Well, well, well! What do we have here? Only another chapter! :D Thank you to all who left lovely reviews and welcomes of return! I am almost finished another chapter, so you might even get a third one soon!

Chapter 32

Teyla stealthily led the others close to the Groten ship and drew them to a halt in a thick of trees to the rear of the craft. The air was filled with noise: the banging of repairs, the snarling of Groten and the smashing of glass.

They found a sheltered position not far from where the tanks were situated and surveyed the area. Teyla was sad to see that more tanks had been removed from the ship and destroyed. The ground was littered with shards of glass and dead Goh, but there were also other corpses strewn across the area; large, freshly slain Groten, slashed and gutted before the tanks.

One lone Groten stood by a tank breathing heavily as it licked a deep gash in its fore-paw. It tensed and turned its head while slowly rearing up on two legs. It sniffed the air, dark eyes moving across the scenery until they came to rest on the area in which Teyla and the others hid. A deep growl resonated from it as it stepped forward, its nose wrinkling and mouth opening to reveal many sharp and glistening teeth.

Teyla heard movement behind her as Orna and Rodney readied to take on the beast only to stop when she slipped in front of them and raised her hands to halt their planned assault. When the huge Groten came snarling forward into the thick of the trees, Teyla held her ground and told the others to lower their weapons. While Orna and Rodney questioned her sanity, Teyla waited, watching the furious creature.

"A-are you sure it's one of- of- ours?" Rodney asked.

The Groten came crashing through the greenery in a rage, slashing at trees and foliage, carving a path behind it as it careened towards them. The attack stopped abruptly just as the beast came within striking distance. It peered at them, nostrils flaring as its claws retracted back into its paws.

"Tey-laar..." Second-Primus growled with surprise. "I could smell machine and thought it was attack."

"Primus, what has happened?"

"I do my best to save Eldus. Become a Groten Alpha to command authority over the tanks and their disposal."

Primus peered over her head at Rodney and Orna.

"I have yet to return to the village, Primus, but my two friends came searching for me and we are sure we could take one tank back to the village on our return journey. It would at least secure the lives of some of your kind until we are better prepared."

Primus thought for a moment then suddenly stiffened again and smelled the air. "Hide," it snarled then hastily returned to the tanks as two Groten emerged from the ship with yet another tank. Second-Primus growled loudly as it unfolded its great body to stand tall, fur bristling and hideously intimidating. The other Groten barely glanced at it, their heads hung low and eyes averted. Still they growled and snarled angrily in their forced deference to Second-Primus but it was clear who currently held dominance. They unceremoniously dumped the tank and backed into the ship, continuing their display of displeasure towards Second-Primus. When it was sure no other being would exit the ship, Primus grabbed onto the tank they had first seen it stand beside.

They saw the complexity of the Groten form as Primus struggled to raise the tank alone. Its long angular forelimbs acted as powerful leavers moved by multiple rippling slabs of muscle that bulged and strained under the weight, bunching tightly beneath its pelt. Its spine curled unnaturally as it leaned over the tank then hauled it upwards. It straightened again as massive spinal muscles clenched and pulled its components upright. The great arms then seemed to fold as if the bones had snapped under the immense weight, drawing the tank closer to its body by folding before-unseen skeletal joints. As the tank settled against its shoulder its legs changed shape before their eyes, unfolding to reveal a triple-jointed limb that lengthened to further loft the tank. With a hyper-flexible spine and multi-joint anatomies hidden beneath their long fur, it was no wonder the Groten moved in such strange ways.

Second-Primus ambled to where the three stood utterly fascinated by the way it moved. It now stood almost as tall as the trees they hid in, so formidable that even Teyla quailed before it. That they had survived the Groten this far was a miracle.

"Take Eldus tank," Primus said as it dropped the tank in front of them. "Eldus must be saved."

"We will take great care of Eldus and the others and will return with help as soon as we are able."

Primus nodded then folded its Groten body back to its normal— though still considerable—size and leaned towards Teyla. It lowered its head and purred loudly as it laid one massive paw lightly upon her head. "No matter what happens, Tey-laar, the Goh thank you," it then withdrew from the woods to once again stand guard at the remaining tanks of Goh.

For long moments Teyla continued to stare at the creature, tears shimmering in her eyes as she fully realised that the survival of an entire race of peaceful creatures rested in her hands. Only when Orna said her name did Teyla wipe her eyes and turn to face the others. Time was of the essence. If Second-Primus had smelled their presence, it wouldn't be long before a real and stronger Groten might come looking for them.

The first attempt to move the tank was unsuccessful. The mechanical hands slipped uselessly over the glass without purchase. It would have to be held by the metal base and carefully carried back through the trees without tipping. The bio-suits creaked and strained as the tank was raised. Even though they did not carry the weight themselves, Orna and Rodney still found the task exhausting. Connected to the bio-suits, their minds had to subconsciously control every motor function and movement of the suit and this tired them quickly. Hauling the tank proved difficult, Orna even muttered a grievance at being unable to get hold of one of the Groten hovering platforms to make their task easier. But with Teyla leading them on a path that cleared the tank and their mechanical bodies, Rodney and Orna managed the task better than expected.

