Chapter 22
Here's Johnny
Teyla's arm squeezed tighter and tighter. Rodney thought an eternity and a half had gone by since his teammate saw fit to use him as a human shield. Why wasn't Bates firing and stunning them both into oblivion? That was his job, right?
"The Hive ship's breaking up!"
The voice was a muted buzz; Sam's, he thought. Lovely sparkling spots danced before his eyes as Teyla's arm strengthened its hold mashing his windpipe enough where air was now an issue.
"We go together." That was Teyla's vibrating Wraith voice lurking through the pounding in his ears.
"The Hive's completely destroyed." The buzzy voice reported.
The arm unexpectedly let him go. He and all the sparkling spots hit the floor. During his descent, he squealed like a high school gaggle of girls until his head and back connected with the deck. The pain blossomed so brightly the sparkles combined into one mass of white as every nerve ending decided to misfire at one time.
"BACK AWAY FROM THE CONSOLE!" Bates ordered rather forcefully.
"Perfect timing as usual, Bates," croaked Rodney. "The Wraith that was controlling her is either dead or in that computer over there."
The next thing McKay heard was a body hitting the deck above his head. "You didn't stun her did you?" McKay laid there incredulously thinking- leave it to Bates to fire after the danger has passed.
"No, he didn't," Sam said coming into view. "She collapsed and the sergeant is checking her now. How are you?"
Or maybe, he was wrong. That seemed to happen a lot in the presence of Sam.
"Fine. I'm just on fire, but nothing to be overly concerned about. Severing the connection so abruptly must have been too traumatic for her brain…" He stopped there before his mouth said something that Teyla might justify as an ass kicking offense later.
"She's got a pulse and is coming around," Bates informed them with less enthusiasm than Ullr could have mustered…
…and, not to be out un-enthused, "Dr. McKay, when you are finished, shall we start the transfer?"
Hermiod would have at least asked the perfunctory question of whether Teyla and he were alright. Some social protocols he found necessary to adhere to when working with the monkeys. Ullr had no such compunction.
"I'm feeling much better Ullr, thank you. How about you Teyla, feeling better?"
"I didn't ask and can see you both are fine." Ullr continued to work at his station without looking up.
Sam held out a hand and he had a moment of déjà vu all over again. He missed that little bra thing she had going on in the Jumper…and there was no kiss this time around. He stifled a sigh.
He took her hand after shaking the image away and slowly climbed to his knees. He gave Teyla a once over as she too sat up. She nodded at him as Bates stood back and hovered like a…well, he did not know at the moment, but it was a menacing something or other he was hovering like.
The ship rocked and everyone lost their balance and ended up on the deck, including a very perturbed and cursing Ullr. Sparks flew and smoke curled to the ceiling.
"I thought the Hive was destroyed?" McKay yelled trying to regain his balance.
Spindly legs propped Ullr back up as he scanned his console. He looked up and addressed everyone in the room. "Darts."
----------------
"I'm really starting to hate these things!" Mitchell yelled as a shot singed his wing.
"Col. Mitchell, the darts have started concentrating their weapons fire on the Odyssey and Ha'taks," Teal'c dodged and dove to avoid his own little playmate.
"I see. Let's give them something to think about."
"This is Pogo. Three bogeys are trying to enter the atmosphere. Moving to intercept."
"Well hell. Blue and Jackal protect the Ha'taks. Red and all remaining Al'kesh, the Odyssey. Green and Serpent take all other comers. Teal'c, Pogo and Lulu, you're with me. We're going after the party crashers."
----------------
"We've lost helm! Rerouting!" The man at the steering console reported aboard the Ha'tak, Blinding Light. "We have sustained damage to the outer ring!"
Bra'tac listened to the communication from the other ship. His had faired little better. After the Hive ship exploded, the darts started attacking in earnest. They used their weapons as well as their ships to successfully inflict serious damage to all vessels.
"We've lost thrusters, compensating!" His helmsman called out while ripping off a panel to fix the problem.
"Do not let a single dart get by us!" Bra'tac ordered.
"I do not think they are trying to get past anymore. They're only trying to get through our hull." Another bridge officer assessed.
"I know." The hive turned out to be an easier target than the little insects. If the little ships continued to act upon their current strategy, they could possibly win.
On his screen, the darts were forming up to attack the Odyssey in mass. "Protect the Earth ship! Move to intercept!"
----------------
"Start the transfer now Ullr," Sam requested. "No point in saving all these people only to get blown-up before they're transported to the planet."
"Let the infirmaries know that there are Wraith in there as well," Teyla added staggering from another shot to the ship and her own recovering equilibrium.
"Can you do it while we evade fire?" Emerson asked over the comm.
"Of course, Col. Emerson. The warning's been relayed; all are standing by and transferring now." Ullr's fingers pressed the appropriate symbols on his console.
