Disclaimer: If we actually owned any of this Exploded Pen would be cartwheeling round England right now...and she's not, and in fact cannot cartwheel in the first place...yeah. Not ours. Okay?
Authors' Note: Oh Kolya, you would not believe how much trauma spelling your name caused me (Exploded Pen)... one more chapter after this guys! Then the epilogue :D Thanks for staying with this!
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Chapter Ten
John glared up at the smirking man above him. "What have you done with Ford?"
"I assure you Major, the Lieutenant has not been harmed," Kolya's lips twitched into a smirk. "Much. I'm sure he'll wake up soon." Kolya peered down at him. "Tell me Major, by any chance is Doctor McKay down there with you?"
Zelenka started to move forward, but John cut him off. "No. McKay's not on active field duty at the moment," he allowed.
"Such a shame," Kolya said. "And yet my sources tell me you still have a scientist on your team."
Zelenka stepped forwards, into Kolya's line of sight. He swallowed nervously and looked up. "I am Doctor Zelenka."
Kolya smiled slightly. "Tell me, Major. Are all of Earth's scientists as irascible as Doctor McKay, or am I going to be pleasantly surprised by your new colleague?"
"Earth?" John heard Alina whisper, but he ignored her.
"Though I must admit," Kolya continued, not waiting for an answer, "I find myself intrigued. Doctor Zelenka, have you any experience holding out against a knife?"
Mystified, Zelenka looked over at John. Even Teyla was frowning.
"Tell you what," John told Kolya, "let us up and I'll tell you."
Kolya regarded him for a moment. "No you won't," he replied easily. "But it is no matter. My people and I have learned enough from Doctor McKay that we know that to know good information is to test it first hand."
"And what do you mean by that?" John asked.
"What I mean," Kolya replied, "is that you and your team are going to drop all of your weapons where I can see them, and then you are going to come out of that chamber one at a time."
John didn't hesitate. "And then what?"
"And then we are going to get know each other a little better," Kolya informed him. "And afterward, you are going to find the ZPM, and the Genii are going to take it."
"But you could have no use for it!" Zelenka spluttered. "It was designed to work with Atlantis' systems!"
Kolya stared down at him. "Then we will once again follow Doctor McKay's edicts, and take the ZPM back to our world, and my scientists will make certain of that fact. It is your choice, Major," he said, switching back to addressing John. "You can either drop your weapons and come up here, or we will throw you down your lieutenant and replace the cover stone."
"Fine, we'll do this on your terms," John replied calmly. Then to Teyla and Zelenka: "Guns on the floor, now."
Silently, they complied.
o o o o o
The Puddlejumper jerked in midair as it headed back on another circuit around the perimeter of the city. Bates glared at Rodney, his hands tensing on the seat. "You sure you know how to fly this thing?"
"Shut up! No backseat drivers in the 'jumper!" Rodney snapped. "Have you seen the dart yet or are you too busy making stupid comments?"
He could hear Bates grinding his teeth together in frustration. Good. It was only right that both of them should be suffering here. "No sign of the dart."
They completed another circuit before finally. "I see it!" Bates exclaimed. "Hard left!"
Rodney complied pulling the 'jumper in fast towards the city as Bates relayed the information to Markham in the other 'jumper.
"Hurry, we can't let it reach the city."
Rodney spared a cursory glance to his right. "Oh right, there's me thinking we were inviting it to tea, silly me."
"Shut up and follow the damn dart, McKay!"
"Following the dart," McKay muttered. From underneath him, another 'jumper appeared onscreen, moving out to Rodney's left until they were flying in formation, the dart a hundred metres or so ahead of them.
"Does this thing fly any faster?" Bates grated.
"If it did, we'd be going faster," Rodney shot back.
A few seconds later the dart reached the end of the north-east pier, swerving around it, and moving in out and out of some of the lower towers.
Bates hit his radio. "Markham, Miller, stay on his tail."
"Yessir."
"What about us?" Rodney asked.
Bates looked at him. "Stay above the dart, and try and get us a clean shot."
"In the middle of the city?" Rodney demanded. "Are you crazy?"
"We only take the shot if it's necessary, McKay," Bates ground out. "Get into position."
"Already there," Rodney replied, wholly focused now on trying not to crash into anything, while keeping the dart in sight. A small part of him remembered Sheppard trying to teach him the controls flying from Atlantis to the mainland and back, and he briefly wondered what the major would think if he could see him now. Then, just as quickly, he quashed the thought.
The dart exited the main city and took a sharp turn, but in the smaller, more manoeuvrable 'jumper, they were able to take the corner with greater ease. Almost too late Rodney realised this had put them directly in front of the dart heading back in towards the city.
"Not good," Rodney muttered under his breath. A red warning flashed up on sensors.
"They're firing!"
