A Little Defeat
The Woods
"Halt" A whispered voice resonated in their ears.
"Sergeant Mehra, this is Lorne, what's up?"
The Marine responded, "Sir, I saw some movement but it appears to be a large animal, looks kind of like a deer, sir. Sorry, false alarm."
"Don't be sorry, sergeant; we need to be careful. I don't want to lose anyone." Lorne continued, "OK, everyone, head's up; keep a lookout for wildlife and try not to spook any we come across. Teldy, Isaacs, report."
Major Teldy responded, "Sir, we're clear; my team is currently deployed about ten yards apart, angled back to your point."
"Sir, Isaacs here; we are apparently right on the edge of the forest, there is farmland to our right. I have my men just inside the tree line and deployed as Teldy's team."
"Roger that, stay in those formations and listen for updates from Stackhouse; I don't want anyone caught by these thugs."
Lorne looked ahead and saw that Ronon had stopped, appearing to look around; Lorne walked up to him. "Hey big guy, lose something?" Ronon turned and gave the major a rather testy look and Lorne realized that maybe he should have phrased that question a little differently. He should know by now that when one of Sheppard's team is missing, especially Sheppard, the rest are not prone to humor, even to relieve tension.
"Sorry, I meant to ask, did you find something?"
Ronon didn't answer, he was still looking around; he walked around the nearby trees for a bit and then stopped and turned to the major, "Yeah, I found something. Sheppard and Woolsey went this way," with that Ronon started walking. Lorne motioned for everyone to follow.
The Hut
Sheppard stirred a bit and Woolsey wondered if he was hurting or dreaming; his answer was quick in coming as he heard a groan from the colonel. Woolsey slid off of the cabinet and approached the bunk.
"John, you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm awake; must have tried to turn over, not a good idea with broken ribs. Help me sit up." Woolsey took the colonel's arm and helped him sit up, easing him back against the wall for support. "If you don't mind, I would like a couple or three of those Tylenol." Woolsey pulled the pill packs out of his vest and opened the canteen, handing it to Sheppard while he opened the packs.
"What time is it?"
Woolsey handed Sheppard the pills and then looked at his watch, "It's about 0230 hrs."
Sheppard swallowed the pills and sat quietly for a moment for the queasiness to subside. Woolsey had reclaimed his perch at the small window. He wondered what was going on in Woolsey's head; this little adventure they were on certainly wasn't in the IOA rule book. Woolsey wasn't a happy man, his attitude toward the holidays belied that and Sheppard decided there was no time like the present to find out why he was so unhappy.
"Richard, I wanted to talk to you about the holiday celebrations on Atlantis but we sort of got sidetracked with…this whole naquadah-getting kidnapped thing. You seem pretty unhappy about all the fuss but…celebrating the holidays is important to the people on Atlantis." Sheppard paused and took a deep, painful breath, hoping the pills would kick in some relief soon. "I need to know why you…restricted their fun. They really enjoyed last year and were looking forward to this holiday. I shouldn't ask this but I'm going to ask anyway. Does this have something to do with you going to Earth in December last year?"
Woolsey didn't look at Sheppard or speak for a few minutes; the colonel remained quiet. When he did speak, Woolsey's voice was very soft, "Colonel, I…I…yes, it has everything to do with last year. I've never been a fan of the holidays, even as a child; my parents were very serious people and they didn't celebrate the holidays. Then my younger sister married and had a child, a son named Nathan. She was determined for Nathan to grow up with fun since we hadn't. I spent many Christmas's with them, watching Nathan enjoy Santa and all the trimmings."
Woolsey turned to look at Sheppard, "Nathan became ill when he was 19, a benign tumor in his brain that was inoperable but very slow growing. He was a bright kid, scholarship at Harvard, wanted to be a lawyer like me. For the first few years, he was OK; he got through his undergraduate studies fine and entered Harvard law school. But the tumor continued to grow, much faster than the doctors expected, it was putting pressure on his brain and causing him to suffer continuous pain.
