Chapter 7: Devastation
Elizabeth stood by the gate along with Ronon, Major Lorne, and a squad of marines. It had been an hour since their meeting, and now, they were off to the Hyspergan homeworld to confront Minister Mithon as to John's whereabouts. She had also asked Carson to come along with them as she had no idea if Colonel Sheppard would need a doctor or not. Rodney had opted to stay on Atlantis as he had a lot of work to do, and she had asked Teyla to stay on Atlantis as she felt that she needed someone she could trust in charge, not that she didn't trust the other men and women that she worked with, but she knew that Teyla was a leader of her own people, so she was definitely capable of taking the lead on Atlantis if an emergency arose.
They were due to leave for the Hyspergan homeworld in five minutes and the only person they were waiting on was Carson, who claimed that he needed to make sure he had enough medical equipment for any emergency that may arise. For that, she was immensely grateful as she still had a feeling that something was about to go very wrong.
Her thoughts were interrupted a few seconds later when the chevrons on the gate started to light up. She turned to Amelia in the control room as the wormhole sprang to life, "Amelia who is it?"
"It's Minister Mithon with a radio message."
"Put it through."
The minister's voice came over the radio and she could sense panic and terror as he spoke, "Dr Weir, the Wraith are culling our world, you must allow us to come through the gate?"
She turned to Lorne for his thoughts, with Colonel Sheppard away he was in charge of military operations, so she valued his opinion, "what do you think Major?"
"I think we should let him through, but I want a squadron of soldiers in the gateroom in case there are any unexpected guests with them."
Elizabeth nodded and Lorne turned to the squad of marines that were on duty by the gateroom door. Once the Marines were by the gate, Elizabeth turned to Amelia and indicated that she should lower the shield.
The shield was lowered, and she watched as minister Mithon came through with around fifty survivors, and some of them were obviously injured. There were broken limbs, burns, cuts, scrapes and there were even a few people unconscious.
She rushed over to the minister, just as Carson walked into the gateroom, "what the hell happened here!?" Carson asked and Elizabeth could sense the shock he must be feeling.
Carson immediately sprang into action, so she turned to minister Mithon, "what happened?"
"The wraith came for the first time in generations and started culling our world and I don't know why. It was over quickly; many were taken, and our world was devastated."
The arrogant man that she had first met was gone and the man that stood before her was a shadow of his former self, but although he seemed quite fragile at the moment, she really needed to know where John was, in fact, that was her top priority.
"Minister, please come to my office as I really need you to tell me where Colonel Sheppard is," she turned to Lorne and Ronon and indicated that they should follow as well?
She walked off towards her office with the Minister moving slowly and she wondered whether he might be injured, "are you, alright Minister?"
Suddenly, the minister slumped to the ground, which probably wasn't a good thing because she had no idea whether anyone else knew where John was.
"Carson!" She yelled. When he looked up, she pointed to the minister, "minister Mithon has just collapsed and he's unresponsive."
Carson was up the steps and by the minister's side in a split second and a second after that a medical team arrived with a gurney.
Carson started to bark orders and she heard words like head injury and internal bleeding, none of which sounded good, and she had to wonder whether he would survive long enough to try and lead what was left of his people.
Once Carson had left with the minister, she looked at the mayhem in the gate room, people were afraid and they seemed lost, a sight that she had seen many times since she'd come to the Pegasus galaxy. A medical team were taking care of the injured and a group of Marines were trying to care for the refugees and all that she could think of was, here were yet another group of people without a home. There were mainly women and children in the group, with only a few men. The women were sobbing, and the children were distraught as they clung to their mothers or fathers. She wondered how many people were lost that day and she suspected that these people would never recover. They would probably need to settle on a world with another race of people who were dwindling in numbers, thanks to the wraith.
She knew that in recent months the Hyspergans had taken in other refugees from other planets that had been culled by the Wraith, so some of these people in the gate-room had lived through a culling twice in as many months and she wondered whether anyone could ever recover from that. Then she remembered that Athos had been culled many times and many Athosians had lost loved ones at the hands of the Wraith, but although they had survived some horrendous situations, they were still proud and strong people. She could only hope that the Hyspergans would find strength despite the circumstances that they had found themselves in.
She continued, feeling weary all of a sudden. At times like this, she really hated her job. As much as she enjoyed exploring the Pegasus galaxy, she would never get used to the horrors that came with it.
Her next job was to send a team to the Hyspergan homeworld to check for survivors and she also knew at some stage they would have to deal with the dead. Once they had settled the survivors, she would have to ask them about their death rituals.
It seemed like forever before she finally reached her office and the first thing, she did was take a deep breath and collect her thoughts. She then looked up at the people in her office and tried to work out what to do next, but she really didn't really need to worry about it because Major Lorne knew exactly what they should be doing.
