Disclaimer - I do not own SGA or its Characters. I do own Dr. Orla Grant.
Rated T for violence & threat.
Setting: Season 5 SGA A/U. Carson is alive and Chief Medical Officer of Atlantis but Dr. Keller is on Atlantis. Lt. Laura Cadman now works on the Daedalus & Atlantis. Ronon is paired with O/C Dr. Orla Grant & Rodney is paired with Jennifer.
The team finally left the path away from the woodland reaching the co-ordinates given to Orla by the botany team. The surrounding land was strewn with rock and scrubland and not much more. The walls they'd come to find were set back a little further but easily reachable. As they approached the formation, Major Lorne stopped and faced the women. "Ladies, your attention for one moment please. With the time it's taken to get here I would suggest we spend no more than forty-five minutes here. Doc, can you help Orla with the retrieval? I want myself and Cadman to begin perimeter checks after I radio our confirmed location to Atlantis." Activating his radio Lorne continued, "Atlantis, this is Major Lorne. Do you read me?" Lorne waited for the response when there was no reply he tried once more. "Atlantis, this is Major Lorne. Do you read me?"
"Why aren't they answering?" Keller asked.
"Major Lorne, this is Atlantis. We're having a little trouble with the signal from your location," Chuck explained, his voice crackling with static.
"Atlantis, we're at the site now. I'll check back in with you in thirty."
"Understood… Atlantis..."
"Just a weak signal, Doc, nothing to worry about," Lorne explained hoping he sounded more convinced than he felt. "Okay, Cadman, I want you to patrol north to east and I'll take south to west. Doc, you have your side arm with you?"
"Yeah," Keller nodded as she answered.
"Remember no longer than forty minutes now," Lorne reminded everyone as he and Cadman set off to check the perimeters.
"You okay?" Jen asked as she moved to Orla's side.
"I'm good, Jen, really. I could use a comfy chair but otherwise good."
"Good, let's take your blood pressure," Keller ordered as she unrolled the cuff of the portable blood pressure machine.
"I don't have time for that," Orla answered as she fired up her laptop and reached for one of her work bags. "Can you help me with this, please?"
"I don't care if you think you don't have time, I'm here to watch over you both and I have every intention of doing so. So, either you do as I ask or I will call a halt to this … trip, right now!"
Orla stared at Jennifer, the woman rarely got mad or raised her voice but when she did it was in doctor mode as she was right now. She knew she'd not win the battle so with a loud sigh she set down her laptop and took off her cardigan. Being heavily pregnant meant she could no longer fit into her uniform and when she was beginning to show she had organised with Colonel Carter for a mixture of maternity clothing to be sent to Atlantis via The Daedalus.
"There's nowhere to sit so here," Jennifer guided Orla over to a series of small boulders. "Can you perch on that? I need you to remain calm."
Orla sat, and allowed Keller to check her vitals, she was eager to get started on the retrieval. She drummed the fingers of her right hand against the boulder she'd perched on.
Jennifer scowled at Orla; her eyebrow raised in annoyance. "I know you're antsy to get started, so let's just get this done and then you can get back to it, ok?" She didn't wait for Orla to actually answer her. She took the cuff and wrapped it around Orla's upper left arm. She took the reading and released the pressure, pulling at the Velcro fastening of the cuff, "It's not great but not bad considering you just did a long walk. Any pain?"
"Nope," Orla shook her head.
"Okay, you're good to work."
Orla held out her hand to Jennifer and the doctor helped her to her feet. Stretching her tired, sore back Orla went back to her cardigan and laptop. She began to search the nearby rucksack for one of the camera's she'd packed.
"What is all this anyway?" Jennifer asked as she came to stand beside the scientist.
"It's unclear right now, so far I'm the only scientist whose looked at this and I'm not a linguist. If it's Ancient then it might mean a lot or it could be the scrawling of a lost civilisation," Orla said excitedly.
"How do you scrawl on rock? What you gonna do, take a rubbing?"
Orla turned to see the amused face of Jennifer Keller. "I see Rodney's sarcasm has rubbed off on you! I'll take a recording as well as pictures. They said only three have clear markings and it might actually be worth getting Ronon and Teyla to see if they know the language."
"Wouldn't that stick in Rodney's throat, Ronon solving a science problem," Jennifer said laughing as she turned to Orla who'd seen the funny side of her comment too.
Cadman paced her way around her allotted perimeter, there wasn't much of a perimeter to check. She could still see Jennifer and Orla working at the walls and Atlantis had already scanned the planet for life signs and technology before making it their home after escaping the Replicators. They knew there'd be no settlements or devices to turn the visit into a disaster but she still did her job and kept her eyes trained around the perimeter. She noticed nothing too unusual, a carcass of a dead animal but nothing suspicious. She turned around and headed back to where she'd started, a fresh perspective always useful. Cadman activated her radio; she'd check in with Lorne to let him know she'd done her first visual check. "Major Lorne, this is Lieutenant Cadman, Sir. Perimeter north to east secure, Sir. A few dead animals but nothing too unusual."
"This is Major Lorne, beginning to head back to perimeter start, nothing much to rep…."
Cadman tapped at her earpiece, "Major Lorne, Sir, do you read me?" Remembering the radio issue Lorne had previously experienced with Atlantis, Cadman assumed it was just a poor signal and not a sign of impending doom. "Major Lorne…" she tapped at the earpiece static whistled through as she pulled at the offending technology, feeling spooked by something she couldn't put her finger on she quickly headed back to the site.
Lieutenant Laura Cadman bounded into the site calling out to the two women before her. "Have either of you heard from Evan?"
"Nope."
"No," Jennifer repeated.
"Why?" Orla asked her voice etched with concern.