----------------
"Oh no you don't! You are not getting close to my planet!"
"I must admit Col. Mitchell-- I admire the ease with which they evade weapons fire." Teal'c stated with as much sarcasm as he could muster, which was not very much.
"No you don't, you don't have to admit anything!" Mitchell grunted out. "Not…a…damn…thing…YES! Take that!" The ship he had been chasing disintegrated in front of him.
"Can I admire the design?"
When Teal'c told a joke, it was best appreciated with copious amounts of drink already under one's belt.
"Can I admire how they break apart as my weapons- as you say- shred them?" The dart Teal'c had been chasing followed its partner into a fireball.
"That you can. Two down. How ya doing Pogo and Lulu?"
"Almost done sweeping up Colonel…" Another explosion blossomed above the planet. "Now we're done…Good shot Lulu!"
"Anytime."
"Let's get back and see what else we got."
----------------
"Col. Emerson, the last group is transferring now." Ullr made his last pass over his symbol board.
It was the only group that Rodney was truly interested in. He felt a smidge of guilt with a dollop of conscience about that too. He was sorry those other people were captured, but there was only one person he was concerned about making it safely to Earth. Finally, it was time to send him home.
When you asked most people if they had lots of friends, they would answer 'yes'. Rodney could not say that. He knew there were degrees of friendship: co-workers, acquaintances and those that just tolerated him. He even had those he trusted with his life, but would not hang out with; Ronon and Teyla fell into that group. They even stretched into another category, family.
There were only three people he would count as true friends-- maybe even equals on matters not involving intellect-- Radek, Carson, and …
"Carson? Carson, tell me we weren't too late. Tell me he's there."
"Aye Rodney, he's here and he brought a hitchhiker."
Rodney sagged in relief.
"McKay," Carter said tonelessly. "Look."
On the large screen behind Ullr, the darts combined into one large group. They then broke into three sections each heading for a different ship.
"Oh no. They're making a kamikaze run."
----------------
General Chaos ruled the makeshift infirmaries. Carson Beckett vowed then and there that he would do something to stop the suffering. His retrovirus was needed more than ever in his opinion. The cries for help, the shrieks of terror and the wails of despair were heartbreaking. If his retrovirus helped to end this, then so be it.
As the Asgard beam delivered the victims, the Wraith hitched a ride. Dr. Lam gave him a shake of the head when the first reports came in from China of the extra baggage. It was her way of conceding his point about the weapons in the infirmary. All other medical facilities reported similar occurrences. The security teams dispatched them with the Zats quickly and efficiently. They were proving to be most effective against the Wraith.
When the SGC's turn came, for every five humans, one Wraith stowed away. The Wraith were not stupid and they discovered the easiest way to infiltrate was to attach themselves to a victim. They did not need to come in the front door when the back was wide open.
"Gen. Landry, have Ronon and more security report to the infirmary. It's what we feared; they're attaching themselves to the humans." Beckett did not wait for an answer and started caring for the first wave of patients once all intruders were dealt with.
The victims looked scrawny and sounded terrified. No big shocker there, they had been waiting for death. The first Wraith that appeared was one of the bone-masked ones. The Zat made him stagger, but the second shot did not come fast enough and the poor lad was tossed like dirty socks. A second shot came from another security officer and a third from yet another.
"Ronon, my boy, please hurry up."
"I'm almost there. These elevators are not as fast as the transporters on Atlantis."
A few minutes later, Carson covered up a patient as a fire-fight went on above his head. The scruff of his coat was grabbed from behind and he was yanked off the body. He hit the floor and he skidded a couple of feet. He looked up at a male readying to use him as a shield against a second shot from a Zat. Red coalesced around the Wraith and then a hole was blown through his chest.
"Ronon, please be careful where you shoot that thing in here." Carson said with a breathless release of nervous energy.
"I did. You need to watch where you sit." Ronon stood over him and fired again on the stun setting.
Carson scrambled back to his feet and went back to work until the last batch of patients materialized. He recognized one scream above them all immediately. He shoved his way across the large room through the medical personnel and the military personnel until he saw the face he was searching for. That face needed a friendly presence to reassure him everything was fine.
Carson had helped Biro after the Genii infiltration. He knew what that one person attached to that face could do when he felt threatened.
Rodney's voice chirped in his ear asking the question he had been waiting to ask for three weeks.
"Aye Rodney, he's here and he brought a hitchhiker." As he pushed through the crowd, he noticed the uninvited guest. Before him was a Wraith Queen with her hand and most of her body attached to Col. Sheppard. Everyone in the vicinity backed away in shock. Even the Queen hesitated and looked around at the new location. The hesitation was a big mistake on her part.
Sheppard, while still screaming, removed her hand from his chest with both of his. Pulp hung from her finger tips as he held her arm in a tight, unmovable grip. The hatred radiated off of him in heated waves. Carson knew payback was about to be dealt.
