The fog had rolled in again overnight, and John grimaced as he zipped his damp jacket higher against the clammy chill. He couldn't see much beyond the banked fire. The screen of branches Ronon had built the night before was lost in the fog, and he didn't hear much beyond a few birds chirping and rustling in the low bushes behind him.
Ronon lay on his leather duster a few feet away. His eyes were closed, and John hoped that meant he was actually asleep. What with wrestling with questions like if Teyla and Rodney were still alive, and wondering if Ronon planned to leave the team, never mind only two of them to split the watch, John hadn't had much real sleep.
John stretched his legs out in front of him and glanced at Dex. He suspected Ronon had spent the night dealing with a few hard questions of his own regarding his future.
John couldn't fathom the emotional rollercoaster Ronon had to have felt walking into the Satedan village. They had run into a few Satedans on various missions, but this was the first time they had found a thriving village of survivors.
Can't blame him for wanting to move to Haven, John told himself with a resigned sigh.
He wanted Ronon to stay with the team, but he wasn't going to stop Dex from finding a bit of peace and maybe happiness with his people if Ronon decided he wanted to stay on Haven.
John scrubbed a hand over his chin and leaned his head against the boulder. When he wasn't wondering what Ronon planned to do, his mind circled back to Rodney, Teyla, and the Satedan village in general.
He hadn't felt anything through the link. No headache. No itch at the back of his skull. But the village is still miles away, he reminded himself. If there was a positive, the link didn't feel any different either. If Rodney was dead, he told himself, the link would surely have reacted by now, regardless of how far apart he and Rodney were from each other.
So why weren't either of them responding to his hails? he wondered. And what did that mean for the Satedans in the village? The forest near the village was thick, he reminded himself. Could they have found a place to hide in the trees? he wondered, then shook his head.
"The trees might protect them from the darts, but that wouldn't stop any foot soldiers," John muttered to himself, remembering the number of Wraith drones he and Ronon had flushed out of the trees the previous afternoon.
He had to assume the Wraith had found the Satedan village. Which meant if Teyla and Rodney had survived, they could be anywhere on the planet by now, he realised.
"Great," John grumbled under his breath. "Finding them in this jungle is not going to be easy."
John sat debating how to organise a search of the forest for a few more seconds, then shook his head and crawled over to the banked fire.
"Ronon?" he called as he stirred the fire back to life and tried to warm his hands.
Ronon sat up a little too quickly to have been asleep, and John smiled to himself. "Why didn't you tell me you were awake?" he asked with a glance behind him.
"You were busy thinking," Ronon replied. He stood and walked the perimeter of their camp.
"Anything?" John asked, and Ronon shook his head.
"Fog is too thick to see much," Ronon replied. "Nothing sounds out of place."
John nodded. "We'll eat, then head back to the road. We should be back in the village in a few hours."
After a cold breakfast of power bars, John doused the fire, and Ronon removed the break of branches that had concealed their campsite. Other than the occasional chirp of a bird, John didn't hear any animals in the surrounding forest. Between the cloying silence and the reduced line of sight due to the fog, John had that eerie feeling that he and Ronon were the only people left on the planet.
Stop that, he ordered himself. Even without a cloak, the people on Haven had lived under the threat of the Wraith their entire lives. They would have escape routes and hiding places in case a hive ship attacked the planet.
John adjusted his grip on the P-90, shook his head when Ronon glanced at him, and kept walking.
It was mid-morning when the fog lifted enough that John saw the trees and low bushes lining either side of the road. Thirty minutes later, the road began its climb into the hills.
Finally, John thought to himself. Another hour or so and they would be back in the Satedan village. What would they find? he wondered and rubbed the growing ache at the back of his head.
Lack of sleep or something else? John asked himself and paused, concentrating on the link. He thought he felt the itch too, and was about to tell Ronon to stop when Dex froze and held up one hand. At the same time, he unholstered the particle weapon with the other and pointed the weapon at the nearby trees.
"What is it?" John whispered.
"Something is heading this way," Ronon replied.
A moment later, John heard branches snapping and raised the P-90. "Person or animal?" John asked as he aimed the P-90 at the trees.
Ronon shook his head. "Not an animal. It's making too much noise. Could be a straggler."
John grimaced. Just what they needed, more Wraith. He quickly surveyed their surroundings, then jerked his chin at the low ferns on the other side of the road.
"Let's see what we're dealing with," John whispered. "We don't want to scare some poor villager by mistake."
Ronon glowered at the trees for a few seconds, then followed as John found cover in the ferns lining the opposite side of the road. John crouched behind his bush with the P-90 pointed across the road. Ronon knelt behind another clump of ferns several feet away where he could cover the road at a different angle.
The cracking and snapping grew louder. Whatever was coming toward them wasn't making any effort to conceal itself. Maybe it was more Wraith, John thought to himself.
