Dragonlots aka Dana Bell
Chapter 25 – What was the matter
Insistent meows woke Rodney and he groggily raised his head from the table. His laptop was still on and he reached over to save his material and turn it off. It would be better if he conserved battery power as it was usually a long wait to get it recharged on the Deadalus.
Bob clawed at McKay's pants and let out a pitiful rerow. He reached down and tried to scratch the cat on his head. The feline ducked and started across the room, stopping to see if Rodney was following.
"Huh?" Still half asleep he got to his feet, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Rodney!" Katie cried.
He dashed across the room and pulled back the drape. "Katie, what is it?"
She pulled herself out of bed, sopping wet. "My water broke."
"Oh, okay." He shook his head trying to clear it. "You change and I'll go get Jeanie."
His wife nodded and grimaced. McKay needed no further incentive. Running out of their hut he dashed to the women's dorm. Tiez blocked his way inside. Evidently it was the Asgard's turn on night duty.
"I need my sister, Jeanie. Katie is going to have her baby."
The alien blinked and went into the dorm. A few minutes later Jeanie came out. She'd thrown on jeans and a shirt and hastily pulled her hair back. The siblings hurried back to the hut.
"Katie!" Rodney called.
"I'm ready," his wife answered making a face. "My labor has started."
"Then let's get you to the Deadalus." Rodney put an arm around Katie and helped her to the door. "Thanks for looking after Ruth." He smiled at his sister.
"You're welcome. Now get your wife to the doc."
"Right."
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When morning came Sheppard pounded on Dr. Weir's door. Grogan opened it with a questioning look. John pushed past him. "Elizabeth!"
"You're up early," she commented. She took a sip of her tea and sat back in her chair. Their table was set up with a simple morning meal of cereal, fruit and nuts.
"Sorry to interrupt your breakfast," Sheppard apologized.
Grogan sat down. "Would you like to join us?"
"No. Thanks."
"What's so urgent, John?" Elizabeth wanted to know.
"Look," he hesitated. He knew his timing stank. "I know you think Major Lorne and his team are gone but -"
"You want to go and see if you can figure out what happened to them." Weir sounded sure of that.
"Yeah."
The newlyweds met each other's eyes. John shifted uneasily. He really shouldn't have disturbed them.
"You have a go, Colonel," Elizabeth finally said.
"That's it. No arguing about it, giving you reasons why." It was almost too easy.
"I know you." She smiled wryly. "I either let you go with my blessings or you'll go anyway."
"I'll alert my team."
"You'll need to find a substitute for Dr. McKay. His wife went into labor last night."
"I'll take Jeanie."
"She's watching Ruth." She looked at him. "I suggest Dr. Novak."
"Okay." He hurried to the door. "Thanks," he threw at her as he left. John didn't want to give Weir time to change her mind. He went first to the women's dorm to collect Novak and Athar. Having no idea where Homer was, he was surprised to find the teen waiting for him at the jumper.
"My father said you had a mission," Homer explained before John could ask.
"He's right." He motioned everyone on board and lifted off. The shield went off and right back on when they'd cleared.
"Tiez is getting very good at that," Novak said.
"She the one McKay trained?" Sheppard asked.
"Not the first. I was." She grinned. "I taught Tiez."
"Good idea. The more that know, the easier for all of us, cuz you never know."
"You shouldn't be so fatalistic," Athar admonished him.
John shook his head. "Just being realistic."
Several hours later near the last known position of Lorne's jumper, the com flipped on. "What the," John began. Pictures began to play and he heard someone throw up behind him. "Dear God," he whispered as he recorded the images.
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"Found out what happened to Major Lorne and at least one member of his team," Sheppard reported to Weir. He'd gone first to her hut. Grogan had told him she wasn't there. She'd gone to the Deadalus along with Jeanie and Ruth to await the birth of the McKays' second baby.
"It's bad isn't it?" His expression probably told her that.
"Yeah." He turned to Jeanie. "You might want to take Ruth for a walk. You don't want her to see this."
The young woman nodded and picked up the toddler. "Come on, Ruth. Let's go see what the kitties are doing."
After she'd gone, John put the recording on. He glanced up as Grogan joined them. Weir turned away as the images played. John heard her gag. Her husband came over and held her.
"We knew this was part of the prophecy, " Grogan stated.
"Still sickening," John said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, everyone. It's a boy!" Rodney beamed at them. Then he saw what they were watching. "Oh, no," he moaned. His round face turned a shade of green.
John turned it off. "I didn't mean for you to see that."
McKay took a couple of deep breaths. "You would have to tell me eventually. Now you don't."
"How's Katie?" Weir managed as she clung to her husband.
"Fine." He gulped. His face began to return to its normal color. "We named our son Aaron."
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It was Lindsay's turn for night duty. She sat at the door with a burning candle sitting on the ledge. The village was mostly dark with only a few lanterns or candles flickering in various huts. A soft breeze wafted past her and she closed her eyes enjoying the coolness.
