Chapter 2: Ilaria Two
John finally found his voice, "is everyone okay?" That had to be the stupidest thing he'd ever said because it was clear that they weren't. So he rephrased the question, "Is anyone injured?"
It was clear to John that Rodney was in shock, so when he started to rant, John didn't stop him.
"I think I'm alright, although I may have chipped a tooth," Rodney complained, "and what about Dr Whathisname and his friend? Or the two grunts you brought along with us. Chances are they're dead."
John knew there was a distinct possibility that the other men were dead, but right now, there was nothing he could do about it, "There's nothing we can do about that at the moment. We need to assess the damage to the gate and try to find a way home."
He stood up, ready to exit the jumper, but suddenly felt faint, so he had to sit down again. For the first time, he realised there was blood dripping down his face. Carson was beside him in an instant.
"You're not going anywhere until I look at the cut on your head and your broken arm, General. I want to look at you as well, Ronon."
I'm fine, Doc," Ronon replied.
"Stop fussing, Carson, and let me do my work," John complained. Sure, his arm hurt, but more was at stake than a sore arm. People were dead, and it was his responsibility to get everyone else home alive.
John looked at Rodney, who had suddenly become as white as a ghost.
"Are you alright, Rodney? Perhaps you should sit down."
"Umm, Sheppard, " Rodney started, looking paler than before, "Maybe you should look at your arm."
He looked at his right arm and soon realised it was bent at an odd angle, making him feel sick. And suddenly, the pain intensified, "Umm…maybe you should check out my arm, Carson."
"Right, Lad. I'm going to give you something for the pain, and then I'll try and set your arm. I'll then take a look at your head." Carson turned to Rodney and Ronon before continuing, "I want to examine you to ensure neither of you' are hiding any injuries. Although, Ronon is more likely to hide injuries than Rodney."
"Hey," Ronon responded with a glare.
John looked at his big friend and shook his head. The last thing they needed was for the doctor to lose his temper. Everyone knew the kind and compassionate doctor had an angry streak when pushed to the limit.
John sat still while Carson fussed over him and was relieved when the doctor injected pain meds into his arm.
"Okay, General, this shouldn't make you sleepy but should take the edge off the pain. Your head doesn't need stitches, but you may have a headache."
Suddenly, John felt a sharp pain in his arm, and he cried out. Carson had set his arm while he was talking about his other injuries.
John was shaking by the time the doctor had finished, so he glared at him, "Have you finished torturing me, Doc? Because I have work to do."
"I'll just put your arm in a splint and a sling, and then you can get to work," Carson replied, "but you may need surgery on that arm when we return to Atlantis."
John didn't like the sound of having to undergo surgery and take weeks off work, "What about the healing compound, Doc? The one you injected into my brain."
"I'm sorry, General, but it doesn't work on broken bones."
"Great," he muttered before leaving the puddle jumper.
When he finally looked into the gate room, he wasn't surprised to see the Stargate destroyed. Nothing remained of the gate. Where it once stood, there was a crater. There was no way they were going to use that again. Twisted metal and debris littered the floor, and small fires burned. There was a deep scorch mark where the jumper had skidded across the floor. It left him wondering if the other half of the jumper was among the mess. He shuddered as to what that meant for the two scientists and marines in the back half of the jumper.
A gentle voice interrupted his contemplations, "I don't think the back half of the jumper made it to Ilaria two."
He turned to see Rodney standing behind him with a worried look, and he expected some snarky comment to come out of the scientist's mouth. Thankfully. Rodney was quiet.
"Could they be caught in the gate's pattern buffer?" John asked hopefully.
"No, I don't think so. I believe the moment the gate shut down, the back of the jumper and its inhabitants were lost."
John took another moment to think of more lives lost before getting down to business,
"I thought the jumper wouldn't materialise unless all of it had made it through."
"Yes, that's what I thought, but I have no idea how this gate was booby-trapped and by whom. I guess that's something to research at a later date, but right now, we need to find a way home. Although maybe the unknown enemy that chased Atlantis across the galaxy and crashed on Hilaring twenty thousand years ago rigged the gate to explode. Remember, the Hilarians' descendants started chasing us across the Pegasus galaxy because they stole an ancient ship from this facility five thousand years ago. I don't know if the Hilaring's descendants booby-trapped the gate, but if it wasn't them, I have no idea who it was.
John just stared at Rodney. John remembered the timeline of events even though thinking about it made his already sore head hurt.
"Don't you remember the causal loop?" Rodney asked, and John could sense his impatience.
"Of course I do, McKay. But can you prove it? Because right now, I only care about finding a way home."
"I guess I can look into it at some point, but you're right. We need to focus on getting home."
"Good man, Rodney. What about the anomaly research the ancients were doing here?"
