Silent Sacrifice – Chapter 25
John raced out of the transporter and down the hall, desperately hoping to get more information from the radio. He was afraid to use it to contact his team or other soldiers for fear Kolya was listening. He rounded the corner to see Teyla and Ronon headed his way.
"Teyla, Ronon, thank goodness. We've got big problems. Have you seen Rodney?"
"I believe Dr. McKay was going to the infirmary for some Tylenol," answered Teyla. "What has happened?" She stared down at Sheppard's gun, rising anxiety beginning to fuel her adrenalin pump.
"I just picked up part of a radio transmission from Elizabeth demanding that Kolya release her men. He must be here in the city, I'm assuming the control room, and I doubt he's alone. We need more men and weapons."
Ronon nodded. "We'll head to the armory for weapons and we should be able to pick up some people on the way."
"Good," said John. "I'll hit the infirmary and get Rodney and anyone else I see and have Beckett lock the place down. We need to get to the control room as soon as possible and see if we can contain them. We'll meet you in the armory in a few minutes."
Teyla and Ronon nodded and moved quickly down the corridor as John headed for the infirmary. He arrived a few minutes later to find Rodney and Carson sitting in Carson's office.
"Rodney, Carson, we've got problems. It looks like Kolya has somehow gotten through and taken over the control room. Rodney, you come with me and Carson, see if you can lock up the infirmary until you hear from one of us."
Rodney stood, looking unsure. "Why do you need me? Maybe I should stay and help Carson."
"Because I want to see inside the control room so I can figure out what we're dealing with before we go rushing in there. You're the man that is most likely to make that happen."
Rodney nodded and one corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "Well, that is true, I'm probably the only one who could figure out how to do that soon enough to be of any use."
John winked at Carson as the doctor rolled his eyes. "Exactly. I need you to put that genius of yours to work. So, are you coming?"
"Sorry, Carson, you'll have to handle this on your own. Looks like I'm needed to save the day, as usual."
Carson swallowed. "Gee, Rodney, I'll try to get by without you." He watched them leave the infirmary and headed out to start locking down the section. "Be careful," he whispered to them as they disappeared.
oOo
By the time they met up at the armory, they had collected ten marines to help them and Rodney had a plan for getting a glimpse of the control and gate room. There had been no radio activity since the initial burst Sheppard had picked up, so they had no more information to go on. They headed toward the compromised area, formulating a plan as they went, until Kolya's voice filled the complex.
"This is Commander Kolya of the Genii. My men have taken the area immediately surrounding the gate and are in full control. So far, no one has been seriously injured, but I do not promise that will remain the case. Colonel Sheppard, you will report to me unarmed within ten minutes, or I will begin killing people . . . and I will begin with Dr. Weir."
The entire group had come to a dead stop in the hall to listen to the message. "Shit," John muttered as he turned to the rest of the rescue party. "Okay, change of plan." He had already started removing his vest and gun.
"What are you doing? You can't seriously be thinking about going in there?" asked Rodney, his voice near panic.
John was calm as he handed his weapons to Ronon. "I have no choice, Rodney. He'll kill Elizabeth . . . and you and I both know he'll do it. I'll try and stall him, find out what he wants –"
"You mean besides you," interrupted Rodney, still looking unhappy.
"Rodney, try to get that camera going while everyone else takes up positions around the control room, get in as close as you can. Once you know the situation, try to contact the Daedalus. See if they are close enough to beam some people into strategic locations in the room while the rest of you rush from outside. You'll need to be in radio contact, so find some obscure frequency Kolya won't be likely to stumble across in case he's monitoring. Ronon, you and Teyla coordinate the strike forces. Everyone set?"
They all nodded, looking worriedly at their CO as he prepared to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. "Be careful and try to keep that sarcastic mouth of yours shut," warned Rodney.
John grinned. "Now where's the fun in that?" He turned and jogged down the hall.
oOo
Kolya looked at his watch and then smiled as he leaned in closer to Elizabeth. "He's only got two minutes. Maybe he doesn't care if I shoot you." He chuckled lightly, knowing that wasn't the case as he remembered Sheppard's reaction once before when Weir's life had hung in the balance. He rolled his shoulder, aware of the ever-present ache and stiffness, thanks to one John Sheppard.
