Volunteering
Title: Volunteering
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Series: Hogan ‘verse (Sequence #5)
Characters: Sheppard, Teyla, OCs
Pairing: Sheppard/Teyla
Orientation: Het
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,601
Notes: Happy Holidays to theladymore
Prompt: AU Bingo Fill: Volunteers
“We need to send you to Garaki,” the Bileen said without preamble as John pushed open the wooden door of her office, a tent that was nearly identical to the others around it. When he was summoned here, John could only find it because there was a small bundle of feathers hung above the door.
He nodded. “What’s going on there?”
“We are not certain. They had contacted one of our agents several moons ago, looking for aid in ridding their world of the Genii presence. We had meetings with them, but their agents have missed the past two appointments.” Teyla opened a wooden case that she pulled out from under a shelf against the wall, her ‘secret files’ as John had learned in the past few months.
Teyla pulled three grainy photographs from the box and handed them to John. “Those are our contacts.”
“Say I volunteer for this, what am I doing?”
“You’ll be going into the Genii Detention Center, as an escaped prisoner.”
He groaned and leaned his arms on back of the chair in front of him. “The Genii don’t like me much, Teyla.”
“And I do not like the reputation of my Moltai being besmirched by this farce of an escape. But the Athosian Council has discussed the matter, and this is the decision. My Moltai will take a mark of disgrace for the good of our allies. We need the Garaki on our side; their planet is rich in resources. Once in the prison, you will seek the men in those surveillance images. You will tag them with devices developed by the Hoffans.”
“How long do I have?”
“Three Garaki days, and then we will get you out.”
~*~
He had to start a bar fight in order to get himself arrested. John figured it was good that his face wasn’t well-known enough to have him captured the moment he set foot through the Gate. His shoulder hurt where he had been hit with a stool. The Genii grunt did not help matters when he yanked John’s arm behind him and twisted it, or when he bound John’s arms tightly behind him. The dirty gag stuffed in his mouth was just adding insult to injury.
The things he did because the Bileen asked.
The information he was able to pass on to Atlantis over the time spent in the Athosian Moltai had hopefully been worth all this trouble. Posing as a POW had seemed like a stupid idea when he heard himself explaining Teyla’s plan to Weir all those months ago. Weir had chuckled and shook her head and said it reminded her of the old TV show Hogan’s Heroes and thus the code name for the mission had stuck.
Being a spy on TV had always seemed pretty glamorous to John growing up. The reality was pretty craptastic in comparison. He was bound, gagged, starving and his shoulder felt like it might be dislocated.
At least they had put him in a cell near one of the guys he had been sent to contact, which was sheer, dumb luck. He turned his back and grunted at the guard, wriggling his bound arms. “Not yet,” the guard said as he moved to pick up a shackle attached to a chain that was hooked to the wall. The guard smirked and swung it for John to see. “Come here.”
Rolling his eyes, John shuffled over and stood patiently while the guard cuffed his ankle. Enjoying his little power trip far too much, the Genii hissed, “Sit.” John sat. The guard shoved at him, pressing him forward until his chest met his knees. Only then were his bonds cut. “Put your hands flat on the floor and keep them there until the door is closed. Or I’ll kick your head in.”
Putting his palms to the cement, John waited for the guard to leave before tugging the filthy rag from his mouth and tossing it aside. He found he could move to the bars without any trouble. “Are you Flinks?” he called, knowing it was the Garaki he sought.
Suspiciously, the man looked up and nodded slowly.
“Are Glomer and Jeznar here?” John asked.
“Glomer is dead; they shot him at the tavern. Jeznar is over there,” the man tossed his chin towards the cell beside John’s. Luck seemed to be with him, he hadn’t needed to search far. Now if the Bileen came through and got them out, everything would be hunky dory.
John looked around; it seemed a pretty secure holding area. “Do they ever let us out of the cells?”
