"A Bad Decision - Realization"
Chapter 2
Author: Lorrie Ellis
Email: lorrieannhotmail
Summary : The team gates to a previously unexplored world and may regret what they find.
Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Stargate: Atlantis". The characters belong to MGM, The Sci-Fi channel, etc. but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)
The siren sounded as the gate began to dial in. "Off-world activation." Came the announcement.
"Any signal?" Dr. Weir asked.
"Yes, Lt. Ford's."
"Open the iris." Dr. Weir commanded.
Seconds later, Lt. Ford, Teyla and Dr. McKay stepped through the gate, seemingly unaware that anything was amiss.
Dr. Weir approached the team, waiting for an explanation of John's whereabouts. "Lt. Ford, where's the Major?" She asked.
"The Major?" Ford questioned, looking around. "Wasn't he . . . or maybe . . ."
McKay and Teyla also looked around, puzzled. "He was with us on the planet. I know he was." Mckay said nervously.
"He was in the room too, wasn't he?" Teyla replied.
McKay nodded his head and pointed his finger aimlessly. "That's right. I distinctly remember him being . . ."
Lt. Ford shook his head. "No you don't. You two don't remember anything any more clearly than I do. I remember gating off-world with the Major, but I don't remember anything after that."
"So, where's John?" Dr. Weir asked.
The team looked at each other, no one really knowing where Major Shepherd could be.
"He has to still be on the planet." Lt. Ford replied. "We have to go after him."
Teyla nodded. "Yes. Something is terribly wrong."
Dr. Weir shook her head. "The only place that the three of you are going right now is the infirmary to be checked out."
"But I feel fine." Rodney complained.
"But you don't remember where you've been for the last twelve hours, what you've done or who you've met. Dr. Beckett is waiting for you, now go."
Teyla and Rodney started down the corridor as Lt. Ford still stood on the ramp, looking back at the gate.
"Lieutenant, once Dr. Beckett clears you for duty, we'll discuss the rescue mission. I want him back here as much as you do."
Lt. Ford nodded and followed his other two team members to the infirmary.
Elizabeth turned towards the gate, wishing that it would activate, that John would come home and that everything would be OK.
John still sat in the metal chair, unconscious from the electrical charges that had been sent through the three small pins that still penetrated his brain.
"Take him to the holding cell." Maylan bellowed.
"Yes my lord." The two men replied and carefully unlocked the bands that had been holding John's wrists and ankles tightly to the chair.
They practically dragged him down the darkened corridor to a cold, metal cell, hardly long enough or wide enough to house his six foot frame. They left him, crumpled on the floor in a tight ball, the metal halo still attached to his head, ready for the next round of questioning.
Maylan turned to Landiv, who had joined the small group of Hashlanaians. "He is difficult to break."
"So I see, my lord." Landiv replied.
"So as not to kill him, yet, we will allow him rest for a few hours and then resume our questioning." Maylan stated, not really directing the comment to anyone, but stating it never-the-less.
"What of his friends?" Landiv asked.
"They are not of them so why should they matter?" Maylan replied.
"They will be back. The elixir will only dilute their memories, not entirely erase them."
"I am fully aware of the effects of the elixir. What is your point?" Maylan bellowed again.
Landiv cowered before him. "They will be back. He is their leader and once they realize that he is still in Hashlana, they will be back for him."
"And they will find only a dead man when they come." Maylan nodded to two of his men. "Bring him."
Landiv stared at Maylan in disbelief. "I thought you were going to allow him rest."
"I was, but if what you say is true, then we may not have much time to complete the questioning before killing him."
Dr. Beckett completed his exam of all of the team members. "You all seem fit." He stated in his long Scottish accent. "I know you want to get back to find the Major, but I really would like to see you rest for a few hours before then."
"We need to meet with Dr. Weir and figure out our strategy." Lt. Ford stated.
"Look Lieutenant, I know that your priority is to get back and locate Major Shepherd and don't get me wrong, that's a pretty strong priority for all of us, but you can't jeopardize your own health. You must rest first and then locate the Major."
"That's it then." Elizabeth stated firmly. "The three of you are confined to quarters until . . ." She looked at her watch. It showed 9:00 p.m. "Until 05:00."
"A whole night?" Aiden balked. "Dr. Weir, ma'am, if we wait until tomorrow, it might just be too late for the Major."