A commotion at one of the doors caught their attention. They watched as one of the men guarding the entrance grabbed someone and jerked them in the room, slamming them up against the wall as they checked for weapons. He then pulled the man away from the wall by the back of his shirt and propelled him towards Kolya. The commander was pleased to see the scowling face of the person he hated the most.
"Looks like you made it, Colonel Sheppard, and just in time. He walked around the pilot, looking him up and down as he made his circle. Sheppard looked dramatically different than the last time he'd seen him. "You've lost weight."
Sheppard smirked. "Thanks for noticing, Kolya. I had no idea you cared."
As Kolya came around beside him, his arm struck out lightning fast, the gun he was holding striking John across the side of the face and sending him sprawling on the floor.
"John!" yelled Elizabeth as she started to move forward to help him. The two soldiers on either side of her each grabbed an arm, holding her in place.
Kolya glared at her. "You will not move unless I tell you to, is that clear?"
She didn't answer, but looked down at John as he sat up and wiped the blood from the side of his face. "I see you haven't lost your sunny disposition," he said defiantly.
"Get up," demanded Kolya, his eyes cold and his expression hard. "You are weak, now, Sheppard, quite the disappointment. What happened to you anyway?"
John slowly got to his feet. "Just the usual . . . jumper crash, trapped on a planet for two weeks with very little food. Nothing exciting. You're welcome to come back in . . . say, three or four weeks, when I've had a chance to put on a little more weight."
Kolya laughed and he walked up to stand just in front of Sheppard, their faces only inches apart. "At least you haven't lost your tendency of making ill-timed sarcastic comments. I think I would miss that. And it would rob me of an excuse to do things like this."
He punched John in the stomach, causing the pilot to double over in pain, but at least managing to stay on his feet this time. Pain radiated out from his healing ribs, taking his breath away for a few seconds. Slowly he was able to straighten up and return Kolya's stare. "Glad I can be so entertaining. What do you want, Kolya?"
"You, Sheppard. I want you."
oOo
Rodney worked frantically at the computers, moving back and forth between two keyboards sitting side by side. "Radek, I need that camera on line now."
"I am working as fast as is humanly possible," countered Radek from across the room.
"Not good enough, work faster." Rodney listened to Radek mutter in Czech. That was fine as long as it made him work faster. He'd found the scientist in his lab and drug him down to one of the communications rooms they were setting up. Sheppard had insisted on having surveillance cameras set up in the gate room and control room after the Daedalus began making regular runs. He kept telling them how valuable they would have been during the Genii invasion of Atlantis during their first year in the city. The system had finally been approved and apparently the cameras installed while they were missing on the planet. The only thing that remained was bringing them online and getting the system started, which Rodney and Radek were attempting to do now. Fortunately, Sheppard had emphasized that the cameras should not look like cameras or they'd be immediately disabled by any hostile forces.
"Try it now, Rodney," came Radek's voice, nervous and slightly higher pitched than normal.
Rodney hit a series of keys and pictures began popping up on the four screens set up. "That's it Radek, we have it."
They sat together, taking in the scenes on the screens. Lorne and his team were kneeling on one side of the gate room, their hands bound behind them. One side of Lorne's face was bruised, his eye swollen almost shut. Two marines lay on the floor, unconscious or dead. Five other marines were kneeling on the other side of the room, also guarded by Genii. Kolya paced in the center of the gate embarkation area in front of Elizabeth and John. Elizabeth was being held by two guards, one at each arm. Sheppard was standing with three men guarding him, to each side and one behind.
"I count fifteen Genii," said Rodney.
"There are probably more at door as well," added Radek.
Rodney nodded, his mouth going dry. "Yeah, probably so."
As they watched, John was saying something to Kolya, but without audio, they had no idea what.
"What is he saying?" asked Radek.
Rodney rolled his eyes. "How should I know, I don't read lips. Probably telling Kolya his mother wears army boots or something equally annoying."
