Hey everyone, this is my first ever fanfic so please be gentle. I would love some reviews as I have absolutely no idea if I'm even off to a decent start.
Also, unfortunately I own nothing, wish I did though.
Cheers
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Sheppard, Ronan, Teyla and Rodney were trudging through the forest of the latest world they had been sent to visit. They were doing their usual recon mission, find out whether there were any people or villages who might be interested in setting up a trade agreement with. So far though, they had found no life signs on the planet. Still, the team had decided that it was worth a look around as Rodney had discovered some anomalies in his readings from his equipment and wanted to take a closer look.
Ronon stopped suddenly and held up a hand for silence, and the others immediately dropped to the ground. Ronon crept forward up the embankment ahead of them and looked over the edge towards the clearing that was in the distance. He froze as he saw a number of Wraith striding around. He sat watching them for a moment before slowly climbing back down to the team.
"There's at least 6 Wraith up ahead, but there's more around, I can feel it" Ronon murmured. "We can take them..." he started to say, but was interrupted by Sheppard.
"No, let's not get into a showdown when we have no idea how many of them we're up against. We'll circle around and try to head back to the gate. We'll see what our chances are of getting through without having to cut a path all the way back there starting with this lot."
Teyla nodded her agreement, "I think that is a wise decision. There is no need for us to take a greater risk than is necessary just yet."
Sheppard turned to lead them back down the path, signalling for them to stay silent at the same time. Suddenly there was a quickly indrawn breath behind him, followed by a deafening sneeze that seemed to echo in the silence that followed. He spun around to see Rodney slap a hand over his mouth looking horrified.
"Oh God I didn't mean to do that! It just came out!" Rodney looked quickly to Ronon who was already spinning back to the Wraith behind them and unsheathing his gun from his hip.
"Well I would say that leaving this place quietly is now out of the question. I suggest we prepare ourselves for a fight," said Teyla, raising her weapon as the Wraith came running down the track towards them.
The team took up positions behind the trees to provide themselves with some cover. Ronon was at the forefront with Teyla taking down as many Wraith as possible, however it soon became apparent that the Wraith had realised a head on attack was not in their best interest and were fanning out ahead of them to cover more ground.
Sheppard rolled out of the way of an oncoming blast and returned fire over the fallen log he was shielded behind. "We can't hold them off like this forever and we still have no idea how many of them there are!"
"We need to get out of here! Which way?" Rodney yelled back as a blast slammed into the ground a few feet to his left, sending dirt flying into the air.
Ronon and Teyla were being pushed back down the track towards Rodney and Sheppard, losing ground and allowing the Wraith to advance further.
"There's too many of them to make a run for it," yelled Sheppard. "We're just going to have to try and blast a way through, the gate is behind them."
"What are you crazy?" yelled Rodney. "You want us to just try blasting a path through?"
"You got a better idea McKay?" challenged Sheppard, returning fire and taking down another Wraith as it appeared from behind a tree a few feet ahead.
The Wraith numbers increased as more of them heard the sounds of battle, closing in the ranks ahead. A line of Wraith emerged in front of McKay and Sheppard. "Fall back!" Sheppard yelled to McKay.
Suddenly there was a rippling pulse of energy several feet wide that swept past Sheppard and McKay and slammed into the oncoming Wraith. They were lifted off their feet and hurled backwards. A similar pulse swept over the heads of Teyla and Ronon, colliding with the several Wraith pinning them down with their weapons fire, slamming them into the tree trunks with a sickening crack.
The team looked behind them to find a young woman standing in the middle of the path, her arms stretched out in front of her and her hands held up in 'stop' motion. "Follow me," she called, before a ripple seemed to go through her and another pulse was blasted from her outstretched palms, smashing into the Wraith again.
She whirled around and started to run down the track, throwing a quick look over her shoulder to ensure that the team from Atlantis was following. Sheppard shared a quick look with Ronon before leaping to his feet and taking off after the young woman, the rest of the team on his heels.
A couple of turns later the woman slowed to a walk and led them off the path and into the surrounding forest, motioning for them to be quiet. She cocked her head and listened, her eyes closed for a brief moment before opening them and finally turning her attention to the four people standing in front of her.
"That was quite close there for a moment, I almost thought we weren't going to make it," she said.
"Well I'm not sure we would have if it weren't for your help," replied Sheppard. "Who are you and how did you do that?"
"My name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cassie. I come from an ancient line of people known as the Morokai. My ancestors were the guardians of my people because we had certain abilities, like you just saw. Some call us witches, but we've never meant innocent people any harm, we only protect them."
Teyla stepped forward, "I have heard of the Morokai, but I believed they were wiped out many years ago by the Wraith in a culling of their planet."
"That's right, I'm the last of my people," Cassie replied, a look of sadness passing over her features.
