~ Left Behind ~
Author's Note: Considering some of the plot suggestions I received in PMs and reviews after posting Chapter 1, I'm afraid my own plot (which was already set) may seem awfully tame to people!
Another Author's Note follows the chapter.
Word Count, Chapter 2: 6455
Disclaimer: 'Stargate Atlantis' and its characters are not mine. I would not have left them under the aegis of those whose interest lay elsewhere.
SGA ~ SGA ~ SGA
Three Hours Earlier. "...just saying that we'd be able to- " Mckay's words were cut short after he walked out onto the platform in front of the planet's Gate and saw they were being confronted with an imposing sea of foliage. "We should have brought the Jumper." He turned toward his team leader and reiterated forcefully, "I told you we should have brought the Jumper!"
"Rodney, the question is not whether we should've brought a Jumper, the question is, where's the MALP?" John Sheppard stepped to the edge of the platform and studied the tall grasses.
The Gate shut down, allowing a complete view of the greenery surrounding them. By some inherent aspect of Ancient design the long grasses grew next to but never spilled onto the platform. The grey stone abruptly transitioned into green grass, but there were no bruised stalks to indicate the MALP had fallen off the platform...or had been taken away.
"Curious," Sheppard declared, staring across the open field. In the near-distance was a perimeter of trees, circling the meadow and the centered Gate. "McKay, is the signal still there?"
McKay aimed his hand scanner in all directions. "Still what the MALP sent back and still not clear." He pulled his laptop from the back of his tac vest and tapped a few keys. "And it's still not localized." He looked up from his screen. "It could be underground, but there should be a differential in strength."
"Are you reading anything else we should know about?" Sheppard took a couple stair steps down toward the grass.
"Like what?"
"Oh, creepy crawlies. Things that go bump in the night. Maybe the guys who took the MALP?"
McKay tapped a few more keys. "We are the only 'guys' here, except for some 'creepy crawlies' and larger critters." He peered into the grass. "Are you sure it isn't down there?"
Sheppard took the steps down to ground level. "Ronon." The big man came forward to take the lead, wading into chest-high stalks, using his large blade to cut any choking vines. In second place, following the path of tamped-down vegetation, Sheppard ordered, "Spread out and keep an eye out for the DHD."
"What?!" McKay froze while resettling his laptop at his back.
"John is correct. I have not seen the DHD." Teyla elaborated, "Perhaps it has been moved to sit farther from the Gate."
"I hope so or we'll be stuck here for hours," McKay sulked.
Ten minutes of searching located neither the MALP nor the DHD. The greenery was at a smothering height and thickness only near the platform. Beyond a certain point the foliage thinned and shortened to constitute only an irritation. The relief offered by the more navigable plantlife was obviated by the attention required to step around the mounds and stones underfoot.
"Much as I enjoy practicing the breast stroke," McKay snarked, "I'd still rather improve my swimming than break an ankle. Which is another reason we should have brought a Jumper." The complaint was directed at Sheppard, who was the closest. Ronon was barely visible in the tall grasses near the Gate platform. Teyla was staying in the shorter foliage, walking in a back-and-forth pattern, slowly heading away from the Gate.
Sheppard was tromping through greenery, slapping at bugs and bits that caught in his hair. He stopped short. "Speaking of Jumpers..." He moved aside thick stems and vines that had produced an effective camouflage. "Rodney, take a look at this."
McKay huffed his way over to answer the summons then sucked in his breath. "What's this doing here?" he exclaimed.
The disused Jumper was damaged, with pieces of the outer hull and drive pods missing and there was no rear hatch.
Sheppard called for Ronon and told him to look for Jumper wreckage. "Is this the signal source?" Sheppard asked quietly.
"Jumpers have their own signature and this is not it." McKay had his scanner out as he pulled himself into the Jumper's rear compartment. "There may still be power."
Sheppard surveyed the damage ~ no rear benches, no seats in the cockpit, pieces of the console missing, exposed wires hung from the overhead and the cargo netting was gone. For something that could have been sitting there for ten-thousand years, it was actually still in pretty good condition. "It's been stripped."
"What?"
"It's been stripped. The Jumper was abandoned and pieces were salvaged or scavenged."
"Well, all the good stuff's gone," McKay confirmed. "No crystals, electronics, recordings, computer, nothing."
