Chapter 7:
A/N: If any of my medical stuff is accurate, it is purely by accident.
A/N2: I thought this would be the last chapter, but I was wrong. At least one more chapter to this story after this one.
Beta: J.A.B.
Spoilers: The Hot Zone, etc.
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"Damn it," croaked Sheppard as he watched the confrontation between the Atlantis teams and the townspeople turn bloody.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. They had come looking for trading partners—friends—not to kill the desperate survivors of a Wraith culling.
Sheppard's nurse grabbed his arm and dragged him closer to McKay and his nurse. Both nurses were still armed and were doing their best to protect their little corner of the pandemonium. Their containment suits weren't helping, as they had to turn their whole body to see the fighting on both sides of the room.
"Give me a damn gun!" Sheppard tried to bark over the rising noise.
His nurse didn't look at him, but McKay did. "I don't think they want us in the fight! I'm feeling a little naked over here without a gun!"
John shook his head and tried to pull himself up, only to have his nurse push him down with her one free hand. She didn't see Sheppard's scowl as she turned away to peer over the barrier at the combatants.
There was a strangled scream close by, causing Sheppard to turn sharply to the right. He hauled his aching body far enough to see past the beds.
One of Beckett's team was clutching at his chest as a townsman stood by him holding a raised fence post, its aged wood running with darkening blood.
John only had a second to recognize the man in blue containment suit as one of the men who had helped carry him back to town, before bright blood began leaking from the medical man's mouth. There was choking sounds and coughing. Fresh blood splattered across the inside of the contamination suit hood.
It was only a moment before the Atlantis man fell to the floor—unmoving, a gaping opening in his containment suit.
One thought kept pounding in Sheppard's head—he didn't even know the man's name.
John's nurse slipped past him and ducked over to the downed man. She all but ripped the containment hood off him as she tried to find signs of life.
The nurse slowed her frantic search and hung her head.
John knew the man was dead. He half crawled, half pulled himself over to the nurse and put a hand on her arm. "Get back!"
He pushed at her as hard as he could, getting her started to the protection of the barricades, her shock evident by her clumsy movements. John took a second to stare down at the dead man, his eyes open and staring, before ripping the bloody radio from the man's ear and prying the 9 mil from his gloved hand.
"Sorry," Sheppard muttered. "Sorry I didn't know your name."
Teyla had seen Carson go down and was using her P-90's butt as a club to clear a path to him. Next to the table the doctor had been using as a desk, Beckett was face down on the floor, the window to his hood fogged in front of his slack face. She could only spare a moment to check him before she was forced to continue picking her shots in the crowded room.
John crawled as far as the bed barricade before turning and coming to rest on his left hip. With carefully banked fury, he started picking his targets and bringing down several of the threats to his remaining personnel.
He'd just lost one man and he didn't want to lose another on this 'peaceful' mission.
Across the room, Ronon was still holding his battle sword, but was mainly using his blaster to bring down as many attackers as he could.
Barely heard over the din of the desperate fight there came the pop-hiss of their radios.
"Dr. Beckett, this is Weir. Please respond."
Without taking his eyes off the fight or lowering his gun, John awkwardly managed to wiggle behind the barricade to avoid the crude gunfire of the crowd. "Elizabeth?" he asked in surprise as he ducked away from the pinging of bullets off the frame of the bed.
"John? What's going on?"
"We're being overrun by the townspeople in the medical facility. We have two people down, maybe more. We're taking fire and we need immediate extraction!"
After the pinging stopped over his head, John rose up to shoot. His left hand pinched as he brought up his gun, and he angrily tore off his bandage before looking for a target.
John's eye was drawn to Teyla as she was tackled from behind, taking her to the floor. Sheppard was about to try for a shot when Teyla used the fingers of her left hand to poke over her shoulder at the woman's eyes. With a scream, the attacking woman rolled away, and Teyla regained her position over the unconscious Dr. Beckett.
There was a loud bang close by and Sheppard turned to see McKay and his nurse being attacked by two men. One was already wounded by the nurse's gunshot, but the other man had gotten close enough to grab the woman's gloved gun hand and had it twisted toward the ceiling.
McKay tried head butting the man back over the bed barrier, but the stocky attacker wasn't budging.
"John? I'm sending in Lorne. Just hold on," said Weir in John's ear.
Sheppard didn't answer her as he lined up his shot and waited. When the nurse and McKay were out of the line of fire, he shot.
The man went down in a spray of blood.
"Hurry," John muttered as he shifted to look for a new target.
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"Major Lorne," called Elizabeth Weir over her radio as she stood by the gate tech. "I need you and two teams on P2M-649 immediately."
When Lorne replied, he was clearly out of breath. "Ma'am, do we know the situation?"
"No, Major. The Colonel only had time to report two people down, and to request an immediate extraction." She paused, trying not to let her worry creep into her voice. "He said they were taking fire. I can only guess it's bad at the medical facility."
"Understood," snapped out Lorne as he cut off his radio.
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It didn't take the two rescue teams but a few moments to gather at the Puddle Jumpers, and to go through the gate. The only sounds were the rattling of equipment and the noise of gun checks in the Jumpers, as they got ready to rescue their people.
