Colonial Crossover: chapter 9
Title: Colonial Crossover
Author: Betty (sarah_jones on lj) & Katie
Fandoms: Stargate SG-1, SGA & Battlestar Galactica
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters or fandoms. I wish I did… *g* I don’t make any money with this! I’m just writing the story for fun and hope someone else will enjoy it, too.
Summary: The survivors of the fight against the Ori ships get thrown into another galaxy where they meet the Colonial fleet. Will they unite against the threats of the Cylons, the Wraith and the Ori?
Warnings: some character deaths implied
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chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8
chapter 9:
Lee Adama's team:
About 30 minutes later Lee was still walking though the cage, thinking.
"Maybe we should just try to fire our way out of this. The cage doesn´t look too strong," he suggested.
"I don´t really feel like staying here and waiting for that trial. These people already made up their mind against us anyway."
"Finally! I was starting to think you were just going to play along with this." Pushing herself up off the ground Kara walked over to the caged door and pressed against it testing it's strength. "It's in crap condition, the frame is starting to rust."
Teal'c joined her and examined the cage door. "I believe I will be able to force it to open," he stated.
Kara looked up at him and then at his muscular arms and nodded in agreement. "I think so, too." She then stepped aside giving him room.
Rodney was holding his own gun ready to defend himself if needed. He wasn't that comfortable with handling a weapon but had over the years started to gain confidence in doing so. Still, it was fair to say his aim was off key most of the time.
Teal'c pushed against the door, his muscles rippling under his clothing with his effort.
Lee stepped next to Teal'c and helped him push. They could have just shot their way out, but that would have been heard. This way they might be able to get out unnoticed.
Lee grimaced, when his arm started to hurt again where he had been shot the day before. But luckily the cage door gave in seconds later.
Breathing out heavily he then stepped out of the cage. "Let´s go."
Looking out of a window from the small building they were in Lee noticed two guards outside.
"That shouldn´t be too hard," he mused. "Maybe we got lucky for the first time today.
Teal'c who had brought a Zat gun with him pulled it from his gun holster around his thigh.
"This will stun them, allowing us to escape," he told the others in case they were not aware of what a Zat gun did. He did not want to injure these people even though they had proven to be hostile.
"We should trick them inside, that way no one will see you shoot them with your… what is that thing called again?" Kara asked, glancing at the Zat gun.
Lee nodded at Karas suggestion.
"Zat'Ni'Katel, but General O'Neill decided 'Zat gun' was a more appropriate name,” Teal'c said.
Kara could definitely understand why the General thought that.
"So how can we trick them to come inside?" Rodney asked.
Glancing at Rodney Lee thought for a moment. "You could call them. Tell them you have to pee or something," he suggested with a slight smirk.
"Starbuck and I will wait next to the entrance incase they try to escape and Teal'c will shoot them once they are inside.
Rodney frowned but did not protest.
Kara went and stood to one side of the door, her gun in her hand.
Teal'c went and stood in the corner of the room, out of sight and nodded to Rodney to call out to the guards.
Rodney waited until Lee was in position before saying: "Guards! Hello! I need your assistance in here."
Kara rolled her eyes and glared at Rodney. Picking up a piece of wood that was on the ground she threw it at him.
Lee just rolled his eyes at Rodney and then grinnd at Kara. She seemed to know how to handle him.
Rodney ducked and the wood just missed his head. "Are you crazy?" he snapped angrily. "I could have been injured!"
Both guards quickly entered the room. It was only when they were in the middle of the room that they noticed that the cage was empty. Quickly Teal'c stunned the one closest to him. The other turned to flee but was greeted by Kara blocking the door and smiling at him. Before he could call out for help he was also stunned and fell to the floor.
Once both guards were stunned Lee peered out of the door. Luckily it was dark so the villagers might not detect their escape so easily.
"Ok, let´s hurry. They will be back for the trial soon," Lee said and rushed towards the next building, hiding behind it.
Kara was close behind Lee, followed by Rodney and then Teal'c. The village appeared to be fairly quiet. Most must have been in the town hall preparing for the trail.
"Looks like we’re going to be able to walk out of here easily," Kara whispered confidently as she peered out from behind the building.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "The Stargate is a thirty minute walk from the village."
"Fifteen if we run," Kara added
Rodney pointed over at a small bridge. “We entered the village from that bridge, we should head back that way.”
"Agreed," Lee said and then started for the bridge after having looked into every direction again.
Once over the bridge Lee looked back to his team, which was close behind.
He then was surprised when someone stumbled into him. Turning around quickly he saw a girl which stared at him fearfully and looked like she was about to scream. Instinctively he lunged forward and covered her mouth with his hand.
Kneeling down beside her he then looked into her fearful and watery eyes.
"We won´t harm you. We just want to leave," he told her before glancing at the others.
"She's going to scream," Rodney warned, his own eyes wide with panic. He just wanted to get out of here. "The minute you remove your hand, she'll scream."
The girls shoulders shook in fear as she gazed at Lee and then the others.
"Lee, we need to get out of here," Kara reminded him while looking over her shoulder back at the village. The villagers would discover that they had escaped any minute now.
Lee looked from his teammates to the girl. The best way would be to knock her out, but he wasn´t willing to hurt her.
"We´ll take her with us until we´re far enough away," he said and grabbed the girl.
"Move," he then called to his team and ran into the forest as quickly as he could, carrying the girl.
After about five minutes he stopped and put the girl down, breathing heavily.
He then looked at the frightened child again.
"I´m sorry we had to bring you here. You can go now. You will find your way back, won´t you?" he asked feeling a bit uncertain now. Maybe this hadn´t been such a good idea. If anything happened to her he wouldn´t be able to forgive himself.
