Chapter 18: Wraith Attack.
John stood staring at the short-range sensors, the Wraith should be right above them within two hours and at this point, there was no evidence that they were going to change course. For the moment they had done all that they could do, so Torren was working on the gate, Teyla was meditating, and Maddie and the children had gone to their quarters. Right now, he was the only one with nothing to do, it had been decided that he would head to the chair room when the Wraith were an hour out, but until then all he could do was sit and do nothing.
He had awoken two hours ago in the infirmary in a panic as he had no idea how long he'd been asleep. At that time his worst fear was that he had slept way too long and the wraith were bearing down on them. His immediate reaction was to jump out of bed and head to the control room. That was until Teyla had reassured him that they still had time until the Wraith arrived and then she had suggested that he should have something to eat – which he was more than happy to do.
After a meal of stew and bread, he had put on his boots – by himself for the first time since he'd been on the planet – and then he had run as fast as he could to the control room. That was an hour ago and he'd done absolutely nothing since then.
He looked over at Torren who seemed deep in thought and for some reason, he was curious as to what he was doing.
"Whatcha…doing?"
Torren sighed before he replied and John could sense his impatience, "Why, do you need to know Dad?"
"Because I'm incredibly bored and sitting around waiting for the wraith to show up is driving me crazy."
"Why don't you go and meditate with Mom or something?"
He snorted at that comment, "I've tried mediation on many occasions, for some reason it always puts me to sleep and right now I really need to be awake. Besides I spent six months with a group of people on the path to ascension and they made me meditate every afternoon and guess what – every afternoon I had a nap?"
"Well, if you must know I'm trying to get the gate back online and the wraith virus that was wreaking havoc has fried the systems, so I really need to get some parts from Atlantis, but until the Wraith have disappeared, I can't really leave this planet, can I?!"
He could sense that Torren's patience was wearing thin, but he continued anyway, "have you checked out the jumper bay yet?"
"Yes Dad, there are several jumpers fitted with ZPM's so once we have dealt with the wraith. The first thing I need to do is work out what the ancients were doing on this planet. If I can work that out, I can work out what the anomaly is and then I can work out a way to send you home! Then I will be going back to Atlantis with Maddie and the children to get some components to fix the gate. Then when we come back I will bring along some reinforcements at the same time.
"Have you checked on Arastica to see if it has the parts you need?"
Torren turned to glare at him, "honestly Dad I have just been way too busy, so how about you go and sit in the chair and ask Arastica yourself – since you seem to be so friendly with her!?"
He felt severely chastised by his son and the more he got to know him, the more he didn't like the part of him that sounded exactly like McKay.
"Sorry," he mumbled and sat down on his stool again.
He watched a glum look cross his son's face and then Torren sighed, "I'm sorry Dad, it's just that there is so much going on at the moment and there's no one here to help us. You have done a wonderful job in the chair room connecting with Arastica, but there is still so much to do, and I am only one man."
"How about I head down to the control chair now and I can see what I can find. It won't take long, and I should be able to see what the Wraith are up to from there."
"Thanks, Dad."
John took one last look at his son and headed to the chair room, knowing that within the next hour and a half the wraith could be attacking them, and he had never felt so nervous. In the past, he'd had a whole city full of military personnel and scientists to help out, but right now he had Torren and Teyla to help him – and he didn't like those odds.
Ten minutes later he arrived in the chair room and with great apprehension of what was to come, he sat in the chair, put his hands on the sensors and leant back.
Immediately he was on his favourite balcony again and Arastica was there waiting for him.
"Hello again, John Sheppard."
"I haven't got much time before the Wraith attack, but can you tell me whether you have any components for repairing the gate."
"I certainly do, so I will send the location to Torren's computer."
"Thanks, Arastica, I've got to go now, so I will see you later."
He felt himself falling into the darkness again…
When he became aware again, someone was shouting in his ear, so he immediately opened his eyes and was surprised to find that no one was in the room with him. It took him a few seconds to realise that it was Torren trying to contact him over the comms.
"Dad, are you there?"
Torren's voice sounded urgent, so he decided that he'd better answer him, "I'm here Torren."
"The Wraith have sped up they'll be here in fifteen minutes."
"Really, how long was I in the chair?"
"About thirty minutes, but they must have some kind of super drive because they are coming really fast."
