Chapter Fifteen – Nowhere Land

John Sheppard awoke from his slumber to the brightest white room he'd ever seen. He squinted and then carefully, yet curiously, made a 360 degree turn to take in his surroundings. He felt at ease, at peace with himself, and it was the strangest feeling; not totally unlike his meditative moments with Hedda and the others a few years ago. Except this time, no one seemed to be accompanying him.

"Why am I here?" he whispered, his words echoing faintly.

"Because you chose to be here," a voice answered softly, before his deceased friend and former CMO of Atlantis appeared before him.

John nodded slowly, a faint despair rising within his hazel eyes. "So this is it?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

"No, John," Carson returned. "This is between what has been and what is to come."

"Elizabeth?" He asked hesitantly.

"She's not here," Carson said bemusedly.

"Why?" He questioned. "She's dead!"

Carson shook his head tearing his blue eyes away from the anguished hazel ones. "No, she's not," he finally admitted.

Stunned by the revelation, John didn't know what to say so he just stared at the Scottish doctor before him.

"It's complicated, John, I wish you hadn't asked. I can't tell you…"

"Is there anything you can tell me?" the colonel finally exploded, having had enough of all the cryptic answers given to him.

Ice blue eyes turned to look at him once again. "You have to choose life," Carson said, once again giving a cryptic answer.

"My life is ending, Carson," he whispered in frustration. "My life is ending; I'm only a hindrance to my team. I wish they'd left me behind and gone back to Atlantis before they join me."

Now it was the doctor's turn to look frustrated and his usually soft voice took on a tone of anger. "Self-pity doesn't suit you, John. You simply cannot let go. It is not your turn-"

"How do you know, Carson?" he demanded. "Can you see into the future now?"

The doctor shook his head sadly. "It's not that simple. Life is not predestined."

"Where's the gate?" John suddenly asked.

"You know I can't tell you," Carson cautioned.

"Why? You can tell me to hang on. That's as much interfering as telling me where the gate is," he argued.

"What purpose would it serve?" Carson whispered sadly. "You can't talk to them anyway."

John swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "I-" he began.

"It's out of your hands, lad. Rodney, Teyla, Ronon; they'll stay with you till the end if they have to. Don't you see? They leave no one behind. That's your words – your motto, and that's saved a lot of brave souls."

John's eyes turned downcast and Carson could see he was moved, his eyes filling to the brim with tears.

"They took a jumper here, through the space gate," Carson explained. "They left Lorne and Jennifer behind, both of them would have come too if they could have. I believe the point in all this is for you to see what you've instilled in others."

John raised his eyes to level with the doctor's.

"You've brought hope to so many Pegasus-born people. You've saved Ronon from being hunted, freed the Athosians from living in fear without hope."

"Don't flatter me, Carson," he returned flatly.

"I give credit when credit is due, Colonel," he replied.

John nodded reluctantly. "Will they find it?" he asked, thinking about the gate.

"Cheeky bugger," Carson returned with a gleam in his eye. "Have faith in them."

OOOOOO

"Sir," A young member of the ground troops said as soon as Katan and Rodin walked through the last door separating them from the command central.

Katan was about to give the man a dressing down but was surprised as the 'Sir' was actually directed toward his SIC and sighed as he felt the presence of the two Alpha members behind him.

"Sir, I regret to inform you that we've lost contact with several mark bounded troops. They've been taken hostage by those aliens. Shall we let another team be taken to go in and free those who've disappeared?"

Sha smiled sadly, in frustration, as he looked at the man before him, a green private who'd no doubt been sent back to report since communications were sporadic at best. He then shook his head. How could he explain to the young man that his friends and comrades could not be saved? That the scenarios of search and rescue that they'd been trained in didn't apply to this situation? That the creatures roaming the sky fed on them and that there was nothing to recover and even if there was there would be no way to get back to the planet?

"No," Sha finally answered, his voice soft yet commanding. "There is no way to recover those who have been lost. They are casualties of war. I shall give the order to retreat and to protect the civilians at all costs. We cannot hold out against such an enemy by troops alone. Your focus should be on the ground stations, firing at the small ships."

"Sir," another soldier, standing in close contact with the stations, called over the klaxons in the semi dark command central. "We have lost three out of six stations. Repair teams have been sent but not all have reached their destination. The engineers are afraid of working on the front line."

"I understand that," Sha returned seriously. "Their sacrifice will be remembered. There is simply no other way. I can only hope that our allies down in the city of Askula can aid us."

Katan snorted. "You'll never make it, Sha. This is beyond your control. Turn command back to me before it's too late."

Sha's eyes sparkled as he turned to glare at his former superior officer. "What purpose does it serve to gloat at our own people's expense?" he questioned and then nodded to the Alpha team member behind Katan's back. "Lieutenant, please see to it that M.O Katan is taken into custody. I don't need his supportive advice at the moment."

"It is too late, Sha," Katan said with a menacing smile as he was taken away. "It is too late."

OOOOOO

"Master Dadan," one of the young soldiers said carefully as he walked up next to the old and wise man. "Once you enter there is no return."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the wrinkled face before him and a large warm hand was placed on his shoulder. Dadan looked deep into the young man's eyes. "Listen, son, a long time ago this city and its inhabitants saved our ancestors ensuring the continuation of our tribe. We have been wrong in fearing her all those years. Those of us who ventured in generations ago was not careful in their search for the truth, it was an accident that they never returned."

The man nodded hesitantly and Dadan could see he wanted to ask something.

"Speak your mind, son," he suggested warmly.

"The prophecy says the sky people will one day return. Those people, Master Dadan, those who we fought, whom we tried to drive away –they are sky people?" he finally asked.

Dadan nodded slowly, he still had a hard time to understand it all himself. "They are descendants. They are our hope of survival," he returned seriously. "That is why we must help them in any way we can."

"They ensured our survival, we will die in honor for them," the young man said solemnly yet proudly.

"We will aid them to solve this peacefully, that is the way of our ancestors," Dadan corrected as he glanced behind the man before him and proudly let his eyes roam over the twenty savage soldiers who'd followed him to the old city.

OOOOOO

To be continued

/Thank you guys for your kind words and also for your questions, I hope they'll be answered soon enough ;)