Chapter 11: Escape.
Rodney cloaked the jumper as he slowly took off from the surface of the planet. He intended to contact Atlantis and inform them of the situation and then come back to wait for the others to exit the city – that's if they managed to get away.
His flying had improved over the years, but he had to admit that right now he was so nervous and worried that he was sure that he couldn't fly in a straight line. He knew not to get too close to the city in case someone tried to take a shot at him – even though he was cloaked and they couldn't see him. Maybe he could fire some drones at the city, but then he knew that Sheppard wouldn't approve because there were still plenty of innocent civilians in the city.
He had no idea what to tell Atlantis and what did he expect from them anyway. There was no way that they were going to be able to send yet another jumper down to the planet because firstly it would take four hours for them to get here and secondly, he was fairly sure that most of the gene carriers were either on the planet, or they'd lost them along the way. He knew that Sgt Stackhouse was still on Atlantis, but he couldn't remember any other gene carriers at the moment.
As he approached the upper atmosphere, he looked back at the city and he was shocked to see that parts of the city were on fire and there were large billows of smoke in the atmosphere. If he was a person who had a heart, it would break for the city.
Many people had told him he was heartless over the years and maybe they were right, but the one thing he did know was that he cared about his friends and right now they needed him – although he wasn't sure what he could do.
Normally he would swoop in at the last minute and save the day. But at the moment he had no idea where his friends were and if they were still alive – he certainly hoped that they were.
By this time, he had arrived in the upper atmosphere and he took a deep breath before flying into space.
He turned the jumper around to look at the city and he was surprised to see that he could still see the smoke from his position in space.
The city would certainly be a mess - if not destroyed. When this was all over and he was convinced that it would take years for the inhabitants to rebuild. Not that it was his problem, his only concern was getting Atlantis and his friends back to where and when they belonged.
Taking a deep breath he contacted Atlantis.
"Atlantis, this is Dr Rodney McKay, can you read me?"
There was no answer so he tried again, "Atlantis, this is Dr Rodney McKay, can you read me?"
Again there was no answer so he began to panic, what if Atlantis had somehow been destroyed, what would they do then? They certainly couldn't stay on planet Hilaring for the rest of their lives. And what if Sheppard and the others had been killed what then? Would he be alone for the rest of his life?
He shook his head trying to get rid of all negative thoughts and tried again, "Atlantis, this is Dr Rodney McKay, can you read me?"
This time someone replied, and he was relieved to see Jennifer and Amelia on the screen.
"Jennifer, Amelia it's good to see your faces, but if you are both in the control room who the hell is looking after Sheppard's kids?"
"Don't worry Dr McKay," Amelia began, "they are with Major Teldy. It's you and your team we've been worried about, we haven't seen or heard from you in three days. Where have you been and where are the others?"
Rodney sighed, how was he going to summarise everything that had happened to them in the last three days? "Umm… the quick version is that the people on this planet were using the ancient gene carriers to power their city. When they found Sheppard, they decided to use him for that purpose. We managed to get him out of the chamber he was in and the leader of the council shot him in the head. Carson and one of the doctors on the planet managed to fix him up before the idiot named Toth took him again. I managed to get the other doctor and her daughter out of the city while Lorne, Ronon and Carson went to look for Sheppard. Needless to say, I don't know where they are at the moment. The worst thing is that a civil war has broken out in the city and I'm hoping that once Ronon, Lorne and Carson get out of the city with Sheppard, we'll be able to leave this planet and get back to our own galaxy and time."
"Oh…my that's terrible!" Jennifer exclaimed putting a hand over her face.
"What do you need us to do?" Amelia asked looking much more composed.
"I guess you should just stay put for now and maybe Jennifer you could have the OR ready when we get back because I have a feeling that Sheppard may need it?"
"I'll make sure that happens," Jennifer replied with a worried look on her face.
"Anyway, I must get back down to the surface to wait for the others, "McKay out.
The transmission ended and the screen went blank. Now all he had to do was head back to the planet and wait for the others. It sounded easy, but he knew from past experience that nothing was ever that simple for him.
oOo
Carson froze at the sight of so many soldiers standing around him. He had no idea whether these people were friendly or not – given the fact that they were pointing guns at him, he assumed that they weren't.
Suddenly there was a red beam of light as an energy weapon was fired and one of the soldiers fell to the ground. The energy weapon was fired again in quick succession and in less than a minute all five soldiers were stunned and flat on the ground.
