Stargate Atlantis -:- Endgame

Author's Note(s):

Hi! Sorry this update took a bit longer than usual – this chapter fought me the whole way for some reason. I think it's because it's a transitional chapter, and the fun action parts are in the next one. I'll try and be quicker next time!

Also, as usual, many, many, many, many (times a million) thanks to my reviewers, you keep me writing even when my muse buggers off! :P

But anyway; Enjoy!

Chapter Three -:- Little Green Men

SOLARIS STARGATE
1140hours ALT (Atlantis Local Time)

They weren't in the hole anymore; though that hadn't really improved their situation a great deal. Now they were surrounded on all sides by a platoon of armed, uniformed men, and judging by the grip on their weapons, they were incredibly twitchy. No one was actually shooting though, which John took to be a good thing – one bullet hole was more than enough as far as he was concerned.

His P90 had already been taken from him, and a couple of the nervous soldiers stepped forward to disarm the others. They didn't seem to be that concerned with doing a thorough search though – just taking the weapons they could see and then darting back as if the team would bite. It was small comfort to know that Teyla would still have the knife strapped to her calf, and Ronon still had his fully stocked PDA (Personal Dreadlock Armoury). They were stripped of their belt and vests though, the locals having the sense to recognise the tactical equipment.

All this happened in practical silence, only one-word commands being given by the one John assumed to be the highest ranking soldier there. He had an extra symbol on his uniform's lapel, although he seemed just as nervous as the foot soldiers. "Move."

John glanced at the others before doing as he was told. He didn't like their situation any more than they did, but at that moment he couldn't see a way to change it. They were outnumbered, unarmed, and in all honesty had nowhere to go even if they did by some miracle escape their captors. For now, at least, they had no choice but to follow the soldiers. He had already missed the small window for escape – John just hoped that that didn't come back to haunt him.

Now that he wasn't running for his life, John took the opportunity to take a closer look at their surroundings. It was still practically pitch black, no starlight able to break through the thick black clouds above. They didn't look like rainclouds though, and the air itself felt heavier somehow. He guessed that was the extra carbon-dioxide Rodney had picked up with the MALP – the SCBAs they had packed as a precaution had been taken along with the rest of their stuff. The most noticeable thing about the area though, was the sheer volume of holes and craters in the ground. It reminded John of pictures of No Man's Land from World War One. It wasn't a comforting comparison.

It didn't take long for them to reach the tilted Stargate and its non-existent DHD, but they were led passed it and up to a long line of barbed wire. The leader of their entourage gave a low whistle, and immediately a small section of the wire was pulled aside. A handful of the soldiers clambered through and disappeared down a ladder while the rest kept their weapons trained on the team. Ronon then went down first, followed by John as he just about managed to navigate the ladder one-handed. Once down in the hole he was shoved to one-side to allow the others room.

Finding himself in a wired-off trench just added to the image, the haunted eyes of young soldiers staring at them as they were led onwards again. The nervous glances and conspiratorial whispering was more than a little disconcerting as it constantly followed them. Mentally keeping a map of the geography, John pictured that they were being taken behind the front line, and away from the Stargate.

About halfway through a tunnel, the structure began to change. It shifted almost seamlessly from hastily dug and partly crumbling to bricked-up and supported. They were completely underground now, wooden beams lined horizontally above them to keep the ceiling in place. John didn't imagine Rodney's claustrophobia was dealing too well with the sloping tunnel, but figured a glance back to confirm would provoke their nervous entourage.

They entered into a cubed-shaped space that was full of activity that didn't cease despite their presence. Before John could get a closer look however, he was shoved down an identical tunnel at a right angle from the one they'd left. It was difficult to gage distance with no markers to work with, but John kept a count of how many of the cubed spaces they were hurried through on their way to…wherever they were going.

After what seemed like forever they were eventually herded into a small room with a nice glass box in the centre. It was at least different from their usual cells, he thought to himself, no gooey Wraith tech or zapping Ancient force fields. And he didn't get shoved in like he nearly always did – the local soldiers were still keeping a wary distance. Once inside, the glass door slid closed behind them, and the soldiers scarpered away quickly.

Understandably drained by the walk and the blood loss, John sat himself down on one of the courteously supplied benches. Rodney took residence on the one opposite while Ronon took to prowling like a caged animal, slamming a fist against the glass to test it. The glass didn't react in the slightest to the abuse, confirming John's suspicions that it was probably reinforced. To break the defiant silence that had settled upon them since they had been found, John smirked "Just once, I'd like to step through the gate and not end up incarcerated. Or shot."

