A Quick Note: Thanks to everyone who has taken time to read The C.O. and I am happy that you have enjoyed it. Next up, Chapters four, five, and six, which will leave only two more chapters; I promise to have them up tomorrow. Thanks again and thanks for your reviews.
Chapter Four The Fortress
The Jumper
Rodney had demanded that Beckett join him and the two SO's in the cockpit of the jumper. Beckett only agreed after he got some broth from an MRE prepared for Losa who hadn't eaten in nearly three days and checked Clessa's vitals. Only then did he enter the cockpit and closed the bulkhead doors.
"I told you we needed to get in contact with Sheppard; we need to contact him now." Rodney was red-faced and was pointing repeatedly at Captain Waters. Beckett noticed, to his relief, that the captain was calm and not reacting to Rodney's outburst.
"Dr. McKay, if you will please listen to me for a just a second, I will tell you something."
Rodney's focus was on contacting Sheppard and he wasn't listening to anything or anyone. "We need to contact Sheppard now. They are in immediate danger, captain; we need to let them know about Dever."
"Rodney, calm down and listen to the captain, he is trying to tell you something." Beckett was seriously considering slapping Rodney.
Rodney looked at Beckett, about to yell at him when he saw that Beckett was angry. "OK."
"Doctor, as soon as I heard Losa say that the constable was her husband's killer, I attempted to reach the colonel, or anyone. I can't get through. With the magnetic storm and the winds that have been steadily increasing the entire time we have been sitting here; I could barely get through to you two hours ago, now it's even worse. I have tired to get in touch with Lt. Salem and even though he is much closer, there is nothing but static on all the frequencies. Dr. McKay, I will keep trying to reach the colonel."
"Then, captain, if we can't reach Sheppard by radio, we will just have to go to where they are. Get this jumper off the ground now." Rodney took the co-pilot's seat and waited for the captain to take off.
"Doctor, the weather conditions are not good; according to the HUD readouts which are sporadic because of the magnetic storm, the winds are gusting up to 85 miles per hour on the surface of the jumper. Even if I wanted to try to fly this thing, it would be dangerous through these hills. Besides we have two civilians in the back of this jumper, Dr. McKay, who have already been through enough. I am not going to expose them to any more danger."
"Rodney, I agree with Captain Waters; we can not risk the safety of these two women. So if it makes you feel better, blame me for not going after the colonel and the others." Beckett squeezed Rodney shoulder and opened the bulkhead doors to check on his patients.
The Fortress
Sheppard was crouched behind a large tree directly in line with the north entrance. The fortress was constructed of local stone and rose as high as a three-story building. There were no windows on the west or north outside walls and the roof was rimmed with short stone pillars. Dever informed them that there was a courtyard in the center and that part of the southwest corner had collapsed but he thought the rest of building was structurally sound or at least as sound as a several hundred year old structure could be. As to where within the fortress someone might be hiding, Dever could only guess. From their vantage point, with the wind gusts blowing thick snow into the air, it was hard to see the building much less see if there was any sign of anyone inside.
Before they left the cover of the path, the plan for assaulting the building was set. Each team consisted of three to four members and they were to disperse around the north, south, and east perimeters. They estimated that they would need at least twenty minutes to get all the teams in place but to be on the safe side, they decided to go at forty minutes from the time mark. There was two minutes to go.
Sheppard's other two team members were the constable and a Glostern named Virga Yaleus. As they waited for the go time, his mind was racing. As the teams had passed him to take their positions, he realized that three of his men were missing, Johnston, Brenner and Rodriguez. He was hoping that Dever didn't realize that the men were missing. Then again, his gut was telling him that Dever might very well know that the three Marines were missing and may have had something to do with their disappearance. Sheppard's gut feelings usually served him well and at that moment, he was hoping his gut was wrong about his men. The only problem was if this was a trap, it was too late to do anything about it.
The Path
Rodriguez and Brenner were nearly to the clearing at end of the path when they literally stumbled into Sgt. Johnston. Brenner fell completely over Johnston and landed face to face with the sergeant.
"Brenner, you better have a good explanation for getting in my face." Johnston lying on his side and Brenner could see that the snow under him was no longer white but pink.
"Sarge, you're hurt. Who did this to you?" He touched the sarge's neck to check his pulse, it was strong.
"Oo-rah, sergeant, your pulse is strong. Ray, help me turn him over." The two corporals struggled with the larger sergeant who was partially buried in the snow but they managed to roll him onto his back.
"Oww…Damn it, boys, watch my left leg, I think that son of a bitch broke it." The sergeant's breathing was coming in short, shallow gulps as he tried to deal with the pain. "Son of a bitch was about half my size and he took me down. I'd send one of you two to take care of him but if he took me out, he'd wipe they floor with you two shrimps."