Rodney nodded, "I suppose I can look at the database, but no one has used it for thousands of years, so I don't know what I'll find."
"See what you can find."
At that moment, Ronon exited the jumper and asked, "So what's happening?"
"I'm going outside for some fresh air," John replied, "Maybe it'll give me a chance to think because there's so much going on right now."
"Just keep an eye out for wild bears, "Carson suggested, coming out to join them.
He nodded and walked towards the nearest balcony. Ilaria Two's layout was similar to Atlantis' - only smaller. So, he had a good idea of which balcony he was heading to.
When John stepped outside, the rain was pouring down, and the wind was strong. He wished he'd taken a warm coat out of the jumper - although, if he remembered correctly, the warm coats were in the back half of the jumper. He tried to cross his arms to keep out the cutting wind but soon realised it was difficult with a broken arm.
He thought about what Rodney said, if the Hilarian descendants that chased them across the Pegasus Galaxy had booy-trapped the gate five thousand years ago. Why? For what purpose? That was probably one of the many questions he'd never find an answer to.
The weather wasn't that different to the first time he'd set foot on the planet ten thousand years ago, and here they were again, trying to find a way home. The difference this time was that Atlantis wasn't nearby waiting for them. He knew it was up to him to think of a plan, and he'd better do it quickly because Teyla could have her baby at any moment, and he didn't want to miss the birth of his son.
A loud, annoying voice interrupted his contemplations, "I think we should see if the control chair is working?"
"Why?" He asked, staring at Rodney.
"Because if you sit in the chair, it may help me access some of the systems and find some answers."
"Again, I ask why?"
"Because some of the systems have degraded," Rodney replied impatiently.
"Okay, let's go then because the quicker we find answers, the quicker we return home."
After looking at the gloomy sky, John turned and followed Rodney. Carson and Ronon met them in the control room and insisted on accompanying them. However, Carson wasn't happy his broken arm was wet.
"I need to redress that arm, General."
John rolled his eyes and used his best puppy dog look on the doctor, "I promise I'll let you look at it once we've checked out the chair room."
"I'll hold you to that promise, General."
John was relieved when the doctor was quiet.
Ilaria two was humming to him. However, the humming sounded different to Atlants and how Ilaria two had sounded ten thousand years ago. So, he wondered if something was wrong with the city.
As they approached the chair room, the humming changed again, and something was clearly wrong with the city - or so he thought.
"I don't like this McKay. Something strange is going on in this city."
"Why would you say that, Sheppard?"
"Aye, Rodney, I hear it too. The city's humming is off somehow and worse near the chair room." Carson said, backing Sheppard up.
"I can't hear anything," Rodney muttered, "stupid fake gene."
As John approached the control chair, a feeling of foreboding overcame him, and he knew something was about to go very wrong.
"Everyone out!" He cried.
He saw Ronon grab Carson and drag him toward the exit, so he reached out and tried to take Rodney's arm, but the scientist wasn't there. He looked around the room and realised Rodney was standing by a console on the other side of the control chair.
"McKay, we need to get out of here now!"
The intense humming was becoming louder, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen next.
Rodney was running toward the door, but there wasn't time for them to get out, so he slammed his hand on the door panel, shutting the door and threw his body on top of Mckay just as the chair exploded.
Initially, John was dizzy, and his ears were ringing, and it took him a moment to get his bearings, "Are you alright, Mckay?"
"Other than being squashed by a smarter-than-average flyboy, I think I'm alright."
Now he knew Rodney was okay, he tried to assess his own body and soon realised that his arm hurt more than before. In fact, it was excruciatingly painful. His head was pounding, and it felt like his back was on fire. It was dark, and the air was full of smoke, so he knew they needed to escape the room as soon as possible.
He rolled off Rodney and started to cough. Between the spasms in his chest, he spoke to Rodney, "McKay, We have to get out of here."
There was no reply. That worried John because his friend was coherent a minute ago, "Rodney, are you awake!?" He yelled at his friend, which led to a coughing fit.
He knew there was only one thing he could do. Drag Rodney across the smoke-filled room. Then, hopefully, the doors would open.
Grabbing Rodney's arm with his good arm, he crawled towards the door. The smoke was still thick and suffocating, but he knew he needed to get Rodney out of the room.
He was a metre from the door when he couldn't crawl another centimetre. He was relieved when the door opened, and Ronon dragged them out.
Now he knew they were both safe, he was happy to pass out and let Carson and Ronon deal with things for a while.
When John came to, he was lying on his stomach on an infirmary bed in the gate room, and Rodney sat next to him in a chair.
He tried to speak but realised an oxygen mask was covering his face. Lifting his good arm, he pulled the mask away and looked around the gate room before turning to Rodney, "Where are Carson and Ronon?"
