AMONG THE STARS - by NotTasha
PART 16: SNAGGED
Sheppard leaned forward in his seat, holding his breath and waited, hoping. He watched as the crane tentatively reached toward Ronon. Hurry, he encouraged silently, hurry! Get him!
Then, he let out a long, low breath when the little fingers on the end of the crane curled around, doing little more than laying at the tops of Ronon's boot – but it was enough. The arm of the crane was fully extended, and Dex was snagged. The image that was rendered would have looked majestic if only they all hadn't been scared out of their minds.
Thank God! Ronon was safe, now there was another that still needed help.
"I'm going in!" Sheppard stated. "Teyla, can you get Ronon in by yourself?"
"Get McKay!" Ronon's voice came over the comm. "I'm not helpless, you know."
"Right," Sheppard responded, not wanting to mention how terribly vulnerable the man had looked a moment ago. He steered the jumper to the airlock, careful to avoid the delicate-looking crane and its cargo, and to maneuver around the wrecked bit of central core that still floated nearby.
As he backed up the craft, the HUD came online, showing his progress, letting him know that he was coming in square to the airlock. As the automatic system did its job, he watched the show outside his window, as Teyla slowly pulled the crane in, dragging Ronon along with it.
Once the crane was low enough, Ronon would be able to grab hold somewhere and edge his way to the open rear compartment. Sheppard couldn't remain to see the finale.
"You're doing great, Teyla," Sheppard called out. "You too, Ronon."
The Athosian didn't respond, too busy with her responsibility, but the Satedan groaned unhappily.
The airlock latched hold of Jumper 5. There was a hiss as the pressures equalized, and finally, almost anticlimactically, he had access to the Observation Deck.
"Sure had to go a long way to get around a locked door," Sheppard muttered as he made his way to the back of the ship.
"Rodney, leave it to you to be Mr. Perfect," he went on over the radio. "When you lock a door, it STAYS locked. Only an exploding lady-pirate can blow a hole in your plan."
He opened a cabinet in the jumper as the rear hatch opened onto the dome, revealing again the black field and the stars beyond. He had no time to marvel at its beauty this time.
He grabbed the first thing his hands laid on, the medical kit, and tossed it onto the back seat. He'd need that, no doubt.
"Just hang on a second, Rodney."
It took a little digging, but he finally clasped hold of a length of rope. Excellent! There was no gravity in that dome – and they'd need a means of getting back into the jumper once all was said and done.
He glanced around within the jumper, finding a strut that would suit his purpose. He tied off one end of the rope on the structure and the other was secured at his waist. He tested the knots quickly, then, taking a fortifying breath, he stepped down the ramp.
He toed the edge of the ramp, finding where it changed – here there was gravity, and just beyond – there was nothing.
"Rodney?"
He found his target, floating in the dome. Rodney looked so goddamn strange floating like that, all catawampus and so damn lifeless -- alone.
"I'm coming. Just hang on a second."
Ensuring that his rope tightly tied, he squatted down, holding onto on edge of the hatch doorway, then shoved off, aiming himself toward Rodney.
It was a little like doing laps in a pool, he decided. Like pushing off from the edge and gaining some distance before the real work began.
But this was nothing like swimming he realized.
It was the most remarkable feeling, to move without help of gravity, to fly, to float. He zoomed through space, stars blurring around him as he reached out. As he quickly approached McKay, he uttered a quick, "Hey, long time no see," and he snagged hold of the hovering physicist, grasping onto one of Rodney's arms just below the shoulder.
He didn't even slow down as he pulled McKay along with him.
God, Rodney was cold… and pale. Jeez, how much time had passed since Rodney'd been shot?
The 'ceiling' of the Observation Dome was coming at them fast. Thinking quickly, Sheppard curled around McKay, holding the unresponsive physicist to his chest and arching his back to the wall.
"Hold on," he declared, wrapping his arms protectively around McKay's upper body, ensuring his head was tucked against his shoulder. John expected a bone jarring impact, but they collided gently with the top of the dome and bounced back the way they'd come.
"How's it goin'?" he asked as they continued on their flight. "You hangin' in there?"
Sheppard kept a tight hold on his friend, as if he was afraid he'd never get to do such a thing again. He realized how embarrassing the situation might be perceived, and how Rodney would whine about compromising positions if he knew what was going on.
They'd been lucky – so damn lucky! They'd come too close to losing him. Pirates! Space Pirates! Never in a thousand years would he have thought they'd fall prey to space pirates.
Of course, he never would have figured he'd be living in another galaxy, trying to keep ahead of life-sucking vampires. He never figured he'd spend his days flying about in spaceships and jumping from planet to planet through wormholes. He never imagined himself floating through a giant dome, gliding free of gravity, clutching the smartest man in two galaxies to his chest.
