School stress is killing me right now but I had to post. Next chapter will have some more Rodney, and possibly some more romance. Sigh... back to my Marine Bio paper if anyone wants to know about adaptaions in sponges due to high wave energy let me know. It's so interesting, (voice is dripping with scarcasim).
She told her team what was going on and hurried towards the gate. "We've got gate action," the scientist called. Dr. Weir looked confused.
"We're not expecting anyone right now, raise the shields."
"Ma'am its Captain Flynn's IDC."
"Let her though." Her voice was tinged with worry. She knew SGA-9 wasn't due back for another day at the least. "Captain what's going on is everything alright?" The shorter woman looked up fluster.
"I need Dr. Beckett." Panic rose through the air as Colonel Sheppard made his way to the gate room.
"Is your team hurt?" He asked. Wynnie let out her breath and shook her head.
"No my team is safe but one of the girls in the city is not and I promised to help her."
"Why can her people take her to a hospital?" Dr Weir asked looked confused and almost angry now. She had started panicking for no reason. Wynnie sighed and explained what was going on, about the women in the city and how she was not allowed to participate in the trade negotiations. "Alright," Dr Weir finally agreed, "Carson you can go. You have three hours to do what you need to do, but we need you back here."
"Thank you Dr. Weir," Wynnie replied as she stepped though the event horizon once again. Wynnie radioed her team as she walked back into the city explaining the situation and confirmed negotiations were going well. Before reaching the city's entrance she turned to Beckett. "We can't let her "owner" catch us. I don't know what they'll do to you, but it could mean death for me… citizen or not."
"Right then we should make this as quick and simple as possible." Gela greeted them and they hurried back to the small barn. The young girl's fever had spiked and her face was beginning to swell up. Dr. Beckett looked at the girl and had a pretty good idea of the illness. "Wynnie are all of your vaccinations up to date?"
"Yes why?"
"It looks like the mumps. How long has her face been swollen like that." Gela looked up.
"It only started about and hour ago. I recognize the symptoms now we call it Swells. I've had something similar but I was alright after a week. But I was really lucky many people in our city have died from it, mostly women." Dr. Beckett bent down and examined the girl and nodded.
"She seems to have all the classic symptoms of what we call on our planet, Mumps. There's really not much you can do but treat the symptoms. I'll leave you with a bottle of aspirin to help lower her fever. Although complications do arise they are uncommon. However, she is very contagious to others so I would keep contact to a minimum. She needs lots bed rest and fluids."
"How do we keep her owner from forcing her to work?"
"I'm not sure, perhaps if you have a better room you could keep her in...?"
"No if her owner find out were holding her…" Gela looked up fearfully afraid to continue.
"Stupid girl," a low voice growled. Gela was paralyzed by fear as Dr. Beckett and Wynnie turned around slowly to see one of King Lero's men. "I told you to stay away from here." He back handed Gela across the face and she fell to the floor, her lip split open. "Your brother's going to be furious. And you disrespectful little whore," He grabbed Wynnie's hair pulling her up before shoving her to the floor. "You just cannot keep your place here. Our merciful king let you into his palace with the warning to keep to your self, but no you had to go gallivanting off to help some simpering little lesser." He turned to Beckett who was helping Wynnie up. "You guests are very disrespectful. Our King explained the penalty for helping the lessers, but you had to throw off the balance. I will not die because of you." He grabbed Gela and held his sword to her back. "You will come with me." He grabbed Wynnie in a tight hold and dragged her behind. Then he turned to Beckett. "If you want her to live I would suggests you come with me."
"No," Wynnie called to Beckett. "No, you head back. Get the rest of the team and head back. Please."
"I'm sorry lass," Beckett replied. "I can't just let them kill you. We'll think of something." The guard dragged Wynnie and Gela into the throne room. Gela was forced down to her knees and Wynnie was thrown down and her P90 kicked away. She looked up and saw her team was being held behind guards now stripped of their weapons. Beckett was shoved back with them as Wynnie looked on helpless. This was her fault and she knew it. If she had just laid low and let her team accomplish the mission, they would be on their way back Atlantis with all the provisions they needed. Her team looked confused but realization spread over their faces as Wynnie was kicked back down to the ground after trying to get up.
The king looked furious as he stared a submissive Gela down. "This is the third time you have been brought to me under mortal law three, aiding a condemned." Gela was shaking as she wiped away blood from her split lip.
"I'm sorry brother," She whimpered
"DO NOT SPEAK TO ME." His voice roared though the great hall. "I was lenient before. I forgave your other faults but I cannot over look this blatant disregard of my mercy. It will be your last" He indicated to the guard holding her down to draw his sword. Before Wynnie could scream out Gela was executed right there. Wynnie looked in disbelief at what just happened. She turned to her team fearfully.
