Sorry for the delay, everyone. My laptop blew and I nearly lost the manuscripts for my books and fics and such. Took me a few days to get everything onto the new laptop! It was rather stressful! GAH! But, I have everything now as well as the rest of Terminal Trivialities :D I hope you're still enjoying the story!
Chapter 22
Ronon had a pounding headache. His broken arm was aching. The wounds to his chest burned and itched, and yet he sat there stoically, never saying a word about his discomfort. Instead, he kept a stony expression to ward off all queries about his well being, so he didn't have to acknowledge the fact he felt like he'd been hit by a PuddleJumper.
Inside AR-3's Jumper, tensions were running high and this didn't help his mood. What with Caran's moaning about the ships condition and Mehra's irritation at the extra bodies in the cramped space, Ronon's temper was close to breaking point.
Mehra had a point, though. The stasis pod took up a large area and those in the rear of the Jumper had to sit awkwardly during the flight. To make matters worse, there was also an argument in progress that Ronon listened to with irritation if only to take his mind off his pain.
"But Doctor McKay said we should immediately take the Jumper into the sea and extend the ship's shields to allow us to deposit Colonel Sheppard in the water as soon as possible," Caran said as they approached the Stargate in Caronaa's upper atmosphere.
"I know what Doctor McKay said, but until I see the sea and can assess any potential dangers, I will not be diving right in on the say of a scientist who has never been on the planet," Teldy replied annoyed.
"It's actually more of a moon," Caran pointed out somewhat petulantly.
"Primus said unless you stay near land, there would be no danger," Nara offered.
"And has Primus flown a Jumper before?" Teldy listened to silence before continuing. "I'll take that as a no. Look, so far as command goes, I'm in charge of this mission. I will say what we do and where we go once I've seen the place for myself. Would you expect anything different from the Colonel if he was in my seat?"
No one replied.
"I thought not. According to the data provided by Sama, it will be a five-minute jaunt once we exit the gate. That will give me plenty of time to assess the area."
Ronon rolled his eyes. Earth military were so cautious it infuriated him. If there was a threat there it wouldn't matter how careful Teldy flew or how hard she stared out the window, it would hit them just the same and they would deal with it. At least John had mellowed in this respect over the years; he was almost on Ronon's wavelength, though not quite. There remained a small measure of reserve within Sheppard that Ronon had to admire. It had, after all, saved them from disaster on several outings.
Opposite him, Rella caught his attention when she moved to obtain readings from the stasis pod.
"What's the cube for?" he asked, pointing at the contraption the Caronaa people had welded together.
"It's a tank, which we will fill with water from the sea, to allow Primus and its kind to exit John's body," The doctor replied inattentively.
"Can't you just allow them to release into the sea directly?"
She shook her head. "In order to do that we would have to open the valve in the Colonel's artery then place him in the water which could end in disaster. The valve will have to be closely monitored during the Goh release so that the Colonel doesn't bleed out, and we can only do that while he remains within the ship's shield. It would save vital seconds should the worst happen."
Ronon shivered at the words and he felt the inexplicable urge to lay his hand on the stasis pod and leaned forward to do so. Beneath his fingers, he felt the cool metal of the pod. It vibrated slightly, the mechanics inside working silently away. Within that pod was the man who had gained Ronon's trust, helped him stop running, gave him a family, and a place of belonging that he'd missed for so many years.
There was very little he wouldn't do for John. Sure, they had their fair share of arguments, but who didn't argue, especially when in heated situations like they so often found themselves?
John Sheppard wasn't like other men Ronon knew or had known. He was patient, caring and loyal to a fault. There was a time Ronon had tested that loyalty to the extreme, a time which now only filled him with guilt. Faced with the decision of choosing Atlantis or his long lost Satedan friends, Ronon had chosen badly and gone with what turned out to be traitorous scum. He'd been quite ready to leave his Lantean family behind, even though he knew his decision had wounded Sheppard. He'd seen the disappointment and hurt in his eyes when he'd told John he was leaving. When he realised his error and faced him again, John had not thrown his misjudgment in his face. He spoke nothing of Ronon's betrayal, though it was evident that's what John felt it had been at the time. He was welcomed back to the city and the team as if nothing had happened. Because that was just how Sheppard was. He held no grudges against those he loved. In fact, John went above and beyond when it came to family, friends, and even mere acquaintances.
The selfless lengths John Sheppard would go to in order to save others were so incredible as to be at times alarming, not to mention, suicidal. Driven by a horrific defining moment in his past, John felt he had a duty of care and protection to all he met, and much more besides to those he thought of as family.
