A/N: This is looking to be much longer than I had intended. A couple more chapters to go. Thanks to ladygris for beta-ing again!
Enjoy!
Through the Fire by GraceW
~Chapter 4~
The blue puddle of the wormhole opened into a field covered in scorch marks and other evidence of explosions. Instantly turning the cloak on in case of more Wraith activity, Colonel John Sheppard took the puddle jumper into the big grayish-blue sky. He looked down toward the ground. The place near the gate where the DHD should have been was nothing more than a black charred spot. A million pieces of shattered crystal and broken metal made up all that was left of the DHD.
A large ocean lay to the west and stretched on as far as they could see at this altitude. The sun was beginning its descent into to the horizon, the orange-yellow light glinting off the water. Dr. Rodney McKay was already on the jumper's life signs detector, trying to determine where Sergeant Travis Goldman would be.
"Here." Rodney found the Marine's locator beacon about four kilometers away from the gate.
The atmosphere in the jumper was subdued. No one spoke, no casual conversation. Dr. Susanna Krause, field medic Jeff Peralez, and Nurse Kim Dean sat on the bench seats in the back. They would each glance about the cabin and at each other, but the medical professionals did not speak.
Of the number of rescue missions that John had led most of them had a similar feeling. Atlantis was a close community; everyone felt it when teammates were injured and missing. Carson Beckett was the heart and soul of the medical department. His gentle nature, physician's skills and way with people won him the respect and friendship of everyone in the city.
John flew the jumper over the place where Rodney had indicated and landed just a short distance away. It appeared as though Goldman, and whoever he was with, had holed up in a large building. The tan colored walls had holes and burn marks where explosions had hit.
The landing went smooth and soon all seven of them were out of the jumper, walking carefully toward the bombed-out building. John, Teyla and Ronon had their weapons out, all three scanning their surroundings. Being unusually silent, Rodney clicked away at his datapad.
A short man, dressed in rough brown clothing, peaked from around the corner. Immediately three guns pointed in his direction. With hands raised and in a shaky voice he spoke "I am Colum. You are here for your friend?"
After determining that the man was not a threat, John lowered his p90, the others following suit. "Can you bring us to him?"
"Yes, come this way." Colum took the team into the building. The fading light of evening gave way to the dark interior of the large room. Dozens of eyes glanced warily at the newcomers. Devastation had come to these people and it would take time to recover. The short Matacan took them through the groups of survivors to the far corner, which looked like a temporary medical center. A man and a woman were attending to perhaps five injured people. But none of the injured looked as bad as Travis Goldman, who lay with his eyes closed in the corner, covered with a blanket.
The Atlantis medical team saw the still body of Sgt Goldman and rushed over to assess his injuries. John and his team watched from a distance while Dr. Susanna Krause questioned the healers and then the injured Marine. After several minutes of tests and examination, Dr. Krause stood, gave orders to the other two and approached John.
"Travis has a bad head injury. The people found him unconscious and brought him here." Dr. Krause explained calmly in her slight German accent. "He can't remember much of what happened and is having a hard time staying awake. He said the Wraith came from the sky. But the gate was open to another world before the Wraith could dial in. Apparently the people of this planet were trying to evacuate. Trouble is, Travis can't remember the gate address or where Sgt Hof and Dr. Beckett are. Short term memory loss it normal for head injuries. He may remember in time or he may never recall where they went."
John took a breath and then asked "What should we do?"
"Kim and Jeff are stabilizing him now, and getting him ready for transport. We need to take him back to Atlantis to assess further injuries. But as for Sgt Hof and Dr. Beckett, I think that's your department." Dr. Krause gave a hopeful smile, but her tired eyes still swam with worry.
"Okay folks, let's pack it up." John ordered, bringing the group together again. Dr. Krause gave some of their medical supplies to the healers, along with thanking them for their help.
"McKay, help carry the stretcher." John gestured at the physicist, who looked confused and slightly frustrated.
"I…but…I need to…"
"Come on, McKay. It's not that far."
Rodney huffed a bit, but helped Jeff carry the stretcher. Travis's body was still but Kim walked beside him, one hand holding the IV bag, the other on his arm as a comforting presence. The young Marine had been drifting in and out of consciousness, and Kim was working as hard as she could to keep him awake.
The walk to the jumper was painfully slow, but they made it with no problems. In just a few seconds, John had taken them off the ground and headed back to the gate. Not looking away from the front window, the pilot spoke. "McKay. I want you, Teyla and Ronon to stay here to assess the problem with the DHD and maybe see if there is anything we can salvage. I'm taking these folks back to Atlantis and then coming back as quickly as I can."
Already dialing Atlantis, he touched down near the burned out DHD, just long enough to drop his teammates off. Rodney was already typing away at his datapad and talking really fast to Ronon and Teyla, who seemed to be ignoring him.
Goldman needed to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible. The ten minutes it took to get there, drop the medical team off, give Elizabeth the CliffNotes and dial Mataca again, seemed to take forever.
Through the wormhole again, and John came back to the dark planet. The sun had set and the light was low, but he was still hoping McKay would figure something out. After touching down and before he had even gotten one word out, the stressed physicist was already ranting. "There is no way I can even begin to see what happened here! The DHD is fried. There's a large piece in a tree over there and the crystals are all shattered! I really wish I could, but I don't see a way to get the last gate addresses. I can't even find a whole crystal, they are all the size of a toonie or smaller! I mean under a different situation of course I would be able to fix it. I'm a genius. But I just don't see a way this time."
John sighed, "What happened?"
"It blew up." Rodney's snarky and sarcastic retort was more desperate than usual. Dr. Beckett's disappearance would definitely have taken a toll on Rodney. The two were very good friends.
"Colonel Sheppard. I found this." Teyla walked up from behind, her copper hair blowing in the strengthening wind. Even in the dark, John could see the sorrow in her eyes. She paused and continued. "There wasn't much left."
She extended her hand and dropped the object into John's hands. The charred dog tags felt heavy in his palm. Rage along with an overwhelming sadness filled him as he turned them over to read the tag under the light of his flashlight:
Hof C. J O Pos
516-2839
USMC M
Protestant
His heart dropped. Sgt Charlie Hof was gone, killed in the line of duty, fighting an alien enemy, defending a people he did know. But where was Dr. Beckett? Did he get caught in the explosion that claimed the young Marine? Or was he out there, waiting to be rescued?
Thanks for reading! Please review! Reviews are like candy...and I really like candy. :D
~~Grace :)