"RUN," She called to them. "Run now." She ran down her guard and grabbed for her weapon. Her hand was stepped on as she felt the bones crunch and she yelped in pain. Without missing another beat she grabbed his sensitive area with a twist and ran toward her team who was battling with their own guards. Some how in the midst of chaos Bestin got his gun back and kept the guards at bay and they made their way though the busy streets out of the city. As they reached the gate Beckett dialed back to Atlantis and the team continued holding off their captors who had turned the team's own weapons against them. She turned back to make sure her team was getting thought just in time to see Bestin, who was last man back, take two hits to his chest. Oryna turned back and helped Wynnie grab him as they pulled him though the gate. Bestin died before they made it though.
Beckett looked upon the soldier's still from and shook his head. "The bullet hit his aorta he wouldn't have survived anyway." He said with a sigh calling his team to help him pick up the body. Wynnie looked up on him angrily.
"You're just going to leave him there, not even trying to help him," She cried.
"I'm sorry Wynnie, he's already dead, and there is nothing I can do. He died quickly." Beckett offered as consolation. Wynnie dismissed her team and was about to storm off when she was met by an angry looking Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard.
"Captain, I need to see you in my office now," He stated coolly "Sergeant, Lieutenant we will debrief after I'm done talking to Captain Flynn."
"Yes sir," they answered as they walked out of the gate room. Wynnie walked in as Sheppard shut the door.
"How's your hand?" He asked quietly
"Hurts like hell sir." Her tone was even as she forced her well trained officer façade. "But I'll live."
"You should probably have it looked at." He sat down and sighed. "What happened out there Flynn? Not only did you get Lieutenant Bestin killed, you put our chief medical officer in danger. For a case of mumps, what were you thinking?" The anger had subsided but his tone was still harsh.
"I made a poor judgment call Sir. I thought she was sicker than she really was, and I didn't think they'd react so rashly against my team. I though if anything they're just try for me. But I should have suspected."
"I see."
"Look it's my fault Bestin was killed. I should have just kept to myself as I was told and everything would have gone fine. But…" she sighed. "I just felt so sorry for those women, Gela looked up to me for help and I just wanted to do something. Almost anything they do is offensive to men and grounds for death."
"This wasn't the time or place to start the women's rights movement. Not at the expense of your team, this cannot be taken lightly."
"Yes sir."
"I'm going to talk to what's left of your team, go have your hand looked at. I want you back here as soon as you're released." She saluted him before she left and then turned around.
"Sir, if I may, could I write the letter to Bestin's family? I feel that it's my duty to inform them." He nodded. Beckett was back with her team briefing Sheppard, so one of the other doctors looked at her hand. Two broken phalanges, a cracked carpel, and a pulled ligament, was what she ended up with. The doctor wrapped her right hand all the way up to her elbow in a cast and gave her some pain meds as she sat silently waiting for him to finish. Beckett walked in as she waited for the cast to set.
"Wynnie, how's your hand?" He asked with his face was full of concern.
"It wonderful, prefect even," she said icily. "I've got to go see Colonel Sheppard. This is probably the last day I get to spend here so the sooner I get it over with the sooner I can get my things together."
"You really think he'll send you back to Earth?"
"At least he'll send me back, technically he can have me court marshaled for recklessness causing the death of a fellow officer. I blew it."
"I thought you were very brave. I think that Sheppard will be lenient." Wynnie smiled at him knowing he was trying to make her feel a little better.
"I didn't know Lieutenant Bestin very well, but all of them were amazing soldiers. I actually started to get to know and care about them and Bestin, well he was the optimist. He was the optimist, Oryna was the charming one with a silver tongue, Brickman was the quite, strong one, and me, I was the stubborn, neurotic one." She let out a small laugh, and then shook her head in grief. "All and all a well rounded team, I only knew them for a week or so but we all got along. Oh God Carson I really thought things here were different, I actually let my self start to care about people. I cared about my team, I cared about Bestin, and now he's dead. I kind of hope Colonel Sheppard send me home."
"Don't say that. I know plenty of people who want you to stay."
"Oh yeah who?"
"Well you're lovely friend Madeline for one, me for another, and last but not least I think Rodney may be upset if you left."
"Really, you think he'd miss me?" Beckett looked right at her.
"Yes, I do. Now I you're free to go though I would like to see that hand in a couple weeks."
Sheppard was sitting in his office still trying to figure out what to do about Captain Flynn. She was a good pilot and soldiers but he could not let this go without discipline. Her actions had cost him an excellent soldier, but a voice in the back of his head told him he probably would have done the same thing in her situation. If someone had asked for his help he couldn't tell them no just because it wasn't in his plans. He didn't want to send her back to Earth. He barely heard the knock on his door. "Come in," he said.
"Sir," Wynnie stated as she walked in, "you told me to come back."
"Yes of course. What'd they say about your hand?" He asked looking at the cast.
"Broken," she said flatly.
"Does it hurt?"
"It's fine."
"Right then… I just though I should let you know I'm not sending you back to Earth. However I cannot risk anymore of my men to you recklessness, I have placed Sergeant Oryna in charge of SGA-9. You are also grounded until your hand heals. You're on paper work until then. Is that clear?" She almost sighed in relief.
"Yes sir."
"Alright you're dismissed." She nodded curtly and smiled.
"Sir... Thank you."
"Don't make me regret this." She saluted him and left as the relization of everything that happend set in.