The girl didn't even reply, she turned on her heel and ran in the direction they came from while calling out for her mother and father.
"Okay, that's our cue to run," Rodney panted.
Kara nodded, agreeing with Rodney. Glancing at Lee, she could tell that he was still worried about the girl. "Hey, Apollo, you can battle with your conscience later, ok? We've got to keep moving."
Hearing Karas voice Lee turned to her and slowly nodded.
Keeping still, Teal'c thought he could hear yelling in the distance. "I think they have discovered that we escaped."
"Then we need to get to the Stargate!" Rodney stated. "Why aren't we running?”
Looking around Lee turned to face Rodney. "Where exactly is the Stargate?" he asked. The forest looked pretty much the same in all directions in the dark. Luckily they had some devices that could detect the Stargate.
Rodney pulled the small locating device out of his pocket and pressed the correct sequence of buttons. "It should be," he paused for a moment and then pointed to their left. "That way."
"Then let’s go," Kara said. She too could now hear the villagers searching for them. "We've got one chance to do this, let's not screw it up." She nodded at Lee and then pushed Rodney ahead of her as she started running again.
Ten minutes later they made it to the gate and Rodney started dialling Atlantis.
Lee stood next to his team and waited for the Stargate to activate. He could already hear the villagers nearby and some barking noises.
"Hurry up, Rodney, I don´t want to meet whatever makes those noises," he said.
"Dogs," Rodney muttered as he pressed the symbol of origin on the DHD. "They've sent dogs after us."
Seconds later the Stargate activated. Teal'c quickly sent their security code and then headed towards the gate, followed by Rodney.
Kara looked back one more time in the direction from where the barks were coming from. She then looked at Lee and gave him a quick smile. "See you on the other side."
Lee waited until all his team members were through the gate until he walked toward it as well. Seeing a dog running in his direction he then quickly stepped through the event horizon.
Once on the other side he called to shut the Stargate quickly. He didn´t really feel like meeting one of the dogs up close.
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Cameron Mitchell's team:
"And we're walking...and walking..." It felt to Cameron Mitchell that they were walking for the past 45 minutes and had come across nothing of interest. This planet seemed deserted, practically dead. When they first came through the gate they had spotted smoke in the distance, but now all traces of the dark blackness rising in the sky had disappeared and Cameron was starting to think they had imagined it.
"We are heading in the right direction," Teyla told Cameron as she walked beside Ronon.
"The smoke can not be more than an hours distance from the gate.”
"But the smoke is gone," Cameron stated, pointing up at the now clear sky. "Maybe there wasn't any smoke."
Teyla glanced at him. "You believe we all shared the same illusion?"
Ronon glanced at Cameron as well. "There definitely was smoke," he said.
"Maybe it was just dust or something. There is enough dust here after all," Sheila butted in. She was getting bored. Maybe she shouldn´t have volunteered to join one of the teams. It seemed like a good idea to keep her occupied and from thinking about the fact that she was stuck in this time and had lost her sister. But being on a dry and dusty planet with nothing interesting to see wasn´t any better. She wasn´t made for this. She should be on the Aurora!
"Dust?" Ronon asked frowning. "There would have to be a lot of wind here for that amount of dust to be circling that high."
Sheila sighed. She was about to say something when Ronon suddeny lifted his hand to stop her.
"What?" she asked silently.
"We´re not alone," Ronon answered glancing around.
Cameron came to a halt as Ronon spoke. Reaching for his gun he discreetly glanced around, trying to spot whatever Ronon had sensed. "Talk to me, Ronon," he said, glancing at the other man. "Did you see someone?"
On her guard, Teyla was looking around as well. Occasionally she would catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye but it was always too quick for her to take a proper look. "We are being watched. I cannot tell how many, but they seem to be trained hunters."
Ronon nodded at what Teyla said. "There are at least five, probably more," he then said.
"Why don't they just come on out," Cameron muttered feeling uneasy.
"Do you think they will attack us, or are they just shy?" Sheila asked trying to make out someone in the dusty rocks around them.
Just after Sheila had finished her question an arrow soared over her head.
"Does that answer your question?" Ronon asked while shooting in the direction the arrow had come from.
Cameron was glancing around, looking for cover. "Over to the rocks," he yelled pointing to their left. "I'll cover you, let’s go, go, go!"
Teyla went to Sheila and made sure that she was the first to seek cover from the arrows that were now coming at them from all directions. The large rocks wouldn't protect them for long as it looked like they were surrounded, but like Cameron she believed it would give them time to come up with a plan.
"Ronon, move it!" Cameron yelled. Once the bigger man was making his way over to the rocks, Cameron started to run over there himself, but never made it. Ten feet away from the rocks he felt something hit him on the back of the head and then everything went black.
Sheila fired her weapon and hurried over to the rocks with Teyla. Peering out from behind them she then saw Cameron go down.
"No," she called and fired several times at their attackers, but she soon had to duck behind the rocks again, as several arrows headed their way.
Ronon threw himself over one of the rocks to take cover behind it when an arrow hit his thigh. Breathing heavily he tried to ignore the pain and instead looked to his team members. Noticing that Cameron was not with them he looked over the top of the rock and saw him lying on the ground. But before he could do anything many arrows soared over his head and he had to duck again.
The continuous display of arrows forced them to stay down behind the rocks, while leaving Cameron out there defenceless and vulnerable. After what felt like hours, but which only were a few minutes, the arrows finally ceased coming and all was still.
Beckoning for Sheila and Ronon to stay down, Teyla cautiously peered over the rock. Nothing moved and no arrows filled the now darkening sky. It appeared that their attackers had left them... for now. Searching the ground, Teyla started to panic when she couldn't find Cameron.