"I am sorry for your loss," replied Teyla. She paused for a moment before said, "My name is Teyla Emmagan, this is Dr Rodney McKay, Lt. Col. John Sheppard, and Ronon Dex. Thank you very much for your assistance in our fight back there."
"Yes, yes, thanks for the help but I believe we have bigger problems here," interrupted Rodney, "Does anyone know how we're going to get back to the Stargate?"
Cassie frowned for a moment, "The what?"
"The ring built by the Ancients that allows travel between planets," explained Teyla.
Cassie frown disappeared and she nodded, "Oh right, my people called it the Traveller's Ring. Follow me."
Cassie turned and started walking deeper into the forest, Sheppard falling into step beside her. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Not at all," she replied, "so long as I can ask you some in return?"
Sheppard nodded. "What are you doing on this planet?"
"I travel from world to world, helping people where I can, killing Wraith when I can. After my own world was destroyed by the Wraith, I didn't see reason to stay there any longer on my own. My family has always protected the innocent, and I made a promise to myself that I'd continue that calling, even if I couldn't protect my own people. I travelled to this planet to see what was here, see if I could offer any help. I just try to keep moving." Cassie spoke quietly as she walked.
"And so what will you do now that there's no-one here?" asked Sheppard.
"Move onto the next planet I guess. There's too many Wraith here for me to take on, even with the help of you and your team. I try to do what I can, but there's only so much a person can do on their own." There was a moment of silence as Sheppard thought about this.
"I think it's my turn to ask some questions now, right?" Cassie asked with a smile. Sheppard looked up and nodded, smiling in return.
"Can I ask where you and your people come from?"
"We're from a city called Atlantis. It's an abandoned city built by the Ancients that we rediscovered a few years ago. We do a lot of the same work that you do, travel from planet to planet, looking for chances to trade and learn more about the planets and their people. We also offer medical help, military training, relocation and protection for those fighting the Wraith. And of course, we fight the Wraith wherever possible."
Cassie looked over at him, "And that's what you're doing here? Looking for trading opportunities?"
"Exactly," he replied.
Cassie nodded before slowing to a halt and turning to face the rest of the team. "Just behind these trees is the Traveller's Ring. We'll need to be quiet from here. I'll scout ahead and see how many Wraith are guarding the Ring."
Ronon stepped forward and looked her square in the eye, "I'll go with you." From the look he was giving her and set of his shoulders, it was clear that he had no intention of being left behind and so Cassie nodded and stepped aside for him to lead the way.
They crept between the trees and crouched behind a group of rocks to view the Wraith ahead. It appeared that only 3 Wraith were in the immediate area and so they quietly crept back to the others.
"Only 3 that we could see," muttered Ronon to the rest of the team.
Sheppard nodded, "Ok, Ronon, Teyla and I can take out the Wraith. McKay you get to the controls and dial the DHD."
"What of Cassie?" asked Teyla.
"I'll cover Dr McKay while he dials the Ring. Then you'll all be able to get through quickly before anymore Wraith show up."
John hesitated for a moment and looked across to Ronon. An unspoken conversation seemed to pass between them before Ronon shrugged and Sheppard turned back to Cassie. "Come with us, back to Atlantis."
Cassie looked shocked for a moment, "What?"
"You said it yourself that there's only so much that one person can do on their own. We have a huge amount of resources at our disposal and someone with your particular skills could be a great asset to our fight against the Wraith. You could do a lot more with our help than you could alone."
Cassie hesitated, "Look, I appreciate the offer but..."
Teyla spoke up, "Perhaps it would be preferable for you to visit Atlantis and see some of the work that we do. You could make up your mind once you have had a chance to look around? You would be a most welcome addition to Atlantis."
Rodney looked scandalised, "What are you kidding me? You just want to bring some random stranger back to Atlantis? Elizabeth is going to have you court marshalled!"
"Ah save it Rodney, we can't leave her here. There's Wraith everywhere and she has nowhere else to go. Plus you saw what she can do, I'd have thought you wouldn't be able to wait to question her!" Sheppard gave Rodney a pointed look. Rodney opened his mouth to argue but paused when he realised Sheppard was actually spot on. He snapped his mouth shut and gave a nod.
"All right then. So what do you say?" Sheppard asked Cassie.
She looked up at the team, before locking eyes with Ronon. He looked her straight in the eye and she slowly nodded her consent.
"Well alright then. Let's get a move on, I don't want more of those Wraith showing up before we have a chance to dial the gate," said Sheppard.
Everyone moved forward, Ronon and Sheppard in the lead, Teyla close behind them, followed by Cassie and Rodney.
The three Wraith were dispatched with deadly accuracy and speed, failing to fire off even a single blast. Rodney quickly dialled the gate and ran up the steps and marched straight through, Teyla right behind him. Cassie followed Ronon as Sheppard stepped through ahead of them, but hesitated before walking through herself.
Ronon looked at her, "It'll be ok."
And with those three words, she stepped through the gate by his side.
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Please review everyone! Thanks!