A moment later, he heard a voice calling, and John stared at Ronon in shock when he realised it was a child.
"I think we're almost to the road," a boy said.
"You said that before," a second voice, this one a girl, replied.
"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you do better," the boy countered.
"What are a couple of kids doing out here?" John hissed in Ronon's direction.
"More than a couple," Ronon replied just as an older boy called, "Coby, stop. Wait for the rest of us."
"Liam said to wait," the girl echoed as John heard more branches snapping.
"Ha! See, I was right," the first boy exclaimed, and a moment later, John saw a boy of about ten push through the low ferns on the other side of the road. "Liam! See! I found the road!" the boy called back into the trees.
John lowered the P-90 and stood as more children pushed their way out of the low scrub and onto the road.
One of the younger girls pointed at him. "Who is that?" she cried and grasped the hand of one of the older children.
"Hey, I know you," the first boy said with a grin. "You were in the village yesterday. You're Doctor Rodney's friend."
John choked back a grin at the 'Doctor Rodney' comment and focused on the boy. "You've seen, umm, Doctor Rodney, have you?"
"Sure!" the boy replied. "He showed us this really cool cloak thing in the forest yesterday. He even saved my brother, Liam, from the Wraith!"
John exchanged a startled glance with Ronon. "How did Rodney -" he started to ask the boy but was interrupted.
"Coby!" a young man shouted as he joined the other children on the road. "I thought I told you to wait for the rest of us." The young man eyed John up and down, then glanced at Ronon. His hand inched toward the strap for the rifle slung over his shoulder as he stepped between John and Coby. "We don't know who could be out here," he added with a wary glance from John to Ronon and back again.
John recognised the protective move and held his hands away from the P-90. "You must be Liam," John said with a smile. "I'm John, and this is Ronon. I don't think we were introduced in the village yesterday."
"They are friends of Doctor Rodney," Coby said and glanced back at the trees as a couple more children appeared.
Liam gave John a surprised glance. "But the scanner," he muttered with a glance up the road toward the village. "Doctor Rodney said there wasn't anyone …"
"Liam?" Coby asked, but Liam only shook his head.
"Nothing," Liam said with a quick look at Coby. "Don't worry about it."
John scrubbed a hand over his chin as he realised what Liam was saying. Once again, Rodney had spent hours thinking he was dead. At least they didn't have to deal with a Wraith enzyme overdose this time, John thought to himself and glanced at Ronon as the other implication of what Liam meant sank in.
"Ronon," John started to say, but Dex held up a hand.
"Going to check the road ahead," he said, glancing at the huddle of children behind Liam. "Make sure there aren't any more surprises."
John nodded and watched as Ronon walked away, his back stiff and his hands clenched at his sides. He turned back to Liam. "Where's Rodney now?"
Liam pointed to the trees. "He hurt his leg," he started to say just as another voice drifted from the trees, and John felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
"I am never voluntarily coming to another jungle planet ever again. Jungle planets are always damp, which means they are muddy. And on top of the wet weather, the overgrown plants, the weird screeching animals, not to mention the fact I can't see more than two feet in front of me, there are thousands of bugs waiting to suck my blood and probably give me any number of diseases."
John heard more branches breaking and stepped around Coby and Liam as he crossed the road.
"This isn't even a warm wet like Kalani's planet. No, it's cold and clammy, and I'm sure I'm going to end up sick after this -" Rodney pushed through the last of the ferns, stumbled out onto the road, and looked around. "Sheppard?" he whispered as he caught sight of John. "You're, umm, you're here."
John heard the mix of shock and relief in Rodney's voice as he stepped forward and rested his hands on Rodney's shoulders.
"Yeah," John replied, noting the Wraith hand weapon Rodney carried in one hand along with the muddy jacket and torn uniform trousers as the itch at the back of his skull flared. "Seems you've been busy," he added as he took the stunner from Rodney's lax fingers.
Rodney glanced at the hand weapon, then back up at John. "How? I thought …" He paused and rubbed his forehead. "I thought you guys were dead." He scowled at John. "Again."
John grimaced. "Well, if you would have answered your radio, you would have known we were still alive."
"Oh, I, umm, I sort of lost it. When I, umm," Rodney glanced down at his dirty and torn uniform, "fell off the cliff."
"You fell off a cliff?" John echoed, glancing at the ripped trousers. "I guess that explains why you're limping. How bad is it?"
Rodney poked at the bandage wrapped around his knee. "My knee is bruised and swollen. Liam over there," Rodney jerked his chin at Liam, standing with one arm over Coby's shoulders, "he put some sort of smelly, green stuff on it last night to try and help with the swelling. Don't think it did much. It still hurts to walk."
John noted how Rodney stood with his right knee bent at an angle and that McKay balanced most of his weight on his left leg. He pulled open one of his vest pockets and handed Rodney the blister pack of ibuprofen along with his canteen.
