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Chapter 9: The Underground City.
Carson was furious as he leant over the two men's prostrate forms. Ronon had no right to shoot them. But Rodney was right. It was typical Ronon style. Shoot first and ask questions later. Sheppard probably would have done the same thing if he were here. In fact, he was positive if Ronon hadn't shot them, Lorne would have. Perhaps it was something all soldiers learnt at military school.
He examined the feeding mark on one of the men and quickly discovered the other man had no feeding mark, which led him to one conclusion.
"Ronon, you daft bugger. These men are not Wraith worshippers. If I were to guess, I'd say this mark is around a year old. So they probably crashed on this planet while trying to escape the Wraith after being captured and tortured.
Carson wondered how many other people were wandering around on the planet or moon, as Rodney called it. He shuddered at how many poor souls had crashed over the years.
Ronon seemed embarrassed as he replied, "Sorry, Doc. Maybe they came in the crashed Wraith dart I saw this morning."
"You saw a crashed dart and didn't think to tell us!? " Rodney chastised before turning to Carson, "So what are we supposed to do now?"
"I guess we wait until they wake up," Lorne replied from where he stood with Rollo.
"Carson, do you think they know where John is?" Rollo asked, tugging at his sleeve.
Carson looked at the child, and it was easy to see he was in pain. They'd been walking for two hours, and Rollo hadn't spoken.
"I hope so," he replied. Before asking, "Are you in pain, Rollo?"
"Yeah, the pain's becoming intense."
"Alright. I'll give you some pain meds, and we'll have a rest. Hopefully, when these guys wake up, they can tell us where John is."
"That's great because I'm starving," Rodney announced, sitting on a rock.
While everyone sat down, Carson looked in his bag for some Tylenol to give Rollo. A few minutes later, everyone was munching on their power bars, and he was pleased to see the pain lines around Rollo's eyes disappear.
The only one still standing was Ronon, and he was keeping guard over the two unconscious men.
Carson took the time to study his surroundings. The clearing they were sitting in was surrounded by large trees, not unlike eucalyptus trees from Australia. He looked in the other direction and saw the path ahead was rocky, and the trees appeared thinner. So he wondered if there may be a river nearby. Shutting out all other noise, he was pleased when he heard the sound of water nearby. That was good because soon they'd have to refill their canteens.
"Can you hear that?"
"Yeah, I hear it, Doc. There's a river nearby." Ronon replied from where he was still standing over the bodies.
"I think I'll go and refill the canteens," Lorne suggested, "anyone need a refill?"
Carson handed Lorne a canteen, and the others did the same just as one of the unconscious men began to moan.
Carson was beside the man in a flash. The man was tall with dark hair, and when he opened his eyes, Carson could see the terror in the dark brown eyes.
"Please don't be afraid. We mean you no harm," Carson said, trying to reassure the man.
"Why did you shoot us then?" The other man asked. He looked similar to the other man, only shorter.
"I'm sorry about that. My friend is a soldier, trained to shoot first and ask questions later," Carson explained with a smirk.
Carson didn't miss a glare from Ronon. But he chose to ignore it and continued speaking to the man. "My name is Carson Beckett, and this is Ronon, Lorne, Rodney and Rollo."
For the first time since the men had awakened, Carson noticed Rodney was asleep - no wonder he was so quiet.
"My name is Changley, and this is my brother Grantly. We escaped a hive ship by stealing a dart and crashed on this planet. We were returning to our camp after exploring the underground city when you shot us."
"Wait, did he say underground city?" Rodney stuttered.
Carson wasn't surprised that Rodney was now awake. Any mention of a city that may be ancient, and the man was on high alert.
"Yes, I did," Changley began, "We think it is an ancestor city. I'll show you where it is if you want."
Although Carson knew they needed to find a way home, finding John was imperative, so he changed the subject.
"Anyway," Carson continued, our craft crashed on this planet while we were looking for our friend."
"Technically, it's a moon," Rodney corrected.