"Alright keep me informed, Sheppard out."
Within the next fifteen minutes, they would know whether all of their preparations were enough. The plan was to keep the cloak up for now and if the Wraith looked like they were coming anywhere near the planet they would switch to the shield, and he would fire the drones. All he could do now was wait for instructions from his son – which still weirded him out because Torren was older than him.
His comm activating brought him back to reality, "Hey Torren what's happening?" He asked tapping the comm device in his arm.
"The hive is right on top of us and they're releasing the darts. For the moment the Hive seems to be in orbit."
"Keep an eye on it and let me know what it does."
A gasp came from Torren, and he wondered what he had seen, his question was answered a slip second later, "Umm…Dad the hive is firing and they're firing blind. It won't take them long to hit us."
"Switch to the shield and I'll start firing on the drones and the Hive at the same time. Hopefully, I can manage it, keep me informed Sheppard out."
Sitting back into the chair, he took a deep breath before connecting with Arastica, he knew that it was up to him now and there was nothing that Torren and Teyla could do to help.
This time when he connected, he pictured the drones that were heading towards the planet and for some reason, the anomaly wasn't affecting them. The Hive ship was still in orbit but was slowly getting sucked towards the anomaly, so if he could hold the darts off the hive ship still might end up getting sucked into the anomaly – well he could always hope.
As the darts came closer, they started to fire on the city, so he concentrated on releasing the drones, fire on the wraith darts, he thought before releasing the drones and then he thought, Fire on that Hive Ship. Relief swept over him when drone after drone hit their targets, but his satisfaction was short-lived when the hive kept firing at the city. The shield seemed to be holding for now, but he knew that it wouldn't last for long, so he focused his mind and told the drones to keep firing on the Hive while still firing on the darts.
His concentration was beginning to wane, so he hoped that he wouldn't have to reload the drones in the middle of the attack because he didn't think that he could handle three things at once.
He continued to fire as the Hive and drones continued to fire on the city. The Hive seemed to be getting closer to the anomaly, so at some point, it wouldn't be a problem and there would only be a few rogue darts left for him to deal with. Digging deeper within himself, he just kept firing and he hoped that he had the strength to complete his mission.
He had no idea how long he'd kept firing, but eventually, the darts had been dealt with and the hive was getting closer to the anomaly, so he knew that he only had to keep firing for a little longer and then hopefully the Hive would be sucked in.
Feeling absolutely exhausted he continued firing and a few minutes later the Hive was sucked into the anomaly. The darts rogue darts had been destroyed and his job was done – almost.
He knew that he should re-fill the drone launchers so that whoever used the chair next wouldn't have to bother. So, he dug deeper than he ever had before and imagined the drone storage room and then he imagined the drones into the launchers. He managed to move about one hundred before he was too drained to continue, so he gave up and fell into the darkness once more….
When he awoke again, he assumed that he was in the infirmary, and he had no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was re-loading the drone launchers and then nothing until now. Not really wanting to get up just yet he kept his eyes closed and hoped he would go back to sleep – but no such luck because Maddie started to talk to him.
"John, I know you're awake, so how about you open your eyes?"
Sighing he opened his eyes and looked straight into her bright blue eyes, "hey doc, how long have I been asleep?"
"You've been asleep for two days, but considering what you did, I'm not surprised."
Thinking back to what had happened two days ago, he knew that he needed to know that everything was okay, "did we destroy them all?"
"The Hive was sucked through the anomaly and from what we can ascertain all of the darts were destroyed."
Although he trusted what Maddie was saying he needed to check for himself, "well, as soon as you let me out of here, I think that I would like to fly over the planet in a jumper and double-check."
"You're free to leave, once you've had something to eat."
"Well, you'll get no arguments from me since I'm starving. But where are my clothes?" He asked in disgust as he was wearing a pink hospital gown.
"I will get them when you've eaten and I'm sure you can stand on your feet. There are a few other things we need to attend to before you leave as well," Maddie told him with a smirk before leaving the room.
Once he was sure that she had left the room, he lifted up the sheet and to his horror, the dreaded catheter was there and that was obviously one of the things she needed to attend to before he left the infirmary.
A little voice spoke from the doorway of the room, so he quickly put the sheet down and tucked it around his legs.
"John, I have brought you some bacon and eggs and lots of coffee."
