Inner Strengths
Chapter 1 – Jinxed.
The technological buzzing filled the air with a menace and the panic was instantaneous. People ran into houses and locked the doors without knowing that wooden roofs would not protect them. Others whose senses had left them completely ran in any direction they could to get away, not thinking of where they would run to. The only people standing still and watching the ships above were of those who had had experience in defeating them… a couple of times.
Sheppard glared at Rodney. 'You just had to say it.' He scolded. The Scientist's eyes were wide and turned to him with a slightly agitated expression.
'I just said that it was a nice day! Look, they're words, not magical jinxes.' He snapped.
John narrowed his eyes and looked to the sky once more before looking at the people running around them, screaming and crying – and disappearing.
'Okay, let's get back to the Gate and take as many people as we can.' He ordered.
Ronon eyed Teyla with a frown and they both took off after Sheppard. The Satedan ran at his side, casting the Wraith Darts above a look of vengeance.
'And if the Wraith dial in first?' He queried.
John raised an eyebrow, yelling for people to follow him. 'We go to Plan B and hide in the Forest nearby until the Gate shuts down.' Teyla shook her head.
'The Wraith will scout the area by the Gate; they will expect people to flea there. This way!' She called.
'Not a lot of options here.' Sheppard said firmly. 'Let's go!' Satisfied that their following was big enough to draw the attention of others, the team tore through the village and headed toward the Gate across the grassy plain.
Sheppard heard the familiar sound of the beam and glanced over his shoulder. Wraith had transported to the surface, cutting half the people off from the Gate. John growled low in his throat.
'Rodney and Teyla get to the Gate, Ronon with me.' He spun round and sprinted back, his P90 raised. Ronon twirled the gun in his hand and felt the familiar rise of anticipation when heading into battle. Especially battles he knew he would win.
Rodney paused only a moment before approaching the massive ring, his heart slamming against his chest, and the stitch in his side making it agony for him to breathe. He came to a sudden halt in front of the Gate and Teyla arrived with more grace, looking down at the DHD with focused brown eyes.
'Hurry.' She urged as people began stopping around her, looking back fearfully.
Rodney didn't wait. 'Hurrying.' He snapped, punching in the symbols. He stopped at the third symbol and frowned, suddenly looking up at the Gate. Teyla followed his gaze. The rings were lighting up without his commands. Teyla's heart skipped a beat.
'It is the Wraith.' She announced. 'They are coming through the Gate.'
Rodney turned to the device and both his hands played over the machine. 'Not if I get there first.'
Three Wraith approached the screaming people, two with masks hiding their faces and one wearing a long black coat which swept the ground with a deadly ethereal grace. They leered at the crowd, the joy of the terror they evoked clearly making them feel pleasure.
John stopped and fired his weapon with lethal aim. His target turned and stumbled back with the force of the bullets punching into his body, feebly raising the Stunner in his hand. He finally fell back to the ground and John changed his magazine. Ronon immediately stepped into a fight with Long-coat. It snarled, raising its arms in an animalistic invitation. Ronon smiled mischievously and spun his weapon, dodging the blast fired at him by the other masked Wraith. He shot it skilfully with his gun set to kill, the red blast lifting the Wraith from its feet before advancing on the last Wraith while John moved the people around.
It was no secret that Ronon was one hell of a fighter, but John couldn't help but watch at times. He was fast and powerful, he fought with a fury that Sheppard admired and resented at the same time – why not just put a dozen bullets in them and move on? Ronon aimed punches at the Wraith but with little effect, it was fast, Ronon only needed a moment to adjust to its style and he would end it. Surely enough, the opening came where the Wraith left its side vulnerable to attack and Ronon took it, slamming a knee into its side and landing his elbow into its face. The Wraith was fazed, giving Ronon enough time to backhand it mercilessly and grab his gun, firing it at the Wraiths head.
It fell to the ground, obliterated, and John yelled for Ronon to move the rest of the people as the Wraith Dart came round for another dive.
