Stargate Atlantis: S7—Do Not Go Gentle
Envy.
It colored his every thought, his every emotion and his every memory. How easier life had been before all of this. If he had never joined this mission; if he had never agreed to go to Atlantis and awakened the city; if he had never screwed up that rescue and been posted to Antarctica; if he had never gone riding bicycles with his friend Hugh that day and stayed with his mother…
Regret was a circle that would drive him mad if he allowed it. Instead he envied those whose lives seemed charmed. There were those who had never endured the losses that he had endured; those who had left all of the difficult decisions to him; those who were no doubt safe in Atlantis and not even bothering to look for him anyway. His so-called friends.
They had probably already found his replacement.
Everyone envied him. Colonel John Sheppard knew this; he could see it in their eyes and in their quiet, unspoken disparagement. They envied his astonishing good looks and quick wit and bravery. They always underestimated his intelligence and his complexity and that always bothered the hell out of him. Not that he let many in to see what was beneath the handsome exterior, but still, his so-called friends should have realized.
At least Moira did.
His friends had it so easy, compared to his duty and his job. They had no idea of the constant pressure he was under, had been under ever since he had first set foot in Atlantis. He sometimes wished he didn't have the ATA gene. Life might have been easier without it.
But it also would have been more boring, in some ways.
He wondered what his friends were doing now. At least they were safe. They probably weren't even looking for him.
No, that wasn't right. These thoughts weren't his own. His friends were loyal and no doubt trying to find him, searching the galaxy. With any luck Rodney would figure it out. Rodney would remember the coordinates and Moira would insist they rescue him. Ronon would realize the subterfuge and Teyla would find a way with her Wraith DNA to influence the queen. Rodney would realize the coordinates were in fact to a planet that had once
Careful, John, careful, you are losing control losing control you are slipping
Been a candidate for the new Alpha site but Elizabeth had said no it wasn't
Careful, John, guard your train of thought your train of thought will betray you
Suitable for the expedition and John had argued that the waves were spectacular and they should at the very least have an outpost there if not the city itself but now of course it
John, John, no guard your thoughts they will betray you John John stop this now stop stop this
Was the
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The pain ripped through John like his skull was on fire and he cried out in agony. He jerked on the bed and violently rolled, falling to the floor. He groaned and clawed the floor. The pressure was so intense he thought his head was going to explode and he forced his last thoughts, his very last thoughts into a happy, intimate memory of Moira beneath him as they
The pain ended. John collapsed to the floor. Tears blurred his vision and he just lay there, making certain he was still alive. Gingerly he touched his head. He realized that his deception had been discovered at last. That meant that they were circling the planet and somehow the queen had peeled away the last layers of his deception.
Perhaps rescue was imminent.
He fought to rise but his limbs were shaking. He just lay there on the floor, forcing his heart to stop hammering and his head to stop throbbing. Panic was a wave about to overtake him. If they had learned about his deception had they learned the true location of Atlantis? Had they learned about Moira?
Or would that be something yet to be tortured out of him?
He staggered to his feet and collapsed onto the bed again. He needed to be able to walk but he was as weak as a newborn kitten at the moment. He licked his dry lips and tried to focus on the ceiling, the walls and the motion of the ship. His breath came in ragged gasps as he fought to calm himself. He fought to control himself.
He fought to survive.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
"I don't believe this!"
"Keep your voice down!" Ronon Dex cautioned. The corridor was empty at the moment but that could change. Ronon kept a wary eye on the shadows and the walls. The grip on his gun was tight and he had set it to kill. Quickly he set the charges as Doctor Rodney McKay did the same across from him. The timer was primed and set for ten minutes.
Flying the Jumper had been easy. Entering the Dart bay a bit harder, but it was open as Darts flew past to scour the empty planet beneath them. Landing was a bit rough but Rodney figured John had landed ships much more awkwardly than this. At least he kept telling himself that.
