Part fifteen

John arrived in the 'jumper bay to find most of those assigned to the mission already waiting for him. He'd had to do some pretty persuasive talking to get Dr Beckett to give him the go-ahead, but he had eventually given in. It possibly had something to do with the details of the slavers that he had heard, but whatever the reason, John was thankful to be able to get out and do something about it.

Checking to make sure everyone was there, he saw Teyla arriving with Breda, who had insisted on going with them rather than just providing information on what they would find when they got there. Dr Weir and Dr Beckett would be taking care of Mya while he was gone, and he recalled her face as he explained that he would be away for a short time.

'You are coming back?' Mya looked at him with fear in her eyes, worried that she was going to lose him.

'Yes I will,' John assured her. 'And that's a promise.'

'Make sure they can't hurt anyone else ever again,' Mya told him, a fierce look on her face.

'That's what we're planning,' John told her. 'And you'll be alright with Elizabeth and Dr Beckett won't you?' Mya nodded, happily accompanying him to be delivered to her temporary carers leaving him to get ready for the mission.

Ronon and Dr Zelenka were present, with Rodney giving Zelenka a steady stream of final instructions, the Czech looking exasperated at Rodney's unnecessary fussing. Major Lorne and the others who had been in the party that had rescued him were also present, all of them volunteering for the mission, having good reason to make sure the slavers were dealt with once and for all.

'We all know what the plan is,' John addressed them before they departed. 'So let's do this.' With that, they divided themselves between the two 'jumpers, got clearance for their departure and within moments had arrived at their destination, going to stealth mode as soon as they had exited the 'gate.

The first 'jumper circled the area around the 'gate several times before setting down in a spot from which they could defend themselves should the need arise. As soon as they had come to a stop, Ronon led the marines on a search of the area before allowing Dr Zelenka to emerge.

As soon as he was satisfied the 'gate had been secured, Ronon followed the nervous scientist towards the DHD, watching over him as he set about his work, knowing from his time with McKay that once those of a scholarly mind began to work they had little or no awareness of their surroundings. These men were by no means warriors, yet they excelled at their own particular kind of warfare that so often succeeded when more conventional means failed and Ronon had learnt to respect this, therefore it was his job to protect Zelenka as he worked and he would die if it meant that the doctorcould complete what he had started.

Three of the marines remained with him to secure the 'gate, the rest that had travelled in their jumper started to make their way towards the village to assist in the rescue of any unfortunate victims and provide cover for Colonel Sheppard's team as needed.

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The second 'jumper containing Sheppard, Lorne, Teyla, Breda and six marines, continued towards the village, landing just beyond a group of trees that would provide some cover for the cloaked ship. Waiting for several minutes to make sure their arrival had gone undetected, John at last opened the 'jumper door and its occupants made their way silently out and began to move towards the village leaving two marines to watch their backs and guard the 'jumper.

John, with Teyla, Breda and one of the marines, crept closer to a large building at the side of the village that Breda said had housed her and others when they had been brought here. As they reached the building, a voice could be heard through the open window.

'I thought I heard something outside,' a woman's voice said, getting louder as it approached the window. 'Probably an animal,' the voice continued, then footsteps could be heard moving away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, John motioned to the others to remain silent for several minutes before he moved forward on his own to try and see how many people were inside the building. Rapidly assessing the situation, John returned and led the way back to the 'jumper where Lorne and his team arrived shortly after.

'There are fifteen females in there that look like prisoners and there were four others who appeared to be in charge,' John reported, looking at Breda for any additional information she could provide.

'I think they must be preparing for another market,' Breda told him quietly. 'How many males were in the other holding place?'

'Fourteen,' Lorne replied having checked out the building she referred to on the other side of the village. 'And I could see six guards.'

'Then the market will take place in two days,' Breda said with some certainty. 'When I was captured, I had to wait several days before the sale as they like to have as many slaves as possible and their holding places will only house fifteen in each. Tomorrow the traders will begin to arrive, at night there will be a feast in their honour and the sale will start at dawn the following morning.'