He smiled at the child as she entered the room, "hey, Charin what have you and Dave been up to?"
She placed the food on the tray table and pulled up a chair beside his bed, "we've spent lots of time with Torren and Maddie exploring this city. Teyla has come with us sometimes as well. That's when she hasn't been sitting with you."
Taking the time to look at the child he realised again how much she looked like Teyla, and he longed to have a little girl just like her one day. Although if he and Teyla had children there was no way to tell how they would turn out – they may not even have a little girl.
"So, what do you think Charlie?" He asked as he started attacking his food giving her plenty of time to answer.
"It is a wonderous place and Torren and Maddie have asked us if we would like to live here with them? They have also promised to take us to Atlantis one day."
He smiled at her because at least he knew that the children would be taken care of, "that's great news and I'm sure you'll be very happy here."
"I just wanted to make sure that it was okay with you. Teyla thinks it's for the best if we stay here, but I want to know what you think?"
"I have really enjoyed getting to know you Charlie, but I think that it is best if you stay here with Maddie and Torren. They will look after you well."
She hopped up on the bed beside him and threw her arms around him and he had very little choice but to hug her back, "thank you, John, I was hoping that you would say that. I know that it is strange, but Torren is my half-brother after all."
"You're welcome, Charlie, but we'll be here for a little while yet since we can't leave until we can find a way to travel back in time."
"If anyone can work it out Torren can since he's just about the smartest man I've ever met."
Knowing that she'd never met Rodney he chuckled at that comment, "do you think he's smarter than your dad was?"
"No, he's definitely not as smart as dad but he's almost." She looked at him with a thoughtful look on her face before continuing, "I guess that makes you pretty smart too."
Rather than admitting to anything, he thought he'd change the subject, "so do you like to cook because these bacon and eggs are delicious."
She smiled at him and for the first time, he noticed that it was just like Teyla's smile, "thank you, John. I must get going now because I'm supposed to be giving Teyla a cooking lesson."
"Good luck," he smirked before helping her off the bed.
He watched her leave and began to wonder where Maddie was, since it was time he got on with making sure that no Wraith darts were hiding on the planet, "hey doc are you there!?" He shouted at the door.
When there was no response, he started to look around the room for a call button – what kind of infirmary would it be without one of those.
He was surprised when he didn't find anything, so he called again, "hey doc!"
Just as he was about to call again, Maddie came in with a tray of instruments and his BDU's.
"Right, let's get that catheter out and then you can get dressed."
A grin lit up his face, "you brought my BDU's, I thought that I'd lost them."
"Charin washed and fixed them for you."
He grabbed his clothes off her and gave her his best smile, "great so if you can do what you have to do, then I can get dressed and get on with what I need to?"
Five minutes later when she had finished disconnecting him from all the wires and tubes and he was suitably embarrassed, Maddie smiled at him before leaving the room, giving him some space to get dressed.
oOo
John was relieved to be finally flying a jumper again as he was getting a bit sick and tired of being in the city. Although Arastica was a lovely city she was nothing like Atlantis. Atlantis was surrounded by a beautiful blue ocean and Arastica was surrounded by grasslands, so the view from Atlantis was definitely better – although there was a certain beauty to Sheppard's planet and if he wasn't so desperate to get back to his own time, he would definitely like to spend some time here.
He flew over the large grassland where Sheppard's jumper had crashed and over to the left, he spied the jumper that he and Teyla had crashed in. Continuing on he flew over the cabin and the gardens and sheds behind it. He flew over the woods, then he flew over the river, the cascading waterfall, and the bridge across the river. He knew that he should probably head back and do what he had set out to do, but the landscape was too beautiful to ignore. Even though technically he was still checking out the area for Wraith. When he got to the ocean, he decided that it was about time he turned back as he doubted that the Wraith would have come this far – they were aiming for Arastica after all.
He was about to turn back when he spied land in the distance and not wanting to head back to Arastica straight away he decided that it wouldn't hurt to do a little exploring and he hadn't found any sign of the Wraith on the planet so far.
A few minutes later he landed in a large field that was full of colourful flowers and he took the time to enjoy the view of the mountains in the distance. His life had been nothing but difficult since he'd arrived in this time period, so he knew that he deserved some time to enjoy himself. Although in the back of his mind he knew that there could still be wraith on the planet.
