CHAPTER 4
"Well?"
"It is a little difficult to manipulate alien technology off the top of your head even for me."
"It's been two hours." Ronon growled, glancing over at McKay before returning his attention to their surroundings. "It's taking too long."
"I'm not deciphering an alien language and rewriting code fast enough for you? You do it then!" Rodney snarled having reached his breaking point with Ronon's remarks.
"What?" Ronon turned toward him in surprise. The little man usually sniped from a distance or retreated.
"Here," he slapped the laptop into Ronon's chest, "you figure out alien programming codes and turn off the signal!" Rodney shoved past Ronon and stalked out from under the ledge.
"Rodney."
"McKay."
"No. I'm tired of it; of his constant criticism and disparaging remarks. If I'm not doing it fast enough for him, let him do it."
Careful not to walk too close to the falling water, Rodney stormed off. He was tired of being belittled every time he was around the Satedan more than a few minutes; tired of the man trying to bully him; tired of being made to feel inferior.
"Rodney. Rodney, stop!" Sheppard called after him, exasperated and worried. He didn't know why Ronon was being such a jerk. Apparently, he had been blind to the severity of the situation if Rodney, who usually shrugged off people's negative reactions to him, was reacting this way.
Rodney came to a stop. Shoulders stiff; hands clenched at his side. Sheppard stopped beside him. "What was that about?"
"You really have to ask that?" Rodney snarled.
"Look, I know Ronon can be a bit overbearing, but…."
"No. No buts. I'm tired of him belittling and bullying me." Rodney barked.
"Ronon bullies everyone." Sheppard retorted.
"Not Teyla."
"Well, no one bullies Teyla."
"Not you."
Sheppard grimaced. "He tries."
Rodney crossed his arms. "Really?" He asked disbelievingly.
"Yes. Really. Kicks my butt when we spar without breaking a sweat. And he plays golf one handed." Sheppard admitted.
"One handed?" Rodney couldn't help but be intrigued.
"Yeah. Great distance; better aim than me, too." Sheppard acknowledged sheepishly.
"Huh." Anger twisted his face again. "He still doesn't insult you constantly."
Sheppard put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go sit over there." He indicated the little pool the tiny waterfalls had created.
Rodney sat distractedly on a moss covered rock without one tiny objection. Sheppard took that as a sure sign of Rodney's internal upset. So, okay, he wasn't just throwing a tantrum for attention that meant the situation was as serious as Sheppard was beginning to think that it was.
Sheppard settled on another rock nearby. "Now talk."
Rodney looked a little embarrassed now that the moment was past. "Never mind."
"We're friends, right?"
Rodney glanced at him, startled. "Umm, yes."
"Then talk to me."
His hands moved agitatedly. "I will never be able to fight like you all or run as fast or be as fierce or…or as deadly. I'm always going to talk more than anyone else and react slower. Panic more."
"And we are never going to see the angles you see or do the science you do or come up with ingenious solutions like you do. We save you; you save us. That's how we do it."
Rodney hunched forward, elbows on his knees, hands dangling. "He doesn't see it that way. He thinks I'm a liability to the team."
Sheppard stared at Rodney for moment completely caught off-guard at the vulnerability he heard. He shifted his attention to where Teyla and Ronon were talking and caught the look of contempt on Ronon's face. He knew Ronon picked on Rodney, but had assumed it was like the way he picked on him. Now he saw it was different; it was antagonistic. He frowned.
"You aren't a liability. We'd be dead many times over if it weren't for you."
"Yeah? Tell him that." Misery etched Rodney's expressive face.
"I know it; Teyla knows it; Ronon can figure it out or learn to deal with it."
"Maybe he's right." Rodney said hesitantly. Maybe he was a liability and no one wanted to tell him. "Maybe I should quit the team."
"You are not leaving the team." Sheppard stated forcefully.
