Chapter Two Blizzard

The Village

Night had fallen by the time they reached the village, their short ten minute walk of earlier became nearly a half hour trek as the snow that had begun to fall just after they left the Harben house was now falling at a blizzard pace. The Atlantians were all looking forward to the hot spicy cider served to them earlier. They entered the tribunal building to find only a handful of people inside; one of them was Leader Veron, who was sitting a table by himself. Sheppard walked over to join him, the rest of his team not far behind. Captain Isaacs and his team sat at a nearby table.

"Colonel, did you find anything to help us?"

Sheppard unhooked his P-90 and shrugged off his TAC vest, and sat down. "We think we may a have a lead on where the raiders could have gone. Teyla and Ronon found tracks leading down an abandoned path next to the Harben house."

The young server proved as efficient as he had been when they first arrived. He had placed mugs of hot cider in front of them, along with a loaf of warm bread; bread that Rodney and Ronon were already tearing into.

"Path? Colonel, do you mean the abandoned path that leads to the old fortress?"

Sheppard nodded but couldn't answer right away; he had taken a drink of the very hot cider and was trying to cool off his mouth. Teyla answered Veron's question.

"Leader Veron, we found fresh tracks that indicate the raiders may have gone down the path toward the fortress after killing Harben. But these raiders are very good; we could not follow them for long. You should also know that we found blood on a tree near the path."

Dr. Beckett added, "We also found a small amount of blood in the house on the dining table and on the floor next to it. It wasn't a lot of blood, so I don't think the blood is from a life threatening wound."

"All this talk of blood and death, I am not certain what to do next. Please, you must tell us what to do." Veron looked from Beckett to Sheppard, desperately wanting direction.

The large wooden doors opened and Major Lorne walked in, brushing the snow from his hair and shoulders. Spotting Colonel Sheppard, he beckoned for his CO to come to him.

"Colonel, the visibility really took a nosedive while we were out there. We found the fortress, it's pretty big and looks more like a ruin than a building but some areas are intact. Sensors didn't pick up any signs of anyone inside but there is a much wider path leading away from the fortress in the opposite direction and it looked pretty well used. We flew over that path and didn't see anything; the funny thing is that the path seemed to end before it got to a road of any kind."

"So, you couldn't tell if anyone had been at the fortress recently?"

"No, sir; the snow was covering everything and it's getting worse out there."

"Major, another of the Glosterns was killed while Veron was on Atlantis and his wife and daughter were abducted. We need to find them so we are going to have to find these raiders. We can't let them pick these people off one-by-one." Sheppard motioned for Lorne to follow him and they headed toward Rodney.

"McKay, what does the weather channel on your tablet have to say about this storm?" Sheppard dropped into the chair next to him.

"Not good, from what I can tell, this storm is going to be around for a while and we haven't seen the worst of it yet. There is a really large and intense high-pressure system that just slammed into a very large and intense low pressure system, the winds are increasing, there is a tremendous amount of moisture in the air and the temperature is below freezing and dropping. I'm no meteorologist but this storm which has all the makings of a blizzard, a very nasty blizzard and it could last for days. On top of that, the sun in this solar system is in a pretty active cycle. There is a fairly large magnetic storm headed this way, should hit the atmosphere sometime this evening; that could really mess up communications and sensors for twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

"OK, that can't be good. The only positive thing we have going for us is that if we have difficulty moving around in this weather then the raiders will as well. But it is also going to be good cover for them if they do continue to invade homes; it could be days before victims are found." Sheppard was silent as he considered his next move; after a couple of minutes, he turned to Lorne.

"Major, I want you and Lt. Stackhouse and your teams to go back to Atlantis; I want Captain Waters and Lieutenant Salem's teams to come back with you. Bring cold weather packs for everyone. I know we have at least twenty backpacks ready to go, so you make up the others; check them out and make sure that we have everything we need to deal with this weather. Once you inventory the packs, add anything you think we might need; extra food and medical supplies and stock up the jumpers so that we can replenish the packs without having to return to Atlantis. And, be certain you bring more ordinance."

"Understood, colonel, we'll take care of this and be back as soon as possible."

"No, I want your guys to stay on Atlantis tonight; we'll stay here along with Captain Isaac's team. Update Woolsey when you return and have Amelia inform Kanaan that we are staying as well. Tell Teldy she's in charge while we're off world so she can juggle her scheduled missions. You guys get some sleep and come back at first light."

"Will do, colonel, see you in the morning." Lorne left and Sheppard looked over at Leader Veron.

"I hope you don't mind a few guests for the evening."

