Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis is not mine, and no profits are made from this story. It is a work of fan fiction and for fan enjoyment only.
3: Waking Up is Hard to Do...
Sheppard moaned as consciousness returned. The last thing he remembered was the ship getting swiped by that meteorite as they were on final approach to the Gate, and half the systems subsequently going dead. Going through to Atlantis was not an option at that point, as he didn't have enough helm control to safely 'thread the needle'. Just as they were approaching the landing site he had picked out, the panel in front of him went up with a bang, and he knew no more.
As he came to, he realized that he was lying on a hard surface with a heat-retaining blanket spread over him. His head seemed to be resting on something soft, and there was a cool, damp washcloth on his forehead. His skull felt as if it were going to emulate the front control console, and his eyes still ached terribly. Moaning, he tried to open them, only to find that they were bandaged closed. "Teyla?" he asked, sensing her presence nearby.
"Major, please be still." Teyla's voice carried an innate authority that demanded obedience.
Ford's voice spoke next. "How are you feeling?"
"Like my head's full of detonating C-4, but otherwise all right." He winced at the loudness of his own voice, and lowered it. "How is everyone else?"
It never ceased to amaze her how he managed to be concerned about them when he was in worse shape than anyone else. "We're fine," she assured the prostrate man.
"Why can't I open my eyes?" He sounded frustrated.
"When the panel exploded, it damaged quite a bit of your face. When I went to clean the wounds, there was quite a bit of foreign material in your eyes themselves, and they appeared burnt. I washed them out, but I think we should keep them covered until Dr. Beckett can examine you."
Sheppard had to admit that it was the most prudent course of action, but then a thought occurred to him. "Wait a second. How are we going to get out of here if I can't see?" A small edge of worry tinted his tones; he suspected that his sight would ultimately be fine, but what if his vision was permanently compromised? What good was a blind pilot?
"I've gotten the distress beacon working again, and we have enough food to last us for months." McKay was already munching on one of the fresh traumatically-uncrated fruits they had recently acquired.
Teyla continued hopefully, "I'm sure a rescue party will be along any minute."
"No, they won't." Rodney spoke around a mouthful of the violet fruit. "Meteor shower, remember? They'll have to wait for it to clear enough to launch, if they don't assume we've been destroyed altogether. That could potentially take weeks!"
McKay's chewing slowed as he realized the truth in his own statements. "You know, I'd better get working on the environmental controls next. I don't want to wait potentially weeks in the cold." The major heard him move off as the pain in his own skull swelled and awareness slid away.
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"Definitely a meteorite." Simmons poked the stone fragment that had obliterated the console in the gateroom. "See the crystallization here? Mostly iron, with a trace of iridium."
Wear sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "So we opened the Gate into a meteor storm? What about our people on the other side?"
Zelenka was hopeful. "It is almost certainly temporary. The reconnaissance party probably recognized that they couldn't get safely through and aborted. They are probably back on the planet making better friends with the natives."
Playing 'Devil's Advocate', Kavanagh threw in his two cents. "Or they could have been struck by an asteroid and instantly obliterated."
Simmons shot him a nasty look. She had developed an intense dislike of the man over the few months they had been on Atlantis. "Most probably the truth lies somewhere in between. My guess is that the jumper was damaged and they're either adrift or managed to set down on a nearby planet, and are currently awaiting rescue."
Zelenka nodded. "Yes, that is the most probable scenario."
"In any event, we're not able to do anything until the storm clears."
"I would propose that we open the gate, shields up, once an hour to monitor its progress. As soon as we're clear, Jumper Two can get underway." Grodin suggested.
"Too much power drain." Kavanagh objected.
"Well then, every two hours until it looks like the debris is clearing, then every hour thereafter." Simmons wanted to do something childish, like stick her tongue out at him, but managed to control herself.
Grodin and Zelenka nodded agreement, and Weir, glancing around the group, stated, "All right, that's our plan for the time being. Dismissed."
She strode back to the command center, still dissatisfied but realistic. 'I hate waiting!' she fumed, as she took a seat where she could watch the Gate.
