Chapter 3
Tamsin gazed around at the trees that surrounded the Stargate.
"Colonel, remind me why we're here again?"
"Standard recon, ma'am."
"Not sure what use a medical doctor is on this sort of mission."
Me neither, Lieutenant Colonel Evan Lorne thought. Initial reports had indicated no life signs on the planet.
"Chance to stretch your legs out of the city, ma'am." He kept his expression neutral, the one he'd come to think of as his 'respectful' face. Despite his recent promotion, he was still babysitting rookie civilians. He'd been saddled with the English doctor at the last minute when Ramirez had gone down with the Pegasus version of chicken pox, now Lorne was almost wishing he'd been the one to catch it.
"I suppose you're right, cabin fever tends to set in even in a city as big as Atlantis. Still, it can't be much fun for you dragging new civilians around." Tamsin fixed Lorne with a piercing look.
"Couldn't comment, ma'am," Lorne replied, not quite supressing the twitch of a smile.
There was a crackle over the radio.
"Sir, this is Reed. We've found something; think you should see."
"What's your position, Lieutenant?"
"We're near a cave, about two klicks south south west of the stargate. Think we might need the doctor after all."
Tamsin tapped her radio. "Lieutenant, this is Lucas, what's your situation?"
"Bodies, ma'am. Lots of bodies."
Tamsin exchanged grim looks with Lorne. So much for uninhabited, he thought.
"Any hostiles?" he asked.
"Not that I can see, sir."
"Sit tight, we'll be there shortly. Stay in radio contact."
"Yes, sir."
"Shouldn't we radio Atlantis for backup? God knows what we could be walking into," Tamsin began. Lorne shook his head.
"I'd rather go in quietly, check out the situation before we call in the cavalry. Are you up for a run, Doc?"
"Lead the way, Colonel."
A short time later, the two reached Reed and Coughlin, who were waiting in the undergrowth near the cave.
"Any activity, Lieutenant?"
"Nothing so far, sir."
Lorne turned to Tamsin. "We're gonna need to go in and check it out. You gonna be ok with that, Doc?"
"Please, Colonel, these wouldn't be the first bodies I've seen."
He nodded. "Ok, let's move out. Doc, you and I'll go check out the cave, Reed, Coughlin, you stay here and cover us. Radio if you see anything."
"Will do, sir."
Switching on the light on his P90, Lorne led the way into the cave. Tamsin followed on, adjusting a head-torch. The first few feet of the entrance were wide enough that they could walk in single file, but it bent around and narrowed sharply, causing Lorne to have to turn sideways to negotiate the passage. Though considerably smaller than him, even Tamsin had to remove the pack she carried and shuffle along in his wake.
As they made their way in to the cave Evan sincerely hoped they wouldn't encounter any hostiles – it would be extremely difficult to use their weapons in such close quarters. He also didn't fancy finding if the doctor could actually handle a gun outside of the firing range.
The smell was the first thing they noticed, the stench of decaying flesh and death, unmistakable to both of them. Rounding another tight corner, the passage suddenly ran out into a chamber. It was pitch black, but using his light, Lorne quickly established that it wasn't much more than twenty feet across at its widest point. It also didn't appear to be much higher than that.
"Colonel, I think we've found them." The doctor's light bobbed as she jerked her head to the left of the passage. Swinging his light in the direction she had indicated, Lorne could just make out a dark heap of something. With a sick feeling, he realised it had to be the bodies.
"Poor buggers." He heard Tamsin mutter. A scraping sound from the gritty cave floor suggested she had knelt down next to the bodies. Further rustlings suggested she was searching in her bag for something.
"There you are."
A flashlight clicked on, its' beam revealing more of the grisly discovery.
"What do you think, Doc?" Lorne crossed and knelt next to Tamsin.
"I think I need some decent light and a pathologist. This really isn't my area. Could you hold this, please?"
Taking the flashlight from Tamsin, he replied. "As we don't have either, can you make a guess?"
