Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on my weekly posting. I got hit with a cold but I'm clawing my way back. I appreciate your patience when RL dares to intervene with my happy fanfic obsession. Also, since you guys have asked questions and are offering such great insight, I've decided to expand the plot to include those areas that my reviewers are showing interest in. As usual, my kind, brilliant reviewers help me to write a better story. Thanks for that!
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Chapter 7: Compromises
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"…I didn't think any of your kind could track our jumps through this many stargates. Guess I was right, you can't. Honestly, I kinda feel foolish…threatening to kill a man who is dead already."
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Rodney instantly protested the thief's words. "Shows what you know! He's going to be fine. Makes a great hostage."
"Yeah, thanks for that Rodney," John sarcastically retorted, even as the thief's grim assessment roiled his already queasy stomach. Did the man know what he was talking about? Had he sentenced himself to death by taking the serum, tracking them through the stargates? It sure felt like he was dying. 'And if I am, I need to fix this situation, find a way to get the ZPM returned to Atlantis.' Sooner rather than later, not only because Atlantis was without its cloak but because he might not have all the much time left.
Meeting the thief's eyes through his mask, John made his own assessment of his opponent. "I don't think you really want a hostage; you want a way out of this, just as badly as we do."
"The sun is getting kinda hot, with the mask and all. Rather be sipping ale somewhere cool but duty comes first, you understand that, right?" the thief quipped but John understood his last words were an opening to make a connection between them, as soldiers.
"Yeah, I do," Sheppard solemnly agreed. "My duty is to get the ZPM back, its why I risked my life tracking you through the stargates. Feel kinda stupid now, to fail at that task and die. Hate to go out on a losing streak."
Finding Sheppard amusing, the thief laughed. "Yeah, that would suck. No posthumously awarded medals, no grand funerals for the dead hero. Would suck, even though you won't be there to witness the insult."
"Exactly, knew you'd get it. So how about we work something out mutually beneficial to both our people," John proposed, was swallowing down the blood coating his mouth, didn't want to interrupt the negotiations with upchucking blood, which was so undignified.
There was a light of amusement in the man's eyes and his tone, "Gotta admit, I'm impressed with you, for a Lantean."
"Yeah, about that. Not really a Lantean, more like tenants of the base," John confessed, recognized the hatred in the man's tone whenever he spoke of the Ancients so it was better they distanced themselves from any loyalty to them.
"Hey, I wanted to tell him that from the start, but you wouldn't let me!" Rodney huffed, wondered why it was ok for Sheppard to say the stuff John forbad him to say.
Ignoring Rodney's hurt feelings, because that occurred a lot, John watched his captor's reaction to see if he accepted his statement. Read contemplation in the man's eyes but not full out acceptance. "That's why we didn't know the Ancients…Lanteans as you call them, stole your ZPM. So your grudge isn't with us."
"Great, then you'll allow us to keep our ZPM and call it square," mockery in the thief's ridiculous notion.
"Well, maybe an outcome more beneficial to both of us. But whatever deal we hammer out, it has to happen now, before we're missed and another team comes for us here," John warned, hoping Rodney didn't blow his bluff out of the water. And yeah, it would have been smart to call back to Atlantis and tell them the gate addresses they were going to but they hadn't. He'd been in such a blind rush to catch up with them and oh yeah, too busy puking up blood and having seizures to be logical.
The thief's response to his threat wasn't all that ego boosting. He laughed, like Sheppard had told a great one liner. But he didn't enlighten John on what was so ludicrous about his statement. Instead, fighting back his smile, he cleared his throat, tried to say seriously, "Right, more of you coming. Well, if that's the case, I better get rid of the ones I have under my boot before more come, shouldn't I?"
Rodney met John's eyes and conveyed that universal expression of "oh crap, you did it now!"
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Zelenka took off his glasses for the umpteenth time as he studied and restudied the crystal formation of the second stargate. He nearly jerked when a voice came from near his feet.
