Here is the second chapter. Sorry this has taken so long, life kind of got in the way for a while there. I am currently working on chapter three and
hope to have it up in a much more timely fashion.
I hope you enjoy, and as usual, thanks to Arones for reading this.
The wormhole disengaged with a hiss as Sheppard stepped down off the pedestal and looked around. His boots crunched on loose gravel as he walked over to the DHD were McKay was crouched with the panel door open. The Colonel gave Ronan a questioning glance as if to ask what was happening and the large man just shrugged. Leaning on the top of the DHD and looking over at the ass end of McKay with his head inside the panel, he announced his presence. "McKay. What are you doing?"
There was a rummaging noise that came from inside the device before the scientist popped his head out and replaced the door. "I'm just checking on the status of the dialling device." He explained to a bewildered looking John along with an annoyed Ronan's.
"Why?"
Rodney stood up and brushed his hands over his clothes knocking off the dirt that had stuck to him as he returned John's look with one of his own. "The last team that came through reported some unusual glitches as they tried to dial out. Just making sure that everything is working correctly. Don't want to get stuck here."
"Find anything?" He asked wondering how long this would take. It obviously showed in his body language because the scientist ducked back down to check that the panelling was securely shut.
"Everything seems fine. I've replaced the secondary control crystal that seemed to be cracked but apart from that we're good to go."
Sheppard stood up straight and began walking towards the road, rolling his eyes with a look of disdain. Ronan slid his pistol back into the holster on his belt and followed after him, but his eyes moved around the scenery with anticipation like he was expecting someone—or something—to jump out at him. He looked nervous as he caught up to the Colonel.
"I saw that look." McKay exclaimed as he grabbed the strap of his bag and slung it over his shoulder while scrambling to catch up to the two men. He struggled with the other strap as he walked, trying to slip it over his second shoulder, but without much luck. "You know it has happened before where we've gotten stuck because of a malfunction in a dialling device. I was just trying to make sure we would all make it back on time."
Sheppard stopped in his tracks and turned back towards the scientist who was still struggling with the strap. "McKay, we have had a scientific camp here for the last month. If something was wrong with the dialling device we would have known about it before now." He stated as a matter of fact while wondering if he should have left the man on Atlantis.
Starting to look tired and frustrated, the Colonel stood watching the scientist as he rested his hands on the butt of his rifle. Some days he just didn't feel like dealing with McKay, this was almost becoming one of them. "Are you done?" He asked as he watched the man straighten himself and catch up to them. McKay nodded in acknowledgement as he noticed a scowl on John's face that he had seen many times. It was usually an annoyance thing, and usually with him. He decided he would keep his mouth shut, at least until they reached the camp.
Dropping the hands from their resting position John followed up behind Ronan, who had taken to marching ahead. No one spoke as they advanced down the gravel route towards the outpost. The only sound was the stones beneath their boots as they walked. John knew it was because of some condition or another in the atmosphere that no animal life could exist, but to be honest he had stopped listening at that point during the presentation.
The further down the path they went, the quieter it seemed to get. It didn't feel right to him, like something was off. A cold shiver made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he hoped he was wrong about what he was thinking. He really didn't want to deal with Wraith today.
It was a few minutes more of hearing nothing but the gravel under their feet when they saw the outline of the camp up ahead. Ronan was the first to notice it, and he lifted his arm in a stopping motion then indicated the camp.
John lifted his hand to his ear and, tapping on his earpiece, opened a radio channel. "Science Outpost Five. This is Sheppard. We are on approach. Please respond."
A crackle of static hissed through the radio and John's face screwed up in worry. He repeated his statement into the earpiece once more. Still no response. He exchanged a look of concern with Ronan, who seemed to be itching to go in and investigate, if John was reading the tension in his body properly.
He tried again to raise someone on the radio only this time with a more forceful tone in his voice, as if it was going to make someone pick up. The strong tone was met with an eerie silence. He looked over at Ronan again and tilted his head towards the camp, indicating him to move in. Ronan leapt forward without hesitation and headed towards the side entrance between two of the large white gazebos bordering the outpost. He slipped his gun out of its holster and was ready to fire at the first sign of any enemy. John moved around to the entrance on the other side, raising his P90.
McKay looked nervous and a little afraid as John and Ronan marched ahead. He scrambled for the pistol against his right leg, and moved cautiously up behind the other two men. He gripped the gun with both hands and checked around, even though Ronan had already been through the area.
Large cloth tents stood on either side of him as McKay made his way through. He walked around the corner of one and pushed aside the cloth to step in. He lowered the gun when he noticed that there was no one there; it was just lab equipment strewn about the makeshift tables in various states of use. A noise came from behind, and McKay swung around, raising the gun up as he did so.
Sheppard threw his hand up and stopped the pistol in mid-air as he twisted his head away from the business end of the barrel and pushed the weapon aside. "I thought you were getting the hang of this." He quipped as the look on Rodney's face turned to surprise.
