Two

Greenspan

Well… that was an easy one. At least this time it was more of an orientation exercise than a real survival exercise. Oh, and a "How much can one Air Force doctor carry?"-exercise. Thanks for sticking the extra weights in my pack, Majors Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. And thanks or messing around with my map, guys. Unfortunately for you I already had a DI who loved spilling coffee on our maps or some doodling on them before handing them to us. Took me under an hour to figure out what you did with it.

Anyway… home on the ranch again. Or, well, the outpost to the actual ranch which isn't quite as cozy. I sure hope Dee and Tom haven't used up all the hot water rationed to us, because I happened to stumble into that really icky mud pool with… something in it. I really only want to get this stuff off me.

And yeah, there's one of the Gruesome Twosome sitting in his tent, feet on a crate, looking like nothing in the world… wait. On closer inspection… he does look a little worried. Huh? "Oh, look who found the spa section of this little resort." But looking worried never kept Major Evan Lorne from making a joke at my expense.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Why do you two always keep forgetting that I have the Power Of The Needle?" He grimaces a little pained. Yeah, I'm gonna have so much fun next time I get the chance to give you a physical.

"You only grow through challenges, Captain." Very funny.

I'm just this close to answer with something like "I'll give you challenge, Major." but he does have a point. So I simply grumble, "Yeah, right. Any chance there's still some hot water left or did the guys already take all of it?"

He doesn't answer right away… and my guts tell me that this is not a good thing. "Well… actually… Sergeant DeLisle is the only one who arrived. An hour ago, to be precise." Alright. Wait. Dee is the only one who's already here? Where the hell… Tom? Maureen? Something isn't right here.

"Evan…" He holds up his hand.

"I know, I know. And before you ask: No, I have no idea where Tom is, but that's not a reason to get worried, as you know very well yourself." Yeah, right… then why are you worried? And anyway, who said I was only worried about Tom?

"Tom is not the only one I could be worrying about, you know." He really tries to look unfazed but something in his bearing tells me he and Tom did more to her than just making her pack heavier and messing around with her map. And that he just realized that unlike other people I'm not afraid to be vocal about what I think about this.

He clears his throat. "Don't worry, Laura. Lieutenant Reece made better progress than we estimated." Than you estimated?

I can't help giving him the narrowed eyes. "Okay, Evan… what did you do to her?"

"Well…" Before he can continue, though, someone hails him on the radio.

"Sir… we might have a situation here." I raise my eyebrows. Already sounds like fun.

"Go ahead." Did I read him wrong or did Evan just think the same?

"The armory just discovered that there are several items unaccounted for: A zat-gun, a G36, a Beretta, several cartridges of live ammunition…" That's… not good. The look on Evan's face confirms this assessment. And of course those are not the only bad news. "Additionally, Corporal Rimmers has gone AWOL." It's getting better and better. "And the SGC just hailed us to give us an up-date on rogue NID activity in this quadrant."

I look at Evan again and see him mouthing "Crap." and share his sentiment. Reminiscent of the last mission SG10 went on, we both drew the conclusions immediately. However, it's not Evan's nature to lapse into panic and he manages to thank the caller in that patient restrained way of his that always makes me wonder how he and Tom could ever become friends.

He runs a hand over his face and walks a few steps. "Alright. We need to get to Reece first." I give him the narrowed eyes again. What the hell did you do? He takes a deep breath. "We… gave her… different coordinates. Among other things."

"What… other things? Don't even think about not telling me." Do I detect an embarrassed note in his face?

"Well… two of her ammunition spare packs are blank cartridges, she only has half the usual supply of charcoal tablets, her flashlight isn't working…"

What? I can't help interrupting him. "You're kidding me, right?"

He raises his hands defensively. "No, I'm not, I swear."

Of course you aren't. You never joke about things like these. "You're saying Tom asked you to mess around with her coordinates, ammunition, charcoal tablets and… a million other dangerous things although you knew she'd be out there without any possibility to contact us if things went down the drain and you just went along with it? What kind of freaking officers are the two of you?"

O…kay… maybe I shouldn't have let myself go like this. But it's just… how could they? "Hey, calm down. He also told me to put an emergency radio in her pack. I haven't told her about it, but he was positive she's clever enough to use whatever she finds in her pack, and I do share this assessment of her personality."

Oh, Tom was positive she's clever enough. Of course. That makes everything so much better. "I will not calm down. There's probably a freaking killer on the loose out there, hot for getting her and Tom and you tell me she can't count on her resources! God, just you two wait until this is over…"

"Enough, Laura!" Whoa. Okay. I better shut up now. I've known him long enough to see when he's not in the mood to tolerate such behavior. And of course… he is senior rank here. "I'll assemble a search team and we'll get them both back. Just wait here and…"

However, that doesn't mean I will let myself be reduced to the good little medic waiting at home. "With all due respect, sir… no."

"Yes, you will." I know I should simply comply with it. And with any other officer… maybe I would. But obviously I've just known Evan Lorne far too long to simply do what he tells me to do.

"Like I said: No, I won't."

He shakes his head, still being his stern CO self. Impressive. I've seen officers crumbling far earlier to my resolve… Tom included. "You just came back from a fairly long survival exercise. I will certainly not risk taking you with me."

God, I'm a damn SGC-soldier, just like him. What the hell makes him think I already reach my limit after a simple three day orientation hike? "Hey, medic doesn't equal sissy! I've had situations worse than this and I'm still fit for duty."

