Chapter 2- Planet of the trees -aka P77721
1 year 8 months later
Colonel Sheppard said that this gate address had won the 'weirdest way to find an address award". Evan had brought back a selection of traded items from P15955 or the island planet as Sheppard had named the world. "That's great Lorne a few more pots to use to hold our toothbrushes", the Colonel had quipped when he emptied the contents of his pack onto the conference table in Atlantis. Teyla had taken up one of the pots and regarded it seriously, "this is good work Colonel and quite old as well. They are honoring us by sharing their history."
Evan had bent closer to the misshapen pot trying to see it with an artists eye. "Are those Stargate symbols around its top edge", he asked. That had prompted Sheppard to snatch the pot from Teyla's hands and give it serious consideration. "They are Stargate symbols, but they just placed randomly with the same symbol repeated many times. It is likely someone just liked the symbols and used them to decorate their pots. They are still going to end up in the not very useful cupboard". He put the pot down on the table and moved away.
Evan looked at the rest of the pots ,there were 15 in total , and noticed that most seemed smilar. One, smaller and more misshapen than the others caught his eye. He gasped audibly as he looked at it closely. "This one has 7 symbols in a line and all of them are different."
John Sheppard came close enough to look over his shoulder. "There is no way that is a valid stargate address", he stated firmly. Rodney Mc Kay looked intrigued, "why don't we check the ancient data base and see if we can find that address".
That led them all out of the conference room and into the main command area. Elizabeth Weir saw them all coming and came over to see what they were doing.
While he held the offending pot, Colonel Sheppard and McKay checked the database. "Nope, its not in there", Mc Kay stated.
"So its just a pretty pattern someone liked", John Sheppard stated. Evan, had a strange feeling about this though and found himself asking, "can we dial this address, just to see if we get a lock. Not every planet out there with a stargate is in the ancient database".
Now Rodney McKay gave him a look that told him he was being stupid to think someone had left a stargate address on a piece of shabby pottery. Elizabeth Weir could also feel the mystery in the air, sure it was not very likely this was a valid gate address but why not try and find out.
"Alright dial it", she stated. "I'll make a bet that we are going to get a big fat zip", Sheppard stated. "I bet we don't and if I win can I lead the mission to investigate the planet", Lorne asked. Sheppard gave him a look and for a minute he wondered if he had crossed some invisible line he had not seen. Colonel Sheppard had so far proved to be one of the most easy going commanding officers he had ever served under. He had started by giving the idea of a bet and Lorne was just going along. Colonel Sheppard finally smiled at him, "alright, I'll take your bet. If you lose I am going to think of something particularly painful for you to do for a couple of weeks", he retorted. Ouch thought Lorne, he knew Sheppard meant every word and would find the worst task imaginable.
Ronon looked vaguely sorry for him and Mc Kay just grunted. Elizabeth had a twinkle in her eye as she regarded Lorne and Sheppard. She felt like the boys were playing and it was one of those moments you did not squash because most of the time the Pegasus galaxy was throwing something terrible their way.
The gate began to dial and Evan held his breath for the entire dialing sequence. When the words, "we have a lock", were stated he knew he was about to embark upon another adventure.
Of course they had to check the planet out first with the robot, just in case it was a wraith hideout .
He watched the ungainly machine go through the gate and soon pictures were coming back from the other side. It looked all dark ' it must be night there", Rodney surmised. "I don't think so, I can see some light, Evan told him. It was only a dim light, like it was struggling to get through something .The machine moved again and Evan could see the source of the darkness, a massive tree that had a girth that at least 15 men could get around. It was not the only tree that size either.
"It's a forest planet", McKay stated unnecessarily," and look at the size of those things". They went up and up, disappearing out of the view of the machine. "Well the air is breathable, so you could check it out on foot. Unfortuntely you are not going to be able to get a jumper through that gate, those trees are simply too massive", Elizabeth stated.
"Well I guess you have a go then Major Lorne, though I would like to come along, just for the scenery", John Sheppard told him. He had that curious look now. Evan saw that look mirrored on the rest of the team. This time he'd get to go on an "a team' mission rather than getting a lesser mission.
They prepared everything they thought they'd need and were soon on their way through the gate.
That giant tree almost directly in front of them seemed more massive than it had on the screen. Looking up he could not see the top of it or any of the thousands of other trees that surrounded the area. Densely packed, they made the ground around them seem rather oppressive and almost claustrophobic . He had this feeling of being small and insignificant .
