Authors Note:
This is set in season 4 around the events of Be All My Sins Remember'd, when the Apollo and the Daedalus were off chasing Asuran ships and Atlantis teams were evacuating the natives out of harms way.
Challenge Four - The Nature of Evil
Even up to the last hour Major Lorne was thinking they could save everyone. Thousands of people at the nearest settlement and even more at another three hours away had already left. Evan estimated there were still more than two thousand people to evacuate, a number that was steadily worrying him as time was eaten up too rapidly by the steady flow of people into the area. It was down to mathematics ... how many people could walk through the gate in the thirty eight minutes the wormhole would stay open? Then you just had to make sure they were all organised as close to the gate as possible, dial up your location and get them moving. Too slow and they wouldn't all get through, too fast and there'd be chaos on the other side. Not for the first time he wished the Daedalus had been available to help instead of off chasing Wraith and Replicator ships alike.
"They'll be here soon," Lorne's 2IC, Sergeant Coughlin said in a low voice as they both watched the next group gathered to begin their journey through the gate.
"Two hours, three tops," Lorne agreed, looking at his watch. "We need to check in before this group leaves," he nodded to the waiting crowd, motioning for Coughlin to dial the gate.
"Atlantis, this is Major Lorne," he announced once the connection was established.
"Reading you Major," Colonel Sheppard replied. "What's your status?"
"The next group is ready to go Sir," Lorne replied. "We still have at least two more groups plus a few people a bit further out from the village. Any updates on the Asuran's ETA?"
"We were about to try calling you," Sheppard's tone dropped and Lorne knew he wasn't going to like the next bit. "Rodney's detected them closing in faster than we predicted ... they'll be on your doorstep in just over half an hour."
"That's not enough time!" Lorne forgot to add a Sir to the end of that his dismay and worry were so strong. The technology to detect the Aurora class ships used by the Replicators was a godsend and a curse - they knew which planets the Asuran's were heading for next but their arrival time was as much guess work as anything else ... or so it seemed to Evan anyway.
"I know," Sheppard said quietly. "You get as many out as you can in this next group, tell the rest to find the deepest cave they can to shelter in ... and then you get out of there Evan, is that understood?"
"But ....," Lorne trailed off weakly. He wanted to argue, he just didn't have anything else to offer.
"This one last group Major," Sheppard repeated the order firmly.
"Yes Sir," Lorne agreed reluctantly.
"We'll see you back here in thirty eight minutes, give or take," Sheppard finished.
The gate closed, leaving Lorne and Coughlin staring at the empty circle, both troubled.
Evan shook himself, getting himself mentally back in the moment. "Okay, lets round up everyone we can," he told his 2IC. "They drop everything and head for the gate right now - double time it," he added, revoking his agreement with each person bringing something with them for the evacuation. The increased pace might make for a mess on the other side of the wormhole but at this point Lorne was willing to risk it. Coughlin nodded, moving away as Lorne approached the settlement's leader.
"We need to hurry this up," he told the man, Neeat, who'd insisted on staying until the last of his people were evacuated.
"I thought we still had sufficient time," Neeat protested.
"Yeah, well now we don't," Lorne shot back grimly. "Listen, this is going to be difficult but ... we only have time for one more group to evacuate through the gate. The rest of your people will have to find a place to shelter - wait it out until the Asurans leave."
"There are few hiding places sufficient to avoid detection and injury," Neeat reminded Lorne of something he already knew. "That is why your people agreed to assist our evacuation through the great ring."
"I know," Lorne grimaced, meeting Neeat eyes, his own serious and regretful. "We can't risk the Asuran's tracking those who've already escaped ... the gate has to be closed and everyone away from the vicinity before they arrive."
Neeat looked at Lorne, frozen, his expression tormented. After a few moments of silent staring each came to understand the others point of view without exchanging a word. Neeat nodded. "Very well Major," he said sadly.
In the end they got out another thousand people before Lorne's half hour was up. He used the time to fly the Puddle Jumper out from the gate at high speed, searching for people who wouldn't have heard about the threat. He found one small group he could bring back in the Jumper and another he could only warn to take cover. It was something but nowhere near enough in his mind. All the time, on the way back to the gate and then later during the debrief on Atlantis, the events of the past day tormented and distracted him. How many had he left behind? How many had survived? Could he have done anything different, gotten more of them to safety?
"You okay Major?" Lorne looked up, startled to find everyone had left the briefing room, leaving him alone with his CO.
"Ah ... ," Lorne shrugged, not wanting to lie but unable to say he was okay when really, he wasn't.
"Not your fault Major," Sheppard said firmly. "Without your team there none of those people would have survived - you gave them all hope, even the ones you had to leave behind."
"Hope," Evan shook his head bitterly. "Is it really hope to go there and let them think we could save them all when we couldn't?"
"I think so," Sheppard said simply. "And I'm sure you will too - once you've had a chance to get a little perspective." He paused, looking at his 2IC for a moment. "If you want to talk, you know where I am."
"Thank you Sir," Lorne said gratefully, nodding with as much of a smile as he could manage since Sheppard seemed to need some kind of indicator that he was okay.
Once the Colonel had left and he was alone, Evan's thoughts returned to the morose. Hope ... what did that even mean to the people in the Pegasus galaxy? They'd lived with the fear of Wraith culling for thousands of years and then they'd added in another enemy, the Replicators. Life wasn't easy ... maybe Sheppard was right, maybe just being there to help them when no help had been available before was enough.
Lorne couldn't help but think of a quote from Friedrich Nietzshe though ... "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." He just hoped he hadn't prolonged the torment of any of those people on that planet today ... because even that degree of evil sat uncomfortably and too heavily on his shoulders.
Authors Note:
The challenge here, again from our Cameron Mitchell RPG player, was do so something revolving around evil - "Evil Clones, Evil Twins, the Evils of the triple chocolate sundae you just ate before inspection, Evil sentient chainsaws, the Evils of the internet" ... this time I couldn't seem to come up with something light hearted so apologies for the more serious tone.
That's the last of the challenges at my RPG site as of right now. If you've got a challenge for me that would fit here, challenge away! I don't think it will work if I try to challenge myself LOL.