As if to back up Rodney's statement, Kolya suddenly whirled angrily around and stalked over to Sheppard, striking John in the face hard enough to knock him down. He then proceeded to kick him several times.
"Oh, crap," said Rodney. "Can we contact the Daedalus from here?"
"I think so," said Radek, fumbling nervously with the controls. "I will try."
"Hurry up," pleaded Rodney. "Sheppard's not moving any more."
oOo
Normally, when he returned to consciousness with someone calling to him, he was in a nice, soft infirmary and the voice addressing him was soothing. Not so today. The floor was cold and hard beneath him and the voice made him shiver.
"Colonel, you will open your eyes now or I will resume kicking you." Rough hands slapped him sharply on the cheek. Kolya. He forced his eyes open, not so much to avoid the punishment as to assess what had taken place while he was out. Kolya was kneeled down beside him, looking very pleased with himself.
"Ah, there you are. I was becoming worried about the length of time it has taken you to wake up, but Dr. Weir filled me in on your recent illness and injury that has hampered your recovery."
John managed to sit up, wiping blood from his face. He looked up at Elizabeth and felt anger coil his stomach into a tight knot. He narrowed his eyes and set his jaw at the sight of her split lip and swollen, already blackening eye. He tore his gaze away and glared at Kolya's smirking face. "So now you get your kicks hitting women? I never asked you if there was a Mrs. Kolya. Do you practice on her?"
"John, stop," pleaded Elizabeth, fearing that he would get himself killed.
John struggled to his feet. "Sorry, Elizabeth. He's going to kill me no matter what I do."
Kolya strolled over to John. "You are correct, Colonel Sheppard, I will kill you this time. But it can be slow or it can be fast." He turned and walked over to Elizabeth. "I want one of your ships loaded with food, water, medical supplies, and weapons. Colonel Sheppard will then fly it for me to a location of my choosing. My men will follow through the stargate on foot and we will leave you your city this time."
Elizabeth stared at him, her expression set, matching the determination in her voice. "You just told me you were going to kill Colonel Sheppard. I'm not giving you anything."
Kolya smiled. "Yes you will, Dr. Weir." He turned to one of his men standing behind the line of marines kneeling a few feet away and nodded. The Genii soldier stepped up behind the marine on the end, put his gun to the back of the man's head, and pulled the trigger.
The soldier died instantly, falling forward, face down on the floor. The man next to him cringed sideways, moving away from the spray of blood and gray matter. One of the women techs at the controls began to scream hysterically and tried to get up and run, resulting in one of the Genii hitting her over the head with his gun. Elizabeth jumped, shocked and startled to point she could barely catch her breath. John lunged for Kolya, only to have the man behind him strike him across the back with his rifle, once again knocking him to the floor. When John was able to lift his head, his eyes glittered with the intense hatred reserved for very few men.
"I will kill you," he whispered.
Kolya lifted his foot and placed it on the back of John's neck, pressing him face first into the floor. He pressed so hard that John was finding it hard to breathe.
"It would be so easy to snap your neck right now."
"Kolya, wait . . . " Elizabeth stammered, trying desperately to buy time. "If you want that jumper, you need him alive to fly it."
Kolya looked at John's back for a few seconds before letting up on the pressure and removing his foot, leaving John coughing and holding his throat. "Yes, Dr. Weir. I will need you to order those supplies now or I'll have another man killed."
Elizabeth nodded and took the radio he gave her. "Lt. Bond, this is Dr. Weir."
"Yes, ma'am, this is Lt. Bond. Are you all right Dr. Weir?"
"I'm fine for now. I need you to load medical supplies, some food and water, and a variety of weapons into jumper four immediately."
There was a pause before the radio came back on. "Ma'am . . . are you sure?"
"Lt., they just killed one of our men. If we don't do this, he's going to kill more. Please, just do as I'm telling you."
"Yes, ma'am. We're on it."
Kolya had been standing close, listening to both sides of the exchange. "Nicely done, Dr. Weir. If you continue to cooperate, you may get out of here without losing anyone else."
Kolya walked over to where John had resumed sitting. "Get on your knees," he demanded.
