Blood Rituals – Cats and Mice
by Angel Ruse

Sheppard, Beckett, McKay and Teyla gate to a world with a deadly secret—will Sheppard and Beckett become the victims of genetic exploitation? Sheppard and Carson whump. No Slash.

Rodney rubbed the rain out of his eyes for the fifteenth time and looked up. "Wonderful," he said sharply. "More trees. Lovely planet you have here, Usani." He turned away from the man, reaching into his pocket to get a ration bar.

The Khon'Suan rebel lifted his crossbow as if to knock it into the unsuspecting Dr. McKay's head, but Ronon quickly grabbed his wrist and drew him back. "How far in is this building?" he asked Minal.

"Not far," she told the large man, and then stepped beneath the canopy of the grove. The small party began in with her, weapons poised and senses alert. "There will be two guards ahead. One on the left side of the gate and one on the right. Their vulnerable points are the head and arms. The torso is padded. Shoot to kill. Usani will input the access codes and then we're in."

"And ah, what sort of resistance should we expect on the inside?" McKay asked a bit cautiously.

Iilara glanced over her shoulder. "Atius keeps two guards with him. There are several that live in the compound and Indaali keeps several with him as well."

"Sheppard and Beckett?" he pressed, hoping time hadn't run out on them already.

Minal shook her head. "He has another prisoner waiting for him. He will want to enjoy her while Atius tries to fix the problem with the catalyst." Her voice was hard.

As they drew nearer to the compound the rescue party quieted their curiosities and prepared themselves for battle. Nor far into the grove Minal stopped them, drawing them behind one of the large trees. "Just around that bend," she whispered so faintly McKay hardly heard it. "Get ready."

"Right," Rodney breathed, then nudged Ronon. "You first." The large man rolled his eyes. Teyla eyed McKay for a moment, to which he said, "What? He's a better shot than me."

"Let's go," Minal ordered, motioning them on.

And so they followed. Her officers stormed onto the path with Ronon at their heels and pandemonium broke loose. The two guards at the gate had gone down without much fuss—how could they not with all the crossfire raining on them—but Minal had apparently not been prepared for an increase in security. There were four more Khon'Soran noble guards within the walls of the compound and each fired fast to avenge their fallen companions. One of the rebel Khon'Suans fell to the dirt at Rodney's feet, dead.

Ronon rolled to avoid a zinging crossbow bolt that nearly struck his head, then flawlessly took aim with his own weapon and sent his attacker back into the compound. McKay thrust his hand out to help him up, but Ronon ended up jerking him down to the mud with him as one of the remaining attackers tried to shoot him down. The bolt buried itself in the mud just a few centimeters away from where the large warrior was. Rodney, on the other side of him and unceremoniously sitting on his rear, muttered, "Thanks," before rolling away from another hit.

He thrust himself behind a nearby tree for cover and peered around it, looking for something to shoot. It wasn't his favorite thing in the whole world, but he felt aggravated enough to make it a sport today as long as he could do it from out of harm's way. Usani and Ronon, on the other hand, were already rushing the steel gate. Trust them to go in guns blazing. Rodney cursed when Teyla motioned him to join her.

So he followed, gun held level. He was a smart man, after all. He could avoid getting his…okay, that bolt came a little too close for comfort. McKay looked at his jacket where the bolt had whizzed by and saw a large tear in the material. A few yards away one of the Khon'Soran guards laughed and aimed again. "Okaaay," he huffed, lifting his handgun and shooting. The guard fell back hard. Of course that little victory had absolutely nothing to do with Teyla standing beside the scientist, simultaneously firing her gun at the same target.

The field was cleared. Usani bolted towards a stone complex at the center of the grove, stopped at a very large, very ornately carved door, and started keying in codes on a little panel near the lock. "Take aim," he cautioned when the sequence was complete. He kicked open the grandiose entrance and jumped to the side, out of view.

Rodney threw himself out of the entrance when he saw four guards aiming crossbows at whoever tried to enter. Ronon got in a blast before he joined the physicist on the left side of the door. Every once in a while the party of rescuers would peer around the corner, but the guards had taken cover by now and neither side made much headway.

"Cat and mouse," McKay muttered irritably, then shook his hand at Ronon. "We need to be the cat. Lure the mouse out of the hole. Think, think."

"What do cats do?" the warrior asked, then threw a round of shots into the hallway.

Rodney shook his head, but said nothing, working it out in his head. He looked his companions over before resting his eyes on one person. Minal was poised to run past the door and shoot, but such a move might get her killed. He grabbed Iilara's shoulder and pulled her back before she could strafe the entrance. "Have they seen you?" he asked quickly. She shook her head. "Good. You're our cheese."

"What exactly are you talking about?" she asked breathlessly.

"It's simple," he retorted, thinking rapidly. "What you do is take one of us hostage. Stage it like you overpowered one of us and move in front of the door so they can see you. Call for backup. You see what I'm getting at? And when the mice poke their noses out the door to help you…"

"We blow their brains out," Ronon finished neatly. He nudged Rodney towards Minal with the tip of his weapon.

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly mean me," he grumbled as Teyla took his gun and Minal walked around him. Rodney squeaked when she shoved her hand between his side and his arm to jerk him around. "Hey, watch it."

She put her crossbow to his head and yelled, "Put your weapons down unless you want him dead! You heard me, I said do it! Now!" She turned her head towards the door. "Daaen, is that you in there? This is Iilara! Don't shoot!"

"It's me," one of the guards within shouted, sounding uncertain. "What's going on out there?"

