Space Pirates

Chapter 14

When Carson had tentatively informed Sergeant Bates of Lieutenant Ford's idea, the sergeant had not hesitated to give him a piece of his mind, letting him know what exactly he thought of the idea.

"Did you make sure Ford didn't hit his head? This is the most fucked up plan I've ever heard and believe me I have heard plenty of shit. We don't know where the Dart has landed. The planet is crawling with Wraith. We can't fly a Dart and we don't even know if it is still intact. For all we know they might have crashed as well. Here, we have a defendable position. As soon as the sun rises we'll secure water and food."

"What then?" Carson challenged, even though he knew that Bates was right in what he was saying.

"We survive until rescue arrives." Bates answered without emotion.

They both knew that there would be no rescue. They would be trapped on this planet until they died, one by one. Sheppard and Ford might die of their injuries, the Wraith might still get them, wild animals might be lurking in the depth of the forest, they might bit bitten by something deadly or eat the wrong fruit.

"Major Sheppard is running out of time, he won't survive if we stay here. Lieutenant Ford and Teyla might make it with the resources I have available here, but they are deteriorating as we speak. It's not looking good. We have to do something."

"Doctor, will going back to Atlantis help them? Both the major and Teyla were attacked by a Wraith. There is no way to reverse that damage."

Beckett realized what Bates was saying. To him, they were already lost, with or without help from Atlantis.

"Of course, I know that!" Beckett replied angrily. "I think the Wraith feed on their victims by transferring a sort of poison to their victims by touch. On Atlantis, I would have a chance to analyze that substance and try to find a counteragent or at least to try to treat to symptoms. Here I can do nothing." Beckett almost pleaded.

He couldn't let his friends die if there was even a small chance that they might make it back to Atlantis in time. It might by indeed to late to save the major, but if he was right about how the Wraith worked, Teyla would have more time before the Wraith toxin became a problem for her. Aiden's wounds were infected; he needed treatment as well before the infection reached his bloodstream which at this point was a definite possibility. However, the lieutenant had the biggest chances of surviving should they be stranded on the planet indefinitely.

"Sir, we volunteered to come on this mission to bring the major and his team home, we knew what we were risking when we signed up for this mission. We owe it to them to do everything we can to bring them home, one way or another. They don't deserve to be forgotten on this god forsaken planet. Permission to go and look for the Wraith Dart?" Sergeant Stackhouse who had been quietly listening to their heated exchange spoke up.

"I'm with him." Markham added.

Bates looked from one to the other. They stared right back, determination on their faces.

"All right, go and check it out. Watch your step, there could still be Wraith out there."

John was floating peacefully, removed from all the physical pain and troubled emotions of the past days. They were still there, but they were nothing but a distant, unimportant memory.

He was in the Gateroom, but it looked different, everything was filled with a white haze, giving it a surreal look. John closed his eyes; he could exist like this forever, outside of time, without any worry or concern.

Suddenly there were hands, they were touching him, dragging on his clothes, lifting him up and carrying like he was completely weightless. John tried to wriggled free of their grasp, but his body wouldn't react to the frantic commands of his mind. He tried to see what was going on, but all he could see was blurred grey shapes in the white haze. A soft rush filled the hair and the feeling of hands on his skin floated away as suddenly as it had come.

Reality entered into the picture when he woke to the feeling of a cold, hard surface beneath his body. Slowed in body and mind, he cracked his eyes open a tiny bit. He saw white, but not the surreal white glow he had seen before, this time; it was a dirty white tiled floor directly in front of his face.

"No, not again." John murmured. His voice sounded strangled to his years. He really had to stop waking up like that. Careful of his recent injuries, he rolled onto his back. Waiting for the pain to fade, he slowly opened his eyes again. Grey ceiling.

A familiar face appeared in his field of vision. It was Carson. He was grinning, but it wasn't reaching his eyes.

"How nice of you to be joining me. Welcome to our new home."

"Where are we?" John asked, wasting no time on pleasantries.

"In a Yularian prison. Trust me; it's better than the alternative." Carson said lightly.

"Which is what exactly?" John had worked himself up into a sitting position without Carson help by now.

"Being dead." Carson let himself fall back on the only mattress in their rather bare prison cell.

John rubbed his head. He felt a headache coming. The last thing he recalled was his 'execution'. Carson had saved his life. Then the Gate had opened and something had come through. Something made of bright energy. Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought when Carson had cut him loose. Absently, he touched his throat. The bruises and abrasions were definitely there and he could feel the strain on his throat when talking. It hadn't been just a dream.

"Thanks, I guess, for saving my life back on Atlantis." he said into the silence.

"I didn't do it for you." Carson said to his surprise. "It had to end. The bitch is dead."