Rodney slammed the last symbol on the DHD and smacked his hand into the blue centre. The Gate erupted, splashing silver light onto the surroundings. The people around him screamed and cowered into crouches at the sight of the event horizon emerging from the Gate and being pulled back in. Rodney frowned at the shining doorway in fear.
'Did I do that or did they?'
Teyla watched the shimmering event horizon and clicked her head set. 'Doctor Weir, this is Teyla. Please respond.'
Rodney nodded and closed his eyes frustratedly. 'Yes, yes, yes, good idea.'
The radio was silent. Rodney felt a sinking sensation. If the Wraith had opened the Gate then there was no way of getting home until it shut down, and thirty eight minutes was a long time to hide from Wraith darts, which in turn significantly decreased their chances of escape-
'Teyla, you've only been gone a half hour.'
Weir's voice sounded loud and clear. Rodney blew a sigh of relief and clicked his head set. 'No time to talk, the Wraith are culling the planet, we're coming home with a load of people.' He explained.
'Understood.' Weir answered.
Teyla turned to the people and guided them up to the Gate, forcing them through with a firm hand. 'Hurry, it is alright, you will be safe.' She encouraged.
The people's fear of the Gate lessened when the familiar buzz of the approaching Dart returned and they sprinted through the puddle with little or no hesitation. Rodney turned to see Sheppard and Ronon sprinting with a large group of people. Their approach was in line with the dart and Rodney felt his panic rise suddenly.
'Scatter!' He yelled. 'Sheppard!'
John looked up and hoisted a few people aside, most of them following suit and moving out of the Darts path. It flew over head, extending the beam and taking two people. Ronon pushed them forward.
'Come on!' Rodney said forcefully. 'Let's go, I'd rather be having lunch right now than being lunch. Move!'
'Get through the Gate!' John roared as the Dart turned round for a final approach. Rodney and Teyla saw the last of the people through. Teyla escorted a pregnant woman through while Rodney waited, and watched a young girl fall to her knees. Sheppard and Ronon hadn't noticed, they were busying themselves with the rest of the frightened people. Rodney gritted his teeth and made a noise of frustration, bounding across to where she struggled to her feet.
'I hate this hero stuff.' He muttered. Sheppard frowned as Rodney ran past him in the wrong direction and turned to see him hoist a girl to her feet. He looked up and saw the Dart was almost on them.
'Rodney!' Sheppard shouted as the Scientist pushed the girl to the other side and then scrambled out of the way of the Wraith Dart's beam. The man yelled and hit the ground. Sheppard surged forward and grabbed the back of his jacket, shoving him forward toward the Gate before lifting the girl into his arms and running forward, dropping her to her feet and guiding her through.
He turned to Rodney and Ronon and looked out over the field. It was empty, and the Dart was still over head. Time to go.
'There.' Ronon stated.
Rodney and Sheppard followed his furrowed brow to the tree line and saw three figures moving forward at what seemed an incredibly slow pace. John glanced up. The Dart would definitely reach them before they could. He had a decision to make, and it had to be quick-
Ronon leapt past the DHD and toward the tree line and Sheppard stepped forward.
'Ronon!' Sheppard shouted.
'What is he doing?!' Rodney yelled.
Sheppard gave chase and yelled back. 'Get through and don't let them close the Gate.'
'While you what? Out run a space ship?' Rodney called incredulously.
The Satedan loped the distance in a short amount of time; he was close enough to bark a warning as the Dart swooped down on its prey. A woman and man were urging forward an older man who seemed reluctant to move forward. She looked up to the sky and started pulling them back, and with the mans eagerness to stay, they moved away quickly.
Ronon growled and ran faster. The Dart missed them by centre metres, dropping the beam too late. Ronon jumped out of the way and Sheppard rolled to the floor covering his head. He lay still for a moment as it passed and then looked up to see Ronon still running. He scowled at the ground as he stood.
'Guy needs a leash.' He muttered.
