Ancient's Best Friend
Author's Note: Beckett's large metal pole makes a guest appearance!!!! (Sort of) Ha, now you have to read. Continuing a plotline! Yay! Apologies from me, this chapter isn't the funniest, but it has it's moments. Everyone's in this chapter! ('cept Jinto, which I just realized I've been spelling wrong for the whole story --' )
I have a WHOLE BUNCH of ideas for this story (finally)! Heck, I've even had to start writing them down!!! Special sneak preview: "Dude, where's my puddle jumper?"
Thank you reviewers!!!!
-RougeCajunOzsgrl
-MaryChristmas
-Courtknee
-lovewildfire
-Silver1226
-JHolland
-T'Karish
-Trekkie Lizard
Disclaimer: In the first chapter if you really care that much.
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Teyla rushed over the clattering sounds, almost tripping over a crutch in the process. "Doctor McKay?!" She quickly found him and immediately made sure he was still alive, which he was.
She felt for McKay's transmitter, finding in seconds. "Doctor Weir? Major Sheppard?" No answer. She then remembered seeing various SGA people pressing a button while they talked, she found the button and the transmitter crackled. "Doctor Weir, Major Sheppard!" she said into the transmitter, but still with no result.
Making sure McKay was still alive again, she headed for the door. She felt for the button, found it, and pressed it. She knew nothing would happen, but she tried it anyway. She was just about to try to force the door open when the lights flickered on.
Turning to face McKay, she immediately rushed over to him. His head was bleeding, but not much. The stasis pod also had a large crack in it that looked like someone had hit it with a rock. Not taking time to figure out what had happened, she pulled/carried McKay towards the door with surprising strength, and got him into the now lit hallway.
"Doctor Weir! Please, I need medical help!" she said, trying the transmitter again.
"Teyla?" came Weir's voice.
"Yes, McKay is hurt. Quickly!"
"We're dealing with a bit of a situation up here, Teyla. I'll send a medical team."
xxx
"Dang, we're gonna take on eight of those things…" muttered Ford, taking his seat, grinning like he'd just been promoted to General.
"Hey weapons man, the fat lady hasn't sung yet, get that smile off your face," said Sheppard from the pilot's seat.
"Yeah, sir, but she's in the program!" Ford almost yelled, still grinning.
"Man, what is with you?"
"Don't you realize? This is every kid's dream, fightin' off aliens in a super-cool ship! I've been waitin' my entire life for this, sir, haven't you?"
Sheppard paused and thought for a moment. "No…"
Ford looked disappointed in his CO for a few moments, but quickly regained his excited confidence. "Gee, sir, I guess you really missed out. So, when do we go?"
Sheppard gave him a look and was about to say something but was cut off by Weir's voice on the transmitter. "Major?"
"Yes?" he replied.
"We've dialed the address of a planet that's right on the Wraith's path."
"Is the 'gate floating in space again?"
"No, it's on the ground, so you'll have to fly out of the atmosphere, where you should see the Wraith ships in about two minutes. After you destroy them, or if you have to come back prematurely, you'll have to find the same 'gate again."
"Thanks."
"Good luck Major, Lieutenant, and thank you."
"Thank YOU, doctor!" exclaimed Ford into his transmitter, almost jumping out of his seat.
xxx
"Will he be okay?"
"He's stable, and he got that broken leg he wanted. Still unconscious, but he should be waking anytime now," replied Beckett.
"Good," said Weir, looking at the still figure of McKay lying in the infirmary.
"But to tell you the truth, I got no idea how he managed his injuries," continued Beckett, following her gaze.
"Teyla was in the room, even though it was dark. Maybe she could help."
"Great. Have her come in when she gets a chance. I did find a few shards of glass-like material in his head wound, but other than that, nothing."
Just then, Teyla walked in, "Doctor?"
Beckett and Weir both looked over at her.
Teyla smiled, "How is Doctor McKay doing?"
"He'll be fine," replied Beckett. "Em, do you have any idea what he did?"