Rodney took the pills and water, and John turned to Liam. "Thanks for …" He nodded at Rodney's leg.
Liam stepped forward, his arm still wrapped around his brother's shoulders. "Doctor Rodney tried to hide everyone," Liam nodded at the children sitting at the side of the road, "inside his cloaking field and saved me from a Wraith soldier. He also found us a safe place to stay last night. It was the least I could do."
John saw the look of distaste on Rodney's face at the nickname and tried to hide his smile.
Rodney saw it, however, and glowered. "Don't even think about it," he ordered, handing back the canteen and the rest of the pills. He looked around and added, "Where's Ronon? He was supposed to be with you."
John knew the question was as much to deflect any potential teasing as wondering where Dex was. He kept one hand under Rodney's arm to help him balance and said, "He went to scout the road ahead." He glanced back at the trees and then at Rodney. "Where's Teyla?"
"Teyla, umm …" Rodney ducked his head. "She stayed in the village."
John grimaced. "You were out here alone? I thought I told you to stay together."
"Yes, well, Teyla, umm, there was something she wanted to take care of," Rodney replied with a sideways glance at Ronon, walking back down the road toward them.
"And the scanner isn't picking up any life signs from the village?" John asked in a low voice.
Rodney looked away from John and shook his head.
"Road ahead is clear," Ronon reported. He took the stunner from John and gave Rodney a quick once over. "What do you want to do?" he asked John.
"We'll go back to the village," John replied. "See if anyone survived."
"And then what?" Rodney asked. "We can't just leave a bunch of kids here to fend for themselves if the village was culled."
John smiled. "Why, Doctor Rodney, are you going soft on me?" Rodney glowered at him, and John added, "If there's nowhere they can go, we'll take the kids back with us. You going to be able to walk?" he asked.
"Do I have a choice?"
"You can stay here with the kids while Ronon and I go check the village," John offered.
Rodney hesitated, and John wondered just how bad McKay's knee was that he was considering the idea. "Liam," John called. "We're heading back to the village. Why don't you and the kids stay here with Rodney? I'll come get you once we've had a chance to scout the area."
Liam shook his head. "We'll come with you now if that's all right?" he replied, with a sober glance at the children.
John pursed his lips and glanced at McKay, who shrugged. "All right, I guess we'll all go together."
Liam squared his shoulders and nodded. "Come on," he said to the children. "Just a little bit farther, and we'll be back home."
The children scrambled to their feet, and John nodded at Dex. "Ronon," he said and nodded in the direction of the village. "I've got our six."
Ronon grunted, and set off toward the hills and the village with the stunner in one hand and his particle weapon in the other. Liam paired the children off into two lines, and they followed Dex. John and Rodney brought up the rear of their procession, John slowing his pace to match Rodney's hobbling gait.
"I found it, by the way," Rodney said as they walked. "The source of that weird mineral reading. You'll never guess what it is."
"A cloaking emitter," John replied.
"A cloak -" Rodney stopped and stared at John. "How did you know?"
John smiled. "Coby might have mentioned it," he said. "There's also the fact that that village we visited yesterday is actually more like a city."
Rodney stopped and stared at John. "Liam mentioned something about a city blessed by the Ancients. I didn't believe him. But you found an actual city? Above ground?"
John nodded. "And the whole valley it sits in is protected by a cloaking field."
Rodney snapped his fingers several times. "There were two cloaking emitters in the forest too. What if -"
"There's a reason the Ancients called this planet Haven?" John asked. "Yeah, I thought of that too."
"Something like that," Rodney replied.
"Tiernan showed us a couple of control consoles in one of the buildings," John said. "We were there when the Wraith showed up."
"That would support the idea the Ancients built something here."
John nodded. "The way the screen lit up when the Wraith arrived, I think one console is for some kind of long-range sensors, and the other one controls the cloaking field and the emitters."
"Makes sense," Rodney agreed. "Unless there's something else the Ancients hid on this world."
John pursed his lips, and Rodney frowned. "What?" he asked. "What haven't you told me?"
"There was also a stash of ZPMs," John replied. "Ronon thinks close to fifty of them."
Rodney gaped at him for a moment, then shook his head. "That explains why the emitter I found last night was missing its Zed-PM. Someone in that city of yours stole it."
"Probably," John said. He gave Rodney a sideways glance. "If I took you back to that room, think you could get this cloaking system to work again?"
"Of course, I can get it to work," Rodney retorted and glared at John. "There's just one problem. If this system does what we think it does, chances are there isn't going to be a Zed-PM going spare that we can take back to Atlantis."
John pursed his lips. "I was afraid you'd say something like that." He glanced up the road and added, "We can worry about that later. First, we need to find Teyla."
"Assuming she's still here to find," Rodney muttered under his breath.
John chose to ignore the pessimistic comment and walked a little faster.
