Chapter Four – Write, Eat, Sleep, Write
OOOOOO
The silence was deafening as they walked cautiously through the woods; away from the village. The mood among the teammates was alternating between despair, anger and hopelessness.
"How far is it? I'm burning up," Rodney complained and adjusted his rug sack.
"Can it, Rodney," he whispered and tightened his grip around the P90.
"John," Teyla warned suddenly, her voice tight.
"Oh great what is…"Rodney began and stopped short as a bright blue flash created by a Wraith stunner engulfed him.
Ronon crouched down and backtracked the short distance to Rodney, who had walked behind him next to Sheppard.
"They are all over the place!" Teyla shouted.
He nodded and let lose another volley of shots."Ronon, get Rodney!" he hollered and got up to take point. "Then help Teyla and cover our six!"
"Teyla!" He shouted, checking if she was set.
"Go, John, go," she urged.
Sheppard gasped as a sharp pain suddenly burned in his side and the image of them running for their lives vanished. Focusing solemnly on the pain he tried to shift in order to get away from it as a hand on his chest brought him back to reality. Confused he opened his eyes and saw Keller hovering over him.
"I'm sorry, John, but I had to take a sneak peak," Jennifer said apologetically as she gently placed a new dressing over the wound.
John blinked, trying to get the haze to clear from his mind. "It's okay," he mumbled and took a moment to orient himself. "We are back?" he asked as if not really believing it.
Keller's smile disappeared and was replaced by concern. "Yes," she confirmed cautiously. "Don't you remember?"
He slowly nodded, indicating that he did.
"Good," she said and squeezed his shoulder. "The others have been worried about you."
He stared at her with a slightly perplexed expression on his pale face.
Jennifer pointed a finger at him. "And before you ask, they are doing fine," she added.
"Colonel Sheppard?" Richard Woolsey spoke up as he made his way toward him.
"This'll have to be a very short visit, Mr. Woolsey," Keller warned as she left John and headed over to Rodney who lay in a bed a bit further down the room.
He nodded and moved to stand close the Colonel. "Sheppard," he acknowledged. "How are you doing?"
"I'm…" he began and saw Keller glaring at him. "…not fine, but I'm getting there," he admitted.
The fairly new head of the Atlantis Expedition thoughtfully scratched his forehead and frowned at the same time. He harrumphed and swallowed, finally meeting Sheppard's eyes. "This might now be the right time, Colonel, but…I need to know what happened on the planet," he said.
"A lot of things…" Colonel Sheppard began.
"Mr. Woolsey? Jennifer warned. "I believe I gave you a short resume before."
"Just a minute, Doctor Keller," he assured her.
"Wraith happened on P3X-561-M. There wasn't a single Acclosian left alive in the village," John replied with a disturbed look on his face.
Woolsey looked away.
We… had some trouble getting back here," Sheppard continued. "As I'm sure Keller has told you."
"Ha, that's the understatement of the year," Rodney added sarcastically, having overheard the conversation.
Woolsey spared the scientist a glance.
We did find something interesting; an Ancient underground system. I'll summarize it in the report," he finished tiredly. "I hope you're letting me know about Lorne's progress?"
"You just rest and get better," the former IOA committee member said, as he didn't want to put pressure on him. Richard had seen the exhaustion and pain in the brown eyes, the stiff movements; the man had been close to death. Keller had warned him and he understood what she had meant.
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"Jennifer?" McKay said as Woolsey quietly left the room. "I'm starving."
She couldn't help but to chuckle. It was good to have him back. "I take it you're feeling better," she said and reached out to take his hand in her own. "You had us worried there for a while."
"How's John? I heard him talk to Woolsey but that doesn't necessarily mean he's doing okay," the scientist reasoned.
Jennifer got a serious look on her face at the mention of the Colonel. She turned to look at him and saw that he had already slipped back into a restless slumber. His skin was clammy and she noticed with displeasure that his forehead and upper lip was covered with a thin layer of perspiration.
"He's fighting off the infection. His body is reacting well to the treatment and I'm positive he'll make a full recovery," she said happily. "Although until then, he has some serious physical therapy to get through and several weeks of desk duty."
