Time Immemorial
Chapter 15: Drawing Dead
July 16th
2345 Hours
Pressing herself flat against the corridor's wall, Elizabeth crept slowly through the bowels of the City. Her pace was deliberate, unwilling to sacrifice stealth for speed. She stuck to the wall like glue, not by some tactical design but merely because she was too frightened to step into the open. She focused only on placing one foot in front of the other. The thought of Straton waking - guaranteed to be pissed - was enough to spur her onward.
Her flight from the store room had been met with no resistance thus far. She had seen no one and heard nothing. The sound of her rapid breathing was the only noise to break the oppressive silence. She had been tempted to find an empty room, hunker down, and lock herself in... but she had immediately dismissed the selfish thought. Her people needed her. But how could she, armed with nothing more than a knife and lacking a plan, possibly hope to turn the tables on the intruders?
Stopping momentarily, Elizabeth leaned heavily on a support pillar and closed her eyes. Think, she told herself. Touching a hand to her left ear, Elizabeth activated her radio. She pondered broadcasting a call for help. She had taken it from Straton simply to monitor any chatter. But maybe if she called out... She thought the better of it. Even if there were still any uncaptured expedition members out there to receive her distress call, the Lacedami would surely receive it, too. While her escape currently remained unbeknownst to her captors, any radio use would certainly spoil her one advantage.
Okay, she thought first, what would John do? Frowning, Elizabeth's second thought was: it must be a bad day if I'm taking a page out of the book of John Sheppard. Still, she knew he would know what to do in a heartbeat. Elizabeth sighed. She wished she had heeded his warning, wished he was here with her now-
Voices. From the hallway up ahead. Then a glint of light bouncing off a metal shield, then two more.
Her eyes went wide at the sight. Adrenaline spiked through her system. Faced with a fight-or-flight decision, the diplomat didn't hesitate at getting on with the latter. She back peddled several steps, spun around -
- and crashed headlong into a rock hard wall of brown tunic, leather sandals, and virulence.
Elizabeth gasped, thinking it was Straton, recently awakened and aching for revenge. But she was wrong. It was someone much, much worse.
She scrambled to gain traction on the smooth floor, nearly slipping in the process. The figure merely grabbed her arm and wrenched her upward, dragging her with him like a disgruntled parent dragging a disobedient child.
But Elizabeth wasn't about to go down without a fight. She threw herself bodily at the large man, succeeding in freeing his grip on her... for a measly spilt-second before he easily pinned her arms behind her back.
"No!" Dr. Weir screamed in frustration, fear, and despair. She thrashed about ferociously in his grasp. "Let me go!"
"My, my," Antigonos said with genuine surprise. He looked humored by the woman stubbornly writhing in his clutch. "How odd: the fearless leader of Atlantis, roaming the halls of the City, completely alone and utterly defenseless."
John raced down the corridor, running as fast as his legs would take him. He thought about the Lacedami roaming the halls. If he accidentally stumbled into them, his attempt to save Elizabeth would come to a swift end... perhaps his life, too. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind. Throwing caution to the wind, he sped onward. A left turn one hundred yards ahead would-
"No!" came a voice over his newly-acquired headset. "Let me go!"
Major Sheppard skidded to a halt. There was no mistaking the owner of the voice. And there was no mistaking that she was in trouble.
Elizabeth glared up at Commander Antigonos. She continued to struggle against him, but he pulled her in tight against him, her arms pinned behind her back, as he marched her forward through the hallway. He set a brisk pace, his patience for her having long run thin.
"Had I known that one female was simply too much for my trusted lieutenant to handle," he said in an acrid tone, "I would have left him back at our citadel to serve the rest of my men with the otherwise worthless whores."
Elizabeth wasn't fully listening. She thought furtively of a means to escape. My radio, she realized. Hidden underneath locks of hair, the earpiece had gone unnoticed by Antigonos... so far. Though it wasn't exactly a solution to her predicament, it was something. Maybe someone sympathetic to her cause was listening on the other end. If only Lacedami were listening, they would only learn what they already knew.
She boldly cleared her throat. "That's certainly some parochial views you have on women, Commander," she announced, more into the tiny microphone than to her captor.
The commander scoffed derisively. "Tell me, am I misguided in my sentiment, Doctor Weir?"