The road climbed into the hills over the next twenty minutes, and their pace slowed as the children struggled up the steep slope.
"Come on, Garis," Liam cajoled one of the younger boys. "We're almost there."
"Tired," Garis whined, dragging his feet.
"I know you are," Liam said. "But it's just a little farther."
Garis shook his head, stopped in the middle of the road, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't wanna."
Liam sighed and shrugged out of his pack. He handed the pack and the rifle to Coby, then knelt in front of Garis. "Come on, I'll give you a ride. How about that?"
Garis stared at him for a moment, then nodded and wrapped his arms around Liam's neck.
Liam stood with Garis clinging to his back. He hooked his arms under Garis' legs, and they set off again.
John listened to the conversation with half an ear as he trudged up the hill. If Rodney could get the cloaking system to work, he thought to himself, the planet would truly become a haven for people displaced by the Wraith. He thought back to Graime, Alman, and the other refugees they had found mining uranium on P2X-306. He thought of the Athosians on the mainland, who at least had the protection of Atlantis.
Of course, this assumed he could talk Tiernan into letting them have the ZPMs to fix the other emitters. No small task based on what Tiernan had told him about the Kiroman government. One problem at a time, John told himself. Find Teyla. Hopefully, find the Satedans alive and well too. Then worry about the cloaking emitters.
They were nearing the crest of another hill when John realised Rodney was no longer beside him. He glanced back down the road and found McKay several yards behind him, breathing hard and limping worse than when John had found him.
"Way to go, John," he muttered to himself as he stopped and waited for Rodney to catch up.
Rodney staggered to a stop, and John put a steadying hand under Rodney's arm. "Ronon," John called. Ronon turned around, and John added, "Rest break."
Ronon nodded and led the children to a mossy area at the side of the road. He stuffed the stunner in the pocket of his duster, then pulled his canteen from the loop on his belt.
John eased Rodney down on a handy tree stump, knelt in front of him, and tried not to think about how hard Rodney was panting. "How's the knee?" he asked and peeked under the bandage. He couldn't see much other than the green smear of herbs, but the joint looked swollen even to his untrained eye.
"It hurts," Rodney grumbled.
"Well, I'm not giving you a piggyback ride," John replied with a smile.
"Oh ha-ha," Rodney retorted and started coughing.
John handed over his canteen, and Rodney took it with a nod. He took a few sips, got the fit under control, and handed the canteen back to John.
"Okay?" John asked.
"Just peachy," Rodney retorted in a hoarse wheeze and cleared his throat.
John stood, rested a hand on McKay's shoulder and studied the trees growing along the side of the road. "Stay here," he said, letting go of Rodney's shoulder.
"Where are you going now?"
"Just stay here," John replied. "I'll be right back."
John wandered over to the ferns edging the road and pushed his way through the low growth to the trees, looking for a branch long enough, straight enough, and thick enough that Rodney could use it as a walking stick.
He discarded several possibilities before he found a good candidate. He stripped off the sucker branches and turned the branch over in his hands.
"Should do," John muttered.
He walked back to the road, stopped next to Rodney, and held out the branch. "Here," he said, "might help with …" He nodded at Rodney's knee.
"Thanks," Rodney said, taking the stick. "How much farther is the village, anyway?"
John motioned Rodney to one side of the stump and sat beside him. He glanced at the hills and then his watch. "Can't be much farther. It's almost noon. Ronon and I were about halfway back when we stopped last night."
Rodney grunted and took a few more deep breaths.
John waited until Rodney's breathing evened out, then asked, "Good?"
Rodney nodded.
John stood, pulled Rodney to his feet, and said to Ronon, "Let's go."
Ronon nodded in reply, pulled the stunner out of his pocket, and walked back to the road.
"Come on," Liam said as he helped a few children stand. "We're almost back home."
The older children scrambled to their feet, the younger ones were slower to move as they stood and shouldered their packs, and Garis held out his arms to Liam. Liam bent, and Garis climbed onto his back. Liam checked the children were all together, then followed Ronon back to the road.
John waited until Rodney found his balance with the stick, and they fell in behind Liam and the kids.
The road climbed up and down two more hills before they crested the last incline an hour later. John looked down on the valley with the Satedan village and felt his heart sink.
The fields were burnt and broken stalks. All of the buildings in the central square had been razed. Even the memorial pillar was gone, John realised as he surveyed the destruction. A few outlying houses had been demolished, but most were protected under the eaves of the forest and were still standing with only minor damage.
John felt a stab in his gut when he didn't see any movement in the village.
Rodney stopped beside him and leant his weight on the walking stick as he stared down into the valley. "This is bad," he murmured.
John shook his head at the understatement. If there had been survivors, they would have been picking through the rubble by now, trying to salvage what they could, John told himself. He looked over at Ronon standing a few paces away, the stun weapon clenched in his hand. John saw the same anger laced with loss in his expression as when the MALP had sent back the first images of Sateda.
