A/N: CMDragonia- You're right, it would be better to make him have the ATA gene naturally, that would make Coup D'etat all the more angsty. : )
Krows Scared- I don't exactly know what you mean by 'canteen' but I'm happy you appreciate the humor. Enjoy this new chapter. :p
Thank you all for reviewing. They are what keep me going.
Runner Part 2
After they'd been walking in silence for about five minutes, McKay must have decided the Major wasn't interested in his sunscreen so tried to make conversation.
"So exactly what kind of, uh, special training do you guys have to go through to get this sort of mission?"
"'You guys'?" asked Marcus wondering where McKay was going with this. He'd known the silence had been to good to last.
"Yeah, you know – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines – it's a great place to start!"
"And by 'this mission,'" continued Lorne. "You mean hunting down a skilled weapons expert hopped up on Wraith drugs in the pitch black of an alien planet?"
"Yes!" McKay said thinking he had finally gotten through to the Major not realizing every word had been dripping with snark.
Lorne couldn't believe how clueless the scientist was. Isn't the man supposed to be the foremost expert on the Stargate; the genius that everyone turned to? McKay was a more arrogant and obnoxious version of Parrish. "Actually, I skipped that course in military school."
"Yeah, I was afraid of that."
Geeze, thought Lorne I'm not useless, McKay. Besides, I'm not really expecting a fight.
"I was hoping Lieutenant Ford might recognize a friendly face and just turn himself in," said Lorne brushing off McKay's barb.
"What, you mean me" Whom else did he think Marcus meant? From what he'd heard around Atlantis, the flagship team, along with Weir, had been close, before the whole mess with Ford and the enzyme.
"Well, you were friends, weren't you?" McKay seemed to disagree with that assumption.
Oh boy, there he goes on one of his rants again. Lorne just tuned it out keeping watch.
Suddenly, something moved in the corner of his eye and Marcus automatically crouched and hidd behind a log holding up his fist to stop McKay from giving away their position, if he hadn't already.
"What--," McKay whispered tensely, "that means quiet, right?"
Lorne just rolled his eyes. Civilians.
"Yeah -- get down, get down!" the Major whispered harshly in response. The physicist didn't seem to understand what Marcus was saying so Lorne grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him behind the fallen tree. There, looking at where he saw the movement, Marcus quickly turned off the flashlight on his P-90 to conceal his position from the enemy. Well, Ford might not really be an enemy but he was still a wild card.
"What?" asked McKay pointing his flashlight on the spot that Lorne was looking.
"I thought I saw something move."
Parrish had said no animal could survive long term on this planet. That movement had to have been Ford.
Lorne looked at McKay waiting for him to do something to get Ford into the open.
"What?"
"Say something!"
"Well, what?"
Oh, for the love of—"Talk to him!"
"What if it's not him?" Okay, now he's just trying to make excuses. Impatiently, Lorne grabbed McKay and roughly hauled him to his feet. McKay got the message and tentatively took a step forward.
"Ford? You there? It's your ... best friend Rodney, Rodney McKay." Lorne realized then that this was a bad idea. McKay did not sound at all like a reassuring friend, more like a man scared shitless. Not good. "Everyone misses you back in Atlantis, and Doctor Beckett's figured out a way to help you, so you've just gotta trust me and..."
Then all of a sudden, some distance away, something broke cover and started off at a top speed. It was moving incredibly fast. Without another thought, Lorne chased after it, not waiting to see if McKay was keeping up.
Running flat out, Marcus quickly tapped his radio. "Colonel Sheppard, it's Major Lorne. We are in pursuit of suspect."
"Wha--?" came Sheppard's reply difficult to understand with static. "So are we. Wher-- you?"
Could they be chasing Sheppard and Teyla by mistake? The Colonel had made sure they had all gone in opposite directions when they had left the Puddle Jumper.
"We're two clicks south of the Stargate." Marcus responded hearing McKay's desperate gasps behind him as he ran. "Where are you?"