"So, who took it, and where?" Sheppard asked.
"No obvious pieces I can see," Ronon announced upon his arrival. "There's nothing here," he continued, staring directly at McKay, "no Ancestor technology, no outpost."
McKay ignored the implied accusation and instead followed Sheppard, walking back along the trampled route toward thigh-high grass beyond the platform. Sheppard stumbled on uneven ground and reached down for the obstruction. "Rodney."
McKay waded forward to take the fragment. "Definitely Ancient." He glared at Ronon. "Proof some kind of Ancient facility was here, as the Database indicated," he enunciated loudly.
"The operative word is 'was'," Sheppard responded.
"There's lots of it, everywhere, half-buried in the ground," Ronon inserted. "What good is it? The building's destroyed."
"I thought Ancient stuff was pretty hardy," Sheppard commented. He used the toe of his boot to kick away some turf, then reached down for the fully unearthed piece. He ran a finger around the relatively smooth edge. "This was honed, to be a specific shape. It's not the result of some destructive event."
"John," Teyla called from over nearer the tree-line.
Closer to the woods and spreading back into the trees there were more and larger grass-covered mounds, more Ancient fragments, stones and rocks still standing beside ruined walls and overgrown timbers that had long since fallen into decay. Amid the trees the remains were better preserved than the pieces in the meadow that had been beaten down by the centuries.
"I have walked by the trees for nearly half the circle," Teyla said. "There are many such ruins." She pointed into the forest, at a mostly stone structure with the roof partially intact. Much of the framework of the building contained Ancient pieces.
"Sheppard." Ronon pointed to a small path in the grass that headed into the woods. "Animal." They followed tracks, which led to a narrow stream that had cut a sharp ravine. The trail crossed the space via a bridge made from the Jumper rear hatch.
"So," Sheppard reasoned, "not a scrap yard or dumping site."
"No. Oh, no. No no no no no." McKay ran over to what had been a small dwelling and fell to his knees by the still-standing entryway. He pulled on something that was half buried then dug furiously with his hands. He yanked the item from the dirt and held up a length of what looked like Jumper wire, from which dangled remnants of Ancient crystals. "Do you realize what happened? They disemboweled the Ancient complex to form this Neanderthal neighborhood!" He gestured to indicate the expanse of ruins. "Look at this!" he raged and snapped a crystal in half. "Useless junk! Ancient technology, broken up for this...crap!"
"You think this rubble is it?" Sheppard looked around doubtfully. "Outpost couldn't have been very big," he observed. "What about the signal? If the debris field is widely dispersed and half buried, could that account for the lack of localization?"
"I don't think so." McKay threw down the 'useless junk' and wiped his hands on his trousers. He pulled out his hand scanner. "There's still something else registering."
"Okay, kids, listen up." Sheppard rested his hands on the top of his P-90. "This mission has clearly gone off the rails. There's no DHD, but I don't relish sitting here until Atlantis dials us." He eyed the area, the tall, obscuring greenery near the Gate and the shorter, but still tall grasses near the trees. The scene was calm, with the occasional rustle and motion caused by breezes. "Place gives me the creepy crawlies. So, since we haven't found the MALP, we could expand our search for it, or, we could look for the source of the signal, if McKay here would pin it down."
"I can't pin it down." McKay was typing on his laptop. "I know there's something there, I just can't seem to..."
"McKay! Best guess. Is whatever-it-is worth pursuing and where do you think it is?"
"I just told you I can't-" McKay stopped mid-sentence and hurriedly resettled his laptop. He reached into a pocket for a mini screwdriver and took out the hand scanner again. He popped the top off the scanner and began to make adjustments with the screwdriver while pushing buttons. "There!" He turned left while watching the scanner screen, then turned to the right. "I can't tell how far, but I know it's in that direction," he pointed.
Sheppard grinned at his team. "Let's go earn our paycheck."
When they entered the forest the groundcover diminished. The canopy was thick so it was dark in the woods, but not difficult to navigate. The closeness of the trees made the space oppressive, the lights from their P-90s casting eerie shadows. The anticipatory sense was further heightened by the skitter of animals, the scrape and muffled sounds of covert movement.
