Stargate Atlantis: S7 The Fossil Key

Part Five: Extinction Debt

John Sheppard sat in the conference room which had become his office, of sorts. Atlantis was quiet; a city fully powered and secure, under his command and running smoothly as it floated on the ocean waves. It was the jewel of the galaxy and the city knew it too. It also knew John very well. After the latest crisis of being submerged, then having its AI split into two and nearly destroying itself in the process John had saved her and made her whole. John had protected her from the alien threat and seemingly chased them away, for the moment.

The city was joined to John now in a way that was far more powerful than his ATA gene.

John rubbed his chin, gaze straying off the various monitors to stare into space as his thoughts wandered, as his mood darkened. Things were getting back to normal but in some ways things would never be the same. They couldn't be, not after what Moira had endured. It had taken all of John's self-control not to throttle Carson for what he had done to Moira; the systematic torture all in the name of trying to cure her of the hallucinations that had been plaguing her. To be fair it hadn't really been Carson but the entity inside of him, but it still rankled and he knew that Moira wasn't ready to trust the doctor yet.

She wasn't ready to trust anyone. Her memories were disjointed, some gone entirely due to the electroshock treatments, but she did remember being held down while the treatment had been administered. She remembered the hallucinations of the aliens and the way the others in the city had mocked her, disregarded her and wanted to separate her from John.

She didn't trust anyone yet. Not even John, not entirely as her hallucinations of him had shown him aloof, disinterested and not willing to help her. Which was the furthest thing from reality and although she knew that she couldn't help but wonder, at times.

John couldn't blame her. He sighed. He knew it would take time to convince her how much he cared about her. At least she still wore the wedding ring and they were technically engaged, although neither had said a word about when the marriage would take place.

If it would take place at all.

"John?"

John looked up, startled by the soft, female voice. He smiled as Moira O'Meara stood in the doorway, staring at him, holding a data pad to her chest. She wore a white lab coat and her brown hair was loose, spilling along her shoulders and down to her breasts. "Moy?"

Moira hesitated. John had been deep in thought, brooding. His handsome face had been serious as he had been staring into space. He was impossibly handsome, clad in a simple black t-shirt and gray pants. His dark brown hair was disordered as usual. A sexy line of scruff darkened his jaw and chin. His strong arms were resting on the table, fingers flexing and tapping until he stilled them. The monitor's light cast a bluish glow onto him, making his hair darker and his green eyes a strange shade of turquoise.

"Moira?" He gestured, inviting her, brows furrowing at her reluctance.

Moira entered the room. She quickly closed the distance between them but did not take the proffered chair next to him. She set down the data pad, opened it and turned it to face him. "I've been running some preliminary analysis on the Homo erectus communications and so far we have a rudimentary understanding of their language. It's unlike any known languages but with the Gaelic go-between I think I can translate some of it."

"And?" John wasn't looking at the data pad. He was looking at her. He was watching as her lab coat opened to reveal the snug gray t-shirt she had on that revealed the curve of each breast. He was watching the way strands of her hair curled down to her chest as she leaned slightly forward. He was imagining the curves of her rear in the snug khaki pants she wore. He was watching the serious expression on her face as she stared at the data pad, brown eyes full of concern and gravity. One pupil was encircled by purple and it appeared to be violet in the computer light. Her rosy lips were pursed with concentration.

She frowned, meeting his gaze except his gaze was on her chest again. She straightened and closed the lab coat over her shirt, making him scowl. "And? I'm sorry. I thought you would be interested in knowing what the Homo erectus were saying to each other and if it possibly involved discussion of Atlantis!"

John smiled, slouching back in the chair as her anger was making his cock jerk in his pants. He licked his lips slowly, a deliberate seduction as she stared, flustered. "Ya know what I really am interested in knowing, Doctor O'Meara?" he drawled, voice low and raspy. "I am very interested in knowing exactly what color you have on today. What color is under that tight little shirt, hmm?"

Moira smiled at his flirtation, his teasing. It was familiar. It was provocative. She replied, "You don't need to know that, colonel. Seriously, John, if you would just look at the readout the—"

He moved to his feet suddenly, so swiftly she stumbled backwards, startled. "No. I need to know that, in all seriousness, Moira." He stepped to her and took hold of the lab coat. He flung it open to either side and slid his hands up to cup her breasts, to gently fondle as he leaned close and down and caught her mouth with his.