McKay looked up nervously trying to see through the branches , "how do we know there isn't anything alive up there waiting to spring down upon us". He had memories of predator and other horror movies going through his mind. This planet certainly had a horror movie atmosphere, dark and most definitely creepy.
"Lorne took out his life signs detector and pointed it upward. "Well it does not detect anything up there", he stated. "Yeah well maybe its not human", McKay stated. "Perhaps its got good hearing and is going to eat you first", Ronan stated with a scowl at McKay. He was not even close to his definition of brave, at any time. "Shh, both of you", Sheppard ordered them, "I am getting a life sign, its not from up in the trees though, its just on the verge of detectable range, a few miles away".
He noted that life sign was not moving. They would have to check it out. John turned to Evan, "since it is your mission Major, you can take point".
Evan got a thrill out of telling everyone to "move out". Their progress was slow as the massive trunks had to be navigated around and the ground beneath their feet was damp and at times slippery. Browish moss grew in abundance down at root level and it too was large. They had their weapons lights on so that they could avoid any hazards not seen in the semi darkness. It just gave the ground around them an even more spooky feel.
Finally after almost 2 hours of slogging they made it too a 100 metres from the life sign.
All Evan could see was more trees and Algae. Some of that algae he noted was pale almost skin coloured. "Hold on a minute, that is skin", he said out loud as he moved forward to the hand that was rising out of a mass of algae.
He bent down and looked closer, and could finally make out an arm then upward from that the rest of the upper body. The man's head was cushioned by another mass of moss. At first Evan thought his face was obscured, then he realized he was lying face down and that brown moss almost swum over his head.
"I can see blood", McKay stated as he stood on the other side and looked down at the man's head. Some of that blood was dried but a stream of fresher blood oozed down the face and dripped into the moss. The mass seemed to embrace the blood, circling it and becoming lighter colour where the edges touched the blood. It was possible McKay decided that it was carnivorous. That would be a way for the moss and the trees that it grew upon to obtain nutrients, though the thought made him shudder. This injured man could be slowly consumed.
John Sheppard, kept one eye on the life sign detector as he approached the injured man. He was conscious of the fact this could be a trap to lure in helpful but unsuspecting travelers. The detector though still only read the one life sign.
"Where is he from", Teyla asked as she looked around. "Well there must be a village somewhere, perhaps even deeper in these trees", Ronan stated." Perhaps this guy wandered off and got lost".
"Well wherever he's from he needs our help", Teyla stated. Evan agreed with that and put his hand down along the man's neck line to feel his pulse. His hand hit a chain and he pulled it out. When he jumped back seconds later he found himself hitting into John Sheppard. "What's wrong", the Colonel asked. Evan just pointed . When he followed Evan's finger John Sheppard found himself feeling the same shock Evan Lorne had when he saw what was lying hanging from the man's neck. "Dogtags", he stated in disbelief.
"Let's turn him over carefully", Sheppard requested. As a team they tried to roll the man over. They found though that the moss secured him to the ground with a force they had not expected. Ronon simply used one of his knives to cut the moss away from the man's skin. As he cut the moss leaked a brownish substance that could well be its own blood . Finally enough moss was off the man to be able to turn him over. Evan found himself gasping again, this time with a more profound shock. There was a couple of days growth of whiskers on the mans face, but that did not change its familiarity. "I know him", he spluttered.
"What, how can you know a guy we found in a forest on a planet we have never visited before", Mckay demanded. "I know him from Earth. He was my best friend and also in the airforce. This is Major Donald West. He was the pilot on the Jupiter 2 when it supposedly exploded on the way to Mars 2 years ago", Evan told them.
He was so shocked to find Don not only alive but in the same galaxy. Yet it posed the question of, 'how the hell is that possible", Sheppard said the words for him. "I don't know", Evan replied. "But if he is alive then the others on the Jupiter 2 could be as well".
Sheppard hoped that was true. The others could be further away, out of current range of the detector, but it seemed odd that Major West was here alone. McKay thought of the carnivorous moss again and shuddered once more.
"This moss looks like it might be a type of carnivous plant that has a symbiotic relationship with those large trees. It feeds off anything dead, or nearly dead and both types of plants get the benefits. Thus it is possible the others are already dead and have been consumed", he told Sheppard.
It was not a nice way to go John decided. Of course Rodney may not be correct as there were no traces of bones and he doubted the moss could consume those. He made a decision on how to proceed. "Alright I am going to take Teyla and Ronon and conduct a search. Lorne, I know this is supposed to be your mission, but I think it is better if you go back with Major West. He's going to need to see a familiar face when he wakes up", Sheppard instructed.