They emerged from the dim shadows into wide open spaces and finally encountered growth that was only knee high. The view consisted of a panorama of endless rolling hills.
"Anything new on the signal?" Sheppard asked.
"Nothing," McKay answered. "How far are we going to go?"
"Depends on what we find at the top of the hill."
"We should have brought a Jumper."
"Rodney, we can't bring a Jumper every time. It's just grass."
"There's grass, and then there's grass," McKay groused.
There were no clouds in the sky. The temperature was comfortable, although trudging through the greenery and then up a slope took its toll on everyone's humor. At the top of the hill they took stock of what lay before them ~ more grassy hills.
Sheppard took a deep breath and slid his aviators to the top of his head. "Still nothing new?" McKay fiddled with the screwdriver and scanner and shook his head. "So, one mile or a hundred and we don't know what's out there." He turned to look in a complete circle. "I think I'll let Elizabeth call this one. We can come back in a Jumper, which I'm sure'll suit you, Rodney." He lowered his sunglasses to his nose, stopped, peered at the knoll across the way and lifted his glasses. He took out binoculars and looked again, with and without aviators. "Interesting."
"What?! What is it?" McKay demanded.
Sheppard handed over his sunglasses and field glasses. "What do you see?"
McKay performed the same actions. "There's something there." He handed both glasses to Teyla, who looked through them and handed them off to Ronon.
"Could be your abandoned outpost, Rodney," Sheppard commented. He checked his watch. "We'd better pick up the pace if we wanna have time to explore before we have to be back to request a pick-up." He set his aviators back on his nose and put away the binoculars before starting down the hill at a lope.
At the bottom of the hill the team stopped to catch breath and to take another look at their destination. Examining the site from a new angle and shorter distance produced more detail but what they were seeing was still not explainable.
"What's wrong with this picture," Sheppard remarked as he handed the binoculars and aviators to McKay.
Waving stems of green grass met blue sky atop the hill. Into this idyllic scene intruded unnatural matter, the corner of some manufactured structure. One vertical edge could be seen; how high the edge rose and how much of the base showed were inconstant. The sky came down over the wall, like a billowing curtain, but the curtain did not reach the ground. The effect was more like watching an old movie ~ the top of the hill, the sky, the grass ~ being projected onto a sheet, and one corner of the sheet was loose, allowing a glimpse of the building behind the curtain. The edge of concealment didn't have the clean line of fabric but a mist-like quality, reminiscent of a horror film visual effect, when fog slithered down stairs, creeping over each edge.
Ronon handed the ocular gear back to Sheppard and they all started up the rise, on alert in anticipation of what might appear from behind the blind. There were no tracks to follow and no sign of any traffic, but near the crest of the hill the groundcover was indistinct, as if clarity were distorted by double exposure; the teammates' footwear in places visually merged into grass.
The corner of the edifice, a sandstone-like brick construction, was more than two meters high at the point where it disappeared into the blurred border of sky. Looking along the side, upward, or across the front of the wall revealed the consistent vista of grass and sky and hills beyond.
Sheppard reached out and placed his palm on the stone. He patted the light-colored surface and slid his hand upward, until it vanished into the sky, such that a shifting, nebulous fringe divided blue and forearm. "Cloak?" he asked.
McKay tapped buttons on the scanner. "It's not reading like a cloak. In fact, it's not reading at all."
Sheppard raised his eyebrows in question. He shouldered his P-90 and carefully walked along the front of the wall until he dissolved into the openness of sky and grass-covered knolls.
"John!" Teyla called.
A hand re-emerged. "C'mon," Sheppard gestured.
From inside the veiled boundary they could only imagine the full scale of the structure. The edge they had seen was decorative, for the building was apparently circular, not angular, and the wall curved inward as it rose. The teammates walked along the perimeter until stone gave way to familiar Lantean materiel and architecture. They arrived at a very grand Ancient entryway.
"Let's see if there's power. Rodney, stay here," Sheppard ordered. "Teyla, with me," and he stepped to the other side of the double doors where there was a second door control. "Rodney."
Both men waved their hands over the controls. After a pause and a creak, Sheppard's panel began to move.
"C'mon, Rodney, concentrate," Sheppard urged. He walked back toward McKay's side just as the doors parted enough for the team to pass. Ronon added his strength to enlarge the opening. The lights went on when they crossed the threshold and the teammates found themselves in a hallway of Ancient design.