'Do you think all the slavers have returned now?' John asked, wanting to make sure there was no possibility of anyone slipping through the net.

'Yes,' Breda told him. 'They are a lazy people and only work when they have to. They will rely on the trades they make at the sale to feed and clothe themselves and only seek out more slaves when supplies run low.'

Liking these people even less with each passing moment, John was glad that soon they would no longer be a threat to innocent people.

'Ok, we wait until everyone settles down for the night before we go into action. Zelenka,' John spoke into his radio. 'I need you to be ready in three hours.' He listened for a few moments, rolling his eyes as the Czech appeared to have embarked on a long-winded explanation, cut short by Sheppard's next comment. 'But it will work?…Good, that's all I need to know. Sheppard out.'

After finalising their plans, Teyla returned to the 'jumper with Breda while John, Lorne and the marines set about placing explosives at intervals around the village to provide them the necessary distraction to be able to carry out their plan before they too headed for the 'jumper, joined by the marines from the first 'jumper, and waited.

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Several tense hours later, John stood up from where he had been surveying any activity in the village and indicated it was time to get going.

Teyla, Breda and John, along with two marines, went to the house holding the female prisoners while Lorne took three men to go to the one housing the males. The remaining men positioned themselves around the village on the routes back to the two 'jumpers. The male prisoners would be taken to the first 'jumper as this was closest to their position, the females to the second 'jumper.

John scratched the only door leading in to the building they had targeted, alerting one of the occupants who cautiously opened the door a fraction, peering around to see who was there. When she saw nobody outside, the woman made to close the door only to find a foot wedged between the door and the frame, a hand covering her mouth and her arms and legs rapidly tied together. After being gagged, she was carried outside and deposited at the side of the building facing away from the rest of the village where she would not be found immediately.

Satisfied that all was going well, John led his team further into the house and they rapidly dealt with the remaining guards making as little noise as possible by using wraith stunners.

While this was going on, Teyla and Breda made their way into the large room housing the prisoners, reassuring those that had been woken by the disturbances going on outside their room and waking those who were still asleep.

'Hush, it is alright,' Teyla told them. 'I am Teyla and this is Breda. We are here to take you away from here. We have a ship waiting to take us back to the Stargate but we must move quickly and quietly.' Glancing up as she saw John enter the room and nod that the guards were taken care of, Teyla spoke again. 'Come it is time to leave.'

Ushering the girls outside, Teyla and Breda led the way back towards the 'jumper, reaching it without being detected and getting all safely inside.

Lorne's team weren't so fortunate. They had further to go and were spotted while they were still some distance from their 'jumper.

'Light it up and lay down covering fire,' John called into his radio to the marines standing by for the order as soon as he heard the sound of voices shouting near Lorne's position.

Immediately an explosion rocked the ground right in the centre of the village, followed by several smaller explosions in a number of different locations. Villagers came pouring out of their homes, heading for the source of the nearest explosion and in the confusion, Lorne's group were able to cover the rest of the distance safely, making it to the 'jumper before any of the villagers realised what was happening. 'We're all here,' Lorne reported, his voice slightly out of breath over the radio. 'Zelenka has everything set up and he and Ronon are on board now.'

Recalling those covering Lorne's escape route, John was about to give the order to leave when he realised Teyla and Breda were missing.

'Where are they?' He demanded, looking around at the faces of the confused and frightened young people crowding the rear compartment of the 'jumper. 'We're not leaving without all our people,' he continued, his voice more patient but still emphasising the urgency of the situation. 'Did anyone see where they went?'

One of the girls stepped forward hesitantly. 'The younger one went to some people she saw at the edge of the woods, the other woman went after her. That way.' Pointing in the direction they had gone, John took a couple of men with him to retrieve the two absentees, cursing the foolish impulses of young people to himself.

Stealthily the three men approached a clearing among the trees where they could see Breda and Teyla talking rapidly to a small group of people. Before John could get close enough to act, the group were surrounded by men brandishing knives and axes, trying to herd them back towards the village.

After radioing for back up, John stepped forward, the marines moving into position on the opposite side of the clearing.