Last year, when he was 23, he committed suicide after he began to lose his vision. It was December 14th and his mother had been putting up decorations when she received the call. She was devastated; this wonderful, happy, young man was gone. My brother-in-law contacted the government agency that he thinks I work for and begged me to come; he couldn't do anything to help my sister; he was hoping I could.
"Being part of the SGC has given me some frightening moments when I thought I was going to die, like now for instance. But none of this is as bad as seeing that vacant, pained look in my sister's eyes when we buried her son. I haven't been able to get that vision out of my mind and with each decoration that went up and every "Happy Holiday' I heard, I could see her."
"Richard, I understand. I lost my mother when I was very young; she had a joy for life, bringing warmth and happiness to everyone. My father adored her and indulged her every whim; she loved any and every holiday, holidays were magical at our house. Then she was gone, died unexpectedly of a brain aneurism; my dad never forgave her for leaving him or me for looking just like her. My brother Dave, who not only looked like him but shared his interest in business, became his focus and I became a shadow, living on the fringes of my dad's life." Sheppard took another deep breath and tried to sit up a little straighter. "Richard, we all have pain that we don't want to talk about but letting that pain keep others from enjoying life isn't fair."
Woolsey looked away from the colonel, "So you put up a façade of a happy go-lucky air force pilot and don't allow anyone see your pain."
"Yeah, that's about it."
He looked back at Sheppard, "I see."
Woolsey turned back to looking out the small window and Sheppard decided that they had both said enough about their painful memories. He looked at his watch.
"I figure we should have three to four hours before sunrise. You need to get some sleep before we leave here, I'll take watch." Sheppard started to get up and couldn't, "Yeah, well, let these pills take effect and then I'll take watch."
The Woods
Stackhouse had been keeping the rest of the rescue team apprised of Ferish's progress. Ferish and his men were moving along a path that would eventually intersect with the Atlantis team and both Lorne and Ronon were determined to find Sheppard and Woolsey before that happened.
Ronon had quickened his pace and the rest of them, including Teyla, were hustling to keep up with the Satedan. When Ronon stopped just as quickly, the rest put on the brakes as best they could; however, Dr. Beckett ran into McKay which started McKay off.
"Carson, what the hell, can't you see we stopped? You could have hurt me!"
"Rodney, stop your whining." Beckett answered sharply.
Lorne wasn't quite as kind, "If you two don't shut up, I'll shut you up." His voice was low but he got the message across to the two bickering men.
Teyla moved next to Ronon, "What have you found?"
Ronon pointed to the base of a tree, "Two men knelt here, and I think I know where Sheppard and Woolsey are hiding."
Lorne had joined them, "What's going on?" Ronon reached for Lorne's P-90 and looked through the scope.
Handing Lorne's gun back to him, Ronon pointed toward a clearing in front of them, "I believe we will find Sheppard and Woolsey in there." Teyla and Lorne looked toward the area that Ronon was pointing to; they saw a small building standing in the middle of the clearing.
Lorne motioned McKay over, "Doctor, do your scans show anyone in that building?"
McKay shook his head, "No but I can't say there isn't; for some reason, the scanner goes blank when I point it toward that shack."
Ronon looked at Lorne, "Trust me, they're in there."
"Well, that's good enough for me." He tapped his COM, "Teldy, Isaacs, converge on my location. There is a small clearing that has a little building in the middle of it; Sheppard and Woolsey may be inside. I want that shack surrounded. Looks like a small window and door facing our direction, no side window on my right; no intel on other side and back, be careful. If no windows, I want people next to that building. Stackhouse, stay with those thugs and keep us informed. Lorne out."
It took about ten minutes to get everyone in place. Finding that there were no windows on either side or in the back, several Marines along with Ronon, Teyla and Lorne had surrounded the building. Ronon and Lorne were crouched under the small window waiting to make their move. Lorne tapped his COM twice, the signal that the mission was a go.
The Hut
Woolsey had been settled on the cot for about ten minutes and had just fallen asleep when he was jolted awake. He thought he heard a voice saying something like 'open the door and come out.'
