Retaliation of the Wraith

Chapter 2

Author: Lorrie Ellis

Email: lorrieannhotmail

Summary : This story takes place after the team returns from Jordonia and a confrontation with the Wraith. (Sequel to The Jordonian Ritual)

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.)

John was vaguely aware of being lifted from the pilot's seat of the Jumper and onto a gurney. He winced as Dr. Beckett looked into his eyes with a penlight. "Major Shepherd, can ya hear me?" The Scottish doctor inquired.

John nodded his head, ever so slightly.

"Good. We're going to take you for a little ride now, so just be still, lie back and try to relax."

Dr. Weir trailed the medical team as they entered the infirmary. "You'll have to wait here, Dr. Weir. I need to examine him." Carson squeezed her arm. "He'll be alright."

She nodded in response. As she took a seat outside of the infirmary, her eyes met with Rodney, Aiden and Teyla. "What happened?" Aiden asked.

Dr. Weir sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. He was telling stories to the children while Halling was showing me the crops. He looked tired when we boarded the Jumper, but I really didn't think too much about it until he passed out at the controls."

"Could it be the injury he sustained from the Wraith on Jordonia?" Teyla asked.

"I don't know." Elizabeth leaned back in the folding chair, letting her head rest against the wall. "Dr. Beckett is examining him now."

Rodney's mouth opened to speak, but he stopped just short of uttering a sound.

"What is it Rodney?" Dr. Weir asked, his hesitation to speak not going unnoticed.

"I need to check something." He hurried away from the group and back to his lab where he had been translating, or trying to translate, some of the writings of the Ancients. "Now where did I put that?" He asked himself.

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Inside the Infirmary, Dr. Beckett had begun John's examination. He carefully peeled back the bandages on his left cheek. "Ouch!" John winced as the tape pulled at the sides of the sutures.

"Sorry Major, but I need to take a look-see."

The doctor finished removing the bandages and studied the cuts that the Wraith had left on John's cheek. "I think we may need to change your antibiotics. This looks a bit infected. I'll not be surprised if you're having a bit of reaction to your current medication too." Carson applied some antibiotic cream to the wound and turned to the nurse. "We'll want a full blood work-up."

"Yes doctor." The nurse replied, readying a tube to collect John's blood.

"So, is that what caused me to pass out?" John asked.

Carson nodded. "I believe so. You're running a bit of a fever and you're probably a bit dehydrated after being out in the sun on the mainland all day with the Athosians." He paused. "I'm going to give you a shot of antibiotics to get it into your system and this bottle of pills." He gave John instructions on how to take the medication.

"That's it?" John asked as the nurse began to re-bandage his cheek.

"Yep. That's it." Dr. Beckett started to walk away from his patient. "Of course, I'll be wanting to see you back in here in the morning both tomorrow and the day after to evaluate you before your next mission . . . and you may as well just stay clear of the Jumper bay for a couple of days."

John sighed. "In other words, I'm grounded until further notice?"

Carson nodded. "Sorry Major, but I can't have the best pilot in Atlantis passing out at the controls again, can I?"

"I guess not." John replied as he buttoned his shirt.

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Elizabeth let out a long sigh of relief and stood as she saw John walking towards them.

John smiled as much as the bandages would allow. "What are you guys all doing standing around here?" He asked upon seeing his team and Elizabeth waiting outside the infirmary.

"Oh, we didn't have anything better to do." Ford answered, a quick smile coming to his face.

Teyla didn't quite catch onto the banter. "We were all concerned for your well-being Major."

His eyes met with Elizabeth's. "I'm fine. The doc thinks I may have had a reaction to the antibiotics he had me on. Oh, and I'm grounded until further notice . . . no Jumpers and no gating."

"No problem." Elizabeth replied. "We want to make sure that you're healthy before you go anywhere else."

John looked around. "Where's McKay?"

Ford and Teyla shrugged. "He said something about having to check out something, I assume in his lab." Elizabeth answered.

"Maybe I'll just go check in on him." John said matter-of-factly. In actuality, he wanted to see what McKay was up to. It wasn't like him to not stick with the group.

