Hi to all, welcome back! Finally, this is the latest update to my longest running (and most popular) story that I've ever written. Hoo-rah! I've been a little busy lately, what with moving house, starting to write a story for the Woman's Weekly competition, and taking a family vacation for a week. But now I'm back in the game, so, as usual, we begin with the Mail Bag.
To BlueDragon007, thanks very much for your review. I don't know exactly what compelled me to write that part where John shoots McKay, but once I had written it, it seemed so right; thanks Please keep reading!
To gabumon, thanks heaps for your review – I'm very glad you like it. Please stay with it.
To jasminesmommy, I'd love to tell you that you're right, but unfortunately, no (please see A/N at bottom as to why). I hope you like what I've done in this chapter instead. Please review!
To babygurl1944, I'm not going to say anything yet, but I do have something planned. Please stay tuned.
To Rataniel Shep-O'Neill, I'm so glad you're liking this story. Please keep reading.
To Asugar – I'm not giving anything away! No matter how you twist my arm! Kidding. But you are going to have to wait and see how everything pans out. There is a whole season, after all, before they can go back to Earth. I will tell you something, though (and this is a bit of a spoiler), but there is a HUGE twist coming for Sierra. And that's all I'm saying!
And finally, to City of Atlantis, thanks heaps for you review. I have noticed that in the early years of the show, there was a lot more flirting between them. Ever since Teyla got pregnant, though, there was a fair bit less of it. I hope I'm not the only one who has noticed that. Cheers.
Anywho, thanks all for reviewing, and please don't forget to review at the end of this chapter. Thanks again!
-----Chapter 10 – M1K-439-----
Sierra walked into the Infirmary, swinging her arms like she was twelve-years-old. There was something in the air this morning, and Sierra was riding on it. Perhaps it was the fact that she was in full-kit and due to depart with her new team in a half hour's time. The thought sent shivers of joy down her spine. Yep, definitely that.
Needless to say, Sierra was beaming when she entered the Infirmary and made her way over to where John lay, dressed in the horrific red scrubs. She grimaced at his outfit, her smile still peeking through.
John peeked up at her through his eyebrows. "What're you so happy about?" he demanded, noticing her grin.
Sierra shrugged, blasé. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's 'cause I finally got my team back and I'm going on my first mission?"
John gave a small laugh and winced. He touched a hand to the bandage that covered one side of his neck. Sierra winced with him.
"Maybe you shouldn't, ah…" she started, giving a slight chuckle.
"Yeah," he agreed. "You don't need to tell me twice." Sierra smiled and adjusted her grip on her P-90 to sit on the stool next to his cot.
"So, when's Beckett letting you outta here?"
John shrugged, using the shoulder on his good side. "A few days, maybe tomorrow. By the way, you wanna watch that re-entry, it gets a bit bumpy sometimes."
Sierra smiled at him, knowing full well that the inertial dampeners on the jumpers compensated completely for that. And she would be taking stick next time, being the only other pilot with the natural gene. Markham did do a pretty good job yesterday, and she knew that he was beating himself up about not retracting the drive-pods fully when they went through the 'gate. But Markham wasn't a pilot – he was a marine; and despite that, Sierra thought that he did pretty a good job. She had stood in the Control Room for the whole thirty-eight agonizing minutes while everyone bickered and argued about the best way to get John and his team out of the jumper before the 'gate shut down, and save the members of Sierra's team stuck in the event horizon.
Sierra shook her head, getting the images of John's limp body in the back of the jumper out of her head, sighed and then got to her feet. "Well," she said. "I better get going. M1K-439 ain't gonna explore itself."
John smiled. "I hear there're waterfalls where you're goin'."
Sierra grinned back. "I'll take some snap-shots for ya, shall I?" John laughed lightly and Sierra's grin widened. She couldn't help but love the way they had eased back into the camaraderie, just like it had been years ago. Before Sierra had been angry with him; before Special Forces. Even before the war.
Sierra squeezed her brother's shoulder lightly. "Be good, OK? If I hear that you're terrorizing the nurses I'll be back here so fast you'll have whip-lash." She dropped her hand and turned to leave.