"Colonel, what was that? Is Ferish here?" Woolsey jumped off the cot quickly, forgetting how sore he was until he straightened up; he uttered a groan.
Sheppard turned to face him; there was light coming in from the window but he couldn't register what was causing the light, however, it allowed him to see the smile on the colonel's face.
"The cavalry has arrived, Richard."
"Are you sure it's Atlantis?"
"I'm sure," and Sheppard pointed to the window where Woolsey could see a hand holding a small green box. "I am absolutely sure, it's Atlantis."
Woolsey sunk back down on the cot, "Oh, thank goodness."
Sheppard opened the door a crack and said, "Hey, Ronon, it worked, buddy."
Lorne stood up, "Colonel? Open the door all the way so that we can see you."
Sheppard opened the door and stepped onto the threshold and heard Rodney's voice, "Sheppard, are you OK?"
The next few minutes were a blur; Lorne sent most of the team back behind the tree line. Beckett and the paramedics had gone into the hut to examine their patients and Rodney refused to leave the hut until Sheppard and Woolsey did.
Sheppard could tell that Beckett was getting exasperated with Rodney being underfoot, "Rodney, why don't you wait outside? The good doctor will let us out of here shortly."
"No, the last time we left you and Woolsey on your own, you got kidnapped. I am not going anywhere," and he sat down on the cot next to Woolsey.
"Rodney, Dr. Beckett and Cpl. Brenner," pointing to the Marine guarding the door, "are not going to let that happen again. Now go and give Dr. Beckett and these guys some room, that's an order." McKay was not happy but he left the hut.
"Thank you, colonel; you are the only one who can make him listen." He was finished checking the colonel's ribs and turned to Woolsey, "You taped these ribs for the colonel?" Woolsey nodded and Beckett smiled, "You did a good job." Woolsey only nodded again as one of the paramedics began taking his blood pressure.
Lorne stuck his head in the door, "Colonel, we need to get you all out of here; Stackhouse just let us know that Ferish and his men are less than a half a click away. We need to get out of sight."
Beckett sent the paramedics out first and then helped Sheppard stand. He extended a hand to Woolsey and pulled him up and they started to leave the hut. But Sheppard held back and looked at Lorne, "I think I know how we can bait Ferish into thinking we are still inside here." He and Lorne carried out his plan and they headed for the tree line.
The Woods
Atlantis
McKay had begun monitoring Ferish's movements once the scanner picked them up. Lorne moved everyone away from the area where the rebels should be emerging from the forest; only Stackhouse's team was still moving, flanking the rebels from behind.
Beckett was irritated that he could not get Colonel Sheppard to let Lorne and the others take care of Ferish. He needed to rest, he had suffered some really serious deep bruises that may have gone all the way to the bone, had broken ribs, most likely a concussion, and Beckett wasn't yet convinced that the colonel wasn't bleeding internally. Yet, there he was at the front, in total control of the mission. If he wasn't so frustrated with him, he'd be proud of him. Damn fool didn't know when to stop.
Lorne and Ronon were next to Sheppard, taking cover behind a large tree and some really tall, thick bushes. The last report from Lt. Stackhouse was that Ferish and his men had stopped about a quarter click from the hut. The lieutenant thought they were just taking a stop to look around for tracks.
"Colonel, if Ferish keeps on this heading, he will come out right over there," Lorne pointed to a group of trees to their left about 200 ft from the hut. He looked up into the dark sky, "That moon that just popped over the horizon should help us; we can see the hut better which means so can Ferish. He might just fall for your trap, colonel."
"Let's hope so. Everyone in place?" Sheppard asked.
"Yes, sir, we're ready."
"Wish we had some way of talking to Ferish once he gets here; I would love to see his face when he realizes that we aren't in the hut and that he has walked into a trap."
"Yeah, I know, sir. I should have picked up one of those wrist radios that we found at the Assembly Hall. My mistake, sir."
