Chapter 7: A Run of bad luck

He should have watched his thoughts!

Lorne considered that as he walked through the woods of P3M-736 again, this time accompanied by Rodney McKay who appeared incapable of walking without talking. And not just talking ... nervous worrying couched in terms of complaints about everything. Evan had been thinking he didn't know McKay that well and then sure enough, Colonel Sheppard had paired the two of them for the search. "Next time think about how you never get time with hot alien chicks," Lorne thought to himself, glancing again over his shoulder to make sure his charge was keeping up.

"So exactly what kind of, uh, special training do you guys have to go through to get this sort of mission?" Rodney asked him.

"'You guys'?" Lorne raised an eyebrow, silently pointing out the label wasn't exactly flattering.

"Yeah, you know - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines - it's a great place to start!" Rodney returned impatiently, oblivious.

"And by 'this mission' you mean hunting down a skilled weapons expert hopped up on Wraith drugs in the pitch black of an alien planet?" Evan said, just to be difficult.

"Yes!" Rodney confirmed.

"Actually, I skipped that course in major school," Lorne held his amusement in check with some difficulty ... the guy was just too easy to rile up.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Rodney muttered weakly, glancing around nervously.

"I was hoping Lieutenant Ford might recognise a friendly face and just turn himself in," Lorne explained, relenting and answering the question Rodney had really been asking.

"What, you mean me?!" Rodney asked incredulously.

"Well, you were friends, weren't you?" Lorne turned to glance at him. "The guy couldn't have spent a year on the same team with Ford and not formed some kind of attachment, could he?" Lorne thought in disbelief.

"Oh, yeah! When we weren't out on harrowing missions, we used to hang out together," Rodney said, sarcasm richly apparent. "I'd share my dreams of a self-sustaining fusion and he - he would talk of how you can sever a man's torso with a P90!"

"Apparently he could," Evan answered his own internal question, suddenly less than confident they'd be able to talk Lieutenant Ford to come with them peacefully with only McKay as the draw card.

A flash of something up ahead grabbed Lorne's attention abruptly. Holding up a clenched fist he stopped, narrowing his focus on the path ahead.

"What - that means quiet, right?" Rodney asked too loudly.

"Get down, get down, get down!" Lorne whispered harshly, pulling Rodney to the ground and extinguishing the light on his P90.

Unbelievably, rather than taking the hint, Rodney shone his torch down the path, directly where Lorne had been looking. "What? What?" he asked worriedly, still too loud.

"I thought I saw something move," Lorne told him, not adding "something that now knows we're here because of you". Had the guy learned nothing from Colonel Sheppard in a year of off world missions? Still it could be Ford ... and he knew McKay. Raising an eyebrow at the scientist encouragingly, Evan waited for him to act.

"What?" Rodney demanded in a low tone.

"Say something!" Evan ordered.

"Well, what?" Rodney asked lamely, looking down the path uncertainly.

"Talk to him!" Lorne insisted.

"What if it's not him?" Rodney asked worriedly.

Losing patience, Evan stood and grabbed Rodney's arm, hauling him to his feet and urging him to just do it.

"Ford? You there?" Rodney stepped forward, his voice shaky with nervousness and uncertainty. "It's your ... best friend Rodney, Rodney McKay. Everyone misses you back in Atlantis, and Doctor Beckett's figured out a way to help you, so you've just gotta trust me and ... "

Lorne had been watching the trees carefully while Rodney spoke. His rather lame attempts to connect with his former team mate had an effect, just not the one the Major had been hoping for. Rather than encouraging Ford to join them, instead someone ... or something ... broke cover and ran off, moving rapidly away from them.

Evan reacted instantly, giving chase. "Colonel Sheppard, it's Major Lorne," he reported over the radio as he ran. "In pursuit of suspect."

"What? So are we," Colonel Sheppard replied. "Where are you?"

"We're two klicks south of the Stargate," the Major frowned as he kept running, wondering how they could both be chasing the same man. Unless they weren't which meant .... "Where are you Sir?" Evan asked worriedly.

There was no answer from the Colonel and Lorne was realising that he'd also lost their own target. Scanning the trees ahead as he slowed his pace the truth of that became apparent. As far as he could tell whatever it was had disappeared.

He stopped running ... hearing McKay's noisy approach from the path behind him, Lorne turned and watched Rodney puffing to a stop in front of him.