Carson wasn't in the mood for Rodney's scientific explanations, so he continued questioning, "Have you seen our friend? We assume he was on a Wraith ship that crashed."
Grantley's eyes lit up in understanding, "Is his name John Sheppard?"
"Yes!" Ronon growled, "Where is he?"
Grantly appeared to be afraid as he continued, "We found him in the crashed craft, and he was severely injured. We took him back to our camp and treated him. Our sister is looking after him now."
Carson didn't bother to ask about John's injuries. His only concern was seeing him and examining him.
"What happened to the Wraith?" Ronon asked before Carson could continue.
Changley pulled out his gun, and it looked identical to Ronon's weapon, "we shot them through the head and cremated their remains."
"Where did you get that?" Lorne asked, and Carson could see the military man's interest piqued.
"We found them in the underground city," Changley replied." I can show you if you want."
Carson was becoming annoyed. All he wanted to do was find out where Sheppard was, so he turned to speak to Grantly, "Can you take me to see Colonel Sheppard?"
"I want to see the Ancient city!?" Rodney demanded. That surprised Carson because he was sure Rodney would have wanted to see Sheppard.
"How about I go with Dr McKay, and Changley can show us the city, and Doc go with Rollo, and Grantly can show you where Sheppard is. Ronon can come with us if he wants." Lorne suggested.
"That's a great idea," Rollo said from the log he was sitting on," because I'm tired and need a rest."
Carson took a long look at Rollo and, for the first time, realised how pale he'd become. The last thing Rollo needed was an infection in his arm, so he decided to give him some antibiotics. The broken bones in Rollo's arm didn't break the skin, but he still had deep cuts and scratches.
"What are those pills for?" Grantly asked.
"I'm afraid Rollo may have an infection, so I'm giving him some medicine to fight it."
"I know of herbs that will do the same thing. Save your medicine and use the herbs first." Grantly suggested.
Carson nodded as he took Rollo's temperature, "Okay. Take us to your campsite and show me the herbs you mean."
Rollo's temperature wasn't too high, which gave Carson a sense of relief. He was happy he'd included a thermometer in the first aid kits because you never knew when one would come in handy.
"As riveting as this conversation is, I want to see the underground city now!" Rodney demanded with his usual snark.
"Off you go then," Carson replied while rolling his eyes.
He stood and watched as his friends walked towards the rocky path with Changley before turning to Grantly, "How far is your campsite?"
"It's not far."
Carson picked up his rucksack and held Rollo's hand, ready to follow Grantly. He hoped when he saw Colonel Sheppard again, the man would be in a reasonable state, but knowing John Sheppard, the Colonel would be far more injured than he imagined.
oOo
John was burning up from the inside out, and a Jackhammer was wreaking havoc with his skull. His left leg felt as if it had a knife in it, and he wished that someone would put him out of his misery. As awareness returned to him, John realised someone was rubbing a damp cloth over his face and chest but had no idea who it was. Come to think of it, he didn't know where he was either.
He let out a loud moan, hoping to attract some attention, and a garbled voice answered him. He had no idea what the person was saying to him. The only thing he could think of was he hoped it was Teyla rubbing his chest. Because if it were someone else, it would be embarrassing.
The gentle voice spoke again, and his garbled mind heard what was said.
"John, you have a fever from an infection in your broken leg, so I'm trying to cool you down."
"Who are you? What happened to me?"
"My name is Tarrellia, and the ship you were in crashed. Don't you remember?"
He certainly didn't remember any of that, but it could have something to do with the pounding in his head. Maybe he had a concussion to go along with whatever else was wrong with him.
He took a deep breath to try and combat the pain and hoped that he would be unconscious again soon.
A loud noise brought him to complete awareness, and when he heard a soft, lilting voice, he knew he was safe. His friends were here to take him home.
oOo
Carson was shocked when he walked into the small hut. The man on the bed was writhing in agony. John's cheeks were bright red, starkly contrasting to the pale grey skin surrounding them.
He walked to the bed and looked at his friend, "John, can you hear me?"
