Quite a lot of this chapter is from a different POV, because it made sense.
Rodney wasn't happy. Not only had his best friend turned into a psychotic lunatic, attacking huge hairy men for no apparent reason, but now they were back off world again not three hours since the incident; he was hungry, tired and they were about to meet up with Todd who, the last time had tried to kill him and Daniel Jackson, not forgetting the fact that Sheppard had a thunder cloud over his head the size of Florida. If that were not bad enough, Ronon was glowering at John's back and Teyla hadn't said a word for the last ten minutes. Oh, and let's not mention the fact that the walk to Todd's requested meeting place was much longer that they had thought and his feet were killing him. He had thought about complaining, then as quickly buttoned his mouth, keeping off the radar very much the best bet with this team and their current mood.
Ahead, the dense undergrowth began to clear. In the centre of a circular clearing was a table-like structure, clearly naturally formed, and on the table was perched the distinctively tattooed wraith. Rodney knew that, despite the so-called 'bond' between the two, Sheppard did not trust him and would have no hesitation in killing him if necessary, and in his current mood he might even do it just for the sake of it. The atmosphere was incredibly tense, as the wraith stood to his full height to greet them. Ronon tensed behind John and casually readied his weapon.
'Hello, John Sheppard. Thank you for coming. I was not certain you would, given the circumstances of our last meeting.'
John glowered at the wraith. 'Well, let's put it this way, I admit to being hurt that you didn't believe me about the device and I'm not ready to kiss and make up, but I am prepared to listen to what you have to say, now we've come all this way and all.'
Todd looked directly at John. 'I need to talk to you alone, Sheppard. Without your friends.'
Ronon spluttered an expletive, and Teyla took a step forward, but John turned to them and raised his hand. 'It's alright, guys. Stay here. I'll be alright. If I'm not back in five minutes, send in the cavalry.' Ronon started forward and was about to say something. 'And, that's an order', he said more firmly.
Rodney watched the man and the wraith disappear into the forest at the far end of the clearing and cleared his throat. It was evident that there was no conversation to be had here, so he busied himself by watching the two specks on the life-signs detector move away into the trees. Ronon stood to one side, the epitome of an elastic band about to break, and Teyla shut her eyes, hand leaning on her gun. There was hardly any sound apart from the clicking of a distant bird in the tree tops and the gentle rustle of wind through the leaves.
Suddenly, at least a dozen life-signs appeared on the detector and Teyla tensed. 'Wraith,' she cried, just as there was a crashing through the trees from the direction that John had gone, and he came hurtling into the clearing, several drones on his heels.
'Get out of here,' he shouted, 'back to the gate. Run.' Rodney needed no encouragement and set off at a pace, while John and Ronon took their usual positions at the rear. They managed to despatch at least three drones and had just about made it to the gate, when another five appeared at their flank. Rodney had just dialled the gate, and turned to encourage the others to head through, when a particularly large drone caught Ronon point blank with a stunner and he crumpled to the ground. In no time, he was surrounded by another three. What happened next was so difficult to take in, that Rodney couldn't grasp what he was seeing. He heard John shout, 'leave him, he's a gonna', then felt a hand push him through the gate, followed by a tumbling Teyla as she too was shoved from behind.
The gate shut behind them, and Rodney turned on John, face in his and spat out the words, 'You, you left him behind. You don't leave people behind. We don't leave people behind. For God's sake, we have to go back.' The sense of betrayal and loss was overwhelming. The man whose single most important mantra was the saving of others at all costs had left his friend and team mate behind to die, in order to save his own ass.
John turned his back and walked towards Woolsey, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs. In a clear, monotone voice he said, 'Ronon is as good as dead. It was a simple choice: us or him. You can go back if you wish but I doubt if you'll find anything.'
The gate room was silent with shock and misapprehension. Woolsey paused briefly, before barking out two very clear orders. 'Major Lorne, a security team to the gate room please. SGA3 , gear up, you are needed for a search and rescue.' He then turned angrily to John. 'Colonel Sheppard. Please explain to me what just happened?'
'It is simple Woolsey. Ronon was stunned and surrounded by drones. It was my duty to get the rest of my team off the planet safely. ' The lack of respect in his address did not go unnoticed.
Woolsey turned to Teyla. 'Tell me please, Ms Emmagan. Was the situation such that Ronon could not be rescued?'
