Chapter 4: Danger.
John stepped out of the jumper into the early morning light, there was a fine layer of mist swirling around his feet and a chill in the air. But today he couldn't be happier, Teyla and Torren were up ahead of him laughing and joking and his daughter was by his side holding his hand.
It only seemed like yesterday that Charin was a baby. But now she was three and with her long dark hair, copper skin tone and deep brown eyes, she looked like a princess – at least she did to him.
His heart melted just the way it always did when he looked at his family and in a few months there would be another – a baby boy.
He took a few moments to take in his surroundings and the view was magnificent. There were trees as far as the eye could see and mountains in the distance. At the moment they were walking down a narrow path and on the lookout for a clearing where they could share a picnic. He was positive that there was a stream nearby as well because he could hear the sound of running water.
Today they were going on a picnic on their new home world, and it was just going to be him and his family. Ronon, Amelia, Jennifer and Rodney had wanted to come with them, but he had refused saying that he needed some time with his family after the events of the last two years. He was happy that his friends understood his need. Besides Amelia and Ronon were busy with their own family and Jennifer and Rodney had a wedding to plan – finally.
Teyla had only been restored to health six months ago after a long time in stasis, so it was wonderful to see her enjoying herself. There had been dark days when he thought that she wasn't going to make it. At those times all he could do was cling to the hope that Jennifer and Carson would come up with a cure for her.
A sweet little voice interrupted his thoughts, "Dadda, wat that?"
He looked up to see an enormous red beam of light heading toward them and he didn't need to be a genius to figure out what was happening.
Up ahead Teyla and Torren seemed to be oblivious to what was happening, so he opened his mouth to scream at them and nothing came out. All he could do was watch in terror as his wife and son were vaporised by the beam. He picked his daughter up and tried to run, but his feet seemed to be glued to the floor. The beam was getting closer, and he could feel the intense heat on his face, but his body still refused to move. In the end, all he could do was listen to his daughter's screams as the beam approached.
Suddenly a sharp pain lanced through his temple and fell into darkness.
He awoke with a start to find that he was standing on his feet – at least he assumed he was. Although he wasn't sure because it was pitch black, his head felt like someone was drilling a hole in it, he was incredibly cold, and he thought he heard voices whispering around him. He tried to remember what had happened to him, but he couldn't form a conscious thought, so when the darkness threatened to overwhelm him, he was more than happy to let it take him.
oOo
Carson sat with Rodney while they finished their meal. Rodney had protested when he had suggested that they needed to eat before they did any exploring. In fact, his friend had ranted that it was no time for a meal because Sheppard was missing, and it was extremely likely that he was in danger. It was only when he reminded Rodney about his hypoglycemia that he had given in. They needed time to collect their thoughts and come up with a plan as well.
The meal wasn't a bad one, with some chicken casserole and crusty bread, but he'd barely eaten anything since he was so worried about General Sheppard. Rodney as usual had eaten his fill.
"What do you think we should do Rodney?" He asked after trying to swallow some more of his chicken stew.
"I'm guessing that Toth will be monitoring us closely at all times so whatever we do we need to be discreet," Rodney took a deep breath before continuing and Carson could sense his fear, "You do realise that whatever they've done with Sheppard it's because of his ATA gene? Well, I think we need to find him and get out of here as soon as possible because they'll be coming for us next."
"Yes, Rodney I am well aware of that as I am almost certain that they would have scanned us at some point."
"You're right Carson and I think that we were scanned twice. Once when we entered the old part of the city and once when we entered the new city."
"Well, I don't know about you Rodney, but I think I'd like a tour of the medical facilities."
Rodney nodded his head, "I think that I'd like a tour of the science labs. Toth did say that we could explore the city as long as we don't go into prohibited areas, but we both know that we will find answers in those areas. So somehow, we need to gain access."
Before he had a chance to say another word, Rodney was banging on the door, "What are you doing Rodney?"
"I'm trying to get the guards' attention so we can get out of here."
"Have you tried opening the door?"
"Why would they leave the door open Carson?"
He was beginning to feel frustrated by this time, John was missing, and he sensed that he probably needed a doctor, "Just try it, Rodney?"
Relief swept over him when the door opened easily, and he was able to step out of the small dining room that they were in.
The guards looked at him and it made him feel uncomfortable, there was a good chance that they wouldn't be able to go anywhere on their own and the guards would be by their side at all times.
