Through A Lens Darkly – Chapter Six

SGA SGA SGA

A heavy silence hung in the cave as the light filtered in and landed on Cassie's face. The welcome heat woke her up from what she hoped had been a bad dream. Alas, it only took for her to move her cramped legs, to feel the unwanted realisation that she had indeed, grown older, literally overnight. She muffled a cry with a fist in her mouth, and buried her head into Sheppard's side, until she felt in control enough to raise her head and face the others.

At first, Teyla didn't know if she should intrude, but when she saw the helpless look on her face, she stepped over to her side with a canteen of water.

"Here, you must be thirsty. It is early morning."

Cassie took the water gratefully and took her fill.

"So I didn't dream it then?"

Reaching out to take the bottle back, Teyla smiled sadly. "I am sorry Cassie."

"Not your fault – uh, John?"

Teyla sighed. "He is still sleeping, we have been unable to wake him."

"Can we not just let him? He must be exhausted.

"Not if we want to leave here before Korr and his men find us, or indeed the Queen. Rodney knows where the 'jumper is and we have a bit of walk to get there, and with…"

"Me being older"

"…John being ill – I was going to say. It is imperative we leave soon, now that it is light."

Cassie sat with her back against the cold stone wall and nodded towards Ronon and Rodney who were watching the interchange between Teyla and Cassie with concern, as even in these close quarters, their voices had not reached Sheppard's ears.

"I will wake him." She reached forward to shake his shoulder, only to have her arm jerked back by Teyla.

"Remember, please, Sheppard is a Military man. You do not want to startle him in the state he is in now, allow Ronon to try again?"

Cassandra smiled at Ronon but shook her head? "I'll do it"

"Do it gently." Teyla warned.

Cassie gulped slightly. She had so much more to learn about the man lying beside her, but undeterred, she gently, but with added caution, patted his cheek and whispered his name. At some point during the night, Sheppard had fallen asleep on his side with his head tucked down to his chest and his arms flopped over on top of the other one. He had kept her warm all night with the heat radiating from his body. Cassie was pleased that his cheek felt slightly cooler than previously, but he still had beads of perspiration on his forehead and pressing down with her palm, it was still warmer than normal to the touch. Undeterred, she continued to shake him and was eventually rewarded with a low groan.

Her head whipped round and this time it was McKay, who came to kneel beside her.

"He's always grumpy when he wakes up from being ill." Rodney smiled.

"I see." Cassie took his hand and held it, stroking his knuckles in a manner not unlike Teyla always did, McKay noticed.

Caspva had also been curious about the sleeping Colonel.

"Military man, you say. Where are you people from?" His enquiry was genuine enough, but laced with potential threats.

"We are from different worlds. Much like yourselves." Ronon dived in with, before Cassie offered the truth.

"Sun's up, we should get moving." Caspva then said, disappointed the tall man was not going to share life stories with him.

Sheppard moaned again and Ronon cocked his thumb in his direction. "When Sheppard's fully awake."

"I've never seen anything like that - what happened to him yesterday, your friend." Another of Caspva's friends, Gray, remarked.

"It wasn't something we have experience before either." Teyla said. "The outcome to our friend is, as yet, unknown. Perhaps, if you would care to prepare yourselves something to eat, we can leave once our friend is fully awake." Teyla changed the subject smoothly.

It wasn't that Caspva didn't see through her move, he just chose to not antagonise the people that were going to get him off this planet, so he ushered the curious back inside the cave towards their possessions and they set about sharing out some of their oatmeal into equal portions.

"There is enough to share with you."

"You have our grateful thanks." Teyla smiled.

McKay was especially grateful for the food as he was feeling the strain on his hypoglycaemia and wolfed it down in double time with a raised eyebrow from Ronon.

Sheppard, this time, shifted about and flopped onto his back.

"Hey there. Come on, wake up?" Cassie gently moved his hand up and down.

Other floppy hand was raised and he wiped the sleep from his face.

"Wha…" he coughed. "What…time…?"

"That does not matter. We need to leave as soon as you are able. Are you up to this John?" Ronon came over and knelt on one knee; his fingers prodding Sheppard on his now raised one.

"This?" Sheppard asked without opening his eyes.

A few sets of worried eyes darted back and forward, but then Sheppard sat up with such a speed, Cassie fell backwards, until he caught her hand with lightning speed.

"Sorry…I… Whoa…"

The cave walls started to close in on each other as Sheppard listed to the side. He planted his hand on the ground and felt Rodney, push his head to his chest. "Just breathe for a minute Sheppard."

He could, he could breathe – but it also hurt to do that, so he tried a mixture of breathing and panting until his balance was corrected and he raised his head with one eye cranked open.

