Rodney and Sheppard had to do some fast shuffling as the ground under their own feet turned to deadly mire. Once they regained fairly firm footing, Sheppard cupped his hands and yelled in the direction his teammates had disappeared. "Teyla? Ronon?"
A faint yell answered him after a long moment of silence. "Here."
"Are you okay?" he shouted over the pouring rain.
There was a pause and flicker of torchlight far below them. "Yes, but the hillside is too slippery, we cannot climb back up," called Teyla.
Sheppard lowered his own torch over the edge of the embankment, trying to see if there was anyway to get down to them. All he saw was a river of mud leading down the side of the mountain.
"You're not thinking of trying to climb down there?" squeaked Rodney, peeking over the edge. "There's nothing to grab onto between here and oblivion."
Sheppard pursed his lips unhappily but he knew Rodney was right.
"Can you climb down from where you are?" he shouted.
"Yes," answered Teyla. "I believe so."
"We'll rendezvous at the jumper, then. Be careful!"
Ronon shouted up agreement and both halves of the team continued their trek down the mountainside.
-o-
"What do you think?" asked Rodney, as he and Sheppard sat hidden in the cover of the forest, looking out at the jumper. The storm had finally stopped and the morning had dawned bright and clear.
Sheppard shook his head. "It feels wrong."
"So what do we do?" Rodney pulled his still damp shirt away from his skin with a disgusted grimace.
There was a movement in the trees behind them and they spun around, breathing a sigh of relief as Ronon and a limping Teyla appeared, covered in drying mud. Crouching down beside Sheppard, the runner looked out through the brush at the jumper. The two men exchanged suspicious glances but Ronon said, "Are we just going to sit out here and wait for them to find us?"
Sheppard grimaced. "Teyla, you and Rodney stay here until we see what's what," he said as he moved cautiously out of the underbrush with Ronon on his heels. The colonel hated feeling so exposed as they crossed the meadow where the jumper was parked but there was no help for it. The runner must have felt the same way because both men began to pick up the pace as they neared the ship, hoping to beat any ambush.
Ronon had pulled a little ahead so it was he who went down in a bright flash of blue as the shield activated. He writhed on the ground cursing as he recovered from the shock the shield had given him.
Sheppard managed to slide to a halt before making contact. He looked down sympathetically at the runner. "Hurts like a son-of-a-bitch, don't it?"
Ronon just glared at him and managed to make it to his knees before taking Sheppard's offered hand and regaining his feet. Picking up a stone, the colonel threw it at the jumper, watching as it bounced off the shield. He turned to wave at Rodney. The scientist glanced to his left and right as if trying to decide to whom Sheppard was signaling.
Sheppard rolled his eyes and amended his wave to a come-hither motion. After a moment, the scientist stumbled out of the brush as if propelled. Turning back, a slender dark hand waved him toward the jumper and his shoulders slumped in defeat as he began to jog toward Sheppard and Ronon, hunched low.
Breathing hard, he crouched slightly beside them as if trying to make himself a smaller target. "What do we do now?"
"Get rid of the shield," said Sheppard, matter-of-factly.
Rodney's face twisted sarcastically. "Oh, and what should I use to do that? Stone knives and bearskins?"
Sheppard squinted in disbelief at the scientist. "Tell me you did not just quote Star Trek!"
Rodney looked sheepish but his tone was just as sharp as usual. "I'm not a magician, colonel. I can't just snap my fingers and make it go away," he said, putting middle finger to thumb and flicking them in emphasis.
"Where did the shield come from?" asked Ronon as Sheppard acknowledge defeat.
"The Goa'uld are very good at poaching technology, especially Ancient technology. Obviously he's taught Melosh a thing or two.
"We sent Elizabeth a message right before we left, so that would mean…" began Sheppard.
"They beat us back here," finished Ronon. As if on cue, a blackened crater suddenly appeared at their feet. Ronon instinctively rolled clear and regained his feet in an instant, running for the safety of the tree line.
Rodney stood and stared at the smoking hole in shocked surprise until Sheppard gave him an emphatic shove him in the direction of the forest.
Ronon had far outstripped them and was already crossing into the relative safety of the forest as another blast tore the ground apart at Rodney's feet, causing him to stumble and almost go down. Sheppard grabbed the scientist roughly by the arm, keeping him on his feet and steering him away from the line of fire. In the process, they had to angle away from where Ronon and Teyla were. For the second time, the team was separated as Sheppard urged Rodney onward though the tall, thick meadow grass towards some large rocks in the distance, hoping they would provide some protection from the energy blasts.
-o-
"We're so fucked!" exclaimed Rodney from where he had his body squeezed tightly in a small nitch formed by two large boulders.
Sheppard chanced a look towards the scientist from his own position of cover. "Really? You think so, Rodney?" he shouted sarcastically over the pulse of energy weapons bursting around them and instinctively jerked his head back further behind the bolder as a blast missed his nose by just a few centimeters. Despite his comments, he shook his head worriedly. They really were in trouble if Rodney was using four-letter words. Not that the scientist was a prude, by any means, but McKay diligently followed the 'why used a single four-letter word when a string of ten letter words could be used instead' rule of thought.
Another whiz of electricity bolted past them. "They're getting closer," yelled Rodney. "We're outgunned and out numbered, what are we going to do?"
Sheppard could hear the scientist's voice revving toward full panic mode. "We just need to stall for time. Weir will send a search party out when she doesn't hear from us as schedule. If we're really lucky, maybe her spidey senses will kick in and she'll send someone even earlier." He looked over his shoulder at the safety of the forest across the boulder-strewn meadow, debating their options. "Head for the far side of the meadow, keep low, and don't forget to zigzag!"