"Hey," John called after her. He leant over to the bedside table for a moment and then held something out to her. Sierra took it, noticing that it was the pouch that John kept his shades in. She slid them out of the soft pouch and turned them over in her hands. They were a little battered, the lenses covered in tiny scratches, and one of the arms was very loose. It also looked like John had chewed the ends at some stage. Sierra looked up at him.
"These are yours," she exclaimed. "You practically stomped me into the dirt when I accidentally lost them in my car. Why are you giving them to me?"
John gave his half-shrug again. "I got another pair," he said nonchalantly. "Besides, I don't think that I gave you anything for your birthday last year, so…" He trailed off, looking down at his hands. Sierra bit her lip, lowering her eyes as well.
This was surprisingly generous of John. Not that he was a selfish person (in fact he was incredibly generous when it came to charities, birthdays and spontaneous gift-giving), but when it came to his personal belongings, he was very possessive. Things like his car, his Play Station, his girlfriend (when he had one), and his sunglasses.
Sierra narrowed her eyes at him slightly. What was his angle?
"What?" he asked when he looked back up at her. "Look, there's no strings attached, OK? Just take 'em." John's raised eyebrow had turned into a frown. One other thing, he really didn't like getting gifts thrown back in his face. Sierra had learnt that the hard way a ton of Christmases ago when he had spent all his money on a really expensive piece of jewelry for her.
Sierra's eyes widened, briefly surprised by his tone. She then set her mouth in a line and tucked the glasses into her vest. "Thanks," she murmured to John, who just bobbed his head. Whatever eased environment they'd had a moment ago was gone.
Well, crap, Sierra thought. I screwed that one up. "Look, I'm sorry," she said taking a step closer to John's bed. "Thanks, really." She gave him a small smile that he managed to return. "I'll be back in a few days, OK? See you soon." John nodded to her. Sierra touched his knee through the sheets briefly before heading out the Infirmary door.
"Damn it," she hissed to herself heading to the nearest transporter. "You're an idiot, Sheppard. You shoulda just kept your fat mouth shut." A startled technician cast a sidelong glance at her and quickly hurried away at the look on Sierra's face.
Stepping into the Gate Room, where her team was waiting, did lift her bad mood a little, and by the time the Stargate had activated she wasn't so sour. Still, she hoped that her low didn't derail the mission too much. Besides it was just standard recon – what could go wrong?
Sierra snorted; famous last words or what?
----XXX-----
The Stargate deposited Sierra and her team in a grotto of trees and boulders, with rays of sunlight drifting down through the leaves and mingling with the mist that came from the waterfall to the south of the grotto. The waterfall thundered nearby, and Sierra walked towards the sound. She came to the edge of a sheer drop overlooking a deep crater and the waterfall dropped into it from a river that fed it. Millions of gallons of water rushed over the immense fall, causing mist to rise up over the ledge where Sierra stood, dampening her hair and covering her new shades. She pulled them off and tucked them into her vest pocket.
"Oh, very nice," Cole said as he walked up beside her, his English accent brisk. "Well, you don't see that on every planet." According to his wrap sheet, Cole had been at the SGC for a few weeks, as part of a trail program for the Brits to have their own SG team.
Sierra smiled. "No, you don't." Sierra pulled her camcorder out of the side pocket on her vest and took a quick video of the waterfall and the grotto surrounding the 'gate, the MALP and the DHD. At that moment a half dozen birds were startled by something and launched themselves out of the trees with a cry.
"Whoa!" Sierra cried, ducking as the birds swooped low over their heads. She turned and watched them fly over the waterfall and the jungle. The birds were huge – twice the size of the biggest eagle back on Earth and looked like multi-colored parrots.
"Wow," Stackhouse said as he and Markham came to stand next to her. "This is a biologists dream."
Sierra nodded, watching the birds fade into the distance. "Alright, guys, lets get moving. Once we've checked this place out a little then we can find a place to set up camp." Sierra stowed her camcorder and adjusted her hold on her P-90. She cast one last look at the waterfall and the drop before leading her team back through the grotto and toward a path in the trees.