“Communal showers every other day. You missed today. Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“I was sent by a friend to contact you.” There was noise at the end of the corridor, so John backed away from the bars and sat on the bench/bed attached to the wall.
“Where did you put him?”
“Over there, Captain,” it sounded like the guard from before. Sure enough, the man was sniveling at the side of an officer a moment later, pointing at John. “Right there, sir. See? Unharmed.”
“How did you escape the Moltai?” the Captain demanded.
Officious twit. “Just lucky, I guess.” John flashed him a smile.
The man pressed his lips tightly together in irritation. “Inform Bileen Emmagen that her escaped prisoner is indeed here. If she is willing to pay the processing fees, she may have him back.”
Teyla had worked quickly. That was a relief. He had been a little skeptical about this plan, since it involved Genii. He hated the Genii. He had found the feeling to be mutual.
“Any trouble out of you and the Bileen will be collecting your corpse, Sheppard,” the Captain turned and walked away.
He sighed and stretched out on the hard bench. They didn’t even give him a pillow.
~*~
The next day, he surreptitiously pulled two of the tracking devices out of the seam of his pants and palmed them. He would have to risk taking them into the shower with him.
He sidled up to Flinks and slapped his shoulder hard, injecting the needle and tracking circuit. Flinks looked at him with surprise, and shoved at him. As John had hoped, his partner Jeznar grabbed John and spun him around, pressing him up against the cement wall. “What’re you up to?”
John managed to slap the other tracker into Jeznar’s hip. “Ticket home,” John whispered. Then he shoved at Jeznar. “I’m not into that, let go!”
“Break it up down there!” a guard shouted.
He had to fight off a few advances before he got safely out of the showers. The guards weren’t too concerned with what went on, so long as the prisoners were quiet about it, apparently.
~*~
“Bad news for you, Sheppard. The Bileen refuses to pay your fines. But I hear Koyla is personally coming to fetch you,” the Captain took great pleasure in delivering that bit of sunshine the next morning, before John was even fully awake.
“Oh, joy. I look forward to that,” John grumbled as the Captain laughed and walked off, running his walking stick along the bars and raising a loud clatter.
Now what? He thought Teyla was going to help. She said three days, today was the third day. What the hell was she up to?
Later that afternoon, there was a very loud sound outside, quickly followed by a rumble as the building began to shake. The wall of the cell Flinks was in suddenly exploded, sending debris everywhere.
John could see a ship hovering outside the wall. Something was fired towards him and he dove under the bench and huddled against the wall as a metal hook came through the bars of his cell. The bars came away from the floor and ceiling as the cable was dragged back by the ship. It seemed this was the rescue he’d been waiting for. He rolled out and ran over to drag the semi-conscious Flinks up from the floor. He shoved him towards the opening in the wall.
He turned back as the bards of Jeznar’s cell were pulled away. Smiling, Jeznar happily ran across to grab Flinks and drag him towards the hovering craft. Armed men waited in the open doorway of the ship, waving them forward. John needed no further urging, he ran and jumped after Flinks and Jeznar, just as the Genii burst into the detention black and started shooting in their direction.
~*~
“You were not hurt?” Teyla asked as John entered her tent the next evening. She blew out the candles on her desk and watched him come towards her.
“Nope. Still in one piece,” he turned a slow circle for her as she walked over, looking him up and down.
She smiled and trailed a finger along his jaw. “Good. I prefer you in working order.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhmm. Now, perhaps you would like to rest somewhere a bit more comfortable than a Genii cell? I think you deserve a reward for volunteering so readily.” She stroked his arm and gave him a sultry look.
He smiled and leaned down, barely brushing her cheek with his lips as he whispered, “What did you have in mind?”
“My bed is quite comfortable, if you could find your way in the dark,” she replied, slinking away from him and dousing the lamp by the door as she dropped the bar across it.
He chuckled low in his throat. “I think I know my way. Why do you think I keep signing up for these things?”