"Any luck on shutting this gate down or getting our main one up and running?" Dr. Weir questioned from her crouched position by Zelenka's legs which were protruding out from under the gate console.
Slithering backward, Zelenka sat up to face his leader. "I think I can shut down this gate but there's no guarantee our main one will come online."
"Any concerns that if you shut this gate down you won't get it reopened?" she astutely asked.
He grimaced. "Yes, there is a high probability it wouldn't open again. We are still not sure how it was opened in the first place, and it doesn't show on any of our sensors, not even as a power surge."
"Shielded even from the mainframe computers. Talk about a secret backdoor," Elizabeth sighed before she came to her decision. "Ok, we keep it open and focus our efforts on getting the main stargate working again." And pray her away team could either hold safely where they were, or knew how to open a wormhole in their second mysterious gate.
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Finding it very unmanning to, not only be laughed at, but be lying down while trying to negotiation like he had a position of power, John gruffly demanded, "Rodney, help me sit up."
Rodney looked at their captor for permission. When he nodded and moved his gun back to hover again at Sheppard's stomach, McKay levered John up far enough off the ground so he could lean against his chest and face their adversary.
But the move put John into a tailspin. Felt like he was on a huge tilt-a-whirl, at maximum speed, and his every nerve cell zapped with pain. Clamping his eyes shut barely did any good, knew he'd lost time and McKay's call of his name felt like he was trying to shout at him across the lengths of three piers of Atlantis. "Yeah," he groggily answered, felt Rodney's chest at his back exhale in relief, sure signs he'd scared his friend, badly.
"You know it's rude to fall asleep while being held hostage, right? Shows a lack of respect for the direness of the situation," Rodney snipped, trying to cover up the fear he'd felt when John passed out on him and he couldn't rouse him. It was long minutes and their captor had looked..well Rodney wasn't the best at reading people, especially people with only their eyes and mouth visible. But their captor hadn't gone wild mad when his hostage took a nap mid-hostage negotiation talks.
"What did I miss?" John joked, the jerk trying to make light of things that weren't funny at all.
"We're still at a standoff but you were going to supposedly press your advantage," their captor helpfully recapped, that wry amusement back in his tone like this was a fun day out on the town for him.
"How was that going to go over?" John quipped, glad to be sitting up and able to meet the man's eyes from a better vantage point.
"Considering I still have you two as hostages as well as the ZPM, I still think my idea of eliminating some of your team now, before your reinforcement arrives, has merit."
Deciding it was in his best interest to tamper down his bluff, John downplayed his supposed advantage, "Well, about those reinforcements. They have to pack their gear, then confirm their orders, go through all that military red tape. It takes time to get an operation off the ground, you know."
"No, no, you've warned me and I'm not stupid enough to not take it seriously," their captor sounds like he was thanking Sheppard for giving him the freaking heads up. Then he called out loud enough to be heard by major Lorne, "I think it's time we discussed this hostage situation."
"What do you propose?" the major responded from his position behind the shelter of a tree.
"That you and your firing squad hop through the gate and let your leader and I have a private chat to come to terms," the thieves' leader outlined.
Even as John left out a relieved breath that the man was going to let his soldiers go, Rodney was protesting to both Lorne and their captor, "What?! No! Sheppard gets on the first trip home. You can have your cozy little one on one chat with Major Lorne."
"I agree with Dr. McKay," Lorne called back even as he grumbled under his breath, "Never thought I'd say that out loud." Raising his voice, he offered his counter terms. "Colonel Sheppard goes along with my troops. I have the authority to make a deal with you." Playing his own bluff because he really didn't have that power, even John didn't most times, though he acted like he always did. Dr. Weir was the law. Sheppard was more like a Clint Eastwood style cunning Deputy who tended to make his own rules out on the desert plains.
But the lead thief shook his head. "No, see I like the way Sheppard thinks. At the very least, he'll be amusing."
"Oh great, you've made another fan," Rodney sarcastically grumbled to John before he tried to reason again with their captor. "That's all good and nice but he's feeling a little under the weather, needs to get back for treatment."
