Strange Bedfellows
Chapter 5: Choices
"Major Sheppard! Wraith!" Teyla yelled.
His head snapped instantly skyward, forgetting his verbal sparring with Elizabeth. He spotted two Wraith Darts heading toward the town. It seemed as if they would be culling after all. The two sleek ships were about three clicks away, but they could be heard as they closed the distance quickly. What the hell…? John though. The Darts weren't slowing. They were going to overshoot the town and head straight for…
"Aw, crap…" he said aloud. "Everybody down!"
The team began to scatter to the sides of the roads when the two Darts opened fire. Blue energy beams poured out of the spacecraft toward them and erupted into balls of flame as they hit the ground. Two energy bursts erupted in front of them, one exploding on the road and the other taking down a tree and setting it ablaze. The Wraith had cut them off from the Puddle Jumper. They then began to circle around, eager for another pass.
John skidded to a stop right in front of the burning tree. The loose gravel of the road nearly cost him a collision with the large obstacle, but he was able to use his hand to recover from a would-be fatal fall. He backpedaled, grabbing Elizabeth by the arm and taking her with him.
"Fall back!" he yelled to the rest of his team, hoping they would be able to hear them over the whining of the Darts and the explosions. His plan was to retreat to a grove of trees about 100 meters away. Between their position and the tree line, there was no protection save for several large, free standing bushes. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, but it was better than nothing.
"Make for those bushes!" he yelled to Elizabeth. She was right next to him, clinging to his jacket, but he doubted she could her him over the cacophony of noises. So he guided her in the direction of a large shrubbery. He could see Teyla, Ford, and Rodney about twenty meters ahead of them moving in the right direction. Ford was using his P-90 and firing madly at the lead Dart.
As soon as the second Dart was in range, Sheppard unholstered his 9mm and fired at it. A lot of good it'll do, he thought. It's like a BB gun shooting at a freight train. Nevertheless, he emptied his clip and popped in a fresh one.
"Use your gun!" he shouted as Elizabeth.
"What?" she shouted back. She was a decent lip reader, but the pandemonium around them disrupted her train of thought.
"Fire your weapon! Your P-90!" The Major fired off two more rounds. He hoped she had figured out what he was saying, because he couldn't waste anymore time explaining. He had to work on getting their asses out of there in one piece. Fast.
Elizabeth seemed to get the message, but was unsure of herself. I've never fired an assault rifle before! She looked down at the rifle and back up as the first Dart swung around for its third pass. Now or never…. She hoisted the rifle to her shoulder, just as she has seen John do, and was about press the trigger when the second Dart, who had doubled back and was now coming at them from the opposite direction, opened fire. They were cut off from the bushes and the tree line. John and Elizabeth were now trapped between two enemy Darts, and they were closing in on them rapidly.
John tackled Elizabeth to the ground and dove on top of her, shielding her from the flying debris. A shot from the second Dart had destroyed the very spot they had been standing in seconds ago. When the two spacecraft had passed them by, he hauled Elizabeth up and began running back with her toward the bushes which the other team members of had now reached. He kept one wary eye on the one Dart he could see and wondered where the other had gone. Suddenly, the Dart he was watching executed a near ninety-degree turn in mid-air and once again headed straight for them. Damn, those things are agile!
Ford could do nothing but fire at the Dart with his P-90, spent shells hitting the ground faster than he could count. Teyla was doing the same. Even Rodney was using his sidearm to fire at the craft. For all their effort, however, the Wraith ship continued to speed toward his CO and Atlantis's leader.
John yanked back on Elizabeth and began heading in the direction from which the came, re-holstering his pistol as he ran. Unfortunately, there was no cover that would provide refuge from the Wraith fire. On top of that, there was a giant flaming tree blocking their retreat -- a dead end. John didn't care. All he knew was that it was away from the oncoming Dart, and that was good enough for him.
Suddenly, the second Dart, the one that had seemingly disappeared, reappeared. It dove down from behind the low cloud cover and was headed at them. Once again, they found themselves between the two approaching ships.
Elizabeth spotted a nearby ditch. Not much cover at all, but it would have to do. "John! Over th--"
The second Dart opened fire. One well-placed shot collided with the ground not a half a meter in front of the retreating pair. The explosion flung the two through the air in different directions. John landed ten meters away, hitting a boulder and losing consciousness. Elizabeth was thrown a similar distance toward the flaming tree, losing her P-90 in the process. She hit the ground hard and the wind was knocked out of her. She, too, lost consciousness as earth and debris from the blast rained down upon her.