"I'm good. Stop watching me. I'm good to go." To prove it, he raised himself up and would have stood tall, but needed the support of the wall and the top of Cassie's head, to keep him up.

"I need...uh, ... let my legs behave."

"John, perhaps you should sit down again?" Teyla suggested.

Sheppard shook his head. He looked upon Cassie and he remembered the horrors of the day before.

"No." He said, perhaps too sharply. "We need to get Cassie to Carson and then I have to go find Todd."

"Are you crazy on enzyme Sheppard? He is long gone. The Queen is still lose out there for all we know, we have to go home to…"

"Rodney!" Sheppard fairly shouted.

The sound was even more pronounced in the cave and everyone froze.

Sheppard pursed his lips, angry at Rodney's slip but resigned himself to listen to his team, because he really wasn't in too good a shape at the moment to persist in his search for Todd. His head pounded, his limbs felt uncoordinated and a steady thumping pain was a constant in his chest.

"Just … just tell me how far away the 'jumper is?"

"About an hour's hike…on a good day." Rodney finished up, trying hard not to look a tad worried.

"Then Ronon's right - we had better go."

"After you eat. Here take this." Caspva handed him a bowl. Sheppard stopped for a moment but then took the bowl of oatmeal, with a word of thanks.

He noticed Teyla and Cassie were deep in a discussion so walked outside with it, closing his eyes against the warm wind, relishing the feel of it on his face.

The breakfast, although welcomed, didn't sit right in his stomach, but he managed to eat it all.

Wrenched loose from his faculties, Sheppard ran a hand through his hair. He felt rough – real rough. His heart continued to hammer against his rib cage and the enzyme beat alongside it with equal proportions. It didn't feel like any withdrawal symptoms he had had before. He felt he was still high on it somehow and the pressure inside his chest was immense.

Time had many possibilities coming up, he just needed to choose the one he thought best for everyone and adjust his countering will to suit them all. He knew Cassie was his priority, and that meant getting her back on Atlantis and under Carson's care. Only thing was – she really needed Todd to give her life back; something the good doc would never be able to do.

Damn!

The men with them were disturbing him also; he didn't need the extra pressure of saving them. Sheppard stood up shakily from the boulder he was sitting on, just as Ronon came to check on him.

"Did you draw the short straw?"

At his quizzical look, Sheppard just smiled out the corner of his mouth. "Never mind."

"You going to manage this walk?"

"I'm good. Bit wobbly it seems – but hey! Who wouldn't be if they had just received – well I don't bloody know what I have just received!"

"Sheppard…I'm sorry, neither Teyla nor I, have heard of a kaa'lee, so I cannot advise you. Don't forget you had that bad blaster shot as well, so you can't expect to be on top form."

Ronon stared at him when he took a fraction too long to answer, so gently prodded him. "Sheppard, what's wrong?"

He stood still, hands at his sides, as he dropped the bowl. The clang of wood on stone, alerted the people in the cave and Teyla stepped forward, holding onto Cassie as she moved to her to come with her.

Sheppard took two steps forward and cocked his head to the side as if he was listening to something.

"Dive!" He shouted abruptly and landed on his belly on the ground.

His team, trusting him unconditionally, fell to the ground also, with Teyla dragging Cassie, just as a blast tore into the rock up above their heads. Small chips sprayed outward and Sheppard moved like a snake along the ground until his hands were on Cassie's head to protect her from the shockwave deposits.

Caspva and his friends had not heeded his advice and were currently crying out in pain with various injuries starting to appear.

Sheppard was up first and pulled Cassie by her waist to a much larger boulder outcrop away from the entrance to the cave, which was being pummelled by another blast.

"How did you know?" Shouted Rodney.

"Doesn't matter just now. Is anyone injured?" Sheppard belted out.

"No." was shouted out by everyone. "All right." He breathed.

Sheppard spied Caspva, holding onto, what he presumed to be his wife. "Get behind these boulders."

Caspva looked unsure of what to do, but Sheppard was moving from outcrop to outcrop, holding tight to Cassie's wrist, until he stopped at some large, round ones.

"We are sitting ducks here Sheppard. Let me go and scout around?" Ronon had his blaster up and was poised to go, just awaiting the go ahead.

"No. We have to stick together."

"Sheppard!"

"I said no."

Wired Sheppard was back. The enzyme was back.

It seemed to flood through him more whenever his heart rate increased. He allowed himself a small groan of discomfort when he curled his fingers against the tide of excess energy currently threatening to overwhelm him, but he harnessed it and allowed himself to make use of it once he got what he needed from it.