'I don't want anyone to get hurt,' John told them, looking around at the fierce and angry faces of the armed men. 'Just put down your weapons and back off and we'll all go about our business.'

In response, one of the men began to move steadily forward, heading towards the young man who was closest to him, his knife at the ready. Grimacing at this action, John fired his 9mil at the ground just in front of the man.

'That was just a warning shot,' John called out, his voice stony, his eyes glinting with anger. 'Next time it'll be for real. Now back off.'

Looking at John uncertainly, then looking at his fellow villagers, the man hesitated before he took a step backwards, his action mirrored by most of the others who also began to retreat, their initial bravado rapidly evaporating at the sight of someone who was better armed and who wasn't intimidated by them, a situation unfamiliar to them as their reputation was usually sufficient to get their own way, violence very rarely being needed when they were so close to home.

Unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way as their leader and several of the villagers stood their ground, moving towards the small group in the middle who huddled closer together. As one of them reached out to grab one of the captives, the group panicked and began to run, aimlessly at first but after a few minutes John realised they were actually heading towards the 'jumper, their departure being covered by the marines he had brought with him and the newly-arrived back up. Breda and Teyla followed behind the group, shepherding them in the right direction leaving John to free one who had been caught.

At the sudden appearance of more armed men using superior tactics, the opposition hesitated, lowering their own weapons as they considered the situation, allowing John the opportunity to tackle the only person who seemed willing to stand up to him. Using the butt of his P90 to hit the man on the side of his head, stunning him to inactivity, John was able to easily free the restrained girl but they had only retreated a short distance when it appeared that word of where the invaders were based had reached the rest of the villagers and they were arriving in larger numbers now, bearing theweapons they used when carrying out raids on other planets.

'Everyone fall back to the 'jumpers,' John yelled as he grabbed the arm of the captive he had freed, guiding her along the path. A shout behind him warned him the pursuit were closing in, followed almost immediately by a searing pain in his arm causing him to stumble. Breathing through the agony of the injury, John steadied himself against a nearby tree, glancing down at the girl who was trying to get back on her feet, fear masking the effects of the injury to her back where she had been hit.

Wasting no more time, John wrapped his arm around the girl, trying to avoid the injury, and supporting most of her weight as she began to go into shock, continued on his way to the 'jumper.

'Is everyone here?' John shouted as he helped the girl to a hastily vacated seat once they reached the ship. He looked around to make sure all were accounted for and as secure as possible, ignoring the increasing pain in his arm that was beginning to make him feel nauseous. 'Let's get these 'jumpers in the air,' he continued, including the second 'jumper in the order which had arrived a short time before to provide additional support. It was a tight squeeze – the small ships weren't designed to carry such large numbers but they only had one chance at this and he wasn't going to leave anyone behind.

Taking another look around, he worked his way towards the front of the 'jumper and leaned against the open doorway leading to the forward section of the ship, afraid that if he didn't have some support he might fall over. He watched as they flew over the village in stealth mode, observing the villagers as they regrouped and began to head for the Stargate, relieved that the 'jumpers would arrive first and so avoid the need for a firefight.

As soon as they reached the 'gate, the 'jumpers set down just long enough to enable the three marines guarding their means of escape to get in, before dialling Atlantis and returning home.

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'That's everyone,' Sergeant Read told Rodney as soon as he received the message from the 'jumper bay. Rodney had been hovering anxiously behind Read for some time before they received word that the off-world teams were returning, ignoring the glances he'd been getting as he hobbled up and down the control room on his crutches, always returning to stand behind Read before he continued the pacing.

'Now,' Rodney gave the order, watching as Read activated the electronic impulse that would make it impossible for anyone to connect to that address. They had found some Ancient research on the deactivation of individual Stargates as a defence against the Wraith, without causing all the 'gates in the network to be updated in line with the change. It had been abandoned, however, when the Ancients realised the extent of the Wraith fleet and that the people on these planets would have been trapped when the Wraith arrived in their ships, but there had been sufficient information for Rodney and Zelenka to use it against this particular planet.