Seeing Elizabeth's worried expression, John silently complied, his sides and stomach aching and his head spinning from the beating.
Kolya walked around behind him and bent over so that he was close to John's head. Grabbing a handful of the colonel's hair, he jerked his head back and pushed the muzzle of his gun to John's temple. "Are you ready to die, colonel?"
oOo
Rodney clicked the radio connection to the Daedalus. "You need to go soon, Colonel Caldwell. I think Kolya's about to lose it and kill Sheppard."
"We're working on it, Dr. McKay. We're putting in the coordinates now. Make sure your people are in place and have them go the minute I tell you."
"Got it!" said Rodney. "Ronon, Teyla, are you ready?"
Teyla looked across the hall at Ronon, who nodded. "Yes, Dr. McKay, we are ready to go as soon as you give the word."
"Okay, stand by," replied Rodney nervously. He was sitting with his finger on the button so he could contact them the minute the Daedalus gave the word. His eyes, however, were glued to the screen as he waited to see if Sheppard would manage to keep himself alive that long.
"Keep him quiet, Elizabeth, just a little bit longer," he whispered, wishing they could hear him.
oOo
"Any time you feel like you're man enough," replied John. Kolya pressed the gun into his flesh until it hurt and John held his breath, waiting for the bullet that would end his life. He only hoped he'd bought enough time to save everyone else trapped in the room.
"Kolya, no! You need him, remember?" Elizabeth felt her heart race in her chest as she tried to reason with Kolya. For an instant, she was sure he was going to kill John, and then he stood up and laughed.
"Relax, Dr. Weir, I'm not going to kill him yet. I have other plans."
John let out a long, deep breath, trembling slightly at the realization that he was still alive. He felt almost dizzy with relief. Just because he was willing to die didn't mean he wanted to.
Kolya handed the radio back to Elizabeth. "Find out about our jumper."
Elizabeth keyed the radio. "Lt. Bond, this is Dr Weir. How is the jumper coming?"
"Almost done, Dr. Weir, about five more minutes."
"Okay, Lt. thank you." Kolya grabbed the radio from her and looked to another one of the men he brought with him.
"Go ahead and dial the gate. I want to get out of here as soon the ship is ready."
The man nodded and went up the steps, stopping at the console with the DHD. He looked at it a few seconds and then dialed the requested address. A few seconds later, the familiar whoosh of the opening worm hole filled the room. Kolya smiled at Weir.
"I'll be out of here very soon now, Dr. Weir, and then you can go back to life as usual."
Elizabeth frowned. "You must be kidding," she said as she looked at the body of the young marine on the floor, the pool of blood underneath his head spreading slowly out away from him.
Kolya followed her gaze. "He was a soldier, he expects he might die."
"A soldier expects to die in war, not to be murdered in cold blood by a madman," remarked John. "You don't even represent the Genii any more. You're nothing more than a rogue, a terrorist, a common murderer. You aren't fit to tie that soldier's shoe laces. He was a real soldier, not you."
Kolya walked over to stand by John. "It's going to be such a pleasure to be able to kill you."
John smirked. "Funny . . . I was just thinking the same thing about you."
Bright light suddenly flashed in the room, followed quickly by another flash and the sound of people storming the room. John recovered faster, having been expecting the events, and was able to punch Kolya and knock him to the floor. It didn't take long to take out the shocked men supposedly guarding him. Adrenalin could be a wonderful thing. He tried to blink the spots away as he went to help Elizabeth. She had already taken down one of her guards and he quickly dispatched the other. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he felt something grab his shirt from behind and swing him around. He stumbled, but gained his footing just before his momentum sent him through the open wormhole. He turned to see mass chaos, but took heart in the fact that his side looked like they were winning. The sight of something barreling toward him caught his attention.
Elizabeth watched in horror as Kolya grabbed the back of John's shirt and pulled him around, sending him stumbling toward the open gate. Relief filled her as he was able to get stopped and turned back around to face her. She had just taken a step forward when Kolya rushed past her and hit Sheppard in the chest in a flying tackle that took them both through the stargate just moments before it shut down.
TBC