Ronon continued to stalk the perimeter, Teyla watching him warily, knowing that the Satedan did not like being trapped. Rodney threw Sheppard a look, apparently all he could manage as he recovered from the walk, obviously liking the situation about as much as everyone else. John was attempting to be optimistic - at least they were together and alive; they would figure something out. They always did.

And then the ground shook violently. Ronon and Teyla were thrown off-balance but remained on their feet. Rodney startled, seconds away from throwing himself beneath the bench he sat on – he only refrained because no one else seemed to be doing so. The glass rattled in its supports as sand and dust rained down from the ceiling.

The tremor stopped less than a minute later, the structure having held around them. "Okay…what the hell was that?"

"That…that was a tremor…" Rodney replied, still keeping a white-knuckled grip on his bench. He then glared up at the ceiling with barely concealed fear. "…and we're in an underground bunker."

John caught on quickly, and judging by the looks he was receiving from Teyla and Ronon, they understood too. If a stronger tremor hit, they would be buried alive. This world seemed to be out to stamp out his optimism; their situation seeming to get worse with every passing moment. "Well, damn."

NORTH SOLARIS: DOMILITIS FRONT LINE
48 Hours 30 Minutes and counting
[1200hours ALT]

The tremor ended just as abruptly as it had started. As usual, everything came to a grinding halt as the ground shifted beneath them, but normalcy resumed immediately as if nothing had happened. The Solarians were far too used to the common occurrence to allow it to interrupt necessary tasks. For those in the know, the tremors simply served as reminders of the ticking clock above the planet's head.

General Pheta Calaren ignored the lower ranks that were fretting over the tactical map in the centre of the cubed-room, and disappeared down a corridor, a nervous Captain hovering at his elbow. Calaren couldn't recall the Captain's name, but he had been the officer that had reported the strange activity of the ring both times it had burst to life. He had captured the aliens for the Domilitian military and had taken them to the brig. Now if he would just stop invading the General's personal space, he could potentially earn himself a promotion. Not that he would have the chance to enjoy it.

They reached the brig without a word passing between them. The guards on duty snapped to attention at Calaren's arrival, but he didn't acknowledge them. As far as he was concerned they were cowards who had landed cushy jobs in the command nexus rather than serving with pride on the Front Line. They didn't deserve his attention.

He marched passed them, the Captain hot on his heels, and headed straight to the brig's outer door. Once inside he passed a critical eye over the aliens. They had all got to their feet at his arrival, eying him cautiously. They were intelligent, these aliens, that much was clear at least. They looked strong and well-fed as well, not like the majority of the Solaris population – even the rich had little more than the poor. The one closest to him was sporting a bloody bandage to his shoulder, though he allowed no pain to show in his features. "You have damaged one of them."

It was a statement; Calaren rarely asked a question. The Captain shied slightly at the accusatory tone, but managed to hold his ground. "I am sorry shen, one of the men lost control during the first meeting. I have sent him to the camps as punishment."

A coward; and a stupid one at that. He would prefer to destroy the unknown rather than learn from it. He was deserving of the camps; some hard labour would teach him the value of patience. The aliens had shifted slightly, their eyes flicking between the general and the captain as if they were following the conversation. A smile barely lifted the corners of Calaren's mouth. "They can understand us."

"Yes shen, we believe so," the Captain replied, and the injured alien gave them a defiant look. "During the capture we kept communication to a minimum as instructed, but they understood and followed our commands. It…it unnerved the men shen."

This would make the interrogation a lot easier later. He had been wondering how he was going to question the aliens through a language barrier. "They have not spoken."

"Not a word shen."

Smart aliens. The hostile behaviour towards them hadn't been subtle, but they had figured out that trying to talk their way out at this stage was beyond pointless. Calaren just hoped that they stayed smart later. "Send for a medic, I want them all functioning once Sana Talyn has finished 'first contact' as she insists on calling it."

"Yes shen." The Captain seemed relieved for the dismissal and only just managed to stop himself from fleeing the room at speed. Calaren debated over whether it was him or the aliens that had unnerved the soldier so much. Judging by the glare he was receiving from the tall, long-haired alien, he figured it was them. It had been a long time since he had witnessed such defiance.

General Calaren gave each of the aliens a final look over, and then turned on his heel and left. Even if the aliens proved useless to their cause, Calaren knew that he would be able to spend his last two days having fun.

1240hours ALT

"It's alright," Teyla said gently. "Just leave the bag and go, I'll take care of him."

