"Where are we?" Ellis asked as they moved through the tunnels.
"Back beneath the palace rooms." Evan stepped around a corner, his P90 leading the way.
"He sounds awfully sure of himself." Browne stage whispered to Sanchez.
The captain snorted. "That's why he's a Major, and you're not."
"And here I thought it was my striking good looks." Evan snorted.
"Wrong audience if you're looking for a reply to that." Ellis glanced at his CO.
Evan held up his hand, snapping them all to a silent halt. Someone was coming. He waved Browne and Sanchez across the hall, and both men took positions inside a dark alcove. Evan and Ellis moved into the shadows of an intersecting corridor. They held still as a pair of palace guards rushed past. Once the two men were gone, the team stepped back out into the corridor.
"Where do you think they were going in such a hurry?" Ellis mused aloud.
"I don't know." Evan waved them forward. "But something tells me it's not good."
"The Doc?" Sanchez asked.
"I hope so." Evan glanced at his watch.
"How much time?" Browne asked.
"Five minutes, tops." The Major answered. "Probably less."
"No problem." Sanchez exclaimed. "What?" He blinked when three pairs of eyes glanced his way. "I'm just thinking positively."
Jen peered out from behind Mathias, trying to see past him to the archway. They'd made it out of the catacombs and were one floor below the ground level, a corridor shy of gaining access to the outside world. A corridor that was blocked by palace guards who's loyalty they couldn't be sure of. "Are they still there?"
"They are." Mathias answered, his voice a harsh whisper. He leaned back, forcing her to step away from the opening.
"How many did you see?" She asked.
"Ten," Terron answered. "All armed."
"Do we know if they're the real guards?" Jen glanced from one man to the other.
"I recognized some…" Mathias shook his head, and shrugged. "But we can not take the chance."
Jen rubbed her abdomen, her mind struggling to think of any other means of escape. "Is there another way out?"
Terron shook his head. "Not without going back through the tunnels."
"I vote no on that." She pursed her lips. "Is there another way around to the far side? Up and around or something?"
Terron frowned, then glanced at Mathias. "We could go up and through the kitchens."
"It will be crawling with guards." Mathias shook his head firmly.
Terron paused. "Not necessarily."
"Will it get us around towards the Sanctuary?" She placed her hand on Mathias' arm.
Both men nodded.
"Then what are we waiting for!" She ordered. "Let's go!"
Mathias gave her a humorless smirk. "To get to the kitchens, we'll need to get to the stairs, which Milady, are on the other side of the great hall."
Jen sighed. "The same great hall that's currently covered in guards?"
Both men nodded.
She rolled her eyes. Where was a good old fashioned distraction when you needed one?
She nearly screamed when the com in her ear crackled and hissed.
Terron and Mathias jerked in tandem with her muffled squeak.
"Major?" Jen said as loud as she dared. Static answered. She cupped her hand over the mic. "Major Lorne? Can you hear me?"
Mathias grabbed her arm and pulled her further into the alcove. "Who are you talking to?" he whispered harshly.
Terron pressed in beside him, dwarfing her.
She moved her hair aside. "It's a communications device. It wasn't working in the tunnels, but I think it's working now. I just heard something."
"Your people?" Terron asked hopefully.
"Let's hope so." Jen nodded. "Major? Major Lorne? It's Dr. Keller. Can you hear me?"
Static crackled and then a chopping reply broke through. "Doc? Is… can barely hear…"
"Colonel Sheppard?" Jen answered, her surprise raising her voice a little louder than intended. Mathias slapped his hand over her mouth and all three of them held their breath.
"Doc? What's…position…outside the…" John's voice called, but she couldn't answer with Mathias hand in the way.
"Doc?" John tried again, his calls broken by spurts of static. "Hear me…reply…Doc?"
When Mathias finally decided no one heard her, he removed his hand and Jen took a deep breath.
"Colonel thank god," she exhaled. "One of the monks is trying to stage a coup and we're trapped in the city. I can't reach Major Lorne's team and I'm worried something's happened to them. We're stuck inside the palace and really need a distraction about now."
Beneath the thick camouflage of the heavy tree branches, Colonel Sheppard waved all three teams to a halt. Peering out through the foliage to the neatly laid out town on the other side of the field, he turned slowly towards Ronon as they heard Jen's broken transmission.
"…monks…stage a coup…trapped…Lorne…something's happen… distraction about now…"
John blinked.
"Did she just use the words monks and stage a coup in the same sentence?" Rodney exhaled as he stepped up beside John.