"No, not at all," she retorted coolly, allowing herself to channel some of John's acerbic wit. "I'm sure all the 'worthless' Lacedami whores can lure in and take down one of your soldiers, too. From what I've seen of your men, you're in no short supply of ones foolish enough to dupe."
Antigonos cast her a sidelong glance, deciding whether to strike her or to allow himself an appreciative smile at the crafty jab. Straton would be punished severely for his carelessness.
"Indeed," was his only answer. "Yet for all of your cunning you were still caught. And here we are."
And here we are, Elizabeth thought as she was pushed onward. She prayed her fearful shaking wasn't perceptible.
Several floors above, John stood still as a statue. He strained his hearing, grappling for even the faintest hint of what was happening on the other side of the line. He could only hear half of the conversation through his earpiece, but he was sure the other half wasn't good.
"That's certainly some parochial views you have on women, Commander," he heard the female voice say again.
Three things were immediately clear to him: first, it was definitely Elizabeth. No one else uses 'parochial' in their day-to-day vocabulary, the major thought to himself.
Secondly, he could tell by the forced tone of her voice that she was calling out for help via her radio. Risky, but smart. He didn't know how she obtained the unit, or why her captors hadn't confiscated it yet, but at the moment he didn't give a damn. Way to go, Elizabeth, John thought to himself. Just keep talking.
Lastly, and most disturbingly of all, he learned it was Antigonos who was holding her. The thought was not a comforting one. Why Straton was no longer in the picture befuddled him.
"No, not at all," came the next words. "I'm sure all the 'worthless' Lacedami whores can lure in and take down one of your soldiers, too. From what I've seen of your men, you're in no short supply of ones foolish enough to dupe."
John winced at the remark. "No, no, don't insult him," he muttered under his breath. "Keep talking to me, Elizabeth. Just tell me where he's taking you."
"Tell me, Dr. Weir, intrepid leader of Atlantis," Antigonos began, his words dripping with disdain. He deftly pulled Straton's combat knife from her belt. "I am really interested in knowing just what you were possibly hoping to accomplish with this."
To stab you in the heart, if you even have one, you murderous bastard. Elizabeth just looked away, ashamed at herself for her foiled escape attempt. She watched miserably as Antigonos bequeathed the blade to one of the soldiers she had glimpsed earlier. The trio ran off, attending to some previously established duties. She was left with the commander, alone. The thought sent a chill up her spine... until she realized that he was now without the strength of numbers. It was a disadvantage that needed to be communicated in the off-chance that someone was indeed coming to her aid.
"Where are they going?" she asked innocently into her mic. To maintain the illusion, she put as much nervousness into her voice as she could muster. It wasn't difficult. But Antigonos ignored her.
She cleared her throat once more, hoping she wasn't being too obvious. "I assume the commander has more important matters to attend to than babysitting me alone." She emphasized the last word.
"You assume correctly," Antigonos returned snidely. "Which is why this will be swift."
Elizabeth nearly stumbled. She looked at him in terror. "What are you going to do with me?"
"Merely finish what was started."
Elizabeth swallowed. So Antigonos still intended to kill her, and maybe even do something worse. Her breathing quickened once more as they approached their destination, still on the bottom-most floor of the City. She recognized this place.
"Why are we going to the marine biology lab?" the diplomat managed to choke out, another clue for anyone listening in.
"Because, if by some cruel joke of the gods you are not mercifully dead by then, I want your last breaths in this world to be spent watching with a spectacular view the moment I make your City crumble... and all of her people along with it."
"Where are they going?" John heard Elizabeth ask. He frowned. He didn't know who 'they' were or what they were up to.
"I assume the commander has more important matters to attend to than babysitting me alone."
John's ears perked up. That a girl, Elizabeth, he thought. So Antigonos had no backup. Now would be the opportune moment to move in... though he still didn't know where she was.
The major tapped his foot nervously in the shadows of the hallway.
"What are you going to do with me?"
He was glad he was unable to hear Antigonos' reply. The desire to rip the man's head off was already overwhelming. Whatever his plan for her was, he needed to get to her out of there before it was executed.
"Come on, come on..." he murmured to himself, impatient. "Where are you, Elizab-"
"Why are we going to the marine biology lab?"
