Teaser
P14-626 was much like almost every other planet that SGA-1 had visited. Temperate – at least near the stargate – and forested with gentle hills and wide spaces of open grassland. The planet's stargate was nestled into a wide, open-ended valley between two arms of a picturesque mountain range that was not quite high enough to have its heights tipped with snow. Impressive formations of eroded stone emerged from the forest in places, dotting the ranges with jagged shapes of grey and tan emerging from the treetops. Like so many other worlds in the M15 globular cluster, colloquially known as the Pegasus Galaxy, it was the perfect place for Human life. So, naturally, the fact that it was like almost every other world Atlantis' flagship 'gate team had visited in its nearly five-year history was hardly out of the ordinary.
Except for one thing.
"What's a fjord?"
The question had been posed by the team's largest member, Ronon, as they walked at a leisurely pace back to the stargate. He had asked the question with a practiced mix of exasperation and boredom that suggested he had cared just enough to ask, but dreaded the forthcoming answer from the team's scientist.
"A land formation that should not be in the middle of a land-locked mountain range," McKay answered, still fiddling with the readouts of his hand-held, ancient scanning device.
"On Earth, they're found in places where mountain ranges touch the sea," the team's leader, Lt. Colonel Sheppard, answered more diplomatically, "sort of like steep valleys that are filled with water, but they're opened to the sea at one end."
"They sound beautiful," commented the team's only female member, Teyla.
"I like 'em," Sheppard agreed.
"Thank you, Slartybartfast," McKay mumbled, prompting a confused look from the two Pegasus Galaxy natives. McKay continued on without missing a beat. "Liking the way they look is one thing, but they should not be where they are. There isn't any evidence that a large body of water was ever anywhere near this mountain range."
"I have heard many stories where the Ancestors were able to alter the land as they saw fit," Teyla offered, "perhaps they saw fit to move the water?"
"It's not that simple," McKay replied, waving his one free hand to punctuate his words, "even ten thousand years later, there would still be evidence that water had been there in the first place; mineral deposits in the rock, erosion patterns, that sort of thing. I'm telling you, they should not be there and they have to be related to the power readings I'm getting."
"No," Sheppard cut in, sharply.
"I didn't even ask, this time!" McKay exclaimed defensively.
"You didn't have to. I know where you were going. No, we aren't going to stay longer so you can track it down. It's getting dark here and it's almost 1500 hours back on Atlantis. And I know how you feel about camping and missing your afternoon snack."
"Oh, that is so unfair!" McKay protested, stopping in his tracks and throwing up his hands in exasperation. "The sun here won't be fully down for another two hours and I happen…" And here he pulled a power bar out of a convenient pocket on his vest, "… to come prepared."
Still walking on ahead of the scientist, Ronon cast a sidelong glance back at McKay. "C'mon, McKay," he growled.
McKay sighed and rolled his eyes skyward. Grudgingly, he tucked the power bar back into the pocket of his vest and jogged to catch up with the rest of the team, still idly fiddling with his scanner.
They still had another half hour's walk back to the abandoned village that surrounded the stargate. The village had become little more than a ruin not too long ago. The first team through the 'gate to this address had come on the heels of a MALP that had shown the abandoned town. Unable to resist the mystery, Major Lorne had led his team through to find out what had befallen the village. They had found evidence of a massive Wraith culling only a few years prior, but no indication of why the Wraith had seen fit to wipe out the village entirely. And there was that pesky, intermittent power reading, prompting the follow-up by SGA-1.
As the team was just about to begin the ascent up the last of the rolling hills before they reached town, Telya suddenly stopped in her tracks and lifted her P-90. "John!" she exclaimed. "Wraith are near!"
The rest of the team stopped dead and clustered in close. Long ago, they had learned to trust the mysterious sense that was the side-effect of her ancestor's Wraith DNA. There was no question; if Teyla said Wraith were near, they were near.
"How far?" Sheppard asked.
Teyla didn't need to answer. In the distance, from the direction of the abandoned village, the all-too-familiar whine of the engines of Wraith darts could be heard, followed by the tell-tale sound of the stargate's wormhole closing.
"I think 'the village' is a pretty good guess," McKay said.
"Tree-line, now," Sheppard said, indicating with the muzzle of his P-90 the trees that were just short of a quarter-mile away, in the shadow of the mountain.
The team fell into a well-practiced natural formation. Sheppard led the way, his P-90 pointed ahead, his head swiveling from side to side and up to watch for any signs of the enemy. Teyla and McKay were next, following as close behind as they could. Finally, Ronon brought up the rear, his attention half behind them, watching for any pursuers. Sheppard didn't stop when they hit the tree-line, but took them into the first layer of underbrush by about ten yards before coming to a halt to better assess the situation.