He's lost his people twice now, John thought to himself. "Ronon," John started to say but stopped when Dex glared at him.
"The Wraith will pay for this," Ronon growled and started down the road toward the remains of the village.
"Liam?" one of the children whispered. "Where is everyone?"
Liam wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders. "I'm not sure, Greta," he replied. "I …" He glanced at John with a lost expression.
"Maybe there's some clue where they went in the village," John suggested.
Liam took a deep breath and plastered a weak smile on his face. "Let's go," he said to the children and started down the hill in Ronon's wake.
"You know the chances anyone survived that," Rodney pointed at the ruins, "is basically zero."
"Trust me, Rodney, I know," John growled at the reminder that Teyla was likely either dead or culled.
Rodney ducked his head, and John saw his white-knuckle grip on the walking stick.
"Sorry," John said. "Come on. Let's go see what we can find out."
They crossed the burnt fields, and John heard a few of the children sniffling as they entered the village. The outlying houses that were still standing showed evidence of scorch marks from Wraith weapons. As they neared the central square, John spotted broken furniture, scraps of clothes, and other personal items buried under the rubble.
So they didn't have time to save much, John thought to himself as he walked past one of the piles of rubble.
The village was eerily silent. No birds chirping. No insects buzzing. The fog had burnt off long ago, but John still felt they were the only ones left on the planet.
John heard a cascade of stones to his right and put out a hand to stop Rodney, who walked beside him.
Ronon whipped around with the Wraith stunner and the particle weapon aimed at the sound.
John mirrored his movement with his P-90, and together they crept closer to the building at the corner of the square. After several seconds when no one, human, animal, or Wraith, appeared, John lowered the P-90
"Must have just been debris shifting," he said to Ronon.
Ronon grunted and lowered his weapons.
"Stay here," Liam said to Coby. "Keep them together." He nodded at the children standing nearby.
Coby looked dazed but nodded, and Liam walked over to another of the destroyed buildings. "This was the council house," he said to John. He picked up a piece of rubble and turned it over in his hands.
"We don't know what happened," John said. "Don't give up hope just yet."
John turned and studied the village and the forest. Come on, Teyla, give me some sort of clue where you went here.
"Until we know for sure they're gone, anything is possible," John said.
Liam sighed and dropped the piece of broken stone. "Do you really believe that?"
John watched as Rodney poked at another pile of debris with the walking stick. "I do," he said. "Go check on the kids. Make sure none of them wanders too far. We don't want any of them getting hurt."
Liam nodded. He walked back over to Coby and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders.
John turned away when Coby grasped Liam around the middle and walked over to where Ronon stood at the edge of the square, glowering at the remains of the village.
John kicked at the rubble near his feet, causing a mini cascade of loose stones that revealed several broken plates. He studied the debris and blew out a breath when he spotted the broken tables and the remains of a staircase.
"I think this was the pub," he said to Ronon.
Ronon set the stunner on a chunk of rubble, grunted, and kicked over another pile of debris. "No bodies."
"No," John replied as the realisation of what that meant sank in.
Ronon growled, then picked up one of the broken stones and threw it across the square.
"Hey!" Rodney shouted, ducking as the stone landed in the ruins of another building a few feet away from him. "Watch where you're throwing things!"
Ronon clenched his hands and turned on McKay. "Where are they?" he growled and stomped over to Rodney. "Where's Teyla?"
"How should I know?" Rodney countered.
"Maybe if you hadn't left her here -"
"It was her idea to stay here," Rodney countered, and John saw the rigid set of Rodney's jaw as he confronted Dex. "And for your information, she stayed here because she was trying to help you, you big idiot."
Ronon snorted and shook his head. "I don't need -"
"You and Orlin," Rodney told him, jutting out his chin. "Reconciliation, she called it. She said she wanted you to have some happiness." He scowled at Ronon and added, "So I guess it's just as much your fault she stayed as mine."
Ronon growled low in his throat and took a step toward Rodney.
Rodney took a hurried step back and tripped over another chunk of rubble.
"Enough," John said, stepping between them. He waited until Rodney found his balance and turned to Ronon. "This isn't going to help us find her."
"There's nothing to find," Ronon said. "The Wraith culled all of them."
"We don't know that," John said.
"Take a look around," Ronon retorted and waved his arm at the destruction around them. "Face it, Sheppard, there's no one left here to find."
John watched as Ronon scooped up the stunner and walked away, kicking any debris that got in his way. Let him cool off, John told himself. He scrubbed a hand over his chin, considering what their next step should be when one of the younger girls broke from the group of children standing near another of the destroyed buildings.
"Mama!" the child shouted, running toward one of the damaged houses on the outskirts of the village. "Mama! Where are you!"
Several other children started shouting or crying. John realised they must have overheard Ronon's pronouncement that all of the villagers had been culled.
