Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts! Just a quick note to say that the Kinji warriors are made up by me. They will be showing up later in the storyline as well.
On another note, I forgot to mention last time that "First Recon" and their motto, "The last thing you never see", belong to Bethesda (makers of the video game Fallout: New Vegas – which is where I got it from).
Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this! :)
"I have a shot," Camila whispered, the enemy's head perfectly aligned with her scope. "Permission to engage."
She waited a little impatiently for the order. Slowly releasing her breath, she followed the man's movements as he paced back and forth in front of his prisoners. She counted six total - Kinji warriors was what Dr. Weir had called them, though the head of the Atlantis expedition had admitted that they knew little of them. The Kinji reminded Cami of those tribal bands that lived in the South American jungles. While their weapons and clothing looked primitive, they carried themselves with such fierceness that Cami was sure they were a race to be reckoned with.
"That's a negative, Captain," Major Anderson's voice finally came through her ear piece.
She frowned, her finger hovering over the trigger. "Sir?"
"Do not engage."
Cami rolled her neck but kept her eye on her quarry. The log she was using as cover also provided a platform on which to rest her sniper rifle. She was half sitting, half lying on the mossy ground. The man she had been observing - who she took to be the leader - moved behind a cluster of trees, and she cursed under her breath adjusting her scope to make a sweep of the area. It took her a little while considering they were in the middle of a freakin' forest. The thick trees provided good cover but also impeded her line of sight.
She scanned the prisoners, making sure they were still okay. There were being held in a clearing of the woods. All had their hands tied, kneeling on the ground. Lt. Colonel Sheppard looked a little beaten, as did the three crew members that were with him. The dreadlocked man on Sheppard's right - Ronon, from what Cami remembered of Weir's hasty briefing - looked more angry than injured. He kept growling and making attempts to attack the two men that were holding him down even with his hands tied behind his back. The beautiful, bronze-skinned woman, Teyla, on Sheppard's left was unusually calm. Her face retained a peaceful facade, yet there was a fire in her eyes that equaled Ronon's behavior. The last crew member, Dr. Rodney McKay, looked frightened. His eyes were opened wide, and he seemed resigned to their fate.
The warrior she was tracking came back into view, along with the other four companions. They seemed agitated. Cami held her breath, steadying her gun. She could almost feel the tension between the six enemies, and she had the gut feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Major, what's your ETA?" she whispered, her finger once again poised near the trigger.
"About fifteen minutes. We just secured Lorne and his team, but Brody and Reynolds are headed to your position." Anderson's voice trailed off, and she could picture the rest of the team trying to travel as quietly as possible over the rough terrain. "Buchanan, maintain your position. Do not engage the enemy until I give the order, understood?"
Two of the warriors suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Sheppard and dragging him forward. Cami tensed, barely paying attention to Anderson's voice barking orders into her ear piece. The leader stepped forward raising a sword high above his head. Time slowed down for Cami. The cries of alarm from Sheppard's team were drowned out as she focused on her shot. She could feel the pounding of every beat of her heart as she released her breath.
She took the shot. The bullet sliced through both the leader's head and into one of the men holding Sheppard.
"Change of plans, sir," she breathed into her headset as the two warriors crumpled to the floor.
Through her scope, she noted that Sheppard looked around in surprise, searching for whoever had shot the Kinji. Shouldering her sniper, she took out her pistols and leapt over the log she had been using as cover.
"Buchanan!" Anderson's snarled, but Cami was too far in to back out now.
She beelined it to the second man holding Sheppard, taking advantage of his momentary shock. She emptied both her pistols into his chest before he even had a chance to figure out what was going on. At the same time, Ronon stood, headbutting one of his captors and kicking the other in the stomach. He jumped up, swinging his arms forward like a jump rope. Cami barely had time to marvel at the man's agility.
In one quick move, she dropped her empty clips and reloaded her pistols. The remaining two Kinji were fleeing, and the last thing she needed was for them to run off and bring back-up. The adrenaline surged through her veins as she rushed to Sheppard and his team. She stopped long enough to drop one combat knife, her sniper rifle and a pistol at his side and continued running after the last two warriors.
"Wait!" Sheppard called out behind her. "The spear tips...they're poisoned!"
Cami was too focused on the fleeing warriors to shout back a reply. Instead, she waved a hand in the air to show that she had heard him. Her eyes caught sight of an overturned tree. The angle at which it lay was perfect. She increased her speed, then jumped up, vaulting off the trunk. Twisting in the air, she swung her leg around full force, her boot connecting with one of the Kinji warriors with a sickening crunch. The man clutched at his face, falling to the floor in pain. The other came around and swung his spear in an arc, the butt of his weapon striking her arm, causing her to drop her pistol, and then traveling up to slam into the side of her face.
"Son of a bitch," she groaned, her head throbbing in pain. The thin flesh covering her left eyebrow had ripped open. Blood gushed from the wound, trailing down the left side of her face.