The Solarian medic's eyes grew impossibly wide; fear, awe and nervousness fighting for precedence on his face. The Captain had brought him by and had practically shoved the poor medic into the glass cell. The young man had landed in a heap, frighteningly close to where Teyla had been standing, the contents of the bag spilling across the ground. At Teyla's voice he had started, sending his superior a glance over his shoulder for consent. The Captain seemed just as surprised by her words, and gave the medic a nod.

They hadn't even waited for the door to completely close behind them before they'd scarpered. Teyla collected up the bag and took a seat next to John so that she could reach the wound. Rodney watched the Solarians go and scoffed. "You'd think they'd never seen other people before."

"They haven't," John replied, barely wincing as Teyla untied the field dressing that was already soaked through. Rodney cringed for him, able to see the ragged wound even from the other side of the cell. "The guy that was just here said that they were bringing someone in for 'first contact' – we're their equivalent of Little Green Men."

"Well, there's a pleasant thought," Rodney retorted sarcastically. He had seen the way the soldier had observed them like specimens in a jar; he didn't want to even consider what the man was thinking. Nothing good, that was for sure.

"'Little Green Men'?" Teyla asked uncertainly as she wrapped a clean bandage around the wound. John threw her a grin and Rodney could feel a movie reference coming.

"On Earth, the general consensus is that aliens and space travel don't exist, but there's a whole bunch of conspiracy nuts who believe that all aliens are little green men…like the Asgards really," John explained. His grin turned into a grimace as Teyla pulled the bandage too tight, but he didn't make a sound. "Like in that movie…"

"Asgards are grey," Ronon pointed out, effectively derailing the tangent Sheppard was about to lead them down. Rodney almost threw him a grateful look, but thought better of it when he saw the Satedan's impatient expression.

John gave a half-shrug, earning himself a glare from Teyla for jogging her. "Same difference."

"What do your people do when they come across these 'little green men' then?" Teyla asked as she found a sling trapped at the bottom of the medic's bag. John didn't look pleased by the discovery, but let her use it nonetheless.

Rodney sighed, glaring Sheppard down before he could make any 'anal probe' jokes. "What humans always do when they find anything new; we run a battery of…invasive… tests and experiments in order to learn as much as we can."

"You're planet's weird."

Rodney shrugged at Ronon's comment, and the four lapsed into silence. He suspected that they were all thinking of the possibility of experimentation on top of interrogation and torture. Rodney almost wished that they had taken their chances with running as opposed to surrender. Going by the doubt playing across Sheppard's features, he suspected their team leader was having similar second thoughts – and that was not comforting.

Then there came a noise from the door, and all of them climbed to their feet expectantly. A woman stepped into the room, mouth open, gaping at them like…well, like aliens. She was dark-skinned and dark-haired, of average height though slightly malnourished, and cladded out in a red uniform similar to that of the soldiers. She managed to recover herself and stepped up to the glass cell door.

This was Sana Dawn Talyn, as she eventually introduced herself. She then told them about Solaris' big problem, i.e. the end of the world. "Time is running out, and all hope seemed lost – but now you have arrived."

"Not that being shot and locked up isn't a powerful incentive…" John glanced over at Rodney, a question in his gaze. It was the same look he always gave him; the one that asked him to perform nothing short of a miracle with some piece of tech in an impossible time frame. This one was in reference to the non-existent DHD. Rodney shrugged non-committedly – he wouldn't know for absolutely sure until he got back to the gate. John seemed to take that as a yes though. "Tell you what, you let us go and we'll show you how the Stargate works. We'll even find you a nice planet for you and your people to relocate to, help you get sorted and all that – deal?"

It really was their only bargaining chip – the Solarians needed their help, but Rodney wasn't even sure that they could give it to them. At this stage, he doubted that they could even help themselves – especially now that the end of the world was imminent and their chances of escape through the Stargate were minimal at best. And then there came the promise of torture – sure, they had already expected it, but the term 'under extreme duress' implied something a tad worse than their previous experiences.

Then Sheppard played their final card. "You could let us go right now; guide us to the gate. We'll take you with us."

For a brief moment, Rodney actually thought that John had gotten through to her, but Talyn then shook her head. When John then lost his patience and hit the glass, Rodney actually jumped. Even Teyla threw him a concerned look as Talyn got the message and backed off. But not before dropping one last bombshell on them:

"In forty-seven hours and twenty-seven minutes, this world will end."