After they cleared the gate, they circled around the town in stealth mode until they picked out a central building with a large crowd gathered around it.
There were some individuals using wooden posts to beat at the remaining glass windows and the door.
The angry scene below stunned Lorne. Frowning, the Major turned on his radio to talk to his teams.
"We're going in by rope. I want Team 1 making a path through that crowd, and I don't care how you do it. Team 2, you get our people out. Mosby and Bowden, stay by the Jumpers' controls until I call for you," he said as he glared out the front window of the Puddle Jumper.
There were sharp acknowledgements from his teams as the back hatches of the Jumpers were lowered, and ropes thrown out.
Just before Lorne took the rope in his gloved hands, he touched his radio. "Colonel Sheppard? If you can hear me, we're coming in. Try to meet us half way."
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Inside the building, Sheppard heard Lorne, and breathed a sign of relief.
"Damn it," muttered John as he let his hazel eyes take in the members of both his team and the medical team. His gate team, except for McKay, was still in the thick of the fight. The remaining members of Beckett's team were trying to help, but their contamination suits were slowing them down.
Sheppard used the bed to pull himself higher and waved at Ronon to catch his attention.
Ronon had also heard the message from Lorne, and he just nodded to his team leader and continued using his energy weapon.
John turned to look at Teyla. "Door!"
She tilted her head in understanding and turned to speak to one of Beckett's team. Warily, they both bent down to grab the doctor. They started dragging him to the exit, their guns at the ready.
"Pack it up! We're leaving!" Sheppard yelled for the benefit of those without radios, or those too busy trying to stay alive, to hear Lorne's communication.
No one answered his yelled orders, but all of the personnel started moving slowly toward the door, trying to keep the wild townspeople at bay.
Sheppard didn't move from his position on the floor. He kept his gun up and watched as McKay and the two nurses pressed themselves to the wall and began edging away to the safety of the waiting Marines.
McKay turned to look John in the eyes, and then said something sharply to the nurse that was supposed to be watching Sheppard. The nurse nodded and came back. She wrapped one of her gloved hands around John's upper arm and helped him to his feet.
"Colonel, Dr. McKay wants me to make sure you make it to the door."
He nodded to the scared woman. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
As they left the beds, and what was left of their supplies, the mob turned from fighting to pillaging.
Putting away his sword, Ronon pushed open the door to meet the first two Marines who had made it through the rampaging crowd and to the building's doorway.
The Marines had cut a path through the townspeople, leaving bloody and unconscious forms as they cleared the way for the Atlantis staff.
The remainder of Beckett's team helped the injured out of the building and into the daylight, as the soldiers from the second team arrived to escort them to the waiting Jumpers.
As the teams staggered along, the rushing people trying to get into the abandoned building swarmed them. When they finally made it to open ground, a pissed looking Major Lorne greeted them.
"Good to see you, Lorne," gasped Sheppard as his group struggled along. "I hope you brought extra for the rest of the class." He nodded at Lorne's P-90.
"Yes, sir. Plenty to go around in the Jumpers."
"Good. I want all those exposed to the possible contamination in one Jumper and all the rest in the other," said Sheppard as they reached the Puddle Jumpers hovering in the sky.
"Sir—"
"Did you bring suits with you? Major, we still don't know . . . if we have anything to catch. We go in one, you go in the other."
Lorne turned away from his CO and glared as the crowd rushed into the now empty building, leaving the Atlantis crew alone for the moment. "Okay, guys, fall back. Let's get out while the getting is good."
First one Jumper, and then the next, landed, picking up the teams.
"Colonel Sheppard? Dr. Beckett?"
Sheppard was helped by his nurse to the chair just behind the pilot's seat. He all but collapsed into its softness with a groan. "Elizabeth, I'm here."
The voice over the radio came back stronger. "And Dr. Beckett?"
"He's here, but he's unconscious." John paused as he watched the three remaining men of Beckett's team carry Carson to one of the benches. They tried to put him down but the bulk of his big blue suit was getting in the way, leaving Carson tilted at a funny angle.
"And Rodney?"
Sheppard allowed himself a wan smile. "He's here."
McKay staggered over to lean heavily on John's chair. "Elizabeth, I'm here. Are we coming back home?" The hope in his voice was noticeable even to the newer personnel.
There was a pause. "Rodney, Carson said you couldn't come back until he was sure the city wouldn't lock down. Did he finish his tests?"
"Uh, no. But—"
John cut Rodney's words off. "Elizabeth, I'm sending the second Jumper back to Atlantis. We'll try our luck with the Alpha site or one of the backups."
Major Lorne all but stomped up to the front of the Jumper past Sheppard and McKay. He sat down in the pilot's chair, moving Bowden over to the co-pilot seat.
"Major," growled Sheppard.
"You're going to need someone who can fly this thing and has the energy left to scout whatever place we pick to hold up. Me and Bowden are coming."
John sighed heavily. Between Ronon, Teyla, McKay and Lorne—was there anyone who ever followed his orders?
