Stargate Atlantis -:- One False Move
Summary: Sheppard and his team find themselves in a precarious situation after a Puddle Jumper crash sends them over the edge. With everyone injured and no way to call for help the team are trapped, and one false move can end it all. Team-fic, all-around whumpage.
Set: Season Two…ish
Genre/Rating: Suspense/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship, T to be safe
Disclaimer: No ownership here.
Author's Notes: I know this isn't the fic I plugged at the end of 'Kallipolis', but I'm really superstitious and 'The Collective' is a hard fic (that's still stuck in the planning stage) that I just couldn't allow to be my 13th fic. Instead this little total-disaster one-shot gets that privilege instead.
Enjoy!
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard loved the view from the East pier of Atlantis. Okay, so it was pretty much just the same ocean that you could see from anywhere else in the city; but still there was something about the quiet, remoteness of the spot that made that pier different. As the night began to fall the sky turned a strange shade of burnt orange, native to just their planet, a unique sight that he never would've witnessed if he hadn't of come.
The temperature dropped suddenly, another quirk of Lantea, and John found himself wishing he had his jacket. He couldn't remember why he didn't – he usually brought it when he came to sit out here, knowing the change came quickly. He had had it in the puddle jumper when they had left
What puddle jumper? He thought suddenly. Left where? He was confused for a moment, a dull ache beginning to form behind his right temple. But then it was gone, and it was just him alone on the East pier.
"There you are," John looked up to see Teyla approaching. Beyond her shoulder he could see Rodney and Ronon too. "We have been calling you."
John furrowed his brow, and then put a hand to his earwig. It was still there, but when he tapped it he didn't even get a hiss of static. "Huh, my radio must be broken."
Teyla came and sat beside him, swinging her legs over the edge, the gentle waves sending light spray over her booted toes. Ronon remained standing while Rodney flumped down on John's other side, leaning his back against a bollard. "Probably got damaged in the crash."
What crash? The headache came back with a vengeance, pressure building behind his eyes.
"Yes, it was quite a miracle that we managed to get out of there alive." Teyla agreed. She sounded a little robotic, her voice not having its usual melodic quality. She stared straight ahead, her eyes not seeing the beauty of the sunset.
"I still can't believe Sheppard managed to crash another jumper though," Rodney spoke straight over John's head, addressing Ronon. "He says he can fly anything, and yet he still manages to nearly get us all killed. We shouldn't trust him in future; a flight with Sheppard is just dangerous."
"You can be our pilot from now on," Ronon replied. John felt like he was invisible, a fly on the wall of a conversation he never wanted to hear. Guilt built up in his gut as the pain in his head grew to new heights. It was becoming difficult to breathe. This is my fault. He knew that, but he just didn't know what was his fault. "Even you could crash land better than him."
John found his voice, but it came out as a hoarse whisper, every syllable a struggle. "What crash?"
"You do not remember, John?" Teyla asked, slowly turning her head away from the grey sunset to settle her eyes on him. Rodney made a 'typical' like noise from over his shoulder. Why was the sunset grey? "I guess you did receive a rather nasty head injury."
Rodney snorted; another pair of accusatory eyes boring into him. John could feel Ronon staring at the back of his head. The pain was becoming unbearable, but the guilt was worse. Rodney continued sarcastically "Practically slept through the whole thing. You claim to be our team leader, but when we really need you, you take a power nap on the windshield. Maybe you should wake up already."
"I d-don't understand." John tried to stand, to get away from them, but the second he found his feet the world tilted sideways. He ended up on his stomach, head tilted to one side so that he could see the waves crashing against the pier below. Something warm and wet tickled the side of his face.
"What's not to understand? You got us into this! Wake the hell up!" Rodney was standing over him, anger etched on his face. Teyla and Ronon hovered over him too. "Wake up Sheppard!"
Then John found himself lying on thin air. The cold metal of the pier was replaced with reinforced glass. The waves below melted into rocks. The sound of the ocean was swapped with the aching creak of buckled metal. He let out a groan that turned into a gasp, pain spiking through his ribs.
"I-I think he's wa-waking up!"
"That is good Rodney. I am coming down to check on you both. Ronon are you ready to counterbalance?"
"Wa-wait! Wait! We tried this already! Th-the extra we-weight will s-send us plummeting again."
"Rodney, it is okay. That fall has put us in a better position. The shape of the chasm has made a more secure and central fulcrum. Ronon will be able to balance my extra weight; we may even be able to get the jumper more level. Trust me, Rodney."
"I do, I re-really do, but it hurt last time Teyla. It re-really hurt. I d-don't think I can d-do it again…"
"It is going to be alright Rodney. See if you can brace yourself a little better. Ronon, I am going to start climbing down."
John heard the conversation, but it didn't make any sense. Keywords like 'counterbalance', 'fulcrum' and 'jumper' painted a picture of a jumper-shaped see-saw, but he couldn't figure out how such a thing was possible. How had this happened? When had this happened? Was it even real?
The pain was real, he knew that much. His entire right side felt like it was on fire, each breath adding more fuel to the flames. He couldn't feel his left leg, which was pretty worrying, and his right arm was yanked at an awkward angle behind him. But none of that compared to the pain in his head. It was like a full brass band was going all out with some atonal tune, the drummer purposely bashing on the back of his right eye in rhythm with his heart. When he had opened his eyes the darkened interior of the jumper had been like a flashlight, sending the band into a frenzy. The strange upside down view of the rocks below coupled with the subtle sway of the jumper was making him dizzy, his stomach threatening to empty its meagre contents. What the hell had happened?