She sighed. "Well, it's obvious the bodies have been burnt, but whether that's the cause of death, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I'll need some time."
"Okay, Doc, but go as quick as you can. Something's not right here." Lorne met Tamsin's eyes. Whether it was the cave, the dark or most likely, instinct and long experience, Lorne found himself on edge.
"I agree."
Evan continued to hold the flashlight steady so Tamsin could work, but he kept his other hand on his P90, just in case. He'd seen plenty of bodies in his time, too many, really. Gun shots, the husks of people fed on by Wraith, even the aftermath of cullings, with whole villages left in ruins. As a military man, Lorne could take those things in his stride - on duty, at least. Though he had little medical knowledge beyond the basic first aid that all personnel were taught, even he could tell there was something really wrong with this whole situation.
"Colonel, we should leave." Lucas's low voice cut into his thoughts. "I don't have the skills to say when these people died, but I do think it was deliberate."
At her grim expression, he gave a curt nod. "Understood. Let's move out.
Lieutenant, this is Lorne, do you read me?" A burst of static came over the radio. "Reed, can you hear me?" More static.
"Doc, I can't raise Reed. It's probably nothing, but stay alert." He hoped he'd managed not to panic the civilian. In reply, she took the standard issue M9 sidearm from its holster, calmly ejected and checked the clip, then replaced it. She met his eyes.
"Ready when you are, Colonel."
They scrambled back through the passage, Lorne taking point once again. As they rounded the last bend, he signalled Lucas to stay back, out of sight. Blinking in the too-bright light, he tried his radio again.
"This is Lorne, does anyone read me?"
"Loud and clear, sir. Is everything ok?" Lorne gave an internal sigh of relief at the sound of Reed's voice.
"Had a little radio trouble. Anything to report?"
"No sir, all quiet out here."
Famous last words, he thought, rolling his eyes. Realising Lucas was hovering behind him, he turned to face her with a glare. Great, another one that can't follow orders.
"Doc, I thought I said to stay back."
Grinning, she pointed to her earpiece. "It's 'all quiet', apparently."
"That doesn't usually bode well out here. We're not due to check in for another hour, but we'll head back to the 'gate and give Atlantis a SitRep."
By this point, Reed and Coughlin had re-joined them and the four began to make their way back to the Stargate. Dusk began to fall, shadows lengthening and a cool breeze whipped up the trees surrounding their path. Lorne signalled to Coughlin to take point, falling back to Tamsin's position in the middle of the group.
"So, Doc, you wanna tell me what you found back there?" It wasn't a question.
"Well, you saw the bodies had been partially burned. I counted five relatively complete individuals, but they were all missing the fingers of their right hands, which to me, isn't a coincidence.
"There was no evidence of combustion in the cave, so they'd clearly been moved from wherever it originally happened. They were also unclothed at the time: I couldn't see any fabric remains, which is slightly odd. A proper post-mortem exam, sorry autopsy, would tell you more. Like I said, I usually deal with the living."
Lorne frowned. "Odd, how?"
Tamsin sighed, rubbing a hand across her forehead. "Well, most Earth cultures would wrap the deceased in some way as a mark of respect. Coupled with the mutilation, I wonder if these people were being punished for something."
Lorne grimaced; he was liking this planet less and less.
At that moment, Coughlin froze, holding up a clenched fist to signal the rest of them to stop. He swung his weapon around, eyes scanning the treeline.
"Lieutenant?" Lorne asked quietly.
"Thought I heard something, sir."
All eyes were now searching the trees, but there seemed to be nothing there. Nevertheless, all Lorne's instincts were telling him things were about to go belly-up.
"I'm calling it. Let's get out of here, double time."
As one, the group took off at a run for the gate. They still had over half a kilometre to cover, when Lorne saw Tamsin twist and land with a yell on the ground. He ran over, but she was already scrambling up.
"Sorry, caught my foot. Bloody grass. Been a while since I did this."
"Think you can make it to the 'gate?"
"No problem."
They set off again in the direction of the gate. At that moment, all hell broke loose.