McKay gushed excitedly, "Even though there were no specifics in the Database, this outpost could house anything! There's obviously security, so this could even be a facility for ZedPMs!"
The hall extended to the left and right with nothing to indicate what lay in either direction. Almost directly across from the outer door stood another double entryway, although not as large as the one leading to the outside.
"Rodney," Sheppard gestured. The team stood in front of the doors as Sheppard and McKay waved their hands at the controls.
The door panels parted and the teammates stepped forward into sunshine reflecting off beige-colored stone. The city was a marvel of architecture and planning. Like an Escher drawing, honeycombs of dwellings and shops, and paths teeming with the bustle of human activity were entwined in complicated spirals, limited by the dome of concealment, and within the veiled space, every square centimeter was assigned a purpose.
There was a brush of air, an odd distortion in the stone, the scuff of sound, and a hum. The team never saw it coming.
SGA ~ SGA ~ SGA
Runner instinct had kicked in when Ronon first woke. Flat on his back he opened his eyes only after an interval of regulating his breathing and employing all his senses to determine no enemy was close. His inner clock told him at least thirty minutes had elapsed since his last conscious thought. At the edge of his vision, to the left, were Teyla's feet. The ceiling above him was recognizable as Lantean architecture. His holster and gun were missing. As were his knives. He rolled to his side and discovered a weakness that meant pushing to a sitting position required conscious exertion. He tapped Teyla's foot. "Teyla." She roused, shook her head to clear confusion, and attempted to sit up; her shoulders rose a few inches off the floor before she ceased the effort and lay back down. Ronon tapped her foot a second time. "Come on. You get McKay," he whispered.
Ronon waited until Teyla shifted to her knees before he moved unsteadily toward his team leader. "Sheppard." Ronon heard grumbling from McKay and Teyla's quiet 'shh'. "Sheppard. Get up." Ronon shook the man's shoulder. Sheppard's eyelids fluttered and he made an incoherent sound, as if he were too tired to stay awake. Ronon checked Sheppard's pulse, which was rapid, the colonel's breathing was uneven and there were four red marks on the side of his neck. Ronon looked to his teammates and raised a hand to feel the tenderness of his own skin. Teyla examined McKay's skin above his vest, ran a finger over her own neck, and met Ronon's gaze with an expression of grave concern. McKay was wild-eyed, his brow furrowed in fearful confusion.
Teyla stumbled to her feet, wobbling as she moved to the door. She waved her hand past the control panel; the door did not open. With faltering steps she crept along the wall, feeling for cabinets or openings. They were in a small room of Ancient design and there was only the one exit. "Rodney!" she hissed.
McKay pulled his attention from his own troubles and the insensible Sheppard. As he made to stand his entire body began to shake. Teyla hurried to him to provide support. "What's happening?! What's wrong with me?" he cried.
"Shhhh. Rodney, we are all esper'encing some weakness and diffi'ulties. Do no' panic." Teyla's words were meant to comfort; McKay instead appeared horrified. Teyla patted his shoulder and spoke slowly and clearly. "Can - you - open - the - door?"
With Teyla's assistance McKay rose awkwardly and headed for the Ancient interface. Given the kind of problem he could understand, he went to work on a solution.
Ronon continued to work on his own problem. He grabbed the colonel's chin and shook the man by the jaw. "Sheppard."
Eyelids slowly lifted, pulled upward by very highly arched brows. Sheppard looked like a wide-awake drunk. "Hey."
"Can you stand?" Ronon asked, knowing the answer.
Sheppard made a slight grin. "I'm no' s'anding?" he slurred.
McKay stepped back from the wall in agitation. He gestured sharply. "Bridging the crystals doesn't work. Maybe there's no power. Maybe the mechanism is broken. Maybe something's blocked. Who knows. Without any tools, I don't have a clue, and without my laptop, there's no way to find out!" He ignored Teyla's gesture for silence and turned away from the control panel. He looked over at Sheppard. "He might be able to do it..."
Ronon braced himself before reaching down to pull Sheppard upright, sliding his friend's right arm over his own shoulders while he wrapped his left arm around the colonel's waist. He carefully made his way to the door with his burden. Sheppard dragged his feet with each step but made the effort to carry some of his own weight. His head bobbed as he perused the room.
