It's Not Easy being an Intergalactic Space Explorer

Chapter 11

On the Run

Lorne and the others moved fast. With nearly everyone in the City held hostage, it was eerily quiet; the slightest sound stood out. They feared they were drawing fatal attention to themselves with every footstep. They almost did. One Wraith Worshipper intercepted them just outside the Control Room. McKay, surprisingly, was the first to fire. As the man began to cry out, he brought him down with the stunner. Ronon, burdened by carrying Sheppard, still managed to use Vorek's rifle, one-handed, to hit the man in the head and kill him. "Ronon!" exclaimed McKay, shocked at the violence. "What do you want me to do, McKay, keep him alive?" Ronon said. "And you know I can't risk firing a gun, someone will hear it." He was right, of course.

While Lorne searched the cultist's body for weapons and anything else of value, McKay paced nervously. "He yelled, you saw it, I didn't fire in time. Do you think somebody heard him?"

"I don't know, Doc. But today my motto is 'fight now, worry later,' so find a place in your bathrobe for this knife…" he handed McKay a scary-looking switchblade, "and next time, well, shoot faster!" Unfortunately, Lorne got his motto backwards. As McKay was slipping the knife into his pocket, Lorne said "Oh, shit."

"What is it now?" said Ronon. On his shoulder, Sheppard gave a soft moan of pain; they couldn't afford these delays.

"Look," said Lorne. From the cultist's belt he took…an LSD.

"Ok…," said Woolsey, looking puzzled. "So they have one. So it takes away some of our advantage. What's the problem?"

"Richard, don't you know?…you need the ATA gene to operate these," said Rodney. "Oh, god, they isolated Sheppard's gene and this guy has it and…"

"And who knows how many others do. Christ!" said Lorne in frustration. "Alright, look," he continued, "As far as we know, they haven't figured out – yet – that we've escaped, so that buys us some time. Let's high tail it to Teyla's hiding place, get the Colonel taken care of, and do some quick strategizing. We can't stay in one place too long."

The group kept going, alert to more intruders. The children might be the hardest to avoid, being so small and quiet. If they were armed, they could be mistaken for one of the adults, and then…no one wanted to harm any of the kids. That would be a tragedy. Vorek's daughter – and her stunner – seemed to have disappeared, at least for now. McKay was worried about something else, though.

"Major, Major, hold up a sec," McKay said, grabbing Lorne's arm.

"What's the matter, McKay? We really need to get out of sight."

"Yeah, but first I need a computer, or better yet, a tablet. I need to disable the subspace communications system."

"Why?" asked Lorne.

"So they can't transmit our coordinates to the Wraith. We've disabled the Gate – for the time being. Vorek and his people need help; if they can't get it through the Gate, then they're gonna get it from the Wraith."

"Shit, you're right. Uh….here we go." Lorne indicated a small office up ahead. "Alright, Doc, get in there and do what you need – fast. I'm gonna do a city-wide scan and pinpoint the Wraith Worshippers' positions."

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Sheppard was aware of lying down, and on something mercifully soft. They weren't moving anymore, which was good. Sounds came drifting in his direction, penetrating the haze of pain then fading away. Someone was talking to him, wanting him to open his eyes. But he didn't want to wake up. If he did, he'd really feel the pain. When a guy was unconscious things wouldn't hurt, that's the way it worked. And, god, it hurt so much...

"Yes, Colonel, I know it hurts…" John opened his eyes; was he thinking out loud? Lorne was leaning over him. "Sir, just hang in there. We found somewhere safe to hide for a while. Teyla and McKay found an auxiliary medical supply closet. Remember, they keep one not too far from the Control room, in case of accidents or attacks. They got some bandages, some water, some lidocaine spray and…"

"Lidocaine…that's the stuff that…that numbs, right?" Sheppard asked. His grogginess was starting to clear.