"He's gone," she said, stepping out from behind one of the rocks. Keeping her gun raised, she glanced around, half expecting him to just appear, but he didn't.
Hearing Teyla's words Ronon pushed himself up, ignoring the pain in his leg. Glancing around he frowned angrily.
"Damnit," he cursed. "We have to find him."
Sheila stepped next to Teyla, feeling a little scared. "You don´t think they killed him, do you?" Cameron was the first person she met in this time and he had saved her life then. She didnt want anything to happen to him.
"I don´t think so. If he was dead they probably would have left him here," Ronon answered. "But who knows what they will do to him. We need to hurry."
Sheila turned to Ronon and nodded. She then noticed the arrow in his thigh and stared at him shocked.
"You have been hit," she said walking towards him with a concerned expression.
"It´s nothing," Ronon said while sitting on a smaller rock and grabbing the arrow. He then broke the head of it away before pulling the arrow out of his leg with gritted teeth.
Hearing Sheila’s announcement that Ronon was hurt, Teyla focused her attention on him, feeling concerned. "We need to bind the wound," she told him as she eased her grip on her firearm and walked over.
Standing close to them both Teyla looked around again. The attackers were skilled hunters, she just hoped they were not as skilled at covering their tracks. She also agreed with Ronon; they wouldn't have taken Cameron if he was dead. She guessed that they took him captive to interrogate him. They were strangers after all.
Crouching down, she then took a close inspection at Ronons thigh while trying to decide what to use to bind it with. A piece of clothing would be satisfactory.
Sheila kneeled down beside Ronon and Teyla and opened her backpack.
"Dr. Beckett gave be a small medical bag earlier," she said and looked for it in her bag.
"Here it is," she then announced handing it over to Teyla. She wasn´t really good with wounds.
"Thank you," Teyla told Sheila as she took the medical bag. Checking the supplies she grabbed some bandages.
"I´m fine," Ronon said and attempted to get up, ignoring the pain. He had been injured far worse. "We have to find Colonel Mitchell as quickly as possible."
When Ronon attempted to get up, Teyla quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to sit back down. "You will be no use to us or Colonel Mitchell if you bleed to death," she said firmly, her tone however was still gentle.
Ronon frowned but did as he was told and kept still while Teyla bandaged his leg.
Teyla put the cloth around Ronons thigh carefully. It wouldn't be her best work. She didn't have the time to clean and dress the injury properly, but it would do until they returned to Atlantis. “Is it tight enough?” she asked once she was done.
"It´s fine," Ronon said and finally got up.
Sheila reached out to help him up, but he was already standing.
"Maybe we should bring you back to the gate. You could send us reinforcements to...”
"No, I´m fine," Ronon interrupted her. "The gate is too far away. The Colonel might not have that time."
He then walked into the direction where Cameron had been lying and examined the ground.
Teyla slowly rose to her own feet. She looked at Sheila and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Ronon is right, Colonel Mitchell needs our help now. Reinforcements would take too long." Bending down she grabbed the first aid kit and stuffed it into her own bag.
Sheila slowly nodded. They were right. It had taken them almost an hour to get here. If they went back to the gate for reinforcements it would take them about two hours to even start looking, which was too long. Who knew what those people would do to Cameron in the meantime.
Placing a hand on Sheila's shoulder Teyla then wandered over to Ronon. "Can you tell which way they went?" she asked him as she tried to make out the markings on the ground for herself. “It looks like they dragged him.”
"Yes, they did," Ronon agreed and pointed to their right. "This way."
He then lead the way, walking as fast as he could.
Sheila was close behind him, looking around carefully, incase they would be attacked again.
Following them Teyla often glanced down at Ronons injured leg, concerned. She knew that it had to be painful due to the strain he was putting on it but he didn't complain once, he didn't even emit a grunt of pain. She found herself greatly admiring his determination and resilience to pain.
"We can not be too far behind them," she said after ten minutes had passed. "Does either of you have a suggestion on how we should approach them?"
Ronon turned to Teyla. "We observe, find out where they keep Mitchell and get him out," he simply said before turning his eyes to the ground again to follow the trail.
Sheila glanced at him. That just sounded way too easy and she didn´t believe those people would just let them get Cameron and leave. But she didn´t say anything. Ronon didn’t seem to be in the mood to argue with. Once they arrived wherever they brought Cameron she could still make suggestions herself.
Teyla thought Ronons plan was a little too irrational. Tilting her head to the side she frowned but said nothing. Instead she continued to follow him.
Once they had spotted a small camp of tents Ronon, Teyla and Sheila ducked behind a rock and observed.
"Where would they bring him?" Sheila asked looking around. They were still too far away to make out many details, as there were several guards positioned around the village.
Teyla grabbed some binoculars from her bag and peered through them at the village. "They appear to be simple people," she told Ronon and Sheila.
"Wait! There are five men guarding a tent on the far left. I believe that is where the Colonel is." She passed the binoculars to Sheila and then looked at Ronon. "We cannot just force our way in."
Sheila took the binoculars and looked through them herself.
"Teyla is right, there are too many, we cannot just go in and free Cameron," she said.
Ronon frowned. "We have to do something," he muttered.
"Maybe one of us should go and try to negotiate with them," Teyla suggested. "It's possible they only attacked us in fear. We are strangers on their planet after all. If they refuse to listen, only then should we use force."
Ronon glanced at Teyla. "And give them the chance to capture another one of us?" he asked. He already knew that she was suggesting to go herself. She was good at negotiating and he himself had proven that he wasn´t. But there was no way he would let her go into the enemies village alone!
"I agree with Teyla," Sheila said. "We are greatly outnumbered and as soon as we attack they could kill Colonel Mitchell. We have to try and talk to them."