"What is it?" Rodney asked breathlessly.

"Lost him," Lorne said simply. Activating his radio again, Evan checked to see whether Teyla and John had had better luck. "Colonel Sheppard."

"Stand by," the Colonel's voice was low and purposeful. "Teyla's been hit."

"Colonel Sheppard, say again," Lorne replied, needing more than that if he was going to be of any assistance. "What's your position?"

He and Rodney stood for a moment waiting for ... nothing.

"Colonel Sheppard," Lorne tried again. "Please respond."

Still nothing ... this was not good. "Colonel Sheppard, come in please. Colonel Sheppard." Lorne shook his head at McKay at the continued silence.

"What does that mean?" Rodney asked worriedly.

"It means we need more help," Lorne replied grimly, turning and heading back the way they'd come. "Move it McKay," he ordered impatiently when Rodney appeared frozen. "The quicker we get back to the Jumper the quicker we find the Colonel and Teyla."

"Right ... right," Rodney shook himself, hurrying to catch up again.

"Great," Lorne thought as they double timed it down the path. "Your first Pegasus off world mission is going just great. Wraith body ... putting up with McKay and now you've lost your commanding officer. Nice work Evan!"Sighing, Lorne turned to head back to the Puddle Jumper, not looking forward to reporting in.


With the sounds of Rodney stumbling into of all things a radiation suit behind him, Lorne addressed the marines there to assist in the search ... it had taken about an hour to return to the gate, report to Atlantis for backup, and see those men arrive kitted out to find Colonel Sheppard and Teyla.

"Okay, listen up. I want regular radio contact," he ordered. "Report anything unusual - and I'm talking anything unusual at all. Alright, move out."

The men headed out as ordered, leaving Lorne to once again team with McKay. He could have assigned someone else to accompany Rodney but Colonel Sheppard had given him the responsibility and Evan knew he would have expected Lorne to carry that through to the conclusion.

"Hey, wait, aren't any of them gonna, uh ... " Rodney protested, gesturing to his radiation suit. The marines ignored him, earning themselves an incredulous look. "OK, that's just reckless! There are four suits."

"Not exactly designed for moving through dense brush and rough terrain, not to mention possible combat, huh?" Lorne pointed out, humouring the man but having no intention of following suit.

"No, but by my calculations we've been exposed to 327 millisieverts since the sun came up," Rodney lectured. "It may not sound like much to you but, uh, I've been keeping a running tally of my lifetime exposure to radiation: X-rays, cellphones, plane rides, that whole unfortunate Genii nuclear reactor thing. My God - last week we flew dangerously close to the corona of a sun! As it is, I may have to forego reproducing."

During the whole spiel Evan had kept a lid on his amusement but McKay admitting to keeping a radiation exposure count was too much.

"Yeah, that's funny," he quipped. "I was just thinking that might be wise."

Holding back a grin as Rodney worked out the insult, Lorne moved off down the path, trusting the other man would follow him.


Ten minutes later Lorne was once again walking through the woods of P3M-736, this time illuminated in the harsh daylight sun. The place was hot, walking only slightly easier now he could see where he was going. That would have been fine but for his companion's constant chatter. The suit was hindering their progress and Lorne was getting impatient. He'd called via radio for Teyla or Sheppard to acknowledge them but so far had nothing.

"Step it up, McKay, wouldya?" Evan urged when McKay stumbled to lean against a fallen log. At this rate they wouldn't cover anywhere near enough ground before having to return to the Jumper for check in.

"I am moving as fast as I can," Rodney said defensively. "I'm very hot. Aren't you hot?"

"Actually, I'm quite comfortable," Lorne replied. "But I'm not wearing a fifty pound rubber suit, am I?"

"I can't breathe! I gotta stop!," Rodney stood and took his helmet off. "Sweet relief!" he said happily, staggering to catch up again. "I think the, uh, the fumes from the sunblock are making me dizzy. I gotta ... I gotta ... just, uh, rest here," he pleaded, stopping again and breathing heavily.

"Unbelievable!" Evan muttered, turning away. "I'll just scout ahead," he told Rodney. "Use the radio if you spot anything."

Not waiting for a reply Lorne moved forward again, looking for signs of a trail, anything to help them target their search in some way. He gave McKay five minutes, returning to find the other man still sitting on the ground.

"Okay, you've had your fresh air," he announced. "C'mon, let's go."