"Yes, Sir, it does," said Lorne, relieved that his CO was becoming alert. "We're going to wash that pasty stuff off of your skin and then we'll apply the spray…

"Lots of it, OK? Just feel free to use up whatever ya got, Major, go crazy…"

"Yes, Sir, we will," replied Lorne, grinning. Turning to Teyla, he said, "Patch him up the best you can, OK? And do it fast; we can't stay here too long."

Lorne and his team were holed up in a small storage room one level up and a few corridors away from the Control Room. They didn't want to get too far away from the Gate, but at the same time they needed somewhere safe to regroup. Rodney had successfully disabled the subspace communications system. He'd also managed to find a tablet; they'd need one if they wanted to access any other City systems while on the run. The group had stopped at the hidden cache that Teyla had already raided, and took all the gear – including a couple of LSDs – and guns that were left. It wasn't much, though. As they made their way through the City they might be able to get to other caches. But right now, according to the LSD, there were too many intruders between them and more weapons. The room they were in, while cramped, was big enough to make Sheppard comfortable and, hopefully, get him into fighting shape again. They needed all the manpower they could get.

"Rodney, please come here and help John sit up." McKay knelt down by Sheppard and carefully held him upright, which wasn't easy to do – much of the skin on his upper torso had been mutilated by Vorek's knife.

"Uh…ahhh!" gasped John as Teyla began wiping off the hika paste.

"Oh, I'm sorry, John, but I must remove as much of this toxic plant as possible, or the lidocaine will not work effectively. I'll try to be gentler."

After a few minutes, Teyla was done washing Sheppard's terribly injured skin. John was holding up the best he could, but it was so, so painful. Things got much better when they applied the spray. Teyla wanted to wrap his torso in bandages, but decided against it; better to keep his wounds uncovered so they could apply more lidocaine as needed. McKay had found a roomy scrub shirt and helped Sheppard put it on.

"Thanks, McKay, Teyla. Hey, Lorne?" John said, trying to focus on something besides his aching body. "What does it look like out there? How many are we up against?"

"The scan shows that 41 people – not including us – are in parts of the City other than the mess hall or the observation room."

"Damn," said Sheppard. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Despite Teyla's careful touch, his skin was on fire. "Five, well, 5 ½ of us versus all of them. I'd say we have a decent chance anyways, but the problem is…those kids. We can't let them get hurt, but they could be armed, like Vorek's daughter."

"Sir, it might not be as many as 41. There were Sedari adults and children that were still being cared for in the Infirmary, who might not be in very good shape. They make up some of those 41 people. There may be medical staff being held hostage, so they'd be part of that figure, too."

"Good point, Major. We need to scout the Infirmary." Sheppard made a motion like he was going to get up.

"Uh, no you don't, Colonel," warned Woolsey. "Major Lorne and Ronon are perfectly capable of checking out the Infirmary. Those cuts still need tending. And don't forget the blows to your head – you are probably suffering from a serious concussion."

"Yeah, well, it wouldn't be the first one." But Sheppard was smart enough to reconsider what he wanted to do. "Uh, Lorne, Ronon, see what you can learn. If you have to engage them…just be careful, OK? If we don't hear from you in…10 minutes, we're coming after you."

"We're good, Sheppard. No worries," said Ronon. Then and he Lorne slowly opened the door to the storage room, gave the hallway a quick scan, and took off.

ooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo oooooooooo

As they approached the Infirmary, Lorne checked the LSD. Eleven people were in the room. He had no idea how many medical staff might be on duty. He made an educated guess and figured that since the attack had occurred in the middle of the night, less than half were probably Atlantis personnel.

Lorne and Ronon each scoped out a separate entrance. Inside the room were Dr. Keller, Dr. Chen, and a nurse. Five Sedari parents, men and women, were with them, heavily armed. Three small Sedari children were in bed and awake, undoubtedly because of the noise when the attack began.

Lorne didn't consider the children a threat; they were some of the littlest ones and were still suffering from serious burns. The adults, though…whatever injuries they might have weren't bothering them. Each had a stunner and rifle. Lorne could see that some of them also had LSDs attached to their belts. They were keeping a close eye on the medical staff as well as all the entrances to the infirmary. Lorne was relieved to see that Dr. Keller and her colleagues seemed alright; McKay would be happy to hear that.

