The Prophecy
Chapter 6
The Gate activated earlier than scheduled. Since they had already established prior contact to the people of Arona, the first scheduled contact had been twelve hours after the departure from Atlantis. They had only been gone for seven hours when Ford's IDC came through. Dr. Weir's heart sank. An early return meant trouble. If Ford was sending the signal then the major had once more managed to get into trouble. She called for a medical team to come to the gate room, having a feeling that it might be needed.
"Drop the shield!" she ordered.
Moments later. Lt. Ford stepped through the gate, followed Dr. McKay and the rest of the scientists and Marines who had accompanied the mission. Last were the two Athosians that had joined Teyla on this mission. Major Sheppard and Teyla were mission, as was everyone's gear and weapons.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Beckett had rushed to help one of the scientists who was coughing and seemed to have trouble breathing. Everyone else seemed fine.
"What happened?" She turned to Lt. Ford.
"I'm not sure, ma'am. Some kind of political conflict on the planet and we stepped right into the middle of it. We were in the middle of the trade talks when they just stormed the building. Some group is convinced that we are conspiring with the government somehow. I'm not sure what exactly they were accusing us of. The major negotiated that they let us go. He told them they we didn't know anything anyways. He and Teyla are still there on the planet. They believed him, they let everyone else go." Ford coughed. Whatever they had used to knock them out before they had woken up in the large hall was still irritating his lungs.
"Go to the infirmary to get checked out. I need a full report as soon as you're able."
They both knew that John and Teyla didn't have any time to lose. They were in the hands of armed rebels who were convinced they were involved in some conspiracy against them. John had managed to buy the freedom of the civilians and the rest of his men, by telling them that they didn't know anything. The rebels were going to expect answers from him and Teyla. Answers that they weren't going to be able to give them. No matter what galaxy they were in, the methods to make the enemy talk didn't vary much, that much they had learned. They had to get them out as soon as possible.
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"You're going to be all right as long as you drink a lot and don't overexert yourself in the next 48 hours. Whatever they used to knock you out, it has no lasting harmful effect, although it is a bit of an irritant. If you're still having problems in two days, come and see me," Dr. Beckett assured Lt. Ford.
"Thanks, Doctor. Is everyone else all right?" Ford asked, remembering the commotion in the Gate room
"I'm keeping Dr. Mamani here overnight for observation. He had a mild asthma attack triggered by what you were exposed to. But he should be fine." Beckett paused. "Is there any news on John and Teyla yet?"
"I'm going to talk to Dr. Weir now about mounting a rescue mission. We might need you on this, Doc."
"I'll be ready." Beckett answered even though he hated going through the Stargate.
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Teyla was crouched next to John. His forehead felt hot, as if he was suffering from a fever. She didn't know what to do without any resources. She knew dozens of herbs that can be used to treat fever, she knew how the humans treat fever, but there was nothing she could do to help John now.
John seemed to be getting worse. The fever had gotten more intense since they had been here, in front of the gate. She bit her lower lip, she was wasting time that John didn't have, and she was trying to think of a planet to gate to. They couldn't gate to Atlantis. The rebels had taken their GDOs. There were many friendly worlds that they could go to, but none of them had the resources of Atlantis, most were simply agricultural people.
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Lt. Ford and Dr. Weir were standing in here office, arguing about sending a mission to Arona. Lt. Ford was passionately in favour of sending a second team to the planet as soon as possible to try to rescue to rescue his CO and his friend. As the leader of the Atlantis colony, Dr. Weir had to keep the overall risks in perspective and that view forced her to adopt a different viewpoint.
"You will be walking into hostile territory with no idea how strong the enemy is. I cannot authorize this mission." Dr. Weir didn't look at Lt. Ford; instead she stared out the window, overlooking the ocean.
"Begging your pardon, but you have authorized rescue missions under similar circumstances before. John and Teyla may be running out of time while we are arguing here. We owe it to them to try everything we can to get them back to Atlantis. They would do the same." Ford argued emotionally. This was about his friends, he was not about to let them down.
"You have permission to take a team to Arona."
TBC
A/N: That was a shorter, sort of transition, chapter, focussing on what was happening on Atlantis in the meantime. We'll be back with more from John and Teyla in the next chapter. Till tomorrow.