McKay sidled away from the door. While Ronon and Teyla held up their teammate, McKay grabbed Sheppard's right arm and waved the hand in front of the controls. "Oh, c'mon, work!" McKay tried again by grasping his friend's wrist and placing the hand directly on the control panel. "It could be an added security measure. This is one time he has to be at least p-partially aware to be able to express mentally what he wants."
Ronon turned slightly in order to grab Sheppard by both shoulders. "Sheppard." Ronon shook his friend. "Sheppard!"
John Sheppard acted like a man past exhaustion. He managed to force open his eyelids briefly. He shook his head to stay awake and lost balance within Ronon's hold before slapping his hand at the control panel on the wall. The door slid open.
Teyla peered into the hallway. "Whish way shoul' we go?"
Ronon felt no hesitation. He studied the floor outside the entryway, then lifted Sheppard in a fireman's carry and clumsily headed down the hall.
"Ro'ney!" Teyla whispered urgently. "We mus' go! Now!"
The scientist stood outside their holding room, examining the door frame and control panel. "I'm coming, I'm c-coming," he answered, then he hurried after Teyla, who had caught up with Ronon at the next closed door.
Ronon leaned down to set Sheppard's feet on the ground. He held the man's hand at the door panel. The colonel's eyes were once again closed and his chin rested against his chest.
"John, you mus' stay awake," Teyla encouraged. "We nee' your help. We ure in trouble. You mus' help."
Sheppard bounced his chin once and his breathing changed, but his eyes did not open.
Ronon shifted slightly. He slapped Sheppard's cheek. "Sheppard. Sheppard." Ronon slapped him again, harder. "Sheppard!"
McKay stepped forward, in the colonel's face, and hissed, "Wake up, Sheppard! That's an order! Wr-raith are c-coming!"
The colonel bobbed his head again and quietly 'mmm-ed'.
"Are you awake? Sheppard, think: open the d-door. Do it!" McKay held his friend's hand and waved it over the crystals.
The door roughly slid open. There were two more closed doors, two more times Sheppard had to be coaxed and coerced before the team found themselves back in the hallway where they had first stood, just within the outer wall. The door leading to outside and the opposing door that opened into the contained city were now closed.
With the means they'd applied at the previous doors they roused Sheppard enough to pass the final obstacle. Once through the outside door, Ronon set his teammate on his feet and propped him against the wall. He carefully gauged the minor tremors and weakness in his own hand, held at Sheppard's chest.
"Sheppard! Think: close the d-door! Come on!" McKay held the colonel's hand at the control panel. With threats and pleas he finally compelled the appropriate response; the large door closed in a halting, uneven motion. McKay removed the crystals and looked at Ronon. "I know they can f-force the d-doors and there's an-nother way out, b-but this might slow them d-down."
Ronon said nothing. McKay's speech was deteriorating and the man had suffered another seizure. Their team leader was basically unconscious ~ they were nearly to a point where nothing they could do would elicit a response. Ronon's gaze shifted to Teyla, who was foraging for fist-size stones and large sticks. Her usual agility was compromised by more than general weakness. He saw her make a misstep and crumple to her knees.
"What's sh-sh-she d-doing?" McKay wanted to know.
Ronon didn't answer. Their symptoms were worsening ~ they were running out of time. Ronon straightened and hoisted Sheppard once again over his shoulders. He husbanded the strength he consciously had to direct to his muscles in order to move. Two large steps and he passed through the veiled curtain.
The path they'd made earlier coming from the Gate was clearly marked. Ronon set a careful pace that took full advantage of his long stride on the decline. His teammates were struggling. Ronon heard the uneven steps and harsh breathing behind him but knew Teyla would make certain their speed was maintained.
"I know w-we have to hurry, b-b-but we do have a h-head s-start, y-you know," McKay wheezed.
"Ro'ney, save yur brea'. Jus' run."
When he started up the rise Ronon felt his leg muscles burn and identified the signs of an overall increasing weakness. Sheppard was an awkward load, unsettling his balance when Ronon slowed to climb the hill. A short cry behind him meant Teyla had fallen. Ronon moved on, confident McKay would help her to her feet. He heard more sounds of distress, and Teyla's voice, comforting and encouraging a man who had experienced another convulsive attack. Ronon did not stop nor look back. At the top of the hill he paused for breath.