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Series: Hogan ‘verse (Sequence #5)
Characters: Sheppard, Teyla, OCs
Pairing: Sheppard/Teyla
Orientation: Het
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,601
Notes: Happy Holidays to theladymore
Prompt: AU Bingo Fill: Volunteers
“We need to send you to Garaki,” the Bileen said without preamble as John pushed open the wooden door of her office, a tent that was nearly identical to the others around it. When he was summoned here, John could only find it because there was a small bundle of feathers hung above the door.
He nodded. “What’s going on there?”
“We are not certain. They had contacted one of our agents several moons ago, looking for aid in ridding their world of the Genii presence. We had meetings with them, but their agents have missed the past two appointments.” Teyla opened a wooden case that she pulled out from under a shelf against the wall, her ‘secret files’ as John had learned in the past few months.
Teyla pulled three grainy photographs from the box and handed them to John. “Those are our contacts.”
“Say I volunteer for this, what am I doing?”
“You’ll be going into the Genii Detention Center, as an escaped prisoner.”
He groaned and leaned his arms on back of the chair in front of him. “The Genii don’t like me much, Teyla.”
“And I do not like the reputation of my Moltai being besmirched by this farce of an escape. But the Athosian Council has discussed the matter, and this is the decision. My Moltai will take a mark of disgrace for the good of our allies. We need the Garaki on our side; their planet is rich in resources. Once in the prison, you will seek the men in those surveillance images. You will tag them with devices developed by the Hoffans.”
“How long do I have?”
“Three Garaki days, and then we will get you out.”
~*~
He had to start a bar fight in order to get himself arrested. John figured it was good that his face wasn’t well-known enough to have him captured the moment he set foot through the Gate. His shoulder hurt where he had been hit with a stool. The Genii grunt did not help matters when he yanked John’s arm behind him and twisted it, or when he bound John’s arms tightly behind him. The dirty gag stuffed in his mouth was just adding insult to injury.
The things he did because the Bileen asked.
The information he was able to pass on to Atlantis over the time spent in the Athosian Moltai had hopefully been worth all this trouble. Posing as a POW had seemed like a stupid idea when he heard himself explaining Teyla’s plan to Weir all those months ago. Weir had chuckled and shook her head and said it reminded her of the old TV show Hogan’s Heroes and thus the code name for the mission had stuck.
Being a spy on TV had always seemed pretty glamorous to John growing up. The reality was pretty craptastic in comparison. He was bound, gagged, starving and his shoulder felt like it might be dislocated.
At least they had put him in a cell near one of the guys he had been sent to contact, which was sheer, dumb luck. He turned his back and grunted at the guard, wriggling his bound arms. “Not yet,” the guard said as he moved to pick up a shackle attached to a chain that was hooked to the wall. The guard smirked and swung it for John to see. “Come here.”
Rolling his eyes, John shuffled over and stood patiently while the guard cuffed his ankle. Enjoying his little power trip far too much, the Genii hissed, “Sit.” John sat. The guard shoved at him, pressing him forward until his chest met his knees. Only then were his bonds cut. “Put your hands flat on the floor and keep them there until the door is closed. Or I’ll kick your head in.”
Putting his palms to the cement, John waited for the guard to leave before tugging the filthy rag from his mouth and tossing it aside. He found he could move to the bars without any trouble. “Are you Flinks?” he called, knowing it was the Garaki he sought.
Suspiciously, the man looked up and nodded slowly.
“Are Glomer and Jeznar here?” John asked.
“Glomer is dead; they shot him at the tavern. Jeznar is over there,” the man tossed his chin towards the cell beside John’s. Luck seemed to be with him, he hadn’t needed to search far. Now if the Bileen came through and got them out, everything would be hunky dory.
John looked around; it seemed a pretty secure holding area. “Do they ever let us out of the cells?”