For a moment, he's silent and I start to realize that… I should work on my attitude towards him. Good thing we've known each other for years now and that there were no other soldiers present. He wouldn't have tolerated any of my behavior if it were different and I should be really grateful I'm still not at the receiving end of the part of his personality that brought him as far as a team leader at the SGC. "Alright, fine. But you will save my ass when Moore goes ballistic on me for this." Well… to say I'm not surprised at this change of heart would indeed be a lie.

"Yes, of course." I mean it. We both know Tom well enough to be able to determine he won't be pleased about Evan letting me be a part of the SAR team and we also both know I should be the only one receiving a wigging for that.

"It's a promise, Laura." I nod.

"Absolutely." He gives me a resigned little sigh.

"One day, Captain Greenspan won't get what she wants, no matter how often she stomps her foot."

Unfortunately, I can't help grinning at least a little at that. "Yeah, but that's definitely not today."

His only answer is, "Go get changed, Laura. I'm certainly not taking you with me looking like… that." Well… he's got a point there. I wouldn't either.

Moore

Holy crap. If I didn't know better I'd say I was hit by a truck. And to be honest… that would have been the nicer alternative to what really happened to me. It would also be infinitely less embarrassing. Dammit. Downed by a Corporal. A Marine Corporal, to be precise. And to be even more precise: A Marine Corporal who's armed to the teeth.

At least he still thinks I'm out cold and made the mistake of not paying attention right at the moment I finally could convince myself to open my eyes just a tad, but it's becoming increasingly hard to pretend, since something isn't right with my right arm – guess it's broken and wish Laura was here – and the usual headaches after a stun blast are grating on my nerves. On the upside, Rimmers obviously doesn't want me dead… well, yet. No idea why he didn't just kill me but I don't care about his reasons anyway. All I care about is how I can get the fuck out of here.

So… okay, I guess I have no other option than to stop playing unconscious sooner or later. Might as well do it now. Oh well. Cue… groan. And open eyes, nice and slow. Ah, someone is finally paying attention to his prisoner again. Lesson number one, young man: Never underestimate your prisoner, even if his arm looks funny and you think you have him tied up nicely.

"Ah, Major. Finally coming around, are you? For being supposed to be such a tough cookie you sure are easy to knock out." You wouldn't say that if you didn't have a zat-gun with you, you sissy. "Anyway… now that you're awake… we just have to wait for the last guest to arrive… and then the party can really get started." Another… guest? "Just a hint, flyboy: It's a girl." Huh? What the…?

Aw, crap. He isn't talking about one of my girls, right? Please tell me he isn't. He looks at me, expectantly but honestly: He's doing enough talking for the two of us. I certainly don't have the desire to contribute anything to the conversation. And maybe my silence will irritate the man enough that he tells me all on his own what the hell he's doing here. As far as I know, Rimmers is part of the armory personal and never showed any tendencies for being prone to losing it.

"Oh yeah, there she is… Those little tracking signals sure are an asset." Fuck. I have no idea where I am and how much time must have gone by – but judging from the fact that there is no sign of the cavalry yet I must be still in the time limit I set with Lorne – so I really hope he's talking about Laura, not Reece. Not that I don't think she could handle this situation, honestly… she just isn't equipped for it. Which is – yes, I know – my fault.

And maybe I should start to take charge of this conversation now, if I ever want to get the information I need. "Do your superiors know that you have these disturbing stalker tendencies, Corporal?"

"Surprise, surprise, it can talk." Just wait until I get your enlisted ass, Rimmers. Even with a broken arm and bound feet, I'm still a Major and I deserve your respect. "Anyway… it's of no concern to you what my superiors know or don't know." Really? I'll ask your superiors. And while I'm on it, I'll ask the JAG Corps as well, if you don't mind.

"Yeah, maybe… but I'm fairly sure it is of their concern that you emptied half the armory, went AWOL and assaulted a superior officer. I take it you know that you're in deep?" That earns me a slap across the mouth, splitting open my lip. What is it with people liking to slap me? Do I have a sign on my forehead saying "This guy makes a perfect target if you want to backhand someone."? But yeah, at least that told me I was right in my assumptions.

The armory didn't hand him his killing toys voluntarily, his CO didn't give him a pass for the woods and he was the one who shot me down. Still doesn't explain though, why he did it. "If you think I'm in deep… look at yourself." Oh, surprise, I already did that. And I've been in worse situa… did I just hear thunder in the distance? I didn't, right? Please someone tell me I didn't. "And isn't it great how precise weather forecasts on this planet always are? Ten minutes… and there will be no way anyone could get a helicopter in the air. That is, if they even have noticed you're missing."

Just. Fucking. Great. Let's just hope someone there realized I might be in trouble even though it's not quite unusual for me to turn off my tracking device. And let's hope to God Reece is already on her way back to the Beta site. At least one of us should get out of this unharmed… because I might never be able to forgive myself if Rimmers caught her as well and her lack of resources leads to serious injury or maybe even death.

And because Fate sucks so much at subtlety suddenly thunder cracks loud enough to make windows shatter and a gigantic ray of lightening lights up the upper regions of the forest.

A/N: Well... at least now we know how Lorne learned to handle the other Laura ;) (BTW, I swear, when I started the "Minor Characters", I never even thought about Laura Cadman, so it's pure coincidence that they have the same first name). And then of course welcome back to my readers. Nice to see that some of you are willing to give original characters a chance :) Thanks, of course, to mac who is obviously a miracle worker since she managed to beta three chapters for this I had already written in just one night.