The planet of PXS-859 was green, slightly humid, and in possession of ruins emitting a steady energy signature. In short, it was the type of planet that made Rodney very happy and the others very bored. The west side of the building they had found had half fallen in, spilling dirt and rock into the room from the hillside behind, but the roof and other three walls seemed to be sturdy enough. A set of three Ancient consoles lined the north wall, the last one crushed under the rubble from the wall collapse. The other two flickered under Rodney's hands as the scientist plugged in his laptop and began to try to interface with the system. As John watched, Rodney grumbled and knelt on the floor to pry off a panel. "Anything good?" asked the soldier.
Rodney glared at him, holding a crystal up to the light. "I'll tell you if there is anything good when I find something!" he snapped.
John rolled his eyes at Teyla and Ronon, who were loitering around the entrance. "We're going to go take a look around the place, McKay. See if there is anything interesting. Radio us if you find anything."
"Yes! Yes! Now stop bugging me!" John grinned at Rodney's annoyed voice and made a shooing motion at the others. John slipped on his sunglasses and saluted Rodney's back as he walked out. "Honestly, how do they expect me to make any progress with them hanging over my shoulder asking stupid questions?" muttered Rodney. The console beeped and he narrowed his eyes at the crystal he had just taken out of the lattice tray.
Rodney didn't know how long he spent working on the console before he heard a scuffing sound behind him. He turned his head, ready to berate which ever of his teammates that had decided to disturb him, and froze. Rodney had once overheard a group of Marines debating the likelihood of coming across a world with dinosaurs or, at least, very large reptiles on it. The scientist could now say that there was a very high probability of this happening.
It wasn't a large dinosaur as dinosaurs go. Rodney thought it was perhaps as large as a Saint Bernard, tall enough on its hind legs to reach past Rodney's chest. The snout was long and rounded. As Rodney watched, it dropped forward on its shorter front legs and sniffed the ground. It was a bright green color mixed with tan, brighter than Rodney thought a dinosaur would be. But the worst thing was the large pointed teeth Rodney could see around the mouth area. The scientist gasped and the dinosaur raised its head, looking right at Rodney.
Rodney froze, sure that the dinosaur would charge but after a second of absolute stillness the lizard lowered its head and continued to sniff across the floor. Rodney realized that it must have poor vision and hunted by sound or smell.
Shifting muscle by muscle, Rodney edged around the console. He reached slowly up and tapped his radio. "John?" he breathed.
Outside, John kicked over a small rock and frowned at the faint call over the radio. He opened the channel. "What's up, Rodney?"
"Dinosaur," came the reply. Inside the building Rodney shifted back until he hit the wall and could go no further. Rodney slid his hand down to the handgun in his thigh holster as the dinosaur sniffed its way across the floor toward him.
John held his hand to his ear and struggled to make out the soft sounds. "What?"
Rodney gritted his teeth and repeated the word slowly. "Din-o-saur." The large reptile reached the console in front of Rodney and he raised his weapon. Even at this range he couldn't miss and he knew he had fifteen bullets to defend himself with. He thumbed off the safety and pressed the trigger only to hear a hollow click. Rodney blinked and tilted the gun upward, seeing the little gold casing wedged in the slide. He whimpered as the dinosaur made an inquisitive growl in his direction at the noise.
"Dinosaur?" echoed John in astonishment. All he got back was a soft whimper and John turned on his heel to race back through the ruins. "Teyla, Ronon, get back to the main building. Rodney, does the dinosaur look to be a carnivore?"
"Yes. It...Yes."
"Stay still and be quiet," said John sternly as they neared the building's entrance. Surprise would be their greatest weapon if some type of large reptile was wandering this planet. John hoped feverishly that Rodney was overlooked by the supposed dinosaur for long enough for them to get there. It had seemed like such a peaceful planet too. John should have known better by this point. Seemingly peaceful planets were always the worst.
"What is a dinosaur?" asked Ronon as he and Teyla appeared.
"A very bad, very hungry wild animal," muttered John as he stopped and leaned carefully around the opening. He blinked as he saw the large reptile sniffing a stone about four feet to the left of where Rodney sat very still against the wall. The scientist was watching the reptile with wide blue eyes as the dinosaur started to nose through his discarded jacket. The long balancing tail nearly hit Rodney's knee as the dinosaur crunched on something. "Rodney," John hissed to get his attention.
Rodney turned his head and did something very, very stupid that would later be attributed to stress and low blood sugar. "John!" he cried. The dinosaur turned and looked at him, opening it mouth to show a neat row of razor teeth. It roared and Rodney scrambled backward. A second later the large reptile jerked as bullets torn through it. Rodney slapped his hands over his ears as the sound echoed and watched the dinosaur fall against the wall where he had been sitting.
John raced over to Rodney and dropped a hand on his shoulder, earning a jump from the scientist. "You okay?" he asked. He glanced over the scientist but couldn't see a scratch on him, much to his relief. He was already kicking himself for the bad call in judgment in leaving Rodney alone.