'Did it work?' Elizabeth asked anxiously, having appeared as soon as she heard the 'gate being activated.

'Of course it worked,' Rodney told her, rapidly checking the data he was receiving, looking exasperated at even being asked that question.

'Good,' Major Lorne announced as he came racing down from the 'jumper bay in time to overhear this, activating the remote detonator he was holding. 'Raise the shield,' he yelled as soon as the signal had been sent, only just in time as a resounding boom echoed through the 'gate room.

'What the hell was that?' Rodney glared at Lorne who was looking pleased with himself.

'Yes, what was that?' Elizabeth asked anxiously, wondering what had just happened.

'Plan B,' Lorne replied, ignoring Rodney's glares and smiling apologetically at Elizabeth. 'Works every time.'

'And what exactly was plan B?' Rodney's voice was icy.

'Colonel Sheppard wanted a back up just in case they tried to fix the 'gate,' Lorne explained. 'The 'gate was situated against a hillside so the men guarding it set some charges to bury it, we just needed to activate it by remote. It was kind of a last minute decision, sorry we didn't have chance to let you know beforehand.'

'Very well,' Elizabeth reluctantly accepted the explanation for now, intending to have further words with John at the first opportunity before returning to her office to wait for further status reports.

'I doubt they could fix it,' Zelenka added, appearing behind them. 'And even if they did, they will go nowhere. See?' He held out a handful of control crystals he had just pulled from his backpack. 'Spare parts.'

'Very clever,' Lorne nodded approvingly.

'I'm glad you think so,' Rodney snapped. 'Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Colonel blow-it-up-if-it's-in-my-way.'

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As Dr Beckett arrived at the bottom of the stairs leading to the 'jumper bay in response to a request for a medical team from the returning off-world teams, he was surprised to see Mya waiting there, assuming her to still be in bed and fast asleep.

'What's wrong? Are you ill?' He asked, concerned at her pale face and tear-filled eyes.

Instead of answering him, she just grabbed his hand and began to tug him up the stairs. Bewildered, he followed her up, keeping hold of her hand when they reached the 'jumper bay to make sure she didn't get caught up in the mass of people now emerging from the two returned ships.

Ignoring the first 'jumper, Mya continued towards the second, standing back to watch as several marines exited, helping an injured girl. Paying little attention to the few familiar faces and the many unfamiliar ones, Mya returned her gaze to the 'jumper. Beckett, checking to make sure the wounded girl was being looked after and to see if there were any other injuries he needed to know about, felt Mya pulling on his hand again, going with her as he saw a protesting Colonel Sheppard leaving the 'jumper being supported by Teyla.

'I'm fine,' John was insisting, though he looked anything but fine. His face was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat and his voice normally strong and confident was now faint and weak. 'It's just a scratch and I can make my own way to the infirmary, thank you.'

'Colonel, I really think you should…' Teyla didn't have chance to finish her sentence as she found herself supporting John's weight as he passed out and lowered him to the floor. Her eyes fell on Dr Beckett with some relief, the relief turning to concern as she realised who was with him.

As Beckett knelt beside John to check his responses and the injury to his arm, Teyla stood with Mya who was looking terrified at what she had just seen.

'What happened?' Rodney asked anxiously as he arrived in time to see John collapse. 'Why isn't he in the infirmary?'

'Rodney,' Teyla spoke warningly to him before continuing in a gentler tone to Mya. 'It is not as bad as it looks. He will be fine.'

'Aye, he will,' Beckett looked up and smiled at her to try to ease some of the uncertainty he could see in her face. 'He'll be uncomfortable for a wee while, but he'll be up and about in no time. Now I have to take him to the infirmary, but you can come and see him later.'

Clinging to Teyla's hand, Mya watched as a second medical team appeared, rapidly moving John to a gurney and whisking him off for his injuries to be treated, Rodney following closely behind, leaving the two of them alone in the now empty 'jumper bay.

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To be continued…

The Stargate, Atlantis, the characters, stories and anything else that is seen in the show belong to the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author