"Don't know. I think Carson went looking for food because I'm starving. I don't know where Ronon is."
Rodney was sitting beside him and working on a computer, "Where'd you get that?"
"Carson found it in the control room, and it's still working."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd? Why would there be a working computer when, as far as we know, no one has set foot in the city for five thousand years."
"You're right, Sheppard. I think it's time we left before anything else blows up."
John could feel a tickle in his throat, so he tried not to cough because he still needed Rodney to give him answers.
"Do you know if a jumper with a hyperdrive is in the jumper bay? Then we can go to Hilaring."
"Why would we want to go there?" Rodney asked with confusion.
"Because I know the control chair was working when we left the planet ten thousand years ago, so it might still be working now."
"Yeah," Rodney replied with a nod, "but if I remember rightly, the Stargate was crushed, probably by a ship crash landing on the planet ten thousand years before."
Before John could say anything else, the tickle in his throat turned into a coughing fit, and just when he thought he would cough up a lung, Carson handed him a canteen."
"Thanks," John whispered after taking a long drink, "What's the damage doc?"
"You inhaled a lot of smoke, so your throat and lungs are irritated. I pulled a lot of shrapnel out of your back, so I'm sure your back's sore, and finally, I would expect your ears to be still ringing because of the loudness of the explosion. But until I can get you under a scanner, I won't know the full extent of the damage. And before you ask, the scanner in this city is destroyed."
He thought about it for a minute and realised his ears weren't ringing, which was a relief.
"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do then. Get out of here." John suggested.
"I want to monitor you for a little longer, General, so I suggest you go back to sleep."
He glared at the doctor and thought about complaining, but when he saw the look on the doctor's face, he decided he'd better keep his mouth shut.
"Why isn't Rodney lying in a bed?" He fainted right before I did."
"For your information, General," Rodney began, "I didn't faint or pass out."
John was confused by what he'd just heard, "well, why didn't you answer me when I asked if you were okay?"
"Because I had my shirt over my face because I didn't want to breathe in the thick black smoke."
John had nothing to say to Rodney, so he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He knew if they didn't get off of Ilaria two as soon as possible, something else could go wrong, but right now, he was too exhausted to care.
oOo
John was quiet as they approached the jumper bay. They'd been on Ilaria Two for over five hours and found nothing to help them get home.
According to Rodney, the database had degraded substantially over the last ten thousand years, and he couldn't get any information. Even if they'd wanted to try and open an anomaly to the Pegasus galaxy, the information wasn't in the database. Rodney didn't have a computer either because it was in the back half of the jumper, which no longer existed. The Computer he'd found in the control room ended up self-destructing along with everything else they attempted to use to find information.
John hadn't seen any sign of the bears that were present the last time they were on the planet, so perhaps they were extinct. However, he hadn't left the city, so maybe they were thriving and had chosen to stay outside.
Finally, Rodney decided to heed his suggestion to look in the jumper bay to see if there was a puddle jumper with a hyperdrive installed, and perhaps then, they could find a planet with a Stargate on it. However, the first place they'd be going was Hilaring because Logo had informed them he'd found the control chair in Ilaria before they'd left the planet ten thousand years ago.
Carson's persistent questioning brought him out of his contemplations, "General, you never answered my question."
Although Carson kept up a steady stream of questions, John didn't know what the doctor was asking.
"And what question would that be, Doc?"
"I asked how you're feeling because you look as white as a ghost."
"Whatever Doc. But can it wait till we find a jumper? Once we're en route to Hilaring, I'll take a nap. I promise."
He was happy when the doctor remained quiet.
The lights continued to turn on as they walked through the deserted halls, making him long for his home on Atlantis. He'd lived there for ten years and couldn't imagine living elsewhere. That thought made him even more determined to return home to his family.
When they walked into the jumper bay a few minutes later, he was surprised several puddle jumpers appeared intact.
"So McKay, do any of these have a hyperdrive?" John asked, "Because if they don't, it will take about four weeks to reach Hilaring."
"I'm not sure. Let me check it out."
"So, do you know what you're looking for, McKay?" Ronon asked, and John didn't miss the grin on his face.
Before Rodney could answer, John interjected, "Alright, Mckay, how about you get to work, and I'll let Carson look at my arm and back again."
When John sat down in one of the chairs scattered around the jumper bay, he was relieved because he was exhausted and in pain, and he hoped it was time for some pain meds. However, he'd had his last lot two hours ago, so maybe it wasn't.
"Okay, General, while Rodney's busy, let me look at your arm and back."
"I'll go and help, McKay, "Ronon suggested.
Closing his eyes, he allowed Carson to fuss over him again, and he had to grit his teeth as the doctor took the bandages off his arm.
"I don't suppose you can give me something for the pain Doc?" John asked, opening his eyes.