Rodney stared at his friend, unable to tear his eyes away from the unusual stillness and paleness that represented Sheppard at the moment. "You're sure he is going to be okay?" Rodney asked cautiously.
"Positive, Rodney," Jennifer reassured him.
"Huh," he said and turned his head to look at her. "And, Teyla?"
"Teyla is out of danger. I've replaced all the blood that she lost and given her drip. The specialist has examined her foot briefly and it looks promising. We'll go through the surgery in a few hours and then proceed with the procedure. With any luck she will have full mobility. After that she needs plenty of rest and physical therapy," the doctor said and nodded at him. "Is there anything you need? Other than food that is," Jennifer asked amusedly.
"Well, I might be sick but great discoveries can't wait," he said. "I could use my computer."
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Teyla sighed unhappily and started typing. She could not avoid it any longer. She had no excuse.
ATLANTIS MISSION REPORT ARCHIVE
P3X-561-M, ACCLO
Teyla Emmagan
/ During a visit in the Athosian Camp my old friend and mentor, Halling, approached me; he was worried about the Acclosian people. He had been trying to get a word to them for over a week but been unable to do so. My people have always had good trading relations with the Acclosians and I consider them to be important friends to my people. Therefore I promised Halling that I would talk to Colonel Sheppard upon my return to Atlantis. It was then decided, together with the Atlantis Expedition Leader Richard Woolsey, that we should gate to P3X-561-M and find out why no one had heard of the people.
/ Arriving through the Stargate, together with Atlantis CMO Jennifer Keller, we detected nothing out of the ordinary.
/ The Acclosians are a proud people and in many ways capable of taking care of their own. It troubled me that they couldn't be reached. Like the Athosians, the Acclosians have a rich culture and they have many rituals. Many centuries ago our people sat down together and talked about the galaxy, the threats to our race, and how to make a sustainable life. The Accosian people were quick to adapt to new things and managed to fight off the Wraith on several occasions during the war. But like most people in this galaxy they reached a point where they could not win. Too few of them survived and a lot of technological advancements were lost in the battle. Like many other races they had to fight for their survival.
/ Like I mentioned above, we didn't detect any dangers as we started to make our way toward the village.
Teyla stopped typing and closed her eyes, within moments she was back on the planet.
"Uh, you didn't liewhen you said it was humid," John said as they stepped out of the Stargate.
She smiled at him and waited for the remaining team members to come through.
Ronon emerged with his hand resting on his holstered weapon and cautiously let his eyes roam over the surrounding area. Rodney barely spared a glance on anything else than the life signs detector as he came through right behind the Satedan.
She could see John trying hard to resist rolling his eyes. She chuckled and turned back to look at the gate as Jennifer Keller finally emerged with an overstuffed field kit strapped to her back and another smaller medical bag in hand.
Sheppard turned towards McKay. "Anything on the life signs detector?" he asked.
"No, nothing at all," Rodney replied with a frown.
John patted Rodney's shoulder. "Let's head towards the village," he said.
/ When we had covered half the distance darts began flying over our heads and we had to take cover.
Teyla once again saw John's face before her.
"Sounds suspiciously like a dart," Sheppard said.
Rodney looked up in the sky. "It is a dart…" he said anxiously and swallowed as several more small vessels appeared. "Correction, darts!"
"Everyone moves now!" Sheppard shouted, taking command.
She glanced up at the small ships and raised her gun. "The village is this way!" she explained, urging for them to follow her.
"Okay, the mystery is solved; they got culled!" McKay shouted over the noise, hands on his gun. "That's why they haven't answered any calls!"
"We have to look for survivors," Ronon replied as he fired a volley of shots at the Wraith ships.
She spared a glance at the doctor travelling with them. Keller looked very determined, trying to block out the fear, clutching her small bag as she ran.
/ Several more darts approached. They had probably been tipped off by the gate activation. We continued towards the village and managed to shake them off.
John lowered his gun and stared at the remaining darts as they veered off. "Is everyone okay?" he asked.
"Yes," she confirmed through shallow breaths.