-o-
Teyla snagged her toe and went down, hard. She loosed the worst Athosian curse that she could think of and kicked angrily at the offending root.
Ronon crouched beside her, grinning.
She turned her anger on him. "What is so amusing?" she snapped as she sat up and reached over to free her foot from its entanglement.
"I've never heard you curse before," he smirked, unperturbed by her ire.
Rubbing her sore ankle, she glanced up at him, slightly embarrassed by her outburst. "How do you know it was a curse?"
Ronon shrugged. "I would have cursed, had it been me." He reached out and pulled away some of the leaves that were now sticking to the mud on her cheek.
She brought her hand to her face automatically, feeling the crunching leaves beneath her own fingers and realizing how she must look. She gave the runner a wry smile. "I am sorry I snapped at you."
"Don't worry about it," he replied. Eyeing her state of disrepair he asked, "Can you walk or should I carry you?"
She rolled her eyes and held out her hands, inviting him to help her stand. After taking a few experimental steps, she found she could walk unaided, though her ankle was still sore. "I am ready to continue," she confirmed, motioning him to take the lead.
As he pushed his way through the underbrush, he said, "This running around is a waste of time, we should be setting traps and preparing a defense."
Teyla ducked a tree limb. "We need only avoid them a little while longer. Dr. Weir will send someone."
"What if she doesn't?"
"She will."
"But what if she doesn't?"
"She will," Teyla told him with absolute certainty.
"How can you be so sure?"
She tipped her head at him. "I have faith in Dr. Weir."
A snapping stick caused Ronon to spin and he found himself on the wrong end of a weapon.
-o-
"Down!"
Sheppard's body bore him to the ground behind a boulder as the blast of the staff weapon disintegrated a small, nearby sapling. "Oomph!" Rodney struggled to get his breath back but it was difficult with Sheppard still on top of him. "Thanks for saving my life and all, but you can get up now," he gasped painfully at the rocks and sticks poking him in the stomach as the Colonel's weight pressed down on him.
"Yeah, gimme a minute," was the breathless reply.
Rodney instantly sensed something was wrong and wiggled out from underneath the colonel, careful to keep a low profile. The back of Sheppard's shirt was blackened and crisped where the energy beam had cut through it diagonally from shoulder to waist. "Shit! Shit shit shit," said the scientist.
"Don't panic, Rodney," said the Colonel, struggling to control his breathing. "It just creased me."
"Creased you? Creased you? Your goddamn tee shirt is still smoking!" exclaimed McKay, his voice growing frantic as the smell of burned flesh wafted in his direction. He wanted to get a better look at the injury but was afraid of causing more damage. They didn't even have any supplies to treat it.
"I just need a minute…" began Sheppard, his words slurring.
"Colonel? Sheppard!" called McKay, but it was no use. The man was out cold.
As he contemplated their situation, he tried to think of what Sheppard would do in his place. Looking around, he spotted an area where the grass grew thicker and dragged the colonel into the cover it provided. Then, poking his head up from the boulder, he yelled "this way" to no one before taking off in a zigzag pattern towards the woods, narrowly avoiding another white hot energy blast as he lead their pursuers away from his injured teammate.
-o-
Sheppard regained consciousness and spit out a mouth full of weeds, then raised his head slightly to discover all was quiet around him. He set his palms underneath his chest and pushed, gritting his teeth against the agony of his back as he managed to make it to his hands and knees. "Rodney?" he gasped. When there was no answer, he managed to lurch to his feet, grabbing at a boulder for support. "Rodney?" Stumbling, he searched the area around where they had been pinned down, with the thought that maybe the scientist had been knocked out as well. The tall thick, tall grass was making it difficult though.
"Colonel!"
Sheppard automatically ducked for cover, then relaxed when he saw Lorne and his team approaching from the edge of the forest. He rose, shakily, to meet them.
Lorne winced when he saw the burns through the slash in Sheppard's shirt. "Sergeant, escort the colonel back to the jumper."
"McKay and I got separated," began Sheppard. "Teyla and Ronon…"
"Don't worry, Sir. We've already found those two and in a lot better shape than you're in. As for Dr. McKay, we'll track him down quickly enough with this," said Lorne, holding up his lifesigns detector. "He can't have gotten too far." Nodding to the rest of his men, the soldiers fanned out, P-90's at the ready. When Sheppard made a move to join them, Lorne gripped his arm. "Sir, you need medical attention, let the sergeant take you to Dr. Beckett."
"I'm not leaving this planet without my team," said Sheppard but he knew if it weren't for Lorne's supporting hand on his bicep, he'd probably fall flat on his face.
Lorne grinned. "You don't have to. He came with us."
Sheppard blinked in surprise. "How did you manage to talk him into that?"
"If I told you…"
"I'd have to kill you," finished both men simultaneously, but Sheppard's grim smile was backed by worry.
"We'll find him for you, Sir." Lorne nodded for the sergeant to take the injured man's free arm and lead him back to the jumper.
-o-
A blast stopped Rodney in his tracks as Melosh/Denwen moved from behind an outcropping, brandishing a staff weapon.
"Hey, Melosh," the scientist greeted lamely. "About the whole 'killing your gods' thing…"
"Silence!" screamed the Goa'uld, his eyes glowing. He raised the weapon and pointed it at Rodney's chest. The scientist squeezed his eyes shut tightly, preparing himself for the inevitable only to crack them open them a moment later when nothing happened.
The Goa'uld was shaking the staff and cursing at it.
"Yeah, they have to be charged regularly -- probably by that power orb I destroyed," said the scientist helpfully, smirking. The smile was wiped off his face though as he was knocked to the ground, pain searing through his leg even as the gunshot echoed through the trees.
Melosh/Denwen stood smiling, gripping one of the team's missing 9mm in his hand.