"Katia!" Liam called as he chased after the girl. "We need to stay together. It's not safe!"
"I want to find my Mama," Katia replied. "Where is she?"
"I don't know," Liam said as he caught up to the girl and took her hand. "Maybe everyone made it to one of the other villages."
John read Liam's plea for help in the glance he threw in John's direction and walked over to the girl.
"I'll call some friends of mine," John said, smiling at Katia. "Once they get here, we can check the nearby villages for your mother and the others."
Liam signalled to Greta, who came and took Katia by the hand.
"She promised," Katia said, wiping her eyes. "She promised she would be here when we got back."
"I know," Greta replied. She gave Liam a frightened glance and led Katia back to the rest of the children.
"I don't know what to tell them," Liam admitted as the girls rejoined the rest of the children waiting near the ruins of the pub. "I think we have to accept that your friend is right," he said with a nod at Ronon. "And they were all culled."
"I'm not ready to believe that yet," John replied. "But if it turns out that is what happened, we can take you with us. We won't leave you here. There are a few planets with Satedan survivors. Maybe one of them can take you in."
Liam blew out a breath and looked around the village. "I just don't understand. Assuming they managed to get to the tunnels, they should have been safe."
"Tunnels?" John asked. "What tunnels?"
"Under the memorial column," Liam replied and pointed toward the middle of the square. "Orlin didn't think we would be safe trying to hide in the forest if the Wraith ever attacked again, so he ordered us to dig the tunnels."
John felt a spurt of hope in his chest. He turned in a circle and saw Rodney poking around another pile of rubble with the walking stick. Ronon stood staring out at the burnt fields with his back to the village.
"Ronon! McKay!" John shouted and ran over to the stone plinth and the remains of the pillar.
"What?" Ronon replied with a stormy glower.
Rodney looked up from the rubble he was poking and hobbled back to John's side. "Sheppard?"
John felt the hope welling in his chest and pointed at the plinth. "I think I know where Teyla and the Satedans are. And it's not in the belly of a hive ship," he added with a stern look at Ronon.
Rodney glanced from the pieces of broken memorial to John. "It's just more rubble."
"According to Liam, the Satedans dug escape tunnels under the village, and the way into those tunnels is right here."
Ronon walked back to John, set the Wraith hand stunner on the edge of the plinth, and studied the remains of the column. "Some of the bunkers on Sateda were underground," he admitted.
"And you think they are still down there?" Rodney asked at the same time with a shudder.
"It's possible," John replied. And it's the only chance we have that they are still alive, he added to himself.
Liam shook his head. "There's a pulley system to open the hatch from inside the tunnels. They should have been able to open the hatch once the Wraith were gone."
"Maybe something damaged the mechanism," John suggested. "Where is the hatch?"
"There," he said, pointing to the section in front of Rodney.
John grimaced. Debris covered most of the plinth, including what looked like a big piece of the sculpted bird that had topped the pillar. John unclipped the P-90 from his vest, set it to one side, then glanced at Ronon. "All right," he said to Ronon, "we'll need to shift some of this before we try to open the hatch."
Ronon nodded. He moved the stunner out of the way, picked up a large piece of the destroyed column, and tossed it to one side. Rodney set the walking stick on the ground, picked up one of the smaller stones, and dropped it on the ground behind him. John was about to tell McKay to stay with the kids but changed his mind when he saw Rodney's determined expression.
He's worried about her too, John reminded himself as he tossed another chunk of stone out of the way.
"Liam?" Coby asked as the rest of the children joined them. "Is mama …?"
"Maybe," Liam replied. He dropped the block of stone he held and rested his hands on Coby's shoulders. "I hope so."
John tossed another chunk of carved stone to one side and noticed the kids inching closer to the plinth.
"Liam, keep the kids out of the way," John said as he shoved another piece of broken stone off the hatch.
"Back," Liam said, shooing the children away from the plinth. "Doctor Rodney and his friends need room to work."
The children only backed up a few steps, but John let it go as he continued to work.
"All right," John said to Ronon once they had a few more of the bigger blocks of stone out of the way. "Let's see if we can get it open."
"There should be a hidden latch," Liam said. He bent and felt along the edge of the plinth.
John heard something click, and Liam said, "Got it. The top stone should move freely now."
"Ready?" John asked Dex.
Ronon nodded, and they bent forward with their hands braced on the edge of the plinth.
"One. Two. Three," John counted.
On three, John pushed against the stone. He heard Ronon grunting beside him and saw the muscles in Dex's shoulders bulge, but the hatch didn't move. Ronon growled and pushed harder, but John still didn't feel the hatch moving.
"Wait! Stop!" Rodney shouted.
"What now?" Ronon growled and continued to push against the edge of the hatch.
John stepped back and glanced at Rodney. "McKay?"