"Tag, you're it." It was a low, coarse, dangerous tone. It was a warning and a taunt that would have sent shivers up and down anyone's spine. Carson thought if he ever heard a phrase from a children's game uttered with such venom at him, he might have to run away instead of play.
"Ronon, get over here," Beckett whispered into the radio. He caught sight of Stackhouse on the other side of the pair with more security officers. They exchanged silent nods as the two combatants squared off.
"On my way," answered Ronon. "Have to finish something first."
Holding her arm away from his body with his left, he did not hesitate and backhanded her across the face with his right. She stumbled backwards except she could not go anywhere because Sheppard continued to hold onto to her feeding arm. Without missing a beat, he brought his right fist back to connect with her jaw. Her head snapped back and then he let go.
Complete and total shock made the immediate vicinity stand still. How was this man of straw wearing nothing more than…form-fitted leggings that left nothing to the imagination beating the hell out of a Wraith Queen?
Sheppard had lost weight and muscle tone. He looked like a bendy toy sold at the holidays. He was pasty and bleeding from severed tubing and other injuries. He shook off the remnants of webbing from his arms and hands and continued to walk towards her.
The enzyme. It was the only explanation. They had beamed him here at the most opportune time. She had flooded his system with the enzyme in order to feed. Her hesitation came at an inopportune time for her. He was strong, combative and pissed. Not a good combination for her sake and she would receive no sympathy from those in attendance to this little skirmish.
The area was silent. Moans carried from other parts and fighting with Wraith continued. But not a sound was heard in this little corner of the hangar. Carson realized his section had a pay per view special going on right in front of him.
As she fell to the floor, an over zealous young soldier brought up a Zat to fire. Apparently, Sheppard would have none of it.
"No!" He growled and knocked the weapon away from the lad. He stole his sidearm before the boy was sent backwards from a good old-fashioned school yard shove.
The Queen stood up, opened her arms wide and screeched. She charged Sheppard in a flurry of claws and fabric. Hands went to ears at the shriek, but Sheppard stalked towards the charge and started firing. With each shot his lips moved as if he was ticking off a list. As each bullet struck her, her charge slowed to a staggering walk and she continued to step forward grinning. They stood face to barrel point neither conceding victory nor defeat.
"Others will come. I have shown them the way, tender morsel." The Wraith always tried to get in the last word. Blood dripped from her and she flexed her feeding hand readying it for a final strike.
"Let them try. Tell Jim Bob and Chuck, hello. Oh, and John Boy says good night you prehistoric cu..." He looked at the nearest security officer. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-four, sir."
"Oh, in that case…prehistoric cow." She never got her chance. He shot her in the mouth.
His gun arm fell to his side and he took one unsure and shaky step back. He turned his head to look right at Beckett. He noticed the tremors and received a good thorough view of the wounds on Sheppard's torso. Keeping his face neutral, he returned the look with a small quick nod.
An expression of genuine fascination took over Sheppard's face. He walked right up to the doctor and gave the purest smile Carson had ever seen. Sheppard stopped short of touching the doctor's face with his hand as he continued studying.
"Hey Doc." Sheppard scrutinized Carson's face searching for something. Maybe he was trying to verify the reality. Verify if Carson was real or a figment of his imagination, to make absolutely sure he was not dreaming or hallucinating. The Wraith were very good at mind games. Carson was sure Sheppard had been on the receiving end of extensive games during his stay with them.
"Col. Sheppard? You need to put the weapon down," the twenty-four year-old lad ordered. He stepped up beside the shaking straw man. The boy foolishly guessed that since the Colonel had spoken to him a sense of familiarity had been fostered between the two. The naïveté of youth.
The pure smile disappeared and a cold faraway look replaced it. The young soldier made his second mistake. He tried to remove the weapon from the Colonel's hand. Carson could have told the boy that you do not touch someone who has wounds like those. Especially a combative, pissed off and very high Lt. Colonel who took out most of a Genii strike force by himself and a Wraith Queen.
Carson saw Stackhouse waving the young lieutenant away. It was too late. The second fight started and Sheppard began dismantling the shocked security force stationed in the infirmary.
Beckett clicked his ear piece and spoke very softly, "Ronon, my lad, now would be a good time to come say 'hi' to your team leader."
----------------
A/N: Well he's home; let the healing begin! After he's done with his little row. The bunnies like the shoes and purses made out of the gator. Their little heels click on the floor. Now they shall shuck those things and float on rafts in the pool. Lazy bunnies, silly bunnies…can I borrow the handbag?
Thanks for all the interest in this story and sorry for the delay in the posting. It was unreadable until last night so much tweeking needed to be done. Aack! Of course, you may think it's unreadable now…ah well, I tried.