Ronon needed rest. His legs shook and his arms ached. His endurance and strength, which he'd never given a second thought during his years as a Runner, were now in doubt. He needed to plan, to conserve. And to keep moving. The flat grasses offered no vantage point, but there would be danger in the trees. Ronon considered the most efficient attack would come within the forest. Or at the Gate. Sheppard moved and uttered a whisper Ronon didn't understand, but it shook him from his paralysis; he headed down the hill with his charge. His respite was too short for rest and his teammates had not caught up with him.
When he reached flat ground Ronon walked until he'd measured half the distance between the hill and the trees. He stopped and carefully laid Sheppard on the ground. Ronon kept his back to the hill and straightened to examine the wooded area. Behind him his teammates noisily approached.
McKay flopped down in the grass. "What is the p-point of h-h-hurrying if it's 'h-hurry up and w-wait'?!" he panted. "Atlant-tis won't m-miss us f-for hours! We h-have to find a p‑place t-to hide until th-they d-dial us!" he finished angrily with a glare.
"Ro'ney," Teyla interjected, "do you really belie'e we ca' hide fro' the peo'le who live on thi' worl'? Dey know their lan' mush bedd'r tha' we do," she reasoned.
"And we can't wait for Atlantis." Ronon was still studying the trees, but he held out his arm to show his trembling hand, an indication of his increasing loss of control. "We can't fight."
"W-What are you l-looking f-for?" McKay grumbled.
"The trap. They let us go." Ronon could feel McKay's gape of confusion but he kept a keen eye on the trees. "Whatever they're going to do, we have to be fast enough to get through the Gate before they can stop us."
"You th-think they're alr-ready th-there?"
Ronon turned away from the wooded area and looked steadily down at McKay. "Do something," he dictated.
"W-What do you expect m-me to d-do? There's no D-DHD!" McKay jumped to his feet in a rage. He made a show of patting his vest. "Let's s-see. I have a p-pressure b-bandage, a r-radio and a wr-r-ristwatch." He snapped his fingers. "I know. I'll b-build a s‑subspace t-transmitter! Anyone h-have any ch-chewing gum?"
Ronon maintained a bland expression in the face of McKay's furious sarcasm. The smaller man broke the deadlock.
McKay took a step to the side. "Leave m-m-me alone. I have t-to th-th-think." He stared into the distance at the trees, at the Gate he couldn't see, tall grass, an old Jumper. He suddenly dug into a vest pocket and opened his hand to reveal the crystals he'd filched from each door control. He looked up at the expectant faces. "Th-this prob-bably w-won't work, and I'll n-need help-p if y-you want i-it f-fast, if i-it w-works a-at all."
"Ro'ney, you c'n ma'e it wor'," Teyla encouraged.
"How long?" Ronon inquired.
"With T-T-Teyla's help-p-p, six or s-seven min-n-nutes."
Ronon nodded and reached down for Sheppard. His arm began to shake. He stood straight and clenched both fists. "Teyla." She came to help him and together they managed to drape their teamleader over Ronon's shoulders.
Ronon set out with an even, deliberate gait at a speed they could all easily sustain. As they drew nearer the woods Ronon slowed, then stopped at a place such that an attacker emerging from the trees would be fully exposed, allowing Teyla time to prepare an engagement with her fighting sticks and rocks. Ronon bent slightly to set Sheppard on his feet. "McKay. You take him." Ronon released his hold and turned toward Teyla.
McKay grabbed Sheppard by the biceps and leaned into him to keep the man standing. "Wh-what? Why! He's h-heavy!"
Over his shoulder Ronon replied, "He's the one they want," as he took a couple of the slim branches and big stones Teyla had been carrying. One of the sticks slipped from his grasp. Ronon retrieved it and looked up at Teyla's expression of comprehension ~ they could not make a lengthy stand. She gripped her own sticks and nodded at him.
"So?! Why c-can't y-you c-carry him?"
"Ro'ney, iz jus' to the Ga'e." Teyla helped McKay shift Sheppard into a position to be carried. "Woul' you rather ta'e the lead to face wha'ever we encoun'er in the woo's?"