Dr. Novak didn't really mind staying up all night. She could sleep during the day if she wanted. Truthfully, she'd gotten used to pulling all nighters and going for several days without sleep. When she'd found some new wonder, it was hard to rest anyway.
She smiled as Tiez padded up. The Asgard female cocked her head to one side. "I still do not understand why someone must guard the others as they sleep."
How do I explain this? Novak wondered. "First off, like last night when Dr. McKay came, someone needed to up and get his sister."
"I understand that." Tiez blinked. "It is the mating habits of your species that is unclear."
"Oh." When they'd first come it hadn't been a problem. The men stayed in their dorm and the women in theirs. That had been disrupted by one unbeliever when he'd tried to break in and rape a woman while she was sleeping. Dr. Weir had instituted a night guard from that moment on. There were still a few who hadn't accepted Christ living among them.
"Do you wish to marry?" the Asgard asked.
"Do I what?"
Tiez started to repeat the question - Lindsay stopped her. "I hadn't actually thought about it," she responded truthfully. "Men don't look at me anyway."
"How do you know?"
"Because one has never asked me out."
"Must you wait for one to ask you? Why not ask yourself."
"I haven't met anyone I wanted to ask out."
"Why?"
Inwardly Novak groaned. Sometimes Tiez was like an inquisitive child with constant questions. Other times, a teacher imparting knowledge.
"Why don't you go back to bed," Lindsay suggested.
"I am not sleepy."
"Then why don't you keep me company and tell me more about the early days of your people."
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Uneasily, Cavert watched the Wraith delegation. He'd stationed guards at every entrance and had their guests sit at the table in the mess hall. Folding his hands in front of him on the functional table, he inquired, "What can I do for you?"
"Earth," a black garbed one hissed. "You promised to take us to Earth if we took this Mark." He pointed to his forehead.
"I promised I'd think about it. Right now, I'm awaiting instructions from His Excellency. I will abide by HIS wishes."
The Wraith shot up. "You also promised us the humans from Atlantis."
"We're still trying to locate them." He didn't tell them that all the Jaffe' had left in their fighters to search for the expedition. The reports they'd sent back so far provided no leads. Not even the one time they'd spotted a jumper and lost contact with the Wraith dart trailing it. That position had had no habitable planet.
He got a snarl for a reply. "You killed two you'd promised to us."
"As I explained. We needed an example for the others." He sat up straighter. "It was my hope they'd come out of hiding by knowing what to expect if they didn't."
"They have not."
"No. They have not."
"We are tired of waiting."
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The report sat on Carpathia's desk. He glared at it and grabbed it, ripping it into tiny pieces and tossing them all over the carpet of his office. Getting up he paced to the windows. Leon had just left him to prepare for the debate with the leader at Petra, Ben-Judah. He hoped thousands would leave their haven and accept his mark. A gracious invitation he'd extended despite the fact the deadline had long since passed.
He stared at the shredded paper. The report from Cavert was not what he had hoped. Carpathia wanted his show prisoners here, so he could make a public example of them on a worldwide broadcast. How could the Odyessy's commander be such a fool and allow the expedition to escape! Cavert should have found them by now, enforced the mark on the willing and beheaded any who wouldn't accept it.
"Stop wasting time with the Wraith. They are useless." He smiled slightly having to admit it was quite a victory for him to have many of the deadly creatures now loyal to him. AND with no idea what they had given up.
"You're not going to win, you know," he boasted to his unseen adversary.
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She heard the alarm and scrambled to her post. The ship shook as repeated blasts struck it. On the bridge, she took over the com, listening to the orders Cavert gave, while pretending to send out a distress call to the Jaffe'.
"Shield is down thirty percent!" a tech shouted.
"A dart has blown on hole on the lower decks!" another yelled.
"We have a Wraith boarding party!" an officer screamed.
"Seal off the lower decks and secure all bulkheads leading to the bridge!" Cavert barked.
The Odyessy rocked again. "I'm not going to make it back, am I Lord?" she whispered. She tuned out the shouting and screaming behind her, finding the frequency she'd prearranged to send a message back to Chang. It would be carried on an experimental, compressed and very fast, band and hopefully would reach him before Christ returned.
A high pitch whine around the bridge bulkhead pressed her to hurry. There wasn't much time left. Carefully she composed her message. The mission is safe. Inform those who need to know. Odyessy attacked and will be destroyed by the Wraith. Safety of Earth in the Hand of God. Li. She pressed the appropriate control and the message zinged away.
The door exploded and the Wraith stormed the bridge. She cringed in terror as the creatures fed on her fellow crew people. Her eyes caught the commander's last official action as he pressed the self-destruct button, just as the Wraith leader reached for him.
Death was instant and her next memory was being welcomed into heaven by singing angels as they escorted her to the throne of God.
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Chang got the message a couple of months after Li had sent it. He read the contents and drummed his fingers on his desk. Those who needed to know were not where anyone could find them. "You'll just have to let them know, God," he said, and continued listening to Carpathia rant.
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Time had ceased having meaning for the drone. He cared for the children as well as he could. His actions were not enough and most of them died. He could not dispose of the bodies after the custom of his people that was always the queen's responsibility. In the end he dug a deep pit and buried them, covering the newly turned ground with heavy rocks.
