As the Jumper shot out of the 'gate on the other side, Jack found himself watching trees whiz by and disappear in the windscreen.
"Why is it that every damn planet looks the same?" Jack asked, glancing at a flock of bird-like creatures up ahead.
Carter replied. "The Ancients terra-formed most of these planets using the same method on each. That way all of the planets have the proper components to sustain human life. Of course, each one has their differences, and it is all really--"
Jack cut her off, raising his hand. "It was a rhetorical question, Carter." He swiveled his chair to face her and noticed the smirk on Ronon's face. Carter, however looked concerned. "What?" he turned back to the front and saw the HUD on-screen.
"What was that, John?" Carter asked, a familiar note of tension in her voice.
"Some sort of projectile," he answered, hands tweaking the controls.
"There's another," Ronon added as a large rock-type projectile barely missed the Jumper.
"Somebody's throwing rocks at us?" Jack asked, his muscles tensing.
"Looks that way, sir," Sheppard answered, a look of concentration on his face. He yanked on the yoke, sending the Jumper space-ward to avoid another rock. Thank God for inertial dampeners, otherwise their stomachs would all be in a sloppy pile at the rear of the Jumper.
The next course of events happened so fast, Jack barely had time to think. Sheppard leveled out the Jumper, heading toward the settlement and someone on the ground got off a lucky shot. A large boulder, or what looked like a boulder hurled towards them and smashed into one of the extended drive pods. They were thrown off-course and went plunging toward the ground.
Sheppard struggled with the controls, his arms tense. "I can't keep her straight. Everyone hold on to something!" he called.
Jack clenched at the arms of his chair as the ground rose up to meet them. And meet them it did…with a very unfriendly hello.
It must have been quite a while before they awoke. That, or the dense trees blocked out any light from the sun. Either way, it was dark in the Jumper when Jack finally opened his eyes. His first thought was about the searing pain in his left shoulder and the pain in his skull. Lifting his right hand, he found a nasty cut on his forehead, which would probably account for the blood on the control panel and dripping down his face.
"I'm too old for this," he complained, wriggling from his chair. Sheppard groaned, slowly pushing himself up. Jack moved back to Carter's seat, pressing his blood covered fingers to her throat. There was a strong pulse, which was a good sign, but he didn't like the look of the bump on her head or the nasty bruise that covered the right half of her face. He didn't see much blood though.
Gently, he grabbed her chin and turned her face toward him. Well, he was wrong about the blood. She must have smashed her head against the console.
"Everyone okay?" Sheppard croaked out, having finally fully regained consciousness.
"We're all in one piece…except for Ronon, who appears to have been completely disintegrated," Jack answered, looking over at Ronon's seat. The man was missing. "How does something that big just disappear?"
"He's talented that way," John answered, sounding both concerned and in pain, but not at all worried.
Jack looked up and saw Sheppard standing right behind him. "You look like hell," he commented bluntly.
"Thank you, General." Despite blood dripping from his chin from a bloody nose, a black eye, a bloodied temple and an obviously dislocated shoulder, the man still managed that cocky smirk. "Is she alright?"
"My head is splitting…" the woman grumbled.
"She's fine," he answered, rubbing at his shoulder and pulling his hand away sticky with blood. The seam of his shirt had been torn and something must have punctured the skin.
"Good, because we need her to fix the Jumper. Internal sensors are down, so I can't really tell what's wrong," Sheppard said, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Well, we know the internal sensors are down," Jack offered helpfully.
Sheppard was about to say something else when the hatch began to lower. With surprising speed, the Lieutenant Colonel pulled his side arm and held it steady. If he had to fire that thing with only one hand, he'd have a broken wrist to add to his list of injuries.
Jack pulled his weapon as well, waiting patiently as the hatch lowered. It was completely dark outside the Jumper and a cool, still air filtered inside. Thirty very tense seconds passed and the flickering interior lights highlighted a large figure.
"Damnit, Ronon!" Sheppard cursed, holstering his pistol.
Frowning, Jack holstered his own weapon and starred at the large man. "Nice of you to join us."
Ronon smirked, walking into the front section of the Jumper. "I was scouting the area. Couldn't wake anyone else up, so I went alone," he replied."
Sheppard didn't seem surprised by this. "Did you find anything?"
"Those boulders that hit us aren't boulders. They're some sort of creature. Found a dead one a few hundred yards east."
Jack's eyebrows rose. "Huh."
Sheppard exhaled slowly. "Well, at least it isn't dinosaurs this time."
"Dinosaurs, you say? Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Frowning, Jack turned back to Carter, who was just managing to pull herself to her feet. Instinctually, Jack reached out to steady her and received a muttered 'thanks'.
Once she regained her balance, Carter wiped at some of the blood gathering near her eye. She tried to speak, but winced.
"That looks painful," Sheppard said, noticing the bruise.
"So does that dislocated shoulder," she replied, moving her mouth as little as possible.
"Hurts like a bitch, Colonel."
"At least it's not broken. Then she'd had to splint it. That's not very much fun," Jack joked, looking at Carter. She smirked, remembering the incident well even though it was ten years ago. "Anyhoo, it's going to hurt even more when we reset it."
Sheppard looked appropriately worried and backed up a step.
"Alright kids, things are going to get cozy for a bit." Another set of memories cam rushing back from when he and Teal'c had to do the same thing to Daniel on the tel'tak during that nightmare with the Kinahhi. Another event that seemed like a lifetime ago.
"I can deal with it, really…" Sheppard frowned and backed up another step.
"Suck it up, Sheppard," Ronon grumbled.
Jack nodded at Carter. "Help me restrain him."
"Yes, sir."
In an uncomfortably awkward gesture, Jack wrapped his arms around Sheppard, pinning his good arm down so he didn't take a swing at one of them. Carter wrapped her own arms around his torso, almost looking like she was hugging him.
"Ronon, if you would?"
With an almost sadistic smirk on his lips, Ronon moved toward Sheppard.
"If I have to do this at all, I'd rather have someone else do it. I've seen him do this to himself. He's not very careful!"
Ronon didn't hesitate any longer and grabbed Sheppard's arm.
"No, it's okay, really--"
With an audible pop, Ronon reset the shoulder. And Sheppard's resulting howl woke every living being up in the entire damn galaxy.