She hastily wiped the blood away and unsheathed her other combat knife. The curved blade glinted in the sun. The warrior charged at her, and she quickly countered his attack. Their weapons clanked together in mid air. It was a battle of strength as each tried to force the other to surrender. He pushed forward, forcing her to walk backwards until she tripped over a root. The warrior fell on top of her, his body pressed against her, breath hot on her face. He snarled, saliva stringing from his mouth and onto her neck. The tip of his spear hovered dangerously close to her face, and it was all Cami could do keep it away from her.
Blood continued to stream down her face blinding her in one eye. She looked away from him, her gaze inadvertently making contact with her pistol not even a foot away. Her knee jerked up into his groin, and he rolled over in pain. She reached out, her fingers grasping the pistol just as he came bearing down on her again. Three shots into his chest, and he finally went down.
A twig snapped behind her, and she craned her neck. The upside down figure of the warrior she had kicked earlier was in her sights. She brought the pistol around over her head. He had his arms poised in mid air about to lance his spear. She shot him at the same time a blade slice through his neck. His body fell to the ground with a low thud.
Ronon appeared through the trees, his gaze searching for her until he found her lying on the ground, chest heaving, pistol pointed in his direction. He reached down and pulled her up a little too forcefully causing her to stumble forward.
"Jesus, you trying to fling me across the forest or something?"
"You missed one," he said, ignoring her sarcasm.
"I never miss." She holstered her pistol and walked over to the thug's body, nudging his head with her boot. "See?" Cami pointed to the bullet hole between his eyes.
He grunted in response but said nothing. Cami took her two combat knives from his hands and sheathed them into the scabbards strapped to her back. She made her way back to Sheppard, Ronon trailing not far behind.
"Colonel Sheppard, I'm Captain Camila Buchanan...part of your new search and rescue squad." She offered him a quick salute before wiping the blood off her face with the back of her hand.
Sheppard nodded in greeting. "I thought you guys were arriving tomorrow."
"We were stationed at Stargate Command getting briefed on our new assignment when Dr. Weir contacted SGC informing them that she had lost contact with yours and Major Lorne's teams, sir. Needless to say, we deployed right away."
"This is all nice and dandy, but can we can a move on, please?" McKay interrupted. "Really don't want to be here when more of those...those beastsarrive."
Sheppard nodded again, signaling for Ronon and Teyla to fall out. Cami tapped her ear piece.
"Major Anderson, Colonel Sheppard's team is secure. We are falling back to the gate."
"Copy that. Everyone, fall back to the gate."
"Where's the rest of your unit?" Sheppard asked as he fell into line with her.
"We split up to cover more land and find you. They're all heading to the gate now, along with Major Lorne's team," she replied, offering her water canteen to them. "Are you guys okay?"
"We are now," he replied. "Looks like we won't be setting up trade with the Kinji any time soon." He let out a sarcastic laugh. "Bastards ambushed us on our way to the gate. You showed up just in time."
Cami opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of her team along with Lorne's unit. She stepped aside as Anderson introduced himself to Sheppard and they went through a run down of the overall mission. Cami frowned, an uncomfortable feeling setting over her. She had the sensation that someone was watching her.
She looked over her shoulder to find Ronon's green eyes staring at her. He lagged behind, covering their six. Though, instead of looking out at the horizon for danger, his gaze was directed at her. She shot him a look as if to say, "Why the hell are you staring at me?", but he made no response. His eyes darkened, brows furrowing as if he was trying to contemplate something.
After a few seconds, she finally turned back, almost cheering out loud when she realized they had reached the stargate. McKay dialed out, and Cami stared in awe as the gate activated. She knew she would eventually get used to seeing it, but, as a newcomer, everything still seemed so surreal.
They stepped through, her stomach giving a little lurch as she traveled through the wormhole. When they stepped out in Atlantis, she was ordered by Sheppard to go to the infirmary. But not before Anderson pulled her to the side.
"Don't think you're in the clear because you saved Sheppard's team, Captain," he spat. "We'll have a talk about your behavior later."
"Sir," she protested. "I apologize for my actions, but - "
"I said later, Buchanan," he interrupted. "Understood?"
Cami bit back a retort and swallowed hard. "Yes, sir." He left her glaring at his retreating back.
She turned to find Ronon leaning against a wall, arms crossed over his chest, still staring at her.
"Problem?" he asked, pushing off the wall.
"Nothing I can't handle," she lied. In reality, she was worried. She turned her glare to Ronon. "What are you, my babysitter?"
"Sheppard asked me to take you to the infirmary."
"I can find it myself, thank you. Just point me in the right direction." She looked away from him, a bit embarrassed that he had witnessed Anderson's admonishment.
"Fine," Ronon grunted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Through there." He pointed off to her right then disappeared in the opposite direction.
She knew she had done the right thing in saving Sheppard's team, but why had Anderson made it feel so wrong? Disappointment flowed through her as she thought about what Anderson would tell her. She had a feeling he was going to do more than reprimand her. She blinked back tears of frustration and then took a deep breath to calm down.
She hadn't even lasted a day.