Ronon reached the struggling people and jogged to a halt in front of them as the man began putting up a massive fight in the attempt to get free.
'No! I cannot go! They might find it! We cannot allow them to desecrate-!' He yelled.
'Father, we must, we cannot stay! The Wraith are not interested in that, only in food!' The woman said desperately, clinging to his arm.
'Leave him.' Ronon stated.
The woman glared at him. 'He is my Father, I will not leave him to die!'
'Okay.' He said simply, snatching his gun from its holster and shooting the man in the chest. Sheppard arrived with a look of confusion as the woman went berserk.
'Ronon?' John frowned.
'Stunned.' He stated and moved forward to hoist the old man from the ground and lift him over his shoulder.
'Uh, let's go folks.' John said with a large fake smile.
Before the words left his mouth, a massive boom echoed throughout the sky, and the trees shuddered and then blew apart in a blast of white light. The force knocked them to the ground and tore apart the foliage around them; stone and bark flying everywhere with deadly velocity.
For a moment, darkness reigned. There was a constant ringing in his ears. He was sure that more shots were being fired, but they was so far away, like he was hearing it from under water. He could feel gentle vibrations under his hands and a dizzy sensation as his body shuddered under a force that didn't seem real.
John rolled to his front, the cuts on his arms and face stinging. He shook his head and spread his fingers through the dirt to steady himself, just as the noise and the urgency of their situation came rushing back with a merciless vengeance. He breathed through the dust in the air and stood with shaky legs, grabbing the arm nearest to him and hauling it up. John felt nauseas and reached for his head. The fingers came away bloody. The woman was dazed, and had her companions arm in a death grip as she looked at the destruction around her.
An angry cry of pain sounded and John turned. Ronon lay on the ground with a jagged piece of bark protruding from his thigh, blood trickling through his fingers as he clutched the wound with a look of agony and fury. The old man on the ground next to him lay still.
John glanced up before surging forward. 'Get him and get to the Gate.' He ordered the two strangers, who immediately picked up the unconscious man and dragged him toward the Gate. 'We gotta move buddy. Think you can?' He asked determinedly, desperately trying to ignore the painful throbbing in his head.
Ronon grunted. 'It's not like I want to stay here.'
'Yeah, all of a sudden, this planet doesn't seem so charming.' He said through clenched teeth as Ronon put his arm around his neck and clumsily got to his feet. John glanced down at the wound, it wasn't pretty and he knew it must hurt like a bitch. There was little blood, but John knew the moment he pulled it out, the blood would flow quickly. But could he run with it sticking out from his leg?
They had no time to discuss it as another blast landed to their left making them stumble. Sheppard hauled him forward. 'Time to go.'
Ronon and Sheppard crossed the field with difficulty; the pace was quick, but awkward. Ronon was in obvious pain and doing his best to suck it up and get back to Atlantis. He hopped painfully, using Sheppard as a support. He looked up at the sky as they drew nearer to the DHD.
Meanwhile, Rodney, Teyla and Weir waited on the other side of the Gate with impatience as the people around them cried and whimpered. Elizabeth shifted her weight and turned to Rodney with folded arms.
'Where are they?'
Rodney gave her an irritated and panicky look. 'They were chasing after some people heading toward the Gate; they should have been here by now. I don't know what could have happened, I mean there were a few darts in the area-'
Suddenly, three people stumbled through the Gate with looks of exhaustion and awe. Rodney and Teyla surged forward, helping them to place the unconscious man in between them on the floor.
'Where's Sheppard and Ronon?' Rodney demanded.
The woman looked up at him, breathing hard. 'Behind us.' She puffed.
Teyla stood and crossed over to the Gate with worry. The woman stood shakily.
'One of your friends was injured.' She stated.
They turned to her with shocked expressions and Teyla frowned. 'Which friend?' She asked hurriedly. Not that it mattered; either Ronon or Sheppard injured was a bad thing.
Without warning, rubble and dirt flew through the Gate and Teyla soared back with the force of the explosion on the other side.