"I had just found his flashlight, but the batteries ran out, and it was dark again. He started to walk back and forth again, talking to himself, when I head a crack, then the sound of him falling. When the lights came back on, I saw that the glass covering on the stasis unit had been cracked."
"What the bloody h-"
He was interrupted by Weir. "You mean that he walked straight into the stasis pod because it was dark, and that's how this happened?"
Teyla responded, "Yes, I believe that is what happened."
"That would explain the glass in his head wound," commented Beckett, looking thoughtful.
"Well, at least the major's not here," Weir said, smiling faintly. "I don't even want to think about what he'd be saying." The remark drew grins from everyone who was listening, but their thoughts were interrupted by McKay's voice.
"What're you all smiling at?"
xxx
"It's your second time fightin' these things, why are you so happy?!" Sheppard asked Ford, who was still grinning like he'd just received a promotion. They had successfully 'gated to the planet and exited the atmosphere as planned.
"Last time they were chasin's us, sir. This time we get to blow their-"
"Here they come…" interrupted Sheppard, the ship lurching to life.
"Sir, that looks like more than just eight of those things," said Ford, his voice suddenly filled with concern.
"Jesus, you're right. There's sixteen of those bad boys," said Sheppard, looking at the 'screen'. They exchanged worried glance, then looked back at the approaching ships.
"Think we can still take 'em down, sir?"
"Of course! I haven't been in the air force for nothing. You fire when I tell you, you got that?"
"Yes, sir."
"Scared?"
"Ready to kick some wraith-"
"Okay, okay, I get that you're excited. Now shut up and pay attention."
The jumper sped towards the coming Wraith ships.
"Fire!"
"Already, sir?"
"Just do it, Ford!"
Ford obediently released three drones into the Wraith fleet, successfully destroying three darts.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it, lieutenant?"
"Yeah, but just wait 'till they start returning fire, sir."
As if on cue, a flurry of bluish beams shot at them.
"Fire again!"
Ford released three more drones; one was destroyed in the air, but the other two hit their targets. "Five down, eleven more, sir."
"Good." Another wave of beams rushed passed, expertly dodged by Sheppard. He still kept heading straight towards the center of the wraith fleet.
"Sir, why are we going straight int-" Ford started to ask, but was interrupted by Sheppard.
"We're invisible, remember? Fire again."
Another trio of drones was released, destroying three more wraith darts, triggering another, even fiercer wave of blue beams from the Wraith ships.
"Oh, I was wondering why they weren't shooting directly at us…" Ford said to himself, earning a you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me look from Sheppard.
Sheppard continued speeding towards the fleet until it looked as though a collision was certain. "Fire, now!" he yelled at Ford, then sharply pulled up, out of the blind firing of the Wraith ships. They cruised a distance away from the direction of the darts.
"Woah, sir, you're going the wrong way-"
"Shut up and watch."
Sheppard turned off the invisibility, and told Ford to fire.
"Wait, we're not invisible anymore are we?"
"Nope."
"Crap, they're coming right for us, sir!" exclaimed Ford as Sheppard dodged even more beams from the oncoming Wraith ships.
"No, really?" The ship jolted; they'd been hit. Ford looked expectantly at Sheppard who said, "We've got a good shield, don't worry." Suddenly he sped away from the fleet again, who were still heading for the place from where Ford had fired the drones, engaging the invisibility feature again.
"What now, sir?" Ford asked, watching the fleet of darts fire ever more ferociously at their previous position.
"We attack from behind," he responded, as they headed for the back of the fleet at an incredible speed. "Fire, now!"
Ford did as he was told, reducing the four darts in front of them to three.
"Wait, how did the other two drones get intercepted?" asked Sheppard, noticing that there should have been five of the Wraith ships left.
"CRAP!" shouted Ford, releasing three more drones behind the jumper.
"HEY, what was that for? I didn't tell you to fire!"
"There was a Wraith on our tail, sir."
Sheppard steered the jumper around just in time to see a lone Wraith dart be destroyed by a trio of drones. "Hey," he said, looking over at Ford. "Thanks."
"Anytime, sir. Three of those godforsaken things left."