"Excuse me? My friend would like to tour the science labs and I would like to have a tour of the medical labs. When can this be arranged."
The guard towered over him as did most of the Hilaring people and this time he felt a little afraid since the guard's answer was abrupt and to the point, "Minister Toth and his assistant Voth are busy and can't offer you a tour of our facilities at this time. However, they did say that you can go outside and explore the extensive gardens."
"Yes, Yes, I'm sure there extremely busy, "Rodney ranted, "but Voth promised a tour and we would like that tour now!"
The guard pressed a button and suddenly Rodney doubled over in pain. It was clear that the bracelet on his wrist had been activated.
"Was that really necessary?" He asked while trying to help Rodney to a chair.
"The minister has given me permission to use the device at my discretion and I feel that your friend's reaction was out of line, so he deserved to be punished."
As he stared at the guard Rodney's words from earlier that morning came to mind, 'we are so screwed'.
Once he knew that his friend was alright, he put on his best smile, "Will you be accompanying us on our walk around the gardens?"
The guard glared at him as he spoke, "You shouldn't get into too much trouble outside, so you may go alone since we have a lot of work to do today."
"Thank you," Carson said with his best fake smile, "now do you mind telling us the way?"
The guard nearest to them spoke, "there's a door at the end of the corridor that leads to the gardens behind our building, there's access to the rest of the city from there."
Nodding his head, he grabbed Rodney's hand and walked in the direction that the guard had indicated. When they were halfway down the corridor the lights suddenly became brighter and it wasn't hard to figure out why.
Rodney stopped beside him with a worried look on his face, "that can't be a coincidence."
"No Rodney, I'm sure that it is not and I'm sure that wherever the General is he is responsible for it."
"I'm positive that he wouldn't be helping them willingly."
"I know Rodney, that's all the more reason we need to find him and quickly."
Rodney nodded and stormed off ahead of him. He ran after him – it was more of a fast walk – and within minutes they had reached the door the guard was telling them about.
They stepped out of the building into the late afternoon sunlight. The day was hot and if they stayed outside for too long, they would get burnt. The sky was an intense shade of blue and the view was magnificent. The wildflowers surrounding them were made up of bright red, oranges and pinks, the trees in the garden were dark green, and the lawn was much lighter green. If he weren't so worried about Sheppard, he was positive that he could have enjoyed the city.
Before Carson had had a chance to walk far a strange smell filled his nostrils and he instantly knew what it was, "Rodney are you using your cocoa butter sun lotion again?"
"Yeah, do you want some Carson?"
He thought about saying no, but he could already feel the heat on his skin, "alright, give me some and then we should find a nice shady tree to sit under and try and come up with a plan to find General Sheppard and get ourselves out of here."
"I totally agree, and hopefully Ronon and Lorne will be along before too long with the Calvary."
"But General Sheppard told them not to come."
"Yes, he did Carson, but didn't you notice that he was blinking his eyes the whole time?"
"Aye I did, but I thought he must have had a bit of dust in his eyes or something."
"No Carson, he was sending a message in morse code."
"Well, I'll be…hopefully someone will have picked up on it by now and a rescue team will be along shortly."
"I hope you're right Carson. I really do."
oOo
The view was amazing from where John was sitting. The sun was shining the sky was a brilliant shade of blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. From his position, he could see a large lake in front of him with crystal clear water. There were woodlands surrounding the clearing where he and his family were picnicking, it was abundant with wildlife and the sky was filled with many different kinds of birds.
The best thing about it though was that Teyla was sitting by his side, and Charlie and T.J. were playing by the lake. Charlie was almost five and more beautiful than ever – she was Daddy's little princess. T.J. was almost nine and was an extremely responsible young man and he was proud of how he always looked after his younger siblings. His youngest son, Halling Kanaan played on a blanket by Teyla's side.
Halling had died shortly before his namesake had been born, so in honour of one of Teyla's closest friends he had decided to name his son after him. Teyla had been overjoyed at his suggestion – although he wasn't as happy when she'd suggested his middle name should be Kanaan. In the end, he graciously agreed because he understood how important Kanaan had been to her.
Closing his eyes, he listened to his children laughing and playing and for the moment he couldn't be happier.
Suddenly the laughter changed to screams and he instantly was on high alert. He jumped to his feet just as a massive red beam hit the lake and the water turned to steam. He tried to run towards his children, and he was expecting his wife to do the same, but for some reason, she wasn't there neither was his youngest son. His feet were glued to the floor and all he could do was watch as the beam of immense power enveloped his children. Next, he felt the beam on his face and then nothing….