Yes, bingo! John thought gleefully. Smart one, Elizabeth! Taking off at a breakneck speed, Sheppard sprinted in the direction of the lab. He vaguely remembered its location. It would take him several minutes to close the distance. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late.
Seeing the laboratory, the last room she might ever lay eyes on, hit home. Her heart sank. Her fate seemed so certain now, and closer than ever. No, no one would be coming to help her. It was terrifying. But it also lit a fire within her. With renewed vigor, she strained forcibly against the commander's grasp, crying out with the exertion. The effort was futile. Her eyes began to water in frustration.
Antigonos noticed and smiled despicably at the sight. "There is nothing you could have done, Dr. Weir, to prevent this. We are the most powerful race in this galaxy."
"Do not confuse pride with power, Commander," Elizabeth spoke measuredly as she glowered at him.
"The confusion is yours. Take heart in knowing that you are not the first leader to lead her people to ruin against us."
"Say what you will about me and my abilities as leader of this base, but even if you kill me, my people will not fall or surrender to you - this I can promise. If there is one thing I've learned about them it's that they are damned hard to beat. If you think that they're just going to roll over for you, you've got another thing coming."
At this, Antigonos erupted in a fit of genuine laughter. It was the first Elizabeth had seen from the man and it almost looked... wrong, perverse, unnatural, as if his facial muscles had long forgotten how to form the mirthful expressions.
"And you have formulated a plan to gain the advantage, have you?" he challenged.
"No," she was forced to admit. "But my team will think of something."
"I am glad that you have faith in your people," he said, "but you also had faith in me and mine."
Dr. Weir hung her head as she was pushed into the marine bio lab. It was all true.
Antigonos noticed the reaction and piled onto the torment. He eyed her from head to toe. "You put your heart into your command, I see that now. I must wonder if you would put the rest of your body into it, too?"
"Why don't just take what you came here for and leave?" she spat.
"Once we have what we came here for," Antigonos began, "we will use this City for its intended purpose." He forced her down into a heavy chair. It faced way from the room's sole entrance and toward a large underwater window. On any other day she might have admired this view of the ocean, completely submerged below the waterline.
"And what the hell does that mean?" With her fate decided, Elizabeth was feeling a sudden sense of fearlessness.
Antigonos set to work securing both her wrists and ankles to the chair with leather straps. "I will be returning Atlantis to where it once called home, and finishing the war that should have been won thousands of years ago."
Elizabeth's mind reeled. She struggled to piece together what she was hearing. Antigonos' end game was to get to... Earth? How? And the she realized that his presence now on this sub-marine level hadn't been a coincidence, and it hadn't been for her. There was something else on this floor that he was here for.
The City's star drive.
"Why-"
"What is this?" the commander interrupted. He had come across her radio's headset, still situated within her ear. "Is this why you have been so inquisitive?" he asked her rhetorically. He leaned in menacingly toward the microphone, his face less than an inch from hers. She could feel his hot breath on her ear and tried her best not to writhe in revulsion.
"Is someone listening on the other end?" he announced into the mic, amused. He enjoyed the look of guilt on her face. His next words were spoken into the radio, meant for listeners on the other end, but his eyes remained locked on hers . "Know this: if there is anyone indeed still roaming Atlantis freely, you will be caught and you will be killed. Your efforts to help Dr. Weir have failed. You are too late."
He quickly plucked the small headset from her ear, tossed it on the floor, and crushed it beneath his foot.
"Attempting to rally your troops - by deceiving me, I see. You have surprised me. I will say this, Dr. Weir: you are brave of heart."
"Only compared to some," she shot back.
Suddenly Antigonos backhanded her brutally across her right cheek. The sting caused her to cry out in pain. Her eyes instantly welled up once more.
"Brave of heart... yet foolish of tongue," he sneered.
Elizabeth instantly thought of John and she couldn't help but smile through her tears. The certainty of her own impending death had put her in an odd, flippant mood. "If you think I'm bad," she choked out, "wait until you talk with Major Sheppard-"
The second strike didn't sting as much as the first, perhaps because she was half-expecting it. Antigonos seemed agitated by her non-reaction. "That will be the last time anyone on this base attempts to deceive me!" he shouted. He grabbed her shirt collar and pulled her in close to his face, now beet red with fury.