The path didn't seem to be man-made, more made by an animal rather; something large, in fact. Sierra tried not to think about that part. As they followed the path the jungle became more dense and packed, the humidity rising. The four of them stopped by the path and stripped off their field jackets. Sierra was incredibly grateful to Teyla who had suggested she wear a sleeveless shirt to this planet with its climate. Teyla, being a native to this part of the universe, naturally had more knowledge of the Pegasus Galaxy and Sierra willingly accepted her wisdom.
At about lunchtime, the path they were following came to where a tree that had fallen over a river and the water was clear a crystal. While they were stopped for lunch Stackhouse claimed to see a fish the size of a dog, but by the time Cole had rushed over to see, it was gone. He and Markham poked fun at Stackhouse for a while until said fish leapt three feet out of the water and stole the power-bar that Markham was eating. They laughed for the next half a mile.
About three hours later, they came across another river that was too wide and deep for them to cross on foot. However there was a clearing on their side of the river and Sierra ordered them to start setting up a camp for the night. After she had gotten her and Cole's tent set up, Sierra took the field tester out of her back-pack and moved over to the river to test the water. This being a completely new galaxy, Sierra didn't want to risk drinking water that was going to poison her team.
She filled a small testing tube with water from the river's bank and dropped the testing stick into it. Screwing the top back onto the tube, Sierra gave it a quick shake and waited as the water changed color. It stayed clear. Perfectly fine. Sierra filled another two test tubes with water from the river and labeled them, putting them into slots in the top of the kit.
Sierra looked up as her name drifted across to her on the wind. Glancing over her shoulder at where Markham and Stackhouse were building a fire near the tents, Sierra heard a bit of their conversation.
"I'm telling you, Markham," Stackhouse was saying. "Just cool it. She's not angry at you, so relax."
"But after what happened yesterday –" he cut off and looked around. "Louis, I nearly got her brother killed. She should have me reassigned or something!"
"For God's sake, Jared, will ya forget it? Look, if she really hated you, then I doubt that she would have brought you on this mission. And for the last time: you're not a pilot. Besides, you did heaps better than I would have."
Markham's face was puckered slightly. "Only you would have remembered to check the drive-pods. Let's face it – I fucked up!"
Stackhouse grunted in disagreement and pulled out his lighter, starting the fire. He then cast a meaningful look at the other marine before heading towards the surrounding trees. "I'm gonna take a leak," he said. "Just forget it, will ya?" but Markham looked like he couldn't.
Sierra's felt a sense of déjà vu at the marines' conversation. It took her a moment before she recognized it; it was the same situation she'd experienced many times before when she was second-guessing herself. It usually took a quiet word with a CO to make that feeling lift slightly, but it rarely went away.
Markham blamed himself. And he thought that she blamed him, too. But she didn't. She was a pilot and she knew exactly how hard it was to do that kind of thing. When flying a plane, or a ship, so many things are rushing through your head, and it certainly doesn't help when you're under pressure.
Sierra filled her canteen from the river, before standing and heading back to her tent and putting the field testing kit in the corner. Standing before the tent for a moment she cast a look around the camp site. It was now afternoon and the sun was just starting to go down behind the trees. Cole was setting up the boundary alarms and Stackhouse was subtly pulling a fishing reel from his back-pack, probably hoping to catch the enormous fish he saw before. Markham was still kneeling by the fire, looking forlorn.
As casually as she could, Sierra moved over to crouch in front of the fire next to Markham. "Nice fire, sergeant," she said lightly.
The marine glanced at her before dropping his eyes quickly. "Thank you, ma'am."
They were quiet for a moment, Sierra wondering briefly on the best way to approach the subject. She had never had to be a CO for many before, so this was a new thing for her. Hopefully she'd get it right. She took a breath.
"I don't blame you, Markham." The sergeant looked up at her for a moment, slightly startled at her assumption. "I kind of heard you and Stackhouse talking just before. I just want you to know that I'm not angry. And I certainly don't hate you."
"Yes, ma'am," he said softly, disbelievingly.
Sierra smiled slightly. "I remember the very first time I got in the cockpit of a F-15; I was terrified. I ended up lighting up the jet engine when I was still inside the hanger." Sierra smiled at the memory. "Oh, my CO hounded me for weeks. I wasn't aloud in a cockpit again for another month. And I was fresh off the simulator, too!"