"Well, broki, it seems that the sergeant hasn't lost any of his acerbic wit." Ray was checking Johnston leg to locate the break. "Sarge, where else are you hurt?"
"Rodriguez, you been dating one of those scientists? Is that how you learned such a big word?" Both corporals laughed as Johnston continued, "Damn fool stuck a knife in my side but it hit the edge of my vest, threw his aim off, just went straight through flesh. I lost my balance and fell; before I could get to my gun, the other bastard took his rifle and whammed it into my leg until he heard it snap. I was tying to yell for help but I wasn't making any noise. I didn't realize that my head was pushed down in the snow until I tried to roll over to protect myself. One of them must have smacked me in the head and I guess I blacked out for a few minutes.
"Sergeant, hold on, let me take your guns and your Ka-Bar while we are getting you winterized." As he removed the weapons, Brenner asked, "Why did they attack you?"
Johnston tried to laugh but it sounded more like a whimper, "Damn fools didn't even take my guns? They are idiots." He took another shallow breath. "Those two attacked me because they realized I had overheard them talking about what was really going on and they didn't want me to get to the colonel. Boys, we're walking into a trap."
Brenner looked at Rodriguez and shook his head, "Spidy sense, huh."
"What are you talking about, Brenner? Hey, watch my leg, Ray."
"Sorry, I need to make sure the bleeding from the stab wound has stopped. Once we get a bandage on there you'll be more comfortable. I'm going have to find some sticks to splint your leg with. I can't feel enough to tell if it's a clean break or not. I can't try to set it, Sarge." He removed medical supplies from the sarge's TAC vest and started tending the stab wound in the sergeant's side.
Brenner had taken Johnston's backpack off his shoulders and unzipped the bottom compartment which held a cold weather sleeping bag system. He rolled the bags out putting some rocks and heavy branches on them to keep them from blowing away. Then he retrieved the body and hand warmers from the pack, activated a couple and placed them on the sergeant's chest and into his hands. While he was getting everything ready, he answered Johnston's question.
"Sarge, Ray here caught the spidy sense bug from the colonel. He's been saying something was wrong since we left the village and as much as I hate to say it, I think he was right."
"I heard that." Ray had returned from getting a couple of sturdy branches to splint the sergeant's leg. He took his knife out and trimmed the branches. "Come here, Brenner, need your help."
The next few minutes were tense as they immobilized the sarge's leg and made certain the bandages were in place and that there was no bleeding from the wound. They maneuvered him into the cold weather sleeping bags with some difficulty, trying not to jar his leg. The double sleeping bag system didn't give the big sergeant a lot of room but would provide protection from hypothermia. Brenner activated more hand and body warmer packs and slipped some extras in the bag where the sarge could reach them, placed Johnston's 5-mil, P-90, and Ka-Bar where he could access them along with some ammunition. Lastly, he put a canteen, some power bars and aspirin packs in as well. Once he had all the provisions that he thought the sarge would need, Brenner fastened the hood around Johnston's head.
Brenner knew that the sergeant was in pain, "Sgt. Johnston, do you want a little morphine? I don't have to give you a full dose, just enough to take the edge off.
"No, I am gonna need to say alert, just give me some aspirin. When you come back for me, you can shoot me with all the morphine you got." Brenner nodded, thinking this was one tough guy.
While Brenner finished getting the sarge outfitted, Rodriguez built a lean-to off the path behind some trees, using a poncho and more sticks he had cut. He laid a Mylar emergency blanket on the ground that would protect the sergeant's sleeping bag from the cold, wet ground. Then he and Brenner carried the sarge over and laid him under the lean-to.
Rodriguez knelt down and flashed a smile at Johnston, "Sarge, you should be fine here. These thick trees are blocking the wind which is keeping the snow from piling up. The poncho should keep the snow from covering you up; maybe every now and then, you should try to knock the snow off the poncho so the lean-to doesn't collapse. Johnston, I don't know how long we'll be gone but I promise we're coming back for you.
"Enough, corporals, go help the colonel. That's an order." Johnston used his most commanding voice.
"Yes, sir!" The corporals' words echoed together as they took off down the path toward the fortress. As he lost sight of them, Johnston said quietly, "Thanks, guys; you two are fine Marines, Semper Fi."
The Fortress
At the go time, Sheppard, Dever, and Virga moved forward toward the north fortress door. A gust of wind had blown snow in their direction just as they had move greatly reducing what little visibility that they had. Sheppard was on point for his team and could no longer see the two men who were just a few feet behind him much less the other teams that should be to his right and left. The snow was knee deep and each step he took felt like he was lifting weights with his legs. The only encouraging things he could think of was that he hadn't heard gunfire and the wind seemed to be dying down some as they got closer to the building.