He turned to look at Ronon and the man had a huge grin on his face, so Carson assumed that he was the one who'd taken the enemy soldiers out.
Several more soldiers were running toward them and Carson had no idea whose side they were on. Ronon and Lorne had their guns ready. In the end, they didn't need them because these soldiers seemed friendly.
"Voth has sent us to make sure that you manage to get General Sheppard out of the city." A tall soldier told them."
Carson wondered why Voth was bothering to help them now because he was the one who'd put John's life in danger in the first place. Perhaps he'd never know why the man had a change of heart, but if they didn't get back to Atlantis soon he'd never forgive Voth for what he'd done.
He looked down at his patient and the General didn't look good, "let's get going then because the sooner we get him back to Atlantis the better. I'm positive that he's going to start waking up soon and that isn't a good thing."
"Come on, the passageway isn't far, " the soldier proclaimed, "I'll lead the way."
A moan from the gurney caught his attention, "Dam it!" Carson exclaimed, "John shouldn't be waking up, in fact, I need him to still be unconscious."
"Let's get the hell out of here then!" Lorne growled.
With the soldiers leading the way and Lorne's help, he started to push the gurney towards the wall - Ronon bought up the rear. At the moment things seemed quiet in this part of the city, but Carson knew that things could change quickly in situations like this.
John was quiet as they moved across the gardens toward the exit, but Carson was convinced that he was still awake.
When they arrived at the wall, he knew that he needed to check his patient, so he held up his hand indicating that they should stop.
He was shocked by what he saw when he looked down at John, his eyes were open and he seemed to be staring into space. There was blood seeping from the bandages, he was as white as sheet and it was clear that he was in a lot of pain.
"John, can you hear me?" He whispered in his friend's ear.
Cr…sn.." John replied, weakly.
Carson was shocked at how slurred John's speech was and he hoped that it didn't indicate further brain damage.
"John I need you to go back to sleep. We are heading back to the jumper now, so it won't be long before you're back on Atlantis in the infirmary.
"Ca….see…Cr…sn."
"I know lad, just go back to sleep and we'll fix you up when we get back to Atlantis."
"Rd…ny?"
"Don't worry John, he's fine and you'll be seeing him very soon."
"Th..nx…Cr…sn."
He watched as his patient lost consciousness before turning to Ronon, we need to get him back to the jumper now. We should be able to make him comfortable there until we get back to Atlantis."
Ronon nodded his head and walked towards an opening in the wall - one of the soldiers had opened it earlier. Carson came next pushing John's gurney and Lorne brought up the rear.
When they entered the passage it was pitch black and he was relieved that the soldiers had given them a flashlight each. He had no idea how long they would have to be in the passage, but he hoped that Rodney would be waiting on the other side with a puddle jumper.
oOo
Rodney was relieved when he finally landed the jumper just outside of the city. It probably wasn't one of his best landings, but at least he'd managed to find the other jumper. He'd gone back to where he'd taken off from hoping that the others would come out the same way that he had. If not Lorne and Ronon would know where the jumper was so hopefully they would know to meet him there.
His stomach growled at him and he thought about going to look for Sophia's cabin and asking them for something to eat but he knew that he needed to wait for the others.
At that point, his overactive imagination started to kick in when he thought of all the ways that Sophia and the others could have been killed or captured.
A knock on the back of the jumper brought him out of his musings. Rather than open the back hatch straight away, he called out softly, "Who's there?"
"Dr McKay, it's Sophia and I've brought you something to eat."
After letting out the breath that he'd been holding he very quickly opened the back hatch and he was surprised to see, Sophia, Lalla and another child standing there. The girl looked kind of cute in her denim overalls and pink T-shirt. Her dark hair was platted and her blue eyes shone. Come to think of it she looked a lot like Logo.
"Hello, who are you?" He asked cautiously looking down at the child.
"My name is Sharnie and I wanted to come and see your ship. Ronon has promised me a trip to Atlantis, but I don't suppose he's here at the moment." She said looking around the jumper.
"Umm…no, but I'm hoping he'll be back soon."
Sharnie stepped around him and went to sit on one of the back benches of the jumper.
"Good I'll sit and have lunch with you and wait for him."
That suggestion made him feel extremely uncomfortable and he had no idea how to answer her. All he could do was stare at her with his mouth open. When Sophia spoke a few seconds later he was immensely relieved.
