. I do not believe we are a threat.”

Glancing at the other members of his team, Sheppard slowly lowered his weapon, seeing them do so as well. He relaxed his stance so that it would appear friendly, but still had one hand on his P-90. Teyla followed his lead, and he watched as Ronon let his arm drop to his side, but he did not reholster his weapon.

There was a thud over his shoulder, and Sheppard glanced over to see a young man garbed in leather rise from his crouch, directly below the area Teyla had been aiming. The soft padding on the forest floor preceded a lithe young woman emerging from the dense area Ronon had been studying.

“Greetings,” the voice from earlier greeted, far closer than before. He tried, but probably failed, not to jump, and returned his gaze to path he’d been treading. “If you were wanting to travel to the village, you need to alter your path a little. This way just leads off into the mountains.”

The man stood a few yards in front of him, so that his features were still indistinct. Sheppard could make out a mop of unruly brown hair, but the man was hidden under a large animal hide coat, much like his companion.

McKay snorted. “Like I said—”

Sheppard cut him off before he could start a long diatribe on John’s lack of navigational skills. “Thanks for the directions. Don’t think I caught your name.”

The young man, obviously the leader, or at least the most vocal member, of the group closed in the distance, watching the tip of Sheppard’s P-90 carefully.

“I’m Naick, and my companions are Torn and Alech.” He indicated the other man and the woman. “I assume you’re travelers, although by the looks of you, you don’t seem like you’ve come to trade.”

“We’re peaceful explorers,” Teyla spoke up, but didn’t move from her vantage point on the man named Torn. “We merely arm ourselves as a measure of self-defense.”

Naick raised an eyebrow at the heavy weaponry. “I’d say you’re expecting some heavy opposition.”

“Dangerous place, the galaxy,” Sheppard shrugged a shoulder, watching as Naick continued his approach. “Never know who you might run into on the other side. Better safe than sorry, right?”

“I suppose this is true,” Naick agreed. “I do not believe you mentioned who you are either. Where do you come from with weapons such as these?”

The ripple of unease at the all too common and innocent question did not go unnoticed by Naick, but he chose not to show it. Sheppard offered him a placating smile. “We’re sort of in transition right now since our planet was attacked by the Wraith.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. They were still shaking down some of the new expedition members that the Daedelus was bringing in on a more frequent basis, and that had happened since the Wraith attack. Deciding to push forwards, John let his P-90 drop, as he stepped forward to introduce himself. “I’m Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard—”

It was the hunting party’s turn to fidget, but Sheppard chose to ignore it and continue as he indicated each member of his team. “This is Teyla Emmagen, Ronon Dex, and the one who looks like he’s constantly sucking on a lemon is Dr. Rodney McKay.”

“Pleased to meet you… Sheppard?”

Sheppard nodded and closed the distance between him and Naick and extended his hand, but let it drop when all the color drained from the man’s face. He frowned. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, um,” Naick stammered and looked at the other members of his party, “well our hunting for the day is concluded. We can guide you to the village if that would be all right.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sheppard offered Naick a grin, who was still trying to recover from whatever had startled him.

“Yes, yes,” Naick muttered almost to himself, “it’s this way.”

Naick took the lead, and the other members of the hunting party walked casually alongside the Atlantians, but all of their gazes seemed to be straying to Sheppard more than once. McKay grunted in disgust as once again Sheppard enamored all around him, and soon found himself lost in the scanner.

Ronon hung back to make sure McKay didn’t trip over himself, while Teyla eyed the attentions of the hunting party with a mix of curiosity and concern. Certainly John Sheppard had a certain charm about him that naturally drew people to him, but usually the effect was more… subtle.

The woman named Alech practically bounced on her feet as she looked over Sheppard’s face. The one called Torn shared her enthusiasm, but managed to contain it, as well as keep his gawking more discreet. Their leader Naick seemed more thoughtful than excited. She watched as Alech drifted towards Torn, trying to keep her voice down.

“Do you see it Torn?”

Her companion nodded.

“Do you think it’s possible, that it’s really him?”

“It could be,” he admitted quietly.

“That means—” she stopped as Torn nudged her and indicated Teyla with a tilt of his head. Teyla immediately redirected her attention elsewhere, but they both drifted into silence. She tried to ignore the unsettling feeling in her stomach, hoping that perhaps their interest in Colonel Sheppard was nothing more than mere curiosity.

