Tentatively, Lorne tested out his ability to move one of his arms. Painfully, but he could do it. He located the part of his side where the bullet had torn through, and flinchingly examined it. It hurt too, but he was a far cry from bleeding out. Luckily for him, the shooter was a miserable shot, and they'd very nearly missed him entirely, succeeding only in slicing through some muscle, but seemingly nothing more vital. It still hurt though, enough to keep Lorne on the ground, at least for the moment.
There didn't really seem to be a lot of point in trying to get up anyway. Though he hadn't made any attempt to look at the two people that were here, it seemed that the hostility -if indeed there had ever been any- had gone out of them. Still, the fact remained that Lorne was in less shape than ever to continue his journey. Lorne knew he was beat. There simply wasn't any point in trying to deny that.
Suddenly the shooter was next to him, "I shot you, I shot, I, I shot you, I shot-" she was babbling at him, and he was pretty sure she was crying too.
He remembered her now from the day he'd arrived, but couldn't quite retrieve her name from his memory. He was in no condition to deal with a hysterical person. He had enough problems of his own.
"Yes," he answered her, gingerly keeping pressure on the wound, "I did notice that."
She stared at him, looking half-angry. He remembered that look from when they'd met. It had always come after one of his idiot jokes. But while they had clearly annoyed her, they had also somewhat disarmed her, making her less guarded and suspicious, more comfortable and friendly with Lorne and his team. The effect now was to stop the babbling and the tears.
Suddenly she laughed, more as a release for her anxiety than because she was amused.
"Yes," she said, "I suppose you would."
She took a couple of swipes at her face with one hand, trying to wipe away the tears. After a moment, she looked at him again, looking keenly embarrassed.
"Um... does it hurt very much?" she asked, worriedly pushing stray hair out of her face.
Lorne recognized at once that she'd gone from hysteria to a sort of child-like state, thinking simple things were funny and asking ridiculous questions, not uncommon after trauma. Lorne had seen a lot of it firsthand. That meant she was still useless to him, but maybe she could be coaxed into a more helpful state. In any case, the worst she could do was shoot him again.
"Yes," he answered mildly, "It actually does. I don't recommend getting shot."
She laughed again, more shakily than before, but also more genuinely.
"I hope you won't hold it against me that I'm a terrible shot," she said, venturing a small smile.
"No, no... I think I prefer it that way," Lorne replied honestly.
She laughed, her voice steadying again as she recovered her sense of internal balance, coming to terms with the horrors of the last few moments, accepting them and coming to face the current reality.
"I'm sorry," she said, her smile vanishing, "Avyan and I came to help, and now look what we've done."
Lorne slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, wincing as he did so. Karka. That was her name. Her brow furrowed with concern as she watched him. He supposed the guy he'd tackled must be Avyan. That seemed right. It was a little difficult to concentrate.
"Pro tip," Lorne suggested, "Never shoot the people you're trying to help."
Anger flared in her eyes momentarily, "Well you attacked Avyan," then it faded and she looked embarrassed again, "And then I panicked. I didn't know what else to do."
"Speaking of... you didn't happen to shoot him too while you were at it?"
"No," Karka said, "But I can't get him to wake up."
"Ah," Lorne acknowledged, "Well that might be my fault. I did hit him on the way down. Probably not hard enough to do any permanent damage to him."
Karka nodded and sniffled, but said nothing further.
Lorne was pleased that Karka was beginning to regain control of herself. But of course he was most pleased that she didn't appear inclined to shoot him again. She'd even said something about trying to help; and help was something he was in dire need of. On the other hand, he wasn't sure about help from someone who had just shot him, regardless of her excuse. Still, it wasn't like there were people lining up to lend their assistance, and it was a sure thing at this point that he wasn't getting home on his own.
A sudden crashing sound from the brush somewhere behind him made Lorne jump.
"The hunters!" Karka hissed, and Lorne agreed with that guess.
He didn't bother with trying to get his legs under him. Instead, he simply rolled to where the M9 had dropped. He ended his roll on his side, managing to protect his wound only a little with his free arm. He wasn't entirely successful in withholding the hiss of pain that formed in his throat, but he did have his weapon in hand and leveled at where the noise was coming from.