Rodney had seen the entire thing. While Ford and Teyla had been firing at the Darts, he had paused to reload his 9mm. He had seen the energy burst that had flung his friends through the air. Now there was no sight of either of them. McKay quickly unhooked his radio from his shoulder. "Major Sheppard, do you copy?"
No answer.
He tried again. "Major, do you read?" Rodney was getting nervous. He had never done well in pressure situations, but at least he had always done something. Sitting here, doing nothing but waiting was much worse. He tried Dr. Weir. "Elizabeth, are you there?"
Again, no answer.
John once again felt the pounding in his head from earlier that morning, only this time it was excruciating. It felt like it was going to explode. Where the hell am I, anyway? he wondered. All he could see was black. Try opening your eyes, you jackass. God, I'm such an idiot. He did so, only to be blinded by the sunlight. As his surroundings slowly began to come into focus, he found himself lying behind a boulder. He touched the back of his head and brought his hand in front of his face. Blood. Okay, not good. The events of the past few minutes came rushing back at him, hitting him like a ton of bricks. The road, the Darts, the burning tree, Elizabeth…. Elizabeth. Shit, where is she?
He sat up slowly, his head spinning. He heard a voice in his head… no, not in his head, on his radio. It was calling his name.
"John? Can you hear me? Jesus Christ, John, answer me!" It sounded exasperated, panicky. Rodney, Sheppard thought.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm right here, behind the boulder," he replied. "Any sign of Elizabeth?" he asked, peering over the boulder himself. There was a large crater where he last remembered standing, a few uprooted plants, some spot fires, but no Elizabeth. And the Darts had joined up with one another again; they were two clicks due east traveling at a moderate speed and circling around again.
"No, sir." It was Ford. "Sir, if you can move, you might want to try to make you way over to us. The Wraith are a good enough distance way -- you should be able to make it."
John looked back to where Teyla, Rodney, and Aiden were hiding. It was a clean path to them. The bush was large enough to fit one more person, two even, underneath it, but it was thin. The leaves were falling off; one could practically see right through it. How could the Wraith not see them? he wondered.
A moan to his left caught his attention. He spied a mound of rubble on the opposite end of the crater shifting slightly. Please let that be Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, do you copy?" he asked over his radio. No reply. Glancing skyward, he saw the two ships now nearly one kilometer away from his current position. This is going to be close…. He pursed his lips in determination and radioed in his instructions.
"Ford, Teyla, and Rodney, on my mark, fire everything you've got at the Darts. I'm heading to the opposite side of the crater; I'll need over fire," John ordered.
"Sir, you should head toward us. Once there, I--"
He had expected a protest from his 2IC, but he wasn't leaving Elizabeth out there. Plus, he didn't want Ford coming out to the crater, as the Lieutenant was about to suggest. He didn't like risking any more of his team in the open road than he had to. John sighed. There wasn't any time to explain all this, so he settled on the short version. "Negative, Ford. I'm closer. Now on my mark: three, two, one, mark!"
In perfect unison, the three other team members jumped out from the bush and fired for all they were worth at the approaching Darts. Simultaneously, John used every ounce of strength he had to leap from behind the boulder and run toward the crater. He dashed frantically down the road, once again keeping one eye on the Darts. He was surprised that they weren't even returning fire. In fact, they didn't seem interested at all in the three combatants firing at them.
The two Wraith ships were now within 400 meters of John. Suddenly, he saw two white beams of light pour down from their bellies, one from each ship. Shit! he thought. Shit shit shit. They were planning on capturing him!
This renewed Ford, Teyla, and McKay's determination. Each fired harder at the ships, hoping they could cause at least some damage. Their wish was granted: one of the lead Dart's wings caught fire and it plummeted to the ground, erupting into a ball of flame several away from Sheppard. The man didn't seem to notice. He focused only on the crater ahead and the white beam of light from the second Dart that was hot on his heels. Sheppard increased his stride, hit the edge of the depression, and leapt into the air just as the beam crossed the spot where he was moments ago. John covered the distance, almost ten feet, in mere seconds. He landed awkwardly on his feet and rolled to the ground.
He wanted nothing more than to stop and catch his breath, but as he rose to his knees, he spotted the remaining Wraith Dart begin its pattern once more. 45 seconds, tops, he mentally calculated.