“Unbelievable,” Rodney muttered to himself.

Ronon spared the scientist a glance as they stepped around the remains of a fallen pine. “Find something?”

“No, him.” McKay indicated Sheppard with his head. “We’re here for five minutes and he’s already got another chapter in his fan club.”

“Maybe it’s because he smiles so much,” Ronon commented.

“Waggles his eyebrows too much.”

“Tells too many jokes.”

Up in the front, Sheppard tried not to let the attention get to him, but it was starting to make him uncomfortable. Not that he didn’t appreciate people, more specificallygood-looking women like Alech, giving him a second look, but to this point it was unnerving. He briefly wondered if he had something in his teeth, but couldn’t for the life of him figure out why they were so fixated on him. Hopefully once they reached the village they could slip away from the gawking trio.

“How much further is it?” He asked Naick, who glanced back at him.

“Once we reach the crest of this hill the forest will thin out a bit, and you’ll be able to see it.”

Sheppard nodded, watching as the foliage thinned some. Through it, he could see the sun reflecting off of something bronze in color. As they got closer, and the canopy thinned even further he was able to make out the shape of human head. At they crested the hill, he could see the entire statue, towering over the valley like a guardian. It stood tall, perhaps fifty feet or so, holding itself proud. A long leather coat similar to the garb worn by the hunting party was draped over the statue’s shoulders, looking almost like a cape of a king. From their distance distinct features were still hard to make out, but their was something familiar about it that John couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“What’s that?” He indicated the bronze beacon in the center of the valley.

“Our protector,” Naick said vaguely. “The village is not far from it.”

Sheppard gauged the distance between their location and the statue to be about two miles. Which meant another hour with his adoring fans. With the patience that could only be had when dealing with Rodney McKay, he indicated the path. “Lead the way.”

Sheppard’s team hiked after their native guides, the walk rather quiet. Sheppard tried striking up conversation, but whatever was on the hunters’ mind they did not want to share with the Atlantians yet. Sheppard found his eyes wandering to the statue that was growing taller and taller as they approached, but the canopy of the trees blocked it out as the woods thickened.

He heard McKay and Ronon muttering something behind him, but didn’t bother concentrating on eavesdropping. He felt Teyla join him at his side and he glanced over at her.

“They are hiding something,” she stated simply.

“Yep,” Sheppard agreed. “Wonder if they’ll shed some light on the mystery when we get to town.”

“They seem to have a very strong interest in you,” she stated, master of the obvious as usual.

“Noticed that too. It’s a little unnerving. Feels almost like one of those dreams where you show up to your shift, only to realize you’re in your underwear.”

“I do not believe I’ve had this dream,” Teyla raised an eyebrow. “Is it common among your people to have subconscious desires to roam around in their undergarments?”

“You’ve been hanging with Heightmeyer too much,” John muttered, then indicated the tree line. “Looks like it’s thinning out. Hopefully that means we’re almost there.”

“I believe it does.”

As the woods thinned out, signs of population started appearing, such as the occasional house or two, as well as small plots of farmland. Anyone they passed seemed to stare at the group of visitors, Sheppard in particular.

“Not that I think I’m boring, but what do they find so god damned interesting about me?” He whispered harshly to Teyla. She merely shrugged in response. “Gee, thanks.”

Finally the trees gave way to an open clearing and Naick stopped, turning to face Sheppard and his team with an unreadable expression. “We have arrived.”

“Goody.” He commented, only half-enthused. The clearing opened out into a wide area, and just beyond the huge rock base of the statue the clusters of dwellings drew closer together to form a small village.

John let his eyes travel up the statue, frowning at the familiar looking belt, and what looked strangely like a Beretta in one of the large, meticulously carved hands. As he reached the head, he suddenly sucked in a breath. “What in the hell?”

Next to him, he heard Teyla gasp.

“What?” That would be Ronon. “What kind of trick is this?”

“What is everyone blathering about?” Rodney finally dropped the hand holding the scanner to see what had garnered such a reaction from his teammates. The scanner nearly slipped from his fingers as he looked at the statue. First he frowned as if he wasn’t sure he could believe what he was seeing, before his jaw dropped in shock.

His final response was pure Rodney McKay. “Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!”

Towering fifty feet above them in a relaxed half-slouch, sporting a half-smirk was the face of one Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, forever engraved in stone.