The trek to the building took longer than Sheppard had anticipated due to the deep snow. When he finally saw rock directly in front of him, he decided to rest a minute. Behind him, the colonel could hear Dever saying something but the wind was blowing the constable's words away from Sheppard. He reached out and ran his hand along the wall looking for the door. With the difficulty getting through the snow and not being able to see the building as a point of reference, he wasn't certain if he had drifted to the right or left of the door.
Sheppard felt a hand on his arm pulling him to the right. He could see Dever under the hood of his cloak and make out he was telling him to come toward him. As Sheppard got closer, he could see the tall, weathered double doors that let into the fortress. The plan was to wait at the doors for the other teams assigned to that side to reach the doors so that there would be a larger assault force. Dever and Virga, however, were opening the door, struggling to move the door though the heavy snow.
Sheppard walked up to them, "I thought we were going to wait for everyone to get here before we opened the door." He wasn't conscious of the fact that his hand had automatically gone to the handgrip of his 9-mil.
"Don't worry, colonel. We realized that it was going to take some time to get the doors open, so we thought we should get started." Dever gave him a wan smile.
They got the door open enough to pass through and Virga entered the fortress. As Sheppard started to protest, he felt cold metal pressed against his temple. Dever chuckled, "Well, well, colonel, I bet you never saw this coming, did you." Sheppard felt strong hands grab him from behind, taking his 9-mil as Dever unclipped the P-90 from his vest. He stumble on the rough stone floor as he was pushed through the door way. The doors had led into a breezeway which ran the width of the building and opened onto the courtyard in the center of the fortress. Standing at the other end was several of Dever's men with weapons trained on the other Atlantian teams who had come in from the other doors. Well, Sheppard thought, he was scoring a hundred percent on the spidy sense-o-meter.
Dever's motioned for one of his minions to come over to him, "Tie the colonel's hands behind his back and take him to the cells on the south side. Take the rest of them into the old meeting hall and keep them under guard." Sheppard saw three men, one of whom was sporting a bloody nose, carry an unconscious Ronon into the breezeway. Major Lorne and Captain Isaacs, both supported by their teammates, had suffered bloody head wounds. He was trying to get someone's attention but one the men who was 'escorting' him, slugged him in the kidney and he went down on his knees. His captors dragged him through the snow toward a doorway on the east side of the courtyard.
Fortress Grounds
The winds had died down a bit as Corporals Rodriguez and Brenner reached the tree line along the west side of the fortress and they decided to make a run for the building. They had made it to the northwest corner of the fortress when they witnessed Dever putting a gun to Colonel Sheppard's head.
"Shit, Ray, I'll never question your spidy sense again." Brenner was breathing hard and wondering what the hell the two of them could do to get their people free. "What are we going to do, man?"
"We gotta get in there, broki. We gotta get those people free. Come on; let's scout around the building and see if there's a place to get in without being seen." The two young Marines headed toward the north side of the building.
The Cellblock
Sheppard was lying on his side on a cold, cell floor and he was pretty pissed off. His head hurt, his back hurt where he had been punched, his legs were aching from pushing against the snow and he was cold. Lying there, he could only imagine what Rodney would say to him, 'Sheppard, it you didn't think that you had to rescue every damsel or innocent in distress, then this wouldn't have happened.' He was beginning to believe that Rodney might be right. He knew something was wrong but there just wasn't enough information. Well, he had at least enough information now to let him know that he been punked.
The two bastards who had dragged him across the snowy courtyard had taken his backpack, TAC vest, weapons, and his leather jacket. Spoils of war, he supposed but he would really like to have that jacket back. They had not gotten the knife hidden in his boot; he was learning from Ronon. The small knife made him feel like he might have a chance to get away from them. He was thankful that they hadn't tied his hands again after untying them to take his things. He leaned his hand against the wall for leverage and managed to get onto his feet. His goal was to look out of the small window that was just above his head and try to get his bearings. He grabbed onto the metal bars and pulled himself up, catching a quick glimpse outside. 'Brilliant John, that was a real help, it's white out there.'
More than thirty minutes had passed since he had been tossed into the cell and he was getting antsy and was more than a little worried about his people. He was concerned about Ronon, Lorne, and Isaacs who he knew were injured and didn't have any idea what had happened to Johnston, Rodriguez and Brenner. At least he knew that Rodney and Beckett were safe in a cloaked jumper.