"Since I only gave you half a dose of pain meds last time, I'll give you another half dose now, but it may make you sleepy."
"Go right ahead, Doc."
He was relieved when Carson injected the medication into his shoulder and finished with his arm.
Laying back in the chair, John put his feet on the table and closed his eyes. He didn't know how long McKay would take to locate a puddle jumper with a hyperdrive. So, right now, he didn't have anything to do, so he put all his thoughts out of his head and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
oOo
John sat in the front of the jumper and stared at the planet below him. Almost a year ago, he'd suffered brain damage thanks to the people of Hilaring. Although it was only a year for him, it was ten thousand years in the past. So the people who'd injured him were long dead.
He could see the city from the jumper, which looked in ruins. He assumed Ilaria would be in ruins as well.
It had taken two hours, but finally 'Rodney found a jumper with a functioning hyperdrive. It had then taken another hour before they set out for Hilaring.
Now, twenty-four hours later, he didn't know what to think. Just looking at the ruined city from orbit brought too many bad memories. He was almost afraid of what he would find if he went to the surface.
"Are we going to land or what?" Ronon asked from behind him.
Before he could answer, Carson spoke gently, "Are you alright, General? I know this place holds some bad memories for you."
The last thing he needed was to have a deep and meaningful with Carson, so he shook his head before replying, "I'm fine. And, yes, Ronon, we're about to land."
"Umm, Sheppard, "Rodney started, "I'm detecting radiation in the atmosphere and the ruins of another city 800 KM to the south."
John turned to face Rodney, "Nuclear war, and if so, how long ago?"
"No, I don't think so. I think an asteroid may have crashed into the southern hemisphere."
"What makes you say that?" Carson asked from behind Rodney.
John looked at the HUD, hoping to find an answer, "because I'm detecting a large crater on a continent in the southern hemisphere."
The HUD is amazing, John thought. I have no idea how it detects things on the other side of the planet.
"Do you think it's safe to land on the surface?" Carson asked in a worried voice.
"I can test for radiation when we land," Rodney suggested.
"Surely an asteroid collision with a planet can't leave radiation in the atmosphere," Ronon suggested, and John knew he had a point.
"It depends on what minerals were in the meteor and how they reacted with the atmosphere, "Rodney explained in a surprisingly patient tone. "However, considering the size of the impact crater, it may well be a ship - something else to research.
"Why don't we check out the southern hemisphere to see if it was a ship that crashed," Ronon suggested.
No. I think our only hope of finding answers is to land near the city," John told them with determination."
When Ronon, Carson and Rodney nodded, John turned to face the front and set the craft in motion. He decided to land close to the city because, from what he could ascertain, no one lived there. But perhaps he should use caution and land further away - just in case.
Five minutes later, John landed the Jumper where he'd landed it on the fateful mission a year ago.
Even from this distance, the city was in ruins and burnt. He wondered how many thousands of years had passed since it was last inhabited.
"Okay, McKay, what's the radiation level in the atmosphere?"
Rodney was studying the HUD, and John wondered whether he would find any answers or need to go outside to measure radiation levels.
"From what I can ascertain, the Ship crashed at least a thousand years ago, so the radiation levels should be safe. However, I'd like to wear a Hazmat suit just in case. I still plan on reproducing one day.
"Sorry, McKay, there are no suits aboard, " Ronon said with a smirk, "so you'll have to risk it. Or you can stay here and wait for the radiation zombies to attack."
John chuckled at Ronon's comment, which led to another coughing fit. "Please don't make me laugh," he said when he managed to control the cough.
Once he'd composed himself, John stood up and opened the back hatch, "Okay, let's get going."
"Shouldn't we eat first?" Rodney asked, "Because who knows how long it will be before we get a decent meal."
"You ate half an hour ago, Rodney," Carson told him, "so I suggest we ration our food for the moment."
John couldn't wait any longer, so he stepped out of the jumper and was shocked by the heat. The once-green forest was dry, and most of the trees looked dead. The ground was hard and cracked, and he wondered how long ago it rained.
Rodney stepped out behind him and gasped, "Geesh, it's hotter than hell out here."
"How long will we have to be out here, and will there be drinkable water?" Carson asked, coming up beside him.
He didn't know the answers to Carson's question, so he shrugged, "Come on, let's get going. Chewie, watch our six."
John walked down the narrow path, which was hard under his feet. When he'd been here ten thousand years ago, they'd walked down a cobbled path, but that path was long gone.
A sound in the dry undergrowth caught his attention, and when he turned around, he was shocked to see five people pointing knives at them.
He saw Ronon pull out his gun but shook his head, hoping the big man would not shoot. The last thing he needed was Rodney or Carson, injured.
He slowly put his good arm in the air and muttered, "What now."
TBC…