"Rodney, do not tell me you have been in here the whole time we were away!" said Teyla as she entered the lab.
Rodney glanced up from his computer.
"Hmm?"
He frowned when he saw her.
"You're back already?"
"Yes Rodney, it has been three days."
"Really? I've been busy with…" he trailed off, nodding towards his monitor. "How was the um...miracle baby?"
"Quite healthy with a strong set of lungs." she smiled. "The celebration was enjoyable; Ronon and I had a pleasant time."
"Good...good..."
"Has Colonel Sheppard and Dr. Beckett returned yet?" she asked.
"No, they're due back in a few hours; Sheppard should be checking in soon though."
"Good, I hope Carson has been successful in healing the Ulatain children."
"Hmm?"
Teyla rested her hand on his shoulder.
"I will leave you to your work." she said turning to leave.
"Hmm…yes...welcome back." murmured Rodney already turning back to his monitor.
Teyla smiled as she headed towards her quarters for her morning meditation.
All in all, it felt like it was going to be a great day.
The ground was slowly drying under the clear morning sky when the sound of the Gate being activated echoed across the valley.
A group of uniformed men stepped through, weapons in hand; as soon as they saw the devastation they surrounded the tallest of the men, not in uniform who stepped last from the Gate.
"Sovereign, we must go back!" one of them said.
The man pushed the guard aside.
"Don't be foolish! What's happened here?"
When the guards didn't answer, the man stepped forward and looked around.
"This will be easy pickings so it seems. Head to the village, see what and who can be scavenged and be quick about it."
The group started forward, the man scowling at the destruction around him and the dead bodies he saw; not long after he spotted a strange mound that intrigued him. He would not have seen it except for some of the trees around it that had been levelled.
Making his way around a large crater in the path, he moved towards the mound only to realize that it was the bodies of two men, one half blanketed over the other; they were bloody, their clothes torn and filthy.
The man used his foot and shoved the top body off and onto its back, the body underneath was crumpled in a fetal position, a bag across its back.
Suddenly, the one in the fetal position groaned and the other one twitched at the sound; grabbing at the dirt on the ground as if searching for something.
"Humph." uttered the man.
He stared at the twitching bloody figure, there was something about him; curious, he knelt down using his sleeve to wipe away the dirt and blood from the unconscious man's face.
Leaning forward to get a better look, the tall man suddenly gasped pulling back.
It couldn't be..!
He looked again, his eyes opening wide in astonishment.
The man turned shouting at one of the guards.
"This one!" he ordered, pointing at the body.
A guard ran over frowning for a moment at the bloody men lying on the ground, then bent and picked up John throwing him over his shoulder. He stood and waited as his leader stared intently at the unconscious man.
"Sovereign?" the guard asked, trying to even out the weight of the man he was carrying who was much heavier than he looked.
"We go back." ordered the tall man heading to the Gate.
The guard followed closely behind him; stopping suddenly as the man glanced back to where Carson lay.
"Bring that one too." he muttered nodding towards Carson.
Another guard ran over to pick up the unconscious doctor, then the guards and the man left through the Gate; taking John and Carson with them.
Woolsey was worried; Sheppard was late calling in.
After an hour with still no word, they tried to contact both him and Carson; their response, a faint static...that was it.
John's team stood nearby in the gate room, watching as a M.A.L.P was being prepared.
"We're wasting time." muttered Ronon. "We should just go through."
"Better to be safe." Woolsey replied.
The gate activated and the M.A.L.P slowly made its way forward. Moments later, images from the planet came into view shocking everyone into silence.
Burnt out trees and craters in the ground; in the near distance…dead bodies.
"What the…?" murmured Rodney eyes widening.
"Mr. Woolsey…" started Teyla.
Woolsey frowned, tapping his comm.
"Major Lorne?"
"Yes sir." came the quick reply.
"Assemble your team."
"Is it the Colonel and Dr. Beckett?"
"Yes, we have a problem; how fast can you be ready?"
"Sir, we've been ready for the past hour, we're on our way."
Woolsey nodded, in relief over their efficiency then turned to John's team. Surprised when he didn't see them, he turned to see them down in front of the Gate, looking up at him ready for his say so to go.
When Lorne's team entered the gate room, Woolsey took a moment to update them on the situation then turned to the shimmering light of the wormhole.
"You have a go." he said to the two teams, "Bring them back safe."
Both teams nodded, then with weapons drawn strode through the gate.
-tbc-