John knew immediately who Carson meant.

"Everyone on Atlantis is dead?"

"Everyone least one of them is dead. Present company excluded of course." Carson's voice hinted of satisfaction, but somewhere beneath it, John thought he could hear a whisper of sadness and regret.

John didn't want to know what to say. Atlantis was his home. It might have been a dream, a delusion, but it was all he had. Now Carson was telling him that everyone he had known was gone. It was too much. There was no space in his head to grasp that. No room. That couldn't happen. This was only a dream, only a dream.

"Don't look so shocked John. Most of them were not worth the air they were breathing. Have you never wanted revenge? They killed Rodney, just because they could."

Of course John had wanted revenge. Part of him had wanted to kill Bates and Elizabeth with his bare hands. But even though he knew that they had wanted him dead, the news that they were dead shocked him. They had been part of the insane little world that had kept him sane.

"Of course."

"I knew it." Carson triumphed. "The Yularians couldn't wait to get their revenge on Atlantis. When he contacted them and offered them the chance, they were more than glad to take me up on the offer."

"Wait a minute. The Yularians? You told me that we traded with them for technology, they gave us the technology to shut off the Ancient gene."

"Yes, they did. They gave us a lot of medical technology in exchange for the gene therapy. Elizabeth had us develop a biological weapon using their technology to attack them. The weapon was a success. They have been at war with us since. Their planet is too far to get to Atlantis by ship, and they couldn't get through the gate--."

"Until you betrayed Atlantis," John finished for him. "What was the deal? They let you leave because you gave them the access code for the Gate?"

"No, I gave them the cure for the virus that the weapon contained. They haven't been able to find it on their own. Those were the terms." Carson explained.

There was a moment of silence before John spoke.

"Why did you do it?"

"I told you before. It had to end somewhere. The Yularians got their revenge, I got mine, you got yours." Carson snapped.

"It's that easy for you?" John challenged, not willing to believe that Carson had betrayed Atlantis just to get revenge on Elizabeth. He didn't know what Elizabeth had done to Carson, but the man he knew was not capable of doing such a thing.

Only later it occurred to John that Carson had saved his life twice. It had been him who had protected him from the deadly weapon of the Yularians. Carson had let him live.

Rodney's return to wakefulness was slow. The cold creeping through his clothes had broken him out of the much needed sleep. The fire that John had lit had long died out. Still bleary from sleep, Rodney rubbed his eyes and sat up, not surprised to find himself alone in the ruin. The memory of John being there with him with distant and ethereal and he would have dismissed it as a feverish dream were it not of the renewed strength and painlessness of his body. For the first time in days, he could move without pain accompanying him every inch of the way. His head had finally cleared after the fever and the heavy weight had disappeared from his chest. John had been real. He might not have been his real corporeal self that the scientist in Rodney could explain, but he had been there in an Ancient way. They had not yet a full understanding of how the Ancient technology worked and how the Ancients could exist as non-corporeal entities and still interact with the material world, but he knew that it was possible.

Now he could only hope that John had made the right decision in taking the risk in healing him, crossing the line that forbid the Ascended to interfere in the affairs of mortals. John had told him what the risks were, but just as he knew John, he had been unable to talk him out of his decision. Once John's mind was set on something, nobody could talk him out of it. Damn his willingness to sacrifice himself for others. It was no different this time. Rodney could feel the anger welling up in him. Anger was good; it replaced the sadness and feeling of loss that he hadn't been able to shake off ever since he had woken up alone again. Damned if John was going to die!

Rodney took a last look at the barren room behind him before stepping out of the ruin. The sky was overcast; the river was running strong through the remainders of the village where he had camped for the last few nights. It was time to leave. He had thought he was going to die in that small room without ever seeing any of his friends again.

"You are very close to him, aren't you?" A voice asked from behind John. He didn't need to turn to recognize his mentor, his guide among the Ascended.

"Yes, Rodney and I are close friends. I care about him, like I care about the rest of me team. I don't want to see them die because of me." He answered sounding belligerent even to his own ears.

"You still feel intensely. I noticed that the first time we met. Your mind is still young, but you are one of us." Chaya said with a smile.

John didn't answer her. He couldn't agree with her. He didn't feel like he belonged with the Ascended. Not yet. Eventually he would. Being with the Ascended had touched something buried in him that the Ancient technology had only begun to awaken. It was part of who he was, he could feel his connection to this form of existence, but his emotions were still tied to the physical world and the life he had lead there.

"I saw what you did. I expected it from you. You're strong willed and resourceful." Chaya chided.

"I know. I did what I had to do. I couldn't abandon them. Do what you have to do." John had made his decision and was going to stand by it.

TBC