She looked up at Markham, who was staring into the fire. "What I'm saying, Markham, is that even professionals screw up. No one expected you to pilot that jumper with expert precision. We all make mistakes, and no one expects you to be perfect every time. And Stackhouse is right, you're not a pilot. And for a non-pilot, I think that you did pretty well. If anything, I should be thanking you. You got my brother back in one piece. Which isn't something he's so good at himself."
Markham gave a small laugh at her joke. Sierra smiled. "You did good, Jared. Trust me on that." Sierra gave him a small thump on his shoulder before standing and setting her hands on her hips. "So, what's for dinner?"
-----XXX-----
The next morning dawned bright, with a light coating of dew over all the tents. Sierra ducked into the jungle for a private moment before heading back and ordering her team to start packing up. They checked in with Atlantis via radio, put the fire out and rolled up the tents, eating breakfast on the move.
"Cole, you're on point," she ordered as they moved further up the river to try and find a place where they could cross safely. Soon they came to a point where two rocks reached toward each other from either side of the river. The gap was an easy jump.
On the other side of the river, they followed another path through the jungle. Soon they came to a clearing and found themselves at the top of a massive waterfall that was even bigger than the one near the grotto where the 'gate was. The sound was deafening.
Sierra took a little more video of the waterfall and soon found a set of natural stairs that led down the side of the waterfall, with a rock wall on one side and a sharp drop on the waterfall side. Sierra took point this time and led the way down the slippery, moss-covered stairway. They took it slow, carefully making their way down. Sierra, knowing exactly how dangerous wet rocks could be from her spelunking days, set a slow pace. As they neared the bottom, Stackhouse, who was right behind her, started to hurry, urgent to get on the ground. Sierra urged him not to, but her warning came too late and a rock came loose under his foot, sending him sliding into the back of Sierra.
Markham managed to grab hold of Stackhouse before he slipped too far, but there was no one to grab hold of Sierra. Before she knew what was happening, Sierra was sliding, rolling, tumbling, down the uneven and curving stairs. And then suddenly she was airborne.
Sierra scrabbled at the edge of the drop, but her fingers couldn't hold her weight. She slid rather unceremoniously over the edge. The drop wasn't too high – only a few stories. Sierra had jumped out of planes at higher heights, but usually, she had a parachute or something that was defiantly going to break her fall. She stared at the water rushing up to meet her and realized that she had no idea how deep the river was, and whether there were rocks beneath the surface.
"Oh, crap!" she shouted a few seconds before she hit the water.
As it turned out, the water was rather deep at this point in the river, but Sierra's fall had given her enough velocity to go deep enough and hit the rocks at the bottom. She threw her arms out to try and stop her descent but her feet hit the rocks anyway. Pain shot through her left leg as she felt something crack.
Sierra exhaled a mouthful of bubbles and breathed in water. Panic filled her as she struggled to breath, momentarily overriding the pain in her leg.
She was drowning, she knew it. It was a horrifically familiar feeling to her, and she wondered if this was the last time she'd experience this sensation. Oxygen deprivation made her light-headed and she could no longer tell which way was up. Dark spots filled her vision and she blacked out.
-----XXX-----
Consciousness was a strange thing after drowning, Sierra thought idly as she felt the water draining out if her lungs. She heaved a great spluttering gasp, her body reacting reflexively. Rolling onto her side, she heaved and coughed the last of the water from her throat, gasping in sweet, wet air in between.
Rolling back onto her back, she cried out in pain as she jostled her broken leg. She then felt hands holding her down.
"Easy, Capt'n," came Markham's voice from somewhere near her head. "You're alright; just take it easy."
"I think it's broken," Cole said from near her feet. Sierra lifted her head enough to see that the British lieutenant nearly as soaked as she was, rooting through the med-kit. "Stackhouse, find me something to brace it with."
Stackhouse, who had been crouched next to her, stood up and disappeared from Sierra's life of sight. He soon returned with a thick stick the length of Sierra's calf. She was momentarily blinded with pain as Cole splinted her leg. She felt hands holding her down again.
And then there was sudden relief. Sierra blinked and looked up at Cole again. He had a morphine syringe in his hand.
"Thanks," she muttered to him.
His face was grim. "You're welcome, captain. I've done the best I can, but we need to get you back to Atlantis very soon." He looked back up the way they had come.