John nodded, his eyes locked on the Satedan, who was staring at the village. "Yep."
"I wonder if she's staging the coup, or the monks are," the scientist mused allowed.
"I believe she also asked for a distraction." Teyla said softly.
"Chewey?" John stepped up beside Ronon.
Ronon exhaled a long, low growl. "If anything's happened…" Ronon let the threat of death and dismemberment hang in the air.
John nodded and clamped his friend on the shoulder. "Go. Try not to kill everyone until we get there."
Ronon took off without a backward glance.
"You know it's scientifically impossible for something that big to make that little sound." Rodney muttered as Ronon disappeared silently through the trees.
John turned towards the others. "All right, you heard the Doc. Time to blow shit up."
"Ooh-rah!"
Evan slid to a stop, the heavy fall of footsteps reaching his ears. His first thought was to find cover, but in the open space of the wide corridor, there was nothing to hide behind. His second thought, was subterfuge.
Play dumb.
He waved the others to lower their weapons. Slightly.
Four palace guards rounded the corner and paused, then adjusted their step as they approached. Evan didn't recognize them. They weren't from the group outside the Priestess quarters. But judging by their expressions, the guards knew who Evan was.
"Major." The first man nodded, as he stopped in front of the team. "We've been searching for you."
Evan angled his head and waited. "You have?"
The leader nodded, adjusting his grip on the rifle he carried. It was pointed towards the ground, but the guard's finger hovered near the trigger. "The Priestess wishes to speak to you. It is of utmost urgency. If you would please follow us?"
Taking a deep breath, Evan calmed all the warning bells chattering in the back of his mind. Something was definitely not right. Ninety-nine percent sure they were about to walk into a trap, he found no option that didn't involve killing. And without knowing where Jen was, or if she was in immediate danger, starting a gunfight in a narrow corridor was probably not their best course of action. So he nodded to the guard. "Of course. Lead the way."
Two of the palace guards stepped out front, marching smartly down the hallway. The remaining two fell in behind, sandwiching the team between them. Evan most definitely did not like having armed unknowns on his six…but at the moment, they had no choice.
The guards led them through the corridors until they reached a wide staircase awash with bright sunlight. There was no roof above them, the deeply set stairs open completely to the blue sky above. Evan hesitated at the bottom step, glancing up to the walls of the palace above his head, several floors of balconies dotted with colorful flags and swatches of cloth swaying in the breeze. Somewhere up there was the Priestess chambers. And somewhere up there, he hoped was the Doc.
Several steps up the two guards in the lead stopped and turned when Evan didn't immediately follow.
"Is there a problem Major?" The first man eyed him warily.
Evan shook his head, his eyes dropping to the steps in front of him. The steps where the palace guard's booted feet rested a few steps up. Booted feet. Feet covered with dried mud. Evan's eyes immediately switched to boots of the second guard. Dark leather, heavy treads, well worn, heavy laces.
Military style footwear.
Not the pompous slippers every other palace guards had been wearing to cover their feet at the request of the Priestess. Palace guards who never left the building would have no need for military style hiking boots.
Evan almost smiled when he looked up. "Sorry. The architecture here reminds me of another planet we visited once." He glanced at Ellis who was standing on the steps to his right, and made sure his voice was clear enough to make it back to Sanchez and Browne. "What was it called? Jana?"
Ellis blinked at Evan's purposeful reference of an ambush they'd survived a few months back.
Behind them Sanchez nodded. "I believe so, Sir. Beautiful city if I remember correctly."
Evan almost laughed at the captain's description of the dusty rubble pile they'd spent two days trapped inside as 'beautiful'. He turned back towards the two guards in front of him, knowing his men had understood the warning. "Shall we?"
The head guard eyed him warily, but seeing nothing outwardly different in Evan's demeanor, gave in and turned back around, leading them up the outside staircase and into the sunshine.
"Stop!" Mathias hissed, yanking Jen back around a large pillar. He pointed out across the central square towards the far side. "Look! Is that not your people?"
Shielding her eyes from bright sunlight, Jen glanced around the stone obstruction. She followed the direction of Mathias index finger to a stone stairway on the far side of the courtyard. Climbing up from the lower basement levels of the palace, two guards lead four familiar faces into the square. SGA2. With a sigh of relief, Jen started to smile, but her face froze to recognize the four guards surrounding them.
Not guards. Mercenaries! When the lead guard stepped away and moved towards the other guards in the courtyard, Jen's heart stopped beating at the realization of what was happening. There would be fourteen guards against four.
"Evan! It's a trap!" She shouted—her voice echoing across the courtyard.