Walking through the wild grasses, he kept his eye out for trouble, knowing that if anything could happen it probably would. After walking for about five minutes, he noticed a dark shape in the distance and whatever it was it definitely didn't belong on this planet.
Pulling his gun he walked along in silence – on high alert. As he got closer to the black object he noticed smoke, it was at that point he began to suspect that it may be a crashed Wraith dart. He had no idea why it would have crashed this far out, and a sudden sense of foreboding came over him.
A sound behind him caught his attention, so he quickly turned around and he saw nothing. He turned back around and right in front of him was the biggest Wraith that he had ever seen. Before he'd had a chance to shoot him the Wraith had his hand around his neck and was throwing him through the air. Landing heavily, he managed to get his gun up and start to shoot, while trying to get up at the same time. He must have zoned out for a minute or two because the next thing he knew was the Wraith had slammed its feeding hand into his chest and was starting to feed. He felt the wraith enzyme flooding his system and for an instant, it felt good, then he felt the wraith tearing his life away from him while shredding his nerve endings apart. Feeling weaker, by the minute his life flashed before his eyes and all he could think was that he would never see Teyla or Torren again. Eventually, the agony that he was experiencing became too much for him and he screamed and just when he thought he was going to die he heard a gunshot ring out and the wraith fell on top of him – killed, by a bullet to the head.
Now he was old, weak and had a huge dead wraith lying on top of him and it was making it difficult for him to breathe, so what the hell was he supposed to do now?
A voice cut through the haze, and it was a voice that he hadn't expected to hear again, "Ah John Sheppard, can't I leave you alone for five minutes without you getting yourself into trouble?"
"About time you turned up Todd, where the hell have you been?"
"Sorry, but I had to report back to my hive." Todd hissed
He really was in pain, and he felt incredibly weak, but there was no way he was going to tell Todd that, "well as much as I'd love to hear all about it, can you get this guy off me and maybe give me back some of the years he's taken?"
A few seconds later the dead Wraith was off him and he was looking into the face of Todd who knelt beside him.
"Tell me why I should give your years back when you have destroyed my hive, John Sheppard!?" Todd snarled.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
Now Todd was smiling, which had him totally confused, "Never mind, the queen wasn't going to help me with my research anyway, so I would have had to destroy the hive myself eventually. Luckily I have the favour of three other queens."
"Okay…can you help me now please?"
He closed his eyes as Todd's outstretched hand connected with his chest, and instantly he felt the enzyme released into his system again – and it felt good. He felt his strength returning to him as his life was returned and when Todd took his hand away, he really felt as if he wanted more. But he knew how easy it would be to become addicted to the enzyme, so he took a deep breath and stopped himself from asking.
Placing his hand on his chest he felt the sticky blood there and he knew that Maddie wasn't going to be happy to see him injured again, "hey Todd can't you heal this wound?"
"I can, but you don't need any more of the enzyme right now as it may lead to an addiction and the last thing you need is the withdrawal."
"Oh yeah I remember from last time – withdrawal's a bitch," he muttered more to himself than Todd.
"Right then John Sheppard, "let's get back to the city so that I can help Torren research the anomaly and get you home," Todd suggested as he walked off in the direction of the jumper and his dart.
"Hey Todd," he called out, "why are you so eager to get me home?"
The Wraith stopped and turned to face him, "because I believe that humans and wraith should be able to live in peace and to achieve that I need to be working with you in the past."
Wow! He thought, "a wraith who wants peace, I never saw that coming. "Alright, we'd better get going then, because I'm sure the others are missing me by now."
He knew that there were possibly other Wraith on the planet, but he also knew that he should get back to Arastica and see Maddie as soon as possible, so he stopped walking and looked at Todd.
"Hey Todd, do you think that there are any other Wraith on this planet?
"I have travelled over half the planet and have eliminated three, so hopefully that is all of them. If you want to head back to Arastica, I can have one last flyover in my dart to make sure there are no more," Todd suggested.
"That sounds fair, I'll meet you back at Arastica when you're finished then."
Todd nodded and John turned towards the jumper. When he arrived a few minutes later, he went inside. It wasn't long before he had it in the air and he was able to enjoy the view, knowing that he would have to face Maddie and Teyla when he got back, and they were definitely going to want an explanation for the feeding marks on his chest.
TBC…