It was then that Sierra noticed where she was. Somehow, she had ended up on the bank of the river, at the very bottom of the natural staircase. She looked back at Cole.
"Cole, why are you so wet?" she asked.
Cole gave a grim smile. "I used to be a life-guard at the community pool in Manchester."
"You should've seen him, ma'am," Markham said excitedly. "He practically ran down the last few steps and then dove straight into the water! By the time me and Stackhouse got to the bottom he was carryin' you out lookin' like David Hasselhoff!"
"You a big Baywatch fan, are you, sergeant?" Cole said coolly. Sierra laughed lightly as Markham blushed.
Sierra glanced at Stackhouse, who was looking at her broken leg very guiltily. "Don't even start thinking that, Stackhouse," Sierra said. The young marine looked up at her, startled.
"It's my fault, ma'am," he said, looking down again. "I made you fall. I was hurrying – Stupid Fucking Me!"
"Oh, stop it will ya," she said. She paused for a moment to cough some more. "I took point for a reason, OK. You're on my team, you're my responsibility. If I have to fall in a river and break my leg to keep you lot safe, then I'd do it, alright. So stop wallowing or I'll have you replaced."
Stackhouse looked at her cagily, casting her a forlorn look. That made Sierra a little cross.
"What the hell is wrong with you guys," she said, looking pointedly at Stackhouse and Markham. "Especially you two. If I'm mad at you, I'll tell you, believe me! If I really want to, I'll rip it into ya with no remorse. But I'll only do that if you deserve it, OK? So, stop your moping, Stackhouse, and get me the Hell outta here!"
The two young marines exchanged startled glances and then stood up to fetch sticks and ropes to fashion a stretcher. Cole cast her an amused glance. She smiled back.
"Thanks, Harrison," she said holding her hand out to him. He grasped it firmly.
"You're welcome. I'd like to think you'd do the same for me."
Sierra nodded, letting her hand drop. "You betcha. Even for those two." She jerked her head in the marines' direction.
Cole returned her smile and then stood to help the other two lash together a stretcher. Sierra smiled to herself, glad that she'd picked Cole as her 2IC.
Suddenly, exhaustion swamped her, forcing her eyes shut. Man, she thought. Almost drowning can sure take a lot out of you.
-----XXX-----
With a great deal of difficulty the three men managed to get Sierra up to the top of the waterfall, where they had started down. They set the stretcher down at the top, under some trees, Sierra wincing as the morphine wore off.
Stackhouse and Markham collapsed on the ground next her stretcher.
"Next time we bring a jumper," Stackhouse said. Cole looked at him, dismayed.
"A jumper wouldn't have been able to land down there, sergeant," he said. "And I don't think that one would even be able to make it out of the 'gate. Use your brain, marine."
Stackhouse, looking flustered, hot and bothered, bristled at Cole's words. "I ain't a pilot, lieutenant," he said icily. "So excuse me if I didn't know that!"
The Brit looked about ready to retort, but Sierra called out to them.
"Oi!" she shouted. "Knock it off, both of ya! I may have a broken leg, but that doesn't mean that I can't shoot ya both!"
Both men had the sense to look apologetic. They both muttered sorry to the other and broke out some rations that weren't soaking wet. After they had all eaten they started back to the spot they had camped at last night. The tricky part, of course, was getting back over that crossing point over the river.
Cole coordinated the maneuver from one side of the river, getting Stackhouse and Markham to slide Sierra's stretcher over the gap. Her heart was doing the hundred-mile sprint the whole time.
They got the camp set up again, but couldn't get a fire going; mainly because a thunderstorm chose tonight to roll in. Huddled in their tent, Sierra and Cole got talking. The conversation was pretty light for a while, until Cole asked a slightly difficult question.
"With all due respect, Captain, do you mind if I ask what compelled you to desert your post during the Dogfight over Antarctica?"
Sierra couldn't help but admire Cole's accent. Sierra, slightly groggy from her latest dose of morphine, looked at him for a long moment. She then shrugged. "My CO's plane went down, I was the only one close enough, so I landed my bird to save him. Easy as that."
The thing about telling this story was that it was getting easier to omit certain facts from it. Cole nodded, seeming to accept this tale.