"No, major, I didn't mean that you made a mistake. No reason for you to think that; besides, I remember that Mosston was wearing one when I first saw him but don't remember it on him after he died. I should have looked for it; there's my mistake," Sheppard chuckled and patted Lorne on the shoulder, 'Now, we're even."
"Yes, sir."
Richard Woolsey was also upsetting Dr. Beckett because he had left the doctor's side and had moved closer to Sheppard. Beckett assumed that over the last hours, Woolsey had gotten use to being with Sheppard and felt more secure around him. While he wasn't as injured as the colonel, he was badly injured as well; Beckett suspected that his cheekbone was broken, his kidneys could be bruised from a really bad blow to his back from that wooden rod, and he had nearly as many deep ugly bruises as the colonel. Yet, thought Beckett, here the Atlantis director, staying right in the action with Sheppard. Yes, he decided, Sheppard was a bad influence but in a good way.
Woolsey had made his way closer to the colonel just as the discussion about the Genii radio began. He was puzzled by the term, wrist radio; what could they be talking about and then he remembered. He reached in his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a small piece of equipment; a small electronic device with a leather band. Could this be a radio, he thought; he knew he had to show Sheppard.
"Colonel."
"Woolsey, you should be back there with Beckett." Sheppard answered.
"No, I am staying here with you, Ronon, and the major. Besides, I overheard your conversation about a Genii 'wrist' radio."
"Yeah?" Sheppard was getting intrigued.
"Is this a Genii radio?" Woolsey handed the device to Sheppard.
"Mr. Woolsey, I could kiss you…but I won't…yes, this is a Genii radio. Where did you find it?"
"It was lying on the table in the kitchen when I was gathering food. I stuck it in my jacket pocket and forgot about it once we got underway. I am sorry, John, I should have remembered."
"Hey, no apologies. We didn't really need it until now. This will help me mess with Ferish's mind. Now, please, Mr. Woolsey, go back with Dr. Beckett."
"No, colonel, I am staying right here." Sheppard looked at the resolute man and decided Woolsey was right, he should be there.
Their radios activated; Stackhouse was reporting, "Sirs, Ferish is on the move; he's staying on the same heading, he should be to the hut in less than five minutes."
Sheppard looked at Lorne, "Give the signals, Lorne." Lorne nodded and began to issue orders over the radio.
"Attention, we are going on radio silence. Click twice if you need to communicate; you are cleared to talk after you hear two clicks in return. Mission to commence at three clicks. Repeat mission to commence at three clicks. Lorne out."
The radios went silent as did everyone; they waited for Ferish to arrive.
The Rebels
Ferish and his men were approaching the clearing; Ferish had taken point having grown very tired of dealing with the fools he had with him. The best he could tell, they were heading back for the stream and he knew he was going to have to backtrack to see where Sheppard had left the stream bed.
As he navigated a patch of thick, thorny bushes, he could see what looked like a clearing ahead. He motioned for his men to stop and he crept ahead to get a better look at the area. He ducked down behind the large trunk of a tall tree and peered around it for a better look. He could see the hut, visible in the dim light from a distant moon that had just risen. From his vantage point, he was looking at the front and side of the hut.
He turned to Keiter who was the closest to him, "Give me those binoculars." Once he had them, he turned back toward the hut and raised the glasses. "Well, I believe we may have found our quarry. If I am not mistaken, that is a Cestian canteen; must have belonged to Mosston and we know he couldn't bring it here. I bet they dropped it when they went inside that hut."
Ferish was almost giddy and he reminded himself that it was very unbecoming of a Genii but this was Sheppard; celebrations would take place all over the Pegasus galaxy when word got out that the great Colonel John Sheppard was dead.
Ferish pulled out his weapon and looked back at Keiter, handing him the binoculars, "Get the men here, and hold in the tree line. Cover me; I am going to the hut. The rest of you stay here. I'll deal with this bastard myself."
Atlantis
Sheppard was watching Ferish; he could tell that the rebel had fallen for the canteen trick. He saw him pull one of his people to him, handing back the binoculars, and pull out his weapon.