He awoke with a start to find that he was standing on his feet – at least he assumed he was. Although he wasn't sure because it was pitch black, his head felt like someone was drilling a hole in it, he was incredibly cold, and he thought he heard voices whispering around him. He tried to remember what had happened to him. The voices were growing louder and all he could think was why is it so dark, I hope that someone turns a light on soon.
The voices grew even louder and this time he managed to make out what they were saying.
The first voice was female, and he sensed compassion in her voice, "he's waking up."
"Well sedate him!" A loud angry male replied.
A few seconds later he felt a needle enter his neck and cool liquid was released into his veins. He was beginning to feel groggy, and it wasn't long before he fell into oblivion once more.
oOo
Rolling over in bed, Ronon went to cuddle his wife and for some reason, she wasn't there. He very quickly opened his eyes and scanned to room looking for her. It didn't take him long to realise that she wasn't in the room with him. His eyes settled on the clock on the bedside table and read 0500 hours so he should be getting up to go on a run anyway. Although this was their first morning back on Atlantis in quite a while. He listened for signs of Charin or Torren being awake, and he was relieved that the apartment was quiet.
Sighing he rolled out of bed – it was a good job that he'd decided to sleep in his running pants and t-shirt – and walked to the lounge area of the Sheppards' apartment to find that Amelia was sitting at the table looking at her laptop. She looked as white as a ghost, and he wondered if there was anything he could do to help her feel better.
"Can I get you anything, Melia?"
"Maybe a cup of Athosian tea. Teyla used to drink it when she was pregnant with Torren, and it seemed to help with the morning sickness.
Before he got up to make her tea, he looked at the image on her laptop and he was surprised to see that it was the transmission that Sheppard, Carson, and Rodney had sent from the planet the day before.
He stood sat next to her and asked, "What cha...doing?"
"I was just watching the transmission that Sheppard and sent yesterday and for some reason, General Sheppard was blinking a lot. It took me a while to realise there was a pattern to it and I realised that knowing the General he was using morse code. So, I'm just trying to decipher the message now."
"What's he saying?"
"I'll tell you what I've decoded so far, it says I don't trust these guys, can you send a rescue party as soon as possible."
"I'm contacting Lorne, I don't care what the rest of his message says. I think they're in trouble and need help."
Without giving Amelia a chance to reply, he stood up and tapped his earpiece, "Ronon to Col Lorne come in please."
"I was just about to contact you and ask you to go on a rescue mission. General Sheppard and the others need our help."
"How do you know?" He asked suspiciously.
"Sheppard sent a message in morse code, saying that he doesn't trust the people on the planet, and we should send a rescue mission straight away."
"Yeah, I know Amelia just told me."
"I wish I'd seen it sooner, so we need to be quick. Can you meet me in the jumper bay in thirty minutes?"
"See you then Ronon out."
He turned to see Amelia sitting at the table drinking her Athosian tea, "sorry I didn't get that for you Melia."
"Don't worry about it, what did Lorne say?"
"Lorne's putting together a rescue mission and he wants me on it since he figured out Sheppard's message too."
"Okay you'd better get going, I'll stay and look after the kids."
A little voice entered the conversation, "is my daddy in trouble?"
Ronon turned to look at Torren and he could see tears brimming in his eyes, so he knelt in front of him and took his hand, "Col Lorne and I are going to look for him, and Aunt Amelia is going to look after you and Charin."
Torren threw his arms around him, and he hugged the little boy close.
"Please bring my daddy home. It's hard without him because Momma is so sick."
"I Promise I will bring him home Pal and until then can you look after Aunty Amelia because she isn't feeling too well at the moment."
A look of what could only be described as terror crossed Torren's face, "you're not going to die are you?"
Ronon looked up at Amelia and she nodded permitting him to share their news, "I'm going to tell you a secret, but you must promise not to tell anyone else." When Torren nodded, he continued, "Aunty Amelia is going to have a baby."
The boy's eyes lit up, "When?"
That was certainly a good question since Amelia hadn't told him yet," that's a good question, Melia?"
She looked at him and smiled, "in around seven months."
Torren squealed, "yay, I'm going to have another baby to play with and help look after!"