Lorne, agreed with that assessment.
They put together the stretcher they carried on each mission and gently lifted Don onto its surface. Pieces of moss still clung to his body but they would leave that for the science team at Atlantis to analyze.
Evan with Rodney's help, lifted the stretcher and made their way back to the gate. Sheppard dialed Altlantis and gave Dr Weir a brief summary of what had occurred.
Then Evan was stepping through the gate, taking Don back into the fold of the military.
Dr Carson Beckett was waiting for his patient on the other side. "I don' t have the opportunity to treat many dead people", he stated with a look at the Major. Then he ordered the stretcher be carried to the infirmry. He was already running his gaze over Major West and assessing any likely problems.
Once in infirmary the staff quickly began to cut away Don's tattered clothing while Carson connected him to the vital signs monitor. Evan was relieved to note that none of the warning lights flashed, Don was not in a life threatening condition.
For the first time Carson seemed to notice him, hovering. "Major why don't you fill in Doctor Weir with any other details she needs to know. I will notify you when I have carried out my assessment."
Evan knew a dismissal when he heard one and slowly walked away.
Beckett did not waste time watching him go. He used tweezers to pull off some of the remaining moss and sent it to be analyzed. Across from him, his team was inserting an IV, which would pump desparately needed fluids into the major.
He gently turned the majors head to one side to enable a better look at the head injury. A razor was making quick work of the Major's stubble revealing a pale bruised face. "So what happened to you major" , Beckett pondered. He was running hs skilled fingers across the Major's head checking for any obvios signs of skull trauma, like depressions.
There was a sizable lump just a few inches away from the bleeding ragged slash that was at least 10 centimetres in length. He noticed that the area by the lump had dirt clinging to its surface. Checking on the Major's pupils, Carson found that one responsed a little slower to light stimuli than the other. "We will need to do a series of skull pictures. I would say he has a mild concussion at least".
One of the other doctors was looking across at Major West's neck, where washing has not diminished the marks across the throat."It looks like he's been grabbed across the neck in a choke hold", she told Carson. Carson looked grim as he knew there was one main candidate for choke holds upon humans.
His eyes darted to the man's chest as he checked for any signs he had been fed upon by the wraith.
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Major Lorne sat staring at the walls in the conference room, his mind was filled with memories of the past. He did not hear the doors open or see Dr Weir enter. She had to tap him on his arm to bring his attention back to the fact she wanted to talk to him.
"Sorry", he apologized as he realized she'd been sitting there for awhile. Elizabeth smiled, "there's no need to say sorry Major, it is an amazing moment when you find someone you thought was dead is in fact alive".
"Yes",Evan agreed,"it does raise a lot of questions though". "Questions and problems , Elizabeth acknowledged. "We know the wraith want to know the way to Earth and we have always thought they would have to go through us to get that knowledge. If the others on the Jupiter 2 are still alive then they pose a risk to Earths security".
Evan knew she was right was yet had a few points he had to get clear. "Its been two years since the Jupiter 2 was supposedly destroyed Doctor Weir, so potentially the crew have already been here that long. Yet we have never heard about other earthlings, or the fact the wraith have found the location of our world. There are unpopulated planets out there and the crew could have avoided wraith contact.'
"That is indeed possible, but that does not change the fact the crew is out there and the wraith may learn of their location." Elizabeth shuddered inwardly at the possibility of one of John Robinson's children being held captive by the wraith. She would tell them anything if she was in that position herself.
There was no point dwelling on the worst case scenario though. "We will know more once Major West is conscious and able to answer our questions", she stated. Elizabeth looked at Lorne," there are some others issues there as well, Major West is not aware of the Stargate program and I know this will be of concern to the Colonel. "How much we share with the major may be dependent on how often he has observed alien technology during his time in the Pegasus galaxy."
Lorne had really wanted to share everything with Don but understood that there was a protocol to follow. He doubted that Don would react well to being shut out of the truth. But that was not for him to deal with. Welcome back to the military Don, he said to himself.
After that brief meeting with Doctor Weir Lorne found himself wandering around the corridors of Atlantis while he waited to be told that Colonel Sheppard had arrived back at the base or that Don was regaining consciousness.
It was 5 hours later before he was told to report to the conference room. Sheppard had a slouch to his posture that indicated he was tired. "We did not find any traces of the rest of the crew", his CO reported. "But naturally we could not search the entire planet, so it is possible that the Jupiter 2 is there somewhere."