Rodney took a deep breath and doubled over, letting his hands come to rest on his thighs. He looked at the gate down in the valley. "They are retreating," the scientist said, breathing heavily from the exertion.
She saw the confusion on McKay's face and frowned, following his gaze.
"Maybe there isn't anyone left," Ronon suggested bluntly.
Keller glared at him.
Ronon looked at the doctor. "Wraith doesn't leave something unfinished behind," he explained in annoyance.
"Let's head up," John said.
Teyla continued typing.
/ When we arrived at the village it was empty, as we feared it would be. Dr. Keller and Dr. McKay started searching for signs of life as the rest of us cautiously moved out in the open streets. We all continued searching for at least half an hour before we heard shouting and shooting. Colonel Sheppard quickly took the lead and we headed towards Keller and McKay's last known location. Several Wraith moved in the vicinity and we had to gun all of them down before retrieving our people.
She set her jaw angrily as she saw the Wraith circulating. John and Ronon nodded at each other as they moved into position. They worked as one as they aimed and fired.
She crouched down behind an old wooden box for cover, quickly and efficiently laying down cover fire for her team mates. "Rodney, Jennifer!" she shouted over the staccato created by the P90s.
"In here!" Rodney hollered.
She watched as the last standing Wraith fell to the ground and headed out of her cover. She could barely make out the two relieved faces in the shadows as she neared.
"Oh, thank you…" Rodney said breathing a sigh of relief. He gave John an accusing glare as he and Ronon moved to join them. "What took you so long?"
"What happened?" John returned, ignoring Rodney's comment.
"What do you think?" he snapped. "The Wraith tried to kill us."
"We got a faint blip on the life signs detector from here." Jennifer explained sadly while looking over her shoulder.
The Athosian swallowed and tried to push away the images as she wrote. It still brought tears in her eyes as she thought about it.
/ Doctor Keller showed us the remains of the last Acclosians. All of them dead; culled by the Wraith. They were stacked in a heap, their faces twisted in fear and pain. The last Acclosian had been drained of life only minutes ago. We will live with the knowledge that we came too late.
"Hey, Teyla," a familiar voice called.
She looked up from her computer and smiled. She had been so engrossed in her writing that she had forgotten the time and place.
"John," she greeted happily. "How are you doing?"
He stretched lazily with a slight grimace on his face. "I'm fine," he assured with a wry smile.
She nodded and narrowed her eyes. "Bet you are," she replied, her voice carrying an undertone of disbelief.
"Hey, you don't have to sound so disbelieving," he protested faintly.
"Why should she not? You are telling a lie," another voice broke in.
John glared across the room. "Why don't you can it, McKay?" he said replied in mild annoyance.
"What? I'm just saying…" he began.
"…too much," Sheppard filled in for him and raised his eyebrows as another familiar voice carried over the room.
"…then the Wraith came but we took them down…" Ronon said in a monotone voice devoid of all kinds of emotions.
John turned his head towards the voice. "Who is Ronon talking too?" he asked curiously.
McKay snorted. "His new friend, the recorder," he remarked sarcastically.
The Colonel frowned.
"Mission report," Teyla filled in.
"Oh..." he glanced around and saw that all of his teammates appeared to be busy with their computers. "…all of you?" he wondered aloud.
"More or less," Rodney answered nonchalantly and cast a glance at Ronon.
The Satedan stopped in the middle of a sentence and glared at him. "You are so in for a running exercise, McKay," he threatened.
"Hrmm," Jennifer said, clearing her throat. "So, how are my patients doing?" she questioned as she chose to make her presence known.
"We are good," Ronon replied succinctly.
"Don't forget to pause on that thing, Ronon," Rodney said.
"Well, we are all fine for the moment," John said diplomatically. "However I can't guarantee Rodney's safety," he added seeing the dark look on Ronon's face.
Rodney threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I was just trying to be nice," he complained.
"It's the way you said it, Rodney," John returned.
Keller smiled. "I'll be back to check on you later," she said shaking her head as she walked away from them.
"So how come you're not flat on your back in one of the beds?" Sheppard drawled curiously, taking in the tired stance of the young doctor.
"Connections with the boss around here," she returned with a twinkle in her eyes.
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To be continued
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