And then true to Evan's warning, all hell broke loose.
A huge explosion vibrated the ground, and P90 fire chattered through the courtyard below.
Mathias grabbed Jen and spun her around, pulling her down beneath the stone walls of the balcony as chunks of plaster and rock splattered into the air around them. Someone was shooting at her!? Jen screamed and curled into herself. Terron crawled towards them and hooked his arm around her waist, steering her back towards the corridor. On her hands and knees between Terron and Mathias, Jen crawled off the balcony.
Another loud series of explosions sounded, shaking the floor beneath them, raining dust and bits of plaster and rock down around them. Shouts and orders echoed off the walls and it took Jen a few seconds to realize the orders were also coming from inside her ear. Rescue!
Mathias lifted her to her feet and pushed her forward. "Go!" he ordered. "Up to the Priestess chambers. It is the most secure!"
"No!" Jen argued, sliding to a stop. "You need to get to the Sanctuary!"
"Forget the Sanctuary!" Terron grabbed her hand and pulled her down a corridor.
Jen struggled against him, her bare feet sliding on the cold tile. "The guards are going to shoot you!"
"Oh, and not you?" Mathias scowled, shoving her in behind a series of tapestries. Terron ducked into the alcove behind them and all three held their breath as a half-a-dozen guards ran down the hallway towards the balcony they'd just exited.
The pained sound of hand-to-hand fighting erupted from behind them—in the direction of the balcony. Jen wriggled against Mathias grip, but the two men were having none of it.
Mathias scooped her up and shoved her into Terron's arms. "Get her upstairs!"
"Put me down!" Jen ordered, whacking Terron across the shoulders.
"Go!" Mathias ordered, turning his friend and pushing him down the corridor. "I'll create a distraction."
"Put me down!" Jen wriggled against Terron's firm grip, but it was like trying to fight a statue. As they neared the bottom of the stairs, two guards hurried around the corner and came face to face with Jen and Terron.
"Halt!" The guards shouted, as Terron spun and jumped behind a pillar. Grunts and crashes followed the footsteps of the guards chasing them. Dropping to his knees, Terron slid Jen into a cubbyhole, but before he could move his was snapped back, a large hand fisted in his hair. Terron suddenly found himself dangling several inches from the floor, a beefy hand cutting off his air supply, and a very large weapon jammed beneath his chin.
"Ronon stop!" Jen shrieked, trying unsuccessfully to stand up. She gave up and pounded Ronon's leg with her fist. "He was trying to help me! Don't hurt him!"
Not releasing Terron from his strangling position, Ronon stared down at Jen.
"You okay?"
Jen nodded. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Put him down!"
Ronon released Terron and the young man dropped to the ground in a heap, clutching his throat and gasping for air.
Terron coughed several times and glanced at Jen. "I take it this one is yours?"
Jen lifted her hands and Ronon pulled her to her feet. "He's mine." She answered, flinging her arms around Ronon's waist and burying her face against his chest. "All mine."
Footsteps rounded the corner behind them and with a fluid movement, Ronon spun Jen behind him and aimed at the man running up the hallway.
"Stop!" Jen commanded.
Mathias slid to an abrupt halt, his hands frozen in the air beside his head, his eyes locked on Ronon.
"He's with us." Jen exhaled.
Ronon scowled. "Is there anyone I can shoot?"
"Oh yes." Jen looked up at her husband and nodded slowly. "I know just the man."
"What are they arguing about?" Terron leaned towards Jen, but his eyes were on Evan and Ronon who were standing in the middle of the square, verbally sparring.
Jen shook her head with a snort. "Who gets to shoot him."
"Shoot him?" Mathias glanced at Terron over Jen's head. Then he turned back to Jen. "You are a doctor. You would let them shoot someone?"
Jen shrugged then shook her head. "No. But it's worth the wait to see the expression on Toop's face right now."
All three turned towards the monk who stood on the other side of the square. He swayed between Ellis and Sanchez, his robe torn and covered in dirt and drying blood. His face was a mess—one eye was almost swollen shut, and his lip was split in two places. Behind him, John, Teyla and several marines watched as the real palace guards dragged the last of the mercinaries down into the tunnels towards the dungeon. Eight soldiers had been discovered—four were now dead at the hand of Evan and his team, and four others taken prisoner.
"Technically Ronon should win." Browne nodded, stepping up to Jen. "The Major already got his shots in."
"Apparently he feels deserving of more?" Terron suggested.