A portion of his mind knew he stood no chance. He'd counted tracks when he'd doubled back, and he knew the hunters and soldiers had the bullets left in his M9 hopelessly outnumbered. Besides which, though a part of what made them so good for members of the Stargate Program who lacked military training was that M9s had a very mild recoil, the first fired shot was going to send that recoil all the way through him, touching on battered and bruised muscles and nerves, and especially his open wound. Even so, trained reflex forbade him to sit there and do nothing, make no attempt to save his own life.
He wasn't born that way, and he hadn't been trained that way either.
The person crashing through the brush was large, powerful, moving unbelievably fast. Almost before he'd come into view, Lorne had identified Ronon. Breathing in relief, he lowered his M9. Right behind Ronon came Teyla, then Sheppard. Weapons flashed in various directions, lighting on Lorne first, identifying him as friendly, then moving to Karka, who squeaked and raised her hands.
"Colonel," Lorne said, looking up at Sheppard without even trying to change his position.
Sheppard immediately knew everything Lorne wasn't able to verbalize. He sensed whatever threat had been here was gone now. He heard how very glad Lorne was to see him. And he also heard the pain and weariness in the Major's voice. The one word told him everything he needed to know.
"Major," Sheppard acknowledged, "Elizabeth seems to think you are extremely late for work."
Lorne laughed a little bit, but then winced. Despite his flippant words, Sheppard was almost immediately at Lorne's side, turning him over, helping him sit up, looking for damage.
"You've been shot," Rodney said as he finally arrived in the clearing.
"Yes I have," Lorne replied coolly.
"He says he doesn't recommend it," Karka volunteered.
"You didn't like getting shot?" Sheppard asked, "I thought you wanted to be an action hero."
"No, sir," Lorne replied levelly, "That's you."
"You think so?" Sheppard said thoughtfully, and looked around at the rest of the team, who were caught somewhere between agreeing with the statement and staring at him in utter confusion.
They'd come to fend off the bad guys, and it took them a second to tick over into a different mode.
"Ow. What happened?" everyone jumped in surprise, looking at Avyan, who was just sitting up.
"I hit you," Lorne explained.
"Oh yes. I remember that," Avyan replied faintly.
"And then I shot him," Karka supplied.
"You what!?" Sheppard all but shouted, and Karka shrank back in fright.
"It's fine," Lorne said, catching Sheppard's arm before he could get up and round on her in his sudden outrage, "She's a terrible shot."
Sheppard looked back at Lorne, who shrugged mildly, then at Karka, who smiled in an abashed sort of way. He looked back and forth a few more times before accepting that whatever threat had existed had inexplicably passed on, and there was no real reason to bring back trouble that was already gone.
Recovering himself, Sheppard took a closer look at the wound to Lorne's side.
He whistled, "Damn. She is a terrible shot."
The others just couldn't quite keep up with the whiplash effect of this conversation.
"I'm sorry," Rodney spat irritably, "Are we just going to gloss over the fact that this woman-" he gestured with his own M9 that he had drawn on arrival at the scene, "-shot Major Lorne?"
Sheppard looked at Lorne hard. Lorne looked back passively. Sheppard looked up at Rodney and said, "Oh absolutely."
Rodney twitched uncomfortably, lowered his M9, lifted it to look at it, then put it away.
"Just so long as we're clear on that," he muttered, still eying Karka suspiciously.
The enforced jocular atmosphere helped to steady nerves and drain the anxious feeling that always followed unspent adrenaline rush. It was the same thing Lorne had done a moment before to calm Karka, and Sheppard was doing it to calm everyone. The others hesitated, but Lorne supported Sheppard in the endeavor immediately. Karka had joined in readily because it was an exercise she had just gone through with Lorne before Sheppard's team arrived, and people are often eager to play a game they've just learned the rules for.
"So will I live?" Lorne asked Sheppard lightly after a few minutes.
"Yes," Sheppard pronounced, "But it's a pretty long haul back to the Stargate, and I'd like that wound to stop bleeding before we make it."