NORTH SOLARIS: DOMILITIS FRONT LINE
47 Hours 15 Minutes and counting
[1325hours ALT]

In the command nexus on a sub level of the central cube section was General Calaren's office. It was neat; well, obsessively pristine would probably be a better description, with not a scry out of place. He didn't have a desk, per se, but a table placed in the centre of the room, a tactical map of the area laid out across it. Behind that was the comm unit; the dialling device on the table top while the screen and camera were propped on a stand above it. Filling the screen was a similar set-up; a long table occupied by Sanas, politicians and generals alike; the Master Chief taking the head seat.

Sana Dawn Talyn stood next to General Calaren before the camera, feeling uncomfortable under the Master Chief's glare while her thoughts strayed to the foreign humans in the brig. She just about managed to bring herself back to the present as the conversation strayed into local territory – the general reports beforehand were tedious and irrelevant to the bigger issue as far as she was concerned.

"The Foramine forces have pulled out of their trenches," General Calaren reported. "We intercepted a communication ordering the troops to fall back and assist with the evacuation of their city following the eruption of Mt. Petera. We have claimed the mines as part of Domilitis."

"An empty victory," Dawn muttered without realising. Calaren fixed her with one of his stares that used to leave her shaking in fear. Now, when she had the end of the world to dread, the stare didn't work as effectively. She decided to finish her thought out loud…on purpose. "We have been fighting for these mines for nearly two years; and two years ago a victory here would potentially have helped us. But now we have less than two days left – there just isn't any time left to put the mineral to use."

The Master Chief studied her over the monitor, thoughtfully rubbing his chin, while the advisors he surrounded himself with looked at her with contempt. "You are right, Sana Talyn."

Dawn was pretty sure that the surprised expression on every man's face was mirrored on her own. The Master Chief smiled. "We are all aware that time is running out and that our contingency plan has not worked out as planned. However, I believe that some…guests…may be able to change our supposedly inevitable end?"

"I have made first contact with the f- the aliens, shen," Dawn bowed her head slightly to cover her slip. She doubted her opinion would be taken seriously if she revealed that they were simply foreigners as opposed to aliens. "They say that they came through the ring and that if we were to release them they would assist us in working the ring to evacuate our population."

Calaren gave her a sceptical smirk. "And you believe them."

"Yes, yes I do," Dawn replied. She thought of the foreign humans again, especially the sincerity of the one called Sheppard. This was the only way she could help them; all she could do was fight their corner and hope that her word counted for something. Judging by the incredulous looks she was getting, she doubted her word counted for anything. "They are not of Solaris; they are not like us or our enemies. I believe their offer of assistance is genuine."

The Master Chief shook his head slightly. "I never would have believed you capable of such naivety, Sana."

"It is not naivety, it is faith," Dawn answered back. Again, she received the taken-aback looks at her brashness – even she was surprised if she were honest – but she continued regardless. "We are so close to the end of all days as was augured in the scriptures even before we discovered the truth of those words. A salvation was promised there as well, and I believe that the aliens are just that. They are our last chance to save our people."

A silence followed her outburst. And then the Master Chief spoke. "I do not deny that there is some truth to your words, Sana, the aliens truly are our last chance. As such, I will not take a risk on some blind leap of faith and just take them at their word. General, you may proceed."

Calaren nodded, and the transmission ended. Dawn felt her heart sink, knowing that her last chance to help the foreign humans had just slipped through her fingers.

1400hours ALT

John knew that he was fast running out of options and chances. This mission had gone from bad to worse and back again, and he felt the small semblance of control he had being stolen away. He needed to figure a way out of this, and he needed to do so quickly – before the world started falling apart around them…nothing like a bit of pressure.

The next time the door opened, John was slower getting to his feet. He knew he wasn't in good shape, despite Teyla's best efforts. He felt tired, exhausted and defeated, but he managed to keep those emotions off of his face. His team was still relying on him – he couldn't even think of giving up yet.

About twenty soldiers squeezed into the room, surrounding the cell on all sides. The General who had come by earlier took residence at the door, Talyn hovering guiltily just behind him. She gave John an apologetic look, and he knew that things were about to get a whole lot worse.

Really randomly, I keep going to call McKay 'Rodders' and I have no idea why. I think it might be because the only other character called Rodney I know is the mouse/rat from Flushed Away. I just about managed to refrain lol

I'll try and write chapter four a little bit quicker! Please let me know what you think :P

Helpful Glossary of Solarian Terms: (Part Two)

Shen – The equivalent of 'Sir/Ma'am'
A Scry – A pen/pencil – writing equipment
Master Chief – The title given to the leader of a colony
The Scriptures – The Solarian religious script that predicted the end of the world, among other things