"I'm sure that Ronon will take you to Atlantis if he gets the chance, but until then why don't you go and sit outside with Lalla and eat your lunch?"
The kid looked disappointed but willingly walked outside to sit with Lalla - at least he assumed that was where she was going.
Once she was gone he turned to Sophia and smiled, "What can I do for you?"
"Do you think that Carson will be able to help us with some medical supplies, he won't have to go back into the city. Logo and I will deliver them?"
"I promise that I will ask him and we will try and make it happen." He was feeling a bit embarrassed by this time and looked at his feet, "And…umm…thanks for looking after Sheppard."
"I just wish I could have done more for him and I really hope that there won't, be any long-term brain damage or blindness."
"I hope so too because believe it or not Sheppard is one of my best friends and I know that it would kill him if he couldn't do his job anymore, or he had to leave Atlantis." Rodney stopped and wondered if he should tell her about Sheppard's family back on Atlantis. In the end, he decided to tell her, "Did you know that he has an extremely sick wife back on Atlantis? They have two children that he's having to parent alone at the moment. So he has to get well so that he can be with his family again."
"I would like to come to Atlantis with you and help in whatever way that I can. Perhaps I can give Carson a list of the medical supplies I need while I'm there."
"I'm sure Carson would love your help, but what about Jonan and your kids?"
"I've already discussed it with Jonan and he thinks that it will be a wonderful opportunity for me and he says that I can take Sharnie and Lalla with me if you agree."
Suddenly he felt uncomfortable again and he hoped that the others would be back soon, "umm…I'm not sure. Hopefully, the others will be back soon and we can ask them."
"Well, in that case, I'll head back to my cabin and collect some things for the girls and I'll see you soon."
She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before handing him a package of food, "Here's your lunch Dr McKay. Hopefully, I'll see you soon."
He stood open-mouthed as she left the jumper and he had no idea why he had opened up to her because usually, he didn't like to talk about how he was feeling.
Once he knew that they had left, he sat down to eat the food that Sophia had given him and it was surprisingly good. The only problem was he wished that there were more.
After spending a few minutes eating his food he decided that he might as well do a little exploring. He had seen the city wall close by, so he should see if there were any gates in this part of the city. Perhaps Carson and the others would come through a gate rather than the passageway they had used because there was no way that Sheppard was going to be able to climb a ladder in the condition he was in. Even if they decided to come via that route there was no way anyone would be able to carry Sheppard out, because even though he looked all tall and lean he was incredibly heavy.
Twenty minutes later he approached the wall and he was surprised to see a stout wooden door built into the wall. It was obvious that it was not in use because it was locked shut with rusty-looking bolts. He put his ear to the door and listened and was surprised to hear voices and if he wasn't mistaken Carson was in there shouting at Ronon.
oOo
Someone drilling into his skull - at least if felt that way - was the first thing John noticed the next time he became aware. The second thing he noticed was; he still couldn't see and the third thing was that he was moving.
Why am I in a car and where am I going in such a hurry, his garbled mind thought and he tried to quell the nausea he was feeling. The pain in his head was excruciating and despite feeling confused and disoriented he tried to say something, but all that came out was a manly whimper. He tried a second time and managed a loud moan. Luckily this time the movement stopped.
A soft lilting voice invaded his senses - although right now it sounded loud and raucous, "Are you with us General?"
"Cr..sn." He whispered and he was annoyed at how slurred his speech sounded.
"Yes John, I'm here, so how about you go back to sleep and hopefully when you wake up again you'll be tucked up in bed in the infirmary on Atlantis?"
Suddenly he felt his stomach rebel, so he attempted to roll on his side to try and expel his stomach contents. Unfortunately, his head hurt too much and he felt too weak, so he began to choke. Luckily gentle hands helped him roll to his side and he began to retch which made the pain in his head even worse. By the time he was finished, he was praying that he'd lose consciousness again because he was convinced that his head was about to explode.
Carson must have read his mind before speaking again, "I'm sorry lad, but I don't have any pain meds to give you until we get back to the jumper and hopefully that should be very soon now."
He was feeling very confused by this time, having no idea what had happened to him, why his head hurt so much and why wasn't he on Atlantis in the infirmary. He tried to lift his hand to touch his face because he was convinced that there was something covering his eyes and head. He could barely lift his hand off the bed, so in the end, he just didn't bother and lay still with his eyes closed. Somehow closing his eyes seemed to help the pain in his head.