"I am halfway Ronon, I can almost reach Rodney. Just another metre or so."
An ominous creak rumbled throughout the Ancient craft as it shifted slightly. John found his view of the rocks below morphing slightly, the walls of a cliff becoming visible.
"Half a metre, now. Two more steps."
John let out another groan as the jumper lurched sharply. The movement had rolled him off of the windshield and onto his back, pain doubling all over.
"Ca-careful Teyla!"
"I am sorry, but I have to do this in order to reach you. Just one more step."
The jumper dropped suddenly, rock scraping the metal hull. It caught again maybe 8 or so metres down, but the rocks of the faces of the chasm were looser there. Dull thuds sounded across the craft as smaller rocks rained down from above. The increased weight was the straw that broke the camel's back. With another horrifying creak the jumper was pushed from its resting place.
They were lost in free fall, plummeting towards the rocks below.
Two Hours Earlier
"Well that was a giant waste of my time."
John threw Rodney a look, and then returned his concentration to the Jumper's controls. Rodney apparently missed it completely and continued regardless.
"Who knew that such a primitive tribe of people who haven't even made it to the renaissance stage of development would be so completely lacking in anything useful in terms of technical advancement or, for that matter, decent trade? Oh wait. I did. I told you, I told Elizabeth, I'm pretty sure I even told Chuck that this trip was about as pointless as a butter knife, but still we just had to go didn't we?"
"Yes Rodney, we did. Do you know why?" John asked without looking away from the windshield. "Because Elizabeth told us to. You know her right? Dr. Weir? The leader of the expedition and as such the maker of all decisions?"
Rodney had been complaining about the trip to Belline since the moment it had been suggested – two days ago. The rants had gotten even more grating once they went through the Stargate the day before, and had practically doubled in frequency as soon as they had a visual on the small village. It was a tribal community completely cut off from the planet's Stargate by a huge mountain range that spanned half the globe. As such, they weren't exactly familiar with strangers and hadn't even heard of the Ancestral Ring. The Bellinese people hadn't trusted them at all, and it became clear pretty quickly that there was nothing for the Lanteans there.
The ride back in the jumper had been unbearable. Apparently saying 'I told you so' once wasn't enough for the rather smug astrophysicist.
"I am well aware of who Elizabeth is, Colonel, so if you could stop talking to the man with several PhDs like he's a kindergartener…"
"Maybe when you stop acting like one…"
"Boys, please." Teyla, ever the voice of reason, interrupted. Today her patience had outlived John's, and he felt a little embarrassed that he'd let his temper slip. "I know everyone is a little tense right now, but let's not fight."
John nodded, and even managed to bite his tongue when Rodney had to have the last word. "Fine. Just wanted to point it out so that maybe someone will listen to me next time."
The jumper fell into an awkward silence. John briefly wondered how Ronon had managed to keep his own short fuse in check when he himself hadn't, then realised that the Satedan had disappeared into the rear section of the craft without his noticing. Apparently by putting as much distance as physically possible between himself and the scientist he had kept the temptation to deck him at bay.
John continued to pilot the jumper around some of the higher peaks of the impressive mountain range. He had never seen anything like it, not even on some of the stranger planets of the Pegasus galaxy. It wasn't a thin line that divided two tectonic plates, but several ranges lined up next to each other as if the surface of the planet had literally been pleated, folds of rock forming in rows side by side. He couldn't even think of what could cause such a range.
A loud bleep came from the tablet PC Rodney was working on. John gave the scientist a quick cursory glance, and then had to double take at his wide-eyed expression. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure…" Rodney began tapping fervently at the touch screen, the sudden change in tension drawing the attention of the rest of the team. Ronon came to stand in the space where the bulkhead doors would be when closed as Teyla leaned forward in her seat. "There's some kind of energy reading…wait…John! Watch out!"
Well-honed pilots' instinct saved them from the first attack. John threw the craft hard to the left, banking her in a turn tight enough to pancake them all with G-force if it hadn't of been for the inertial dampeners. He then had to avoid a mountain peak that seemed to come out of nowhere, pushing the jumper into a steep climb.
"What the hell was that?" John yelled. He levelled off the craft while calling up the HUD, trying to figure out what just happened.
"It's some kind of beam weapon," Rodney explained, still working at the computer. "But there were no energy readings until seconds before it fired. It must be shielded somehow. I'm trying to figure out where it came from but I didn't have time to get a trace…wait, there it is again…its firing!"
The second shot grazed the side of the craft, missing the right drive pod by inches. The force of the hit sent the jumper sideways and downwards, and John had to fight for control of the totally un-aerodynamic descent. He managed to get the craft to move in the right direction as another mountain peak loomed in the windshield. He pushed her into another climb, but didn't gain enough height, the point of the mountain scraping the bottom of the hull.
That ruined John's master plan to escape and evade. He had hoped to get the craft to break the planet's atmosphere and get out of the weapon's range, but he couldn't do that if the craft's hull integrity was compromised. Without knowing the extent of the damage he couldn't risk testing it in the vacuum of space. Instead he decided to go low, expertly navigating the jumper close to the rising peaks.