"It's probably nothing but I was speaking to him over the radio and we lost contact. Not seen anything to suggest there is a problem it's probably the same issue he had when contacting Atlantis. Is there a storm due or?"
"Not to my knowledge and there shouldn't be anything on the planet to interfere with radio signals," Orla answered as she stopped filming. "Have you tried him again?"
"I have," Laura attached the ear piece back into place and activated it, "Atlantis, this is Lieutenant Cadman, come in please?"
"Lieutenant …. Atlantis, come in."
"What the? Atlantis, repeat, this is Lieutenant Cadman, do you read?"
"We read you Lieutenant, sorry… experiencing a few technical issues… impending storm is interfering with…," Chuck relayed in pieces.
"When's this storm due to land Atlantis?"
"Not for four …." the static interference was beginning to make Chucks signal drop in and out.
"Four what?"
"Four…," Chuck repeated before the signal dropped completely.
"This is no good, is that four days or hours?" Cadman grouched becoming frustrated at the radio.
"If it was hours then we'd have heard from Atlantis, that or they'd never allowed the journey," Orla added trying to bring logic to the conversation.
"I need to find Lorne, stay here and Jen, make sure that gun is loaded," Cadman ordered as she turned and ran in the direction, they'd last seen Major Evan Lorne.
"Can I offer you anything? Anything at all?" Offered a young, beautiful, busty red headed woman beside Ronon. She leant over giving him a full view of her very low neckline and brought a jug up to hover over his mug.
"Seriously, why does that never happen to me!" McKay snarked at Sheppard who was watching the young woman.
"You don't look like Ronon, that's why." Sheppard smirked. "Excuse me, Miss. May I?" Sheppard gave the young woman his best Kirk smile.
"I'm fine, no thanks," Ronon replied not really paying attention to the young woman.
"Are you never tempted?" Rodney asked Ronon casually.
"Tempted to do what?"
"Her!"
"What? She was offering beer, McKay."
"She was offering more than beer, check out Kirk over here," McKay pointed a finger Sheppard's way.
"I didn't notice and no, why would I?" Ronon growled.
"Because we all get temptation put into our paths at some point. Some more than others granted but, would you, ever?"
"McKay, I have what I want and what I need at home. Why would I look elsewhere? Maybe it's an Earth thing, but here, we cherish what we have because it can be taken at any time." Ronon spat out angered at Rodney's question.
"I didn't mean … I meant nothing by it, it's just. Women always notice you,"
"It took me a long time to find someone again. So no, I'm not tempted. When I was a Runner… there were times but that part of my life is over. Why don't you ask her out?"
I'm with Jennifer, I would never!" Rodney yelped indignantly.
"I'm having a child with Orla but you thought I might?" Ronon replied irritated with the conversation.
"I just meant…"
"Enough!" Ronon interrupted Rodney's sentence, his tone warning the man to drop the conversation.
Elogis re-appeared at the table his face rudder than before the effects of the ale evident on his face. "Gentlemen, are you having fun. Have you eaten? We have beautiful single ladies who would like to dance the night with you or men, if that is your desire?"
"We're fine, thank you, Elogis," Sheppard answered as he allowed the young red head to refill his ale once more.
"Sheppard? A word?" Ronon demanded.
"Can't it wait, Chewie?"
"No," Ronon shifted on the bench as he struggled to free his legs from their confine. As he stood, he groaned at the relief his cramped legs felt. He took two strides to Colonel Sheppard's side, dwarfing the red headed woman beside the Colonel, Ronon said in a tone brooking no argument, "excuse us."
"Ronon, I was having a nice time.," Sheppard complained as he watched the woman disappear into the crowds.
"Sheppard, we came, we were social, we ate and we drank, now can we go?" Ronon pleaded.
"I'm with the big guy on this one," Rodney added from the bench.
"Fine, but if they are offended it's your fault. She's not due for another month, Ronon. Gonna have to learn to chill out a little," Sheppard said slapping the large Satedan in his chest as he moved away to search for the village Governor.
Lorne tried to move but he was pinned down by something. He felt a sharp pain in this thigh and calf. He couldn't make out where he was or how he got there all he could do was taste soil. He tried to move but couldn't, whatever had him pinned was not about to let go, the pain hit him all at once and he lost his breath with it. He began to pant, his training kicking in telling him to try to remain calm and not to hyperventilate. That's when he lost consciousness.
"Major Lorne, Sir, do you read me?" Cadman called out on her radio once more as she began to search for Lorne, the radio remained eerily silent. She carefully began to search through the rocks and scrubland looking for clues. That was when she heard the noise, a groan at first, increasing in sound followed by a cry of pain. "Major Lorne?" Cadman shouted aloud.
Lorne heard his name, he tried to regain consciousness but he felt in a daze. He tried to assess himself once more, his pinned leg felt warm and wet. Blood, great, he was getting as bad as those damn women for injuries, he thought. He could move his other leg inches only. He was lying almost side on. He could move his arms albeit not far, where ever he was, space was limited. He could see the sky his vision was fine. No head injury then, that was good he thought. He tried to sit up, as he did nausea hit him in waves as the pain in his leg doubled. He cried out, groaning in agony.
Cadman raced forward towards the cries she heard, dodging the boulders and scrubs as she ran. She saw it before she was upon it and stopped running instantly, a trap. She gingerly stepped forward, "Sir?" Laura edged as closed as she could without risking the edge of the hole crumbling away and trapping her too. There was no reply to her voice. She edged a little further till she could see the black material of Lorne's uniform. Relief and panic flooded over her in an instant. She immediately laid on the ground and edged further until she could see him and assess the trap.
TBC ... Please read and review.