"Just be careful and stay out of trouble, if that's possible." Elizabeth replied.

"Sure thing." John smiled and started off towards McKay's lab.

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Rodney was reading through the pages of text, his eyes widening as he found the passage he was looking for.

"Uummm." John cleared his throat and knocked on the doorframe.

Rodney looked up briefly. "Come in." He said quickly, continuing to read.

"Whatch reading?" John asked.

Rodney eyes met John's. "You don't want to know."

John furrowed his brow. "Yeah I do, or I wouldn't have asked."

Rodney looked up, his eyes full of both fear and sorrow. "John, I think I know why you passed out."

John nodded. "Beckett said that it was most likely a reaction to the meds he had given me."

McKay shook his head. "No, that's not it. When the Wraith struck your face with her claws, she left a trace marker behind. A marker that will . . ." He consulted the book again to be certain he was reading it correctly. ". . . will both make you suffer and can be traced by the Wraith."

John swallowed hard. "Traced by the Wraith? You mean whatever she left in my face, it's like a tracking device?"

Rodney nodded. "I'm sorry Major. I have to show my findings to Carson. You had better come with me."

"No! I had better get as far away from Atlantis as I can." He began to run towards the Gate Room.

"Major wait! Maybe there's a way to reverse it! Maybe . . . maybe I shouldn't be wasting my breath." Rodney picked up the communicator and paged Dr. Weir, quickly explaining everything to her, including the fact that the Major was on his way to the Gate Room. He then ran to Carson's office.

"Lock down the Gate Room!" Dr. Weir commanded after hearing the news from Rodney.

"But Dr. Weir, we have off-world teams." Peter started.

"I said lock it down, now!" Dr. Weir repeated.

John was almost at the Gate Room door when it slammed shut. He banged his open hand on the door and allowed himself to slump down to the floor, as his injured cheek began to burn.

When Rodney reached Carson's office, he was all but out of breath. "Major . . . Shepherd . . . not reaction to meds . . . reaction to Wraith . . . tracer."

"What are ya rantin' about now Rodney?" Dr. Beckett asked as he led the breathless scientist to a chair. "Now, catch yer breath and tell me again, slowly."

Rodney took in a few deep breaths and then blurted the news out all at once. "Major Sheppered is not having a reaction to the meds. This text, right here." He put the book underneath Carson's nose, which being that it was still in the Ancient dialect, meant nothing to the doctor.

Carson shrugged his shoulders. "It means nothin' to me. I can't read Ancient."

"Oh sorry, I forgot." He took the book back and began to read the article.

We fear that we are going to lose Anthosia. Her confrontation with the female Wraith was now three days ago. The claw marks are not healing as they should be and after testing her blood, we have found what appears to be a beacon of sorts and we fear now that this beacon in Anthosia's blood may be calling the Wraith to our world . . . to Atlantis.

"I wasn't too sure when I read this the other night that this wasn't just some sort of parable, but now that I've seen what's going on with Major Shepherd . . ." Rodney babbled.

Dr. Beckett's face turned pale. "Ya may be right. I'll go do the blood work myself, right now."

John was still sitting at the Gate Room door when Dr. Weir, Teyla and Lt. Ford approached him. "John?" Elizabeth said his name softly.

"You have to let me leave, Beth. I have to get as far away from Atlantis as possible. If I don't, I'll be bringing the Wraith right down on all of us."

"We don't know that." Elizabeth reasoned. "It's just a theory right now."

"And a pretty damn good one." He turned his injured cheek towards her and she saw that the bandages were once again blood covered. "It won't heal."

Elizabeth nodded towards Teyla and Ford and the two helped John to his feet. "Let's get you down to the infirmary."

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"We have a visual on the tracker." A Wraith guard announced.

The female Wraith stood and approached the console. She stared at the blinking light with a smile. "It won't be long now, John Shepherd of Earth." She laughed. "Soon you will tell me where this Earth is so that my kind can feast until they hunger no more."

To be continued . . . .