Chapter Twenty – The One That Got Away

Military Organizer Katan dazedly turned the guard on his back and swallowed as unseeing eyes stared upon him. The man was dead; killed in the destruction of the building. There was an eerie silence settling over the deserted hallway outside the detention cells and lab areas. The light was out, only the faint remaining daylight filtered in from above through cracks in the walls. His worst fears had come true. There had been an alien invasion, and the city lay in ruins, the people had been casualties of war; all of it for nothing.

All of it because the government chose to ignore the warnings given to them. Because they had chosen to be an open, trustful and diplomatic society that had turned into prejudice, distrust and bribes among the ranks. Because the resistance had recruited the leader of the Inner Circle, Meren Kal, because the media served to spread the propaganda Amni Lak had been convinced was the truth. Because he, Katan, hadn't been strong enough to run his department properly, because the tribespeople had been allowed to spread their words about the upcoming destruction. Everyone had betrayed him, even his SIC who, to top it all off, had been a Triple working for the government.

However, what gave him the most grief at the moment was his utter failure of taking the life of the alien, John Sheppard, the man who'd escalated everything and turned it into a full civil war.

Jaha Katan seethed in his own fury as he walked through the destruction looking for a gun, something to protect himself with. He walked straight into an adjoining laboratory and test room, the wall having been obliterated by one of the blasts from the Hive. There, on the bench, lay the gun John Sheppard, correction, Colonel John Sheppard had carried with him. It had been assembled by the lab technician who now lay dead at Katan's feet. He carefully took it into his hands, the battered weapon feeling surprisingly good to hold.

A menacing smile crept upon his lips as he turned on the flashlight and strode away from the room, weapon in hand. It didn't matter to Katan that everything pointed in Sheppard's favor, that he and his people had actually aided the people on the planet. Sheppard had led to his personal downfall to a place he could never rise from; he'd fallen down the abyss and he was adamant that the colonel went with him no matter what. The military organizer was beyond reason, the latest events having tipped him over an edge from which there was no return.

Katan carefully walked down the familiar hallways of the experimental bunker and down to the door which would take him to the ruined, ancient city. He found, to his disappointment, that the connection between Askula and the experimental bunker had been severed during the last attack and sullenly turned back, heading for the above ground exit from the experimental bunker. With his uniform torn and dirty, with blood streaking his face and arms, with madness in his eyes and a tight grip around the gun, he moved slowly but methodically down the hallway and up the damaged staircase, intent on finding his target. Nothing would stand in his way.

OOOOOO

"Sha!" Teyla hollered as she spotted him across the street.

The military defense officer whipped his head around and flashed a smile as he saw her. The Athosian woman looked like she'd been resurrected from a horror movie, with dried blood on her face, dirty and dusty clothes and a slight limp when walking.

They met halfway across the street, the small woman reached out her hand to gently touch the arm of the military man.

"I'm pleased to see that you're doing better," Teyla said politely with a smile.

"I regret that you've been caught up in all this," Sha replied solemnly. "Do you need to sit down? Maybe we should have you looked at?"

Teyla shook her head. "I'm fine. Would you believe me if I said I've had worse?" she asked, her voice light.

He nodded then turned serious. "Look I've had plenty of time to brood, put two and two together and try to be useful," he said and waved the pad in his hand. "I've downloaded the blueprints of Askula. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there' a chance that the gate is in the large spire in the outskirts of this city."

Teyla frowned as she took the pad and studied the screen intently for a while. "This is where the cities differ from one another," she said cautiously, not wanting to raise any false hope. "Like you said before the Hive tried to blast us out of existence, the control room and gate would have been situated in the middle of the city."

Sha nodded. "That was when I believed that Askula and this city were exactly on top of each other," he explained with a tight smile. "Take another look, Teyla. That large still remaining spire is in the middle of the ancient city."

Her relief was visible as she nodded. "Then it is there we must go," she said and began to move toward the entrance to Askula via the market street.

Sha temporarily stopped her by placing his hand on her arm. "They're still fighting down there," he said gravely. "I think I know a better way."

OOOOOO

Rodney chuckled in frustration as he stared at the blue shimmer in front of them. "It's some kind of failsafe. It must have been triggered before they left," he mused.

"You spoke of an even higher tower?" Ronon addressed his question directly to Dadan.

The older man bowed slightly and then nodded. "It is not that far away," he said.

"That's what you said about this," Rodney said angrily. "Every second counts."

"You're stuck, McKay," Ronon returned, his own patience slipping.

In resignation the scientist shook his head slightly before reaching for the life signs detector in his pocket.

They began to walk again and got surprisingly far without being hindered by debris or structural collapse. Rodney suddenly tensed as several dots began to appear on the screen before him. He silently urged caution as they neared several junctions but the tribe soldiers were young and inexperienced with military hand signals.

Chaos erupted a minute later as one of the tribe soldiers was struck down by a projectile weapon. People came pouring out from a sideway, all dressed in black with weapons raised – Alpha renegades.