"Whatever you do to me, John Sheppard will make sure you won't get what you want," she asserted.
"Yes, he will try," Antigonos nodded. "And he will fail."
"He won't fail. If you were half the man he is-"
The third blow made her ears ring.
"I am more than he can ever hope to be! Now, this is something I have been longing to do ever since I met you," he whispered sinisterly in her ear.
Instinctively, Elizabeth began to struggle with all of her energy against whatever physical atrocities were about to be committed. If this was to be her end, she wanted to inflict as much damage as one woman could to the bastard before she met it. But before she knew what was happening, she felt a piece of cloth being shoved in her mouth and tied around the back of her head as a gag. She thought it was odd that she found herself breathing a sigh of relief at that.
"You have talked far too much today," Antigonos said matter-of-factly. He began retreating towards the room's exit, a sneer on his face. "Straton will enjoy you more like this anyhow. While your spirit is something, I only hope he finds the rest of you as interesting."
He retreated across the door's threshold. "Given that you are not long for this world, I suspect this is the last time we will see each other. Goodbye, Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Give my regards to the Boatman."
The Lacedami commander then turned and left to fetch his lieutenant.
John barreled through the hallways of Atlantis. He skidded around corners, taking some too fast, bouncing off the opposite walls like a pinball. But he wouldn't allow himself to be slowed. He continued listening to Elizabeth verbally spar with Antigonos. Though the clues seemed to have ceased, he found comfort in hearing her voice anyway.
He closed in on the final staircase that would take him down to the City's basement.
His foot paused midair as he reached the first step. He heard heavy footsteps trudging up at him from the same stairwell, making no attempt at covertness. The major backtracked several yards along his route and ducked behind a corner. Positioning himself appropriately, he waited for them to make their appearance, and not a moment too soon.
Out of the stairwell exited three Lacedami soldiers. Like the rest of their lot, they were extremely fit and looked all business. John guessed it was the same trio that Elizabeth had tipped him off about over the radio minutes ago.
And then he heard a voice over his headset that stood the hairs on his arms on end. Though the words were spoken into Elizabeth's microphone, they were not hers. "Is someone listening on the other end?" John heard the voice in his head say. Instantly Sheppard felt a spike of adrenaline jolt through his body, thinking for a split-second that he had been caught. It was almost like Antigonos was speaking directly to him, as if he could see him.
John physically touched his radio, grounding himself, annoyed that his brain had fooled the rest of him so easily. The commander certainly had a way of getting under one's skin. John continued to watch the three Lacedami as he formulated a plan. Antigonos had found Elizabeth's radio - he didn't know how, but the commander had. That meant Elizabeth was in trouble.
"Know this: if there is anyone indeed still roaming Atlantis freely, you will be caught and you will be killed. Your efforts to help Dr. Weir have failed. You are too late."
Then, static.
John's blood turned cold. It felt like someone had stabbed him in the heart. Could it...? Had she actually been...?
No, no way, he decided. No time for this. Get the facts now, emotions later. He did realize, though, that even if she wasn't dead now, she could very well be within the next few minutes. He needed to move, and move now. Without thinking, he unholstered Kyros's Lacedami pistol and aimed it at the blockade of soldiers from the shadows. Its small HUD mounted mid-barrel glowed a luminescent green at his touch, outlining the three figures ahead. He didn't bother checking to what stun setting the weapon was set. In what might have been considered an unwise move even under the best of circumstances, he started to squeeze the trigger-
- and immediately released it. The trio had turned. They marched away from his position with purpose, unaware of their near brush with death.
Unwilling to let slip a single second more, Sheppard resumed his progress. He took the stairs three at a time. Landing lightly on the bottom floor, he slowed to a jog. He would have to be slightly more cautious as he neared the marine bio lab. He didn't know what was left in store for him.
Letting his sidearm lead the way, John swept the hallways and intersecting corridors for threats but found none. There was no one about. He was unsure what to make of that fact.
Less than one minute later he spied the entrance to the marine biology lab. The doors had been left open. He strained his hearing as he approached, quickening his pace out of sudden dread, but heard nothing from inside. With one last deep breath, he rounded the corner, gun up.