Rodney nodded franticly. "I think so. I don't think it knew I was there. It seemed to be smelling its way across the floor." John pulled Rodney up onto his feet and rubbed at his shoulder, trying to calm him.
"The creature did not know you were there?" asked Teyla, crouching down to get a better look.
"It didn't seem to. I don't think it could see very well," answered Rodney. He yanked on his twisted vest and slapped away John's hands as the soldier tried to help. John smirked and held up his hands in a placating gesture. Now that the terror of the moment was over Rodney's natural attitude asserted itself, insisting it had never been scared in the first place. "Will you stop pawing at me!" he snapped. They all jumped as the dinosaur suddenly emitted a loud, groaning cry. Ronon's energy gun whined and the noise stopped. "Geez," muttered Rodney, a little green.
John turned Rodney away and spoke to him. "Why don't we pack up and head back to Atlantis? If you think it's worth it, we can get a few more men and come back. You could bring some geeks with you and poke around the consoles some more." He glanced down at the dinosaur and frowned. "Now that we know there are large reptiles on this planet I don't want to stay any longer than we have to."
Rodney nodded jerkily and began to disconnect his laptop, careful not to look at the dead animal close by. "That sounds like a good idea," he said. The others helped him stuff his things back into his pack and Rodney attached his laptop to his back. They herded him out of the building and down the path toward the stargate. Teyla walked in front and Ronon walked in the back and John walked next to Rodney. After a moment Rodney noticed and latched onto John's sleeve. "What's wrong? You guys seem in an awful hurry all of a sudden."
John shot him a sunny grin. "Just wanting to get home as soon as possible, McKay. It's no big."
Rodney stopped and folded his arms. "I don't believe you. What's wrong?"
Ronon walked up behind him and forced him forward with an arm around his shoulders. "We're worried that the dinosaur could have called in pack mates before it died."
"Pack mates?" squeaked Rodney. He began walking under his own power, hurrying to catch up with John. "You mean there might be more of those things out there?"
"That's what I'm assuming," answered John. He glared back over his shoulder at Ronon. The other man just shrugged at him.
"Great. Just great," moaned Rodney. He trotted a little to keep up with the others. "Death by dino. Of all the things that could kill me in this galaxy, it's going to be rejects from a Spielberg movie."
Teyla looked over her shoulder at him. "Rejects from a Spielberg movie?" she asked.
Rodney glanced at John questioningly. "Have we shown them the Jurassic Park movies yet?" They had watched so many movies over the last two years that they sometimes ran together for the scientist.
John shook his head. "No. We'll add it to the list."
Teyla smiled. "I am sure we shall enjoy it," she said. She started to say something else when she was suddenly lifted off her feet.
"Teyla!" screamed Rodney. The larger sibling of the lizard they had killed in the ruins swung Teyla around like a rag doll, its big jaws clamped around her pack. Teyla kicked backward at the dinosaur's throat as another tan and green shape charged between Ronon and Rodney. Rodney felt something hit his side and he went spinning off into the bushes.
Ronon let out a roar to match their attackers and shot at the reptile that had sprinted by. A third dinosaur stepped up behind him and snapped at his side. Ronon danced away, placing himself at John's back. John was shouting, trying to see where Rodney had landed and get a clean shot at the dinosaur jerking Teyla around in it mouth. "Ronon, cover Rodney! Don't spread yourselves out!"
Ronon glared at the two large reptiles in front of him, knowing that Rodney had landed somewhere behind them when he had been struck by a long tail. He drew his sword as one of the dinosaurs lunged at him and the reptile grunted as it was slashed on the nose. "Can't," replied the ex-runner.
Teyla finally succeeded in wiggling free of her pack and dropped to the ground, bleeding from gashes around her shoulders and neck. Bullets tore through the dinosaur as she rolled away. John emptied a whole clip into the lizard as it flailed and continued to let out moaning cries. One of the dinosaurs facing Ronon jerked its head in the dying one's direction and lunged around Ronon to attack John. "Sheppard!" John jerked himself to the side at the warning, feeling pain burn through his right arm as sharp teeth grazed. Ronon swung around, firing a shot from his blaster at the dinosaur's abdomen. He then grunted as he was lifted off his feet as the last reptile grabbed at his long coat. The leather tore under his weight and Ronon landed back on his feet, bullets flying.
In the middle of some leafy green plants besides the trail, Rodney pushed himself up and shook his head. Pain shot through his side where he had been hit and his ears rang. With a groan he clutched his side and looked up in enough time to see Teyla free herself from the attacking dinosaur and John begin shooting. He winced and opened his mouth to call out when a shadow fell over him. He frowned and almost looked up when large clawed feet landed on either side of him. Rodney froze, uncomprehending for a moment, and then he had to clamp his lips shut on a sob of fear. The dinosaur was standing right over him, Rodney sitting under its belly. He waited for an eternal second, sure the reptile would rip his head off at any moment, when the dinosaur stepped forward and away from him. Rodney was astonished. He began to lift his head when there was a loud crack and everything went dark.