Glassy hazel eyes stared at him before closing a second later.
"How long has he been like this?" He asked the young woman beside John's bed. He assumed her name was Tarrellia.
"I'm not sure. I came in after lunch and found John like this. He was fine this morning. I think he's getting worse. His broken left leg is infected, and it's causing a fever."
"Have you been using anything to fight the infection?"
"I used some herbs that have fought infections in the past." The woman looked at him strangely before continuing," I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you?"
"My name is Carson Beckett, and I'm John's doctor. Grantly brought me to your campsite."
He didn't miss the relief in the blue-eyed young woman.
"Can you do anything for him?"
Grantly was out with Rollo taking a look at the boy's broken arm, so that was one less thing he had to worry about. However, he hoped herbs would help fight infection in Rollo's arm because he needed all the antibiotics he had to help Colonel Sheppard.
He was relieved when he took John's temperature, and it was only 102, not as high as it could have been but not as low as he'd like.
"I'm going to start him on some antibiotics, but first, I want to look at his leg."
Grantly entered the hut before the conversation could continue," How's John doing?" He asked.
Carson turned to face him before speaking quietly, "he's not doing too well. He has a temperature, and I need to get his temperature down as quickly as possible. How's Rollo?"
"I've checked his arm, and it looks okay."
"Luckily, the break wasn't too severe," Carson replied. "Can you keep Rollo outside for now because I don't want him in here while I'm looking at John's leg?"
"Perhaps I'll find him something to eat."
When Grantly had left the hut, he turned to Tarrellia, "Okay, Luv, can you help me get this bandage off his leg?"
They worked silently for a few minutes, and when the bandage finally fell away, Carson was disgusted by what he saw. A green paste was all over the wound, and the site was bright red and swollen. Clearly, the bone wasn't healing correctly either because John's leg was crooked.
"Tarrellia, do you have hot water because I need to clean the wound?"
Tarrellia nodded and disappeared.
While she was gone, he sat beside his friend and whispered, "This is going to hurt John, but hopefully, it will get the infection under control."
There was no response, and his patient remained deeply unconscious. Carson hoped he'd stay that way because the last thing he wanted was to cause John any unnecessary pain. He longed to give his patient a shot of morphine, but he had no idea how it would interact with the herbs Tarrelia had given him earlier.
Tarrellia returned a few minutes later with a pan of boiling water. She put it on the bedside table and handed him some clean rags.
"Once I've cleaned the wound with hot water, I will disinfect it. I'm hoping John will remain unconscious. But I'll need you to hold him still, just in case."
When she nodded and held John's shoulders, he put on a pair of latex gloves and wiped away the herbal paste. John began to moan, and Carson hoped he wouldn't wake up.
After five minutes, he looked at Tarrellia and smiled, "These are good stitches. Who did them?"
"Grantly was a healer on our world and an expert in herbal medicines. Usually, the herb we use works. Well, nine times out of ten. And I have no idea why John's leg is crooked. Grantly has never had a problem setting a bone before."
"I wouldn't worry. There are many reasons why a bone doesn't set properly. I just hope it won't compromise blood flow. I'll check the foot properly once I've disinfected and rebandaged his leg."
"Can you hold him again, Luv, because I'm about to pour antiseptic on the wound?"
He took a deep breath and poured the disinfectant on the wound.
Suddenly, John's eyes shot open, and he screamed. It was the same scream he'd heard when Teyla poured salt water on the Iratus bug attached to John's neck. It was a scream he never wanted to hear again.
John was shaking all over, and any colour he had left on his face was gone.
Rollo came running into the hut, and the look on his face was pure terror. "Is John okay?" the boy asked in between sobs. Grantly wasn't far behind him.
Carson looked at Tarrellia and pleaded, "Can you please get Rollo out of here? I'm going to need Grantly to stay."
"But I want to stay with John." Rollo insisted, trying to pull away from Tarrellia.
"Rollo, I need to finish cleaning his wound. Can you please go with Tarrellia? You can sit with John when I have finished." Carson instructed in a firm tone.
