TWO
Jennifer worked until daylight was no longer a viable light source, and under John's insistence, gave in and packed up her supplies for the night. Most of the village was now inoculated against the virus, with a few remaining hold outs to be chased down in the morning.
When they first arrived she'd made rounds to the houses to check on the sick. Like most illnesses, the worst hit were always the weakest. Children and elderly. Jen instructed the parents and caregivers on ways to make people more comfortable, distributed medication to help lower their fevers, and answered question after question.
Rodney and John had asked her to join them at the local tavern for a late supper but she'd declined, opting to finish some of the tests she'd started earlier.
In part she'd been too exhausted to think about food, so John had walked her to her tent and made her swear she'd stay in for the night. She promised to contact him on the com if she needed anything.
Delving into the paperwork that was piled up in the corner she lost herself to the world, not even noticing the sounds of someone entering her tent.
"So it's a backup." John said, raising the glass and downing the last of his ale.
Rodney shook his head and stood, walking backwards towards the door, his arms accenting his words. "It's a duplicate DHD set up to take over should anything happen to the primary gate control. It's quite ingenious really. It runs in tandem with the other unit. Say someone needs to dial the gate, but they're in a hurry and can't actually access the main control. A person on the secondary console should be able to dial the gate for them. Similar to the way we access the controls from the jumper."
"So it's a backup." John repeated, following Rodney out into the dark night.
"No. Well. Yes." Rodney rolled his eyes. "It's a backup."
"Is it functional?"
"Well that's the strange thing. It appears to be completely whole except for a missing control crystal."
"So if we brought a crystal from another gate?" John suggested, turning the corner past a row of houses and heading towards their tents on the edge of town.
"We could test it yes." Rodney snapped his fingers. "I could go grab the one from the main gate-"
"No…" John shook his head. "You're not disabling our only way off this planet so you can test a theory."
"But I'd put it right back." Rodney whined.
"No."
"But-"
"Rodney, I said no." John stopped in front of Jen's tent, light spilling out from the lanterns inside.
"Okay, okay." Rodney mumbled.
"Doc?" John called out, his hand reaching up to part the curtains. "You still up?"
The wind had picked up, wisps of dark clouds drifted over the full moon. A distant rumble announced the pending arrival of a storm. The edge of the canvas flapped, exposing the inside of the tent.
"Doc?" With a curse John flung the flap wide and stepped inside.
Rodney peered over his shoulder. "You'd think a doctor would be neater."
The inside of the tent was a mess. Equipment and cases lay scattered across the ground, the cot was overturned, its blankets and pillow lying in a pile next to the frame.
Jennifer was gone.
"Doc?" John keyed his communicator and prayed for her to answer.
Silence.
"Doctor Keller? It's Sheppard. Come in."
Nothing.
Rodney cleared his throat, wiggling the earpiece he'd picked up off the ground.
John moved towards the back wall of the tent, his P90 no longer hanging limply over his shoulder. Withdrawing a flashlight he aimed the beam at the back of the structure. Using the barrel of the gun as a prod, he stepped through a floor to ceiling tear in the canvas.
With the flashlight and the added glow from the inside of the tent, John scoured the ground. He squatted and felt out a deep heel print with his finger tips. The grass was trampled and matted, a trail leading off into the tree line twenty yards from their position.
Sheppard cursed.
"What?" Rodney followed him out into the darkness.
John ran towards the trees, his eyes on the ground. When he reached the edge of the forest he disappeared into the thick undergrowth.
"Hey!" Rodney yelled, pointing up the street. "They have facilities here, you know! They're not all that sanitary, but…"
John returned, his voice clipped. "The Doc's gone. Someone's taken her and I don't think it was willingly."
"What?" Rodney looked around, eyes wide. "They're not still here, are they?"
"Get back to Atlantis." John ordered. "Bring back a jumper. I need Ronon, and Major Lorne and his team here ASAP."
"Aw," Rodney rolled his eyes. "Do we have to bring Ro-"
"Unless you want to track them through a forest in the dark with a storm coming? No? Then we need Ronon. Go." John frowned. "Now, McKay."
"But it's like, two kilometers back to the gate…"
"Fine." John turned away. "You make sure they don't come back, and I'll go to the gate."
"No, no. That's okay." Rodney quickly hurried past John. "I'll go, I'll go."
"Hurry, Rodney!" John urged, his voice dropping as he watched Rodney jog back through town. He turned back towards the trees, his gut twisting. "Oh, this is not good."