"How far to the gate?" Teyla asked. She directed the question at Rodney, not wanting to distract John as he dodged round the rock formations as they materialised in front of them.
"At least another twenty minutes, and we won't clear the mountains for another five at least," Rodney replied as he translated the figures on the HUD before returning his attention to his computer. "And I still can't get a fix on where this thing is firing from…it's like it's moving; but something that powerful would have to be big so it can't be that manoeuvrable. John! It's firing again!"
Third times the charm. This time the weapon's beam hit home, completely severing the left drive pod from the craft. John attempted to compensate and adjust the right drive pod, but without the left to balance the steering the jumper was sent careening out of control. He tried to pilot the craft into some sort of co-ordinated crash landing, but the jumper's controls were lifeless. Warning messages flashed up on the HUD before that too flickered out of life.
Without a topographical map to go by, John scanned the landscape through the windshield, trying to found somewhere to 'land'. But they were in the middle of the largest mountain range ever, and nowhere near close enough to anything resembling flat ground.
"This is not going to end well."
John muttered to himself, for some strange reason completely calm. Everything was going to hell, but they would be even more screwed if he chose that moment to panic. At speed, the jumper spinning due to its one drive pod, John spotted a relatively flat spot within their path. Wrestling with what little control he had left over the craft, he semi-steered her toward the make-shift landing pad.
Through some miracle, they hit the ground at a shallow enough angle to skim along on the belly of the craft. But then the extended right drive pod caught on an outcrop of rock, spinning the craft as momentum continued throwing them forwards. Now running sideways, the craft was thrown airborne again by uneven ground. It hit the rock again, but the craft just kept moving, rolling along like a barrel. And then it was swallowed by a fissure in the mountain, disappearing down a jumper-sized gap.
The jumper dropped down into the chasm, but caught halfway on the rough walls. It teetered precariously, the heavier nose of the craft lower than the rear.
One false move and the jumper would complete its descent.
The first thing he was aware of was the pain.
It blossomed in his jaw sending spikes of agony into his skull and the base of his neck. His cheek throbbed and he couldn't open his left eye from the swelling. The good news was that it wasn't bleeding, just bruised and most likely broken. It was a good thing that he had landed on his side otherwise he would have choked on the few molars that the impact had shaken loose. His shoulder hurt too; he recognised that it was dislocated from the amount of times he had had to set it straight himself. All things considered; he was damn lucky.
Ronon spat out his bloodied teeth, groaning slightly from the movement of his now-definitely-broken jaw, and pushed himself semi-upright. He froze when the jumper moved beneath him with a warning creak.
The crash had thrown him back into the rear of the jumper. The floor he was lying on was actually the ceiling, and was tilted to an almost vertical angle. His dislocated arm and left leg had caught in the netting of the overhead storage, preventing him from falling along with the supplies that had come loose. Cautiously he turned to look down through the windshield.
It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights.
Ronon rolled carefully onto his back, switching out his injured arm with his stronger right one to hold onto the storage netting. The jumper continued to creak, but his movement barely swayed the trapped craft. Now more secure, he took stock of their situation.
He appeared to be the only one conscious; but with his broken jaw he couldn't call out to make sure. From his distance he could just see Sheppard sprawled against the windshield, but his back was to Ronon so he couldn't see how badly hurt he was. Rodney was nearby, further up the ceiling, but Ronon couldn't see what was keeping the man from sliding down. He had to angle himself over to the right to get a view of Teyla; she was tucked in the rear corner of the front section, blocked from sight by the dividing wall. She appeared to be pinned by her own chair that had broken during the crash.
Ronon cursed his helplessness. With his weight he knew he couldn't risk moving any lower into the craft; he was pretty sure that the fact that he was in the back was the only reason the jumper hadn't fully tipped. He couldn't even call out to try and wake the others; effectively he was paralysed and mute. All he could do…was nothing. He hated doing nothing.
It was at least ten minutes, although it felt like a lot longer, before Teyla woke with a pained moan. Ronon pulled himself into a seated position to try and catch her attention.
The craft teetered dangerously as she shifted in confusion. Ronon wanted to tell her not to move, but all he managed was a strangled mumble that barely registered as human. Teyla blinked in the direction of the noise, finally seeing him. "Ronon?"
The Satedan nodded. He tried to communicate with another gesture, but his free arm was injured and refused to co-operate. Instead he jerked his head toward the windshield. He watched as Teyla's eyes widened, realisation dawning. The next time she moved she was clearly more cautious.
As it turned out, the chair that pinned her had actually saved her life. When the craft had begun its death roll the chair had broken free, trapping Teyla against the ceiling while everything else had been spun like a washing machine. It was wedged between the wall and the roof at an almost perfect 45 degree angle. Slowly and carefully she managed to wriggle out from underneath. Free, she gripped the wall between the two compartments to remain 'upright'. "Ronon, are you badly hurt?"
She had figured already that she wouldn't receive a vocal answer, but she needed to know anyway. Ronon shook his head; he would probably say no even if he were on the brink of death, but from what she could see he appeared to be telling the truth. He jerked his chin at her in a 'what about you?' gesture.
"I am fine as well," she contemplated lying about her injuries, but then decided that honesty was probably best. "I hit my head rather hard, but it appears to be only a minor concussion. My ribs are also badly bruised, as are my arms and legs. But nothing is broken thankfully."