"Lorne, give the signal the mission is a go." Sheppard whispered.
"Understood, sir." Lorne keyed his radio three times and the fun began.
The Rebels
As Ferish was making his way to the side of the hut, he didn't realize what was happening behind him. For the last ten minutes, Stackhouse and his team had been closely shadowing the rebels boxing them in; Sheppard had ordered the airmen and Marines with Special Ops training to the trees along the path that the rebels were taking to get to the hut. As the signal to commence the mission was given, the Atlantis team dropped from the trees. Quickly and silently, two rebels went down without knowing what hit them. They were efficiently tied up and left on the path as the two Marines moved toward their teammates.
The third rebel turned as he heard the Marine drop behind him but he didn't have a chance to sound the alarm before Sgt. Mehra took him out with a quick, clean punch. She leaned over and whispered, "Oo-rah. Don't mess with the Marines, dirt bag."
Keiter was standing near the tree line, watching the rebel leader as he worked his way to the front of the hut. Keiter was a Genii also and he didn't like Ferish; he had joined Ferish because he actually did believe that a Pegasus alliance was a bad thing. Then he discovered that Ferish was just looking to loot and pillage as many worlds as he could. He was going to get out once this was over; maybe go back to Genii. Ferish was now under the window of the hut and he said quietly to himself, "I hope the colonel is as good as his reputation and he kills Ferish."
From behind, he felt a strong hand close over his mouth, an arm press across his throat and another hand grab his right hand which was reaching for his weapon; then he heard a whisper in his ear, "Lieutenant Morgan Salem, US Air Force, and the colonel is that good. Goodnight." The choke hold took its toll and Keiter went down. Lt. Salem thanked Lt. James, who had grabbed Keiter's hand and taken his weapon, then looked behind him and saw the other two members of the 'tree team'; they all flashed the all clear signal. Salem keyed his radio twice, waited for the return clicks, and then quietly said, "Done."
Atlantis
They watched as Ferish made his way to the window and then stood up between the window and the door. Ronon leaned over to Sheppard, "He looks a bit sure of himself doesn't he."
Sheppard nodded, "Ego has never been a problem for the Genii."
Ferish used the butt of his gun to rap on the hut door. He seemed a bit surprised at the tinny sound that the door made but he hit the door with the gun again. Then he stepped back and yelled:
"My dear Colonel Sheppard, I know you are in there. You might was well come on out, you aren't going to win this time. I am sorry to say but I fear your life is about over. I think I'll take your dead body back to the hall with me and throw it in the cell with your friends so they can say goodbye before I kill them.
"Come on Sheppard, we might as well get this over with; I'll even promise to make your death quick, I think you have suffered enough. Besides, I need to get back to the lovely Teyla; I look forward to consoling her on your tragic death."
Ferish was beginning to get angry, "Don't think you can win, Sheppard. There's only two of you and five of us; not good odds for you.
Sheppard chuckled, "I think it's time to let him know what the real odds are." He raised the Genii radio and keyed the mic.
"Ferish, you might want to look to your left, I don't think your odds are as good as you think."
"Sheppard! How did you get a radio? You took Mosston's didn't you; I am going to make you hurt before you die for killing him!"
"Yeah, took a bunch of his stuff. You can have the canteen back if you want. And I remind you, to look to your left; there's a surprise for you."
Ferish slowly looked toward the tree line where he had left Keiter and saw all four of his men lying on the ground. He shook his head, "I really am beginning to hate you, Sheppard. Come out here and fight me like a man!"
"Hey, come on in, doors open. I'm all alone. I sent Woolsey to take care of your boys; he wasn't as hurt as I am. Your boys did a number on me. Woolsey's long gone, so it is just you and me. Isn't that how you like it?"
Ferish was so angry that he wasn't thinking, "Get out here!" He then opened the door and fired into the hut over and over. Rushing in, he realized that Sheppard wasn't there. He grabbed onto a cabinet to keep from falling over; his anger was consuming him and he couldn't breath.
"Where are you? I told you to face me like a man!"