"Dr Weir, we need to head to the Hyspergan homeworld and look for survivors and we need to be searching for Colonel Sheppard as well. From what I can ascertain he should be in a cave some twenty miles south of the village. That is the information one of the survivors has given me and I can only hope that it is correct."
"In that case send Ronon, Teyla and Rodney to look for Colonel Sheppard, while you look for survivors. Make sure you take as many personnel as you need, Medical and military."
"I'm on my way," Lorne said jumping up from his seat and leaving her office in a hurry.
Ronon quickly followed not bothering to say anything to her but tapping his earpiece as he went.
She put her head in her hands again and wondered how a simple trade mission could go so terribly wrong in such a short space of time.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When he arrived in the infirmary, the first thing Carson did was to get the minister under the scanner. After Carson's initial examination he had concluded that there was a strong possibility that the Minister had a head injury.
A few minutes later he had him under the scanner and his suspicions were confirmed, he had a Sub-Dural haematoma and although there was only a slight bleed, Carson knew that he would have to keep an eye on him to make sure that things didn't get any worse.
So far, the injuries from the Hyspergan survivors were only mild, there were a few broken bones, minor burns and scrapes and scratches, but he had no idea what was happening on the planet and whether there were more serious injuries to come or not.
Checking on his medical staff he realised that they had it all under control for the moment, so he decided to head to his office for a while. His office was close to the ICU so if the alarms went off, he would be close by to attend to Minister Mithon. He had also left one of his best nurses to take care of him.
He had just arrived in his office when his com activated, "Carson here."
"Carson it's Elizabeth here. Ronon, Teyla and Rodney are going off-world to look for John, are you available to go with them or is Minister Mithon too injured for you to accompany them?"
"I think that I'd better stay here, I have two doctors ready to assist Major Lorne in his search and rescue efforts if he needs them, so I can send the new Doctor to assist in the search for Colonel Sheppard, she came on the Dedalus when it last docked."
"That would be Dr Keller, right?"
"Aye that's right, I'll send her to the gate room straight away."
"Send her to the jumper bay and make sure she's ready to leave in twenty minutes."
"Aye Luv, I'll inform her straight away, Carson out."
Once he had broken the connection with Elizabeth, he set about contacting the new young Doctor. He knew that she was incredibly young, and some of the staff were a bit wary of her, but he thought that she was brilliant despite her age, so he had every belief that she would be a fine addition to his medical staff, and this was probably a good chance for her to prove herself to others.
He had no idea where Colonel Sheppard was or whether he was injured, but he knew that it was probably a good idea to send a doctor because more often than not, the Colonel found himself in difficult situations where he needed medical help.
It was days like today he really hated his job, yet another world devastated by the wraith and as usual, he was left to pick up the pieces. He knew that it affected everyone on Atlantis, but he had to deal with the devastating injuries and loss of life. For the moment, his infirmary was quiet and most of his patients had been assigned guest quarters, but he knew that Kate Heightmeyer would have her hands full in the weeks that lay ahead.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
He felt the weight of the world, or in this case, the galaxy being lifted from his shoulders and he knew that he could sleep knowing that he would be okay, emotionally anyway, he wasn't quite sure about his physical injuries.
Just as his eyelids were beginning to droop and sleep was threatening to overtake him, he heard a strange whining sound from beyond the cave and his last thought before he went to sleep was Wraith.
When John awoke again the ground was shaking as Wraith darts flew overhead; at least that's what he thought they were. There was dust falling from the ceiling and if he hadn't felt so lousy, he would have tried to get on his feet. His arm was completely numb as was his shoulder and the pain in his back was beginning to dissipate, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Every breath he took it seemed as if a vice was crushing his chest preventing him from taking in enough oxygen and he knew that if someone didn't come and let him out of this cave soon, he would be in deep trouble.
Closing his eyes, he felt the darkness beckoning again, but before it took him there was a loud crack that filled the air and if he'd been outside, he would have mistaken it for thunder, but he knew that wasn't the case, so he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. It wasn't long before the rocks from the roof of the cave came down on top of him. The ceiling seemed to be falling for hours, but he was sure that it was only a couple of minutes and when the dust had finally settled, he found that the bottom half of his body was covered in small to medium rocks and dust. Groaning he tried to move his legs and managed to move them slightly, his left leg felt fine, but when he tried to move his right leg, an intense pain permeated through his entire body.
He had to wonder why the Wraith had decided to come to the planet now when for generations they had left the Hyspergans alone. Perhaps it was his fault; maybe they were looking for him and followed him to this world. Just another thing for him to be guilty about, but then he'd let a lot of guilt go in the last few days so maybe he should let this one go too.