Ronon nodded. It really was amazing that the pair of them had gotten off so lightly. He had only the barest of memories of the actual crash, but he knew it to have been pretty spectacular. He indicated the other two with a nod and a grunt.
Teyla got the message. From her slightly closer position she could see Rodney clearly, but John was at such an angle that she could only see the back of his head and shoulders. They were still both unconscious. "Rodney? John? Can you hear me?"
Rodney gave a flicker of movement; as if he had winced from the terrible assault of her voice. Teyla took a step toward him, but halted when the jumper tilted slightly. The scientist had a cut in his left eyebrow, the blood trickling over the closed lid. His breathing was coming out in quiet, laboured gasps. Now that she was closer, Teyla could see why. Some piece of shrapnel that she couldn't identify protruded from his right side, the bloodied tip poking out through his jacket. Teyla threw a look at Ronon over her shoulder, her eyes reporting her worry.
"Rodney? Dr. McKay?" she tried. Once again he shuddered slightly. She wanted to go to his side, but knew that doing so may very well kill them all. Her eyes strayed to the windshield and the horrifying drop to the rocks below. "Come on, Rodney, wake up."
"T-Tey-l-la?"
"That is right, Rodney, I am here," Teyla replied to the barely audible groan. She watched, helpless from a distance, as he blinked painfully. "That is it, open your eyes. Come on, Rodney."
"Wh-whathappened?" he slurred into one word. He tilted his head to one side, and saw through the windshield. Suddenly he jerked in surprise; letting out a cry when the movement pulled at his impaled side. The jumper rocked treacherously. Rodney froze.
"Be still, Rodney!" Teyla admonished. Her voice managed to get him to drag his eyes away from the rocks and look at her. He looked petrified, his face pale from fear as well as blood loss. "The jumper was attacked by some strange weapon and this is where we crashed. I need you to stay calm and still. Ronon and I are here," she reassured the scientist gently. "Now can you tell me your injuries?"
Rodney nodded slowly, Teyla's words prompting his memory. He remembered the crash; remembered feeling strangely suspended as the jumper rolled around him. Then he had gotten snagged on something, pain had bloomed in his stomach, and then everything had gone dark. Realising this, he made the mistake of letting his eyes stray down to the wound. Panic enveloped him again when he saw the blood stained point of the glass light fitting that currently anchored him to the ceiling of the jumper. "Ohgod-ohmigod-ohholycrap-ohshit-ohgod-ohcrap!"
"Rodney!" Teyla called to interrupt the panicked spiel. Rodney blinked in surprise, once again looking back at her. She gave him a half smile to try and lighten the moment and soothe him. "I thought I told you to stay calm."
"R-right," Rodney gave another nod, a little more confident now. "I'm-I'm okay, other than the sharp thing impaling me right now."
"Is it bleeding badly?"
Rodney looked again, just about squishing the terror of his haemophobia before it threatened to send him into another nonsensical tirade. "Er…no. I-I think the shrapnel is st-stopping it."
"Good, that is good," Teyla continued in her soothing voice. Honestly, she didn't think that anything about their current situation was 'good'. They were trapped in a teetering jumper, suspended above certain death by the sides of the chasm. The slightest movement would send them plummeting. The constant tension was fraying her nerves as she fought every impulse to run over to her injured friends. And John had still not woken up. "Rodney, can you reach John?"
Teyla gripped the dividing wall tight enough to turn her knuckles white as she watched Rodney stretch toward John. Ronon had leaned forward as much as possible without unbalancing the craft. They both despised the helplessness that their predicament had forced them in to. They had been forced to wait until then to find out if John was even alive and though neither had been able to voice their worry, they both waited with bated breath.
Rodney's hand fell short of the back of John's head with a pained grunt. "I-I can't reach. Th-there's a lot of blood…but I th-think he's breathing!"
Teyla let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Ronon gave a sort of relieved grumble. They were all alive. For now.
Ronon seemed to be thinking the same thing. He made a low noise, catching her attention, and then gave a half-shrug in a 'what now?' gesture. Teyla glanced back at Rodney who was also looking at her expectantly. It seemed that without John, she was the one to make the decisions. Her eyes trailed to his still body next, praying that he would wake up and tell her what to do. When he stubbornly refused to do so, she took a deep breath and tried to organise her thoughts.
"We need to call for help." That seemed like the most important thing. She didn't really see how they could get themselves out of this. They were trapped, too far down to climb up; too far up to climb down. Even moving within the jumper was unwise. "Rodney, can we radio Atlantis?"
McKay threw her a look that said it all. That didn't stop him vocalising the answer as well though. "From what I can see of th-the controls from down here…everything's b-busted. No sub-space radio, n-no DHD to dial the gate…th-though I doubt we're even close enough t-to dial it anyway. Our r-radios might work sh-short range, but th-that doesn't help us."
So as well as being trapped, they couldn't call for help either. Teyla felt the weight on her shoulders increase as the situation became even more impossible. She needed John to wake up and come up with one of his quirky plans that somehow managed to always get them home. She shook her head. She was the leader of her people; when had she begun relying on John's guidance like this? Could she no longer lead herself?
"Alright," she muttered after a moment of silence. She tried to ignore the eyes looking to her to make the decisions. To find a way to get them all home. She checked her watch, and almost smiled at the first stroke of good fortune they'd had. "We were due back at Atlantis ten minutes ago; they will be getting suspicious by now. When we do not check-in in twenty minutes they will send another jumper. In an hour rescue will come."