Minal yanked McKay back with her until they were in full view of the door. She dug the point of the bolt loaded into her bow right into his head and was about to swear at her, but held his tongue. "These offworlders took me prisoner to bargain for their companions. I led them here so they could join them in the blood feast." She jerked Rodney against her roughly and hissed, "I want this one. Get out here and take the rest of them!"

It didn't work as perfectly as it sounded. They obeyed the command of their senior officer and once outside, saw their enemies still held their guns. When the first two fell the remaining pair fired their crossbows, taking out two of Minal's rebels. Shoving Rodney out of the way, she brought down the third guard while Teyla took out the fourth.

When it was done Minal knelt down between the two fallen officers and checked for pulses. For a moment she bowed her head, then rose slowly. "Your friends will be in the lab. Let's go."

The group rushed the hall, weapons poised and eyes searching the shadows for any sign they were being pursued. Rodney sidled up next to Minal. "I'm sorry for what happened back there."

"There are always causalities of war." Her eyes didn't say that, though. Her eyes said she was tired of death and anguish.

The physicist sighed, replaying the past fifteen minutes. And then he rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and said, "So, ah, you want me, huh?" The look she gave him told him to keep his mouth shut from then on.

When they reached the lab they burst through the door, weapons aimed and adrenaline rushing. Only there was no one there. One of the rebels ran into an adjoining room and turned up empty. Minal ransacked the cabinets and counter tops, then looked up at the Lantean's gravely. "The catalyst is not here. Your friends must have been taken to the sanctum."

"Sanctum?" Teyla repeated, sharing a worried look with Ronon. "What is that?"

"It's where they drink," Minal replied, then rushed past them. "Come on."

He was so cold. He had never been so cold in his life. Being a doctor and in a perilous situation was somewhat detrimental to one's mental health as well, he was discovering, as he ticked off each potential death in his thoughts. Blood loss, hypothermia, infection. His training prepared him for what each possibility could do to him.

Dirt and blood coated his skin. Carson shivered in the darkness, lying curled into himself to keep warm. He was soaked from head to toe, lying on a granite hard surface in the middle of a broken down ruin, weak as a newborn kitten. They had brought him in out of the rain. He hadn't seen much on the rough journey through the grove, but he knew this was not the building John was in. There was a roof over his head and walls around him, but great chunks of the stone were missing, which permitted the cold air to assault his flesh.

He didn't see his captors. Not really. They were dressed in black garments draped over their skin and dark hoods hung over their faces. The most he ever glimpsed was a white hand or a set of pale lips. Only a few sat here in the darkness with him. But there were others, he knew. They came to the opening in the wall to look in on him from time to time. Though he couldn't see their eyes he could feel their hunger.

None of them spoke. Not to him, not to each other.

Carson felt his heavy lids drop. He was so tired. His back seared from the livid marks along his flesh. Yet he couldn't fall asleep. His mind whirled and drifted between terror and worry. What was happening to Sheppard? Where were Teyla and Rodney? Were they trying to rescue their companions?

Would he die tonight?

A hand touched his back. His eyes flew open. Carson tensed and moved away from the touch. "Don't," he said, his voice so raw he could hardly speak. He pressed his hands to the floor and managed to get himself up into a sitting position. The entrance looked so far away. "I could help you." He tried to bargain with them, turning his head to look at one of the shrouded beings.

One lifted its hand in front of his face, palm forward. He could see his own blood dried on the white skin. The creature turned its hand softly, running the backs of its fingers down his cheek. The touch was gentle. He couldn't understand what it was trying to communicate.

Another hand pressed against his shoulder and he closed his eyes, knowing he would be abused again. He could feel a thumb rub circles into his aching muscle soothingly. It was as if the hand was pleading with him to give in. "Just let me go," he hissed, looking out as the rain continued to pelt the brush outside. Why did they toy with him so?

Quite suddenly he threw himself towards the makeshift doorway. Lightening flashed as he scrambled to get back outside. He didn't know where he would go, but he had to try. He wouldn't die here. Not like this.

The creatures at his back snarled at his attempt. There was no way he was going to escape and he knew it even before one of those spidery hands wrapped around his ankle and yanked him down. They pulled him back in and he couldn't stop it. He lay helpless as his wrists were bound behind his back.

They forced him to stand. Carson wavered on his feet, nearly falling when they urged him through the darkness into a black hall he could not see the end of. He was guided through this without injury and brought to a room some ways down. There was a window here in this cell. Eerie red light coated the stones within. He was shoved to his knees. Pressing hands to his shoulders, one of the creatures forced him face to face with a basin of water. He shook his head, not sure if they meant to drown him or sate him. He soon found out when one of those chilly white hands dipped into the water, then brought a pool of it to his mouth. Carson nearly choked as he was forced to drink. It tasted stale and dirty.

When they were satisfied he had taken enough, he sat back on his legs and hovered for a moment. The creature behind him reached out. A hand smoothed along his side and up his chest. It wouldn't last, the kind touch. He braced himself. The creature embraced him even as it ran a long, sharp claw into the back of his shoulder with its other hand. Blood broke free of its bonds. Carson threw his head back and arched painfully as the claw twisted in his flesh. A ragged groan forced its way from the back of his throat.

He fell back into the monster's arms. He had been injected, he could tell, because he could feel the effects of the drug, or venom, or whatever it was taking hold. Carson went hazy, his eyes unfocussed and starry.

The creature rubbed the fresh blood off his back and the scarlet moon shimmered in the basin.

A/N: Thanks as always:-) +hugs Carson protectively+

Email: angelruseATgmailDOTcom
Archive: Go for it.
Disclaimer: Don't own the fine hineys of Shep or Beckett. Don't mean I can't imagine I do.