The guy was running too fast, even if he didn't have McKay slowing him down Lorne would never be able to catch up. Was the thing they were chasing even human? Lorne came to a stop. It was useless, the guy had just disappeared into the distance.
"What is it?" McKay wheezed clutching his side.
He needs to work out more. Was Lorne's immediate thought.
"Lost him." Remembering his CO, Marcus activated his radio. "Colonel Sheppard?"
"---by. T--la's been --it." Lorne could hardly made out the Colonel's voice. But it sounded like Teyla had been hit, but by what?
"Colonel Sheppard, say again. What's your position?" No response. Never good. "Colonel Sheppard, please respond." Maybe it was the interference. Something about the ionization or whatever Parrish had been talking about messing with the radios. "Colonel Sheppard, come in please. Colonel Sheppard!" Still no response.
It looked as though they were probably dealing with another hostile apart from Ford. Sheppard and Teyla had been chasing someone and that someone must of taken them out. They needed to get back. Like it or not, they were going to need reinforcements for this one.
By the time they had made it back to the Jumper and explained the situation to the rest of the men, the sun had come up. The orangish glow that was revealed as the planet's atmosphere was a little unsettling. It was just one more thing about this planet that Lorne hated.
Not at all liking how thick the air was getting, he gingerly dialed Atlantis to establish communications.
"This is Weir. Major Lorne, what's your status?"
"I'm sorry to tell you this, ma'am, but both Colonel Sheppard and Teyla have gone missing. We haven't heard from them since 26:30 Atlantis Standard Time." Might as well cut to the chase.
"I know the life-signs detector doesn't work there, Major, but can you use the Jumper to search from the air?"
With the miles of forest it was pointless. "No, ma'am, the foliage is far too dense for that."
There was a short silence over the line.
Finally, "I'll send another team to assist."
This might take more then just one extra team. "Well, anyone you could spare would be great."
Just then McKay came into the front compartment of the Jumper.
"Anything else you need?"
"Elizabeth, it's Rodney. Yes, hi. There are four Class One radiation suits in med lab storage. We'll need them all."
Does McKay seriously think that we're all going to wear those suits?
When he saw the look Lorne was giving him... "What? Look, I know there's not enough for us all, but we can take turns." Once again the great genius of Atlantis was missing the obvious.
"Any sign of Lieutenant Ford yet?" asked Weir.
Well technically they hadn't really seen anyone just a lot of movement. "Uh, no, ma'am, nothing that we can confirm. Fact is, we don't even know if this is Lieutenant Ford we're dealing with."
"Alright. You will get your supplies and reinforcement in a half hour. Sit tight. Weir out." And the wormhole disintegrated.
As Weir promised, half an hour later, on the dot, the team of reinforcements came through along with those damn Hazmat suits. McKay quickly grabbed one and put it on. Lorne thought about trying to argue with him but decided it wasn't worth it. Might prove to be entertaining when the scientist learned the discomforts of wearing Hazmat while hiking.
"OK, listen up," called Lorne to the new men. "I want regular radio contact. Report anything unusual -- and I'm talking anything unusual at all. Alright, move out." It was time to start this retrieval turned rescue mission. The marines paired up and started to slowly dispersed.
"Hey, wait," said McKay, "aren't any of them gonna, uh..." he waved his suit uselessly at the disappearing men. "Forget it. That's just reckless! There are four suits."
"Not exactly designed for moving through dense brush and rough terrain, not to mention possible combat, huh?" said Lorne thinking he was pointing out the obvious. He picked up his bag to see if they had what they needed.
Lorne could've easily burdened someone else with McKay now that he was the highest-ranking officer on the mission but Marcus thought if he could survive the good doctor he could survive anything.
McKay was in the middle of another one of his rants. Something about his current radiation dosage and Lorne was again tuning him out. He only just caught the last part.
"…As it is, I may have to forego reproducing."
With a line like that Lorne couldn't help but take a shot. "Yeah, that's funny -- I was just thinkin' that might be wise." And with that said Marcus casually walked done the ramp and into the woods. McKay hastily put on his helmet and ran to catch up.
TBC…
