Author's note: Hey, guys. Sorry about the weirdness with the last two chapters not posting correctly, and thanks to those of you who let me know. It appears to have been fixed. If you haven't read the last two chapters, please do before moving forward!

Time Immemorial

Chapter 30: The Battle Ongoing

July 17th
0812 Hours

The hallways of Atlantis were filled with chaos. Ford had never witnessed anything like it. Bullets, plasma, and electricity flew through the air, his head on a swivel to try to avoid each one of them. He waited for the right break in the action to send out his own volley of rounds before ducking back into cover.

The captain and two fellow marines were pinned down on one end of an atrium. The trio lied on the ground behind an overturned couch. On the far side of the space were three Lacedami soldiers. The two teams had worked together as planned to fend off the advancing Wraith, until about twenty minutes ago, when one of the Lacedami soldiers inexplicably turned and shot a fourth marine point blank in the chest. His body still lied on the open floor.

Since then it had been a flurry of commotion. The two opposing forces had traded fire with one another from across the room, though their conflict would periodically be put on hold whenever Wraith advanced into the atrium. Each keenly aware of the Wraith's toughness, the marines and Lacedami would together to engage the more formidable opponent until they fell. Then the unspoken agreement was over, and they would resume their feud. It was a cycle that repeated itself every five minutes or so. And it was the weirdest scuffle Aiden had ever been a part of.

Similar reports of betrayal radioed in from teams around the base.

"How are you doing on ammo, Corporal?" Ford yelled over the gunfire.

"Okay for now, sir!" came the reply from LaDage next to him.

"Gunny?"

"Same!" Gunnery Sergeant Cassidy answered.

Ford took that to mean his teammates had enough rounds for the immediate future, but any longer and they'd soon have a problem. He was in the same boat.

His eyes locked onto motion. Across the atrium, one of the Lacedami darted to his right, attempting to gain a geometrical advantage. Aiden stood and fired his P-90 to discourage him, but the warrior was too fast. He slipped behind cover in his new position. Damn it.

Dropping back down, Ford heard the electrified bullets he knew were coming from the other two Lacedami sizzle over his head. One had already gotten too close for comfort. Touching his left ear, he felt singed skin and the frayed wire of his headset. He could still receive, it seemed, but he was unable to transmit over his radio.

"Any ideas?" the captain asked.

"I've got one," Corporal LaDage offered from her position on the floor. She hefted a grenade in her hand. "It's small, round, and packs a punch. I can lob it right at Huey and Dewey on the left."

"Even if they don't dodge it and they go down, we'd still have to deal with Louie to the right-"

At that moment, a thunderous boom! reverberated around them. At first, Aiden couldn't even tell from where it was coming, but a white-hot flash in the far upper corner of the room revealed the source. Wayward Wraith plasma, fired from a Dart outside, had pierced Atlantis' outside facade and permeated the building. The plasma shell rocketed down directly onto the Lacedami pair. They were gone in a blinding flash. Large chunks of debris from the ceiling followed, raining onto their position. There was no chance they'd survived.

Ford didn't know what they'd done to serve such luck, but he took it.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Corporal LaDage pulled the pin on the grenade, stood, and threw it mightily at Louie, the remaining Lacedami. It landed with a clank.

But Louie proved too quick once more. By the time the grenade exploded, the soldier was a four strides away and opening the distance.

That didn't seem to bother Gunnery Sergeant Cassidy. Hell, he probably counted on it, Ford realized as he watched Gunny, already on his feet, track the fleeing soldier through his rifle's scope. Gunny squeezed the trigger once. Louie fell to the ground. He didn't get back up.

"Nice," Ford nodded. He marveled at the one-two punch: flushing the enemy out then picking him off. It had been textbook.

"Oorah, sir," LaDage agreed.