Moira squirmed, catching his arms to push but she melted into the kiss as he wooed and persuaded. He freed her breasts only to slide his arms around her and draw her close. He kept kissing her, opening her lips to his and angling his tongue to glide as his hands slid down to grab her rear and squeeze and squeeze. Moira whimpered, yelped at his groping, squirming against his hard body, his hardening cock.

John trailed his mouth across his cheek to her ear. His scruff was abrasive on her skin, seductive and her body was vividly reacting to his now. "Moira," he said gruffly into her ear, kissing along her throat now, soft kisses trailing to her collarbone.

"John," she sighed, hands running along his chest, his sides as the longing for him was intense, sad and lustful all at once. She gasped as he suddenly lifted her and placed her onto the table. The data pad skittered across the smooth surface as he shoved it aside, intent on having sex with her now. He kissed her, shoving her thighs open and stepping close. He slid his hands up under her shirt, under the bra to caress her bare breasts, to slide his calloused fingers along her hard, rosy nipples.

"Moira, fuck I need to fuck you now," he muttered in a growl. He gently pushed her onto her back and freed her only to undo his pants.

"John…John, wait!" She stared, aroused and flustered. She was breathing heavily, clothes disordered by his wandering hands. She moved but he shook his head, gaze devouring her, keeping her in place. She watched as he unzipped his pants. The sound was loud, loud in the quiet city. "Um, John…the the door?"

"Barn door's open, baby. Just have to undo yours now," he said with a smile.

"No! The door to this room! The…oh!"

He caught hold of her pants and undid them, unzipped and yanked them off her. "I don't fucking care. Ah…blue." He eyed the skimpy satin panties.

"Well I do!" She sat up but he grinned, pushing her onto her back, and kissing her. "John!"

"Don't worry about it baby oh fuck that is sweet," he said, long fingers sliding along her cleft now as he kissed her again. She moaned into his mouth, squirming on the table.

"John, wait! John, we can't have sex on the oh John, John!" Her protest ended in a whimper as he took hold of her moist panties and ripped them off her. She gasped at his rash action. The sound of ripping fabric was erotic, passionate. His fingers plied her intimately now and she pulled at his arms, arching as he quickly undid his shorts and thrust into her.

"Fuck! Fuck there it is, baby!" he exulted, voice raw with hunger and pleasure and he thrust and thrust, plying her and the table as well. He grabbed her shirt and shoved it up, shoved up the bra as well. He leaned close, slowing his motions to kiss and nibble her breasts, biting gently.

"John! John, oh God we shouldn't be doing this here the door is oh John John!" she cried breathlessly, clawing at his arms and shoulders as he resumed his frenetic rush to release. Her words and warnings dissolved to inarticulate sounds, only making him harder and hungrier. She clung as the table was violently shaking under her, as the monitors began to beep in complaint, as John thoroughly plied her until he groaned in relief and she cried out as the orgasm flooded and burst within her.

John caught his breath, leaning on her now, energies spent and lust assuaged. He turned his head to look out the open door. No one was there but he could hear voices. A smirk blossomed on his face and he lifted to kiss Moira deeply before he straightened and slid out of her. "We've got company, baby, so move that pert little ass."

"What?" Moira asked, lost in a daze of sexual pleasure. "What?" she exclaimed. John chuckled as she sprang to her feet and grabbed her pants. She looked round. John was fixing his attire. One foot was firmly on her torn panties. "John! John!" She glared, quickly put on her pants and fixed her bra and her shirt as he grinned at her, not moving. "You bastard!" she softly flared, wrapping her lab coat around her like a shield and trying to fix her wayward hair.

John laughed. "Fuck you are making me horny all over again," he said with a raised brow. He turned, placing his boot over the torn panties so that only a tiny bit of blue fabric was visible. "Don't tell me there's another problem," he said calmly, voice losing its sexy growl and hoarseness. He watched Rodney enter, followed by the rest of the team.

Rodney McKay was shaking his head. "Of course there's a problem! I've been paging you but you seem to have gone deaf! Look at this! I've been…what's wrong with the computers?" he asked, distracted. He moved to the monitors, silencing their distress and righting them.

John smiled and shrugged. "Hell if I know. Moira, any idea?"