Ronon took the lead. He saw nothing, but he had seen no signs at any time ~ not in the trees, not in the grass. His Runner instinct was on alert, warning him of some invisible threat. Like Sheppard, Ronon had felt an inner disquiet when they had first come through the woods. Did the people of the planet monitor the Gate? Had they known of the team's arrival all along? And did that mean they had a way of concealing themselves? Ronon recalled the furtive sound of movement in the meadow and trees.
Teyla was bringing up the rear. Behind Ronon McKay was complaining, muttering quietly, squandering his breath on comments about not having a Jumper. They were making good time, but Ronon could feel the loss of strength in his body with each step; he had to focus some of his attention just on walking.
They left the closeness of the trees and entered the clearing. Ronon's instinct had not changed ~ woods or open grasses, no signs anywhere, yet Ronon felt an unseen enemy.
McKay panted loudly and stopped. "I-I-I have t-to go to th-the J-Jumper, so y-you t-take him." He turned Sheppard over to Ronon's care and gave Teyla her orders. "G-Go get th-the cryst-t-tals. A-As man-n-ny pieces as y-you c-can find."
Ronon lowered Sheppard into the grass and followed McKay to the Jumper. "You said those crystals were useless junk."
McKay was already peering under the Jumper console. He pulled his head back out to address the remark. "I also s-s-said this p-probably w-w-won't work! Do y-y-you have a b-better i-i-dea?!" he glared before reaching under the console to pull out a tangle of wires. He continued to work with the wires while he spoke. "I have t-t-to pull the f-frame outside th-the housing and w-w-wire the m-matrix extern-n-ally in order t-to accom-m-m-modate the additional c-crystals in the a-a-array, and th-this will only w-w-work if all c-c-coordinate centers h-have no d-damage and if I-I can subst-t-titute or piggyb-b-back these door crystals t-to re-replace the D-D-DHD crystals that are t-too badly b-broken to b-be used. Once th-the w-wormhole i-i-is established, th-that's all we need. N-N-Now, go away. T-Take Sheppard to the s-s-steps. W-When the G-G-Gate opens, m-m-move. By the t-t-time you get to th-th-the P-Puddle, I'll h-have t-t-told Atlant-t-tis w-w-we're coming." He ducked under the console again.
Teyla arrived at the Jumper as Ronon was leaving. "This's ull I coul' fine." She bent down and opened her cupped hands on the cockpit floor to deposit a small pile of broken crystals.
McKay set aside the wire strands and pawed through the pieces. He picked up two fragments and wired them into the array. "F-F-Find duos th-that have th-the center in-in-intact. Y-You'll have t-t-to help hold th-th-this in p-p-position. I-It w-w-won't d-d-dial if th-the matrix orienta-ta-tion is n-n-not correct."
Ronon had waited to confirm the repair was proceeding before he went to retrieve Sheppard; he couldn't lift the smaller man over his shoulders. He dragged Sheppard to the steps and pulled his teammate one step at a time up to the platform level, where they could wait, beyond the reach of the kawoosh.
Ronon kept scanning the grass and the circle of trees beyond. The back of his neck tingled, the ever-present warning, but he saw nothing, heard nothing. Behind him the first chevron light locked, then the second, then the third. The Gate lights dimmed and the third chevron flickered, then became steady. The remaining chevrons locked and the wormhole bloomed. Ronon gripped Sheppard by the wrists and began to drag him toward the Gate.
Teyla came running from the Jumper. She stopped and looked back. "Ro'ney, hurry! Wha' ure you doin'?"
"D-Dots and d-d-dashes! N-Neverm-mind," McKay shouted, "j-just get Sh-Sh-Sheppard to the G-Gate! I'll b-be there in a m-m-minute! T-T-Tell Atlant-t-tis we're c-coming!"
Teyla keyed her radio as she ran to the steps, tripped at the top, and stumbled onto the platform. "Alan'is!" She reached down to help Ronon drag Sheppard. "We ure comin- John!"
Sheppard was suddenly snatched from her grip. From thin air two figures appeared, oddly concealed in flowing robes of transitioning grass-green and stone-grey colors such that only their eyes were truly visible. They held Sheppard by the ankles.