"You still with us, sir?" asked Ford over the radio. The three were now back underneath the bush and could no longer see Sheppard.
"10-4. I'm going to need some more cover fire in about thirty seconds," he told Ford as he got to his feet and ran to the mound if rubble.
"Copy that, sir."
As John arrived at the base of the heap of debris, he heard coughing. Thank God, she's still breathing. "Liz? Liz, where are you?"
In response, Elizabeth feebly thrust her hand out from under the dirt. John immediately rushed over and began digging her out. He looked at the Dart. Thirty seconds…
Elizabeth was under feet of debris. John was able to clear a space over her face so she could breathe easier. "Hey, you alright?" he asked. A cough and a nod was her answer. "Listen, I'm going to need you to help me get you out. We've got…." He looked at the sky. "…twenty seconds before one of those Darts is on top of us. Think you're up to it?" He really didn't care what her answer was. He was determined to get her out with or without her help, though her preferred with. It would make his life a lot easier.
She nodded anyway and the two began digging furiously. She could do nothing, however, until he had gotten her arms free. While she was waiting, she saw the Dart over John's shoulder and saw it lower its white beam.
"John?" she asked nervously, her jaw dropping.
"I know, I know!" Goddamn it! Why can't this go any faster? He was getting frustrated; until Elizabeth could help dig it would be difficult and arduous. They didn't have that kinds of time.
Ten seconds.
Her arms were free. Now the two pushed the remaining dirt away from her torso. All that remained was her legs…
Five seconds.
"Come on, Liz, push!" he urged. The Dart was practically on top of them. The beam was heading straight for the mound.
"I'm trying!" With one final kick from Elizabeth and a pull from John, she was loose. He pulled her so hard they fell into the crater as the beam sailed overhead.
They fell about six feet and both the ground hard, Elizabeth landing on top of John. Neither moved for several seconds as the each caught their breath.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently, lifting her chin slightly to study her.
She nodded. "Thanks." She was too stunned to say more.
He flashed one of his trademark boyish grins. "No problem," he said casually, as if it were just a regular day for him.
"Major Sheppard, if you can hear me, the remaining bandit is double backing again and is headed your way! And it's moving pretty fast. Sir, you need to move it now, sir!" warned Ford.
The two got to their feet and hoisted themselves over the edge of the crater. After John had helped Elizabeth up, they began to run toward Ford and the others. We're going to make it… Suddenly, a yelp from Elizabeth stopped them both.
"What? What is it?"
"My knee… I think I twisted it….in the explosion…" she replied. Her face was full of pain and her eyes were moist.
John looked at her silently and then looked up at the Dart. It was all happening in slow motion, like some horrible, low-budget action movie. It was ten seconds away and closing fast. There was no where else to go except to Ford. He could make it if he left now, but with her slowing them down, they would never reach the bush in time.
"Sir, you need to move now!" screamed Ford over the radio. He and the rest of the team were once again laying down cover fire.
John ignored the Lieutenant and locked eyes with Elizabeth. He couldn't believe this was happening. Her eyes, full of tears of pain, silently pleaded with him to leave her. "Please," she whispered.
He looked back at Teyla, Ford, and McKay, each valiantly firing at the lone Dart. His friends, fighting against the odds until the end. He smiled sadly as he realized it would probably be the last time he saw them.
He turned back to Elizabeth, his decision made. "I'm sorry," he whispered -- sorry for so many things; sorry for getting her into this mess, sorry for not being able to get her out if it, sorry he couldn't follow her order to leave her. Smiling at her, as if to tell her everything would be alright, he breathed deep, shut his eyes, and waited for the beam to swallow them.
A tear ran down her cheek as she realized John's choice. She wanted so badly for him to go, but was comforted that he was going to stay with her. She, too, closed her eyes and waited.
"No, sir, move!" shouted Ford, realizing what he was doing. "Major, get the hell--" He didn't finish his sentence, because at that moment, the Dart's white beam engulfed his best friend. His CO and Atlantis's leader were gone.
TBC
Hot damn, that was a long chapter! It took me forever to write! I like it though, if I do say so myself.:) I apologize for the melodrama. I was in a sappy mood. Btw, has anyone seen "Letters from Pegasus" yet? Great ep! Isn't Rodney the greatest? LOL. Please review!