He looked at his team and they could tell he was high on enzyme again, as his face was covered in a sheen of sweat and the deeply troubled look in his eyes was back.

"John. Are you okay? You do not look well." Cassie did not understand what was going on at the best of times on Atlantis – but this! This was understandably difficult for her to grasp.

"Not just now Cassie!" He snapped and instantly regretted it. "Sorry – damn, I'm sorry. I… I just need to think, okay?"

He looked down at her wrist and saw the red marks left by his fingers when he had been pulling her along so tight. Cassie noticed his horrified look, so snatched her arm away. "It is fine…John. Just…"

A stone rumbled and fell. Sheppard whipped his head around.

"No!" cried Caspva.

Sheppard and Ronon risked a glance outwards and saw several men run towards them, brandishing the effective blasters that had dropped Sheppard so easily.

"What do we have?"

"Our P-90's and handguns that were recovered." Teyla advised him.

"Ronon?"

"Still got her." He said, referring to his blaster. "And several knives."

"Good – give one to Cassie."

"I have the small handgun you gave me remember."

Sheppard did remember, and he was glad he had thought it a good idea, but he also knew it might not be enough if these men got closer to them.

Ronon handed her a smaller knife in a leather case and she hung on to it with a grimace.

"This is insane, Sheppard. We are outnumbered."

"Rodney!" Sheppard growled. In no mood for his hopelessness.

"But what about the weapon that had blasted the rock cave. Where had that come from? Do you think it was a dart?"

Sheppard caught Ronon's eye and he knew he was thinking the same thing.

"We have to get out of here, Sheppard?"

"I know. I know. I think we just have to make a run for ...the dart will see us, never mind the crowd below."

Ronon nodded. "You take Cassie round the rocks to your left and run towards the 'jumper; Rodney too and we will follow you as soon as we have dispatched this lot."

Sheppard looked like he was going to protest but clamped his mouth shut. Ronon was correct, it just didn't sit right with him, splitting them up, and besides there was so many of them.

Whatever would have happened in that situation was never played out, because all that could be heard next was the screeching through the sky of a sole dart.

Sheppard froze and looked at Cassie. She looked back at him, grabbing his hand. He smiled at her without a touch of pity, only with a desperation that she understood instantly; one which she appreciated and she smiled back as best she could hoping it conveyed just how much she trusted him.

"Cassie, whatever happens next…I will get you through it and out the other end."

Looking back at Sheppard, she cupped his face, as seemed to be their thing.

"I have no doubt."

The dusty air from the blasts hit her in the face then and she flung it away with a flick of her hand, it shocked her into the gravity of their situation though, as she looked at some of Caspva's people make a run for it, down the small hillside and towards the rowdy crowd. Hoping to do what? She had no idea. Join them again?"

"It's too late Ronon, the dart will get them. We all go together."

Sheppard stole a look at Cassie trying to brave for him, as he took her up into his arms, pulled her to him and started to run with the rest of his team.

Cassie gasped in shock at his sudden bid for freedom and watched the others following him regardless.

"No! Cassie cried, "No! I can run myself." But Sheppard's body was pumping full of enzyme again, so he nimbly threaded his way through the rocks to the side of the cave, just glancing back every so often to see who was following him and satisfied that it was all of his team, and now, in a change, followed closely by Caspva and three of the others.

They ducked and hid in the depths of any rocks holes they came to find, as the dart could be heard firing not far away and then came the whine of the culling beam, pulling up their adversaries from below.

At last the morning stilled and Sheppard dared to put Cassie down and venture to the surface.

Gone.

They were all gone and the dart was nowhere in sight.

"What the hell?" Rodney voiced what was on everyone else's minds.

They all surfaced and Sheppard rounded on Caspva, grabbing him by his jacket.

"What's going on? Are there more Wraith here?"

"You know as much as I do?"

"You've got a bloody nerve. We haven't a clue as to what is going on here. Now. You tell me, or you will live to regret the day that you ever set eyes on me or my team."

"I don't do well with threats."

Ronon stepped up beside Sheppard and added an extra weight that Caspva obviously took seriously, as he visibly backed down and weighed up the situation.

"Look. I have no idea who you are. I have told you briefly, our story and yet, you deem it unnecessary for me to know who you are – other than you have a ship waiting on you somewhere near."

No suggestion Sheppard was going to impart his home being Atlantis, so he stayed mute whilst staring the man down.

Rodney wanted to point out the obvious.

"Sheppard." He said to the shaking man; enzyme playing cruelly with him. "We need to go, this can wait."