Unfortunately, he woke Charin up because she chose that exact moment to start screaming. He stood to his feet and looked over at Amelia, he wanted to help her with Charin, but he knew that he needed to be in the jumper bay, so he looked down at the child in front of him and smiled, "do you think you can help Aunt Amelia with your sister because I have to go and find your Dad?"
Torren nodded and smiled, "I'll get her out of her crib."
Once Torren had run off to Charin's room, he pulled Amelia in for a hug, "I'll see you soon," he said before kissing her on the lips.
He was happy when she kissed back but disappointed when she pulled away and spoke, "go and bring them home."
Nodding his head, he turned to leave the apartment, it was only at that moment he realised that he was still in his running pants and t-shirt, "Umm… I think I'd better go and get changed first."
He didn't miss the smile on Amelia's face as he turned and headed towards the bedroom. It was going to be a long day and he hoped that they would find Sheppard and the others without too much trouble. But then this was Sheppard, and the man could find trouble in a locked room.
oOo
Night time was approaching and they were still sitting in the same spot they had been all afternoon. The only plan that they had managed to come up with was that Carson would insist on having a tour of the medical facilities in the morning and Rodney would insist on having a tour of the science labs. They would then meet at lunchtime and discuss their thoughts and findings.
The sky was red as the sun sank below the horizon and there was a chill in the air. Despite the greyness of dusk, the city was alive with sights and sounds. There were plenty of cars flying through the city and most of the people out were walking at a fast pace, probably in an effort to get home quickly. The streetlights came on and Rodney was surprised at how incredibly bright they were. It was almost as if there was a supercharged battery powering the city.
He turned to his friend, who appeared to be enjoying the sights of the city, "Carson don't you think that the streetlights are way too bright for this time of the evening?"
"Aye lad I was thinking the exact same thing."
"Umm…you don't think that it has something to do with Sheppard, do you?"
Carson looked at him and sighed and he could sense the frustration in the man's voice," I hope not because if he's responsible he's being coerced in some way and if that's the case I'm sure he'll require my services before too long."
Suddenly the streetlights began to flicker and within a few seconds, they went out.
This time when he turned to look at Carson, he could sense the fear in his friend.
"That can't be a coincidence, Carson."
"I agree Rodney and I suggest that we don't bother going back inside tonight. I think that we should scope this place out and try to find the General."
"Definitely, but I think we'd better move now because I can see two guards heading in our direction."
Carson nodded his head and followed him towards a building on the other side of the large park that they had been sitting in all afternoon. Although it was almost dark Rodney was able to see enough to make his way to the back of the buildings. Peeking around the corner he was surprised to see that the guards hadn't followed them. That was too easy, he thought right before a jolt of electricity was sent through his arm causing him to fall to his knees. It didn't take him long to realise that the same thing had happened to Carson.
When he was finally able to look up the two large guards that had been across the park moments before were standing over him.
"Do not try to run away from us, because we can very easily detect you with that bracelet on your arm." Guard number one said.
He decided that he was going to call that guard Tom and the other one Jerry. He had no idea why, but perhaps he'd spent way too much time with Sheppard.
"Whatever you say, Tom, can I call you Tom, or do you have another name."
The guard ignored him and dragged him to his feet, and he noticed that Jerry was doing the same to Carson.
For the first time, Rodney got a good look at the guard, despite the fading light. The man was over seven feet tall, with dark brown eyes and hair. He had a long nose and crooked teeth and looked like something out of a horror movie. His uniform consisted of a black tunic and black pants. The thing that weirded him out the most though was that Jerry looked exactly the same.
"Hey, are you guys twins, you look identical."
Rather than reply Tom just dragged him across the park, with Jerry following behind and it looked as if Carson was getting the same treatment as he was. It didn't take him long to realise that they weren't heading to the building where they had spent the morning and it wasn't long until they came to a small box-like structure. Tom dumped him on the floor just long enough to unlock the rusty door and then he was thrown inside along with Carson.
"You will stay here until morning and tomorrow you will get the tour Voth has promised you and if you behave yourselves you will be able to stay in more reasonable accommodations tomorrow night," Tom told them before leaving the room and locking the door.
There was a small window that allowed a small amount of moonlight to come into the room and from what he could see there were two small beds in the room and nothing else. Luckily, the night was warm because there didn't seem to be any blankets. Although given the fact that the night before temperatures had dropped to below zero, they would probably freeze to death before morning.
At this point, all he could do was shrug his shoulders, and say, "we are so totally screwed."
TBC...