Another ten minutes passed and he was pacing, trying to stay warm, when he heard footsteps on the stones that paved the hallway. A couple more of Dever's punks appeared on the other side of the cell bars.
"Colonel, Constable Veron would like to see you. We have been asked to retrieve you, nicely. So don't do anything stupid and you won't get hurt. Now turn around and face the wall."
He heard a key clinking against metal and the door opened. Rough hands grabbed him and pushed him out of the cell.
The Meeting Room
Teyla had convinced one of the younger men who had taken them captive to give her bandages from their TAC vests. She had used the argument that she doubted the constable would want any of them to die before he had completed whatever plan he had. She had counted on the young man to be more concerned about Veron being angry at him than the validity of what she was saying and it had worked. Not only had he allowed her to take bandages from several vests but he let her take the small packs that she said only had pain medication but in fact had scissors and scalpels in each. Five packs, five scalpels of which she kept one for herself and quietly slipped the other four to some uninjured Marines. She wasn't worried about Ronon, she knew he had a knife or two stashed somewhere.
They had been in the room for over an hour before Ronon woke up, his voice sluggish, "Sheppard?"
Teyla quickly moved to his side, "Please do not move, Ronon. We do not know how badly you are hurt."
"I'm fine. Where's Sheppard?" Ronon asked as he sat up despite Teyla's concerns.
"He is being held somewhere else; they did not bring him here. How do you feel?"
"Like I want to get my hands on Dever and make him pay for all of this, after he tells me where Sheppard is." He spotted Lorne and Isaacs leaning against the wall, their heads bandaged. "They OK?"
"Yes, they have headaches and they suffered cuts from the butt of the long guns but they will be alright. We are missing Johnston, Rodriguez, and Brenner; no one has seen them."
"Do you know what is going on?" Ronon asked. Teyla shook her head no and they both leaned against the wall to wait.
Dever Veron
Sheppard was taken to the second floor of the fortress's south side and forcibly ushered into a small but comfortable room. There was a couch, several chairs, and a bed but most importantly, a fireplace that contained a nice warm fire. Sheppard began to shiver as the warm air began to heat up his cold skin.
Dever was sitting at a small desk looking through a very old looking book. He looked up as Sheppard entered the room. "Colonel, welcome. I imagine you are a bit inquisitive about what exactly what is really happening on Glostern. Please colonel, have a seat." Dever got up from the desk and sat in one of the chairs.
Sheppard sat down in the chair directly opposite from Dever, "You might say I am interested in an explanation."
"All of this could have been avoided, Sheppard, if my fool brother had not run to Atlantis for help. We were almost done or would have been if Paut Harben had cooperated."
"You killed Harben and the others." Sheppard's expression was dark; had Dever known Sheppard better, he might have been concerned at Sheppard's darkening mood. "What happened to Harben's wife and daughter?"
"I really don't have any idea; I suspect they are dead by now. You and Dr. McKay were right to ask about the new lock on the basement door. Too bad you didn't pursue it then, colonel, or you might have saved them. When Paut wouldn't tell me what I wanted to know, I killed him and then locked his lovely family in that cold basement. I doubt they survived last night. What a shame, they were beautiful women but business is business." Dever got up and walked to a cupboard where he took down a bottle and a couple of glasses.
"Instead of that sticky sweet hot cider, would you like a taste of the fermented version?" Sheppard shook his head no, Dever smiled as he poured himself a glass, "Suit yourself, Sheppard but this is the good Glostern drink." He returned to his chair and sat down.
"What the hell is going on here, Dever? What would make you kill your own people?" Sheppard's voice was measured and quiet.
"What is going on? I'll tell you what is going on, I am taking back what is right fully ours. You see, colonel, our simple planet actually hides a dirty little secret. Back when this fortress was actually being used to defend the inhabitants, the Glostern people weren't so simple and nice; they were educated and wealthy. Glostern had technology then and space ships, they could move about the galaxy the way the Wraith and the Ancients could. They took advantage of the Wraith threat in the galaxy and followed the Wraith from planet to planet waiting until the cullings were finished. Then, my ancestors would raid the planet for its valuables; taking only precious metals, jewels, art work, historical artifacts, anything that would be of high value and in demand. It was easy, after most cullings the citizens didn't immediately return to their homes or businesses and when they did, they simply thought the Wraith had taken their valuables." He took a sip from his glass and savored the liquid for a moment.
"You have to understand, colonel; this all took place thousands of years ago, when the Wraith threat was new. There were many, many worlds that had accumulated wealth and technology only to be decimated by the Wraith. My people were simply trying to preserve the galaxy's history." He smiled at Sheppard, knowing that the colonel saw through his sarcasm.
