(Thanks to all those who kept hounding me to continue this story. Sorry it got abandoned back in April but lots of other stuff was going on. I'm working on it again now, so you'll be seeing lots more of it soon. Lots of love to my beta, ashanome. Well, here ya go.)
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Part 4 – The Fall
Ronon picked up the pace and finally reached the top of the valley. He could see Sheppard and Teyla below. The ground seemed very unsteady beneath his feet. He approached his friends from an angle not wanting to run over the deep gash in the ground between him and them.
"Sheppard, this is Ronon. There is a big rift has opened in the valley. You need to be careful down there." Ronon pushed past a large bush on his way down the slope.
Sheppard looked up, trying to catch a glimpse of Ronon, but didn't see him. Sheppard knew the Gate was South of them, but Ronon wasn't there. It would be nice to know how close this rift was. "This is Sheppard. What direction are you coming from?"
"Southwest of your position. I'm going around the rift." Ronon said.
John looked around and saw his friend coming down a steep part of the slope to his right. Ronon's route would cut off some of the path he and Teyla had taken. Which would get him to them sooner. "Why didn't you wait for the Jumper?"
Ronon was now on the valley floor coming towards them at a good speed. "I got impatient. I thought there might be something here I could help with since they're going to be a few minutes."
"Well you're right. Rodney hasn't answered me since he said there was blood on the floor. I checked the detector and there is an open section of corridor right below us here. We should be able to climb down with our gear and find a way to the control room they're in. We should stay on radio when you arrive. The chatter will help the Jumper find us and tell them what's happening."
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Back in Atlantis
"Major Lorne, this is Weir. Is your team assembled?"
It took a few second but then she heard his voice, "Yes ma'am. We're ready to go as soon as Dr. Beckett arrives."
The radio crackled again, "You'll not be waitin' long fer me son. Ah'm just outside the Jumper Bay now. Be lovely if ye could send a couple o' yer men to help with me supplies."
"Understood Doc. Bent! Matthews! Help the Doc." Lorne ordered.
Weir waited a few seconds and then touched her ear-piece again. "Can I assume the rescue party will be ready to leave in a couple minutes?"
Major Lorne answered, "Yes ma'am. It won't take long to get the Doc aboard."
In spite of Dr. Zelenka assurances, the entire control room was quiet as they waited to see if they would be able to dial the planet.
Elizabeth could see that Zelenka was thinking about something besides dialing the Gate again. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked down at the fidgeting man. "Is something wrong Dr. Zelenka?"
Zelenka twisted his hands several times and then looked up at her as he stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "I should be going with them. If something has happened to Rodney, they may need engineer there to help control whatever reaction submerged city is creating to cause this earthquake."
Weir looked at him closely. He was shaking slightly and was no longer meeting her eyes. It was obvious he was scared. His reaction reminded her of when she and Sheppard had asked him to go in the rescue Jumper to work on the shields. He had reluctantly agreed to go after her emotional blackmail about Rodney needing his help.
Weir said in a whisper heard only by the two of them. "Radek, I can tell you are very worried, but are you sure you want to do this."
As he pulled on his jacket, Zelenka looked up and nodded, "I am. You were right before. If Rodney can't count on me to help him out, then who can he? Since Duranda he has started listening to me great deal more. Is very strange but I think I can help. Please, Dr. Weir."
Weir gave him another once over. His hands were now in his pockets and he looked resolute. "Alright. Be careful."
"I will, thank you." Zelenka turned and headed for the stairs to the Jumper Bay.
Weir watched him go as she touched her radio, "Major Lorne, you have one more passenger on his way. Dr Zelenka is going with you."
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On the Planet
Ronon arrived beside Sheppard and Teyla and looked down. "This hole looks recent."
"Very recent." Teyla said with an air of worry about her.
Sheppard nodded, "Yeah, it just fell in while we were standing here."
Ronon looked around. "This whole area doesn't feel right."
Then suddenly a new voice, from the radio, entered the discussion. "That could be because this whole valley is going to cave in and we'll all die in a few minutes when that big quake hits."
Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla all smiled in relief at finally hearing their friend's voice.
"Rodney! Are you okay?" Sheppard asked intently.
"As well as I could be considering that I've been buried underground in a room beside an emergency generator that is giving off enough vibrations to activate the fault lines in this valley and cause a 10.0 earthquake." Rodney snarked back.
His three friends on the surface smiled. He must be okay for the moment if he was complaining. Sheppard and Ronon worked on setting up the climbing gear to get down into the hole. Teyla walked closer to the shaft that Rodney had made earlier using a drone.
"Rodney, if it's the generator that's causing the earthquakes, can't you shut it down from the control room you're in?" Sheppard asked.
McKay signed at the stupid question. "If I could turn it off don't you think I would have done so by now? Normally I'd be able to from here, but I'm buried against the back wall and the console I need is on the opposite side of the room. So nothing's getting turned off until either I can move or someone gets down here to do it for me." Rodney yelled, but then they heard a painful groan as he stopped to breathe.
The groan was not lost on his friends. Teyla eyed her two teammates and they all realized that time was running out, one way or another. "Ronon and Colonel Sheppard are working on coming down there to find you."
"Yes, yes, I heard their plan over the radio. I also heard Ronon say there was a rift in the valley where he was. How far from here would you say that was Ronon? I can do some more accurate calculations if I have more information."
Ronon glanced briefly over his shoulder and mentally calculated the distance to this point in McKay's metric units that he always preferred. "I'd say about 160 meters."
Sheppard looked up at the comment and looked at where he had seen Ronon first and added himself. "Yeah, likely about 170 yards."
Teyla then asked, "Dr. McKay, you said there was blood on the floor."
"Yes, I did and there's more of it all the time. But that won't affect my and Baldric's survival if we all die in a few minutes in an earthquake." This time his answer was breathless, as if what ever pain had caused the groan hadn't subsided yet.
Teyla could tell that McKay was scared but he was pushing it away as long as he had something to do. She admired his determination and his courage at a time like this. "Understood."
"Alright, I've got my tablet running the numbers on the quake given when the last tremor was and where the nearest fault line is. In the meantime, I've gone over the maps of this section of the passages. If you found an opening that was recently caved-in then you are to the east of where I climbed down and that puts you about ten meters due south of me. That area is near Drone Storage so it should be extra reinforced like the control room I'm in. You'll have to be careful getting here though, especially if we have another tremor."
Sheppard was ready to start climbing down when McKay finished. "Got it. Ronon and I are nearly ready to come down. We'll have you out of there in no time." He tossed the end of the rope to Ronon who secured it and threw it down the hole.
"Colonel Sheppard, this is Lorne. We will be at your position in less than five minutes. Sir, you should consider waiting for us so we can provide backup."
"Lorne! Good to hear your voice. Would love to wait, but we don't have the time. I assume that Beckett is with you?" Sheppard inquired.
"Aye, ah am, Colonel. We're using the life signs detector to track yer position. We also have Radek ta help us with tha rescue down in those tunnels and keep an eye on that earthquake. Has anythin' changed since Ronon contacted us?" Beckett's unmistakable voice answered.
"Not really. Rodney and a villager are still stuck in the cave-in underneath the valley. Ronon and I are ready to climb down and find them. Rodney did say there is a lot of blood on the floor, it's unclear if it's from him or the villager or both."
Beckett took in all the facts and started working compression injury scenarios in his head. Then he muttered to himself, "Oh my." This got a disturbed look from Lorne beside him.
Teyla was looking in the direction she knew the Stargate to be in and hoped the Jumper would arrive soon.
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Underground
Rodney was panting for breath and sweating a great deal as he breathed through the pain with his eyes squeezed shut. Finally, the extreme pain in his legs finally started to ease. A large piece of rubble dislodged and added even more pressure to his legs when he raised himself up a bit to try and see the map on far wall to give Sheppard directions.
Baldric was watching his companion and when it seemed Rodney would be able to speak again he said, "I've got my legs free now. If I can pull my arm loose I can help you."
