TITLE: What is Needed Most part 8

AUTHOR: sablecain

DISCLAIMER: See part 1

AN: again, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. It encourages me to keep working on this story!

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Part 8

Sheppard pulled up and signaled for the others to stop. The late morning sunlight provided just enough light to see by through the canopy of trees. Below them, the hill dropped sharply. Signaling again, John waved at Ford to accompany him and dropped to the ground. "Stay here," he commanded in a short whisper when Beckett moved to follow.

Carefully, stealthily, the two soldiers crawled across the forest floor and peered down the steep embankment. Two guards stood on either side of what John could only guess was a hidden entry. They'd found the cave.

He motioned once and together he and the lieutenant inched backwards until they could safely stand again. Then they hurried back to meet the others, now in a group, hovering over the remaining life signs detector that Carson held. John studied the blinking screen of his life signs detector carefully. "The two main guards are here." He pointed on the screen, whispering, to the group. "But there's a large concentration here." Heindicated a cluster of more than a dozen dots. "Ford and I will take out these two quietly, but the rest, we'll need to use something big."

"I can handle that," Wilmington spoke in a low, easy voice, patting the munitions on his vest lightly.

Sheppard nodded. "You, Bohnsack and King will go in first, taking out as many as possible…any way possible." He turned pointing, "Min, Steiner and Allen. You're the second wave. Clear a path for Ford, Teyla and Beckett. When you have the group contained, you three will stay behind as guards. The rest of us will keep going."

"What about the rest of the Genii?" Carson asked.

John met the Doctor's worried gaze. "They'll know we're coming from the commotion but this," he held up the scanner, "this will give us the edge we need. Let's go."

"Major," Teyla's voice stopped him.

"What?" he asked sharply, frustrated by the delay.

"The screen." The Athosian pointed to the detector in his hand, her face filled with concern. "It has stopped sending the signal from Dr. McKay."

Sheppard's eyes dropped to the screen. The life signs still shone brightly but the staggered SOS blinking had stopped. "Crap." He looked up. "We need to go now." He waved to Ford, "Wait for our signal," he ordered over his shoulder.

Slithering back to the edge of the hillside, John's thoughts raced. Had the SOS simply stopped working? Had Rodney stopped it because Kolya was about to find it…or had Kolya found it himself? Fear gripped him, coupled with renewed anger, fueling his determination. Rodney had to be okay, the Commander needed him. We're coming, McKay, he promised. Just put up with Kolya a few more minutes and we'll have you out of there.

With one last glance,he checked that Lt. Ford was in place. Ford nodded once, waiting for his lead. Sheppard held up his fist, counting one finger at time. One. Two. Three. They were in motion.

Silently, the duo moved with a frightening efficiency, flipping over the drop off and easily taking out both of the unsuspecting and inexperienced Genii guards. Sheppard keyed his radio once, sending the signal and only moments later, Corporal Wilmington was leading the way into the cave.

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Kolya stared down at McKay with disgust, his rage continuing. Not only had the Doctor been unable to produce anything worthwhile out of the ancient machine, he'd actually had the audacity to try sending a signal for help.

Shaking his head, Kolya held back his desire to lash out again. McKay was laying there, his pathetic face covered with dirt and blood. He was half curled, protectively around his injured side, blood seeping into the dirt and pooling beside him.The man was going to lie there and die, that was enough. He turned, catching the pleading look his medic was giving him.

Seeing the commander meet his gaze, the medic pleaded. "Commander, please. Let me at least…"

"No," Kolya cut him off. "He made his choice when he defied me."

The medical officer backed away without another word, but Kolya could see the frustrated helplessness in his eyes…and ignored it. Turning away, Kolya's gaze settled on the device. The crystals were still lit…mocking him. Cautiously, he pressed down on a blue crystal the way he'd seen Rodney imitate. A clear, pleasant tone filled the room. He pressed the green crystal,and a lower tone joined the first, blending beautifully. Abruptly, he pulled his hand back. "A musical instrument." He glanced back at McKay, seeing no signs of life from the doctor other than pitiful gasps for air. The arrogant know-it-all HAD managed to fix the damn thing. He'd been stalling with all the convincing gibberish about needing to take things slow and careful. The whole time, even after all the threats and intimidation, the bastard had been lying.

Suddenly the ground trembled. "What was that?" Kolya demanded, already knowing the answer. It'd been an explosive. Gunfireechoed through the cave's tunnels. "Go!" He waved his men forward, casting another look at McKay's still form before following them. "Sounds like he came for you after all," he muttered, listening to McKay's struggling breaths. Unfortunately for you…he's too late."

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Sheppard made his way through the open cavern, aware of everything happening around him, despite the chaos of smoke and noise. He'd seen Bohnsack go down early, but the rest of his men, he confirmed visually, were still in the mix. To his left he saw Ford and Teyla had gotten Beckett through the thickest fighting. Ford leading, Teyla following, both covered the doctor, but Beckett held his own against the onslaught as well.

John fired at motion to his right, taking out another young Genii soldier and advancing forward. Behind him, he could hear the fight calming, the Atlantians quickly gaining control. Checking the life signs detector he could see more Genii were moving toward them from deeper in the cave.

"Ford," he signaled for the lieutenant to advance with him, indicating how many there were coming their way. "The cave narrows, there." He pointed to where the cave turned into a narrower tunnel. "Not enough room for them to gain any advantage with their numbers. We'll take them out as they come at us."

"Yes, Sir." Ford was ready. Together, the two of them started forward, Teyla, Beckett and King at their flank. The tunnel proved to be the Genii's undoing, for even as they outnumbered Sheppard's group by more than half, only a few could come through the passage at a time. With the life signs detector, Sheppard was able to predict exactly where and when the Genii were coming and combined with the advanced firepower from Atlantis, the Genii didn't have a chance.

The passage curved sharply, the dust and smoke thick, as chunks of earth were knocked free by stray shots. Sheppard held up the scanner, showing Aiden the two life signs just around the bend. Ford indicated he'd take the one on the left and then motioned for Teyla and Beckett to hold up with King.

With a sharp nod, John and Ford rounded the corner, simultaneously firing. One Genii went down instantly, the other staggered and spun, running the opposite direction but not before Sheppard had gotten a clear look at his haggard face.

"Kolya!"