Sheppard ignored him. "Listen to me Caspva. So far you have helped us, that's good enough for me. But don't push me. I am willing to get you off this planet and will take you to a gate so you can go wherever the hell you want, but you answer me one thing and then we will go, or I am not moving."

Caspva desperately wanted to take his wife and friends off this planet so nodded.

Sheppard wasted no time. "Other than my previous questions, what made the Queen take off screaming into the cave system, it looked like she wanted something?"

Gray stepped forward. "We need to get moving…"

Caspva held up his hand to his friend and took in a deep breath. "We will Gray." He looked back at Sheppard.

"We came across this planet by chance. It has proved resourceful but it has no 'gate, as you call it. One day, we were to get picked up by our Captain but they ran into some trouble with a Hive ship and took fire and had to leave us until repaired. The Hive ship came off worse, however, and crashed into the sea not far from here. Before it slowly sunk, we hid, as we noticed hundreds of Wraith swim to safety and they also brought up to the surface many of their items. The Queen emerged and started screaming orders. Next thing we know, a small craft managed to make it out from the fallen ship and its pilot flew over the heads of all the Wraith, except for a few of them and some drones standing with the Queen and pulled them into the culling beam for some reason."

"Why?" McKay asked.

"Don't ask me. Next thing, I see Korr and his cronies in the distance stun the remaining Wraith and Queen with these new blasters he came across and captured them. Their small craft had already landed and I don't think the tall Wraith that came out of it, had noticed what had happened. He started to get back in it when he did, but they jumped him. I've never seen a struggle like it. They toyed with him, Korr did not want him stunned, so they took turns beating on him until he was knocked out and they took him away."

Sheppard seethed. He just knew that had been Todd.

"One more thing. The Queen – you heard her yell and scream, running into the cave just before we escaped."

"Yeah?"

"She was trying to retrieve the interface Korr took from the craft - all her Wraith are still inside it, ready to be materialised from the culling beam."

Sheppard ran his hand over his head. "That would explain her reactions."

A sudden memory of Todd whispering in his ear when he lay on the cell floor came upon him. "She's no Queen of mine Shep-pard."

Sheppard didn't know Todd's story but he would bet he wanted the Queen and those Wraith inside the interface for some reason.

"Where is it now?" He asked.

Caspva seemed to consider his answer and looked at Sheppard as if judging him. He narrowed his eyes. "I repeat – friend. We just want off this planet. I want no trouble." He reached into one of his shoulder bags he was carrying and pulled out the interface, wrapped in a cloth."

"I don't know how long they will live in there before being materialised. It may have been too long already."

Everyone crowded round to look at it as if it was suddenly going to spring into life.

"It will not last indefinitely anyway." Said Rodney. "But they will still be alive at the moment. He did know how long they had been in there after all.

"You know of these things?" Gray said with a curious look.

"Enough." Sheppard intervened. "Give me it." He commanded.

Caspva looked to everyone he knew. They all nodded, so Caspva handed it over to Sheppard, who took it with a blank look and purposely shoved it in a rock crevice just beside his hand.

"I'll come back for it if I think we need to."

"Sheppard. We need to go." Ronon finally spoke up, itching to blast the interface, but held back from doing so as Sheppard obviously thought it should be kept hidden at the moment.

"Korr seemed to have personal shields, don't suppose you have any of these on you?"

"They were not something we ever had. We were more labourers to Korr and his men."

Sheppard dug for more information before moving. "The dart, as we call them that just took up some men?"

Caspva shrugged. "Another? The same? I do not know – perhaps they have two interfaces in each craft!"

Sheppard looked to Rodney and he was chewing his lip trying to think.

Impatient, Sheppard strode forward a couple of steps. "There is no sign of it now." He turned to look at Teyla, asking her silently with a word, if she sensed it. She slowly shook her head but was worried.

"Let's move out. Rodney show us the way."

Sheppard's mind buzzed with new information. Todd was looking for the very thing he had hidden and if they managed to meet up again, he would tell him where it was. Scenarios spun in his head about meeting up with the Wraith again. How did he get out from the cave? Did he get out? Can a Queen fly a dart?

"John?"

Sheppard spun on his heel and grabbed the hand that had landed on his shoulder. His face grew dark and was ready to defend.

"John!"

Sheppard stopped in shock when he noticed his tight grip on Cassie's wrist once again. He closed his eyes.

"I – I only wanted to ask if you wanted some water." She stood there, her eyes wide, with a canteen in her hands.

Opening his eyes and breathing deep he took it from her and took a drink. "I'm sorry Cassie. I didn't hear you."

"You have been walking in a daze for ages."

"I have?"

Sheppard took in his surroundings, his team watching him in worry.

Understanding Sheppard needed to ground himself, Cassie fiddled with something in her pocket.