Within a few minutes, they were moving again and the only conclusion that he could come to was that he was on a gurney being taken somewhere - where he had no idea.
oOo
Carson watched as his patient lost consciousness again and he hoped that he would remain that way. Given the amount of pain that he was in it was a good idea for him not to be conscious. Once they arrived back on Atlantis he had every intention of getting Sheppard under the ancient scanner and checking his brain for any signs of damage. After that, he would be putting him back into a medically induced coma to give his head time to begin to heal.
He was relieved when a few minutes later they came to the end of the tunnel, hopefully, Rodney would be waiting with a jumper on the other side ready to take them back to Atlantis.
There was a stout wooden door directly ahead of them and all they had to do was open it - well hopefully it would be that simple.
For the last twenty minutes they had been walking on flat ground and it was clear that they were inside the wall of the city. He had to wonder whether Toth and the council knew about this passage, or any of the other numerous passages underneath the city because if they had he was positive they would have been filled in years ago. Because surely Toth wouldn't want any of the gene carriers to escape.
Ronon pushed on the door and unfortunately, it seemed to be locked from the outside. Well, that answered his previous question, obviously, Toth knew about this passage because the gene carriers certainly wouldn't lock it.
Before he had a chance to blink Ronon was throwing his shoulder at the door, but even with the Satedan's total weight being thrown against the door it refused to budge.
The last thing he needed right now was for Ronon to injure himself, so he spoke to him in his most stern voice, "Ronon stop it, we'll find another way!"
It looked as if he was going to ignore him for a moment, but it wasn't long before Ronon stopped what he was doing.
Before he had a chance to take a deep breath and consider what to do next Ronon had pulled out his weapon and was firing at the door. Lorne then decided to join in and started firing bullets at the door.
"Will you two stop it!" He shouted, hoping that the men would come to their senses, "The last thing I need is anyone else to be injured. Or worse still I don't need the general any more injured than he already is!"
He was relieved when both men stopped, giving him time to think and a minute later he heard someone on the other side of the door.
"Is anyone there?" He asked cautiously.
A muffled reply came from the other side and he couldn't be happier, to hear Rodney's voice, "Carson is that you?"
"Aye Rodney, can you please unlock the door?"
"I can try," Rodney replied, "but the bolts look pretty stiff and rusted."
Ronon replied from behind him and his response was nothing unusual for him, "Just shoot it."
He had just turned to face Ronon to tell him that was a bad idea when he heard weapons fire from the other side of the door and within seconds the door fell off its hinges with a loud thud
The noise must have startled Sheppard because he awoke with a yelp. Carson was surprised that the man was awake again considering the condition he was in.
Sheppard whimpered in pain and Carson was by his side in a flash, speaking to him in a soothing manner "Go back to sleep, General."
"He…hur…s." John slurred before losing consciousness again.
Carson was becoming increasingly worried about how slow and slurred John's speech was and he was beginning to suspect brain damage. Which would mean that the gunshot wound to his head was more serious than he initially thought.
Rodney's loud annoying voice brought him back to the situation at hand, "Jeesh Carson…he looks half dead."
"He's not doing too well Rodney, so I need to get him back to Atlantis and under the ancient scanner as soon as possible."
"Well let's get the hell out of here then?!" Ronon growled, pushing past him, and Carson didn't blame him for losing patience.
Twenty minutes later they were approaching the jumper and Carson was surprised to see Sophia, Lalla and another little girl waiting for them.
He was about to ask what was going on when the dark-haired girl ran up to Ronon, "Ronon you promised me that you'd take me to Atlantis and Sophia wants to go and help out with your friend. She also wants to get some medical supplies to bring back to the city."
Carson didn't really have time for any of this because General Sheppard seemed to be getting worse by the minute.
"I don't care who comes with us, but we need to get going as soon as possible so that I can get the General back to Atlantis and under my scanner!"
He was relieved when a few minutes later Lorne had the jumper in the air and they were heading back to Atlantis. In the end, it was decided that Sharnie, Lalla and Sophia should come with them.
Sharnie seemed excited and was talking nonstop, but he shut it out and focused on his patient and the first thing John needed was something for the pain. So after setting up an IV bag he gave him a shot of morphine - hopefully, that would ease the poor man's pain until they got back to Atlantis.
TBC…
