THE NEXT EVENT - by Kolyaaa!

Disclaimer: Okay, so the Stargate: Atlantis and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. If I owned 'em, I'd probably sell 'em to buy Julie that better hay she's been wanting. Sadly, I don't, so I hope I won't be sued because, then, how would I buy Julie her hay at all? Or keep her barn warm? Or keep that deadbeat Yak lover of hers off the premises (damn Yak!)? Seriously! Do you really want to put her through that kind of pain? Think of the trauma! Think of the angst! Don't hurt JULIE! Touch my cow and you'll lose a few fingers. I don't kid about things like that...

Characters: Shepard, McKay, Ronon, Teyla and Beckett

Season: 2 - shortly after Trinity

Status/Parts: 20-ish

Description: You will adore this one. You will eat it up like soup and crackers and come back begging for more. It involves a long lost sibling, a revived Satedan festival, and a journey to a fantastic place. The story has everything you could want: naked women, feats of strength, one hell of a fight, and McKay gets popped in the face (he's been begging for that for a while). Then there's cute fluffy creatures, beautiful fantastic creatures, blood! guts! GORE! CAVE-INS! DESTRUCTION and things blow up. Yeah. This is such a good story, you're going to be leaving me feedback with every chapter. You won't be able to help yourself so get started now.

Author's Note: Okay, it's been a while since my last story. There's good reason for this. It involves watching too much curling during the Olympics, a horrible horse shaving incident, a problematic hatch door, too many Girl Scout Cookies and a lizard that got into the underground bunker. I have named him Sydney

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CHAPTER ONE: THE DISTRACTED

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Sheppard ducked and shifted, successfully avoiding Ronon's fist. He smirked and waggled his head, taunting the giant warrior as he ducked another attempt.

This was getting too easy, John thought as he outmaneuvered the big man. There was a time when Ronon could lay him flat on his back inside a minute of sparring – but today, Sheppard almost had an advantage. Dex seemed a little – off, and John was doing his best to exploit the distracted man at every turn.

With a little grin, Sheppard realized that he might actually win this one. He turned, and struck, landing a blow on Ronon's side, sending the man back a step or two. Yeah, Sheppard thought, this was going good.

"You're slow today," the colonel teased, feeling brash as he bounced. He ducked again as Ronon came at him, sure of what Dex's next move would be, only to suddenly feel something smack into his ankles, and his feet left the floor as Ronon swept his leg out and around.

John landed flat on his back with a solid thud, the air leaving his lungs with an audible 'whoosh'. He lay gasping as the Satedan hovered above him. Ow, he thought, chiding himself for getting cocky. Served him right, he supposed. Slowly, Sheppard pushed up and flipped over; one arm wagged lazily at Ronon as he had yet to recover enough to speak.

"You were saying?" Ronon asked, leaning over and placing his hands on his knees as he took a moment to catch his breath as well.

"See," John accused with a gasp. "I'm gaining on you. I almost had you." He frowned as Ronon shrugged and reached out a hand to help him up. "Or…" Sheppard drew out the word and grasped Dex's hand, allowing the taller man to assist him up. "…You're distracted."

Sheppard watched closely as Ronon paused before moving toward the window-seat. The gym was deserted and silence fell heavily around them as John waited for Ronon to decide whether to respond or not.

Ronon plunked himself down on the seat as if, uncharacteristically, all his energy was gone. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs and focused on the floor. For a moment he said nothing, working his jaw as if he was chewing on something. Finally, after letting out a breath, he spoke in a low voice, "Teyla brought a message for me from Belka."

John grabbed his towel from the top of his duffle bag and wiped the sweat from his head and neck before sitting beside Dex. Sheppard was aware that Teyla had just returned from a scheduled trade meeting on the planet. "From?"

"Solen."

John turned and leaned back against the sidewall so he could see Ronon better. "He your friend from Sateda?"

Ronon nodded.

"What's the problem?" John didn't know much about Ronon and Teyla's earlier encounter on Belka with Solen—he only knew that Ronon had finally discovered that several hundred of his people had survived the Wraith attack on Sateda by escaping through the stargate. That news alone should have left Dex elated, but when he and Teyla returned from Belka, there was an unspoken tension underlying their report about the news. John never had asked about it; he'd been too distracted with Rodney and the catastrophic events on Doranda.

"Every fourth season, on Sateda, we used to have a festival, the Festival of Yedeenorog." Ronon looked up. "It's a competition of sorts," he went on. "Warriors compete against warriors in displays of strength."

"Okay," John tried to hide the wariness in his voice, but was certain his trepidation was obvious. For some reason, the image coming to his mind was of roman gladiators fighting to the death.

Ronon read him easily and smiled. "It was a grand festival, the biggest we had," he assured. "We would have parades to honor the warriors. Our Storytellers would recount the year's events through song. There were presents and sweets for the warriors," he paused, his smile growing. "The old women prepare great feasts to honor those that are found worthy - every kind of food imaginable."

"And the younger women?"

"They found their own ways to honor the warriors."

If it was possible for Dex to show embarrassment, John could have sworn Ronon was blushing. "I'll bet."

John relaxed as he watched Ronon's posture. From the way the younger man suddenly became at ease with describing his people's tradition, John could tell that this festival had been an important part of Satedan life, it reminded the colonel of Christmas back on Earth.

"I'm guessing the annual festival came to an end when the Wraith destroyed the place?"

Ronon nodded, his eyes clouding briefly with anger. "But...Solen has informed me that a small number of my people have decided to try to have the festival this season."

"Where?" John asked. "Are they going back to Sateda?"

"No." Dex shook his head, his thick dreads falling about his face, hiding the sadness that John knew was there. He remembered the scenes that the MALP had sent back of Ronon's world. No one would be returning there for a long time. "They have arranged for the festival to be held on another planet."

"Belka?"

"No, it is not one that I'm familiar with, but Solen sent the ring address."

"You want to go," John stated firmly.

Shrugging, Ronon pushed himself to his feet. "It has been so long." He shook his head, obviously torn about his choices.

"All the more reason to go, isn't it?" John grinned.

"I am not the same man." Ronon's voice filled with bitterness.

John nodded. "No, I can't imagine anyone is the same after all this time." Slowly, grimacing, Sheppard stood. "When is the festival? How long does it last?"

"It is a three day festivity and has already begun. The second day is ending, but the contests between the greatest of the warriors occur on the final day - tomorrow." A longing seemed to pull at the Satedan's face as he concluded quietly, "It is the best of all days to attend."

John grabbed his bag and shoved his towel into it before flipping the strap over his shoulder. "Want company?"

Ronon's eyes widened with surprise. "I didn't say that I would go," he muttered.

With a shrug, Sheppard asked, "Yeah, but if I went, you'd come too, wouldn't you?"

"You would come with me?"

"Sure. You're part of my team right?" John turned for the door. "I think we all could use a chance to get away and check out something new. Of course now we just need to convince Elizabeth that it's a good idea."

TBC

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It's been a long time since I had a story posting so I am desiring comments. Give them to me.