A continuation of the Rodney dying arc… it follows Ch. 53 of theicemenace's Rodney and Significant Other FF Challenge.
Laura had seen some crap in the years she'd been with the Stargate program. A lot of crap really. Yet on the list of the insane amount of weird crap she'd seen, what was happening today catapulted straight up to number one with a silver bullet.
She couldn't determine exactly where on the weird-o-meter it was, but allowing a Wraith queen on Atlantis and then letting her privately talk to Rodney had to be in the ludicrous or preposterous range. And that was why she had surreptitiously shifted her stance so that she'd have a clear shot at Delilah if she tried anything. Plus she'd only have a quick turn to take one at Todd if he decided to be brave or stupid.
Yet despite the seriousness of the situation, Laura couldn't help but be caught up in the wistful emotions Chuck's beautiful words and music had stirred up within her.
Rodney hadn't just been the leader of the science team. Sure, that had been his domain, but there hadn't been many decisions made by the commanders of Atlantis from day one that hadn't involved input from Rodney in one form or another.
Laura let out a short breath and refocused on Delilah. And just in time it seemed, for the queen flexed her hand and said something to Jennifer. Laura couldn't hear what had been said, but the way Jennifer's head snapped up made her instinctively raise her weapon and point it directly at the queen's chest.
There was a noise to her right, a growl followed in short order by the telltale sound of bone breaking, then a thump. Laura glanced in that direction to find no sign of Stone and just in time to see Sheppard be thrown against the wall.
Laura didn't have to do the math. Her training and common sense, augmented by her valuable field experience, told her that Todd was the immediate threat and that he would have to be neutralized if she were going to be able to take out Delilah.
She swung her weapon to the right, but even as instantaneous as her decision had been it still hadn't been fast enough.
Before she knew it she felt herself being lifted into the air and just managed to brace herself before her back was slammed into the hard metal deck. The air rushed from her lungs and she struggled to draw in a breath to replace it.
Still, the ingrained never surrender attitude of the Marines that was as much a part of her as her parents' DNA demanded that she fight back. Her left hand punched at Todd as her right hand fumbled towards the sidearm on her hip. On the third try she freed it from its holster.
Todd's left hand stopped pushing down onto her chest and knocked the gun from her hand before she could squeeze the trigger.
Laura looked up and to see Todd raise his right hand into the air and she froze. She could see the feeding organ in the palm of his hand and knew what was coming. She had just managed to silently apologize to Rodney before the hand came down towards her.
A/N: "Never Surrender" was written by Corey Hart and released by him on his 1985 album Boy in the Box.