"And h-how will they find us?" Rodney just had to burst her bubble. She looked over at him, believing the answer to be obvious. The rescue jumper would have a life signs detector like theirs, they would be found easily – the difficult part would be the actual rescue. "The weapon that sh-shot us down, it was sh-shielded from our s-sensors. It's likely that we are n-now too."
"So they will not be able to find us?" Teyla asked. She should have known that it couldn't be that easy.
Rodney gave an awkward shrug, and then winced at the pain from his injury. "I don't kn-know. Without a computer I'm just g-guessing; but s-something had to be sh-shielding the thing."
"Let's not give up hope," Teyla decided firmly. "Rescue will definitely come in an hour; maybe we will be able to communicate with our radios when they are in range. For now, let us just focus on keeping calm and positive."
Rodney looked from Teyla to the back of John's head. He had been keeping an eye on his friend's breathing, counting the rise and fall of his chest, reassured by the proof of life. It pained him to be so close and yet too far to help. "While we watch Sheppard slowly bleed to death?"
Teyla flinched at the irritation in Rodney's voice. Ronon made another grunt-like sound. They had to do something. They had at least an hour before rescue came; she doubted John or possibly even Rodney would last that long. But what could she do? They were dangerously close to plummeting to their deaths if she climbed over to them. Even her slight weight would over-balance the craft, unless…
"I have an idea."
Once again, Ronon and Rodney both fixed an expectant gaze upon her, but this time she didn't squirm. Sure, she felt the pressure just as surely as she felt the aches and pains of her bruised body; but now she also felt proactive.
"I think I can make it to you and John if Ronon counterbalances my weight by climbing up the rear compartment," she looked excitedly at Ronon, who had his head tilted slightly as he thought it over. She watched as he calculated his chances of climbing up the storage netting one-handed, and then he looked back at her. He nodded. "We are going to have to do this very slowly, one step at a time."
"Are y-you sure about th-this?" Rodney asked uncertainly. She could imagine him running his own calculations in his head.
Teyla nodded firmly, retrieving a first aid kit that had gotten caught on the dividing wall nearby. "You said so yourself; you and John need help. We may not be able to get out, but at the very least we are going to survive until the rescue comes. Ready Ronon?"
She slung the kit over her shoulder, freeing up her hands as Ronon gave a grunt of assent. She gave Rodney a reassuring smile, but it didn't seem to work as well as it had before at soothing him. She could see that he was completely tense, his head purposely turned away from the view through the windshield. "First step."
Ronon hooked his foot in one of the netting's rings and pushed off at Teyla's word. He had barely moved half a metre as he slid up the ceiling. He grabbed hold of the rope slightly higher up, and then looked down. Teyla was a step closer to the others, and the jumper had barely moved.
"So far, so good," she narrated; partly to keep in sync with Ronon, partly to ease the tension. She was well aware of what a mistake now would cost them. "Second step."
Once again, Ronon pushed higher into the rear of the jumper and Teyla took another tentative step. This time the craft made a hideous creaking sound as it wobbled unsteadily. The nose lifted slightly, making Ronon's next climb a little easier. He was halfway up the compartment just as Teyla took her fifth step. But then it went horribly wrong.
There was no warning. The jumper simply dropped.
Rodney felt completely weightless. As the jumper fell he rose barely an inch above the ceiling; his stomach flip-flopping as if he were on a rollercoaster rocketing downwards. There was a silence as well, the shock of the sudden descent deafening him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and yelled. He couldn't hear his own voice, but the release made him a feel a little better.
Of all the ways to die, he had never considered being trapped in a jumper plummeting to the bottom of a mountain chasm a viable option. And why did it have to be heights? Ever since Jeanie had dared him to go on that damned ride with her when they were kids he had been afraid of heights. He remembered her laughing hysterically at him as he had staggered off at the end, struggling to keep down the cotton candy he had made the mistake of eating.
That better not be my last thought.
The jumper fell for what felt like forever, as if some cruel deity was purposely prolonging the torture. Rodney found himself wishing for the splat and finally the end of the petrifying free-fall.
His terrified scream was cut off with a sudden crunch. He was slammed back into the ceiling, pain ripping through his stomach as the impact jarred the wound, making him cry out in agony instead of fear. Eventually the pain dulled back to the throbbing ache of before, his cries melting into whimpers. He managed to slow his panicked breathing, and carefully opened his eyes.
I'm not dead.
Rodney smiled. Obviously the pain, blood loss and multiple near death experiences were messing with his brain chemistry as the smile then bubbled into a hysterical giggle. "I'm not dead!" he said aloud. When no one responded to his happy declaration the laugh died in his throat. "T-Teyla? R-Ronon?"
When neither of the previously conscious people replied, Rodney turned to his last hope. "…John?"
He was alone. They were all gone, leaving just him alone, trapped and immobile in the godforsaken jumper. He looked out the windshield and his heart fell even lower – if that were possible. He was still trapped miles above the ground, the rocks below casually waiting for him like a predator circling a tree trunk, just waiting for him to fall out. Rodney panicked, resolving to respond to certain doom in his certain way.