"Then it is settled," Teyla said. "I will go and try to talk to them." She knew that Ronon was not happy with the thought of any of them just walking in there, but it was two against one, and he was outnumbered in this decision.
She stood up. "If they take me captive, then you should go and get reinforcements," she decided. "But I do not think it will come to that."
Ronon frowned. "I will come with you," he said looking at Teyla. Even the thought of letting her go alone was almost unbearable.
"Then who will rescue us if we get captured?" she asked him with a small smile. Nothing would make her happier than for Ronon to go with her. With him she felt safe. However with one person going, there was less of a chance that Cameron’s capturers would see that person as a threat and would refrain from attacking. Besides, they could not leave Sheila alone.
"I will be fine," she promised, giving him one of her assertive looks.
Ronon frowned, but then nodded reluctantly.
"Let me know the second you need help," he told her.
When she turned to leave Ronon sighed. He just hoped Teyla would be safe.
Once she was further away he slowly sat down, deciding to finally give his injured leg some rest. He would need all his strength if Teyla was captured as well.
Sheila sat down next to Ronon, hoping that Teyla would mange to negotiate with those people.
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The first thing Cameron Mitchell noticed as he gained consciousness was the damp smell of cow, the next thing was the dull aching at the back of his head where he had been hit.
Forcing his heavy eyes open he looked around, trying to acknowledge where he was. By the looks of it he was in a tent, and was tied up to the wooden pole.
"Hey!" he called out hoping that someone - anyone would respond.
----- -----
"He could be the saviour," a man with long black hair said looking at the others.
"How can he be? We easily captured him!" another one called.
"Silence," the leader ordered. He had just heard a noise from within the tent. "He has awoken. Let us talk to him.”
All five men turned around and went to the tent.
Standing in front of their prisoner they all looked at him closely.
Cameron gazed up at the five men and felt like he was an extra in some western movie. Here were the Indians, so where were the cowboys?
He waited for them to speak to him but they just continued to stare at him as if they were expecting something from him, which made him even more uncomfortable than he had originally felt.
"I'm Colonel Mitchell," he began, while trying in vain to discreetly loosen the rope around his wrists. "Where is the rest of my team?"
"They are not here," the leader of the people said in a deep accent.
"Why are you here?" another one then asked.
"He came to take our women and feed them to the monster," a third called angrily.
"A Monster?" Cameron exclaimed loudly and straight away regretted it as his head started pounding.
"Let us feed him to it instead."
Cameron jumped to attention at the suggestion. "Woah, hang on one second…" Before he could protest his innocence however the man who had first spoken to him yelled for silence, and Cameron grimaced again as his head continued to ache.
Ignoring the others Cameron focused his attention on the leader. "I'm an explorer. I'm definitely not here to feed your women to a monster. I didn't even know there was a monster!" He then groaned. What energy he had left was slowly fading. He had been hit hard and there was the possibility that he had a concussion.
"See, he is not evil," the first man spoke up again. "He could be who we have been waiting for."
"Fool. He is lying to save himself," the second one answered.
The leader sighed. "Wait outside," he demanded with a look that told his people not to protest. They then slowly left the tent.
The leader stepped towards Cameron and looked at him closely.
"You do not look like a Cherok. Where do you come from?"
"From another world. I came through the Stargate," Cameron admitted weakly as he tried to ignore the pain he was in.
"The people I was with... are they alive?" he asked, concerned for his team more than anything else.
"They were alive when we left. Seeing you, we noticed that you were not who we thought you were, so we decided to take you with us for questioning and leave them alone."
The leader then observed Cameron closely.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, noticing the other mans behaviour.
"No, I was hit on the back of the head. I think I’m suffering from a mild concussion," Cameron said. He blinked lazily while trying to focus on the man in front of him.
He was glad that his team was apparently ok. That meant that they were looking for him or had gone to get reinforcements. "What are you going to do with me?" he then asked.
The leader thought for a moment. "I will bring our healer here. Everything else will be decided later," he said and then left the tent. He had to talk to the others as well. He was almost sure that the man was not their enemy and if he wasn´t his son might have been right. The stranger could be the saviour.
Cameron was left alone once again. Bowing his head he struggled to keep his eyes open. The pain in the back of his head was getting worse.
He groaned and then grimaced. All he had to do was wait to be rescued.
----- -----
Luckily Teylas plan had paid off. They hadn't attacked when she approached and once they realised she meant no harm they had been willing to listen to what she had to say. She had explained to them that they were explorers, searching for friends and allies against the Wraith as well as other worlds to trade with. Her sincerity had won them over. Apparently she had a very trusting face. They had agreed to let the Colonel go and had even asked them to stay and share a meal with them.
Apparently their healer was with Cameron, so Telya waited for Ronon and Sheila to join her.
“We are all free to leave,” she told them when they came to the village of tents. “At first they believed we were from another tribe and that is why they attacked. Once they realised we were not they took Colonel Mitchell to question him.”
Ronon looked at Teyla, feeling glad that she was ok.
"Where is the Colonel?" he then asked, not really trusting the sudden peace.
"Your friend is in that tent with our healer," a man said and pointed at the tent.
Sheila didn´t wait and immediately headed toward the tent. Ronon quickly followed her.
The healer was just standing up and was about to leave when Sheila entered and rushed to Camerons side.
Looking down at him concerned she then asked: "Are you ok?"
Ronon instead turned to the healer with a questioning look.
Cameron looked up and smiled at Sheila. "You've come to rescue me," he stated. His hands were no long bound so he was sitting more comfortably. The healer had just given him some strange fluid which he had been told would numb the pain in his head.
Sheila smiled at him. "No one gets left behind," she said still looking at him. She wasn´t sure if the people from this time thought so as well, but in her time they didn´t leave friends and team members behind.
Cameron smiled at her words.
