Teyla's strikes were swift and accurate, sending the Velian guard to the ground with little more than a quiet grunt. After a quick glance around she nodded back to the others. As Everett and Barnett pulled the unconscious body away, Lorne knelt down next to her at the doorway, peering out into the main room.
The initial corridor had ended at a large gathering room as Suya had described. There were four levels, each branching off into several directions. The upper levels were mostly deserted and unused, while the lower levels had several guards and scientists walking about on an almost continuous basis. What had captured their attention were the two guards posted by one of the corridors on the lowest level. That is where they guessed their friends were being held.
The group had carefully made their way down, relying mainly on stealth. The few guards they had encountered had been knocked out without incident, their weapons taken. They had finally arrived on the ground floor, and all that was left was to find away across the open floor, past the guards, and down the corridor. Simple enough.
Lorne glanced up at the second floor, watching as Hutchins and Michaels moved into position near one of the empty lab rooms. The two had volunteered to cause a distraction in hopes of drawing the immediate guards away. Between those two soldiers and the explosives they had planted in the deserted areas, it should be enough to keep the rest of the guards busy long enough for the rest of them to complete the rescue mission. An alarm in the background began to ring.
"Guess they've found out about us," Lorne stated. He signaled to Michaels, who gave a wave of acknowledgement. "Ready?" he quietly asked Teyla, who simply nodded. She was holding one of the acquired Velian weapons set on what she hoped was a stun mode. Nothing was going to stop them from freeing their missing comrades, but hopefully they could keep the casualties to a minimum.
The waiting group of four watched as Hutchins and Michaels moved into the open, firing down at the two guards, purposely missing. Already tensed up from the alarms the guards moved fast, their own weapons out and firing back. The soldiers ducked behind the cover of the Ancient guardrail and moments later a loud explosion echoed out from one of the upper floors.
"Stop them!" one of the guards yelled out, pointing up to the second level. Several more guards had appeared while all the scientists had gone scrambling out of the room. Both Hutchins and Michaels fired again and then were retreating back toward the transporter room, the Velian guards racing after them.
"It worked, let's go," Lorne ordered, dashing out into the now deserted room, the others right behind. Staying below the overhanging balconies, they followed the wall toward the now guard-free doorway. No one noticed the four intruders as they entered into the restricted area of the compound.
oOo oOo oOo
The first indication that something wasn't right occurred when a warning light began flashing on the monitors. Then there was the annoying alarm echoing away in the background. And finally there was the yelling and pounding coming from outside the room as the guards tried to break down the door.
"McKay, work faster!" Ronon called out from his position by the door. The warrior had a firm grip on his knives as he watched the door, body tense, though McKay wasn't sure if it had to do more with anxiousness or eagerness. All he did know was that if he hadn't remotely locked the doors when he had, there'd already be a room full of guards to deal with. Still, it was only a matter of time before the doors gave away. Sure Ronon could probably take out the first squad, but how long could one man last against several dozen?
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he answered, "Playing solitaire? I'm working on it! Even geniuses need to have a little time to … oh!" He went quiet, reading the data now displayed on the screen.
"Oh what, McKay?"
"There are reports of intruders in the facility." Their eyes met in understanding. "She made it." Ronon simply nodded. McKay let out a quiet sigh of relief, not realizing how worried he had been the past few days. With renewed confidence he began typing again. "Now it's time for us to make our great escape. I've managed to create a program to disable the shielding system. Since the facility is set up in several quadrants, it needs to run its way into the various systems before it could work, not to mention working around the rough additions. Too bad we don't have our radios. But if Sheppard has a jumper in the air, which I'm sure he does, our life signs can now be tracked."
"What about the defense system and the other stuff?" Ronon asked, indicating the box. They had managed to identify nearly half of the objects, mostly mundane items, including a heating device, light, and an image recorder. The spoon-like item turned out to be some sort of music device, producing a series of tones that sounded similar to birdcalls.