"Nooo!" Teyla launched herself at the nearest aggressor with a clumsy kick that missed any target. She plucked the sticks from the back of her waistband and entered a frantic battle against a larger adversary who had the advantage of partial obscurity.
Ronon dove for Sheppard, slid his hands under the colonel's shoulders and tried, with a lunge-and-yank, to pull his teammate free. His strength was not enough; the second figure maintained a strangle-hold on Sheppard's ankles. Ronon gauged the approximate location of the voluminous chameleon robe. He leap-frogged over Sheppard and grabbed fabric while throwing a punch directly at the unobscured eyes; his assailant went down. As he returned to thread his arms under Sheppard's armpits Ronon saw Teyla struggling against her captor, held by her left wrist and ankle, writhing and squirming as she was swung back and forth, then released to disappear into the Puddle. McKay arrived to ram Teyla's attacker from behind. The two went down in a flurry of movement, made unclear by the veiled effect of the robe.
With Sheppard pulled to his chest Ronon was hurriedly backing toward the Gate. They'd nearly made it when McKay's opponent latched onto the back of McKay's vest, and even with McKay's frenzied back-and-forth movements to dislodge the enemy, the skirmish ended when the robed figure put a foot to McKay's backside and kicked him through the Gate.
Ronon was jerked to a halt. Both figures had grabbed onto the colonel, who was being held like a rag doll in a tug-of-war. With Sheppard in their clutches Ronon couldn't throw himself and his charge backward through the Gate and he hadn't the strength to wrest his teammate from their grasp.
It was a standstill. Ronon's knees shook. The robed figures began to push against his shoulders to separate him from the colonel. One adversary inserted a forearm then used the elbow as a wedge. Ronon altered his posture to resist and tightened his hold on Sheppard; he would not let go. Ronon growled and swerved when a gloved hand made an inexpert swipe at his eye; a rough seam had caught his brow and he knew the skin had split. He was being backed into the shimmer. He head-butted the nearest figure as he began to dematerialize. The last thing Ronon knew was a decorative dagger jabbing his wrist as he entered limbo and Sheppard was wrenched from his arms.
Ronon withdrew his hands from the event horizon and clasped his right wrist to staunch the blood flow. He turned to look for Weir among the jostling crowd of Marines and Gate Room personnel. The Gate shut down, its absence enhancing the clatter of the arriving gurneys. Weir was by the balcony, fiercely monitoring the activity below. Urgency hardened Ronon's voice. "We have to go back. Now. They have Sheppard." He swayed and dropped to the floor, surrounded by fussing medical staff.
McKay lacked strength to shift to a sitting position. He lay on his stomach, braced on trembling forearms. He frantically addressed Weir as she hurried down the main stairs. "We're w-wasting t-time!" he shouted. "D-D-Dial the G-Gate!" He yelped as someone tried to draw him to his feet near a waiting gurney.
Major Lorne came rushing up the ramp into the Gate Room. He took only a moment to eye the disorder of the busy crowd. "Colonel Sheppard?" He directed the question at Weir, who shook her head lightly and motioned him toward her.
Teyla lay on a gurney. She raised a shaking hand. "Maj'r, we mus' g' beck fer Zhohn." Her arm dropped heavily. Lorne tucked her hand at her side and went to stand with Weir.
"Carson, what's wrong with them?" Elizabeth asked when the doctor finished examining Ronon.
"I'd say they've all been drugged. I can be more specific after I have a tox screen. And there's something else. They all have a small mark on the neck. Very distinctive. I'll know more once I have them under the scanner." Beckett gestured for his staff to leave with Teyla and Rodney on gurneys and he waved over other personnel to help place Ronon on the last gurney.
Author's Note: The rest of the story is complete (has been for a long while) except I'll need to do some proofing to make sure what I've written recently will mesh with what I wrote long ago. My usual strategy has always been to post the whole story in one [short] chapter, but this story is more than two times longer than any of my previous tales, so maybe breaking it into separate chapters is a good idea. [From comments I've received, I understand some people prefer this method as it increases anticipation. Personally, it would drive me nuts.] So, four chapters - teaser, set up, solution, tag. The remaining chapters will be posted this month.
A reference was made to M.C. Escher, a Dutch artist. If you don't know the name, you'll still probably recognize his work.
Thanks for reading (and feedback is always appreciated!).