"The Alpha site was compromised two days ago. You can't go there," said Weir in a clipped tone. "Try the first backup site. I'll see if I can get more medical equipment and supplies to you there once you report back on the situation."
Sheppard looked at McKay. Both were worn, tired and carried marks from their time on P2M-649. John's slashed face and cut hand were starting to throb in the aftermath of the fight. McKay just looked ready to curl up and sleep on the floor.
At Sheppard's look, McKay shrugged, too tired to make any other suggestion. Suddenly hungry, Rodney turned his head to find his nurse. "Hey, you. The one that happily scrubbed off most of my skin. I need a PowerBar before my blood sugar drops any lower."
John turned away, trying to ignore the rummaging by the nurse for Rodney's favorite PowerBar flavor. He was trying to concentrate on making a plan with Elizabeth, but he was feeling the pull of his exhaustion and his budding headache.
He blinked heavily and rubbed his forehead. "Okay, we'll go to the first backup site. You may have to send through more medical personnel. Beckett is still out and . . . we lost one of his people."
Sheppard wanted to add that the body had been left behind, but he couldn't see how they could go back for it now. He hated leaving like this.
"Okay, I'll send a few people over. Stay safe, John." Weir's voice was soft with understanding when she replied, knowing the death would be hard on them all. "Oh, and Major?"
Lorne sat up straight at the Jumper controls. "Yes, Ma'am?"
"Keep both Jumpers together."
Lorne lifted his chin with a grin. "Yes, Dr. Weir!"
Sheppard just sighed from behind him.
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Carson Beckett woke to a pounding headache, a complaining shoulder, and the low voices of two men.
"I am a major in the Air Force. I think I can handle this."
"I hope so; he was starting to mope about it. He'll be impossible to work with. It's like he's lost his girlfriend."
There was a low chuckle. "Don't you feel close to yours, McKay?"
There was an indignant snort. "I check it out, go on a mission and check it back in. I don't get all misty eyed or give it female names from TV shows, like the two of you."
Lorne and McKay—and they weren't at each other's throats.
Carson tried to put a hand to his head but was stopped by his suit. The soft pop of his hand against the material caused the two voices to stop.
"Hey, Doc. How're you feeling," asked Lorne as he moved closer to help Carson sit up from his awkward position.
Beckett immediately regretted it when his head tried to explode. He just prayed he wouldn't throw up in the suit.
A reddened face appeared. "Oh, Carson, you're awake. Here, let me . . . uh," McKay looked down at his bandaged hands for a moment in consternation. "Never mind. Major, could you? He's tipping over that way."
Lorne tightened his grip on Carson and tried to prop the doctor against the side of the Jumper. "You've been out for a while, Doc."
Carson squinted at the Major for a second and then used his doctor's voice to cover his pain. "I'm fine, I suppose. What happened? Where're the others?"
Lorne moved slightly and pointed over his shoulder. "We evac'ed to one of the backup sites. The Colonel is supposed to be running the scouting operation, but I think he's sleeping," said Lorne in a faintly amused tone.
Carson could see John sitting sideways in one of the cockpit chairs with a vest over his sweatshirt and a P-90 across his knees.
Beckett frowned as he noticed the faint sheen of sweat in the Colonel's hair, and his finger on the P-90's trigger.
"Oh, don't worry, Doc. I made sure it's not loaded," said Lorne. "Teyla and Ronon are outside taking a look to the east while some of the Marines are scouting to the west. Making sure there are no nasty surprises around before Weir sends through the new supplies and support."
"Looking for something to shoot," contradicted McKay.
Lorne raised a shoulder. "Most likely," he conceded as he thought of the looks on Ronon and Teyla's faces when they left.
Neither of the warriors were in a good mood when they left the Jumper to scout the area. Teyla had just walked out after stuffing her new vest with ammunition. Ronon had stripped out of his periwinkle sweatpants and traded it for an extra desert patterned Marine uniform from one of the bins, before he joined Teyla outside with a snarl.
Both were keeping their radio contact with Lorne to a minimum in case there were unfriendlies in the area.
And they knew that the Colonel was finally sleeping instead of trying to run the whole operation, while he was clearly not well.
Beckett turned his head to look for his own team. He saw one of the Marines, Bowden, and his medical personnel looking at him with mournful eyes, and Carson began to get a sinking feeling in his chest.
The doctor pushed past his headache and mentally counted heads. The medical team was one short. "Where's Gentry?"
Lorne and McKay immediately looked at the floor, all humor over the Colonel gone in a flash.
"He . . . he didn't make it, Carson," said McKay in a monotone.
Carson felt the words like a fist to his gut.
Before anyone could add any details there was a pop-hiss of the radios.
"Major Lorne, the stargate has been activated," reported Teyla's deceptively calm voice.
The Major left Beckett to go to the front of the Jumper to stand close to Sheppard. "Dr. Weir was waiting for our report before sending in the troops, I don't know who—"
"Colonel Sheppard," boomed a voice over the radios, causing the sleeping Colonel to shift in his chair with a groan.
Sheppard came awake fast when Lorne's hand grabbed one of John's aching shoulders in alarm.
The voice on the radios was not Dr. Weir's.
TBC