"I know!" Even as Rodney dragged against the controls forcing the little craft to move he knew it was too late. The shot clipped the back of the 'jumper and it bucked and jerked under his control. "We've lost the left drive pod, engines are failing!" He saw the ground fast approaching, trying desperately to steer it away from some of the larger spires. Out the corner of his eye he saw what looked like a culling beam come from the dart. Knowledge of his failure flooded his system.
And the world went dark.
o o o o o
A gun pointed at his head, John stood with his hands clasped behind his neck as first Zelenka, then Alina and her assistant and finally Teyla were winched up from the underground chamber. Off to his right, Ford was still on the ground from whatever the Genii had done to subdue him, but John had already taken note of the subtle movements that told him Ford was conscious.
Kolya had Teyla put her hands behind her neck and stand next to John while one of the henchmen herded Zelenka and the two Daganians off to one side, with just one weapon aimed at the three of them.
"So you've got us up here," John said.
"I have," Kolya acknowledged, "and it appears we have you at a distinct tactical disadvantage." He looked back at Zelenka, already edging to put himself between the gun and Alina and her assistant. "Tell me, Major, did Doctor McKay ever recover from his terrible ordeal during the storm?"
His voice dripped sarcasm, and John bit back the instinct to action. "I'm surprised you care so much," he replied after a couple of seconds.
"True. It seems unlikely that Doctor McKay would engender that kind of reaction in anybody he worked with," Kolya told him. "But I did want to know whether or not I broke him when I cut him with the knife."
John schooled his facial expression into indifference as he processed this information. "You want to know the results of your... handiwork."
Kolya inclined his head. "As would any good artist."
As they'd been talking, John had been watching from the corner of his eye as Ford's left hand had inched closer and closer to his belt, where John was fairly sure the Marine had stashed a couple of flash bangs from his kit back in the monastery. When he saw Ford's fingers close around one of them, John nodded slightly, turned slightly on the spot, showing Ford the back of his neck, and slid his right thumb and pinky finger underneath the others, marking a count of three. On his other side, John saw that none of this had been lost on Teyla, and she tensed very slightly.
"I'll be sure to tell McKay that's how you see it," John told Kolya, hiding another finger. Two.
Kolya smirked.
"Well, since you're the one with the tactical advantage here," John continued, mirroring Kolya's words from before, pulling back another finger – one – "it would only be fair to tell you that you probably played some role in McKay's removal from my team."
Kolya turned to face John head on. "He left, or he was removed?" he asked.
John didn't reply; instead he hid the last finger. Before Kolya could take another step, Ford had whirled into action behind them, taking down one of the Genii with a scissor kick, and throwing the flash bang into the centre of things.
At the same instant John and Teyla ducked and covered their eyes and ears. A split second later the bang went off, and through the smoke, John saw Ford disarm another of the Genii. Teyla had taken a knife from – somewhere – and thrown it with scary accuracy at the Genii aiming at Zelenka and the women. John meanwhile took the gun from the first Genii Ford had taken down, and quickly found Kolya in the mêlée, stunned and disoriented by the bang.
Moving slowly, John pressed the barrel of the gun against Kolya's head, and the commander stilled as he realised what was happening.
"Tactical advantage, huh?" John asked him. "How's that working out for you?"
As the smoke cleared, the scene became clearer to the two of them; Teyla had taken one of the Genii's guns, and given a smaller, pistol-like one to Zelenka, while Ford was checking his own handiwork, making sure that none of the fallen Genii were going to move anytime soon.
"The smart thing to do would be to kill me, Major," Kolya said softly.
John released what looked like the safety on the gun. It clicked loudly. "Yeah, it would," he acknowledged. He then pulled the gun away from Kolya's head. "I'm going to want points for this in the future."
Kolya turned to face him, but John cut him off before he could say anything.
"But I'm not stupid enough to just let you go. Now what's going to happen is that you're going to help Lieutenant Ford relocate your men to the chamber we uncovered, and then you're going to join them. We'll send one of the villagers to let you out again in a few hours or so. But if you ever try anything like this again, I will kill you."
o o o o o
Rodney stirred, and groaned as pain shot through his body. Forcing his eyes open he took in what little he could see from his position slumped over the flight controls. He could just make out Bates, leant to one side, a nasty looking head wound gently oozing blood down the side of his face.
"Bates," he tried, coughing a little. "Sergeant, wake up."
Getting no response Rodney realised his next plan of action should involve actual movement. He pushed himself upright and waited till the room stopped spinning and his body stopped voicing its complaints before gingerly raising one arm to test his radio. He didn't get very far before something in his side pulled and he dropped his arm back down. Curling his other arm round his midsection he tried again, only for the useless piece of plastic to come away in his fingers. There was no use trying the 'jumper's comm. systems, even in the half light he could tell that everything was fried from the crash.
There was a manual override for the hatch in the rear compartment, but that would mean actually getting up and moving to find the handle. Plus knowing his luck that would end up being near the floor, and even if he did manage to stand up he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't just face plant if he tried leaning forwards.