Never thought that this genius would have ended up as his best friend.
So damn close to losing him.
"Nice view," Sheppard commented as he gazed at the panorama.
Rodney said nothing in response. Sheppard brought a hand to his cool neck, and felt for a pulse. Rodney's heartbeat seemed far too fast. There was no flicker of regaining consciousness.
The chill might have been a benefit, Sheppard realized glumly, might have helped keep Rodney from bleeding out.
So damn close – and Sheppard realized that they weren't out of the woods yet.
"You know," Sheppard stated, "this is all kinda cool. I mean, if they had a ride like this at Disneyland, I'd be the first one in line. It's like a giant bounce-house. Remember those when we were kids? Kinda fun, but all the same, I think it's time we went home. What do you say?"
He gave Rodney a little jiggle, and the man seemed to nod.
"Great! Agreement! Let's get the hell out of here."
He kept Rodney pressed against him, and started pulling himself back to the ship, pulling the rope hand over hand. It was rather easy, he decided. He much preferred this means of carrying an injured man. He didn't even have to hold onto Rodney, just keep pulling himself toward the jumper and Rodney was pushed along with him.
"It should be like this every time I have to haul your sorry ass somewhere," Sheppard declared, but remembered other times and didn't like it. Rodney had been hurt too frequently, had been carried home over someone's shoulder often enough.
Rodney would survive, Sheppard promised himself. He'd get the Canadian back to Atlantis in no time, have Beckett look him over. The good doctor would add a quart or two of 10W/40, do a filter change, check the fluids, and all would be fine.
"You might get stuck in the infirmary for a bit, McKay, but they got all the Jell-o you could want there. Might even have some of the blue stuff around. If you're good -- maybe even a pudding cup. Depends on when the Daedalus last showed up. When were they here last, Rodney? Seems like it's been a while."
Sheppard knew McKay was 'out of it' when a question was posed, yet no answer received.
"All the Jell-o you can poke down your pie-hole," Sheppard reiterated as he tugged them toward the jumper. "You'll be like a prince in Gelatin Land. I hope they bring the pretzels I ordered. Think there's a chance of them bringing Little Smokies and a jar of barbeque sauce? I'm not asking for much." And then he pressed one foot to the ramp of the jumper and gravity came back to him, pressing down with all of Rodney's weight.
He gasped, trying to grab hold of McKay before the man crashed to the floor, but was only able to lessen the blow as they collapsed together.
Gravity was a harsh mistress.
"Damn it!" he grumbled, staggering off of Rodney and quickly rolling McKay onto his back. He felt for a pulse again. Still alive! Then, pulled McKay the last few feet up the ramp and into the rear of the jumper.
He was panting from the short exertion. Even walking to the ramp control seemed difficult as he got used to dealing with gravity again. Damn it! He'd only been free of it for a few minutes! Suck!
He raised the hatch, closing off the beautiful dome of stars, and sealing the ship.
"Colonel?" Teyla called plangently. "Colonel?"
He realized that she'd probably been calling for some time. "I got him," he declared as he took a few steps to reach the pilot's seat. He glanced to the Ironspot, finding the crane retracted and Ronon no longer floating about. "Looks like you got your guy, too?"
"Yes, Colonel," Teyla responded brightly. "He is well."
"Don't ask me to do that again," Ronon growled over the comm.
Sheppard chuckled, as he freed the jumper from the dock, and gave the ship a little juice so that it moved away from the Observation Deck. Beside him, Teyla removed the automatic mooring and the Ironspot drifted alongside him.
"How is Rodney?" Teyla asked urgently.
Sheppard sighed. "I'm just going to check on him now." He left the pilot's chair and moved to the rear of the jumper, grabbing the medical bag and falling to his haunches beside his friend. There was a lot of blood, it had saturated the clothing on Rodney's side -- the lack of gravity had sending the stain in weird directions.
Sheppard pulled the shirt away from McKay's hip, quickly revealing the bullet wound. It still seeped unpleasantly. Damn it!
Rodney was too damn pale. His pulse was too fast. Sheppard pulled a dressing from the bag and applied it quickly and expertly to the wound, hoping it would help keep the rest of Rodney's blood inside of him. He pressed down hard, wishing the pain would get Rodney to respond to him, but Rodney managed nothing more than a disquieting sigh.
"You're going to be fine," Sheppard demanded. "I'm not going to put up with you doing anything other than that, you got it?" He checked the wound, wondering if he'd done any good. And ripped a fresh dressing from its packaging and did his best to tie the bandage around Rodney's waist. "Damn inconvenient place to get shot," he muttered as he worked. "There, got you patched up for now," he declared.
"Hang on." He shucked off his jacket and balled it up. Carefully, he lifted Rodney's head and settled the jacket as a pillow. "You'd better stop bleeding because if you get this jacket stained, I'll have your ass. Do you know how hard it is to get anything dry cleaned here?"