"I've felt better," he then admitted as he slowly tried to stand. "But I've also felt worse."
The healer looked at Ronon. "The medicine I gave him should ease the pain in his mind. He should be to his full strength in a few days."
Teyla entered the tent. "It is good to see you are well, Colonel," she told Cameron.
"Thank you, Teyla," Cameron said as he stood unsteadily on his feet.
Noticing that Cameron stood rather shakily Sheila instinctively grabbed his arm to steady him. "Maybe you should rest," she told him, still feeling concerned.
Ronon was about to agree with Sheila when he suddenly heard a loud inhuman scream, like from a wild animal.
The medicine man turned around fearfully. "The... the monster," he mumbled leaving the tent.
Teyla turned to the healer and noticed the fear in his eyes just before he left the tent.
"Monster?" No one had mentioned such a thing when she had spoken to them earlier.
Cameron, who had been given his weapons back earlier, grabbed his gun. "Yeah, a monster. I was almost its dinner earlier on. Let's check it out."
Ronon nodded and left the tent to check out the monster in question.
Sheila followed Cameron still feeling rather concerned. He should rest not check out monsters. But she guessed that the monster would not care about that fact anyway.
Once outside Ronon heard the loud roaring noise again and saw the leader of the people point to their left.
"It has never come this close to our village. The strangers brought it here. Kill them!" someone shouted.
Ronon shot the man who wanted to kill them a dark look and then turned to Cameron.
"No one is killing anyone!" Cameron announced while waving his gun in the air. He then looked over at the monster. It was some kind of wild animal, like nothing he had ever seen before, and it looked like it wanted to do some damage.
"Let's stop this thing before it kills someone," he told his team.
Teyla looked a little hesitant.
"Good idea," Ronon said and grabbed his gun. Walking toward the monster he then started shooting it, which only seemed to make the monster angrier.
Sheila stared at the weird looking creature for a moment before following Ronons example and shooting at it as well.
The monster started bleeding from several wounds, but didn´t seem to care. It now rushed towards them roaring angrily.
"Go and hide somewhere," Sheila called to a group of women and children nearby, who luckily did what she told them.
When the monster was close Ronon pulled his sword out and stabbed it in the stomach.
The monster made another roaring sound and hit Ronon with it’s huge paw, which made him fly a few feet through the air and fall into a tent, taking it down with him in the process.
Fearing for Ronon, Teyla fired at the creature which was now badly wounded. Reassuring herself that Ronon would be fine she focused on the animal trying to injure the creature in a way that made it stop it's attack.
"It's weakening!" Cameron yelled out. Noticing that the monsters movements were slowing down, he risked a glance over his shoulder to see if Ronon had gotten up from where he had landed. He wasn't moving.
Sheila stood next to Cameron and fired as fast as she could. They had to kill this thing before it reached them.
Ronon slowly opened his eyes and groaned. He then remembered what had happened and sat up. Ignoring the pain in his body and especially in his already injured leg he pushed himself up and stumbled toward his team while firing at the monster again.
Teyla was relieved to see Ronon back on his feet. For a moment she had feared that maybe....
The monster screamed in agony and its dripping blood stained the dusty path. Its front legs gave away first and it stumbled to the ground. As the group continued to fire at it, it groaned, the its head hit the floor. The only sign that it was still alive was its heavy breathing as its eyes were glazed over.
Cameron ceased firing and lowered his gun. "You ok there, Ronon?" he asked as he continued to stare at the beast.
Ronon didn´t stop firing like the others, when the monster was on the ground. He would make sure it was dead for good. When it finally didn´t breathe anymore he lowered his gun and looked to Cameron.
"I´m fine," he said stubbornly, not admitting how he really felt.
"You killed it," the leader of the locals suddenly screamed happily.
"I told you they were the saviours, father," another one called enthusiastically.
Sheila rolled her eyes. First they attacked them and captured Cameron and now that? Those people were weird. She then glanced at Ronon, whose leg had started to bleed again, which could be seen through the blood strained bandage.
"Ronon, you should let the healer have a look at your leg," she told him.
Cameron glanced down at Ronons leg and grimaced. "Ouch, that's got to hurt. Yeah, I agree. Let the healer take a look at that before we leave. We've got quite a trek back to the gate and I don't want you passing out on me."
Ronon slowly nodded. He didn´t really trust that healer, but he knew they were right.
Sheila was glad when Ronon agreed, she had started to get a bit worried about him, especially about his stubbornness.
Still feeling not a hundred percent himself, Cameron placed a hand on Sheila's shoulder to steady himself. "And maybe I should get him to give me some more of that miracle brew he gave me earlier..."
Sheila glanced at Cameron and noticed how pale he was. Quickly reaching out she helped to steady him.
"We will leave once the both of you are in condition to do so," Teyla stated before going over to Ronon and placing a hand on his back. "Lean on me, I will help you over to the tent where the healer can tend to you."
"Teyla is right, you both have to rest," Sheila said while leading Cameron towards the tent.
Ronon looked down at Teyla and placed his arm around her shoulder. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn´t let him walk alone anyway. Besides that he was glad for the help, as he started to feel slightly dizzy.
"Thanks," he then said silently while heading to the tent with her help.
The leader gave a few orders to get the healer and medicine and then followed them to the tent.
The healer did all he could for both Cameron and Ronon. While both men were told to rest for a while Teyla and Sheila were entertained by the tribe during a celebratory feast.
A few hours later when all had had the time to regain some strength the group decided to head back to the gate and return to Atlantis.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
John's team:
Sending their security code, John’s team stepped through the gate and arrived back in Atlantis. It had been a rather uneventful mission except for the discovery of the ancient scripture found on the cave walls, which John had promised Daniel that he could return to the planet to decipher the next day, and his miscommunication with Mina. She had avoided him for the rest of the time they had spent on the planet and he couldn't blame her.