Finally with a spare moment to think, Ford pictured the ongoing battle in his mind's eye. Most of his marines were positioned on the City's perimeter, dealing with their most pressing threat: the swarming Wraith Darts. He'd sent some additional manpower to fend off any Lacedami that didn't like that plan. Ford didn't know the reason behind their betrayal, and he didn't need to. It just meant they had to watch their backs even more so now. If only we had enough power to use the chair and send some drones their way, he thought.

Then there was McKay, stationed in the Power Room, awaiting delivery of the ZPM from Major Sheppard. He had heard his CO's transmission minutes ago, how many minutes ago Aiden had lost track. He had no sense of time anymore. As much as he had wanted to, Ford hadn't been able to respond.

"This is Teyla," Ford heard next over his earpiece. "Is anyone on this channel?"

Unable to answer, he walked over to the Lacedami's body while he awaited a reply. He searched the downed man for anything useful and found only his pistol. Gunfire rattled in the distance. Darts droned outside.

"This is Teyla," he heard again. "If anyone can hear me, please, we need your assistance at the mess hall. We are running out of ammunition."

All the civilians are holed up in the mess hall, Ford realized. Suddenly he wasn't willing to wait any longer for someone to answer. They could be that someone. He returned to his teammates and offered the enemy pistol to Gunny, the lowest on ammo and the only one of them with the ATA gene. "Come on, we're going to the mess," he told them. It was the direction they had been heading anyway.

Cassidy said, "Roger that, sir. Ready to move out."

"Let's go," LaDage concurred.

The trio covered ground fairly quickly, considering the circumstances. They found one hallway completely blocked with debris which forced a brief detour. A single Wraith sentry incited a minor skirmish in another, but the creature was dispatched with relative ease. Within ten minutes they had arrived at the cafeteria.

"Teyla!" Ford hailed, spotting her across the large space.

The Athosian's eyes widened as she saw them. "Down!" she commanded.

Ford, LaDage and Cassidy did as they were told and hit the deck without question. Aiden watched Teyla unleash two bursts from her P-90, aiming at where his head had been only a second earlier. He immediately craned his head back, looking past his toes, and saw a stealth Lacedami soldier fall to the ground behind them. His weapon bounced to the tile floor.

Aiden swallowed and got to his feet. "Hell of a greeting," he muttered to himself.

"Aiden, Corporal, Gunny," Teyla welcomed, jogging to close the distance between them. "It is good to see you, all of you."

"We heard your radio call," Ford explained. "We came as soon as we could."

"Yes, thank you. We have been attempting to hold the mess hall but we are running low on ammunition. There has been little interest in our position, but I am concerned that once the Wraith realize most of the City's civilian population has amassed here-"

"Then they'll be lining up for the buffet," Ford finished with rising dread, noting the cafeteria setting. "How appropriate."

He looked around. Atlantis' scientists were huddled in the center of the room - the same room they'd been captive in for almost 24 hours now - away from the windows. One had already blown out; broken glass was scattered on the floor. Morning light streamed in, tempering the severity of the City's power woes. A half-dozen marines stood guard at the cafeteria's three exits, and occasionally one would let loose a burst of rounds at some unseen bogey outside. At every such occasion, the scientists would shrink down, covering their heads instinctively.

Several of the civvies were armed themselves. Dr. Nicolas Perrot, the old Frenchman, held a Beretta. Aiden didn't know the man's history, but he wielded it confidently, and he wasn't letting the gash on his forehead keep him down. Drs. Zelenka and Simpson were similarly armed, though both looked decidedly less comfortable with their handguns.

"All right," Ford said, "LaDage, Cassidy, you stay put, help everyone out here. Teyla and I are going to the weapons locker to get us some more supplies."

With that, Teyla and Ford exited the mess hall. Teyla took point. They swept the hallways as they went, letting their rifles lead the way. The trip would be a short one; the cache was only a short jog away. But who knew what surprises laid in store-

The next thing Teyla heard was the rapid rat-tat-tat-tat of Ford's P-90 firing behind her. It was deafening in such close proximity. She spun to find a Wraith drone nearly on top of her, his body convulsing under the force of the impacting rounds. Ford didn't let off the trigger until it dropped to the ground.