Now the Jumper was parked and cloaked, invisible to all eyes. Rodney patted the remote control in his pocket for the tenth time, to be sure it was there. He was kneeling near a power source and setting up the bomb. He was oddly calm, as if he was just doing a routine job and set the naquaddah to overload.
As they made their way along the corridors the men and Moira Sheppard planted additional charges, just to be sure the whole Hive was blown to kingdom come and the threat was eliminated once and for all. All were set for ten minutes. Knowing the Tria was nearby was a comfort, but not much of one as the plan all hinged on them making it work and getting John out of the Hive first.
Moira prayed it would be enough time.
"I don't believe this," Rodney repeated in a whisper. He shook his head, eyeing the scanner as Ronon joined him. "He's not in any of the Hive cells. According to this I am tracking his subcutaneous device that way. Near the, the, the queen's chambers." Rodney's stammer betrayed his nervousness. He glanced at the blinking light of the C4 and quickly covered it with the vines of the ship.
"That doesn't make any sense. Are you sure you are reading that correctly?"
"Of course I am!"
"Boys!" Moira snapped, moving between the two men. "We need to make this quick! So far they don't know we are here! Go get John and get him to safety! I will distract the queen, and once Teyla distracts her I will join you."
"How will you distract her?" Ronon questioned angrily.
Moira didn't reply at first. Her hands were clasped at her stomach. "Trust me, I have something she will want, and it will distract her from John. Just get him to safety, please. This is our only chance to save him and to save Atlantis. We don't have much time." She eyed both men and then abruptly headed down a hallway.
Rodney shook his head. "I don't like this. If anything happens to her John will kill me. Let's go, Ronon. We have about ten minutes before we blow this place to kingdom come. Nine now but who's counting? Ronon? Ronon, let's go!"
Ronon was standing still, staring after Moira. He wondered what she had that could possibly distract the queen enough for her to forget about John. Finally he grunted and led Rodney down another hallway in the opposite direction.
The two men moved quickly, darting out of the way as a group of Wraith drones passed them. The masked figures were eerily silent. Rodney gestured and Ronon took the lead down yet another hallway. The ship was oddly quiet. Nevertheless Ronon moved cautiously, gun at the ready.
A few cocoons held hapless human victims, meals to be eaten later. They had to be ignored as they were not part of the mission. Nevertheless both men suppressed the guilt at passing by the prisoners in their haste to rescue their friend.
"Where?" Ronon whispered.
"There. Right there!" Rodney pointed. There was a doorway apart from the rest. A greenish bluish light cast shadows across it, making eerie figures on the door. There were no sounds. There were no voices. "I wonder why it isn't guarded?"
"Let's find out."
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Moira made her way down the hallways until two Wraith appeared around the corner. They hissed in alarm and surprise. Moira raised her empty hands, trying to downplay her alarm. "I need to see your queen now! I have information for her which she will find valuable!"
She heard footsteps and looked behind her to see more Wraith, drones now holding their weapons pointed at her.
It was a tense moment. They wanted to fire, but hesitated, awaiting orders from the more evolved Wraith. Moira licked her lips, nervous. She was glad she did not have a weapon on her. The less threatening she appeared the more likely they wouldn't react violently.
"How did you get onto our ship?" one Wraith asked. He was tall, even taller than Ronon and Moira was forced to look up and up to meet his gruesome face. He flexed his feeding hand in a not so subtle threat.
Moira met his hostile gaze. "I will only speak to the queen. She needs to hear what I have to say."
"How did you get onto our ship? How many are there?" There was some grumbling at the sudden and mysterious appearance of this human among them, seemingly out of thin air.
"If you want to find Atlantis take me to the queen," Moira retorted. It startled them, as she knew it would. One gestured. Moira felt a prodding at her back. She recognized the feel of a Wraith stunner. Silently she followed the two tall Wraith down the shadowy hallway.
She only hoped that her gamble would give the men time enough to rescue John.