When Rollo left the hut with Tarrellia, Carson turned to Grantly and asked for his help.
"How long will the herbs you're giving John for pain and infection stay in his system?"
"Not long. If Tarrellia gave him herbs after her lunch, they should be out of his system by now."
Carson nodded and decided he'd leave it longer before he gave his patient a shot of morphine just to be sure. John was unconscious again, so he needed to finish up with his broken leg and check the wound on his right thigh. Hopefully, he would remain unconscious.
"I'm going to finish up with his broken leg now. First, I'll put some antibiotic cream on and then re-bandage it. After that, I want to look at his right thigh.
Ten minutes later, Carson had rebandaged John's broken leg and looked at his right thigh. Thankfully, the wound showed no sign of infection. When Carson took John's temperature, it was down to 101 degrees.
"Can you sit with him while I go and get Rollo? And please continue to sponge him down." He asked Grantly.
Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the hut and was surprised to find it was colder than it had been.
Rollo was sitting next to Terrellia on a log near the fire, and it appeared as if she was telling him a story.
Tarrellia looked worried as she asked, "How is he, Carson?"
"I've cleaned and disinfected the wound. I will have to wait to fix the break in the leg. When we get back to Atlantis, I'll fix it surgically. At the moment, his temperature is 101, so we'll need to keep sponging him down. I'll need to give him some antibiotics and a shot of morphine for the pain when he wakes up."
"Can I sit with him?" Rollo asked in a small voice.
"Aye, Lad, you can, but Tarrellia, Grantly or myself will need to be sponging him down."
"I will take him inside, Dr Beckett," Tarrellia offered.
"Thanks Luv. I think I need a rest."
He watched as Rollo and Tarrellia entered the hut, and then he decided to sit on a log.
John was stable for now, but he knew that if he didn't look at John's leg soon, his friend could end up with a permanent limp. For now, there was adequate blood supply to John's foot, but the longer he went without surgery, the more chance there could be permanent problems.
Sighing, he looked into the distance and wondered what his friends were up to.
oOo
Rodney peered into the darkness with the only light, their flashlights cutting a swath through the inky blackness. Ahead of him was a narrow staircase descending into a deep, dark void of nothingness. Lorne and Ronon had already begun their descent, but he was holding back for some reason.
When they had first entered the facility, Rodney expected the lights to come on automatically. Thanks to his Ata gene, even if the technology didn't activate from his fake gene, he would have expected the place to light up because of Lorne.
"So, Changley, you've been down there before, right?" Rodney asked, feeling a little afraid.
"Yes, Dr Mckay. And many wondrous things await us at the bottom of the stairs."
As an adult, Rodney had never been afraid of the dark, but when he stared into the dark abyss in front of him, memories of childhood nightmares plagued his mind, memories of dreams so vivid they seemed palpable. The worst was when he was locked in a dark room with no escape. Although being swallowed by a whale came a close second. When he awoke, his mother was beside him, whispering words of reassurance.
Taking a deep breath, he took the first step into the darkness and was relieved when Changley followed.
He'd taken five steps when his com activated, "Hey, Dr McKay, are you coming?"
Lorne gave them communicators when they entered the facility, just in case they lost contact.
"Sure, Major Lorne, I'm on my way," he replied shakily.
"We're almost at the bottom, and the lights are coming on. We'll wait at the bottom for you."
Rodney peered into the darkness and couldn't see any light except his flashlight beam.
"How many steps is it to the bottom?"
"Don't know. I didn't count." Ronon out."
Sighing, he continued his journey downwards, hoping to see some light soon.
By the time he reached the bottom, he felt calmer. He was relieved to see Lorne looking at a partial schematic of the underground city.
He looked at Ronon and smiled, "Five hundred."
"What?" Ronon replied.
"I counted five hundred steps. Five hundred very steep steps."
"Whatever," Lorne replied. "Looking at this schematic, I can find the gate and control room. I'm fairly sure we can find the chair room as well. So, Dr McKay, where do you want to go first?"