"Well, shouldn't we be headed back?" Rodney asked hopefully. "I mean, it must have been half an hour."

"It's been fifteen minutes," Lorne replied, "fifteen annoying minutes," he thought to himself.

"Oh, really? I thought ... ," Rodney trailed off, looking at his watch. "It feels longer."

"Wow - you must really be some kind of genius!" Lorne couldn't resist the comment. He was a patient guy ... very patient usually ... but McKay had a way of making him forget that and Evan wondered how the Colonel had put up with him for so long.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I, um ... wait a minute," Rodney went from flattered to suspicious in one breath. "See, why would you say that now?"

"Something has to have kept Colonel Sheppard from shooting you all this time!" Evan shot back.

"Yeah, yeah, like I didn't see that one coming, huh?!" Rodney complained, insult flashing across his face.

"I'll probably have to apologise for that," Lorne thought, "although -"

The Wraith stunner blast hit him with no warning ... Lorne registered the pain in the second it took for him to lose consciousness.


Lorne woke up some time later, stretched out awkwardly on the ground where he must have fallen. He dragged himself upright, wincing at the pounding headache assaulting his skull.

That had hurt a lot more than anyone had admitted to in their reports!

Rolling to his hands and knees, Evan waited until his stomach settled before slowly pushing himself to his feet. Swaying unsteadily, he put a hand to the nearest tree, again waiting until the world righted itself as much as it was going to.

Oh God ... he was going to hurl ... the breakfast he'd hurriedly consumed on the brief trip back to Atlantis making its presence unpleasantly felt. Not sure if it was the lingering effects of being stunned or the fact that he'd been lying exposed to the heat of the planet for too long, Lorne struggled to keep everything where he'd really prefer it to stay.

"Keep it together Evan," he muttered to himself, leaning his forehead against the tree.

He hadn't noticed it before, too caught up in the search for Lieutenant Ford and then their missing people. In fact Evan probably wouldn't have noticed the stillness of the air at all, but for the faint breeze now wafting over his face.

Breathing in deeply, holding, and then exhaling slowly, Lorne finally began to feel better. Pushing away from the trees, he turned and looked around. There was no sign of their quarry ... and no sign of McKay either. "This just keeps getting better and better," he thought grimly.

"Coughlin, this is Lorne," Evan radioed as he turned and made his way slowly back to the Puddle Jumper. "Any word on Colonel Sheppard?"

"Sir!" Coughlin's voice echoed with relief. "You had us worried!"

"Wraith stunner," Lorne explained briefly. "How long was I out?"

"Two hours Sir," Coughlin replied. "Colonel Sheppard hasn't made contact and none of our teams have located them."

"Okay," Lorne was disappointed. "Tell the men to keep an eye out for Doctor McKay too. I'm on my way."


Sitting in the back of the Puddle Jumper, Evan let one of the marines with medic training check him out, the penlight stabbing into his eyes. Airman Reed stood guard at the rear entrance while the rest of the teams continued to search.

"You were out for longer than usual Sir," the marine told him. "Usual time for recovery from a Wraith stun is an hour, give or take a few minutes."

"Yeah, well I'll try and do better next time," Lorne returned with a frown.

"Might be the radiation," the medic offered that explanation. "You've been exposed the longest ... that might have hindered your ability to recover."

"Not to mention reproduce," Evan muttered under his breath. Looking up he saw the medic looking at him strangely. "Something Doctor McKay said," he excused lightly.

"Yes Sir," the medic nodded. "Looks like you were lucky this time Sir ... it'll probably be a few more hours before you feel fully yourself again but you're good to go."

"Wish I felt that way," Lorne frowned, still feeling groggy and unsettled. The headache hadn't abated much either ... the pounding just what he deserved for letting McKay distract him from paying full attention.

"Major," Reed's voice drew Lorne's attention. Glancing his way, Evan watched him disappearing out the back of the Jumper. Expecting him to return, Evan was pleasantly surprised to see Colonel Sheppard running into the Jumper instead.

"What happened to you?" his CO demanded.

"I got hit by a Wraith blaster looking for you Sir," Lorne admitted, on his feet but still feeling unsteady. "Now McKay's missing."

"Great!" Sheppard looked less than happy at the news.

"What about Teyla?" Lorne asked, not having missed that she wasn't with her team mate.