"The defense protocols are on this crystal," McKay answered, holding up a small blue crystal that he then placed in his pocket. "I should be able to reproduce it on Atlantis. As for the devices, there's not really a choice. Unless you could carry them we'll have to leave them."
"I could if you'd do the fighting."
"Like I said, not really a choice." He picked up several of the smaller items, including the music device, light, and a pen-like device, tucking them all in his small pack. As an afterthought he retrieved a two-foot long flat-edged beam. Though they hadn't figured out its purpose yet, it could at least be used as a weapon.
"Sounds like they're almost through," Ronon commented, his stance changing as he brought the knives up. "Stay behind me."
"You bet," came the reply as he took up a position a nice distance from the door. It helped to have the console in front of him as an added backup.
A tense quiet filled the air, broken only by the muffled shouts from the other side of the door. Everything went so fast. Before the doors were even fully open Ronon was moving, the knives flashing, the cries of pain, the thuds as bodies hit the ground. McKay watched in fearful fascination, the beam held loosely in his hands.
"McKay. McKay!" Ronon's shout broke him out of his daze. "Let's go!" the former runner called out before heading back through the door. Moving somewhat slowly McKay made his way out the door, stepping over the non-moving bodies. Where they dead or simply knocked out? He didn't really want to know. "Move it McKay!"
"Alright already," he replied, forcing his eyes away from the bodies. "Hold your horses." With the pack on his back and beam in hand he hurried forward after the Satedan, hoping to encounter the 'intruders' before they encountered any more guards.
oOo oOo oOo
Sheppard managed to force the jumper into a somewhat stable hover just a few feet above the ground, although steering it was another issue all together. The Dart's attack had not only destroyed most of the right drive pod but part of the hull. His right arm stung from the resulting shrapnel and his ears still rang from the loud explosion. His brief sigh of relief at being alive evaporated almost instantly as his attention turned back to the enemy – where was he? Then he saw it, the remains of the Dart hurling downwards. His radio crackled to life. "Well met," a soft voice spoke over the radio. "Go and rescue your friends." Seconds later the Dart smashed into the ground, sending pieces of the ship flying in every direction.
He stared in the direction of the burning rubble. The voice was definitely non-Wraith, and not only that it sounded like a woman's. He knew the enemy came in all forms, that this was just another tag to his already bloody history, yet he still he felt the guilt and pain of taking another life. With a race as vicious as the Wraith, why couldn't humans put aside their differences and unite against the common enemy? With a heavy sigh he set the jumper down.
"Colonel Sheppard?" Kreola's concerned voice came through the radio. "I was watching the battle on my scanners. I see the Dart ship has been destroyed. What is the status of your ship?"
"It's in one piece, more or less, though I'd rather not push it. McKay's gonna have a fit when he sees it." A soft laugh echoed through the radio.
"Another one? I must be there to see his face," she replied before turning serious. "Colonel, I am detecting a life sign in the vicinity of the crashed ship. It may be possible the pilot is still alive. Shall Lt. Mason and I assist?"
Still alive? He mentally pulled up the life signs sensor, unbelieving. A single dot was blinking close to the remains of the Dart. How had the pilot survived the crash? Although she was the enemy, he couldn't just leave her there to die. There hadn't been any hatred in her goodbye call, only sadness.
"No, you need to stay and keep watch for the others. Dial Atlantis and get a medical team here. Lt. Mason?"
"Yes sir?"
"Meet me at the crash site."
"Yes sir. Leaving now."
Sheppard looked at the screen. The Dart had crashed almost half a mile away from his position. Running there would not only take too long, but he was sure Beckett would chew him out for it, and he wasn't in the mood for another lecture. "Okay, just a little more," he coaxed the jumper. "Then you can rest, I promise. So, easy does it." He eased the jumper up and forward, constantly having to compensate for not being able to use the full power of the right thruster. Though difficult, he managed to get the jumper moving in a more-or-less straight line and was soon landing outside of the crash site.