Before Rodney could respond, Changley approached Lorne, "Do you have the DNA of the ancestors, too?"
"My gene isn't as Colonel Sheppard, but yeah, I do."
"As riveting as this conversation is, can we find the stargate? The sooner I can get it online, the sooner we can get home." Rodney grumbled, "Or perhaps we'll go to the chair room first. You can help me see what systems are working then, Lorne. With luck, the gate will be online. If it isn't, we can fix it from there. So. how about you lead the way, and I'll follow with Changley, and Ronon can bring up the rear."
"Yes, sir," Lorne replied sarcastically.
Rodney followed Lorne as the military man led them down a narrow corridor. It was amazing how the lights came on for him, but they seemed dim somehow. He was sure if Sheppard were here, the lights would be brighter.
The same reds and greens as Atlantis decorated the corridor. The ten thousand-year-old pot plants were also there.
Changley walked beside him, and he remained quiet. Rodney wondered if he was okay.
"How are you coping, Changley?"
"This is amazing, Dr McKay. I've never seen anything like this."
"You haven't seen anything yet. Just wait till we get to the chair room."
Changley nodded and was silent again.
Rodney was relieved the lights were still coming on because if not, the city would be very creepy.
oOo
John let out a loud moan as he slowly became aware. For some reason, John wasn't as hot as the last time he'd awoken. He felt groggy as if there was morphine running through his veins, and if that were true, there was only one explanation for it.
After three attempts, he managed to open his eyes and was happy to see Carson sitting beside his bed.
"How did you find me?"
"Todd told us where the hive that captured you was, but as you know, it was destroyed. We landed on the other planet in the system and soon realised you weren't there. Although, we did find a colony of Wraith worshippers. We then decided to check out this moon and crashed."
"Where are the others?" John asked, looking around the hut.
"Lorne, Rodney and Ronon have gone with Changley to check out an underground city. Hopefully, they'll find a stargate so we can return home."
Suddenly, he felt afraid, "Teyla?"
He knew she was injured escaping from the Nafari homeworld and was fearful that she was seriously hurt.
"She broke her ankle and is safe back on Atlantis with Jallell."
"Rollo?"
"We found him on the Wraith worshipper world. At the moment, he's asleep, but he was sitting beside you not long ago."
John looked across the room and noticed the boy's arm bandaged heavily.
"What happened to his arm, Doc?"
"I suspect it's fractured, but I won't know until we return to Atlantis."
He nodded. For now, he was safe, as were his friends. His pain was muted thanks to the morphine running through his veins, but there was one other question he needed to ask.
"What's wrong with my left leg, Doc? It's extremely painful."
"It's infected, and the bone isn't knitting together properly. When we return to Atlantis, I will fix it surgically."
That was all John needed to hear, but since there was nothing he could do about it right now, he might as well go to sleep. Closing his eyes, he tried to shut all negative thoughts out of his mind, and it wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.
oOo
When Rodney entered the chair room, Rodney found the lights were dimmer than the ones in the corridors they'd just come through. He was surprised that the lights weren't reacting to Lorne's ATA gene.
After plugging in his laptop, he ascertained that the stargate wasn't working and would need Lorne to sit in the control chair to fix it.
"Okay, Major Lorne, I need you to sit in the control chair so I can try to fix the gate and a few other systems."
He watched as Lorne sat down and leaned back in the chair, and he totally expected the chair to light up like a Christmas tree. But nothing happened, so he demanded Lorne try again.
After three attempts, nothing was happening, so Rodney checked the control chrystals in the back of the chair.
"These all seem to be working," he muttered to himself.
"What's happening, Rodney?" Ronon growled.
Rodney had no idea what was going on. That was something new for him because he was an expert on all things ancient, after all.
"I have absolutely no idea. The only thing I can think of is Lorne's DNA isn't strong enough to activate the chair. We're going to have to get Super Gene Boy."
"But he's severely injured," Changley reminded him.
"I know, but until I can get him in the control chair, there's no way we're getting off this moon."
TBC…