Chapter 7: Where is John?
The jumper exited the gate on to FX-076. Rodney was in the pilot's seat with Ronan sitting alongside of him and Teyla was sitting behind him, Lt' Sullivan and James were sitting in the back.
After their conversation with Zelenka over the radio in the infirmary, Woolsey had called them all to his office. Rodney wasn't happy by the dressing down that Woolsey had given him for his negative attitude. Everyone had admitted that he had been right, but no-one appreciated his negativity. It was decided that they would go and check out the lead that Zelenka had found, while Dr Keller and Dr Biro continued to look for a cure for the red spot virus.
Zelenka had explained to them that the planet they were on was actually a headquarters for the scavengers, so they held out hope that they would find John there.
Rodney sighed at the dry desolate landscape they were flying over. It reflected his depressed mood. They had almost lost John so many times in the past few years and he was worried that one day soon John's luck would run out and Carson and Jennifer wouldn't be able to save him. He prayed that today wouldn't be that day.
After a few minutes of silence they came to the area, which they were looking for. Setting the jumper down and cloaking it, slowly he looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Rodney had no idea what they were looking for; he had concluded that there could be a cave or an underground entrance nearby.
Ronan exited the jumper first and then indicated that Rodney should follow him with Teyla bringing up the rear. The two Lt's followed at a distance.
It didn't take them long at all to locate an underground entrance, Rodney was happy about that, because, there was course red sand as far as the eye could see and he was sure that the temperature had shot up a few degrees while they had been there.
Leaving Lt Sullivan and Lt James at the top, he followed Ronan down the stairs their flashlight lighting the way. He wondered if anyone was actually here, as there appeared to be no lights on. Finally they reached the bottom and Rodney saw a long narrow passageway ahead of them, which seemed to be dug out of the rock. Luckily there were lit torches along one wall, so they were able to turn their flashlights off.
Rodney watched Ronan as they made their way down the eerie passageway; he had his gun at the ready and was on high alert as usual. This was comforting for him; because he knew that in the worst case scenario Ronan would just shoot and ask questions later. Looking behind him he saw that Teyla was ready for whatever may happen as well.
The passageway seemed too gone on forever, but in actuality it was only a few hundred metres until they came to a room. Rodney pushed past Ronan and put his ear to the door and heard voices, which he recognised on the other side, these were the giants that had taken them prisoner and kidnapped Sheppard. He could see that Ronan had picked up on it as well.
Ronan put his finger to his lips indicating that he and Teyla should remain quiet and then he pushed on the door and surprisingly it opened easily. Inside he saw that Solah and Kolah were drinking some kind of mead and they both looked totally drunk.
Before he had a chance to do anything Ronan pointed his gun at Kolah and Teyla opened her mouth and spoke in her usual serene tone, "I suggest you tell us what we need to know, or my friend will be happy to shoot you and don't think that I won't hesitate to shoot you either if my hand is forced."
Rodney could only describe the look on Kolah's face as one of pure terror. He loved that about Teyla, she could intimidate just about anyone with a single look.
Kolah raised his hands in the air and cleared his throat, "if you are looking for your military commander, I have no idea where his is."
Rodney was incredulous, "what do you mean you don't know where he is?" Rodney felt his anger rising as he continued, "You were the ones who kidnapped him and left us at the gate. You told us you had work for him to do. You were obviously the last ones to see him, so tell me where his is or I will shoot you myself!"
Rodney watched as Teyla put one of her; don't mess with me or you're dead smiles. "At the risk of repeating myself, where is Colonel Sheppard? Tell me now and my friends won't have to shoot you? Although I know they are itching to do so."
Solah spoke up in a trembling voice and answered her question. "We honestly don't know he wasn't much help in activating the devices we needed him to, so we had Goliath dump him on another planet and we haven't seen either of them since. I think that would have been a little over half a day ago, according to this planets cycle."
Rodney was furious by this time, "You absolute morons, he's sick and has a broken wrist and you just dumped him somewhere. Did you even bother to try and help him? Ronan I think it's about time you shot these two and we got out of here, because I don't think they're going to be any help!"
"I tend to agree with you Rodney. Ronan go ahead." Teyla said her voice as soft as always.
Ronan didn't have to be told twice; he pulled out his weapon and stunned both men in quick succession.
"I think we will leave Lt Sullivan and Lt James here to keep guard for a while, do you agree?" Teyla asked both Rodney and Ronan.
Rodney nodded, as did Ronan, so they all turned and headed back the way they came.
Teyla walked up beside him and asked, "Rodney how long is half a day in Atlantis' time?"
"I'm thinking that he's been where ever they dumped him for around four hours now."