McKay acted as if he could care less if people liked him or not and Sheppard was sure that the majority of the time he didn't care, but he wanted his team to like him. He needed to be needed by them. Sheppard sighed and clapped Rodney's shoulder. "You just keep being you and he'll come around."
"Right."
"You could always harass him back."
"Yes. I can see that working out well. He hits people who upset him."
"He hasn't hit you has he?" Sheppard asked throwing a shocked glare in Ronon's direction.
"No."
Sheppard felt his tense muscles relax a little. "I think he may actually be intimidated by you." Rodney made him feel stupid and Sheppard wasn't the dumb grunt he portrayed. Ronon probably did feel stupid around McKay and if he did, he definitely wasn't liking it.
Rodney snorted. "What have you been smoking?"
Sheppard chuckled. "Let's get these locators turned off even if you have to turn off ours as well. You can figure a way to turn them on later."
Rodney sighed. "Okay."
Together they walked back under the ledge and Rodney quietly picked up the laptop and began tapping away at the keyboard again. He didn't look at Ronon and Ronon didn't look at him.
It was nearly an hour later when he finally had the program ready. "Okay, here goes. Just remember that this means Atlantis won't be able to track us either."
"We'll worry about that later." Sheppard responded. "Just keep those spheres from tracking us."
Rodney tapped a few more keys, studied the life signs detector then nodded in satisfaction. "Done."
Ronon just turned and stalked out, disappearing into the woods.
Sheppard looked over at Teyla.
"He is going to try and hunt something to eat." Teyla informed them while giving Rodney a sympathetic look. "I will gather wood for a fire."
It was very tense the rest of the night. Ronon came back with some sort of small animal. The guard roster was set in near silence. Rodney and Ronon bedded down as far from each other as possible.
SGA
"We'll head for the valley that leads to the beach." Sheppard said the next morning after a meager breakfast.
"If there are people here they most likely will be in the valley." Teyla said in agreement. "Perhaps someone will be able to tell us what is going on."
"Or capture and torture us." Rodney groused.
"Rodney." Teyla reprimanded gently.
"What? Oh, right. Friendly villagers have never captured and tortured us before." He retorted sarcastically.
"Some have been genuinely friendly and helpful." Teyla argued.
"And if there is a Gate or transport on the island it'll be on low land." Sheppard added.
With that comment, he began walking. The others fell in behind him. Rodney strode behind Sheppard with Teyla behind him and Ronon taking up rearguard.
They moved steadily downward, ears pricked for the buzz of the spheres. They had just decided to break for lunch when they heard them. At first the sound was so low it didn't register then it got louder. They all turned in the direction of the noise. The low buzz rose until it sounded like a hive of angry bees. Whoever was sending them out had released the entire horde on them.
"Run!"
They ran through the woods shooting over their shoulders at the closest spheres. No protective or defensive area appeared. They kept running. The spheres continued their dogged pursuit through the trees, swarming around the thick trunks and branches. Their angry buzz filled the area with a high pitched shrill that hurt the ears.
Suddenly, they burst out of the woods and into a clearing. Sheppard headed to his right hoping to find cover in the jumble of rocks that marked the edge of a cliff. His team followed on his heels racing across the open ground in a desperate attempt to reach safety. Laser bursts sizzled around them as they ran.
He reached the rocks, slid behind one and turned fluidly aiming and shooting at the deadly metallic balls. One by one they fell to the ground, but this time they didn't give up and disappear.
Teyla and Rodney passed him and took cover. Ronon reached them, turned to fire while roaring defiance. A laser burst hit him; he stumbled on the rocky ground.
Sheppard watched, horrified as time slowed. Ronon stumbled backward tripping over strewn rocks. Rodney reached for him; grabbed him. Another burst struck the side of Ronon's head. They both tumbled over the edge of the cliff.
"No!" Sheppard and Teyla screamed and started toward the edge.
The spheres let loose a barrage of laser bursts pushing them back into the rocks. Teyla and Sheppard could do nothing except fight for their own lives. Their friends were beyond their help.