Fragile lives

Chapter 21

They emerged through the Stargate into a sunny and wooded landscape that seemed too quiet and idyllic to be true. Off in the distance snow capped mountains added to the peaceful scene, giving it a picture postcard quality just like an advert for an ideal vacation spot. It all kind of reminded John of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado or even the Alps of Switzerland.

"They're definitely expecting us." Ronon observed as he moved up front to gaze out of the view screen.

John immediately engaged the cloak and called up the HUD, looking for life signs. "Yep, had a feeling they might be and the warning Atlantis sent us just before leaving Cordon kind of confirms it. At least we now know the true identity of the Coalition collaborators. With a bit of luck we can nab Morina and Renton too. Stupid woman," he murmured under his breath.

It shouldn't have surprised him really. Morina Delmoi had always steered clear of him wishing to have little or nothing to do with Atlantis. He hadn't taken it personally but the few times he'd caught her looking at him, the old saying definitely applied, if looks could kill. Well, he was very much alive and he intended to remind that way because his family were waiting for him back home. Family, now that was a very pleasant thought indeed, it brought a smile to his lips just as several life signs began to appear on the display. They were widely spread as if the brothers had planned an ambush, and that was probably exactly what they had done.

John opened his radio to the other jumpers. "As you can see it looks like things are pretty much as we anticipated. Meaning we go in as planned. I count forty five spread around, plus seven located in the only building for miles around. I guess that's where they're holed up. So we outflank them, take them out and try to leave at least one of the brothers alive. Don't forget we're dealing with a group of child nabbing scum. Be on high alert at all times as I don't want any casualties on our side." A chorus of, yes sirs, sounded in his ear as John began the manoeuvre that would take his team right into the heart of the camp. His trust in the other four teams went without question; he knew they would get the job done and protect their backs.

As John concentrated on finding a suitable landing area, he spoke to Ronon. "Go back and secure Lenic, he's staying onboard for now."

"You planning on leaving him alone?"

"Yep, so secure him good and proper. Not like the time you secured me during the Kirsan fever business."

Ronon looked offended even though John couldn't see. "I did secure you good, weren't my fault you knew how to get out of ropes like that."

John didn't get the chance to reply as he spotted a suitable landing area, which unfortunately was further away from the building than he really wanted to be. Ronon said no more and, as the Jumper started to descend, he went back to see to Lenic. He was going to make darn sure the criminal was well and truly tied up.

oOo

Morina sighed heavily, she hadn't intended to get caught up in the fighting but Sheppard and his people had arrived quicker than anticipated leaving her unable to return to the Stargate immediately. She knew darn well that the stupid brothers had underestimated the Atlantean firepower. Now proven to be correct because reports of heavy fighting and casualties were coming in and it looked like they were being outflanked. Glancing behind her it seemed her cowardly aide had already left as there was no sign of him in the main room. She sighed heavily again as now it would be up to her alone to finish the job that no one seemed capable of doing. Bidding her time, she waited patiently for the right opportunity to slip away without being noticed by either Ehram or the others.

Eventually, Morina managed to leave when the brother's were arguing over whether or not to retreat . Even though the worst of the gunfire had yet to reach their hideout, she knew it was only a matter of time before the place was surrounded. She every intention of killing Sheppard before that transpired, so Morina moved out to set an ambush for him. Leaving the main building behind, she carefully manoeuvred to the ruin of an old stone outhouse. Disappointed as it seemed the building was useless for an ambush as the walls were crumbled nearly to the ground. Beyond the ruin, the land was covered in waist high bushes and the remains of trees. Not the best terrain for a stakeout, yet it would have to do as Morina was pretty sure the Atlantean forces weren't far beyond that area.

She looked around for a suitable spot to lay the trap and spotted a large group of bushes not far off. Quickly moving over to them and taking cover, Morina looked around and was dismayed to find Renton already hiding under the thickest bush with a bullet wound in his gut. She had no idea how he had managed to get shot but suspected it may have been one of Ehram's guards and not the Atlanteans. She quickly reached down and held a finger to his neck. It appeared he wasn't dead yet but seemingly unconscious, which suited Morina just fine. Hopefully he would stay that way and then she would deal with him once she had dealt with Sheppard. Although she knew for certain that she stood little or no chance against the rest of the Atlantean forces, Morina had every intention of killing the man she saw as the root of all her losses before being captured or possibly killed.

oOo

Leaving the cover of the last sturdy tree trunk, John signalled for the young lieutenant to spread out and approach their target from a different angle. The terrain beyond the protection of the big trees appeared to thin out as if it had been cleared of larger ones. Not that recently by the looks of things because a small number of young trees and bushes grew amongst the plant and fungi covered, tree stumps.

Off in the distance, John could just make out the silhouette a simple stone building. That wasn't his target at the moment because not far off and to the right of his position, Ronon and several Marines had been pinned down by a small group of traffickers. So with the Lieutenant's help, Sheppard intended to circle around and take them out in crossfire before making an assault on the main building. He scanned ahead and sighed, in order to get into the right position to help Ronon he really needed to cross the open, sparsely grown land. A choice John didn't feel comfortable with because the area afford very little in the way of cover. But if he wanted to take out those criminals then he had no choice. Taking a deep breath, he firmly held his P-90 before him and cautiously began to move in the right direction. Keeping a darn good lookout for the slightest movement or sound.