Teyla glanced at John, then took a tearful breath, feeling the loss of two team mates as she answered. 'We have faced more difficult odds many times. It is my opinion that, had we fought, we could have rescued Ronon.' She took a deeper breath. 'Colonel Sheppard acted to save his own skin.'
A sharp gasp could be heard around the control room, although John did not change his expression.
Woolsey turned to him. 'You are under arrest Colonel. Major Lorne will escort you to the brig, where you will remain while I decide what to do with you. I am deeply shocked at your actions and will need to consult with my superiors and General O'Neill.'
The word quickly spread round the city. Many simply did not believe what they were hearing, while for others it confirmed, as they said, what they always suspected about him. Already, his erratic behaviour had been the talk of the city and his detractors had come out in force. SGA 3 failed to find any evidence of Ronon on the planet, although the energy signatures suggested a wraith hive had been nearby. While they could not confirm Ronon's death, it was difficult to imagine how he had survived the attack. Richard Woolsey broke the news personally to Cat. At first, she met his words with stunned disbelief, then demanded to see her husband. Despite how he had left her and his behaviour then, she still couldn't take on board what she was hearing. It was his unpleasant duty to inform her how John had emphasised that he wanted no visitors, especially his wife, to whom he was adamant he had nothing to say.
***
She watched his seated form on the screen, a sad and lonely figure in black sitting at one end of the cell. What shocked her most was the complete lack of expression on his face. As she spied on him, she tried to find some evidence, a glint in the eyes or a movement of the mouth, that would tell her 'her' John Sheppard was still in there somewhere, but there was nothing. She longed to rush to him, to put her arms around him and feel his warmth against her, to feel again the gentle strength of the man she loved. The brow was a little furrowed under the usual shock of unruly hair, but nothing else passed across his face. For a moment, she lingered on his features, taking them in as possibly the last time she would see her husband, and she wanted to burn them into her memory. From here, she could only imagine the colour of his beautiful eyes, running her eyes over the rest of his handsome face, allowing a longer look at his full mouth and remembering how his kisses had felt. He held his head high, so that she could clearly see the prominent Adam 's apple, and she tormented herself a little with memories of kissing down that neck and the bit just underneath which she loved so much. With one last long look, she turned from her husband and said a silent goodbye, trying to remember him as he had been and not as he was now.
The court martial had been rapid and perfunctory, neither the IOA nor the military having any desire to extend it. General Jack O'Neill and Mr Coolidge personally presided and Rodney and Teyla had the painful task of testifying against John in court ; many doubted that they, especially McKay, would ever recover from the experience. John was found guilty of gross misconduct, and although there was strong evidence of some kind of mental disorder brought on by stress, it was mostly discounted. The end result would have been the same either way. He was stripped of his command and sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence back on Earth. Everyone knew that he would probably never see the light of day again, given his security risk. Within a day he was due to return on board The Daedelus, leaving his beloved city behind forever.
Cat stood towards the back of the control room as she watched Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard escorted from the city for the final time. It was her waiting space, and the last time she would use it, though it had never been to see him leave the city before. She half expected him to turn and wave to her, but his back was stiff and she could tell from his neck that he would not look back. His only goodbye party was the military police escort and the few essential staff necessary to man the gate room, fitting for a man is such disgrace. She watched the gate long after he had disappeared through it, and after it had closed down, then she turned and walked slowly back to her quarters, aware of the sympathetic eyes that followed her, but too proud to show them how much pain she felt. Only when the door closed behind her, did she weep for the loss of her soul mate, her lover and her best friend and the tears didn't stop until nightfall, when she fell into a fitful sleep.
***
The word came through just after midnight. The Daedelus had been attacked by two wraith hive ships and, though intact and with sub-light engines still on-line, they had been badly damaged. The hives knew exactly where to hit, the shields went down immediately and, even though the F302's had done some damage to one hive, both had managed to get away. What puzzled Colonel Caldwell was how a dart had managed to land undetected in the F302 bay, and how two wraith had known where the brig was on his ship. The simply performed heist was most effective and they caught their quarry, springing Colonel Sheppard from his prison within minutes and spiriting him away in the dart. He was gone before they knew anything about it. All Caldwell could do was report back to General O'Neill that they had lost their important prisoner and conjecture on the identity of the kidnappers. Only one wraith could surely have know enough about The Daedelus and Earth technology to undertake such a daring mission. Todd.
TBC
I had a lot of story to get through in the one. I did think about extending the court scene, but I don't really like court scenes and it didn't really add to the story. What will happen next?
Please R & R. You know I am happy for all constructive comments.