"I think there's more to it," he said casually.
Sierra blinked at him. Or perhaps not. "I don't know what more you want to know – that is exactly why."
The lieutenant shrugged. "Pardon my assumption, but I believe that there is always more to a situation when an officer risks everything they have to save the life of one man."
Sierra frowned a little. This guy was no dummy. "I don't know what you think you know, lieutenant" she said stiffly. "But there is nothing more. Don't turn this into something its not."
Cole gave her a long appraising look. Then he nodded. "I apologise, ma'am. It is not my place to question your decisions."
Sierra's frown deepened before she looked away. "Too right," she muttered to herself, unheard over the pounding rain on the canvas tent.
-----XXX------
Sierra dreamt that night; of that mission in Antarctica. She was flying, high over the ice, dodging missiles, bullets, and enemy fire. Then there was a voice in her ear, a familiar voice, clear as day.
"Sierra, I need you."
"Cameron?" she whispered, pulling the mask away from her face.
"Sierra, where are you?" the voice asked, sounding almost desperate.
"I'm here," she said, her throat constricting slightly. "Where are you? I can't see you!" Sierra twisted in the cockpit trying to see his plane.
"I'm right here," he whispered. Sierra turned in her seat to look into her co-pilot's seat, and there he was, his beautiful face bruised and battered, blood staining his lips. His eyes were open, unseeing, pale as ice and cloudy.
"NO!" Sierra cried, and sat up, wide awake. She was in the tent, on M1K-439, with a broken leg. She wasn't in the cockpit of an F-302, over Antarctica, with Cameron Mitchell, dead, in her back seat.
She took a deep, calming breath, before lying back down on her pillow. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing through her nose to get her heart to stop pounding. She stole a glance over at Cole.
His eyes were open, watching her calmly. She blinked at him, wondering how much he had gotten from her nightmare. She didn't like to think of Cole as being a bad guy, but she hadn't known him long enough to be sure. She knew that if she said anything to him now, that he'd take their conversation earlier in probably the right direction. She had to trust that even if he did figure it out, that he'd keep it to himself. She really didn't want to be wrong in her earlier opinon of her 2IC.
She turned away from him, staring at the ceiling of the tent. Images filled her head, filling her heart with pain at the same time. She tried to will away the tears that were prickling in her nose and closed her eyes again. Trying to think of something happier than Mitchell's corpse was rather difficult, especially when happy thoughts of him only made her heart hurt more. Instead she started thinking of what Carson and John would say when she got back home. This, at least, would ensure a dreamless sleep.
-----XXX-----
"Typical," John said as he stood at the foot of Sierra's cot in the Infirmary. "The day I get outta here is the day you come in."
Sierra smiled through the foggy haze of morphine. "We're twins, John, what d'you expect. We think a lot alike, you and me."
John returned her smile. "Take any good pictures, then?" he asked.
She scowled. "No. My camcorder got damaged when I fell in the river. That means you'll have to go there yourself one day."
"Sounds cool." He tapped her good foot. "Get some rest, 'Erra," he said, using her nickname from childhood. "I'll come back in the morning."
Sierra smiled and settled back into the sheets, watching John's retreating back. One image lingered in her mind; a happy image – Cameron Mitchell, smiling and whole, watching over her as she slept. It was an imaginary image, as Mitchell had never watched over her when she was in the Infirmary. Still, it was a pretty safe image for her to conjure and didn't hurt. One day, hopefully soon, there'd be a day that she wouldn't think of him, that the memory of him wouldn't cause her so much pain that she couldn't breath.
One day…
-----XXX-----
A/N: As you all no doubtlessly noticed, this chapter is set just after 38 Minutes. I thought about somehow making Sierra apart of the mission to the planet where Sheppard gets attacked by the Iratus bug, but nothing I came up with seemed right. Instead I decided to by-pass it entirely, and have this chapter start with Sierra going on her first offworld mission. Also, seeing as this story is primarily about Sierra and her view, I figured that a team bonding chapter was in order. Please let me know what you think. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be set around Suspicion.
A/A/N: Please remember that I won't be re-writing all the episodes from the series. There is a hundred episodes and that is a LOT of writing.