At that moment John remembered the last words he'd spoken to Teer and he wished he'd taken her up on her offer to ascend with her when he'd had the chance. It left him wondering if she visited him right now, would he really accept the offer to ascend with her. If help didn't arrive soon, he made up his mind that if by some miracle she chose to appear to him, he would definitely consider ascending with her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla was heartbroken as they flew across the Hyspergan homeworld. She had seen this scene so many times throughout the galaxy and it brought back some bad memories for her. Thinking back to the day her father was taken and killed brought tears to her eyes. Although she had dealt with it a long time ago, it was at times like this that the memories came back to haunt her.
Most of the buildings seemed to have been obliterated and there were fires still burning sending streams of smoke into the air. From this height, she could just make out the shrivelled up remains of people and it made her shudder. She was extremely thankful that she was in the jumper because she knew that the stench of death would be unbearable down on the planet.
Her thoughts were interrupted when someone beside her gasped, she looked around and saw the new young doctor standing beside her with tears in her eyes. She turned to her and gave her a small smile, "Jennifer, isn't it?" When Jennifer nodded, she continued, "sadly this is not uncommon in this galaxy and unfortunately it never becomes easier, but you do learn to live with it. My father was killed when my planet was culled many years ago and although sometimes, I have thought about giving up the fight, I know that if I did, his death would be in vain. He is not the only person I have lost over the years to the Wraith, but it is the fight that gives life meaning for many of us."
Ronon turned to face them, "my entire planet was destroyed by the wraith and I won't stop fighting until every single Wraith in this galaxy is dead," he growled.
Finally, Rodney spoke, and his voice was, surprisingly gentle," I know that this is really terrifying when you see it for the first time, but I choose to look at it as an opportunity to help people in need. And being a doctor of voodoo medicine, you should be able to be a great help to many people in this galaxy."
"Rodney! "Teyla admonished, "Now is not the time to insult the medical profession.
"Sorry," he mumbled, before turning back to the front of the jumper.
Teyla turned to face the front of the jumper; thankful that Major Lorne had to deal with the devastation on the planet, for now, all she had to do was think about finding John.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Major Evan Lorne stepped out from the back of the jumper onto the Hyspergan home-world and wrinkled up his nose. The stench of death was unbelievable. All around him fires were burning and there were bodies in the street, some were burned severely, and others had obviously been fed on by the wraith. The crops in the fields had been completely vaporised, so there was no way that they were going to be able to trade with these people now.
He turned to address the marines behind him, just in time to see one of them lose their lunch and he wasn't surprised to see that it was Lt Smith. He'd heard about how Colonel Sheppard had beaten this man in a sparring match a few days ago and he was relieved that in the last few days the Lieutenant had seemed humbler, but nothing could prepare anyone for seeing a world devastated by the Wraith for the first time.
He smiled sadly at the young man and hoped that he could encourage him with his words, "I know that it's not pleasant Lieutenant, but unfortunately this is part of our job here in the Pegasus galaxy and sadly it is something we see far too often. For now, we have a job to do and that is to search for survivors."
"But what about those who have been culled," Lt Smith asked his eyes open wide, and Lorne didn't miss the terror in them.
"There's nothing we can do for those people at the moment, so let's get on with the job at hand as we need to report back to Dr Weir in one hour."
Lorne was relieved when Lt Smith nodded his head permitting him to issue orders.
"Lt Smith and Lt Jones I want you to circle to the left and look for survivors, Lt Peters you're with me. We will circle to the right and meet you back here in one hour. I don't think that we're going to find any survivors, but if you do contact the medical team aboard the jumper. We have been instructed to leave the dead where they lay by the Hyspergans. They have asked that where possible we cover them over as a sign of respect. Does everyone understand?"
A chorus of 'yes sir' filled the air and Lorne nodded to his men and circled to the right of the village. He had seen this on so many occasions that he had become numb to it. He knew that it would be an absolute miracle if they found any other survivors, but he knew that they had to look anyway.
There was also the worry that the wraith could come back looking for anyone they'd missed, but from what he had observed so far, they had pretty much destroyed the village and either killed or took everyone with them.
He only hoped that Ronon and his team were having better luck in locating the Colonel because from what he had heard the only person who knew for sure where he was, was Minister Mithon and apparently, he was unconscious with a head injury.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Elizabeth sighed as she slowly walked into the infirmary, it had been a busy couple of hours, and she wanted to see how the minister was going. Lorne was due to contact her in an hour and she knew that it was just a formality as she was fairly sure there would be no survivors.
Ronon's team hadn't contacted her yet either, so she still knew nothing about where Colonel Sheppard was or if he was injured. They were due to check in with her in about an hour as well.
She walked into the infirmary and found Carson in his office and he looked half asleep, she suspected that it had been a long afternoon for him as well.
"How are you feeling Carson?" She asked him, before sitting down.