It seemed to be Morina's lucky day as very little time passed before the man she hated above all others wandered into her sights. Sheppard was holding a position not far from her shelter and it looked like he was about to advance further toward the encampment. At least she thought so, but why was he all alone? Surely he had come with guns blazing in a far larger numbers?

No matter she had him now. She held the gun Ehram had given her for self defence and took aim from behind the protection of a large tree stump, rotting and highly fungus covered amid the bushes. Although she had never killed a human in cold blood before, she had no qualms about putting a bullet into the one currently approaching her position. Of course he was being extremely cautious, moving very carefully from cover to cover while trying to present the smallest possible target.

Despite his vigilance, Morina had no doubt she could take him out as her skills as a markswoman had been legendary among her people. As a young girl she had hunted with her uncle and her cousins. The only girl they had ever allowed to do as they considered her equal in skill when she had shot an elusive six legged Bolexx at twenty yards. Of course her relatives were all dead now. Killed when the Replicator ships had fired relentlessly from orbit around her planet, fired until every last human was either dead or dying. Morina had been saved that dreadful fate by the fact she had been near the Ancestral ring, having just returned from an offworld trading trip. When the alarm went up, she and a handful of others had gated to safety even though Morina had felt it wrong at the time. It was only later that she'd learned of the total annihilation of her folk and the realisation that she needed to extract revenge upon those she considered responsible. Naturally, the Replicators had been too powerful and untouchable at the time. It wasn't until a chance meeting with Shiana that the whole truth behind their attack was fully revealed to her - the horrifying fact that Sheppard and his people had purposely activated the Replicators command code thereby ordering them to destroy the Wraith. In turn, the human-like machines had used their logic, turning to the Wraiths' food source and destroying it. Sheppard may not have been directly involved, but his actions and that of his people had indirectly caused the death of her people. Shiana then failed to bring judgement upon Sheppard and his team, and later she had also failed to kill Sheppard using an off-world agent. Now it was up to her to extract the necessary revenge.

Morina sighted down her gun and prepared to fire at the man who was now only about twenty feet away now. She held her gun steady as she wanted to take a head shot to make doubly sure she got him for good.

John's spidey senses suddenly kicked in, big time. It was just a sight warning that someone not far off posed a real threat. John couldn't say what he sensed but intuition made him dropped to the ground just as a bullet whizzed over his head to impact somewhere behind him. He quickly rolled in the mossy undergrowth seeking a safer place to shelter before the gunman could take aim again. Seconds later another bullet hit the ground near his leg and John scrambled to safety behind a small tree stump. It hardly gave him cover and wouldn't have if it wasn't for the slight intent in the ground, which he used to his best advantage in order to protect his upper body.

Several minutes passed by without another shot, so John risked a look over the stump. He raised his P90 and took aim but his assailant was nowhere to be seen. Damn it! John knew the approximate location of the gunman and speculated that he was hiding in a bushy area slightly to the right of his current position. However, he couldn't risk exposing himself fully to another round of fire even though it appeared the person only had a single shot weapon and not an automatic or machine gun. Still it was a bit of a standoff. John quickly looked around for alternatives. There didn't seem to be any at all. The area was fairly open and offered very little in the way of cover other than some bushy undergrowth and a few tree stumps even smaller than his. They were the very things that had prevented him from landing where he really wanted to right on top of the encampment, meaning he'd been forced to land half a click away.

John could still hear sporadic gunfire to his right and guessed that to be Ronon and the Marines. They probably weren't aware of his situation as they were still busy taking care of the criminals who were hiding behind a small rocky outcrop on the other side of the clearing. At the present time John had no idea of the lieutenant's position. Hopefully he wasn't lying dead or wounded somewhere nearby.

John accessed the terrain again. Contrary to what he thought it seemed the area had been cleared of some of its undergrowth quite recently, probably to prevent a surprise attack on the nearby building. Despite looking carefully, he still couldn't see any sufficient protection. He really hated these situations where sparse vegetation gave you no real cover at all.

Apart from taking out the brothers before they could escape, Ronon and the Marines still needed his help. That left John with very little choice, either he could risk exposing himself in order to fire a round into the bushes where he believed the assailant to be or wait until the lieutenant eventually arrived, which really wasn't an opinion as it would leave him vulnerable to attack from behind.

There was nothing for it he had to risk shooting back. He took a deep breath and popped up like a jack-in-a-box, firing a round from his P90. He dropped back down seconds before an answering shot hit the tree stump just inches above his head sending a shower of splinters and leaves onto his hair. Another close one. John was getting thoroughly pissed off, without a pause he repeated the manoeuvre. Again splinters rained down from the shattered wood. At this rate his shelter would be shot to pieces before he could move to another position or take out the assailant.

Then he heard a cry of pain from the gunman's location. He risked quick glance over the tree stump. It seemed all quiet so he held his gun close and slowly rose to his feet only to feel the impact of a bullet hitting his TAC vest.

TBC