Looking around John noticed that someone was missing, which was odd. She was normally always here to greet them, when they returned from a mission.
Ford looked around as well. Dr. Weir was nowhere to be seen, which was weird. She always had been there to welcome them back. Of course this could have changed over the year he had missed, but he still found it odd.
Daniel who had managed to write some of the symbols down in his notebook was already walking off, planning to start translating them.
"Dr. Jackson, don't forget we have a debriefing in an hour," John called out before the archaeologist disappeared from sight.
"Have any of the other teams returned?" Dee asked, wondering about Lee.
"I don't know. Where's Doctor Weir," John then asked the control room technicians who had come to greet them.
"I don´t know. She left after having talked to Dr. Beckett earlier. She only said that she would take the rest of the day off," one of the technicians answered. "Maybe it has something to do with the Asgard ship that arrived earlier with refugees from Earth," he added.
Ford looked at him surprised. "More people from Earth arrived?"
"Yes, Thor´s ship went to Earth and beamed in several people, until the Ori attacked it. The ship has been damaged and some people were badly wounded when they arrived here,” Zelenka said. He then turned to Dee to answer her previous question.
"Major Lorne’s team has come back so far," he told her. "They have been attacked by the Wraith, but all are fine apart from a few scratches. We haven´t heard from the other teams. But they should be back soon."
----- -----
John was relieved to hear that the Asgard had managed to succeed in a rescue operation on Earth. It might make things more crowded in the city but it was good to know that more were safe from the Ori.
Judging by what the technician said, he guessed that Elizabeth had gone down to the infirmary to see to their new refugees. Maybe he should make an appearance down there himself?
He then heard what Zelenka said. "The Wraith?" He had been hoping they wouldn't run into the Wraith for at least until things had settled down. But thinking about it he didn´t believe that they would ever be given that option.
"Yes, the Wraith," Zelenka said again, nodding at John.
"Lt. Cadman was brought to the infirmary, but Carson said she was fine," he then added.
"Contact Major Lorne and tell him I want to debrief his team myself in two hours. I want to know exactly what happened,” John said.
Zelenka frowned and turned to the technician next to him. "You heard the Colonel. Contact Major Lorne." He then turned around. "I have some important things to do. I just hoped Rodney would be back to help, so I came here," he muttered and then left.
Dee tried to hide her concern about Lee from her fellow team members. She just had to keep reminding herself that Lee could look after himself. He would be fine, she knew he would.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
the infirmary:
Elizabeth sat on a chair at the end of the infirmary. Carson had ordered her to stay out of the way and so she had been sitting and waiting here for hours. The infirmary had been a chaos shortly after the Asgard ship arrived. There were so many wounded on board. But now everything had settled down and people were treated properly.
When Carson had told her that Simon had been on the ship Elizabeth’s first reaction was that she didn´t want to see him. Why would she? He had left her for another woman. There was nothing left between them. But when she heard that Simon was wounded she had started to get worried and went to the infirmary immediately. Now she was waiting to hear how he was. Never would she have guessed how concerned she’d be about him. Maybe she still had feelings for him after all? But was that important? All that mattered right now was that he would be ok.
Once she saw Dr. Lam coming from where Simon had been brought she quickly got up.
"Dr. Lam. How is he?" she asked.
Carolyn looked up startled when Dr. Weir spoke. She had been too occupied to notice her.
"Dr. Weir," she began as she placed her clipboard with her notes about her patients on the table. She then turned back to Elizabeth.
"I managed to stop the internal bleeding and he's resting now. He should be fine."
A small sigh of relief escaped Elizabeth lips.
"Thank you Dr. Lam," she said with a smile.
"When can I see him?" She wasn´t really sure if it was a good idea to go and see Simon, but she had to see for herself that he was ok.
The doctor did not respond straight away, and appeared a little hesitant to grant Dr. Weir permission to see her patient. He needed to rest from surgery she had just performed on him. If he could sleep then he'd heal much quicker. However, a couple of minutes could not hurt.
"I really do want him to rest, but I can give you a couple of minutes, while I go and check on the condition of another of my patients."
"I understand. I will be quick," Elizabeth said with a nod. She then walked toward the curtain behind which Simon lay.
Looking down at his pale face she sighed. He had always been strong and healthy and now he looked so vulnerable. But he would be okay, Dr. Lam had told her so. Besides, he just had to be okay, no matter if he was with someone else or not, he couldn´t just die!
Elizabeth stood at his bedside for a few more minutes until Dr. Lam came back. She then just nodded at her and left. She needed some time alone anyway.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
the infirmary:
Rodney’s team had managed to make it back to Atlantis in one piece. They had been informed about the other teams which had returned and about the Wraith attack. Hearing that Cadman had been injured and unbeknown to himself, Rodney had found it necessary to go and see how she was doing. He was too arrogant to admit to himself that he was concerned about her.
Cadman was sitting on a hospital bed, waiting for Carson to come back with some medications he wanted her to take. After that she would be able to leave, which she was looking forward to. She didn´t really like being in the infirmary, especially after her relationship with Carson hadn´t really worked out the way she first hoped.
When the curtain next to her bed was pulled back Laura was surprised to see Rodney standing in front of her.
“I heard you were attacked by the Wraith,” he stated.
“How are you feeling?” he then added, trying not to let himself sound too concerned.
Staring at him Laura smiled slightly. Was he concerned for her?
"I´m fine, it´s just a scratch," she said. "Hit my head, but I´ve been worse," she added.
"Well... good. I'm sure you'd be thoroughly missed in Atlantis if anything happened to you," Rodney mumbled quickly while remaining standing by the curtain awkwardly. He had noticed the chair by her hospital bed, but chose to ignore it.
