Disclaimer: I own none of the Stargate franchise.
A/N: Well, I came up with this fic yesterday, I thought it would made a good one - or hoped so anyway. I hope those of you that read this enjoy, and like this fic as well! :) Thanks!
Special thanks to: Shanna - for the beta :D
-Another World-
Commander John Sheppard was walking down the hallway of the city, on his way to the Control room. His team would head out to an unfamiliar planet, seeking for more trading alliances.
During their last trading mission the leader told them of this planet, one with useful herbs, and tasteful vegetables. Their city was among the highly advanced planets of this galaxy, a strong army to protect themselves – and other planets when necessary, 3 hospitals to take care of the injured or sick. And scientist to come up with newer, more advanced weapons every week.
They had plenty of food as well, but they were no farmers, their food contained the necessary vitamins and proteins – but it was anything but fresh and tasteful. That was why they had several trading alliances where they got food from, good food. In return they would offer either medical support, technology or they would help train their people to make their army stronger. Whichever they preferred.
He arrived in the control room early, most of his team not even present yet. A few were though, chatting with each other about either guns, or anything that was related to them – or women. The subject of their conversation seemed to be about guns this time, about the latest weapon the scientists had made – apparently a very impressive one.
They greeted him with a sloppy salute, respectful – and friendly. He got along with them well enough, they were good men – good soldiers. It had been a tad bit difficult in the beginning, finding that balance between superior, but equal as well. Even though he was the leader of their team, he respected their opinion and always listened to them. That was probably why he'd been the one to get this job. Some of the men in his team were just as experienced, maybe even more so.
He was happy with his life, a good job – nice friends, and he'd just moved to a new house. A bigger and more expensive one, but he could afford it now.
All that was missing was a wife. He'd had plenty of girlfriends, just not one he would want to spend the rest of his life with.
The last of his men arrived at the Gate, his team now complete and ready to head out. The address was dialed, and a wormhole formed and stabilised. He was the first to step through, weapon raised just as a precaution. Their arrival was expected there, but the planet was still unfamiliar to them.
As he stepped on the planet for the first time, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. There were a lot of trees, and fields where they harvested their food. The village was about a kilometre away, but he could tell that there was something amiss right away.
The only sounds here were of the birds, no children playing in the trees, or people working on the fields. It was harvesting season on most planets, so he would expect people to be working at this time of day. His men either came to the same conclusion, or noticed his change in behaviour – because they were alert and their weapons were ready to take a shot if necessary. No longer just a precaution.
He signalled his men to head out, heading to the village at a jog. They had been a team for so long; everyone knew which position to take. He took point, as he always did.
They travelled the distance from the gate to the village in to time, slowing down as they got closer. They recognised the signs immediately, smoke coming from burned down huts, people lying on the ground – either died from their injuries, or because their life had been drained away. It had been culled – no longer than a few hours back. John silently cursed the race responsible for this, causing so much destruction everywhere they went.
If only they had been here 4 hours ago – they would have been able to save a few. But as his training taught him, he couldn't change the past – only hope to do good in the present.
"Spread out, look for survivors," he told his team. They did as he asked, all heading a different direction, but still staying close together. He prayed that they would find a few survivors – that they hadn't come here just to witness the death and destruction the Wraith had left.
He started toward a few huts that still stood, and kept his gaze focused on where he was walking, instead of the ground, where children lay – their lives taken away from them. There weren't that many, most of the inhabitants probably taken by darts. Slowly pushing the door open, he stepped into one of the houses, looking for someone who had gotten away, maybe a child hiding under the bed.
He searched through the whole place, finding nothing. It was no different in the other huts he searched, all empty except for materials.
That was all of them; he'd searched through 5 huts – his men doing the same with the remaining ones. Walking towards the centre of the village, he saw something - an arm sticking out from under a fallen tree, its leaves and branches hiding the rest of the body. Hopeful, he walked towards it, and crouched down. Reaching out, he carefully pressed his fingers against the wrist, holding his breath in anticipation and hope.
The thud against his fingers was so unexpected – he didn't realise it at first, but there it was again, a sign of life. He started pushing things out of the way – broken branches keeping him from getting him or her out from under the tree. Yelling for help, he waited for a few of the soldiers to reach him. With 4 men, they managed to lift the tree, another soldier pulling the person to safety.
It was a young woman, unconscious and injured. She was curled up around a little boy – trying to shield him from the tree that had fallen atop them. But the boy's heart did not beat, never would again. John mourned for the loss of a child so young – yet he was so relieved to find a survivor. They had to get medical attention for her quickly, before she too died of her injuries.
A soldier at the end of the village started yelling. They had found another survivor – an elderly man, in bad shape. He asked the other soldiers of they had searched everywhere – making sure there was no change that they could have missed someone. They were certain; these two were the only survivors of the culling.
The other two soldiers came walking towards them, one carrying the old man. John carefully did the same with the young woman, lifting her in his arms. She didn't respond at all to the movement, her eyes stayed shut and her body limp. He started walking towards the gate at a brisk pace – wanting to get her to a doctor as quickly as possible. His men were still on alert – making sure that nothing would be able to catch them off guard. He was proud of them, for still focusing – after seeing one of the most terrible things possible. When they would reach the base, they were probably going to have to talk to the psychiatrist, a friendly woman – about 40 years old. She was kind enough, but he just didn't care very much for shrinks.
His second in command dialled the gate, and stepped through first. He went in second with the other soldier carrying the old man, the rest of the team following.
They stepped into the control room, back home again. A medical post was stationed nearby – in case there were trauma patients coming through the gate in need of medical attention right away. The called the Infirmary, asking for a team to stand by. As he walked to the infirmary, he glanced down at the woman, taking a good look for the first time. She had beautiful tanned skin, and her face was gorgeous as well. He could tell that even though she looked a mess – cuts covering her face, and dirt from the tree. He wondered what her name was – nothing that he could come up with suited her.
Just outside of the infirmary doors – nurses were standing ready with stretchers. Almost reluctantly – he laid her down on it, releasing her. She was taking away immediately; he lingered outside for a moment longer, until his second in command called for him. It was time to explain what happened to his superiors, and after that he could go back; he needed to be checked by a nurse anyway, as protocol dictated.
John hoped that she would be ok, at least physically. He would check up on her later, after his own exam. Maybe she'd be awake by then, he hoped so.
TBC . . .