"I have been taking pictures. Can't put an old photographer down!"

The realisation of what she had just said made her gasp and put a hand to her mouth."

Sheppard reached out to her, "Cassie..."

"I…"

He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair, realising suddenly that he should have done that hours ago.

"Sshh, Cassie. I'll fix it. Trust in that."

They stood like that for a couple of minutes until Cassie broke away from him and smiled.

"I trust you." She touched his hot cheek, "You look so serious. Let me take your photo Colonel Sheppard. I would like one of you in action."

Sheppard looked up to see that Caspva and friends had started walking again and nodded for his team to follow.

"You pick a strange time for one Cassie, but I can't disappoint the war correspondence, can I?"

It wasn't like there was anything special about the scenery where they stood. Cassie just wanted to capture more of the planet that had changed her life. She did not have a clue about what was going on, but she trusted Sheppard … and his team. If he said he could fix her, he would.

Rodney had said they were near the 'jumper, so the mood a lightened somewhat between them all. If only Sheppard did not look so desperately ill and tired. She heard his team discuss his condition and enzyme was mentioned a lot, but she had decided not to ask too many questions and distract them from their supervising positions they had over his welfare and the worry over it. They seemed to be unsure of his condition and all the more wary of his moods.

Cassie started to rub her wrist; pleased she had not been too hurt by her stupidity earlier – Teyla had warned her, but she thought it was just when he was sleeping that he would be startled. Next, she pulled out her small pocket sized camera and pointed it at him in anticipation.

Snap.

Sheppard blinked involuntarily.

"I need another, let me adjust my camera."

Over Sheppard's head a boom came out of nowhere and an explosion landed in the ground between his team and Caspva, just as he noticed a dart come towards him. The world stopped for a second, his heart sunk and he looked towards Cassie as if in slow motion, his mouth slightly open and pointed past her.

There were no words for a second, until he understood the horror of what might happen next. He froze in realisation that the dart was back, the Queen being the pilot - he would not let Cassie be captured by her.

Snap!

Within that same second,Cassie had taken the photograph that would win her a prestigious award and arbitrarily, put Sheppard's image on a wall, for all the world to see.

SGA SGA SGA

"Run!"

Cassie wasted no time and stashed her camera as she ran with Sheppard. She could feel him pushing her back to help speed her up.

Sheppard kept crying "Run" and automatically took up the rear in his group, pointing his P-90 upwards as he sped on.

A screech could be heard and the dart was upon them.

Sheppard shouted. "Teyla!"

Teyla pushed Cassie behind her, as they all skidded to a stop to face the oncoming dart. Ronon fired a shot but it was more out of frustration as it would never have reached the craft.

The dart seemed to veer suddenly and then fly in a circle around them but refrained from firing. Bewildered Ronon started to walk backwards.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but we might want to try and make it to these trees."

"Do it." Sheppard commanded.

His body was doing one thing but his mind was now in trouble.

The minute the dart had come back full circle, he stopped holding the P-90 and his arms grew heavy, falling to his sides. He clutched his head in sudden paid and tried to follow the others but it was like a losing battle with himself. The dull feeling in his head grew until it was awash with the flames of a Wraith Queen's mind. She was in control of him now – the kaa'lee he knew had linked them and he could not fight the bond or her superior strength.

So it was to save them all that Sheppard decided to slow down from running.

The Queen sent him a message that she wanted him back, now that she knew who he was.

"Leave my people alone." He managed to send back, mind to mind.

"Todd", he cried to the other.

Todd did not answer, but the Queen surprised him; she had no want for the others, she had fed well; enough to last a long time, so she entered his mind and told him as much. She loved the way he grimaced.

Sheppard came to a stop and braced himself for the beam to come that would put him in an interface just like the one he had hidden in the rocks.

He thought to call out to Cassie and his team, to let them know what he was doing; to tell Cassie he loved her and to tell his team to stay strong and look out for each other, for he knew this time, he would not make it back – but he could not find the words.

Mute and gasping for his last breath, Sheppard waited for his fate.

An understanding, come from several missions together, that something was not right, made Ronon turn round to watch Sheppard come to a halt. Initially, thinking he was wounded, Ronon started to run back for him, which caught the eye of Rodney and Teyla and eventually Cassie.

They watched in horror as the ghostly beam of the dart descended and swept across the ground screeching. As it came nearer Sheppard, they were shocked to see him stand so still, a resigned and apologetic look upon his face.

Ronon howled out his name and ran fast towards him.

It was too late.

In a blink of an eye, Sheppard was gone.

SGA SGA SGA

TO BE CONTINUED.