John was in his eye-line, so the hopefully-unconscious pilot received the brunt of the tirade. "I-I told you we sh-shouldn't have come to th-this backwater pl-planet, Sh-Sheppard. Nothing h-here of any use…a wa-waste of my t-t-time…" Rodney paused, jamming his eyes shut when he felt tears beginning to form. He may be in a totally hopeless situation, completely alone and helpless, but he still had his pride, and he'd be damned if he was going to cry. He got angry instead.
"I c-can't believe you crashed another j-jumper," he continued, the accusation falling on deaf ears. "You s-say you can fl-fly anything, yet you st-still manage crash more j-jumpers than any other p-pilot on Atlantis. You'd th-think you'd be good at it by n-now; I mean, you call this a cr-crash landing? S-surely you could have pulled off s-some st-stunt that got us down with a little more gr-grace? Maybe get us on th-the actual ground?"
Rodney was well aware that he was talking complete bull; he didn't mean a word of it, but he kept going anyway. If the pilot had been conscious he would have come up with a comeback by now, and they would get caught up in some pointless argument that neither would take to heart. Rodney really wanted John to insult him right then – anything to take away the loneliness.
"We're in m-mortal danger and you're gonna sl-sleep through the whole th-thing?" Rodney tried a different tack. Apparently it was rather difficult to rile up an unconscious person who couldn't even hear you. "Y-you call yourself our t-team leader, but when we really need y-you, you take a p-power nap on the windsh-shield?" Rodney sighed in frustration, taking the wind out of his sails. His anger deflated back into worry, the rant not having the right effect on his panic. "Don't you th-think you should wake up now? Pl-please?"
John stirred slightly; the movement so subtle that Rodney almost mistook it for a shift in the jumper. And suddenly he was full of hope. Maybe he wasn't alone after all. "Sh-Sheppard? Are you…are you waking up?"
"Rodney?"
McKay blinked, briefly confused by the feminine voice before he realised it was coming from the other side of the jumper. Finally Teyla came into view, carefully dragging herself onto her feet, a fresh cut along her hairline explaining her previous silence. Rodney felt the giddy giggle build up again at the promise that he was no longer alone; thankfully for his dignity, he managed to swallow it. "Teyla, th-thank God."
"Are you alright?" The Athosian asked as her eyes scoped out their new situation. She noted that her movement was barely moving the jumper at all, reassuring her that they seemed to be in a more secure position.
"No w-worse than before," Rodney replied, although he could feel fresh, warm blood soaking through his t-shirt. His panic must have induced some adrenaline that prevented him from noticing it up until then, but now he realised that the impact had torn a wider hole around the impaled object. But as far as he was concerned, that didn't matter. He was no longer alone.
Rodney blinked. His brain chemistry must be really screwed for the serious injury to 'not matter'.
Teyla gave him a nod, and then looked up into the rear compartment. "Ronon? Are you alright? Ronon?" She received a pained grunt in reply. She could just make out his large form still tangled in the storage netting in the shadows of the jumper. It appeared that the drop had jarred his already fragile jaw, the pain momentarily causing him to black out. Satisfied, she turned back to Rodney. "Is John…?"
"He's st-still alive," Rodney answered, understanding the difficulty of the question. He turned away from her to face him, looking for the movement he had seen earlier, but John had fallen still again. Rodney felt the anger come back a little. He needed John to wake up; he knew the man was naturally lazy, but this was taking the mick. "Come on Sh-Sheppard…you got us into this. Wake the…hell up already!"
"Rodney!" Teyla scolded, a note of shock in her voice at Rodney's words. It was probably a good thing that she hadn't heard him earlier then. A disapproving grumble came from the back of the jumper as Ronon voiced his opinion as well. "This is nobody's fault!"
"I kn-know that," Rodney replied sombrely, making Teyla double take. "But this is Sh-Sheppard; he's going to bl-blame himself anyway. I th-thought that maybe a guilt-trip would wake him up."
Teyla met Rodney's eyes and saw the genuine concern in them. She had worked with the scientist for nearly two years now, and he still amazed her sometimes. Yes, he was irritating, egotistical, arrogant, and prone to fear-induced rants; but he was still brave and he still cared about them. John's silence had them all on edge, none of them able to reach him. The insult wasn't an accusation at all, but just another attempt to bring John back to them. She gave him a small nod to show she understood, and then set about planning her next move.
Rodney took the gesture to be permission to continue, and turned back to the pilot. He could hear Teyla shuffling about in the background, exchanging a half-spoken/half-signalled conversation with Ronon as he tried to come up with another way of annoying his friend into consciousness. For some reason though, now that he had Teyla's blessing, he couldn't come up with anything. He considered re-using material, but settled for the tried and true method "Come on Sh-Sheppard, wake up now. Surely the windsh-shield isn't that co-comfortable?"
John let out a groan that turned into a gasp of pained breath. Rodney made the mistake of trying to sit up in delight, but quickly slumped back down with a groan to match the colonel's. "I-I think he's wa-waking up!"
"That is good Rodney," Teyla smiled at him, her own relief evident. The news strengthened her resolve, and she retrieved the first aid kit, ready to make another try. "I am coming down to check on you both. Ronon are you ready to counterbalance?"
"Wa-wait! Wait!" Rodney felt his brief excitement diminish back into panic. His eyes trailed back to the windshield and the still-horrifying drop despite their lower position. He doubted they'd survive another fall. "We tried this already! Th-the extra we-weight will s-send us plummeting again."