Nobody pointed out that it was also a bit of a climb to get up Ring Hill. No problem for anybody in even remotely good physical condition (even Rodney had little trouble with it), but for someone who'd been battered and shot like Lorne, it would be much harder, even with help. And it wasn't exactly practical to carry him, considering terrain and circumstance. If Lorne had been more severely injured, Sheppard would have come up with a different plan, but as matters stood now it made sense for Lorne to at least partially carry himself.
"We're probably in radio range," Rodney said, "We could let the teams at the Stargate know where we are, and that we've found Major Lorne."
"You do that," Sheppard advised, a guarded look coming into his eyes.
Lorne was the first to notice the change in Sheppard's aspect, being right next to him. Reflexively, he looked around, trying to identify the danger. His action had a ripple effect on Ronon and Teyla, who each cast about them, checking to be sure all was as well as it seemed. It was not.
"Where is Mitali?" Teyla asked.
Rodney forgot the radio he'd been starting to fuss with, "He was with us when the shot was fired."
"He followed us," Ronon said, "He got here when we did."
"If he has returned to tell the Ntsevu where we are," Teyla suggested, not finishing the thought aloud.
"That little snake," Sheppard hissed, as he realized what had happened.
Mitali had known or been told that Sheppard's team might have better luck catching up with Lorne than any of the others, because they knew him, and because he would trust them. Queen Jahnavi wouldn't risk going up against the Lanteans on Ring Hill, nor even Sheppard's team without just cause. But with only the four of them between her and what she believed to be the salvation of her people? That was a risk John knew that she would take.
"Rodney, stay here with Lorne," John snapped, "Teyla, Ronon."
"But-" Rodney broke off, his objection not heard as the rest of the team ran off quickly, "Okay."
They knew Mitali must have gone back the way they'd come, because he could never have slipped away unnoticed otherwise. What they didn't know was whether he'd been carrying a notebird, or if he'd have to run back to the city or if there might be soldiers closer at hand than that. They also didn't know how much he'd heard before he left. Their goal was to intercept him, stop him from alerting anyone to their location, and also to find out what he knew, such as if there were any soldiers nearby.
But Mitali was faster in the forest than even Ronon, presumably because he was familiar with every inch of it. They didn't search long before John called them to regroup. They'd lost him, and looking for him was a waste of time, time they didn't have. Ronon and Teyla didn't like that outcome any more than John did.
Returning to where they'd left the others, John wasn't surprised that Lorne had managed to talk Rodney into helping him stand up. Lorne had been in flight long enough to know when it was time to run.
John breezed right past them and keyed his radio. They were just barely in range to be heard by those on Ring Hill. He told them that his team had found Lorne. He also told them that the Ntsevu would be hot on their trail. Lt. Reed asked to come and join them, but John told him to stay on the Hill and keep it secure. They could not risk losing their way out.
"Sorry, Major," John said when he finished on the radio, "Looks like we won't have time for a nap."
"That's okay, Colonel," Lorne replied cheerfully, "I wasn't sleepy anyway."
John put a hand on Lorne's shoulder and squeezed it gently. He knew Lorne was lying outright, he'd heard as much in the Major's voice earlier. But Lorne was a fighter, and he would not go down easy.
John turned to Karka and Avyan, "You know this area," it was a statement, not a question.
"Well," Avyan confirmed.
"Show us the fastest way to Ring Hill."
John knew that the fasted route wasn't necessarily a straight one. Traveling speed was seriously affected by terrain. A faster route would also be an easier one. The quicker they got to Ring Hill, the better. Barring that, the more energy they conserved, the better.
"You would trust us?" Karka inquired, her eyes widening in surprise.
"We haven't got time to be choosy about our friends," John said, taking one of Lorne's arms and putting it around his shoulders so he could help the injured man keep his feet once they were on their way. It was a little bit awkward, since John was several inches taller than Lorne, but he wanted Teyla working with Ronon providing security ahead and behind because the two of them were the most alert and capable fighters, and he wasn't about to hand the job off to Rodney.