Veron looked pleased, "Not at all, colonel. We will all feel more secure knowing that you are here to protect us. I know that Dever must be happy that you will remain here tonight." He looked at his brother who was sitting on the raised hearth in front of the fireplace. Dever nodded his agreement. "Please follow me, that door leads to the public house; it is connected so that the village leaders have a convenient place to stay when there is a central meeting. There are rooms and they serve a very good meal; you should be comfortable for the night." Leader Veron got up and the Atlantis teams followed. Dever watched the Atlantians as they disappeared through the door and then followed them into the public house.

First Night

The public house was a smaller, cozier version of the tribunal building, large fireplace with roaring fire going, tables for dining and a long polished wooden bar extended along the side wall. A staircase led to the second floor that housed the sleeping chambers. Jast Veron led them to two tables, again near the fire.

"Please, colonel, everyone, sit here near the fire so that you may get warm. I will let the proprietor know that you will be spending the night and that you need food. I am sure you will enjoy your meal; the food is simple but it is quite tasty, hardy and hot. Most of the village tribunal leaders don't come to Beston for my wonderful meetings; they come for the great meals served here at the public house."

Before he sat down, Sheppard motioned for Ronon and Isaacs to follow him and they moved to a secluded corner past the fireplace, away from the villagers who were having dinner.

"Captain, we need to set up a watch rotation; with this storm, I doubt we will have any trouble tonight. But if these raiders have discovered we're here, I think it would be wise to err on the side of caution. No need for anyone to be outside, I just to make certain that the doors and windows are secure and they stay that way. Ronon and I will take watch as well; I want Teyla, Rodney, and Beckett to rest tonight."

Ronon grunted at Sheppard, "There you go again Sheppard, being protective. You really think that Teyla's going to like being left out?"

Sheppard shook his head, "No, she'll be mad as hell at me but she's been mad at me before, I can handle it. Ronon, she's pretty tiny and that wind is going to get rough and will likely bounce her around tomorrow. I want her, McKay and Beckett to be well rested when we go after the raiders in this mess."

"You know, colonel, Corporal Rodriguez is pretty small; he's probably going to want to get his rest tonight as well." Isaacs had a big grin on his face.

Sheppard laughed, "Captain, just tell the corporal, 'oo-rah,' for me."

"Yes, sir."

Between bites of bread, Rodney asked, "Sheppard, what's the plan? You can't seriously think that we can go searching the countryside in this blizzard? It is going to get really nasty overnight."

Sheppard took off his TAC vest and leather coat before he sat down, "Yes, Rodney, we are going out in this blizzard tomorrow. There are two women who need our help and besides, there is something going on here and we need to find out what it is."

Beckett asked, his voice low, "Colonel, you say that as if you don't believe this story about raiders; do you believe that we are not being told the truth about what is occurring here?

Just as Sheppard started to answer Beckett's question, the servers arrived carrying large trays, laden with dishes of meat, vegetables, and loaves of breads. The Atlantians took a few minutes to serve themselves and proceeded to eat in silence. Jast had been correct about the food; it was simple, hearty, delicious and best of all, hot.

While they were eating, Jast and Dever Veron came to the table. The leader asked, "I hope the food is to your liking?"

Rodney answered quickly, "Really, really good; love this bread." as he waved a piece in the air, "Do you know what they have for dessert?"

Sheppard, quickly interjected, "Rodney gets a bit enthusiastic about food, Leader Veron. However, he is right, this is very good and we appreciate your hospitality."

"We are most happy to be of service, colonel; I do not know how we can repay you other than to make you as comfortable as possible. As to comfort, the proprietor will have rooms ready for all of your people shortly. Now, I am going home for the rest of the evening and my brother has graciously offered to make sure I get there in one piece. So I will bid you good night and we will see you in the morning."

Dever added, "Colonel, our militia will be here in the morning as well. They are anxious to offer you their assistance in locating these raiders."

"Thanks, the extra manpower will be good to have, constable."

The Atlantians rose to say goodnight and watched as the two men wrapped themselves in warm hooded cloaks. Dever opened the door to leave and wind and snow whipped through the opening; the chill reaching them on the far side of the room.

Beckett shook his head, "I thought as we were walking through those wee rolling hills earlier that this place reminded me of Scotland but that wind reminds me of the Scotland I didn't like."

Sheppard pushed his plate away and stared into the fire, something was gnawing at him and he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew Ronon felt the same vibe he was feeling; he had been glad that the food interrupted his answering Beckett question. He wasn't sure he wanted to verbalize his concerns past his earlier comment.

"Colonel?"

Realizing that Teyla was speaking to him, he turned back to his teammates. "Sorry, fireplaces have always fascinated me. Got lost there for a second."

"Sheppard, you didn't answer Carson's question; do you think something not right here?" Rodney was looking at Sheppard with that look that meant he wasn't going to let the subject go.

"Look what they have told us is disturbing enough; I just have this feeling that there is more going on than just what we have been told."