The thief's eyes dropped to John's and there might have been a slice of sympathy in them, but his retort to McKay was as cold as ice. "He stays. You all go. That or the ZPM gets destroyed and we kill each other in a glorious gun battle."
"I'll stay," John announced in as strong and authoritative voice as he could muster.
"John, no! No way!" Rodney emphatically protested but John cut him off.
"You're leaving McKay! That's an order!" John commanded, hoping the other man knew how serious he was. Looking back at McKay's stonily countenance, it was apparent that he got his message loud and clear and didn't like it one bit. Raising his voice, John called out for Major Lorne, "Major, put your guns down and come over here."
Evan wanted to disobey, strongly, but didn't. Detaching his P90, he laid it on the ground, along with his handgun, then walked to where John was propped up by McKay, just outside the stargate. Crouching down by his leader, he gave John his full attention, acted as if the thief threatening Dr. McKay and the colonel's life wasn't even there. "What are your orders, Colonel?" He was already dreading Colonel Sheppard pending commandments.
"Take our people home and I'll radio you later when we've come to an agreement." John was impressed with himself for how sure he sounded that he'd reach a compromise. Especially since the truth was, they had no point of leverage.
"I can stay, sir. Do the negotiations in your stead," Lorne suggested, strongly. "It would make better sense considering you're…"
"Sitting on my butt and can't move? Yeah…but it's…" John hesitated to tell the unvarnished truth of his condition but, heck, it wasn't like he was about to reveal anything his captor hadn't already surmised. Besides, he needed Lorne to know one very important tidbit. "Evan, I can't go through the stargate."
"We'll help you…" Lorne began but then he read the defeat in his COs eyes, began to understand Sheppard's statement was unalterable. "Why not?"
John knew that he had to put his cards on the table, tell his second-in-command the full extent of his screw up. The Major needed to know everything so he could make an informed decision now that he was going to solely be in charge of their team's return trip…and would be assuming the responsibility of Atlantis's military leader. "I took the ATA drug to enhance my…."
Evan didn't need to hear the rest, cursed vehemently. "Damn it, Sheppard!" Had feared that there was more to his leader's miraculous ability to track through stargates.
"Yeah, ok you're pissed. The point is…." Meeting Evan's anxious gaze, John grimly admitted to his second in command and himself, "It's tearing me apart. Each wormhole. If I go through another one, I'm going to die." John felt Rodney's body go ridged at his confession, felt his friend's fingers bite into his arm with possessive strength as if he could hold him back from crossing over to the hereafter.
Meanwhile, Evan felt a crushing weight smash into his chest at Sheppard's grim prediction. John was one of those, 'stay calm and we'll survive this' type of leaders, and he'd gotten them through more than anyone should have been able to, more horror situations than even Stephen King could dream up. And now…he was giving up, not on Atlantis or his team, but on himself. "Sir, no…we can get Dr. Beckett. Bring him here if we need to and he can fix you up."
John shook his head. "Can't risk it, put him in the middle of this standoff."
But Lorne wasn't having it. "We're not leaving you here. We're bringing you home."
"In a body bag?" Sheppard sardonically challenged, knew he had to play hard ball even as he felt guilty at witnessing Lorne's wince at his tactics. "I rather hang out here, thanks," trying for a smirk and failing.
"Fine, some men will remain here with you. We'll bring Beckett when we know it's safe," Lorne optioned but it was the thief who shut down his plan.
"Sorry, the only deal I'm offering is for all of you to leave but the colonel," the thief gritted out. Then he tightened his hold around McKay's throat in case the Major followed up his killer glare at him with a doomed attempt at violence.
"Major, stand down!" John commanded, was coming to understand that their captor wasn't one to not read a situation, or a soldier with precision. He knew Lorne wanted to take his shot at taking him out and had tightened his hold on McKay and shoved his gun's muzzle back into his gut. If Lorne made his ill-advised move, he and McKay might be casualties in the attempt. And yeah, he might be living on borrowed time, but he wanted Rodney to make it back to Atlantis in one piece. "Major, go back to Atlantis and wait for me to contact you. That's an order. And take McKay with you," because he feared Rodney was going to break out his stubborn loyalty streak.