She nodded. "I know the risks Lieutenant and I've made my decision. I'll meet with you all at 05:00, now get some rest."
John felt something, or someone tugging at his shoulders, trying to lift him upright. "Get up!" A voice shouted as he felt a sharp pain in his left side. "Now, get up!" The voice repeated and half dragged, half pulled John to his feet.
"Morning already?" He asked. The question was met with a sharp jab into his lower back. John winced and allowed the two to lead him back to the room, back to the chair and back to what he knew was going to be another session of hell.
"We can stop anytime you wish." Maylan stated. "All you have to do is answer my questions and the pain will stop."
"I've already told you what I think of your questions." John replied, as the two men forced him into the chair. He took the opportunity of his arms being free to plow his fist into the stomach of one of the men and lifted his leg, jabbing his boot, hard into the chest of the other.
The two men, momentarily caught off guard, started to punch back, just as John dropped to his knees, another round of electrical charges surging through his head. He screamed out, "Stop! Oh God, please stop it!"
Just as suddenly as it had started, the pain stopped. "Get him in the chair." Maylan ordered, lifting his finger from the button that had emitted the charge. The two men pulled him into the chair, quickly securing his wrists and ankles again.
"Are you ready to talk?" Maylan asked.
John shook his head wearily as yet another charge was set off. He felt as though this head was going to explode. His eyes and ears burned as if they were on fire and he could feel his brain moving with each pulse of electricity. "This is going to be a very long night." He thought before letting his head drop.
05:00 couldn't come soon enough. Lt. Ford hadn't bothered to change his clothes, but he did follow Dr. Weirs command and laid across his cot, although sleep was out of the question of any of the three remaining team members.
One of theirs was lost, in trouble, maybe even dead. They had to go back and locate him. They had to know what happened.
Ford, Teyla and McKay were already sitting at the conference table when Elizabeth walked in. "I'm glad you're all here. You look somewhat refreshed and it would appear that you need to be." She paused. "We have received no transmissions from Major Shepherd to date and since we don't know exactly what happened, I want you to be prepared for anything."
"We're ready, ma'am." Ford replied.
"Lieutenant, I do mean for anything. There is the chance that this recover mission may be mute. That Major Shepherd may not have survived."
McKay nodded. "I think we all know that." He said in a sullen voice. "But what if he's not dead? What if he's alive and needs help to get out. You know what the power source did to us, what if it just took a little longer to get to John? What if . . ."
Elizabeth held her hand up, shouting his name; "Rodney!" Then she added softly. "I understand."
Dr. McKay nodded. He knew that he was babbling. He always babbled when he was nervous or apprehensive and in this case it was both.
"You've brought up a very good point though. You'll need to be shielded from the power source somehow if you expect to stay in control of your mind long enough to find John."
"Should we not take one of the Jumpers?" Teyla asked.
"That's ideal." Dr. McKay replied. "The shields on the Jumper should protect us from the power field, at least for as long as we're inside, but of course to find Major Shepherd, we're going to have to be outside of the Jumper and . . ."
"Rodney, you're doing it again." Dr. Weir stated.
"How about those new helmets that you and Kavenough are working on?" Lt. Ford asked.
McKay nodded. "They haven't been tested yet, but if they work properly then they should offer the necessary amount of protection that we'll need."
Teyla looked at Lt. Ford with a puzzled expression.
"He says that they should work." Ford explained simply.
Dr. Weir nodded. "OK, get the helmets and board the Jumper." The team started to leave the briefing room. "Good luck." Dr. Weir called out.
John cried out again as the pins attached to his head began to slowly turn. Maylan smiled, evilly again. "I am quite sure that you will talk after this."
"Don't bet on it." John whispered.
"Let me tell you what is about to happen. The three pins that have already drilled through your skull and into the top layer of your brain and beginning to dig in deeper. Soon they will be embedded a quarter of an inch into your brain and you will loose your sight and the pain that you have been experiencing will be nothing compared to what you are about to experience once the electrical charges go off again. You will talk, Major John Shepherd. You will talk, or you will die."
John said nothing as he felt the pins dig deeper into his brain, then, as Maylan had promised, he felt a sharper pain at the back of his head and everything went dark. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a long scream was heard as the torture continued, just as his tormentor had promised.
End of Chap. 2