Laura smiled when he said that she would be missed. Did he mean that he would miss her? And why did she care? Looking up at him she was about to ask him why he was here and make a snarky remark about him being concerned about her. But then she decided against it.
"So, how was your mission?" she asked instead, just feeling glad that he was there.
Rodney rolled his eyes and made a show of his evident annoyance. "We were taken captive and accused of witchcraft, if you can believe it. Some people will believe anything. It’s pathetic how people let their fears consume them."
"You were what?" she asked laughing. "Apparently they don´t know you. Noone in his right mind who knows you a bit would accuse you of doing witchcraft," she added chuckling.
Despite his mood, Rodney couldn't help but smile when Cadman started laughing. "Oh yes, it's all very funny," he exclaimed while trying not to grin.
"Well, at least you escaped unharmed and without meeting any Wraith."
Rodney’s tone sobered a little with the mention of the Wraith. "Yes, I somehow think if we had ran into the Wraith we wouldn't have been as lucky as you and your team. Commander Adama has... a lot to learn." His criticism wasn't out of spite, even though he wasn't that fond of Lee or even Starbuck for that matter.
Laura raised an eyebrow at that. "He just arrived here. Where he came from everything was different. Give him some time. And try not to annoy him too much," Laura said with a grin while nudging him in the chest playfully.
Rodney was just about to state that he had no intention of annoying the Commander in the slightest when Carson appeared with Cadmans medicines.
"Oi Rodney, what are you doing here? You didn´t get wounded on your mission did you?" Carson asked looking at Rodney from top to toe. "Another splinter maybe?" he then added when he couldn´t see any obvious injuries.
Hearing Carsons comment Rodney pouted slightly. "Actually, now that you've mentioned it, I think I may have strained my wrist when we were escaping from the villagers. It does hurt when I move it this way…" He flexed his wrist and then grimaced. "But I doubt there is anything you can do for it."
Carson rolled his eyes. "I could bandage it, but there are more important things I have to do right now with all the refugees," he said.
"But maybe Laura can do that. I´m sure she has experience with it."
Laura smirked and then nodded. "Basic medical training, yes."
"Good. The bandages are over there. Make sure it sits tight," Carson said and then turned to leave. "I´ll see you later."
Rodney watched Carson leave. Once the doctor had disappeared from sight he turned back to Laura.
"You don't have to. It's not that painful if I don't move it too much. I think I'll wait until Doctor Beckett has a spare moment for the 'less important things'." He said the last three words with as much sarcasm as he could.
"Besides, Zelenka requested my expertise with something, which he not surprisingly doesn't understand."
Laura frowned. "Don´t tell me you don´t trust me to bandage something," she said glaring at him.
"Besides, if Zelenka shows you anything I bet you will use your hand to inspect whatever it is." That said she went over to the cupboard with the bandages and grabbed one.
"Did I say that? I was merely just saving you the trouble," Rodney remarked as she went to get a bandage. Holding his wrist out to her, he then sat down on the bed.
"How nice of you," she answered with a small smile, but still wasn´t entirely convinced.
"Make it tight, but not too tight so it cuts off my circulation. Like, you said, if Zelenka wants me to look at something, I'll need my hands."
"Yes, Rodney, whatever you say," Laura said while starting to bandage his hand.
"Is it ok like this?" she asked when she was done and glanced up at him.
"How’s your hand feeling after the burns from the time travel device by the way?" she then added glancing at the hand.
He glanced down at his hand, too, looking at the red blisters on his palm. Gently he clenched and unclenched both of his fists. "The pain is not as bad as it was. I hardly notice it now." He was trying to sound a bit more manly. The truth however was, that it was still rather painful, as Dr. Beckett was well aware. Rodney had been pestering the doctor for more cream for his burns.
Laura gave him a surprised look. Rodney usually took every opportunity to whine about anything.
"I´m glad it´s better," she said with a smile. She had really been worried.
Rodney then remembered she had asked about the bandage. "Oh, yes, it’s fine, thank you." He even managed to give her a smile.
"You´re welcome." She then smiled at him before turning to leave.
"Looks like we´re ready to get out of here. It´s too crowded in here anyway. There must have been a lot of wounded on the Asgard ship," she said while heading to the exit of the infirmary.
Rodney quickly slipped off the bed and followed Laura out of the infirmary. The place definitely was crowded with all the Earth refugees that had survived, and Rodney couldn't help but worry about where they were going to put them all once they were better. If luck was still on their side then hopefully they'd stumble upon another ZPM soon.
"I better go and find Zelenka before he goes and touches something and makes my job much more complicated again," he rushed his excuse for leaving. It was as if he was nervous to be in Laura’s presence alone.
Laura was a bit surprised by his sudden hurry. They could have walked together most of the way, but he was already rushing ahead.
"Ok... I´ll see you then," she said and sighed slightly. She had started to rather enjoy Rodney’s company recently, which was weird, as they usually just bickered.
She then started to head to her room to get some rest. Carson had ordered her to take it easy and get some sleep.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
late evening - balcony:
It was already late, but Elizabeth still couldn´t sleep, so she had done what she always did when she needed to calm down. She went out on the balcony and looked at the ocean surrounding the city. It usually helped her to relax.
Leaning against the railing, her eyes fixed on the dark water and she breathed in deeply. Since the refuges and Simon had arrived she felt strange. She was really worried and it confused her as well. Of course she was always worried about people she knew, but Simon wasn´t just anyone. They had been together for years and even if they were not anymore he still meant a lot to her. Over the last year, after they had broken up she had pushed away the thoughts about him. But now they all came back. She was reminded of how happy they once were and of the last time they were together on Earth, when he had told her that he was with someone else now and wouldn´t go to Atlantis with her. She had been angry and hurt then, but honestly, could she blame him after she just left him without telling him in person where she was going? What had she expected him to do? She would have been shocked and angry if he had just left like that. It was only natural that he moved on.