Moira glared at him. "Hilarious, colonel." She moved to the back of the room suddenly.

John watched her a moment, then turned to the group. "Well, is anyone gonna tell me or do I have to guess?"

Jason Reynolds was staring at Moira, but he met John's gaze suddenly. "Sir, we've detected a bio sign on the mainland."

"He means the city has detected a life sign on the mainland and it is reading as human," Rodney corrected.

"And as there is no one on the mainland—" Amelia Banks-Dex began.

"It's a fugly," Ronon Dex finished for her.

"We've got a fugly on the mainland, sir," Jason confirmed.

"How is that possible? A survivor from the submersible?" John guessed, serious now as he eyed each of them in turn. He knew Moira was behind him and he wondered why she didn't correct him over the name of the aliens like she always did.

"More than likely," Rodney agreed. He accessed a monitor and brought up the scan in real time on the screen. "We can track him somewhat and get a general position, but it's not exact. There is still too much interference but it's perfectly safe for us, I mean for you to go out there."

John smiled briefly and met Ronon's gaze. "We go in ten."

"Wait John," Moira said, moving to his side. She touched his arm.

John turned to her as Ronon left the room, a smile on his face. "What is it, Moira?"

"You can't just go and kill it. This is an unprecedented opportunity to try to communicate with a new species, a new species of human!"

"What? It's the enemy!" Amelia exclaimed.

"Do you think you can communicate with it?" Carson Beckett asked.

"More importantly it can't communicate with the others. As far as I can tell that other ship is too far away," Rodney stated.

Moira ignored them all, keeping her gaze locked with John's. "It's isolated and probably injured. It can pose no harm to us so we must take this chance to try to communicate, even on a basic level. We could learn something, John, something we may need in the future if we run into them again, or if they come looking for us."

"It's too risky, sir. As far as they know Atlantis is gone, destroyed. If we show up and somehow this thing communicates that to the others…"

"I told you, the neural implant can't transmit that far," Rodney argued.

"I think it's worth a shot, if only to learn more about them," Carson agreed.

"It needs to be killed before the rest discover us!" Amelia insisted.

Moira ignored them, her hand a gentle pressure on John's arm. He was the only one in the room for her, and only his opinion and decision mattered. "John, please. I can take the translation program with me and I think I can utilize the Gaelic interface to communicate. It's worth the risk, you know it is."

He nodded. "Get ready to deploy in ten. We will try to communicate, but we do have to kill it. Go."

Moira nodded and freed his arm. She grabbed her data pad and exited the room.

"Sir, I don't think it would be wise to take her along with you on this—"

"Did I ask for your opinion, major? Reynolds, you're with us on this one. We go in ten." As Jason left John turned to Rodney. "Will a handheld life signs detector work to track it?"

"Yes…but it will read as human, like we do."

"Crap. Okay, we can isolate the signal then. What about that other ship, Fugly One?"

"Still traveling at sub light away from us. It's been damaged, that much I do know. I haven't picked up any other communications so far."

"Keep tracking it, no, Banks-Dex, you keep an eye on that ship and any interspace communications. Keep an eye out for any incoming transmissions and report them to me immediately. Rodney, I need a suitable weapon ASAP."

"I know! I can't build a Penning trap in a day, you know!"

"Fine. You've got a week. Let's move, people! The sooner we clean this up the sooner our people can come home!" John headed for the doorway, herding them out of the conference room.

"Um, John? You might want to, um…remove that."

"What?" John turned, following Carson's pointing finger to the floor where the ripped blue panties were visible now that he had moved. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks, doc." He smiled and quickly snatched them off the floor, stuffing them into his pants pocket.

"John, I noticed a gold ring on Moira's left hand. Does that mean what I think it means?" the doctor asked, following the military commander out of the room.

John glanced at him, shrugged. "Um, yeah. We're, we're engaged." It felt awkward to say out loud, and that made John feel almost defiant about it, as if he expected the doctor to try to talk him out of it. But the doctor appeared to be delighted.

Carson smiled. "Congratulations!" He clapped John on the back. "Have you set a date?"

"No. Not yet. Been kinda busy, doc."

"Och, of course! Well, congratulations to the both of you!"

"Um, thanks. Gotta go!" John strode away from the doctor, feeling both uncomfortable and pleased all at once.