Rodney hastily raised his hands above his head and sensed Ronon's presence nearby. "Look, we don't want to fight," he began and was met by a warning shot next to his ear.

"Surrender yourself to the military authority immediately," the leader of the large group demanded.

"No," Rodney whispered, not in defiance or surrender, but in utter disbelief and surprise.

"What are the savages doing down here?" another Alpha demanded. "Has Amni recruited them as well?"

"He's dead, you idiot!" Rodney suddenly became angry; he didn't have time for this interference. "In case you hadn't noticed there have been evil green men roaming the planet! I don't care about the resistance…"

"Silence! Katan will hear about this," the soldier returned sternly.

"How long have you been out of communication?" Ronon finally spoke up, his voice harsh. "Katan is no longer your leader."

The black clad man was about to reply when a small green dot appeared on his chest. Rodney and Ronon immediately ducked into an adjoining corridor.

Several men belonging to the resistance came up from behind, causing the team consisting of the tribe's people and Ronon and Rodney to be caught in the middle.

"Dadan!" Rodney hollered as he grabbed the wise old man from behind. "Get your soldiers out of gunpoint. We have to get out of here!"

Dadan looked uncertain as he called on his young men, hesitating at the sight of several injured lying on the ground before him.

"There's no time," Ronon said gruffly as he took the lead with Rodney not far behind.

"Faster!" Rodney shouted over the staccato of gunfire as the wall next to him was peppered by a volley of shots. He practically pushed the Satedan before him while keeping an eye on the life signs detector.

Like cowards they ran, as fast as they could, over the rocky and uneven ground littered by debris. Ronon's jaw was set like stone as he stopped to let the rest of them pass him, intent on bringing up their rear and taking out those who was insistent on following them.

Even though Dadan's young soldiers where many, they lacked the necessary equipment to handle a gunfight and it only fuelled Ronon's anger at the rest of the people – military and resistance forces, that they would fire on practically helpless people.

Up front, Rodney ran faster than he even thought possible. He ran straight up to a large double door dividing the corridor sections, and rapidly swiped his hand over the console, silently praying it would open.

Within the next minute everyone had made it past the door, Ronon bringing up the rear, firing a volley of shots at the following party.

Rodney bent over, hands on his knees, breathing rapidly and let out a deep sigh of relief only to stiffen again as he felt himself being watched from the shadows further down the corridor. Hastily, he glanced at the life signs detector and the dots filling the screen.

He felt the hairs rise at the back of his neck as he stared down the lane into the darkness.

OOOOOO

"Lani," a weak voice whispered hoarsely.

The medical examiner slowly opened her eyes and carefully dried her tears where she sat next to John Sheppard's bedside.

Teldan Tori watched her from opposite the large room with a confused look on his face. With an effort she managed to smile at him as she rose and made her way over to him.

"You'll be all right, Teldan," she said, her voice soft.

He took in her haggard appearance, the blood on her face, the darkness in her eyes and the slumped shoulders. "What's been happening? Why am I down here?" he asked hollowly.

Lani swallowed and started to chuckle ironically. "Everything has changed, Teldan, nothing will be as it once where," she replied cryptically.

"Amni…"he began weakly.

"He's dead," Lani said shortly. "He's dead," she echoed.

Her colleague stared at her, uncomprehending.

"He was shot by the Alpha teams down here. They still fight; I've heard them a few times. Despite everything else some of them will not give up and let the cause rest. They fight for nothing, Teldan, there is nothing left to fight for."

Medical Examiner Tori nodded and then glanced over her shoulder and over to John Sheppard's bed. "Why is he in such a mess? And who is he really? I wish I understood," he whispered.

Lani gave a short laugh without mirth and followed his gaze. "Colonel John Sheppard, Military Commander of the Atlantis Expedition. All he wanted was to get back home before Katan's men brought him to the hospital, before you helped Amni Lak to kidnap him right in front of me."

"What?" her colleague asked, clearly confused.

"He's a descendant of the sky people, Teldan, that's why he was able to turn those gadgets on. It's not magic, it's genetics. Those things; they are coded."

The wounded ME fought to keep his eyes open. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"Katan happened," she returned darkly. "He tried to kill Sheppard but I managed to keep him alive, even though it's no more than that. If help does not arrive soon, he will eventually die and there's nothing I can do to prevent it."

"He must be proud of himself," Teldan whispered, thinking of Katan.

"No, Katan is in detention. The Triple group has come forward. So much has changed," Lani said softly.

Tori's eyes fluttered open. "I always suspected you were…one of them," he admitted. "Who else?"

"Sha and Rackie, Nani, Rie," Lani said, her eyes clouding as she whispered the last two names. "There is a raging war above us, as per your question, that's why we're still here. Those creatures, those Dadan came to warn us about, they came. They slaughtered our civilization, they murdered the innocent; they feed on us. I hope they all die a horrible death," Lani said, upset, as another tear sprung from her eye.

OOOOOO

To be continued

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