"So," Rodney mused, "your spidy sense is twitching?"

"Yeah, McKay, something like that." He wanted to drop the subject so he continued, "We're going to set up watches tonight, Ronon and I will be joining Isaac's team on rotation, the rest of you can get a good night's sleep."

Teyla immediately started to protest and Sheppard had raised his hand to stop her when the proprietor came to their table and informed them that their rooms were ready.

"Boys and girl, I think that is our cue to get some rest. This storm is going to take a lot out of us tomorrow so we better take advantage of a warm place to sleep." He turned to Isaacs, "Captain, do you have the rotation ready?"

"Yes, sir; you have your choice, sir, first or last watch."

Looking at Ronon, he replied, "First watch, you guys get some rest and relieve us in three hours."

"No, sir, we will relieve you in two."

"Isaacs, are you disobeying a direct order?"

"Yes, sir."

"Fair enough, two hours it is; now go get some rest."

Sheppard sat back down and realized that the other three people he wanted to get rest were still sitting at the table. "Didn't I send you three to bed?"

"Colonel, we should also be helping keep watch," a statement from the Athosian, not a question.

"Teyla, the answer is no; I want the three of you to get a full night's sleep. The weather will be brutal tomorrow and you need energy to combat it. And before you start telling me you are more than strong enough, I know you are but you are also very light and the wind will buffet you around and sap your energy. You need to be rested; all of you do, so go to bed."

Rodney was about to protest when Dr. Beckett stood up, "The colonel is right, we are not in the physical shape of these young Marines, we need to get rest." Teyla and Rodney both started to say something, "No, the colonel has a point, Teyla, this wind will be hard on you and, Rodney, you and I are not in good enough shape to go out there without rest. So off to bed with both of you, doctor's orders."

Ronon had gone over to the proprietor while Sheppard was dealing with his team and returned to the table as Rodney, Teyla, and Carson went up the stairs. He kicked a chair out with his foot and sat down at the table. He had a mug of cider for himself and he pushed a mug full of hot water toward Sheppard. "Figured you might need coffee." Sheppard smiled and reached into a vest pocket for an instant coffee pack.

"You are so right."

"Sheppard, what do you think is going on here?"

"I don't know but Rodney was right, my spidy sense is telling me something is not adding up. For one thing, the fact that we don't know how these raiders arrived on this planet bothers me. They could have slipped through the gate without anyone seeing them but I just don't know."

"I have the same feeling."

"I don't know why I have a funny feeling about that basement door lock that Rodney noticed at the Harben house. I know people lock inside basement doors but if there was no crime here before these raiders came, why lock the door? There is only suppose to wood and coal stored there. According to Dever, Harben was a very generous guy; he would have given wood and coal to people if they needed it. Doesn't make sense."

Ronon nodded, "Sheppard, there's a lot that doesn't make sense. The thing is there were no smaller tracks, all the tracks looked like they were made by men; we never saw the smaller tracks that Dever mentioned. Unless Dever and his men are really bad trackers, they shouldn't have missed what Teyla and I found twenty-four hours after Harben was killed. Even if they just looked along the road; those freshly broken bushes around that old gate were pretty obvious."

Stretching, the colonel answered, "They haven't had any crime here so maybe they haven't developed any investigative skills. I do know that I would like to see what is in that basement, just to appease my own curiosity. We need to keep our eyes open tomorrow; somehow I think we might be in for a few surprises."

Sheppard and Ronon sat in silence for a few minutes, finishing their drinks. The first floor of the public house was deserted; the kitchen staff had left before the others went to bed and the proprietor had just gone upstairs.

"Let's do a check of the doors and windows just to make sure everything is buttoned up." Sheppard stood up and Ronon followed.

Morning

Sheppard woke with a start; he had another bad dream, the same bad dream he'd had over and over for the last year. In the dream, he was back on the mainland with Kolya and the events that the Sakari A.I. had planted in his mind to keep him occupied while trying to save the repository of the Sakari race. Planted? He muttered to himself, "Who are you trying to fool, Sheppard."

The fact that the punishment he suffered, the beating, his left hand being severed, the fall over the cliff, had been created by his own mind, preyed on him since that day. There were times in the dark night, when faces of the people who had died floated across his consciousness, that Sheppard wished the punishment of that day was real, not just in his head. He could have prevented their deaths if he just hadn't screwed up. He would be happy if the dreams would just go away, he didn't need to add the uneasiness this dream gave him to the edginess he already felt about the situation on Glostern.

Looking at his watch confirmed what his body clock was telling him, it was almost 0500 hrs. Peeking out from under the blanket he had pulled over his head; he could see through the cutouts in the shutters, rattling in the strong wind, that it was still dark but it wouldn't be for long. Major Lorne would be back shortly, the major was always prompt, and he knew he needed to get out of bed, get the teams fueled up, and head for the fortress. "Come on, John, time to get up."