But Bates looked in even worse shape than he felt and someone had to do something. This time, it had to be him.
Peering through the cracked windscreen Rodney couldn't tell exactly where they had come down, there was no way of knowing how close to the actual populated areas of the city they had fallen, but judging from their position before they started to nosedive Rodney didn't think they were all that close.
A signal then, he decided, groaning softly as he twitched involuntarily, just in case they hadn't already been detected by any search and rescue teams Elizabeth might have sent out.
He shot a smug glare at Bates. "You are so lucky it's me you crashed with." He informed the unconscious Marine. "I have a cunning plan." He turned awkwardly and painfully in his seat, the rear compartment seemed a million miles away. "Of course it would be luckier if we hadn't crashed – which totally wasn't my fault by the way – in the first place, but that's neither here nor there really. Except the main compartment is way over there, you keep yourself comfortable, I'll be right over there." He began the slow and agonising process of standing up. "And no, don't feel obligated to try and distract me from my agony. I'm only saving your life."
The task of standing up successfully completed Rodney moved towards the rear compartment, pausing after ever step to let out a manly whimper. He didn't know how much time had passed before he found himself stood under the release for the 'jumper systems panel, but it felt like he'd aged several years, and maybe lost a couple of major organs in an agonising ball of ow.
Curling his arms protectively around his midsection Rodney gazed up at the panel above him. "Meredith Rodney McKay," he muttered, "come on. You can do this."
Trying not to squeal in an entirely unmanly manner he forced himself to reach up, his breaths coming in hurried gasps at the sudden extra spike of agonising pain. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wait for Carson and the good drugs. But a swift glance at Bates told him he had no choice, he had to keep going. He couldn't fail again.
o o o o o
Walking from the monastery to the Stargate, John finally risked a glance at Alina. "I'm sorry we couldn't help you find the ZPM," he told her.
"But you know, perhaps we could return another time, better equipped, and perhaps be more successful," Zelenka suggested from just behind them.
Alina stopped in the middle of the dirt track, and turned back to look at Zelenka before switching her attention to John. "Perhaps it would be better if the Potentia remained hidden, until the true Ancestors return to claim it once again."
Somehow John didn't think Kolya's mention of Earth had passed her by. "Perhaps you're right," he replied with a smile. "Then again, we do have very solid links with the Ancients."
"We found their city – Atlantis – using directions left on our planet," Zelenka added. "We ourselves are not Ancients, per se, but we do believe we are in some way descended from the last of them to come to our world."
Alina smiled. "I do not dispute that, Radek. But to give you the Potentia, even if we were able to decipher the scripts left by the Brotherhood, would go against everything they, and we as their descendants, have worked for."
"We understand," John interrupted, before Zelenka could come up with another argument. "And believe me when I say we could have really put it to good use."
"But we do not wish to cause incident with your people," Teyla explained. "And I believe that what Major Sheppard means to say is that perhaps it is best that the Potentia remains hidden, where it cannot be used by any human for their own purposes."
"That is exactly right," John said brightly, nodding. "And we really have to get back to Atlantis. People are going to start to worry about us," he added, smirking slightly.
Alina nodded. "I will also see it to it that Kolya and his men are released in good course," she replied.
"In good course," John echoed. Then: "Ford, Zelenka, go ahead and dial Atlantis."
"Yessir," Ford replied. "Come on, Zippy."
"We are going to have to talk about your naming skills," Zelenka complained, but continued on up the dirt track with Ford nevertheless.
"Major Sheppard," Alina said, "I really do wish you well in your struggle against the Wraith. For too long, too many of us have been unable to stand up to them."
"Well, we plan on being different," John replied, "even if it means we'll have to look elsewhere for a ZPM."
Alina tensed, and before either she or John could say anything else, Teyla stepped in. "We should be taking our leave now," she told Alina, who simply nodded.
Teyla nudged John with her borrowed gun. "Major."
John knew a cue when he saw one, and he and Teyla began walking along the track to the Stargate.
"There are four other destinations on the paper the elder Doctor Weir gave you, correct?" Teyla asked. She didn't wait for an answer. "Perhaps we will have more luck at one of the other locations."
"Yeah..." John said as they reached the active Stargate.
"We have to hurry," Zelenka said from the DHD, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Doctor Weir sounded impatient."
John motioned for the others to go through the 'gate; on the other side there was a loud klaxon blaring, and fully armed Marines skirting the corridors leading off from the 'gate room.
"Elizabeth!" he called out.
"Major!" Weir came running down the stairs. "Where have you been?"
"I -" John motioned back at the now empty Stargate, but before he or any of the others could say anything, Weir had pointed back up to the control room.
"We have a situation."
000 TLI hates writing these things so you're stuck with me again :) Want a cup of tea with your review:P See you next time! 000