As he exited the ship he let out a low whistle. The remains of the ship were still smoldering away, pieces scattered about in a wide circle. Looking at the LSD he headed in the direction of the blinking dot to a large tuft of dirt several yards away from the main area. Lying underneath a bulky piece of the ship's outer hull was the pilot.
Replacing the detector Sheppard carefully made his way forward. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew limbs didn't normally bend that way; the pilot's left arm was definitely dislocated. The helmet she wore had a large dent in the back, while the front visor was cracked and in pieces. She must've been thrown from the initial crash, and thanks to the durability of her helmet and uniform, and not to mention pure luck of landing in a patch of soft dirt, she hadn't been instantly killed. That would change if she wasn't tended to, and fast. First thing first, he had to get her free. He pushed against the still hot piece of metal with his left side, but it wouldn't budge.
"Colonel!" Sheppard looked up to see Mason running toward him, breathing hard. That was fast!
"Excellent timing, Lieutenant. Give me a hand." The young pilot quickly took a position next to his commanding officer. Together they pushed, managing to move the sheet of metal off and away while the pilot remained unresponsive. With the sheet gone the extent of the damage became even worse – her side had been pierced by a metal shard and her leg was so mangled pieces of bone were showing. Mason had turned quickly, fighting back nausea while Sheppard stood helpless, not even knowing where to begin. He only knew that unless the medical team arrived soon, they'd be transporting a corpse instead of a patient.
oOo oOo oOo
"I really think it would've been helpful if you had taken the time to perhaps show me some of these Conan moves of yours cause honestly I don't know what I'm doing and I'm more likely to…"
"Quiet."
"Did you just tell me to be quiet? I can't believe you just…"
"McKay, shut up." Thankfully the scientist did as told, perhaps hearing the hint of urgency in his voice. Or maybe it was the inclined threat. Whatever the reason, Ronon was just grateful for the silence. They had been making their way through the halls, heading toward the closest transporter McKay had found on the map. Ronon had managed to acquire a few of the Velian weapons along the way, which were similar to his blaster but on a much weaker scale. He had reluctantly agreed to use the stun setting if only to stop the scientist from blathering on constantly about morals and duty and such.
Leaning against the wall, Ronon pushed back the pain and concentrated on listening. Besides the frantic breathing of McKay, it was quiet. Yet he was sure he had heard a distant explosion and gunfire only moments ago.
"Come on," he ordered, pushing off against the wall. They couldn't wait there, out in the open. They had to keep going.
"Seriously, you okay?" He turned his gaze to McKay. "Uh, I mean besides the gaping hole in your shoulder cause I know that's gotta hurt and all and…"
"I'm fine."
The scientist fidgeted with the weapon in his hand, having tucked the beam in his pack when Ronon had handed him one of the Velian guns. Despite his complaining, he had managed to take down a few guards of his own. "Yeah but it's still bleeding and…"
"I said I'm fine. Let's go." Without another word he turned and began to move, hearing the scientist following. In truth his right arm was almost useless. The makeshift bandage only slowed the blood loss, and each movement sent spikes of pain throughout his body. Still, he'd had worse. At least he could still shoot with his left arm.
"At the next intersection, turn right," instructed McKay a short time later. "There should be a transporter at the end." Ronon simply grunted in response, hoping the man was right. He didn't know the effectiveness of the weapon's stun, or how much charge it still had, or how many more guards would be coming their way. He only knew he had protect McKay long enough for them to escape.
They arrived at the intersection without incident, and a short time later were in a room that looked similar to the transport rooms in Atlantis, only bigger. A golden map of the facility glowed on the far wall. Taking up a position by the doorway, Ronon kept an eye on the corridor as McKay hurried to the wall.
"Oh no no no no, don't do this!"
"What now?" Ronon asked.
"It's not working."
"What do you mean it's not working?" he demanded, turning to the scientist. McKay's right hand was pressed against the map, the left still holding loosely onto the weapon. Ronon didn't like the defeated look that was returned his way.
"I mean it's not working. We're stuck!"