After giving the two Lt's instructions to stay and guard the giants, they headed back to the jumper in silence. Rodney knew that the longer it was before they found Sheppard, the less of a chance it would be that they would find him alive. It was with a heavy heart that he powered up the jumper and prepared to fly back to Atlantis.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
John awoke to the sun beating down on his face. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but what he did know was the temperature had risen dramatically while he had been sleeping. He guessed that it was probably around 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun and if he didn't find shelter and water soon he would probably perish in the sun.
His breathing had become a little easier and the screeching in his head had subsided, but the piercing pain behind his forehead was still there. His wrist and leg throbbed it time to his heart, which was beating a little too fast for his liking.
He suddenly remembered that he had been sitting up against a tree when he had lost consciousness the night before, but now he was lying flat on his back and he was badly sunburnt. The spots that covered his body weren't as itchy as they had been, but many of them were beginning to look red and inflamed, a sign of a possible infection.
Knowing that he had to move soon he looked around and found a stick that he could use as a cane, as there was no way he could put any weight on his leg. After about three attempts he finally managed to get to his feet. Once he was on his feet; or rather his one good leg, he discovered he had a problem, how the hell was he supposed to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Trying to stand on one foot he used his good hand, which he had his makeshift cane in and used his forearm to wipe his bow. Once he was sure he could see where he was going without the sweat dripping into his eyes, he started to hobble down the well-worn path in front of him.
He had no idea where he was going and every step was absolute agony, but he knew he had to keep going and find shelter and a water source, if he didn't he knew that he wouldn't last long in this heat. He hobbled along for about five minutes and then realised that he needed to wipe his brow again. Stopping and balancing on one foot, he wiped his brow again. He was about to continue on when he saw the most magnificent sight he had ever seen in the distance; the stargate.
Stumbling down the path towards the gate he realised that he didn't have his IDC on him. Not to worry I'll just dial the Alpha gate and head home from there he thought telling himself that it would all be over soon. Then it hit him even if he could find a way home, would Atlantis start screeching at him the way all the other ancient artefacts he'd come in contact with recently had. Just the thought of it had the piercing pain behind his eyes notching up several levels.
Continuing on towards the DHD he found tears brimming in his eyes, he really needed to get home as soon as possible; he really needed to be in the infirmary with Carson taking care of him. Then suddenly it dawned on him, if the red spot was to blame for his condition like he now suspected, the chances were that Carson was in exactly the same condition as he was.
He continued on regardless of the realisation that he'd just had, he was almost desperate when he reached the DHD. He desperately wanted to go home no matter what the outcome was for him.
He finally reached the DHD and was horrified by what he saw; around the base of the device laid the broken shards of the control crystal. Falling to the ground he finally let the tears fall and before too long he curled himself into a ball and started sobbing uncontrollably.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rodney was in a foul mood when he returned to Atlantis, his first thought was to head to the gym and beat the crap out of someone or something. He was raging through Atlantis like a man possessed and anyone who got in his way risked being hit.
Finally upon arriving in the gym, he rushed over to the punching bag, ready to hit it, when a voice startled him, "Rodney, stop what you are doing right now?!"
It was enough for him to stop what he was doing, "Sorry Teyla I really should think about what I'm doing more, but I am just so angry at the moment. John is still missing and for all we know he could be in a coma or worse…"
Rodney couldn't bear to finish that sentence. John was the best friend that he'd ever had and if he was dead, well he couldn't really finish that thought either.
Sighing he looked up at Teyla, "why did you come looking for me in here, usually this is where Ronan comes when he needs to beat the crap out of something?"
"Well I knew if I felt like hitting something this is where I would come, I have come to the conclusion that our team spends so much time together that we have begun to think alike and if John is never returned to us, we will all experience immeasurable grief."
Smiling at the woman who he had come to consider one of his best friends he let her lead him out of the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jennifer had been looking at her computer for what seemed like days, but she had only just sat down and she was no closer to finding a solution. She'd had to intubate Carson that afternoon, as his lungs had started to fill with fluid and he was beginning to struggle with his breathing, she had also just finished putting a drainage tube in, to try and drain his lungs about ten minutes ago. She knew that short of a miracle she would have to do the same with Major Lorne in the next twenty four hours.
Sighing she looked back at the ancient data base, she had been conducting tests on her patients all day, so now she thought it was time to look through the ancient data base again. She'd been looking at it for about ten minutes when the formula for the cure hit her in the face.
A smile lit up her face, as she contacted Woolsey, "Keller to Woolsey, I have found a cure for the red spot in the ancient data base."
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and commented so far. I really appreciate your encouragement and support.