"I am."
John glanced sideways to look at the pistol he had pushed it away. Rodney followed his gaze to the gun that was still held in the space to the side. "This would tend to prove otherwise." The Colonel released his grip on McKay's arm and with an apologetic and worried look crossing his face the scientist lowered the gun to his holster. His thumb moved quickly over the safety switch at the top of the grip as it slid into place.
"Did you find anyone?" McKay asked as he looked back at Sheppard who was now walking past him to look over the equipment in the room. He picked up a tablet sitting on the counter and looked at the black screen. With his free hand he pressed the power button –it made a click—but the screen remained black. He tried again, this time holding it in for a second. The computer still remained off.
"Out of power." John stated growing more concerned and furrowing his brow as he wondered what could have happened. Turning back to the entrance of the tent he strode towards it. The other man kept quiet as he stepped aside to let him past and followed him outside.
As they made their way out of the tent, the sun peeked from behind a cloud and Rodney squinted at the brightness. He shielded his eyes with a hand then looked down to find his shades in his jacket pocket as John pushed his down from the top of his head. McKay wished he had thought of that before as he glanced across his uniform trying to remember where he had put his glasses. A quick gentle pat down of his jacket and he found the familiar shape of the frame in his left breast pocket. Sliding his fingers under the covering, he tore through the velcro holding it in place and gripping the metal frame pulled them free. Still one handed he flicked them open and carefully navigated them over his eyes.
As the glasses began to filter the sun's rays, he noticed that Ronan had finished searching the camp and was talking to Sheppard. The pair looked rather serious, but then again, to Rodney they were serious most of the time. He began to walk over and as he got closer he heard more about what the two men were saying.
"Just over there." Ronan murmured in his usual gravelly tone and pointed to an area behind him to the west. "That's where it seems to have started. The tents and equipment look like they've been abandoned. The rest of the base is pretty much the same. There are no signs of weapons fire. I'd say Wraith."
He lowered his hand as Rodney turned his head in an effort to see where Ronan had been pointing, but tents, scattered furniture, and equipment stood in the way. He pulled his head back down and turned to the group as a wondering gaze brushed across his face.
John recognised the stare on the scientist's face he had seen it many times before. Usually it didn't bother him what he was worried about, but this, this bothered him. His mind had already raced through–and discounted–most of the ideas already. Nothing fit the profile of what they were seeing. Even with a Wraith attack he would expect the camp in more disarray, but compared to previous standards it was fairly tidy.
"Do you know anyone, or anything, that could do this and leave the camp this way?" Sheppard asked to all present, but more towards Ronan as he was more experienced in such matters.
Ronan simply shook his head with a look of ambiguity in his eyes that John didn't find comforting. He looked over at McKay who shrugged.
Great. Even more uncertainty. He thought to himself as he turned his head back towards the direction of the gate. "We should report back to Atlantis…" Sheppard didn't even finish his sentence when a buzzing noise appeared from overhead. The three men looked upwards. Sheppard and Ronan reached for their weapons and pointed them towards the sky as they waited for the noise to get closer. They scanned the clouds with their eyes and their guns as the screeching grew louder.
It definitely wasn't a Wraith ship. It may have been similar, but all three of them knew from experience that a Wraith ship didn't sound like that.
They waited, scanning the skies as the sound grew louder.
As the three men looked into the sky with the sunlight blinding them, a small black vessel skimmed fast overhead. Turning on the spot they watched as it sped into the distance and swung back around. Their faces dropped in surprise as they watched the ship perform a hundred and eighty degree turn, flipping almost directly on top of itself as it accelerated back towards them.
Without hesitation, the men struck themselves into an attack stance and fired on the approaching enemy. Bullets whizzed through the air and appeared to impact the surface of the object . To their surprise the ship kept coming and there was no sound of the projectiles making contact. No metallic clang, no explosion, nothing. They all saw the shots hit but it was as if the small object simply absorbed the bullets. As if in response to this, the vessel slowed instantly and hovered above them. Sheppard and the two men kept their guns pointed as a green beam of light emanated and engulfed them.
John felt himself fading and looked down to see his legs and lower torso disappearing, "What the hell?" He exclaimed in surprise as Ronan and McKay looked down to see the same thing happening to them. The dematerialisation flowed up their bodies until they were completely gone. The beam of light coming from the ship retracted and it took off as quickly as it had arrived and flew into the distance.
As the vessel exited the atmosphere of the planet, a larger craft was stationed ahead. The object was almost the size of the moon itself. As the small fighter drew closer to its destination the target began to fade and materialize as the result of the sunlight being reflected off its hull. The smaller ship slowed its approach and vanished into an opening that closed as quickly as it had come into existence. The hatch had barely shut when the larger craft turned and shimmered into the black of space.