Sheppard steered towards the remaining cluster of Wraith ships, all of which were quickly speeding away and almost out of sight.
"They're heading for Atlantis," said Sheppard. "Let's hope this thing can go faster than they can." He urged the ship forward, following the path of the darts.
xxx
"Seriously, what are you all staring a- GAH!" McKay tried to sit up as he noticed quite a few infirmary personnel looking at him.
Beckett rushed over. "You hit your head bloody good there, Rodney. I wouldn't suggest sitting up for at least another few hours…"
"Good to see you awake, Rodney," said Weir. "Find me when you're done here, I have to go." She walked briskly out of the room.
"Uhhg, my head," he moaned, probably with some exaggeration, Beckett guessed.
"Are you feeling alright, Doctor McKay?" asked Teyla, walking over to his cot.
"Well, besides the blaring pain in my skull, and the fact that I have no idea what happened, yes," he answered.
"Oh, pipe down, you've been on a painkiller since you got in here," said Beckett from the other side of the cot, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"And how long is that?" asked McKay.
"Em, maybe forty-five minutes."
"Of course, and the meds don't take effect for an hour, right? That's just great, now I have to sit here in pain for fifteen-'
"Actually," Beckett cut in, "it takes approximately two minutes."
McKay looked disheartened. "Well, do you have anything stronger?"
"Yes," said Beckett. McKay's expression changed to that of hopefulness. "But I'm not going to give it to you."
"Oh come on! I'm in pain here! What's wrong with giving me a simple-"
Beckett gave McKay a shut-up-or-I'll-go-get-that-pole-and-really-hit-you-with-it-this-time glare (Note: Sorry, got a little carried away there, but the metal pole lives!…), then responded, "Sorry to disappoint you, but the better painkillers are saved for emergencies, not accident-prone people."
McKay's disheartened look returned. "What did I do to deserve this?!" he said loudly, attracting weird looks from everyone within hearing range.
xxx
"Grodin, have you found a way to communicate with the puddle jumpers yet?" asked Weir, walking into the control room.
He was hunched over a panel, notes and papers scattered over it. "I'm sure Major Sheppard is fine. He's a fighter pilot, right?" Grodin looked up.
Weir sighed. He was good. "De ja vu."
"They came back safe last time, doctor. And no, I haven't found how to open the com link to the ships, but I think I'm close. I'll let you know when I find it."
"Well, what about that map? Can you see if they've destroyed the ships or not?"
Grodin pressed a few slates on the panel to his right, and the map appeared on the screen. There's two red dots left." He pointed at the screen. "That green dot there is what I believe to be Major Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford. From the looks of it, they seem to be chasing the remaining Wraith darts. They're catching up, not very fast, but…"
Weir stared absently at the map. "Is there any possibility that the Wraith ships will arrive here before the Major has a chance to destroy them?"
Grodin suddenly looked uneasy. "Well, it's possible. But I can't really tell without being able to operate the console." Noting the worried look on Weir's face, he added, "But it looks more likely that they'll be able to catch up."
Weir's troubled expression was not relieved. "Let me know if the Wraith ships get close enough that we have to evacuate."
"Yes, doctor."
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Author's Second Note: Aw, how mean am I?! Alert the media, call the press, IT'S A CLIFFHANGER! Wow, I do have a plot after all! Reviews are much appreciated and will be recognized!
Another Note That Basically Says No New Chapter Tomorrow: I'm busy tomorrow, so I won't be writing. Expect new chapter on Monday or Tuesday… (Sorry, I know that's cruel with the cliffhanger and all, but I can't do much about it.)
One More Note (Trust Me This Is The Last One): Okay, is it just me, or did the latest episode, 38 Hours, seem overly cheesy? Oh well, its worth pointing out that I started this fic after Hide And Seek, and unless something major happens in the show, I'm going to my own way with this fic, that means events (unless drastic) in the show will not happen here in the fic. But hey, instead of watching reruns at six every day, you can read my fic instead like a new episode!!! Hey, I do. Well, not my fic of course, other people's fics.
Review please?