"Long story," Sheppard dismissed, moving to dial the Gate. "You can listen to it when I tell Doctor Weir."

"Yes Sir," Lorne replied.


The story, when revealed, wasn't what Evan had been expecting. Rather than finding Ford, Teyla and John had stumbled across a man ... Teyla had called him a runner ... and apparently the reason the Wraith had been on the planet. Sheppard had come to an agreement ... Doctor Beckett would remove the device that allowed the Wraith to track the man, and in return he would let Teyla go free.

Lorne appreciated the time it took for things to move forward ... by the time Carson arrived he was able to appear recovered, although the headache was still a constant reminder of his day's misfortunes.

Colonel Sheppard accompanied the Doctor, ordering Lorne and a team of marines to guard the Jumper and Stargate. Another team was still out searching for Doctor McKay, so far without success.

Taking up position beside the rear of the Jumper, Lorne stood guard, time dragging slowly as they all wondered how the others were doing.

"Sir! We got Gate activity over here!" Coughlin's report came in abruptly.

"I'm cloaking the Jumper, now!" Lorne announced, aiming the remote at the ship and pressing the button that saw it shimmer and then disappear from sight. Joining Coughlin at a nearby bush, the two took cover just as the Gate kawhooshed.

Lorne activated his radio to warn their people. "Colonel Sheppard, we've got Gate activity. Three Wraith Darts just came through," Evan reported grimly, watching them shoot through the event horizon and then scream away before the Gate shut down again.

"Great!" Colonel Sheppard replied. "Hold position at the Gate Major," he ordered. "I'm on my way."

"Yes Sir," Lorne replied. Breaking cover, he motioned for Coughlin to return to his previous guard position before doing the same.

Only a few minutes later, Evan heard that strange whining sound, the same one he'd heard when the Darts had arrived.

"Sir, Darts on approach to the Gate," he reported, taking cover again.

"Stop them Major!" Sheppard ordered urgently. "But carefully! Ford was just culled."

"Yes Sir," Lorne acknowledged. Taking aim, he waited to get a clear shot. The Darts came in fast, the wormhole kawhoosing when they were only a few metres away. Lorne fired rapidly at the cockpit of the leading ship, his men doing the same for the other two. If they could disable the pilots, it would bring down the Darts, hopefully without damaging them. Getting Ford out of storage would be another matter but at least he'd have a chance.

Bullets ricocheted off the Darts but they were moving too quickly ... no one could get a clean shot and firing a spread of bullets once the Dart had passed over them wasn't an option. Breaking off the attack Evan and his men witnessed the three Darts disappear through the Stargate, taking any hope of rescuing Lieutenant Ford with them.


Colonel Sheppard returned to the Jumper first, followed closely by Teyla, Doctor Beckett and a team of marines escorting a large man with matted dreadlocks and a fierce expression. When Doctor McKay stumbled down the path at the rear Lorne felt himself relax in relief. He'd failed to stop the Darts from taking Ford but at least he hadn't been responsible for Sheppard losing another team member that day.

"What's the radiation count McKay?" he called out blandly.

"A lot more than it was," Rodney shot back. "No thanks to you!"

"I'll consider it my service to humanity," Lorne quipped, reminding them both of Rodney's comments about reproduction.

"Har har," Rodney looked at Evan, eyes checking out his condition even as he complained. "It looks like you can keep little Lorne's on your to do list," he quipped.

Lorne smirked, suddenly beginning to get it. McKay was outwardly brash and complained like no one he'd ever met before but ... he'd actually been worried about Evan. The Major knew Rodney had been forced to leave him in the forest, exposed to the dangers of UV radiation and whatever else was lurking there. Where before he would have assumed the scientist had only been consumed with fear on his own behalf, now he saw there was more to him than the surface suggested.

"No damage done McKay," he confirmed lightly, giving the man a faint nod of approval.

"Ah ... good," Rodney said, awkwardly. "Can we go now?" Rodney turned back to Colonel Sheppard impatiently. "Because seriously, the U.V's are only getting stronger and my sun block wore off an hour ago."

Not waiting for an acknowledgement, Rodney pushed passed the others and rushed into the Jumper. Exchanging glances with Colonel Sheppard, Lorne grinned.

"Is he always like that Sir?" Evan asked, amused.