Karka and Avyan took the lead, Ronon following them closely. Teyla took the rearguard position, and Rodney hung near John and Lorne, serving as a nervous last line of defense should it be needed.
The combination of darkness and an injured member of their party made travel necessarily slow. Aside from that, Lorne wasn't the only one who was tired. Everyone else had also done a lot of traveling, most recently at a rapid pace. So concerned with making sure Lorne didn't trip, John at one point failed to note a rock in his own path. When he hit it, John stumbled and nearly fell, but fortunately Rodney was close on the other side of Lorne and managed to help the Major avoid going down with him.
Fortunately, despite how slowly they traveled, the team actually had an advantage. They were all experienced in traveling great distances. Even Rodney, who was perpetually complaining, was surprisingly resilient. The primary duties of the royal guards were localized to the city, and moving fast through the valley wasn't one of their strong suits. The advantage would have been countered by the hunter's familiarity with the landscape if not for Avyan and Karka, who followed animal and hunter trails that were much easier than simply blundering through the woods as John's team would have.
Avyan and Karka also knew where some of the guards had been deployed near the Ring Hill. By going ahead, they could also warn the team to stay back if they ran into any guards. Not only would the guards recognize the royal scientists, they would also believe them when Karka and Avyan said they had seen no one. The freedom of scientists was such that no one was likely to question what they were doing roaming the woods late at night.
Despite all that, John had huge concerns, primarily about Lorne. The Major's bullet wound hadn't been given time to stop bleeding, and now was being agitated by the unwonted exercise. When they periodically stopped to rest, John was dismayed to see that it continued to bleed. The bleeding wasn't profuse, but over time it would be enough to bring the Major down. Whenever John stopped to check the wound, Karka would quickly began to apologize all over again, but he ignored her.
Lorne, for his part, didn't say much at all. It seemed to be all he could do to gasp and occasionally moan, but mostly just try to breathe steadily and keep moving. Other than that, he went entirely into energy conservation mode, leaving all conversation and decision making to the others.
But beneath his strained silence, Lorne's mind was still very much at work. Just because he didn't trouble himself to react to the environment and people around him didn't mean he wasn't still aware of or processing what was going on around him. At one point when they stopped to rest, and the others were a few feet away, distracted by discussing the next leg of the journey, Lorne gathered himself enough to speak to Sheppard quietly.
After the initial shock of having been shot wore off, and Lorne had some time to think, he remembered that Karka and Avyan had been the ones his team had first contacted. Moreover, he remembered how they (mostly Karka) had talked, eager and interested in the Stargate, seeking escape from the Wraith. And too, he'd had time to replay the events in his mind when Avyan and Karka had found him, to understand exactly why Karka had shot him. This he explained slowly and methodically to Sheppard.
With mild prompting, he answered questions about his interactions with Jahnavi, Rasika and any other Ntsevu he'd had even brief contact with. Sheppard already knew more or less what had happened, but he wanted the story from Lorne's perspective as well.
Sheppard was somewhat surprised by the lack of hostility or resentment in Lorne's tone as he related his experiences. Lorne confirmed that the imprisonment had been a trifle inconvenient and uncomfortable for him, but that he had not been mistreated except by Rasika, who had acted as if she was very concerned with secrecy.
"When most people get kidnapped," Sheppard remarked, "They tend to be a little bit annoyed about it."
"You know what my first real off-world assignment was?" Lorne asked.
"Some sort of naquadah mining operation, I think," Sheppard said with a shrug, though of course they both knew he was perfectly well acquainted with Lorne's service record, "Wound up being run by the local Unas, right?"
"P3X-403," Lorne said, "That's the designation they gave the planet. I don't remember all of them, but I damn well remember that one."
"A member of your unit was killed," Sheppard said.
"Yes," Lorne replied, "By the Unas we eventually formed an alliance with."
Sheppard saw the point Lorne was making, and Lorne knew it, but he spoke it aloud anyway.
"Colonel, if the Ntsevu have something we need, I recommend you don't let this incident stop us from getting it. And don't punish them," he nodded in the direction of Karka and Avyan, "For what others did."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Major," Sheppard said.