Chapter One
Colonel John Sheppard stepped out of the event horizon of the stargate into daylight and the sound of birds, savoring the brief moment of silence from Rodney's talking. He mostly ignored Dr. McKay's constant yammering, unless, of course, it had to do with him.
The moment passed.
"…because it's just not sanely right!" Rodney was saying. "Why would anyone in their right minds would even THINK of going on a trip like that when they're 10 years old! I could list at least a hundred reasons why that would…" Rodney stopped. Sheppard didn't have to turn to know that Ronan was staring McKay down. John allowed himself a brief grin, and then turned.
"Ok boys, play nice now." John turned to the other members of his team. Teyla, Dr. Keller, and Dr. Beckett were just stepping out of the gate, conversing with each other. The gate shut off.
The call that they had gotten from this planet the previous night had been one of the strangest they had gotten. And that was saying a lot considering past missions out in the Pegasus Galaxy. The townspeople had requested assistance with what they called a "Rahn-tuu." From what Teyla had explained later, it meant something like "Body-switcher." Most of the other teams were out on missions of their own, so Woolsey sent them. The Wraith had been strangely quiet as of late, John was bored out of his skull, and taking the mission seemed like a good way to break the boredom. Dr. Carson Beckett was very interested in the call because he thought it might have something to do with Michael's experiments. And Dr. Keller came because she wanted to check up on a patient on that planet.
"Let's get to the village and see what this mess is all about," John said. "Teyla, you go with Keller to check on that little girl. Beckett, you're with me, Rodney, and Ronan. I want whatever this is cleared up before nightfall."
"We will see you then, John," Teyla said. Then she and Keller walked off into the woods.
Rodney and Ronan were still looking at each other.
"Aaaaaaaannnyway," Rodney said, tearing his eyes away. "I don't really have to go on, do I? I mean, it's probably just another wild goose chase. Michael's dead! And I very much doubt that it's a new experiment we haven't discovered yet. Since it's obviously nothing then I could just head back to Atlantis."
"Aw, come on, Rodney," John said. "If it wasn't for this call you'd just be spending all day in bed or something. You need exercise."
"Actually, lying in bed doing nothing sounds like the best thing in the world right now," Rodney said in a huff. "I really don't see the need for my being here."
"Just can it, Rodney," Beckett said. "The longer you stand here talkin' the longer this is going to take."
"Easy for you to say, Carson, but I'm not the kind of guy who just goes off on missions when he could very easily be spending a nice day with a good book and a cup of coffee in bed."
Ronan cracked a smile. "I never thought you were the reading type."
"Well I am…. now," Rodney said.
John sighed. "Let's get moving."
After they had walked for about fifteen minutes, John heard something up ahead. He motioned for the group to stop.
Ronan stepped up next to him. "What?"
"I thought I heard something," John said.
The group stood still. Then they all jumped as a sudden shouting rose up in the distance.
Sheppard and Ronan ran towards the sound followed closely by Rodney and Beckett. They stopped at the tree line and saw a group of people armed with farm tools chasing a teenage boy towards the trees.
"What's this all about?" Rodney said.
As the group neared, the armed people started shouting at the Atlantians.
"What are they saying?" said Beckett.
Ronan cocked his head. "They're telling us to get out of the way. Weird."
The boy looked up and saw them. Suddenly, he veered right for them, running even faster.
Ronan whipped his gun up. "Should I stun him?"
"Wait," John pushed Ronan's arm down. "Let's catch him and see what's going on."
The boy continued his frantic run towards them, and John could see that Ronan was getting antsy.
"Get ready," John said.
The boy ran the last few feet to them, and John lunged. The villagers screamed, "NO!" The boy stopped dead, his long red hair flying around his face. John flew in front of him, and then the boy leapt, slamming into Dr. Beckett. Both collapsed to the ground, motionless.
John heaved himself up just as the villagers arrived, all of them breathing heavily.
"You…fools!" One man shouted in between gasps of air. "You should have shot him… while you had the… chance! Now we lost him!"
Rodney looked surprised. "What are you saying? He's right there!" He motioned at the prone young man.
"No," Another villager said. "That's not him."
Beckett stirred. John knelt down beside him. "You ok?" he asked. "You took a nasty hit."
"I'm fine," his voice sounded strange. "Great, in fact!" Beckett's Scottish accent had vanished. He looked at the seething villagers. "Lost me!" He laughed.
One of the villagers lunged for him. John grabbed the guy and held him. "What do you think you're doing? HE'S the one you want!" motioning to the young man still on the ground.
"No," said the man, shoving Sheppard off. "Not any more he ain't."
John let him go. "What are you talking about?"
The boy sat up. "John? What in the bloody world is going on?" he said.
John froze. "How do you know my name?"
"Well that's a nice thing to say!" the boy said, in a Scottish accent. "No, 'Are you ok?' or, 'Are you hurt?' Just, 'How do you know my name?' As if you've forgotten all the years we spent together!"
John stepped back, and Rodney groaned, "Don't tell me this is…"
John tapped his earpiece. "Teyla, come in." he said.
A moment later her voice came over the speaker. "Go ahead, John. Is something wrong?"
Sheppard hesitated. "I think we found our body-switcher."