He crawled back to the cave and panted just outside. Behind him he heard explosions and a raging fire crept closer. Trying to shade his eyes, his skin began to burn. More sparks sprang up around him and rank river water boiled.
Somehow, he dragged himself to safety before the blistering heat killed him. The young queen knelt beside him, her hands reaching to comfort. He pushed her away. In his pain he might feed on her and he could not, would not, take her life.
Blackness descended and the drone remembered nothing for a long time.
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"The problem isn't with you," Dr. Joslin told Weir after she completed the requested physical. "How long have you been trying?"
"About a year," Elizabeth told her.
"I think I remember Grogan telling me it took a long time before he and Ninette had a child." Joy sat down with her notes sitting on her lap.
"So you think the problem may be him and not me?" That troubled Elizabeth.
"I think it's possible. You may have a hard time convincing him to come see me. I may have an even harder time getting him to do the test I need him to."
"A sperm count." Weir knew a few things.
"Yes."
"I could talk to my husband."
"Do you think he'll listen?"
Elizabeth sighed. "I don't know."
"You may want to wait. It's less than a year and a half before the Glorious Appearing."
She glanced down. "I'd hoped to have a baby before that."
Joy reached out and held Elizabeth's hand. "I'm sorry. As I said, it isn't you."
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John banked the jumper as he came in for a landing. Below, he could see the blood filled rivers boiling, their hot steam emitting a stench the scrubbers were hard pressed to keep up with.
"Phew!" Rodney fanned his nose. "Could we get away from the smell?"
"Working on it," John replied. "At the seas seem to have cleared up." They'd flown over a large one now filled with only water.
"That looks like a grave," Homer pointed below them.
"Yeah. It does."
Jeanie tried to see over Sheppard's shoulder. "Are we going down?"
Sheppard nodded. He'd replaced Athar on his team a few months back. Her advances though subtle, were too much for him and in light of Teyla's peace of mind and their marriage, he'd arranged with another team leader to swap Athar for Jeanie.
"At least the scorching sun doesn't bother us," Homer commented as the jumper landed.
"Let's hope the jumper doesn't suffer any damage," McKay worried.
"You heard Grogan last night. It only affects unbelievers. Look what happened to the only one on Flip's team. The man was dead, consumed by flames in seconds." John opened the back hatch. "And all our teams have made it back from missions safely."
"If you say so." Rodney didn't sound convinced.
Homer bounced out followed by Bob who somehow, and John hadn't figured out quite how, had ended up being a permanent member of his team.
"Tracks!" the teen exclaimed excitedly. He pushed his brown hair, which he tended to wear long, out of his face.
"Let's see where they go." John let Homer lead, while keeping a sharp lookout.
Bob hissed, arching his back.
"What's wrong, Bob?" Rodney asked.
"Only time he acts like that is when there are Wraith close by," John cocked his gun.
"Great. Live this long only to get eaten by a Wraith," McKay grumbled.
"You aren't dead yet."
Jeanie stopped. "Do you hear that?"
Barely, over the hissing bloody river, was a child's cry.
"This way." Jeanie fought her way up the embankment toward the only possible shelter.
"Jeanie, wait!" McKay clambered after her.
John didn't even try to stop them. He struggled to follow. The ground was soft and hard to climb. He heard Rodney yell and his gun go off several times. Bob ran past him snarling and yowling. When Sheppard and Homer finally reached the cave, a Wraith lay dead, its throat torn out by the savage feline. McKay was on his knees cradling his sister in his arms.
"I couldn't stop him." Rodney lifted his head, his pain filled eyes telling the whole story.
Reaching down, John checked for a pulse. There wasn't one. The Wraith had drained her. "Rodney, I'm sorry."
McKay rocked her body, tears falling down his cheeks.
"John," Homer touched Sheppard's arm. "Look."
In the corner he saw three small children cowering. They were dirty and looked half starved.
"He was protecting them." Homer slowly approached the trio. "Hi. I'm Homer." The youngsters pushed against the wall. "I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to reassure them. He pulled a ration bar out of his pocket, opened it, took a bite and extended it toward them. "It's good."
One of them reached out and snatched it from him. It gobbled it down while the other two waited. Leaving a couple bites, it split what was left between the others.
"They're Wraith," Homer said, his tone surprised.
"I should kill them." John was angry. He hated loosing a member of his team and it made him every angrier it had been Rodney's sister.
"But they're only children," Homer objected.
"Jeanie wouldn't want that," Rodney said. He took off his jacket and covered the top part of his sister's body.
Homer faced the scientist. "What would she want?"
"For us to take them back with us."
Bob sniffed Jeanie's body and let out a loud mournful yowl. The children cringed, covering their ears.
"Remember," Homer reminded John. "The Wraith are afraid of Bob and the cats."
"Guess that's a way to keep them in line." Sheppard replaced the safety on his gun and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's take Jeanie home. Homer, see if you can coax these kids out of here." He turned to leave. "Wouldn't break my heart if we left them."