He wouldn't be happy about what happened next, though. As Ronon was peeking into the room from the door he was covering, one of those wide-awake, should-have-been-asleep-at-that-hour kids saw him.

"Mama," the little boy cried out, "It's that nice man, the one who gives us rides on his shoulders. Can we do that now, Mama, please?" He waved at where Ronon was trying to hide.

His mother immediately zeroed in on him. "Lantean!" she yelled, "Get him! Check the other doors!" She fired several rounds at Ronon, barely missing. The children started to cry. As bullets pinged off of glass and metal, Lorne and Ronon tore down the hallway. "Teyla!" hissed Lorne into his earpiece, "we've been spotted. Get the hell out of there and go to…" he had to speak carefully; the cultists could be monitoring their frequency, "…go to Torren's playroom." The playroom was a small, unused office that John and some of the others had converted into a safe place for the baby, filled with the many toys that the only child in Atlantis was bound to accumulate. It meant going to the residential area of the City; they'd have to find a transporter, and fast.

In the store room, Teyla turned to her friends. "Lorne and Ronon are under attack. We must go to meet them in Torren's playroom. John, can you walk?"

"Do I have any choice? Just give me a couple of guns and let's go."

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"Find them! Find them, now!" roared Vorek. Once the Lanteans' escape had been exposed, several cultists had gone to the Control room and found their leader, still securely bound, groggy from the stunner, and hidden deep inside a closet.

"I don't care about the Satedan or the soldier; do what you want with them. But I want Sheppard, McKay, and the one called Woolsey alive. This time, one of them will lower that shield, if I have to kill half the people in this City."

Sheppard and the others made it safely to the rendezvous point. John wasn't looking that well, though. Blood was starting to seep through his shirt, and he was pale and sweating. As soon as they stopped, he asked Teyla for more lidocaine and some water, and sat down tiredly.

"Now what?" asked McKay. "This place is gonna be safe for about two seconds, you know, and then they'll find us."

"Now…" said Sheppard, checking his LSD, "this becomes a game of cat and mouse. We have LSDs, they have LSDs, so no one's sneaking up on anybody. We're armed, they're much better armed. If we could get to another cache, or the armory, or even the Jumper Bay, we could…but, no, they're all over the place. Damn it!"

Woolsey was looking over John's shoulder at the city map on the LSD. "Well, they're not everywhere, Colonel. Those areas there..." he pointed at some flooded sections of Atlantis, "have no blips in them."

"What are you getting at, Richard?"

"Well, I'm not a soldier, but I am a bit of a strategist." At Sheppard's curious look he added, "Chess, John, chess. It's basically all about maneuvering your pieces, your 'men', to capture your opponent's 'men.' Part of the fun of chess is implementing devious strategies to lure your opponent's pieces deep into your territory without him realizing it, until it's too late."

"And then you open fire and kill them," said Ronon.

"Well, uh, in a very figurative manner of speaking, yes," said Woolsey, briefly envisioning his chess board being blown to bits.

"I see your point, Mr. Woolsey. Lure the Wraith Worshippers into, for them, a very unfamiliar part of the City, by allowing them to track us on their LSDs. But what do we do once we are all there? They have many more weapons than we do."

"Weapons aren't always guns and knives, Teyla," said John, a grin slowly spreading across his handsome face. "Rodney, how much power is running through those sections?"

"Hold on, let me check…" said McKay, consulting his tablet. "Ok, it looks like this one, and this one, and this one…" he jabbed his finger on the map, "uh…these places have a fair amount of power running through them. The restoration of those areas has been slow, though; there's still a lot of water down there."

"Just what I wanted to hear, McKay," said Sheppard, his grin now full-blown. "C'mon, guys, we've got some chess pieces to capture."

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"Vorek, they're moving." One of Vorek's guards brought over his LSD. Six blips were definitely making their way, and rapidly, through the City, but well in the opposite direction of his men. Why?