Well at least he had not found them all dead, Evan refected, though it was still possible that they were.
Elizabeth sighed knowing that at the moment there was very little they could do . The jumpers would not be able to fly through the forest gate to conduct a more thorough search. She supposed that if the crew were there, then most likely they would be safe.
"Carson can you give us a report on the Major's condition", Weir requested . Dr Beckett also looked tired as he leaned forward.
"Overall I would say life has been difficult for the Major in recent times. He looks like he has lost weight and condition and the cause would most likely be not getting adequate food and water".
"I have pumped some nutrients through his IV to help combat this. As for more recent problems he has a mild concussion, that in my opinion was most likely caused by being hit by a tree branch or other type of natural wooden object, soil around the wound drew me to this conclusion. That along with the bruising upon his neck that suggests he may have been involve in an altercation".
So even in the Pegausus Galaxy Don had found someone to disagree with, Evan thought. From the looks on the others faces he knew they were thinking there were very pale and scary prime candidates for the injuries. '"They injuries are not wraith related and it looks like the Major did not retaliate in any manner. Perhaps he was caught by surprise by some local inhabitants", Carson reassured them.
He continued with his summary. "The head injury has left some swelling that may cause some issues with recent memory recollection".
"As for the moss that covered the Major's body, although it is carnivorous, it only feeds on the liquids caused by the decaying process in a dead body, thus it has not harmed the Major in any way. Overall the Major will make a full recovery. His exhausted state is the most likely cause of his prolonged state of unconsciousness. Though I do expect him to awaken within the next hour or two".
"Thank you Carson", Elizabeth said with a smile. She leaned back in her chair," his story is going to be interesting. I don't think he's likely to know that he has gone so far from Earth."
"Indeed, I have been trying to think of how it can be possible. One guess is that there could have been a random wormhole that sucked them in and spat them out in this galaxy, though the statistical probability of that one is off the charts", Rodney stated. Of course things like that did happen.
A beep from the communications console interrupted any further thoughts and Doctor Beckett was informed that Major West was regaining consciousness. "Ah he's ahead of schedule", he looked at all the keen faces around the table. "I think it may be better if just Major Lorne comes to the infirmary at this stage. Seeing his face will help me assess any more longer term memory issues".
Elizabeth held back her curiousity. "Will the Major be able to come here for a debriefing or will we all have to go to him". Carson did not fancy a whole deputation in his doman. "I think it would be alright for him to come here. He's going to feel a little shaky so, the first debriefing may be a short one", he warned.
Without further discussion he lead Major Lorne out of the conference room and to infirmary.
The first thing Lorne heard was the soft moans as Don moved his head around. It was evident from the fluttering of his eyes that he was trying to awaken. He sat beside him on the bed, but did not speak as he wanted to let Don take his time to awaken fully.
Major Donald West could feel something soft beneath his back, it felt like a bed. His first thought was that he was back in his cabin on board the Jupiter. He could heard soft beeping from machinery nearby and if he strained somewhat, some low murmuring that did not sound like it came from anyone he knew.
Well there really was only one way to find out where he was. So he forced his eyes open. Above his head was a drab ceiling,which really told him nothing. So he carefully moved his aching head a little.
There sitting beside him was a man, who turned toward him, staring him in the eye. Surely not, thought Don that was impossible, he just stared. Evan stared back, still not saying anything, he was beinning to feel concerned that Don did not know who he was.
Okay, thought Don staring was not achieving anything. He opened his mouth and formed the words of a name , "Evan, is that you", his voice came out croaky.
Evan Lorne found a smile forming on his face, "yes, it is Don", he replied. "You are safe on our base". He did not give any further information, not the fact, that they were not on Earth or even near their galaxy.
Don tried to take it in, he had not expected to ever see his best friend again. Of course now he was safe, they were going to start asking him questions.
"Are the others alive", came a soft accent. Don found another man, looking over at him. He, like Lorne wore the military greens, yet Don knew he was not a soldier. "They were 2 days ago, I think that's how long I was lost in that forest", Don replied.
"My CO Colonel Sheppard did conduct a search, but failed to find anyone", Evan told him. He would have thought that the crew would be searching for the Major, especially since he had been injured. There was something not right here, he decided, but what. Don looked a little strained and pale.
"I am sure that we can help find them", Evan stated, hoping that Don was simply concerned. Don did not reply simply turning his head away from Evan.
He could feel this sensation building within him and it was unpleasant. Nobody likes feeling afraid and it was especially difficult for him to know that the source of his fear, was the fact they would most likely find out the truth.