"What you're doing isn't going to work," Rodney replied. "Not with that in the way." He pointed to the chunk of carved stone that was all that remained of the sculpted bird.
McKay climbed up on the plinth and ignored Ronon's glare. John joined him and studied the piece of stone wedged into the hatch at an angle.
"You think that's the problem? It's nowhere near the edge."
"It doesn't need to be," Rodney replied. "That sculpture was huge, and the wings were curved."
John knelt and examined the chunk of carved wing. The block of stone was easily eight feet tall and another four feet wide.
"The stone is wedged at an angle that's creating a frictional force preventing the hatch from opening," Rodney explained.
"What?" Ronon asked.
"The more we push, the tighter it gets," John translated as he stood. "Which explains why the Satedans couldn't get the hatch open either."
"Exactly," Rodney replied.
John stepped back and studied the piece of the bird sculpture wedged in the hatch. "Any suggestions on how we move something that big?" he asked with a glance at Rodney.
Rodney looked around the ruined village. "We're going to need some rope, a couple of pulleys, and -"
Rodney ducked as a blast from Ronon's particle weapon flew past him and hit the sculpted wing. Stone chips went flying, and John heard a few of the children shriek.
"Are you insane?" Rodney exclaimed. He lowered his arms and scowled at Ronon. "A little warning next time. You could have killed me."
"You're fine," Ronon replied. He holstered the particle weapon and studied the remains of the stone wing as Rodney continued to sputter.
John brushed stone flecks out of his hair and studied what remained of the sculpture. "There's still a few feet of the wing wedged in the hatch," he said to Ronon.
Ronon jumped onto the plinth and stood next to John. "Should be small enough to move it."
John grasped one edge of the wing and waited for Ronon to take the other. "Ready?"
Ronon nodded, and together, they pulled and tugged the chunk of stone until it came free. Ronon shoved the piece of wing over the side of the plinth.
"Hello? Hello?" a male voice called up from the hole. "We're down here!"
John felt a wave of relief wash over him and peered through the hole. He saw several faces looking up at him and raised his hand. "Hello!" he called back. "Orlin?"
"Yes," Orlin replied. "Who's there?"
"John Sheppard," John replied. "Is Teyla with you?"
"I am here, Colonel," Teyla replied.
John looked over at Ronon and Rodney, watching everything from worry to surprise to relief parade across Rodney's face before McKay sat down on the edge of the plinth and rested his head in his hands. Ronon was more subdued, but John saw the tension on his face melt away when Teyla's voice wafted from the hole in the plinth.
"Good to hear your voice," John said to Teyla.
"And yours, Colonel. Are Rodney and Ronon with you?"
"Yep," John replied. "They're here too. Along with a few other folks eager to see you guys. We should have you out of there soon."
John jumped down from the plinth, picked up the abandoned walking stick, and helped Rodney to his feet. He waited until Rodney found his balance, then turned back to Ronon.
"Let's try this again," he said and, with a nod at Ronon, braced his shoulder against the edge of the hatch and set his feet.
Ronon joined him, and at John's signal, they pushed the hatch again. This time, the hatch slowly ground open, and John stood to one side as the villagers flooded up out of the tunnels.
Liam and the children surged forward, and John heard scuffling and a soft thud.
"Do you mind?" Rodney exclaimed from the other side of the crowd, and John heard McKay groan.
"Rodney?" John called and tried to see through the press of people.
"What? I'm busy getting trampled to death over here."
John shook his head. If Rodney was able to complain, he couldn't be that hurt, he told himself and turned to help as more men and women climbed out of the tunnel.
"Liam!" a woman shouted. She ran forward and embraced Liam. "Oh, I thought I'd lost you. Where is your brother?"
"He's here, Mama," Liam replied, tears running down his cheeks. "All of us are fine, thanks to Doctor Rodney and his friends."
"Coby!" the woman called, and Coby ran to her.
The woman hugged Coby, then grasped Liam and rested her forehead against his.
"Told you I'd take care of him," Liam said as the woman hugged him again.
Another woman climbed out of the hatch and pushed through the people milling near the hatch, frantically searching the crowd. "Katia! Katia!" she called and turned in a circle.
"Mama!" Katia shouted and ran into her mother's arms.
John nodded to himself as he watched the children reunite with their families. Rodney appeared through the crowd clutching the walking stick, and John caught his arm when one of the children ran into him, throwing him off balance.
"Any sign of Teyla?" Rodney asked, peering into the crowd.
"Not yet."
The flood of people leaving the tunnel slowed to a trickle, and John smiled when Teyla appeared at the hatch. "There she is," he said to Rodney and pointed to Ronon, handing Teyla out of the tunnel.
"Ronon!" Teyla said with a smile at Ronon. "It is good to see you."
"You too," he replied, and John saw Teyla's surprised expression when Dex gave her a quick hug.