They were approximately halfway to the village when two things occurred. First was a bust of transmission through the bio-suit comm that informed them of a gathering party of Warriors tasked with finding the three of them. As Orna hurried to inform them of their imminent return, the second thing happened; the drug in Rodney's system finally depleted. The extra stress carrying the tank weighed upon his already weakened body causing the suit's emergency concoction of drugs to burn through his system much sooner than the predicted thirty minutes. He had time to alert them to the fact he was failing and get the tank on the ground before his suit began to alarm. Orna reached to tap a combination of buttons on the shoulder of his suit that made it snap upright and rigid. Teyla could hear Rodney's ragged breathing through the bio-suit comm and worried that they had worsened his condition with this rescue.

"I... I think... I think I might sleep now... if that's alright..." he whispered a few seconds before a high pitched squeal emitted from the unit. Having heard such a noise in the Atlantis infirmary, usually heralding a death, Teyla feared the worst had happened.

"It's okay, he's okay," Orna reassured her when Teyla hurried to his side. "He's just passed out. Truth be told, I'm surprised he lasted so long."

"You should never have brought him out here," Teyla scolded.

"I saw fire burning in Fer McKay's eyes when he asked for my help. I know that fire. It burns in every Caronaa warrior. You do him a disservice thinking him weak, Fen Emmagan."

"Do not presume to know my friend better than I, Orna. I know he is not weak in spirit, and I know only too well how much fight is in him. But I also know through past experience that Rodney will disregard his own limitations and safety to push himself into danger when he sets his mind to it."

"Forgive me, Fen Emmagan. I misunderstood your concern."

Teyla sighed as she pressed her hand to the chest of Rodney's suit. "I also apologise. It is most difficult to reel in emotions that would see us fight each other for no other reason than the strain we currently endure."

They watched over Rodney and the Goh tank while they waited for the search party to find them. Teyla trembled with cold as she sat on the forest floor near Rodney's motionless suit. While Orna watched the area for bug attack, Teyla's eyes focused dreamily on the Goh tank in which she could see faint blue lights darting back and forth. One light pulsed brighter than the others and remained fixed in place as if staring back at her. Teyla wondered if it was Eldus she watched in that murky liquid. She pondered if it also suffered momentary bouts of anger at its situation such as she and Orna just displayed?

She was still staring at the creature when the search party pushed through the dense woods and found them. Four Caronaa Warriors had been sent to fetch them and, Teyla saw, one unsuited man. He stepped out from behind the bio-suits looking exhausted and filthy. He had dried blood on his face and hands and appeared to be struggling to keep himself on his feet but he smiled as he made his way towards her.

"It looks like we're all in a bit of a mess," Ronon said as Teyla got to her feet to greet him. "Beckett said you'd been hit by Goh, but you seem fine to me."

"Oh Ronon, it's good to see you. I have much to tell you, but first, how is John?"

"Well, he's in the care of the Goh now. I'd rather have stayed with him longer, but we had to leave in a bit of a hurry." He evaded her questioning gaze and looked passed her then grinned impishly. "Hey, McKay, I can't believe they let you get into another of those things considering you destroyed the first one!"

"Ronon, he cannot answer you."

The smile died on Ronon's lips and he stilled, his brows furrowing. "Doc said he'd been beat up. How bad is he?"

"He fell unconscious not long ago. He should never have come searching for me in his condition."

Darkness descended over Ronon's features and his jaw tightened as he stepped up to Rodney's bio-suit. After a few moments silence, his shoulders dropped and he shook his head wearily. "Why?" he said quietly as he tried to peer inside the dark window of the suit. "Why must we always suffer for others?"

His words unsettled her.

Ronon Dex never spoke in such a way. The man rarely expressed any kind of emotion other than anger or disdain, yet right then Teyla thought he might actually break down in front of her and the others who busied themselves around them.

"It would seem to be our lot in life," Teyla replied softly and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "I am sure we will get through this just as we have many times in the past."

Ronon didn't reply, just continued to stare into the darkness of Rodney's suit interior. A shudder ran through him as he grunted with pain and hugged his shattered arm closer to his chest. Teyla saw Ronon's mental barriers crash back into place and knew he was once again closed off to emotion; the temporary slip shut down as suddenly as it had started. He turned from Rodney's suit and forged his way back along the trail he'd come.

"Come on, we better get back. Beckett will be losing his mind about now."

Teyla waited until Rodney's suit was set to return to the village and in motion before she hurried after Ronon. Though he staggered occasionally and grunted frequently with pain, Ronon was back to his old distant self. He disregarded her concern as he pushed past thick foliage and wandered on ahead.

She didn't blame him for his distance, having often wished to be able to do the same herself. Loving others meant that one would often experience a special kind of pain. But it would be worse to not be able to love at all. Through his momentary weakness Ronon had displayed how much he truly loved his chosen family, a somewhat bittersweet moment of clarity. It left Teyla rather melancholic, for it showed her that Ronon was as terrified as she was to lose that family, and thought that this mission might prove to be the very one to destroy it.

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to be continued...