SEVEN
The night sky lightened with the approaching dawn and Ronon's temper was increasing with each passing second. The rocky terrain had been washed clean during the rainstorm, leaving him nothing. He paced a worn trail along the edge of a rise, scanning, looking, searching for something, anything to show him the way.
Lorne and his men had extracted two possible locations from the villagers. Right now they were scouting out a network of caves to the east, while Ronon, John and Rodney followed a winding ridgeline above the ruins.
As the sun peaked over the crest of the hill behind them, long fingers of light shot across the ground. A flash of movement to the right between the trees and Ronon froze. With a quick motion John shushed Rodney and they stepped up beside him. All three dropped to a crouch against the rocks.
"There." Ronon pointed, and John nodded.
Two men, both armed, threaded in and out between the trees, finally disappearing from view.
In one smooth motion Ronon jumped up and leapt forward, landing softly in the damp mud.
"Ronon!" John whispered harshly. "Ronon! Damn it, just once I wish he'd listen." He stood up and scrambled after Ronon along the hillside, pausing to glare back at McKay.
"Do I look like a mountain goat?" Rodney whispered harshly then climbed over a piece of deadfall and started after his team mates.
Ronon ran through the trees, following the path he'd seen the two men take. Dropping quickly behind a fallen log he peered over the top and watched his prey as they caught up with four more men, all armed.
And stupid.
Not one of them was paying any attention to where they were going, or where they'd been. Instead they were loudly discussing a raid they were embarking on, laughing and joking about easy pickings on the unsuspecting settlement.
Ronon almost smiled as they drifted off through the trees.
If these were the mercenaries this was going to be way too easy.
John approached and caught the tail end of the conversation. He nodded with Ronon's assessment. These guys were definitely amateurs. But armed amateurs were usually trigger happy.
Rodney, holding his hand to his side, wheezed to a stop beside them. "Okay. There's way, way to much running going on here."
"Come on." Sheppard slapped him hard on the back, making Rodney wince. "I'll buy you an ice cream when we get there."
"You know," Rodney's face lit up. "Breakfast would actually be more appropriate…" he trailed off when he noted they were both walking away. "I haven't eaten yet!" He called after them. "Low blood sugar?" He waved his hands in the air and sighed, taking off at a half-jog to catch up.
The men they were following turned towards an incline and dropped into a short line, climbing the narrow rise single file. At the top they turned and headed back along the ridge.
"Hey, aren't they're headed back towards the ruins?" Rodney voiced, and Ronon rewarded him with a silencing glare.
"Shh." Sheppard hissed.
"Well, aren't they?" Rodney whispered, then shook his head when John nodded. "I told you we should have just waited there. Sheesh. No one ever listens to the scientist. This isn't just a pretty face you know…" Rodney looked around and suddenly realized he was alone. Scrambling to his feet he took after the Ronon and Sheppard.
Back at the edge of the clearing they dropped behind a large piece of deadfall and peered over at the small group. One man as he extracted something small and white from his pocket, then bent towards the backup DHD.
"That's-" Rodney pointed towards the man and had his mouth immediately covered by John's hand. "Control crystal. I know." John glared, and Rodney nodded. John removed his hand.
They watched as the man inserted the crystal into the control panel then straightened up and dialed a gate address. The minute he touched the panel, the air in the center of the clearing shifted and pulsed, and a familiar shape silently faded into view.
John slapped his hand over back over Rodney's opening mouth before he shouted out what they were all thinking.
"Two gates?" Ronon whispered.