---------------------------------------------------
Sheppard awoke the second time to a blast of cold air coming from the region of the hatch as Ford entered the Jumper. "Well, I don't think we could do a better patch job if we were in Atlantis!" he crowed proudly, brushing the dirt off his hands. "How's the Major?"
John unsuccessfully tried to open his eyes, then remembered the bandages. He settled for croaking, "The Major is sore and hungry, thank you."
Teyla's warmth was instantly at his side. "You're awake again!"
He flinched at the volume. "Yeah, I guess so." His voice was hoarse. "Keep it down, OK?"
"Sorry." Teyla sounded genuinely embarrassed.
"So, what's our status?" He didn't know how long he'd been out, but it felt like several hours at least.
"Well, I've gotten our life support back on line; note the comfortable temperature in here?" McKay was smug. "If we can get this bird spaceworthy, the air recyclers are functioning again, too."
"Here, you must eat." Teyla placed a fruit into his hand. Feeling it carefully with his other, he figured that it was the fuzzy peach-like purple one that had been his favorite on Fortros. Flattered that she had noticed which he preferred, he nodded and brought it to his lips.
"What do you think of 'purplepeach' as a name for that?" Ford asked, biting into one himself.
"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to be naming things anymore."
The lieutenant shrugged, then continued the status report. "I've patched the hole in the hull with a repair kit that Rodney found. It'll hold as long as the hull itself does." Ford was clearly proud of his work. "Our next project will be the shorted out console at the pilot's position. Once that's done, we can kick up the engines and see if they fire." Sheppard didn't need to see to know that Ford was ticking points off on his fingers.
"What about the planet we're on? Any hostiles?" Sheppard wanted to know their situation in its entirety.
Ford answered though a mouthful of food, causing the Major to reflect that McKay was being a bad influence on the young soldier. "No hostiles, no friendlies, no animal life of any intelligence. There is vegetation, although I don't know if there is anything edible, and there's a running source of water about a hundred yards off our port side. It's a little nippy, ranging from ten to fifty degrees Fahrenheit, but otherwise not too bad."
"That's good. We may be here a while." He finished his fruit and started feeling about for another. Teyla placed one in his hand. "Thanks." He smiled crookedly at her in a way that warmed her heart.
"You're welcome."
Teyla pulled out a different edible from their recent acquisitions, and began peeling it. She hadn't cared much for the 'purplepeach'. The group ate a while in companionable silence, until Sheppard's head started nodding forward. Gently touching his shoulder, Teyla suggested, "It has become dark outside, and we have had a long day. Perhaps we should turn in for the night."
"Yeah, sure." John was so tired his words slurred slightly. He allowed the Pegasus galaxy native to ease him back down to the floor and cover him with a blanket. "Could use a nap." He was asleep almost before the words were out of his mouth.
Teyla caught Ford's eye and exchanged a worried look. "I hope they come for us soon."
"I wouldn't count on it; we don't know how soon they'll be able to safely come through the gate." Ford was calm. "Best if we keep working on rescuing ourselves. I'll take the first watch."
Rodney almost choked on a mouthful of his third fruit. "I thought there weren't any hostiles."
Ford fixed him with a stare. "Not as far as we know. I'd rather not find out the hard way."
McKay gulped, but didn't reply.
"I'll take the middle watch. I have always been able to fall back asleep quickly, so it doesn't other me too much."
"That leaves you the early A.M. shift. You able to manage that?" Ford pointedly asked the scientist.
He almost objected that it wasn't in his job description, but one glance at the Lieutenant's face made him just nod instead. "Sure, no problem."
TBC....
AN: I don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but FFnet is not counting 'hits' on this story at the moment, so I don't know if anyone is reading it unless they leave reviews. I'm assuming people like this as well as my others, but I currently seem to have no way of telling. By the way, for you shippers out there...I just haven't picked up on a 'ship' I like in this universe. There are several I can 'see' happening (Shep/Wier, Teyla/Ford, etc) but none grab me. I'll let you know when they do...