Sheppard leaned further back in his chair and stretched out his legs, "So, apparently something happened and all that wealth was lost but you found it didn't you; found it and decided to take it for yourself."
"Why, yes, I did. I found some interesting journals here in the fortress when I was young but I couldn't understand them. I never really knew how important they were until I found a small book in the village tribunal building. There were some old artifacts just sitting on the shelves and one of the village idiots knocked one off onto the stone floor one day. In the middle of the chards of pottery, was a small leather book that had a key to decode something. I recognized the symbols from one of the books I had found so many years before.
When I put them together, I found out that the treasures collected by my ancestors had been split up and given to prominent families who owned large buildings and land where they could safely hide the treasure.
"So you have been terrorizing the descendents of the families who were given the treasure in order to steal it for yourself." Sheppard asked.
"Yes, of course, the Wraith destroyed Glostern as well and all of our technology and wealth was gone. We have spent the last thousands of years in poverty, living off the land. Now, we don't have to live this way.
"You mean, you and your band of merry little men don't have to?"
Dever laughed, "Yes, colonel, me and my 'merry little men'. I for one am tired of living the life of a simple constable. We have found buyers for most of the treasures we have recovered and will find a wonderful planet to live out our lives in luxury, preferably a planet with no blizzards. The only thing left to do now is to get the rest of the treasure off the planet. Jast is so ignorant; he requested my men guard the gate and we were only too happy to oblige. While we were suppose to be trying to determine if the raiders came and left via the gate, we were in fact taking artifact though the gate to our buyers. Worked out quite nicely, until the good citizens of Glostern decided Jast had to do something and he went to you."
"What are you planning to do with us?" Sheppard asked, again his voice measured and quiet.
"Despite what you might think, colonel, I have no wish to harm any of you. I had no intention to harm anyone but the ones who were holding the treasures. I couldn't let them live to tell all the others what we were really looking for. The houses we looted for cover to divert attention from what we really wanted, we didn't kill those people. Unless some of them fought back and my men had to defend themselves."
Sheppard leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, "What about Paut Harben and his family; did they fight back?"
"They were different, Sheppard. Paut was one of the few of these descendents who knew what his ancestors had done. The rest just thought they were family heirlooms that were to be kept secret. But Paut would not tell me where his family had hidden the goods and according to the list, he had some really valuable artifacts; I was angry so I killed him. As for his lovely wife Losa, she turned me down years ago to marry him; now they are together for eternity."
"Look, colonel, I meant it; I have no desire to have Atlantis looking for me because I kill twenty or more of their people. If you do not give us any trouble; then we will wait for the blizzard to break, get ourselves and the rest of the artifacts off the planet and you can go on your way."
Dever motioned to the guards, "Take him back to his cell, he gets to stay there until we are done." Looking back at Sheppard, "I meant it, colonel, behave and nothing will happen to you or your people."
The two men who brought him to Dever took hold of his arms and as they started to lead him out of the room, Dever spoke again, "By the way, colonel, we know that your two doctors are not with the others. We are looking for them and I imagine that they will be joining your people soon. That is, as long as they don't try to resist." He was smiling as his men took Sheppard away.
The Cellblock
It seemed even colder on the lower level after being in Dever's warm office and Sheppard was not looking forward to going back in that cold cell. He would rather be in the cold outdoors. As they approached the cell he had been held in, Sheppard pretended to trip on one of the stones and went down. Rolling quickly, he reached down and pulled the knife from his boot; he bounced up and in one motion, ran the knife across the throat of the closest guard. He pushed that guard toward the other one, who fell over as the dead weight of his companion hit him. Sheppard couldn't get to the guy's throat, so he drove the knife up to the hilt in the center of the raider's back. Pulling out the knife, he grabbed their weapons, ripped the hooded cloak from the first man he killed and took off toward the center of the south wing where the door was located.
Sheppard found the door locked with another brand new padlock. He took the butt of one of the long guns and after some pounding, broke through the old wood at the hinges. He knew that his best bet to keep from being found was to get down the steep incline on the south side that Dever had told them about. As soon as he was able to get through the door, he took off running straight toward the slope.
What he didn't realize was that Dever's office was right above the doorway. Dever had heard the door break and had gone to the window to see if he could tell what had caused the noise. The wind had died down and visibility was greatly improved and he could see a dark-haired figure in black running away from the building. Grabbing one of the P-90's he had bought on another planet, he aimed, and fired. How fitting to take the great Colonel Sheppard out with one of his own weapons. The last image he saw of Sheppard was his body lurching forward through the air and then rolling down the slope out of sight. No need to check, he knew Sheppard was dead.