“Communal showers every other day. You missed today. Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“I was sent by a friend to contact you.” There was noise at the end of the corridor, so John backed away from the bars and sat on the bench/bed attached to the wall.
“Where did you put him?”
“Over there, Captain,” it sounded like the guard from before. Sure enough, the man was sniveling at the side of an officer a moment later, pointing at John. “Right there, sir. See? Unharmed.”
“How did you escape the Moltai?” the Captain demanded.
Officious twit. “Just lucky, I guess.” John flashed him a smile.
The man pressed his lips tightly together in irritation. “Inform Bileen Emmagen that her escaped prisoner is indeed here. If she is willing to pay the processing fees, she may have him back.”
Teyla had worked quickly. That was a relief. He had been a little skeptical about this plan, since it involved Genii. He hated the Genii. He had found the feeling to be mutual.
“Any trouble out of you and the Bileen will be collecting your corpse, Sheppard,” the Captain turned and walked away.
He sighed and stretched out on the hard bench. They didn’t even give him a pillow.
~*~
The next day, he surreptitiously pulled two of the tracking devices out of the seam of his pants and palmed them. He would have to risk taking them into the shower with him.
He sidled up to Flinks and slapped his shoulder hard, injecting the needle and tracking circuit. Flinks looked at him with surprise, and shoved at him. As John had hoped, his partner Jeznar grabbed John and spun him around, pressing him up against the cement wall. “What’re you up to?”
John managed to slap the other tracker into Jeznar’s hip. “Ticket home,” John whispered. Then he shoved at Jeznar. “I’m not into that, let go!”
“Break it up down there!” a guard shouted.
He had to fight off a few advances before he got safely out of the showers. The guards weren’t too concerned with what went on, so long as the prisoners were quiet about it, apparently.
~*~
“Bad news for you, Sheppard. The Bileen refuses to pay your fines. But I hear Koyla is personally coming to fetch you,” the Captain took great pleasure in delivering that bit of sunshine the next morning, before John was even fully awake.
“Oh, joy. I look forward to that,” John grumbled as the Captain laughed and walked off, running his walking stick along the bars and raising a loud clatter.
Now what? He thought Teyla was going to help. She said three days, today was the third day. What the hell was she up to?
Later that afternoon, there was a very loud sound outside, quickly followed by a rumble as the building began to shake. The wall of the cell Flinks was in suddenly exploded, sending debris everywhere.
John could see a ship hovering outside the wall. Something was fired towards him and he dove under the bench and huddled against the wall as a metal hook came through the bars of his cell. The bars came away from the floor and ceiling as the cable was dragged back by the ship. It seemed this was the rescue he’d been waiting for. He rolled out and ran over to drag the semi-conscious Flinks up from the floor. He shoved him towards the opening in the wall.
He turned back as the bards of Jeznar’s cell were pulled away. Smiling, Jeznar happily ran across to grab Flinks and drag him towards the hovering craft. Armed men waited in the open doorway of the ship, waving them forward. John needed no further urging, he ran and jumped after Flinks and Jeznar, just as the Genii burst into the detention black and started shooting in their direction.
~*~
“You were not hurt?” Teyla asked as John entered her tent the next evening. She blew out the candles on her desk and watched him come towards her.
“Nope. Still in one piece,” he turned a slow circle for her as she walked over, looking him up and down.
She smiled and trailed a finger along his jaw. “Good. I prefer you in working order.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhmm. Now, perhaps you would like to rest somewhere a bit more comfortable than a Genii cell? I think you deserve a reward for volunteering so readily.” She stroked his arm and gave him a sultry look.
He smiled and leaned down, barely brushing her cheek with his lips as he whispered, “What did you have in mind?”
“My bed is quite comfortable, if you could find your way in the dark,” she replied, slinking away from him and dousing the lamp by the door as she dropped the bar across it.
He chuckled low in his throat. “I think I know my way. Why do you think I keep signing up for these things?”