McKay's head shot up and he grimaced at the movement, but managed to shout. "NO!"
On the surface his friends froze for a second. Then Sheppard demanded. "Rodney? What was that?"
Rodney shook his head, but regretted it immediately. "Nothing to do with you. Baldric is trying to dig himself out." Then he turned his attention back to the man with him but didn't turn off his radio. "Look, we don't really know how bad either of us is hurt. If those slabs are putting enough pressure on your arm you may not even feel that you're hurt. That blood is coming from somewhere, and while I'm sure some of it is mine, I'm not light-headed enough yet for it to be all mine. Now just sit tight, my friends will be here soon."
Beckett then confirmed Rodney's assessment. "Rodney's right; neither o' them should be movin' at the moment."
McKay snapped his fingers and pointed at Baldric. "Ha, see, our doctor, Carson, just backed me up, shocking as it may be. So don't move, you don't want him lecturing you, trust me, and the needles…"
Beckett smiled at his friend's attempt to lighten the moment. However, the 'shocking as it may be' part didn't escape him and he frowned. He'd have to talk to Rodney about that when they were all safe back on Atlantis. Beckett had a feeling the word 'friends', was also not lost on Sheppard. There was a lot of healing that still needed to be done between them all since Duranda.
McKay was about to say something else when his computer began beeping so loudly they could all hear it over the radios. The scientist's hands flew over the little on-screen keyboard and then he turned white.
"No, no, no, NO! Sheppard! Ronon! Get away from the hole! There's a strong shock coming, it'll cause instability in the sinkhole again. MOVE!" McKay yelled.
Unfortunately, his friends didn't have enough warning before the ground began to shake and dirt started pouring into the hole beneath them. Sheppard had already started down the safety line and grabbed unto it even tighter. "Oh hell, Teyla STAY BACK!"
Ronon lunged forward to try and pull Sheppard out but the ground beneath his feet crumbled away and he fell. Sheppard reached out and snagged the runner by the collar as he slid by him. The strain on his arm and shoulder was incredible and he screamed in pain. The trunk they had tied the rope to also fell into the hole as it widened and suddenly Sheppard and Ronon were falling.
Teyla cringed at the scream and yelled. "Colonel!"
McKay heard it also and looked up and yelled himself. "Sheppard! Ronon!"
As he fell Sheppard called, "Teyla stay back! The rope let go, we're falling…." Then the line crackled and went dead.
Major Lorne and the people on the Jumper were all staring at the HUD as two of the life sign dropped below the surface to land not far from the two others. The life sign on the surface stayed still.
Finally the shaking stopped and McKay sat wide-eyed in terror, listening to see if his friends reported in. Then he raised a shaking hand to his mic and he asked in an equally shaking voice, "Sheppard? Ronon?"
Teyla pushed herself back to her feet and walked as close to the hole as she dared. There was still soil and dirt sliding into it and she could see the small stump which the rope had been tied had pulled loose. "The Colonel and Ronon have fallen nearly the whole length of the shaft. It is to dark for me to see them."
Rodney's quick brain prompted him to call the Jumper. "Carson! Lorne! What does the HUD show? Are they alive?"
Lorne looked at Beckett who was studying the display intently. Zelenka was hovering between Lorne and Beckett, looking at the readings from the building pressure before the quake.
"Ah can't tell for certain yet, but ah am picking up readings for them both. Looks like they were injured in the fall though." Beckett reported.
Zelenka cleared his throat and touched his radio now. "The large earthquake that will destroy this valley is now ten minutes away. Unless we can deactivate that generator."
End Part 4
(OK, so to recap, Rodney is still alive and snarking, Teyla is safe, Shep and Ronon are in a world of hurt after that fall, Radek joined the rescue team and the Jumper is inbound, with the BIG ONE 10 mins away. Are we having fun yet?
Just so you don't worry about being left without a part for another few months, don't. I'm working on part 5 as I send this part to my beta. As always reviews are greatly loved.)