Teyla held up both hands in a calming gesture. "Rodney, it is okay. That fall has put us in a better position. The shape of the crevice has made a more secure and central fulcrum. Ronon will be able to balance my extra weight; we may even be able to get the jumper more level. Trust me, Rodney."
"I do, I re-really do, but it hurt last time Teyla. It re-really hurt. I d-don't think I can d-do it again…"
"It is going to be alright Rodney. See if you can brace yourself a little better. Ronon, I am going to start climbing down."
And with that, the decision was made. Rodney got the strong sense of déjà vu as he once again tensed up, watching Teyla make the tentative steps towards him. Her words sounded distant as she narrated her progress, co-ordinating her approach with Ronon. He found himself gripping onto what was left of the light fitting on either side of him as the jumper swayed threateningly. About halfway, the jumper lurched, and Rodney had to bite back a cry of fear. He heard John moan again as the movement rolled him off of the windshield.
"Ca-careful Teyla!"
"I am sorry, but I have to do this in order to reach you. Just one more step."
And then they were falling again.
He hadn't really been with it before, but as the craft suddenly dropped from beneath him, he blacked out again.
For the briefest of moments he was back on Atlantis' east pier, an orange sunset bleeding into a black night. But this time he knew there was something wrong. He found no comfort in the familiar sight, no escape from the pain that wracked every bone in his body. Instead he found himself wishing that he was awake; wishing that he was with his friends again in that doomed jumper.
Through sheer force of will, he opened his eyes.
He found himself staring at a very large and very sharp rock. It had broken through the windshield, shattering the specially reinforced glass and showering him with shards. With a slight movement that almost had him blacking out again, he managed to see past the rock. At least they were on the ground.
John was lying on his back, thankfully easing the pressure on his broken ribcage and allowing him to breathe a little easier. Every gasp was still just as painful, but at least now it didn't feel like his chest was on fire. His head ached, the brass band still churning out the atonal symphony, but he had grown used to it enough to mostly ignore it. He doubted he'd be moving anytime soon; but he would at least be staying awake. Now, was anyone else going to be joining him?
"Teyla…?"
No response.
"Ronon…?"
Stillness.
"Rodney…?"
A beat of silence. Then: "Why am I l-last?"
John smiled. If his brain wasn't a little pulverised at that point, he would have come up with a clever comeback, but as it stood, he just settled for an apology. "Sorry."
It took a moment for Rodney to reply; he obviously hadn't been expecting that. He continued in his indignant-Rodney-esque tone, "Well, it's-s'about t-time you woke up. S-seriously, you sl-slept through the cr-crash and th-the two drops."
"Sorry…" John repeated. His face was turned away from Rodney, and the attempt to move his head had resulted in a crescendo from the band taking residence in his skull. It was probably a good thing that the scientist couldn't see the guilt on his face. "…about…the crash…not…my best…landing…"
"Is that…is that John?" Teyla's voice drifted across the gulf between them.
"Y-yeah, he f-finally woke up," Rodney replied, the relief in his tone belied his words. "A-and I th-think we're on th-the ground now. We can st-stop the balancing a-act."
John heard Teyla shuffle about as she tested Rodney's theory. She took two cautious steps, the jumper not moving in the slightest. Then she closed the gap between them; the gap that may as well have been miles, not metres, while she had been unable to reach them. He sensed her crouching in the space between him and where Rodney's voice emanated from. Heavier footsteps followed, confirming that Ronon was conscious and moving as well.
The scuffling behind him was joined by the sound of Velcro ripping and a zip whining open as Teyla tore into the first aid kit. "Ronon, can you see to Rodney while I look after the colonel?" He heard a grunt that he recognised as the Satedan, though he wondered why the man hadn't spoken. Then he felt a hand on his cheek as Teyla gently turned his head to face her. "John? Are you… Oh my…"
"S'not…that bad…" John tried to convince her as his eyes finally met hers. She seemed a little shocked, but she snapped out of it when he spoke. She tried a smile, but it didn't work as the reassurance she had intended. She pulled some gauze from the kit and pressed it against the head wound, the increase in pressure almost making him black out again. He closed his eyes, but refused to fall asleep. "Sit…rep…"
He heard Rodney snort from nearby. "M-most normal pe-people would j-just ask wh-what happened."
"I know…what hap…pened…I want…to know…what's hap…pening…" John managed to gasp out between pained breaths. Instantly the pressure on his forehead subsided as Teyla's hands fumbled with the zip of his TAC vest. He felt her gingerly touching his side, testing his ribs. Even the slight touch had him hissing – at least three were definitely broken. "Update?"
"We are at the bottom of the chasm now, at least five minutes by air from the edge of the mountain range and too far from the gate to walk," Teyla supplied. John concentrated intently on her voice as she continued to check for injuries. A slight movement of his right arm told him it was broken, but he gritted his teeth against the pain, focusing all he had on staying awake. "It has been almost an hour since we missed our scheduled return time; Elizabeth will have tried radio contact a while ago and when that failed she would have sent a rescue jumper. Help is on the way.
"However, they may not be able to find us," Teyla continued, and John saw her shoot Rodney a look. "Rodney believes that the shielding that prevented him from locating the weapon is now also shielding us from their sensors. We plan to use our radios once the rescue jumper is in range."