Jen let out a snort of disgust and stepped forward. Two hands landed on her shoulders. She scowled as the weight of Terron and Mathias' hands held her in place.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Browne said softly.
The argument abruptly stopped as both Ronon and Evan slowly turned towards her, their eyes on the men standing behind her.
Jen felt the hands immediately lift away and she smiled over her shoulder, realizing Browne's warning was directed at Mathias and Terron—and not her. She walked forward and stopped between Ronon and Evan. "No one gets to kill him."
"Thank you My Lady…" Toop's relieved exhale spun Jen around.
"Shut it, Poop." She snapped at the monk. Her forward stride was abruptly stopped by Ronon and Evan's hands on her arms. "One more word out of you and I'll take you out myself. You tried to kill a baby, murder two men in cold blood, and blame me. This does not make me very happy with you right now."
Toop paled.
Jen glanced around at the palace guards. "Who's in charge here, anyway."
An older man stepped forward and gave her a flourishing bow. "I am Milady."
"Why does everyone keep calling her Milady?" Rodney asked aloud.
Jen looked at the guard. "There's nothing wrong with the baby, and Mathias and Terron were purposely prevented from attending the birth. Do you understand?"
The guard nodded quickly. "Yes Milady. I understand."
"They're free to go?" She glared at the guard.
He nodded and bowed again. "As you are my witness, they are free to go."
"Toop? And the prisoners?"
"They will be dealt with accordingly." The guard glared at the monk. "We do condone acts of treason."
"And the baby?" She questioned, drawing the guard's attention once again.
"The baby shall be ordained, Milady." He bowed again. "And the grandmother banished."
"Good." She nodded. "Because if I should hear differently…"
"You shall not Lady. The word of the Royal Guard stands."
Jen frowned, then nodded. "Fine." She turned towards Terron and Mathias, who were watching her with a mix of amusement and wonder. "What?"
Both men shook their heads. "It is nothing Milady." Terron said quietly.
They gave her a long dramatic bow, both dropping to one knee in front of her.
"We owe you our lives, Milady." Mathias said firmly, his eyes downcast. "A debt we will repay should you but ask."
"Oh get up." Jen rolled her eyes.
"Okay does no one else see anything unusual about all this?" Rodney scowled.
John shrugged. "Not really."
Rodney gave him an incredulous stare.
"All right then." Jen announced turning to face Ronon and Evan. "If there's nothing else? I want to go home now."
Evan flipped his arms wide and bowed. "As Milady wishes," he drawled.
"Oh stuff it." She scowled and brushed past him. With Ronon directly behind her, palace guards and marines parted like the sea, giving her a clear path towards the back of the courtyard.
On a balcony several floors up, Abra stared over the railing to the scene in the courtyard below. "How can you doubt?" he whispered, his voice betraying his awe. "She commands an army!"
Nort, with a white gauze bandage wrapped around his head, nodded his agreement. "I no longer doubt." He clasped the younger monk on the shoulder. "Come. Let us see to the child."
Abra nodded, but could not resist one last look at the Lantean Priestess.
"Good bye Dear Lady!" He shouted, waving boisterously. His heart caught when she turned and looked up him. She smiled and kissed her fingertips, then waved the invisible kiss towards the balcony where he stood.
Abra gasped in shock and pressed his hand to his cheek. Then his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the balcony floor in a dead faint.
"You know, he really should get that looked at." Sanchez muttered, watching from the back of the courtyard.
"Later." Ronon turned Jen away when she stepped back towards the palace.
"Yeah…" Evan frowned. "And by some other Doctor."
"What are you saying?" Jen glanced over her shoulder at the Major, walking after Ronon as he pulled her firmly away from the village.
"He's saying that there's a new rule, Doc." John added, falling in with them. "Double the teams?"
"Hey!" Evan frowned. "There was nothing wrong with having one team."
John raised an eyebrow. "You lost her."
"I didn't lose her." Evan made a face. "She was…kidnapped."
"That wasn't much of an argument." Ellis leaned towards his CO. "If that's what you were going for."
Jen glanced up at Ronon, who's eyes betrayed his amusement. "Don't worry," she smiled up at her husband. "I made my own rule."
"You did, huh." Ronon smirked.
She nodded, tightening her grip on his hand. "How do you feel about becoming a personal bodyguard?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Depends on who's body I'm guarding."
"Oh get a room." Rodney muttered.
"I think it's too late for that…" John snorted.
Jen laughed. "It's never too late for that…"
.
.
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Author's Note - Next stop? Month 8. Don't worry. Jen keeps to her new rule. Too bad it's the boys who will need rescuing this time! :)