What he saw inside the laboratory made him awash with relief, yet simultaneously flush with worry. There was Elizabeth, alive, but bound to a bulky chair. She sat with her back to him, facing a large underwater viewport. She must have heard him enter because he noticed her body tense, ready for another confrontation, and her head cock slightly, listening.
Forgetting instantly about Antigonos, the Lacedami, and their power problems, John holstered his sidearm and rushed to her. He slid to his knees in front of her.
Upon seeing that it was him, the resolute guise Elizabeth had been sporting in front of Antigonos immediately cracked. She broke down in tears. Normally she would have hated herself for the display, but right then she just didn't care. He had seen her emotionally naked before, stripped to the core. All she could do was cry as he loosened the gag from her mouth.
She inhaled a deep breath once the cloth was free. "John-"
She was cut off as she suddenly found his lips pressed firmly against hers, his arms pulling her into a tight embrace. She felt the raw relief pour from him. After the initial stun at his uncharacteristically brazen display of emotion, Elizabeth kissed him back deeply. She didn't want him to let go.
Eventually he pulled away and titled her chin up toward him, trying to get a better look at her. "Jesus, are you okay?" he asked sincerely. The questions poured out. "What did they do to you? Did they hurt you? Where's Antigonos?"
He noticed two red marks on her otherwise flawless cheek. He rubbed a thumb tenderly across them, wiping away her tears in the process.
Elizabeth had to refrain from involuntarily bursting into tears all over again at his questions. She nodded dumbly. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen you," she said. "I was so stupid."
"Don't worry about that now," John answered gently. "I might have done the same thing." Pulling out the Lacedami blade from his belt, he set to work on cutting through her bonds.
Noticing the distinctly Lacedami design of the knife, Elizabeth threw the major a questioning look. He explained that it was Kyros who had staged his 'escape', even furnishing him with weapons and a radio. He silently thanked the kid. Suddenly John had a chilling thought: had anyone noticed his absence yet? Were they already looking for him?
From his stooped position, his eyes caught the tear in her shirt. His hands stopped what they were doing and gently pulled back the cut fabric. His eyes widened as he saw the bloody series of gashes on her shoulder.
"What the..." John started, trying his best to maintain his calm. "Who did this to you?"
"There's no time," Elizabeth argued, not eager to recall the series of events.
"Who did this to you?" John repeated heatedly.
"Straton. It's their mark."
Resuming his previous task, the major muttered, "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."
"Get in line," Elizabeth muttered herself.
Casting her a mindful glance, he realized she'd be okay. "Smart thinking, by the way - using your radio to broadcast clues." Finished with cutting through the first strap on her left wrist, he moved on to her left ankle.
"Honestly, I was beginning to think that no one was listening," she admitted. She used her now free left hand to begin untying her right hand's restraint.
"Well, someone was." John cleared his throat. "For a second there I, uh, I thought you were... you know."
She paused what she was doing. Elizabeth looked up at him, noticing how he avoided eye contact with her. She picked up on the catch in his voice. It was hard for him to vocalize even the mere possibility of her being killed. She didn't tell him that not more than a minute ago, she herself was all but certain she was going to die down here, alone.
"Listen," she started, feeling the need to change the subject. She found her voice again with the second sentence. "I discovered some things about the Lacedami: why they're here, what Commander Antigonos's plan is..."
Elizabeth trailed off as she noticed that the major had stopped working her bonds free. He had fallen still. She looked to him for an explanation, but found his attention directed over her shoulder, behind her, toward the room's entrance. Then, her eyes caught a reflection in the great window in front of her. She gasped involuntarily. It was the form of a man.
Straton stood at the threshold of the lab, summoned and perhaps awoken by Antigonos. Two welts were beginning to form on his forehead. His scarred face's expression melted from one of ire to one of puzzlement at the scene before him. Here to claim his prize and exact his revenge on Dr. Weir, the soldier had clearly not counted on the additional presence of the major. But instead of being discouraged at the additional opposition, he smiled ambitiously. Here was not one but both of Atlantis' leaders, cornered in one spot. He had intended to kill one, but removing both at the same time was too good an opportunity to pass up. The commander would be pleased. Perhaps this would place him back in his good graces.