Giving himself a pep talk certainly didn't work, he thought as he stretched his long legs and arms, flexing his muscles. It was definitely time to get up, yet he still hadn't moved. If he were back on Atlantis he would most likely be running with, or more like running after, Ronon by 0500 hrs. The fact was he was warm and comfortable; with the wind howling and most likely heavy snow falling, he simply did not want to move. "Sheppard, this is not like you."

He indulged himself a few more minutes and while he was laying there decided he needed a few days RNR. When they got back to Atlantis, he was going to organize a camping trip to the mainland; at least Ronon would go with him if no one else wanted to go along and he could coerce Rodney. Maybe he should take some of the Marines and airmen in his command, a little bonding with the troops. No, probably should just take Ronon and Rodney. Resigned to the fact that he had no choice, he threw back the covers, and stood up. After completing his quick morning routine, he dressed and headed for the lobby.

Rodney and Teyla were walking toward a table carrying plates of food; Sheppard saw a long table laden with food set up in the dining area. He summoned the server, asking for four mugs of hot water and walked over to join his team.

"Good morning, colonel." Teyla smiled. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, nice soft bed; slept like a baby."

The server brought over the mugs of hot water and Rodney and Teyla looked quizzically at Sheppard.

"Hot water? Well, that's appetizing." McKay pushed the mug away.

Sheppard reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out some individual instant coffee packs and some other small square packs that looked like they were made from coffee filters. He threw a couple of the coffee packs at Rodney and the square packs at Teyla.

"Where's Beckett?" Sheppard asked as he watched Ronon entering the front door; his dreadlocks and shoulders covered with snow.

"Individual instant coffee packs, when did we get these? These are cool." Rodney was positively gleeful as he tore open a pack and dumped its contents into the hot water. "Oh, sleeping beauty's coming down the stairs now."

"Colonel?" Teyla held up the small folded packets.

"I believe you will find that is a 'tea bag' made with that nasty, uh…Athosian tea you drink."

"Really? How clever, thank you, colonel." Teyla dropped the bag into her mug and watched intently as the tea diffused into the water.

Beckett sat down next to Ronon just as the big Satedan was shaking the snow out of his dreadlocks. The doctor flinched from being hit by the cold, wet snow and grabbed his mug, taking a drink of hot water before he realized that the mug didn't contain the hot cider drink. He gagged and Sheppard, laughing, handed him the coffee packs.

"Sergeant Armstrong was looking for things to add to the mission rations and found these. When he showed them to me, I asked him to see if he could find a way to fix something like that for your tea. He suggested a tea strainer but that's too messy for fieldwork. So he took coffee filters and made little tea bags just for your tea; even added a little tag like on those other tea bags. If it works, he'll keep them in stock just for you."

"Colonel, you are most thoughtful."

"No problem, Teyla; need to keep everyone on their toes." As Sheppard took his first sip of coffee, Lorne and Stackhouse's teams walked in with the winter gear. Lorne came over to the table accompanied by a couple of Marines who were carrying extra backpacks.

"Colonel, good morning."

"Good morning, major, how's goes the weather?"

"Visibility about zero, winds are steady at 40 with occasional gusts to 50, temp is 27°; in other words, it sucks, sir."

"That about sums it up. I think it's too dangerous to take the jumper to the fortress, those hills aren't extremely high but it the winds increase, the possibility of being slammed into something too much of a risk, especially if the visibility is null. Rodney says we have a magnetic storm to deal with as well and it could wreak havoc with communications and sensors." Sheppard replied.

Rodney was listening to Lorne's weather data while he was looking at the weather monitoring program he had written and installed on his tablet. "Sheppard, the forecasting tool I use is telling me that those winds are going to get worse by nightfall, the height of this storm won't be here until sometime around midnight. There's already about ten inches of snow out there."

"Good thing I brought these, colonel." Lorne was grinning as he opened a duffle bag and brought out packages of thermal underwear, extra thick socks, and snow goggles. "It appears that Mr. Woolsey added some items to the cold weather gear inventory. Colonel, the sets in here should fit your team and Dr. Beckett."

"Very nice."

As the team was taking their thermals, Leader Veron, Dever Veron, and about fifteen men entered, all dressed in heavy weather clothing. The Veron brothers headed straight for Sheppard.

"Colonel, good morning. I hope you and your team slept well."

"Leader, Constable, good morning. Thank you, we were quite comfortable. Dever, I see you've brought some assistance."

"Yes, colonel, these men are members of the militia; the only ones we could reach last night due to the storm. We are here to help you find these raiders."

"Good, let's get everyone fed, geared up and then we will head out."