"You have no idea Major," Sheppard returned, rolling his eyes as he glanced into the Jumper. "Still, he's right. This is Specialist Ronon Dex," John introduced the large man casually. "Secure him in the back. Time to go home."

"Yes Sir," Lorne nodded, motioning for the marines guarding the man to move forward. As first missions went, this one had certainly been one for the books.


The trip back to Atlantis was short ... Ronon said nothing ... his expression grim. Lorne wasn't sure if the man had helped or hindered the Colonel back on that planet ... this was going to be some mission debriefing.

As soon as the Jumper passed through the Gate to Atlantis, Evan felt his awareness of the city resurging in his head. For a moment he felt sick again, the static noise he'd gotten used to clashing harshly with his Wraith Stunner induced headache. He'd hardly had a chance to plead for quiet before the city silenced itself, leaving him alone again but not like it had been on P3M-736. There it had been a complete absence of anything ... now he knew the systems were there, like a shadow that shifted whenever you tried to look at it directly.

Doctor Beckett conducted his post mission check-up himself and worked out pretty quickly that Lorne was not feeling his best.

"Headache lad??" he asked kindly.

"Just a little Doc," Lorne conceded.

"Right," Carson smiled in amusement. "Well, we'll just give you some Tramadol anyway. No point in suffering now is there?"

"I guess not," Lorne agreed.

"You're lucky not to be suffering heat stroke Major," Carson told him, going to the medicine cabinet and bringing back a small blister pack. "If you start to feel dizzy or nauseous, or that headache doesn't improve, you come back and see me."

"Sure thing Doc," Evan replied, taking the tablets and putting them in his pocket. At Carson's questioning look he shrugged. "Never could take these on an empty stomach," he admitted ruefully.

"Of course," Carson nodded. "Well, off to the Mess for you then. A meal, those tablets and then a good night's sleep should have you fit as a fiddle by morning."

"Thanks Doc," Lorne grinned, jumping off the bed and hurrying away before Carson could change his mind. Lucky for Evan, Doctor Weir had scheduled the mission debriefing for the following day to give them time to talk to and then settle their guest. He wondered about Ronon Dex ... what his story was ... but knew Colonel Sheppard would fill him in as soon as he had a chance.


Sitting at a table in the Mess Hall by himself, Evan stretched out his legs and people watched as he slowly ate a light meal. As he relaxed, his mental connection to the city pushed forward again, gentle this time as though fearful of hurting him. Lorne smirked, amused at himself for assigning a level of emotion to this awareness well beyond what could be reality.

Letting his thoughts drift along with the rippling of static humming its companionship, it took a while for Evan to realise that he was actually feeling better.

A lot better in fact.

Sitting forward again, Lorne grinned ... while he didn't believe being ATA gene connected to the city gave him that much of an edge, if tuning in with Atlantis cured a head ache he'd count it as a plus.


Lorne was awake early the next morning. Carson had been right ... after a good night sleep the Major was feeling himself again. Following his usual morning routine, Evan dressed for a workout in the gym and headed for the door.

He might not have noticed it ... his eyes drawn to a lace he hadn't tied tightly enough. Bending down just outside his door to retie it Evan saw them.

A bunch of flowers - five of them, purple, and kind of star shaped - of a variety he didn't recognise. They were tied together with a ribbon of the same colour. Picking them up as he straightened, Evan glanced down the corridor in both directions.

No one was about.

Looking down at the flowers, Lorne frowned in confusion. There was nothing to indicate who'd left them ... nothing to say they were even for him apart from the fact that they'd been outside his door.

Who'd leave him flowers? And why not identify themselves?

Looking around again, Evan shrugged and then went back into his room, taking the flowers with him.

He wasn't sure why, but something made him grab a glass and some water from the bathroom. Throwing the flowers haphazardly into his makeshift vase and setting them on the table by the window, Evan stood back and looked at them for a moment.

They were actually kind of nice ... not that he'd admit it to anyone. In fact Lorne had already resolved to keep this little incident to himself. He was still pretty new to the city ... maybe someone just wanted to make him feel welcome.

Walking to his door, Evan glanced back at the flowers once before heading for the gym.

Authors Note:

Thank God for Gateworld dot net and their transcripts ... I used them to assist with the lines from Runner included in the last two chapters. I tried to keep these to a minimum but had to use a few to have everything flowing nicely. Some great Lorne lines there ... my fav - "Actually, I skipped that course in Major School." *grins*