And besides, she couldn´t blame him for being interested in someone else. She had had feelings for someone else as well when they last met. She of course hadn´t even admitted it to herself, but she knew that it was true. She had known for sure the moment she thought John was dead - had sacrificed himself to destroy the hive ship. But she didn´t want to admit it to herself, so she had gone back to Simon when they were on Earth again, and tried to get rid of the feelings for John. They weren´t appropriate and she didn´t think he felt the same way anyway. Getting back to what she knew and what was allowed was the easiest way back then, but Simon hadn´t played along. Maybe this was what had bugged her the most.
Sighing she then tried to push away all those thoughts and confused feelings. When Simon would wake up she´d talk to him and maybe they could start to be friends or something then, if he wanted to.
John hadn't seen Elizabeth at all since he had returned from his team mission. Every time he went looking for her she always appeared to be one step ahead. He knew that out of anywhere, however, he would be able to find her here - out on the balcony.
Stepping outside he was hit instantly by the cold air. Tugging his jacket closer to his body for warmth he stepped up beside Elizabeth.
"Busy day?"
Elizabeth turned around a little startled. She had been too lost in her thoughts to hear him arriving, which was weird, as she usually always noticed when he was around.
"Yes," she then said with a small sigh. Seeing him now reminded her that she hadn´t even been at the debriefings. Being too worried about Simon she had asked Jack to do them alone this time.
"I´m sorry, that I wasn´t at the debriefing," she said. She hated the fact that she had missed it, but at that moment she wouldn´t have been able to concentrate on it anyway.
"It's ok, you had other things to worry about," John said, dismissing her apology. "Besides, General O'Neill was more than...entertaining," he smirked slightly as he leaned against the balcony.
Elizabeth gave him a thankful smile for understanding.
"He was?" she then asked with a smirk. "Maybe I should let him do the debriefings from now on." Of course she wasn´t even considering it, but she wanted to see his reaction.
"No offence to the General, but I’m more used to your debriefs,” John said quickly.
Elizabeth smiled at his quick reaction. "I´m not planning to miss more anytime soon," she said.
"How was your mission?" she then asked, trying to concentrate on something else than Simon for once this day.
John didn't answer straight away. His thoughts settled on Mina. He still felt guilty about upsetting her.
"We came across some ancient scripture on the world we went to. It was in a cave the villagers locate to if the Wraith attack. I promised Dr. Jackson that I would take him back there tomorrow to translate it.”
"Ancient writings? That’s a good thing. Maybe they can give us some important information. Make sure Dr. Jackson films everything. I´d like to have a look at them myself as well." She knew that Daniel would probably be able to translate everything himself, but she was still curious about them.
John nodded and then decided to change the subject. “Sounds like you’ve had a more… eventful day.”
Elizabeth looked at him. "Yes, it was quite eventful when Thor suddenly appeared with a ship full of people from Earth. It was really nice of him to try and save as many as he could. Unfortunately the ship was attacked by the Ori and damaged. The infirmary is full of wounded again," she told him and then sighed.
"I know one of the wounded. He´s... an old friend," she said. She wasn´t sure if it was a good idea to talk to John about Simon, but she just had to tell someone and he usually was the one she could tell anything. Well, anything besides her feelings...
John turned to face her, sensing that there was something she wanted to get off her mind.
"Is he ok?" he asked, unsure what this friend exactly meant to Elizabeth, and unsure if he wanted to know.
"He had surgery today. Dr. Lam said that he will be okay. But I´ve been a bit worried all day," she admitted.
"Well, at least he´s save from the Ori now."
Elizabeth nodded at his words. She really was glad about that.
Standing there she then slightly shivered. It had become colder without her even noticing it.
Seeing her shiver, John quickly shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders for warmth. "Here," he said gently, making sure that his jacket was secure on her shoulders. "We can't have you falling sick."
Elizabeth was a bit surprised when he suddenly put his jacket around her shoulders, but gladly accepted it.
During the time John had wrapped the jacket around her, the distance between them had decreased. Face to face he stared at her face for a moment before stepping away.
She was about to tell him that him falling sick wasn´t a good idea either, when she noticed how close they were standing. Just being so close to him made her forget everything else on her mind. He just had that effect on her. Her eyes fixed on his face... his lips and she once more felt the overwhelming need to kiss him, but then he stepped away. Maybe it was good, as she wasn´t sure how much longer she could have controlled herself.
"I'm glad that your friend is going to be okay," John then said. He however felt a little uneasy. It was an understatement to say that John was a little jealous that Elizabeth had been worried about another man.
Elizabeth nodded before glancing at him awkwardly. "I should go and get some sleep. It´s getting late," she said, not feeling able to stay with him any longer.
John appeared a little disappointed that she was going to go inside but he merely smiled and nodded his head. He wasn't going to object despite how much he wanted to.
"Good night, Elizabeth," he said softly, his soulful eyes locking onto hers once again. "I'll see you in the morning."
When he looked at her that way a shiver crept down her back and she had the feeling that her knees would give in any moment.
"Good night John," she quickly said before turning around and hurrying inside. She felt like a teenager that had a crush on the most popular boy, who surely wasn´t interested in her one bit. This just had to stop. She couldn’t behave like this!
Breathing in deeply to calm herself down she then noticed that she was still wearing his jacket, which smelled so much like him. She knew that she should go back and return it to him, but she just couldn´t, not now. Besides, having something that smelled so much like him wasn´t a bad thing, was it?
Sighing about herself she then went to her room.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
chapter 10
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