"No. I'm not going anywhere," Rodney mulishly bit out, yanked his arm out of Lorne's grasp when the Major tried to dislodge his hold on Sheppard. "I'm not leaving this idiot."
"McKay!" John swore holy hell if he didn't comply.
But Rodney had absolutely no intention of budging on this. He turned his focus upon the one man who had the power to override the colonel right now: his captor. "Listen, I can hook up the ZPM, get whatever you're using it for up and running pronto, maybe increase its input. And if you want to consider not going to all out war with Atlantis, I can also see if there's a feasible workaround with another power source for whatever the ZPM is supposed to run. I'm good at this stuff. The best. You need me."
"Do I?" the thief asked with a smirk.
"Yes, everyone could use a Rodney McKay to save their butts but there's only one of me to go around and I'm loaning me out to you." Crossing his fingers his bragging was the right way to go, earned him a place by John's side.
"Fine. You and the colonel," the thief relented. Meeting Lorne's unhappy glare, he gave his other terms. "The rest of your team can head out, but I don't trust opening a stargate between Atlantic and this gate. I want some breathing room before I have to worry about you going back on our deal and sending in reinforcements. So we'll open the stargate to the second planet we went to after we left Atlantis. You know the stargate is operational there and the planet's stable."
"That's sounds reasonable," John agreed, ignoring his major's frustrated disapproval.
Lorne reached out and put his hand on John's shoulder and vowed, "Soon as we can, we'll be back with Carson and he'll get you fixed up."
John gave a closed mouth smile and nodded, which, had Rodney witnessed it, he would have interpreted as 100 percent insincere.
But Lorne didn't know John that well, thought his leader was encouraged by his promise. Feeling confident he could make this alright, the Major stood up and ordered his team to the gate. Rodney recited the code to the 2nd gate they'd gone through in their chase so Lorne could dial it into the stargate console. When the wormhole bloomed out, it was so close to where John and Rodney sat they felt the cold whoosh of it.
With a salute to the Colonel, Major Lorne started to lead his soldiers through the stargate. Rodney called out the address to their present gate with a snarked insult, "Because geniuses that you are, you almost left without getting that vital piece of information." Realized he wasn't keeping up John's bluff he tacked on, "For our rescue forces to come for us…later…if you have to." Then the last Atlantis' soldier was through and the stargate closed behind them.
"Heupner, take out the crystal," their captor called out to one of his men.
The so named man came forward and opened the panel to the gate console and removed a crystal. "It's disabled, Kannar," he informed his leader.
"Hey, that wasn't part of the deal!" Rodney protested; knew they'd be totally cut off from Atlantis if the gate was not operational. That meant no calls to Atlantis to even signal they'd come to a truce…and no troops coming to rescue them if they couldn't.
"It wasn't not part of the deal either," the leader of the thieves' retorted as he released his chokehold on Rodney and stood up. Looking down at his captives, he knew there was some of his people who would have put a bullet in them already, treated them as the Lanteans had treated his people, like hostiles too dangerous to be free…or to live. Course the Lanteans had been too "honorable" to kill them by their own hands, instead doomed them to be decimated by the Wraith, generation after generation.
Though the memories had been passed down generation by generation of how the Lanteans had betrayed their people, it didn't seem right to Kannar to condemn these men, Lanteans or not, for those sins. For the theft of their power source that had happened many generations ago. Besides, he hadn't lied when he said he found the Colonel amusing and a man of good sense, that was if you overlooked him probably giving himself a death sentence in his pursuit of them. And the other man, the braggart, his loyalty to his leader was honorable.
Kannar had been taught that to kill a man of honor was to lose his own honor.
So no, he would not kill these men.
Not unless he was ordered to by the council.
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TBC
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