Rodney gave an awkward cough, one that John recognised to mean that the scientist had bad news. More bad news. "The err…the radios aren't w-working…" Teyla furrowed her brow at him in a 'how do you know that?' look. "I tr-tried it when I wo-woke up a f-few minutes ago. Interference is t-too stong. No s-signal d-down here."
Ronon groaned, and John flicked his eyes over at him. Even through bleary eyes he could see that half the Satedan's face was purple and swollen, his jaw set at a slightly crooked angle. "Woah…what hap…pened…to your…face?"
The Satedan threw him a one-eyed glare. He might be unable to talk, but he was perfectly capable of communicating through looks. John decided to let the subject drop, switching his mind back to figuring out how the hell they were going to get out of this one.
"Okay…we need…to make…a signal…" John tried to order his thoughts; quite a feat considering the seriousness of his concussion. He remembered the tablet PC McKay had been working on before they had crashed. The man had worked miracles with less before; maybe he could pull a rabbit out of the hat again. "Rodney…computer?"
Teyla followed John's train of thought, silently berating herself for not thinking of it earlier. But then again, it didn't matter anyway judging by Rodney's crestfallen look.
"Br-roken," the scientist confirmed. Then he continued, regaining some of his typically McKay mannerisms. "Th-though I don't know wh-what you expected me t-t-to do with it anyway. The t-tablet can't s-send a wireless s-signal, and with the j-jumper having no power and all, I c-can't interface with the s-sub s-space radio and send a s-signal that way, and none of th-that would even w-work anyway cause of th-the interference from the we-weapons sh-shielding. M-maybe you expect me t-to fashion a t-telegraph machine from sp-spare parts or send sm-smoke signals or rip my j-jacket into flags and s-send Ronon out to do s-semaphore…"
"That's'not…a bad…idea…"
"S-seriously?" John could hear Rodney's incredulous look in his voice even if he couldn't see his face. "I d-doubt he even knows s-semaphore…and besides, th-they wouldn't see him anyway – we're at the bo-bottom of a chasm. I'm th-thinking that that hit to the h-head has screw-balled you a li-little."
"No…Rodney…not that…" John's voice was getting quieter. "Smoke…signals. Fire…means…heat sig…niture…smoke…means…find lo…cation…"
Teyla caught on to what John was getting at. She rummaged in her uniform jacket for her fire-starter laser while finishing his instructions. "Ronon, see if you can get the rear-hatch open, and then take this and try and find some kindling to make a fire. It will have to be very large in order for the smoke to reach the top."
Ronon nodded, took the proffered fire-starter and disappeared from view. They heard him struggle for a moment, the multiple crashes having buckled the hull just a little making manually opening the door a challenge.
John looked to Teyla. "Go…give him…a hand…" She hesitated, torn between helping them get out of this and staying with the two people she had spent the last hour trying to reach. "We're not….going…anywhere…" John reassured her, watching the conflict on her face. She gave him another small smile, and then followed after Ronon.
It took about fifteen minutes or so for the pair of them to get the door open and get a fire started. Thankfully there had been a few trees growing out of the mountainside, and looking up they could see that it was one of those trees that had slowed their descent earlier. Ronon was put in charge of babysitting the fire and keeping an eye out for their rescue while Teyla returned to John and Rodney to keep them awake.
Ten minutes later, there came a tapping from the rear hatch, Ronon's signal that help had arrived.
Within the hour, they were home.
Three Weeks Later
Lt. Col. John Sheppard sat on the edge of the East pier, his legs dangling over the edge as the waves crashed below. On the horizon the burning orange sunset bled into the black night sky, foreign star constellations he had yet to learn visible in the clear air. And the best part was that this time, this time it was real.
They had made it home again, against all odds – just the way SGA-1 had a knack for doing. Honestly, they owed their lives to SGA-2 and Lorne's phenomenal ability to get them out of whatever tight jam they found themselves in. The major had made John promise that there wouldn't be a next time, but in the Pegasus galaxy, the promise had no grounding in reality.
"There you are," John looked up to see Teyla approaching. Beyond her shoulder he could see Rodney and Ronon too. "We have been looking for you."
"Sorry, I left my radio in the infirmary…" he apologised. "…by mistake."
Teyla came and sat beside him, giving him a knowing look. "Carson was not pleased that you had escaped, John." Ronon remained standing while Rodney flumped down on John's other side, leaning his back against a bollard. "You are meant to be under observation still."
"So's Rodney," John retorted.
"Yes, but I asked nicely and Carson let me leave," Rodney smirked. In reality he had simply bludgeoned the doctor with more McKay-rants than he could handle until Carson had demanded a break from his…favourite…patient. "Though I do have to go back. As do you by the way."
"I figured," John conceded. His concussion had been pretty severe and even now his head still ached. His ribs hurt when he did much more than breath – the walk to the pier had been interesting – and his right arm was trussed up in a sling tight enough to restrict any and all movement. He really shouldn't have left the infirmary, but he couldn't handle lying still any longer. The prison break had been necessary to preserve his sanity.
"I will be taking the pair of you back," Teyla promised, and then her eyes followed the progress of the sun dipping below the horizon. "Though I guess we can stay here for a little while."
The four of them lapsed into silence; comfortable in each other's company without the need for words to fill the quiet.
It was good to be home.
Yep, I cheated with another time jump – I'm sure your imaginations can fill in the three week gap of their recovery. If this were a longer fic I probably would have put something in, like some details on how they got out of the bottom of the chasm maybe…
Let me know what you think :D