"I'm just a wee bit tired, but nothing that a good night's sleep couldn't fix."
She knew that she would have to address her chief medical officers lack of sleep at some point, but right now she needed to know how the Minister was because from what she could ascertain, he was probably the only person who knew precisely where Colonel Sheppard was.
"How's the Minister, Carson?"
"He has a subdural haematoma and for the moment he is in a critical but stable condition."
"How long do you think it will be before he wakes up?"
"I have no idea Lassie; it could be tomorrow, or it could be next week or month."
"Please let me know when he wakes up because I need to talk to him as soon as possible?"
"Aye, I will Lass."
"Okay Carson, now, I want you to go and get some rest."
"I will, once I've checked on the minister one more time."
"Make sure you do."
Elizabeth watched as Carson headed towards the ICU and then she turned around and headed to the control room, hoping to hear some news from Lorne and Ronon soon.
She'd barely reached her office when the Chevrons on the gate began to light up. Rushing into the control room, she looked at Chuck, "Who is it?"
Chuck pressed a few buttons before he answered, "it's Major Lorne's IDC."
She gave chuck a small smile, hoping that it conveyed reassurance, "drop the shield."
"Come on through Major Lorne."
"Thank you, Elizabeth, I sorry to say that we haven't found any more survivors. Ronon and his team will be checking the caves where they're headed. Hopefully, they will find John and any other survivors."
She watched as Lorne and his team walked through the gate and they looked dejected and defeated. Again, she tried to put a small smile on her face as she spoke to them, "Major Lorne head down to the infirmary for your post-mission checks, then meet me in my office in one hour for a debrief."
Lorne nodded and she watched as the team of weary soldiers headed towards the infirmary. At least they were home alive, now all she had to do was wait for Ronon's team to return and hopefully when they did they would have John with them.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Teyla watched as they approached the mountains, and she was surprised at how tall they were. The mountains and hills surrounding them were covered in trees and the wildlife was abundant. There appeared to be a series of caves at the foot of the hills, but she had no idea if John would be in any of them and if he were which one would it be? Some of the Hyspergan survivors had suggested that there may be additional survivors in the caves, but it was highly unlikely as they were at least half an hour walk from the village.
Rodney carefully landed the jumper in a clearing about five hundred meters from the first cave and Teyla was amazed by how gentle his landing was since normally it was pretty rough.
Ronon was the first one out once the back hatch had been lowered, and she quickly followed. Once they had taken a quick look around to make sure it was safe, Rodney and Dr Keller followed.
Teyla looked at the Doctor and she still looked in shock from the devastating sights they had seen from the jumper.
"Are you alright Dr Keller?"
"I'm not sure, but I know that I have a job to do so I will have to pull myself together. And Teyla please call me Jennifer?"
"Let us get going then. The quicker we find Colonel Sheppard the quicker we can get him home."
Teyla watched Ronon as he examined the area looking for signs of life, "Teyla can you watch our six, I'll take point and Dr Keller can you walk beside Dr McKay in the middle." He suggested while slowly moving forward.
They walked in silence until they came to a cave with a stout wooden door. Teyla had no idea why they would put a door on a cave. Approaching the cave, she said a prayer to the ancestors that she didn't even believe in, that they would find John Sheppard in there.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
John awoke to a coughing fit as the dust continued to fall from what was left of the ceiling. His arms were numb as was his back, his chest was tight, and every breath he took was painful. His right leg was on fire and he had a splitting headache. In fact, the only part of his body that wasn't numb or didn't hurt was his left leg.
He wondered what was happening outside of the cave, everything seemed quiet, so he assumed that the wraith had left. That has to be the quickest culling I've ever heard of, he thought. Although he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, so the Wraith could have been there for days.
He had no idea where his friends were, or if they were even looking for him. Was Minister Mithon still alive and if he was had he told Atlantis where he was? There was just too much to think about, but the one thing he knew was that he was completely alone. Was he going to die alone or perhaps he could attempt to ascend? Teer had offered when she'd ascended and at the time, he'd said that he wasn't ready, but now he was beginning to regret that decision. Had he had these thoughts before? He had a vague recollection that the last time he'd been conscious he'd been considering it.
His thoughts were beginning to become garbled when he saw a figure stepping out of the darkness, not again. The last thing he needed right now was to deal with more guilt.
It wasn't long before the figure became clear enough for him to see and much to his relief it was a person who could take him away from the pain and suffering.
"Teer," he whispered.
"John you must hang on a little longer, your friends are nearby and will reach you soon."
"I want to ascend with you."
"No John it is not your time, you must go back to help the Hyspergan survivors."
John closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them Teer was gone. He really hoped that what she said was true because he had no idea how much more pain and suffering, he could take.
TBC…