Chapter 12: Discovery
Sheppard blinked rapidly trying to clear the last vestiges of sleep from his addled brain. He wasn't sure what was going on but one thing he was sure of was that his shoulder really hurt from being dragged to his feet and he was getting one hell of a headache, probably a kickback from helping his brother. He was with a strange group of people and he was in the process of trying to figure out what they all had in common when the door in front of them slid open and he knew that should he sleep anytime soon he was going to be relieving some very bad times in his life.
When the doors in front of them opened the group all stopped walking as one. Sheppard was getting a disconcertingly strong sense of déjà vu; in front of him was an examination room bed much like the ones you would find in a doctors surgery with one glaring difference; this one had restraints attached to it. Positioned above the bed was a strong set of adjustable lights that were almost blinding in their intensity. He could feel the hesitation in the people directly in front of him as their natural aversion to strange medical settings kicked in.
Before anybody could ask what they were doing here the subordinate from earlier announced "This is just a routine health check, you will be returned to your quarters soon"
Sheppard figured that the fact that they were going to the trouble of ensuring they were healthy boded well for their future intentions. He started moving forwards wanting to encourage the others not to resist while at the same time quipping; "You know I had a health check last week, this seems slightly excessive, twice in a week!" he winked at a nervous looking teenage girl before he stepped across the threshold of the doorway and into the room.
He was trying desperately not to let on to the other prisoners that he himself was scared; it was now inevitable that their captors were going to find the implants down his spine. He had realised that all of the people in his group were injured or ill in some way and he knew that in all likelihood he had been singled out because no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, he was moving stiffly and he had been less than steady on his feet when they had arrived.
Sheppard stepped into the room trying to exude an air of confidence; it was a delicate balance, he wanted to appear confident for his fellow captives but at the same time he didn't want to appear too cocky in front of his captors. Ultimately though, he didn't want to let anyone know quite how terrified he was of how his captors would react to the discovery of his implants.
He paused several steps into the room unsure of what exactly he was supposed to next, he could feel the tentative advance of the group behind him and took a few more steps into the room. From behind him he heard a voice say; "start with the simple ones- any settings then illnesses then we will move onto the other physical problems."
He couldn't decide which category they would class him as but he was almost positive it wouldn't be the first one which was settings. His suspicions were proven right as the girl with her arm in a cast was pulled to the front. She was shaking with fear but didn't make a sound as her arm was placed on the table and a machine was placed above it. There was a loud click followed by a familiar light before everything returned to as it had been before. A man that looked a bit like a lab technician moved to stand in front of a screen and said; "two more weeks and it will be sorted."
The man in charge nodded and the girl was moved to the opposite side of the room. She still looked scared standing on her own in the corner but there was also a barely detectable sense of relief. She wasn't alone in the corner for long before she was joined by two more kids in casts, one couldn't have been more than six but he still didn't make a sound as though he knew all too well the consequences of speaking, or crying, in a group of strange adults. They were the last of the people with casts and then came the people with illnesses; this seemed to comprise a large portion of the group.
The first person of the group who was brought forward looked to have a simple cold and indeed instead of scanning this person the technician held a device up to the person's neck and there was a brief click and the man winced. As the technician withdrew the machine Sheppard tried to get a better look without being too obvious. The machine had a distinctly ancient look to it but at the same time it looked different he just couldn't place how exactly. He watched as a woman closely followed. The technician pronounced them both fairly healthy but also suggested a period of isolation, they were followed by a young girl and boy the girl seemed to take the exam in stride but at the loud click the boy who was four at the most began to cry. At this point Sheppard realised that the machine was taking a sample of blood to be analysed. The boy was ushered over to stand with the other ill people and upon second glance, as the lady bent down to comfort the boy; it became obvious given the similarities in facial features that this was a family unit.
The father had pulled his daughter towards him protectively while the mother picked up her son in order to settle him. Even as he had watched this small family display yet another person had been pulled from their ever thinning group. This one was pronounced ill but with nothing that was contagious or debilitating and was sent to stand with the group of kids with casts that now also contained the pregnant woman and the older people. Looking behind himself Sheppard realised that he was standing in a group of just three people plus the guard supporting the disabled man, looking at the other two still standing Sheppard noticed a distinct, if slightly faded, military air about them. One of them was quite obviously missing an arm and the other had a piece of metal attached to a shoe protruding from the bottom of his trouser leg. It didn't take much to guess what had happened to them.
Before that thought could take him any further however he felt someone grab his arm and guide him forwards and his attention snapped back to what was going on around him. "Whats wrong with this one?" one of the techs asked, obviously enquiring as to why he had been brought in to be examined.
He heard a tapping noise off to his right much like the noise Rodney made when working on his computer. Locating the source of the noise Sheppard recognised the one that had seemed to be in charge of this group pulling something up on a screen to show to the tech. "Unsteady on his feet at times and appears to be supporting his right arm."
Sheppard managed to refrain from making any witty remarks as the tech nodded and said "Ok we'll have a look and see if we can see what's going on."
His sense of trepidation mounted as two techs approached him and he flashed back to the last time he had been in a situation like this. He unconsciously took a step backwards even though he was perfectly aware there was nowhere to go.
"Easy there pal, we're not going to hurt you" one of the men placated, much as he would have placated one of his horses when he was younger. Realising what he had just done he smiled wryly and stood where he was waiting for them to approach him. They did but visibly slowed which amused him greatly as more comparisons of a flighty horse came to mind. When they did reach him they took an arm each and guided him to the centre of the room. "Start with his arm" directed the technician who appeared to be in charge. "That could be the source of all his problems."
Not likely Sheppard thought to himself but then all thought stopped and he froze as one of the techs holding him began to pull his shirt up. He'd known all along that this was going to happen but he had hoped that he would have had a little more time before it did.
As his shirt began to lift from his back he tensed even more as the techs hand brushed against the bare skin of his back and one of the implants "What the... What is that?" gasped the tech looking down. Pulling the shirt up more rapidly, he exposed still more of Sheppard's back, "Sir have a look at this!"
The senior technician approached rapidly and, upon seeing the devices in Sheppard's back Sheppard saw him discreetly signal one of the two holding him. Looking back at the tech that had just been signalled Sheppard was just in time to see something being raised to his neck. He briefly felt something sharp on his neck before a warm feeling spread from the site and all the aches and pains of the past few months faded even as he felt his legs fold beneath him. He caught sight of the two military men that had been standing behind him even as he sagged, they were both barely concealing anger as they watched him being manhandled onto the table. He could see they were worried about what was going on right in front of them but at the same time he suspected that they were probably more than a bit relieved that it wasn't them that was on the table. "Check the others." He heard a voice say even as he began to drift, there was no point in fighting the inevitable and so Sheppard allowed the darkness to take him.