"I changed my mind. I'm in favor of leaving now," McKay said in a hushed whisper around a few puffs of breath.
"Won't be easy," said Ronon, crouching down to peer between the bushes at the abandoned village, "there's at least ten of 'em. Looks like they're settin' up a base camp in town."
"Near the stargate," Teyla said with a touch of lamentation.
"Fantastic," Sheppard ground out, scanning the woods for any sign of the Wraith, "we gotta find a way past 'em."
"Gotta get closer, get some intel," said Ronon, "find a path."
"You want to go closer!" McKay exclaimed.
"It's where the 'gate is, Rodney," said Sheppard, "we don't have a lot of options. Now, the 'gate is in the middle of town and Main Street runs in a straight shot from one edge of town to the other, right through the gate. If we circle around in the trees, we should be able to look right down the street to the 'gate."
"And do what, exactly? Make a bee-line and hope they don't see us dialing?"
"Looks like half of 'em are movin' off," Ronon commented from his perch, still watching the far-off town, "heading the way we just came from."
"You don't suppose they're looking for that power source," McKay guessed.
"Doesn't matter," said Sheppard, "if half of 'em want to leave, I'm not going to stop 'em. Okay, stay low, stay quiet, stay below the ridge line. Let's move."
Sheppard sprang into motion, his footfalls barely making any sound on the brush-covered ground. The team fell into step behind him. They moved through the woods in tight formation, dodging trees and bushes. When the Colonel brought them to a halt again, it was closer to the edge of the tree-line, peering out at the town, looking down the main thoroughfare at the stargate. The path was clear all the way to the Dial Home Device and the 'gate itself, for the moment.
"Regular patrol cycle?" Ronon guessed.
"Probably," Sheppard agreed, "which means we don't have much time. McKay, you dial. Everyone else, cover him." Sheppard took one last sweep of the area with his eyes, then brought his P-90 to bear and led the way out of the tree-line.
The four of them made their way at a fast run down the road, into the town, as fast as their collective legs could carry them. They had only made it about a block into the town when a blast from a Wraith stunner winged past Teyla, missing her head by mere inches. Ronon was the first to react, turning on the balls of his feet and firing off a round from his blaster, hardly breaking stride. More stunner fire followed and soon both Teyla and Sheppard had opened up with their guns as Wraith rounded one of the corners in pursuit.
For his part, Rodney left his M9 Berretta in its holster on his thigh and concentrated on simply running as fast as he could to keep up with the rest of the team. Trusting in the combat abilities of the others, he set his sight on the DHD and poured on as much speed as he could muster. He skidded to a halt, half-colliding with the DHD as stunner fire narrowly missed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Teyla take up position to one side of the stargate, firing off rounds from her P-90 to pick off the approaching Wraith. Ronon was near her, also issuing fire from his weapon. Sheppard acted as rear guard.
The sound of a Wraith dart filled the air above them again as Rodney began to dial.
"Sheppard!" came Ronon's shouted warning, just as Rodney finished the sequence and the wormhole activated. It was only another moment before Rodney had keyed in his IDC.
"You two, get through the 'gate!" Sheppard ordered Ronon and Teyla, even as he took up position closer to Rodney to continue covering the scientist. A moment later and there was the distinctive slurping sound of two people going through the 'gate.
Suddenly, a swear word and a report of gunfire were the only warning that Rodney had before he found himself flying to one side, having been shoved out of the way of a Wraith culling beam by Sheppard. Rodney stumbled uncontrollably toward a nearby ruined building. Unable to stop himself, he tumbled head over heels through the rotten boards covering a low window. It took him a moment to recover while the report of Sheppard's P-90 continued, moving closer to the 'gate as it sounded. Rodney was just able to pull himself up far enough to peer over the window casement in time to see Sheppard desperately firing his weapon at an approaching Wraith dart. Just as the dart was passing over head, it reached its breaking point and exploded. The concussion from the blast knocked Sheppard off his feet and through the open wormhole.
But, of course, the bad news didn't end there. The burning pieces of the dart fell straight out of the sky and buried themselves in the ground right at the base of the stargate. The ring began to rock back and forth alarmingly. Rodney could not help but throw his hand into the air as if to hold it up. But of course, there was nothing to be done. The ring fell forward, the wormhole winking out, dust from the road rising around it in the middle of an almost unnatural and disturbingly ominous silence.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Rodney protested quietly as he slowly climbed to his feet, his mouth agape, "not fair. Seriously, not good."
He didn't have time to continue his protests against chance, though. Two Wraith rounded a corner, heading straight for the remains of their downed dart. Rodney only barely managed to drop back to the floor of his make-shift hiding place before they saw him.
Rodney could only watch as the Wraith began to pick through the downed remains of their dart. He was utterly alone and utterly stranded.