Teyla felt her breathing resume. The Wraith had come from her blind spot. If Ford hadn't been covering her... "Thank you," she said gratefully.

"I owed you one," Captain Ford answered. He expelled the empty magazine from the rifle and popped in a fresh one. "Last one."

"Then let us continue to the weapons supply room."

"Remember the good old days when we only had to fight one enemy at a time?"

Teyla didn't answer. Ford didn't think his quip had been particularly funny, and hadn't really expected a response, but her silence was accompanied by stock-still rigidity. Her feet remained glued to the floor, her eyes glued to something else.

"What?" Ford asked. He stepped toward her. The expression on her ashen face made him reconsider if he actually wanted to know. "What is it?"

His gaze followed hers down an intersecting hallway and found the source of her distress.

Ten yards down the hall, a visibly distraught Rodney McKay labored in their direction, though his back was turned to them. He arduously dragged something behind him. It was a body, Aiden realized. Oh, no...

It was Major Sheppard's body.

"Oh, my god," Ford heard himself saying.

Rodney must have heard him, for at that moment he snapped round, obviously on edge. His eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, his face covered with sweat. Tracks of recently dried tears had cleared paths through the soot and grime on his cheeks. Upon seeing them, he didn't call out, didn't ask for help. He simply slumped against the wall and sobbed, as if the sight of another human being was enough for him to lose it.

"Rodney!" Teyla called to him, rushing to his side. She gingerly pried his locked fingers off the back of the major's combat vest and lowered John's upper torso to the ground. She pulled the troubled scientist a few paces away. Placing her hands squarely on Rodney's shoulders, she looked directly into his eyes.

"You are alright, Rodney," she assured him, repeating herself for good measure. You are alright, she repeated in her own head. She needed the responsibility of calming McKay down or she might have lost it herself. She couldn't yet begin to process what her eyes had seen seconds ago.

Ford trailed slowly to them. His sight remained locked on his CO's dead body. The scene was a morose, macabre one, but that didn't make it any less real, he knew. Still, he found the reality difficult to accept.

First, Dr. Weir, and now Major Sheppard. How were they going to do this without them?

"I'm sorry," McKay wept into his hands. Guilt and remorse kept his gaze averted. "I tried to help him, but I... couldn't..."

"You did everything you could," Teyla placated. She noticed how he favored his left arm. Was he injured?

"I couldn't just leave him there."

Realizing the conversation was barely that, Teyla struggled to find her next words. She wasn't sure if Rodney was listening to her, or simply talking to himself. How could she possibly hope to console him? What were they going to do next?

Aiden crouched down beside his fallen leader, his friend, as he listened to them converse. He placed two fingers on Sheppard's carotid artery, knowing there would be no pulse to find, his training taking him through the robotic motions anyway. His brows pinched in a silent question as he spotted something out of place on the body. A large bundle of cloth protruded from the front of his vest.

"It was that stupid ascension device of mine!" McKay continued to Teyla, anger burning through the tears. "I wanted to help so I left the Power Room... I only left him alone for one second - one second! - then one of them came out of nowhere... he was going to kill me, too, but Sheppard... Don't you see?" he intoned, his watery eyes finally meeting Teyla's with fury. "They were looking for me! This was because of me!"

The Athosian found her friend's hysterical ramblings difficult to follow, but she maintained an even keel. "Rodney, this is not your fault."

"He's dead because of me!"

"That is not true."

"What do you know? You weren't there!"

Teyla had never seen the Canadian so incensed, so full of misplaced repentance. "Rodney, listen to me. I do not know what happened, but I do know this: if Major Sheppard was still here..." The words caught in her throat. Saying them solidified their veracity to her, like a sledgehammer to the gut. She swallowed and went on. "If Major Sheppard was still here, he would not blame you."

It wasn't her words themselves that finally calmed Rodney. He didn't believe her hypothetical and never would; he knew he'd be haunted for the rest of his days for his role in his teammate's death. But what had flipped the switch to his demeanor was the brief catch in her voice, a chink in her armor, as she spoke of Sheppard's absence. Teyla, the mighty Athosian warrior, was rattled, too.