"Come on outside, I'm here." Sheppard said very calmly.
Ferish rushed out of the hut and came face to face with Sheppard. He pointed his weapon at Sheppard but his hand wasn't steady and he kept dropping his arm to his side.
"I will make you pay for this; no matter what happens don't forget, I have your precious team and my men have orders to kill them all if I don't return by daylight. So you may think you have won but you haven't won anything."
"You might want to rethink that plan, Ferish. That isn't going to work either." Sheppard swung his arm forward and out of the trees came the entire Atlantis rescue team, Ronon, Teyla, Woolsey, and Dr. McKay along with Persim in front.
"It's over, Ferish."
Ferish looked completely stunned. "How…"
"You underestimated my team; you shouldn't have done that. Give up, Ferish."
"No, never…and I am taking you with me for Kolya."
Ferish raised his gun and fired but not before Ronon's weapon caught his arm and the shot went into the air. The former Genii soldier fell to the ground.
From behind Sheppard, there was a rush by the Atlantis military; they surrounded Ferish and handcuffed him. Two Marines picked him up and pushed him toward Sheppard.
"I told you, it's over." Sheppard was leaning against Ronon with Woolsey next to him.
"You should have killed me." Ferish dropped his head.
"Yeah, someone else said that to me once but I don't kill just to kill. But I will kill when I have to; today, I didn't have to." He motioned for the Marines to take Ferish away.
The Hut
Adrenaline is an amazing compound; in times of stress, it can help keep the body and mind alert; even help people perform incredible feats but when the stressor is gone and the adrenaline levels drop, that energy goes away quickly.
Sheppard collapsed shortly after the Marines took Ferish to one of the paramedics so his arm could be treated. Ronon had realized that Sheppard was getting weaker while the Marines were tying Ferish up and had moved closer to him; the colonel seemed to sense the support and leaned against Ronon. Ronon was not surprised when Sheppard muttered that he was getting dizzy and started to fall. The Satedan caught him and laid him gently on the ground.
Dr. Beckett was already heading toward his patients when he saw Sheppard go down and he came running to the colonel's side. He looked up at Woolsey who wasn't looking much better and then over at Teyla and Rodney who had rushed to Sheppard as well.
"I need to get them inside that hut," he looked around and saw Lorne. "Major, come here." Lorne saw that they were all gathered around Sheppard and he rushed over.
"Doc, is he OK?"
"Yes, lad, he is just very tired and I need to get him inside that hut but that fool shot it up; please go check and make certain that the hut is safe. If it is, I want both of these men taken inside."
Lorne raised an eyebrow, "Both?" Beckett just sighed and pointed behind Lorne. The major turned and saw McKay holding onto Richard Woolsey, who had just collapsed as well.
There were some broken cabinets in the hut and debris on the cots that Teyla and Lorne cleaned off. Ronon and Lorne carried the colonel into the hut, Dr. McKay and Isaacs carried Woolsey.
Beckett and the paramedics got IV's running in both men and some analgesics to help ease the pain from the horrid bruises. Lorne had disappeared for a bit but Beckett looked up as the major entered the hut and came over to him.
"They OK?"
"Resting well, both are asleep and I doubt they will wake for quite a while. Major, I am worried about the colonel; he needs a scan, I am concerned about his head wounds. Neither of them is in shape to make the trip back to the farmhouse where we left the transports, so I don't know what we are going to do."
"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about; I just spoke to Orthan; there are cultivated fields just west of here and there are roads that the transports can use. Orthan, Ozem, and the Tegerans are going back to the farmhouse, get the transports and bring them as close as they can to this location. We won't have too far to take the colonel and Mr. Woolsey once they get back.
"That's good, major. Now, the best thing is for these two to rest as well as everyone else. It's been a long day and night."
"Yes, sir, I am going to order everyone to stand down with the exception of a watch team. You get some rest, doc."
"I will when these two are well again." Beckett settled down on the floor near Sheppard's cot and Lorne left him, knowing Sheppard and Woolsey were safe at last.