Sheppard had once scaled the exterior of an Atlantis city spire in order to save the people within. He'd thrown himself into an active biohazard area, breaking umpteen rules in the process while going against Elizabeth Weir, no small action considering how close both had once been. Sheppard had faced death-by-Wraith with enough conviction to order them to let him die rather than give in to Kolya and his demands. He'd even taken on a fetal Hiveship by smashing a Jumper into the side of Atlantis in order to save Dr Keller, enduring a serious stomach wound as a result. These actions were nothing compared to what he'd done for Ronon, for Teyla, and for Rodney. Hell, he'd had a building collapse on top of him, wounding him so badly he required some serious surgery to fix him, and put said surgery off in order to rescue Teyla from Michael. The man was insane if not devoted.
This was why Ronon was convinced that what they were doing was, as Sheppard himself so often said, the right thing to do. The plan was crazy. There were no guarantees. But knowing the extremes Sheppard went to for others, with so little regard for himself, this jaunt to the Goh homeworld was simple recompense for all of his selfless acts.
"Fifteen seconds until ingress," Teldy announced from the cockpit, breaking Ronon from his thoughts.
He hurried to tap the information into the tablet. The Goh were surprisingly unaffected by the stasis pod and Primus acknowledged the news it was nearing home with a word of thanks and one Ronon was unable to understand. Perhaps it was an exclamation of some sort, though he didn't really care.
The Jumper then entered the gate in Caronaa's upper atmosphere only to burst through the Goh planet's gate and into a whole new world.
All in the Jumper headed to the cockpit to catch their first glance of Ignothia. It was unexpectedly beautiful. Ronon had wrongly assumed the place would be a dark and watery world, yet the scenes before them were breathtaking. Purple mountains stretched high into an azure blue sky as if reaching for the bright sun that beat down upon them. A jungle of thin trees with yellow bark grew so tall as to dwarf the Redwoods of Earth. The Jumper flew over herds of animals never seen by human eyes before. There were two-legged beasts, almost like Earth's bison but with bright orange pelts. Tall, four-legged animals chomped on bizarre plant-life, crimson manes flowing from their wide, angular heads. The jumper followed the path of a mighty mass of water that snaked through the mountainous landscape which stretched as far as the eye could see. The picturesque view was enough for each of them to comment on, but it was Rella who pinpointed the place's beauty.
"Carson would love this," she said breathlessly. "It looks so like how he describes the northern reaches of his homeland."
"Scotland," Ronon said. "Been there. This place isn't a patch on it."
"Then I must see Scotland one day because this is quite stunning!"
"Looks like Doctor McKay was right," Mehra said. "This seems more like a river than a sea."
"As deep as an ocean, though," Nara countered. "I'm measuring depths of three kilometers and more."
Teldy kept the Jumper over the water, mindful of Primus' recommendation. When there appeared to be no security issues, she took the Jumper to the location Primus had given them. Teldy lowered the Jumper steadily until the ship slipped beneath the clear and calm water and into a world just as stunning as the one above. Instead of mountains, there were deep valleys in the river floor. The water graduated from crystal transparency to a deep and dark blue so clean and clear it seemed almost sterile. But there were many unidentifiable denizens in this watery world. They came in all sorts of bright colours and an assortment of sizes and shapes. Some followed the Jumper for a while until a particularly large specimen scared them off. Ronon whistled softly as they all watched the gargantuan creature swim on past without as much as an acknowledgment of the Jumper.
They went deeper into darker water, so far in that light had trouble penetrating the depths. They passed a fissure which appeared endlessly deep, where strange lights glowed and darted around. Teldy slowed the Jumper to a stop near this darkened area and set the ship down on the sandy bottom.
"We're here," Teldy informed them, gazing out at the darkness.
"I guess it's time to put Primus' plan in motion," Rella said, and then everyone was moving to get John and the Goh into the water.
Whatever happened, Ronon could always say they did their damndest to save Sheppard.
)0(
Above the water, behind one of the mountains, a red mottled ship sat hidden away from any prying eyes that might exit the gate. A fury of guttural snarls and growls filled the cockpit as the Groten watching a screen saw the gate had been activated.
("Gate activation. Ship on Ignothia. Are our brethren returning?")
("The war is not over. None are any due to return and very little of the Goh remain for harvesting.")
("We should investigate. Perhaps the population has recovered and our brethren can be told to replenish the ammunition stores.")
The lead Groten growled lowly in assent. It looked to the screen with its one good eye; the other blinded and scarred from war. ("Take us to the depths.") It commanded.
To be continued...