He wasn't alone.

"Teyla," Captain Ford said, standing up. He held a ZPM loosely wrapped in cloth up in a silent question.

Teyla spun round to McKay for the answer, her eyes now opened wide in hopeful surprise.

"I couldn't just leave him there," McKay repeated somberly.

Frowning, Teyla didn't understand, but Aiden did. Instead of fleeing straight back to the Power Room with the ZPM, Rodney had brought his friend back, too, unwilling to leave his body abandoned like a piece of refuse. It was a task that had no doubt taken strength of both body and mind. He couldn't imagine the toll it had taken on McKay.

While Aiden deeply respected what Rodney had done, he also appreciated that every second the Atlantis' shield remained down was another second the Wraith could play fish in a barrel with the City.

"You did good, Doctor McKay," Ford assured, clapping the scientist on the back. He nodded at the ZPM. "But we have to get this, and you, to the Power Room, ASAP."

"Or John's sacrifice will have been in vain," Teyla added as gentle encouragement.

"Right," McKay responded dully. "I have to save the day, one last time."

Teyla and Aiden exchanged glances, sensing there was some significance to his words they were not privy to.

"Come, let us go," Teyla spurred on, leading the way. "We will finish your trip together."

"What about him?" McKay protested, looking at Sheppard's prone body.

"Don't worry, I got it covered," Aiden assured. "I'll take him somewhere safe. You guys go ahead."

"And the weapons cache?" Teyla asked.

Aiden had completely forgotten. Their original mission seemed like days ago already. "I'll head there next, and make a few trips back and forth to the mess hall if I have to."

Ford watched them hustle off. He turned his attention back to the major, his body laying still on the hallway's floor. For a few seconds, the captain just stood there, wishing he would wake from this terrible nightmare, wishing that Sheppard would suddenly get to his feet and shake it off like he always did. He took ahold of his CO's vest and belt and hoisted him over his shoulder.

Ford trekked back the way he had come. His destination, in fact, was they very place he and Teyla had left, though the journey took substantially longer while bearing his burden. He didn't mind. This was something that needed to be done.

He arrived at the main entrance of the mess hall, but instead of passing through it he continued down the corridor to the next doorway. It led to a smaller storage room, one that served the needs of the adjacent cafeteria: it was a giant industrial freezer. In it was stored all sort of perishable foods the expedition had accumulated over the past year. But in the last several hours, if had taken on a far darker role.

It had become the City's morgue.

Ford entered and immediately shut the heavy metal door behind him. With Atlantis' power still out - hopefully not for much longer - he wanted to prevent the remaining cool air within from escaping. The enclosed space was completely dark. He clicked on the flashlight atop his P-90 and illuminated the eerie scene ahead.

Corpses filled the small room. Some laid atop robust metal tables, and others were sprawled on the floor below. All were covered respectfully with sheets, though Aiden could still make out the distinctive shape of each human form beneath. He was saddened to admit that he couldn't count the number of his departed comrades on one hand.

Spotting an empty space on the furthest table, Ford reverently lowered Sheppard's body to the metal surface, watching the water vapor in his breath condense in the cool air as he did so. He took care to arrange his hands peacefully at his side and straighten out his jacket - why, he wasn't sure. It just seemed right.

Next, Ford spotted Sheppard's radio. He felt wrong taking it, but with his out of commission it was the sensical thing to do.

Finally, he grabbed a folded sheet off one of the nearby storage racks. Ford could see now that the sheets were actually meant to be tablecloths for the adjoining cafeteria, but he supposed that Atlantis' original inhabitants wouldn't mind his repurposing them. He unfolded it and covered the major's form dutifully.

With a sigh, he admitted, "I really wish you were still here, sir."

There, alone in the cold and the dark, Captain Aiden Ford offered a crisp salute to his fallen commander before turning and leaving to finish their fight.

TBC