"What is the part of the City that they are heading towards?"

"It is an unoccupied area of Atlantis, apparently damaged by storms and other disasters. No one lives in those sections."

"So why are they going there?"

"I don't know. Perhaps there are…weapons stored there? Supplies? It would make sense to hide resources in a place your enemy would not suspect anything to be, in a place that is in disrepair and vacant."

"Alright, do this: Our force is now made up of…" Vorek counted to himself, "thirty adults and five older children. Leave eight men – four to each area – guarding the citizens we are holding. Deploy another three to monitor the Gate room and keep three in the Infirmary. Also, since this may be a complicated trap, I do not want the five children involved in this hunt. I will remain in the Gate room. Take the remaining force – fifteen men by my count – and capture Sheppard."

oooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO OOOooooooooooooooooo

A short time later, in a flooded part of the City…

"OK, John, I've set it up the way you wanted."

"Great. Now we wait."

"Sheppard, how did you come up with this idea?" asked McKay.

"Well, just call it a little payback for what a certain doctor did to me in the Compound. Remember those electrodes he implanted all over me? Well, they packed one hell of a shock. The current that you've rigged to run through the watery areas where we hope to lure Vorek and his men will be enough to kill them, I hope."

"Sir, what about the kids? If Vorek brings them along…?" said Lorne worriedly.

"I thought about that. I think that Vorek will leave them out of this. He's not stupid; he knows we're up to something in the emptiest, most isolated, most wrecked part of the City."

"Oh, you think he's found compassion for the children all of a sudden?" asked Woolsey.

"No, I think he wants his best resources going after us. The kids are his weakest link. C'mon, Vorek is the one that ordered a school full of their own children burned down. He doesn't care about these kids as kids; they're just followers, and he needs his best ones going after us."

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It was dark and dank where Sheppard and his friends had laid their trap. Lorne was carefully monitoring his LSD.

"Got 'em, Colonel," he whispered. "Fifteen people heading this way. Uh…" he peered at the display in the dim light of the ruined hallway, "Uh, they're breaking up into two groups, Sir."

"I expected they would, Major. That's why McKay set things up in a couple places."

"Uh, not that I don't trust your expertise, Dr. McKay," asked Woolsey, "but are you quite certain that we will be safe?"

"Trust me, we'll be fine. We're high and dry where we are. Plus, I can turn the current off remotely with my tablet. And if that doesn't work, there's a maintenance shaft we can crawl through. Radek and his team found it one time. It's only about 17 yards; it brings you out into another corridor that's waterlogged, but safe."

Sheppard suddenly signaled everyone to be quiet. "Both groups…they're practically on top of us," he whispered. "McKay, get ready."

After what seemed like an eternity, they heard the sound of sloshing water. "Now, Rodney!" ordered John. An instant later, the air was filled with shrieks and the pungent scents of ozone and electrocuted flesh as Vorek's men were killed.

"Back, back!" they heard a Wraith Worshipper order; apparently not everyone had stepped in the water. But Sheppard had accomplished his goal – cut down Vorek's men and level the playing field a bit.

The team slowly made their way out. According to the LSDs, the Wraith Worshippers had smartly made a strategic retreat.

"Good work, McKay!" said Sheppard, clapping Rodney on the back. "We didn't get all of them, but we've bought ourselves some time. Now we have to…"

"Colonel Sheppard, can you hear me?" The group was startled as Vorek's voice suddenly came booming across the City's PA system.

"What's going on…?" said McKay.

"Colonel Sheppard, I hope you can hear me and this as well?"

Torren's cries echoed through the corridor.

"Oh, no!" cried Teyla.

"Sheppard, you and your men will surrender immediately or this child will die. And if you think I will not kill an infant…we are willing to sacrifice our own children, Colonel, so why would we hesitate to kill the child of our enemy?"

TBC…So, I miscalculated a bit. This isn't the last chapter. The next one WILL BE, I promise. Stay tuned for Chapter 12 this weekend (March 2 or 3).