John sidestepped another reunion, picked up the P-90, and joined Ronon and Teyla at the edge of the plinth.
"Colonel," Teyla said with a relieved smile. She squeezed John's arm and looked around. "Where is Rodney?"
"Here," Rodney replied. "I'm here." He inched his way through the crowd of Satedans and stopped next to John.
Teyla glanced from the walking stick to Rodney's torn trousers and frowned. "Rodney, are you all right?" Teyla asked.
"Not really, no," Rodney grumbled, adjusting his grip on the walking stick.
Ronon rolled his eyes, and Teyla smiled then turned to John. "How were you all able to escape the Wraith?" she asked as Rodney glowered at Ronon, then sat on the edge of the plinth.
"Turns out this planet has or at least had some sort of Ancient cloaking technology," John replied. "The city Ronon and I visited was protected by one."
"A cloaking technology that someone decided to dismantle," Rodney added and shook his head.
Teyla's eyes widened in surprise.
"Ronon and I also found an Ancient control room," John continued. "Along with a cache of about fifty ZPMs."
"How is this possible?" Teyla asked.
"Those weird mineral readings the scanner picked up?" Rodney replied. "Turns out, it was from one of these cloaking emitters out in the forest. I had just found the emitter," Rodney paused and glanced down at his knee, "when the Wraith showed up."
"And you were able to hide inside the field?" Teyla asked.
"Not exactly," Rodney replied. "It wasn't that big a field, to begin with, the Zed-PM powering it was almost depleted, and then I had unexpected company." He nodded at Liam and Coby. "The Wraith found us, and we made a run for it." He glanced down at his torn trousers. "More or less."
"Do you believe this network of emitters can be repaired?" Teyla asked.
Rodney shrugged. "Maybe." He turned to John and added, "Before I can say for certain, I need to see that control room."
"That can wait," John replied.
"It really can't," Rodney retorted. "We need -"
"He's over here, Mama," Liam said. A moment later, John saw Liam leading a woman and Coby through the bustle of people toward them.
The woman stopped a few paces from Rodney with her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.
Rodney stood, wincing as he put weight on his knee, and shot a questioning glance from the woman to John. "Umm, is something wrong?"
The woman stepped forward and rested her hand on Rodney's arm. "My name is Marta," the woman said. "You are Doctor Rodney?"
John saw Teyla's raised eyebrow and shook his head.
Rodney narrowed his eyes at John, then focused on Marta. "Umm, Doctor Rodney McKay, yes."
Marta nodded, and before Rodney could do anything, she engulfed him in a hug. She let him go a moment later and wrapped her arm around Liam.
"Liam told me you shot the Wraith who was about to …" Marta stopped as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "You saved my son's life," she whispered. "Thank you."
"Oh, umm, you're," Rodney awkwardly patted Marta's shoulder, "you're umm, welcome."
Marta nodded and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and added. "Liam also said you hurt your leg. Please," she motioned toward the forest behind the village, "my cottage is near the trees. The Wraith did not damage it. You can rest there, and I will see to your injury." She glanced at John, Ronon, and Teyla and added, "You are all welcome."
"That's not nec -" Rodney started to say, but John spoke over him.
"That sounds like a good idea. We'll head back to the 'gate and let Doctor Weir know about the attack and that we're all right. You can stay here. Rest that knee."
"But -" Rodney started to argue.
"The 'gate is a couple of hours' hike from here," John told him. "And that knee has to be aching." He tapped the side of his head, and Rodney scowled but got the message. "We'll check in and be back tonight or tomorrow morning."
"Fine," Rodney grumbled.
"The cottage is not far," Marta said and took Rodney's arm.
"I'll stay with McKay," Ronon said.
Rodney glanced back in surprise. "You will?"
Ronon ignored him, nodded at the piles of debris, and said to John, "They can use the help."
John felt a jolt in his gut as his suspicion was confirmed. Ronon wanted to stay in the village, he realised. John busied himself by clipping the P-90 to his vest as an excuse to avoid looking at Ronon or the others.
Dex had found his people, John told himself as he adjusted the weapon clipped to his vest. He really couldn't blame Ronon for wanting to stay. As much as he'd come to see Ronon as important to the team, important to him, he wasn't going to stand in the way of Ronon finally finding some peace.
John glanced at his watch and then up at the late afternoon sun. "We'll be back sometime tomorrow," John said, his tone gruff.
"Colonel?" Teyla asked with a glance from John to Ronon.
"Let's go," John replied. He turned on his heel and walked toward the path leading out of the village.
"Colonel?" Teyla said again as they left the village. "Is everything all right?"
John glanced back at the village. He didn't see Rodney anywhere, but Ronon stood with two other men pointing to one of the destroyed buildings. Ronon said something to one of the men, who nodded and pointed toward the fields.
"Everything's fine," John replied shortly. He stared at the village for a moment, then turned on his heel and led the way back to the 'gate.