He frowned, feeling the chill of Rodney's pale skin.
He stood and ripped open another cabinet, toppling most of the contents onto the floor as he brought down the half-buried emergency blankets. "After all the trouble we went through, you better stick around. That's all I got to say." He unfurled one blanket and tucked it quickly around his friend. "We even got Ronon stuffed into a spacesuit if you can imagine that. I'm sure you're going to want to discuss your shared experiences with him."
"So," Ronon's voice came at him, "he going to be okay?"
Sheppard grimaced, working the other blanket around Rodney. "If we get him back to Beckett," he stated. "Now."
"Then we will go… now," Teyla replied.
Sheppard stood up. "Yeah," he agreed. There was little more he could do at the moment. He wished he could get McKay up on the cushioned bench seat, but he didn't want to lift him with 'full on' gravity, and he figured the less he moved the Canadian, the better.
He gave McKay another look, then dropped down beside him. "Look," he said softly. "We saved your toys. You're going to want to play with them. You're going to make it, 'cause I don't know… I don't know how to do this without you around to give me grief all the time."
Rodney said nothing, so, after giving him a pat on the shoulder, Sheppard stood and hurried to the pilot seat again. He dropped into it and touched the controls. "Okay then," he stated. "We're going home."
He guided the jumper forward, putting more power behind. The Ironspot followed – slower because Teyla was still learning how to control it.
He watched the other ship on the HUD, wondering if it would even fit through the gate. It seemed to have a wider girth than the jumper, but it may have been an optical illusion. It had a DHD didn't it? The length was a problem though – the crane extended the ship quite a bit and he wondered if it would fit into the Gateroom. Plus, there was the possibility that the ship had some sort of a tracking system. Hadn't they found some devices hidden in the treasure haul they'd found on PX1-H0H?
And there was Rix to worry about. They didn't need another outsider knowing about the continued existence of Atlantis – not that half the galaxy didn't seem to already know.
He spoke over the radio, as he adjusted the temperature in the jumper, "Look, I'm heading home. You might want to take the Ironspot… and our guest… elsewhere?"
"Yeah, makes sense," Ronon returned. "We'll do it. The little guy isn't looking too good though. He isn't talking anymore. Might want to have someone give him a look."
"Yeah, we can make that happen." After he'd gotten Rodney to the infirmary, of course.
"I believe we should go to P7M-557," Teyla decided. "Major Lorne is currently at that site, inspecting the area and considering the Gate for removal in the bridge project. I believe he has a medic with his team."
"Yeah, sounds good."
They were going to make it! They even had a plan for dealing with the alien tech and the… alien. Drop the Ironspot off at P7M-557, and let the scientists poke at it all they wanted. Within a month all the jumpers could be fitted with shields and mooring devices and whatever else they wanted to install. Sheppard just hoped the final result didn't look quite so crappy as the Ironspot – because – he really didn't care for crappy.
If there was a tracking device on the Ironspot, fine. Just as long as no one was able to find Atlantis by following it. As for Rix… well, that might be trickier. They'd just drop him somewhere harmless.
They sped back toward the ringed planet, its backlit moons coming into view. John pulled further ahead of the Ironspot, ready to dial up Atlantis.
"See, McKay," he spoke to his passenger. "We got it all figured out. It's all fine. You're going to be okay. You got that? We're almost home."
Finally, as they rounded the gas giant, there was the Gate. He smiled… for a moment.
And Sheppard's jaw dropped in disbelief as he stared. The Gate was engaged.
Crap! Crap Crap crap! Not now… God, we do NOT need to deal with the Wraith NOW!
"Teyla, Ronon, turn back!" John shouted as he brought the jumper to a sudden halt. "We got guests!"
And then something emerged from the event horizon. He brought up the cloak.
Ships -- but instead of darts, a series of vessels emerged – each a little different than the other – each of them built on the same apparent base – each of them looking a little too much like the Ironspot. Five, ten, a dozen materialized from the blue.
Crap… holy crap…
The armada of ships angled around, fell into formation, and then turned toward jumper. Sheppard directed the jumper out of their way, to let them pass him so that he could get in behind them. They followed his movements.
What the hell? They were heading right at him! Sheppard double-checked to ensure that cloak engaged. Son of a bitch! They can see me!
His only hope now was that the Ironspot was far enough back to escape unnoticed. He glanced toward Rodney at the back of the jumper, beneath the pile of blankets, still as death.
"Sorry, buddy," he muttered. "I'm so damn sorry." He swallowed, as his mind raced, trying to figure a way out of this.
A voice rang through the com system, "We are the Bogachiel! Prepare to be boarded."
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TBC - well crap. That kinda sucks. Pirates!