What happened next was over in less than two seconds. To Elizabeth, it felt like hours.
She watched John, still crouched down in front of her, quickly draw his sidearm and take aim at the Lacedami behemoth. He simultaneously sidestepped to the right, presumably to draw opposing fire away from her.
Straton had drawn his own pistol.
The twin Lacedami weapons pointed at one another. Twenty feet separated the pair.
Unable to see half of the standoff, Elizabeth strained to listen. She couldn't hear anything over her heartbeat, pumping a mile a minute inside her chest, the rhythm thumping loudly inside her skull. Her fear for John crescendoed. She desperately began to claw at the first of her three remaining bonds.
As he squeezed the trigger, John suddenly thought the better of it. He needed a new plan. If he fired and the bullet hit its mark, he would have successfully downed Straton - but someone would surely hear the gunshot. If he fired and missed, the shot would still be heard and Straton would fall back and return with backup.
Those two facts didn't seem to bother the Lacedami man. Straton pulled the trigger - once, twice, three times - sending a salvo of electrified bullets toward Sheppard. The air seemed to sizzle in their wake. But Straton had fired at the exact moment John was moving to his right. The slugs passed between he and Elizabeth, missing their original mark...
... but finding a new one in the giant window that held the ocean at bay.
All three of them, momentarily forgetting about their quarrel, locked eyes onto the glass pane. The rounds had embedded themselves into the one-inch thick glass in a neat triangular pattern. The air around it smelled faintly of ozone. Luckily, the glass had not shattered-
A small crack suddenly shot between two of the bullet holes. John squinted, focusing in on the spot. What the hell? he thought. The rims of the bullet holes glowed orange, superheated by the charged rounds. The glass had actually melted at the three areas of impact, weakening it locally.
If there had been any doubt that Straton had set his weapon to the maximum kill setting, there was none now.
Another crack sprouted, connecting two more holes. The original fissure began to spray a small jet of water into the room.
Looking at the ocean beyond, John realized that it was only a matter of time before the immense pressure of the water completely obliterated the pane at its weakest spot. And once that spot went, so would the rest of the window. Oh, crap...
"We need to go..." Elizabeth warned.
Turning quickly, John stepped briskly over to her, still secured to the chair. He intended to undo the last of her bonds and hightail it out of there. How he was going to get passed Straton was something he hand't figured out yet.
John happened to glance up to see the man, still poised at the room's entrance, once again glowering from behind his pistol at him. Apparently the thousands of gallons of seawater about to rush in was not a primary concern of his. He began to depress the trigger again, not intending to miss his target this time.
A klaxon unexpectedly blared to life in the lab and surrounding hallways. It was an automated warning. Atlantis had detected a breach in its outer skin - the City was an intergalactic spaceship, after all - and was about to take measures to isolate that breach in order to preserve the rest of the City.
Immediately understanding what that meant, the lab's three occupants hustled to evacuate the room. Their tiff was well and truly over, mutually yet wordlessly called off.
Straton had the easiest time of all. He calmly stepped back over the threshold and into the hallway.
John and Elizabeth's luck wasn't as good. Being twenty feet away from the exit, there was no way they would be able to untie her and sprint to the door in time. Elizabeth looked about ready to protest, to beg him to leave her behind, but he cut her off with a sharp look. He would have none of it. Instead, he took hold of the cumbersome chair in which she was still bound and was about to just drag it with him when the thing he prayed wouldn't happen for just a few more seconds... happened.
John watched as the two door halves that separated this laboratory from the outside hallway began to close. He saw Straton standing smugly behind them, just watching, ensuring they would not escape. The Lacedami soldier had planned on shooting the two Atlantis leaders himself, but this was almost as good - if not better. It would be a slow, terrifying death.
John was forced to abandon his grip on Elizabeth's chair as he made a last ditch dash for the door, hoping to prop it open somehow. But he was too late. The two halves closed and the alarms ceased. An affirmative hiss followed, indicating some sort of sealing mechanism had activated. John pounded his fist angrily into the metal. Atlantis had executed as intended, confining the imminent disaster to this one room.
Unfortunately, it was the same room in which Major John Sheppard and Doctor Elizabeth Weir were now trapped.
TBC
Author's note: Thanks to my reviewer! ;)