"Stricken" by pip22, for the 'darkness' challenge
TITLE: “Stricken”
AUTHOR: pip22
SUMMARY: On a mission to a new planet, Ford is stricken blind by a mysterious artifact.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: slight spoilers for season one. (“Rising”, “The Gift” and “Hide and Seek”)
NOTES: Written for the 'darkness' challenge. Many thanks and cookies to silverwind126 for the beta! (Also, disclaimer: I don't own 'em, unfortunately.)
Ford walked slowly throughout the thick forest, P-90 held at the ready. Teyla was moving almost silently behind him. The planet had yet to be of any use to them. There were no people, no ruins, nothing but forest and the cold rain. Ford was thinking to himself how useless this trip was turning out to be when Teyla’s voice jarred him from his thoughts.
“Aiden, there appears to be a path here,” she said, gesturing with her head as she looked at him through the rain. Ford backtracked to where Teyla had stopped and followed her gaze into the trees. There was an overgrown path, veering off to the north. Ford stepped forward but was stopped short by Teyla’s hand on his forearm.
“Should we not radio to Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay?” she asked, her eyebrow raised slightly.
“Let’s not bother them until we see where it leads,” he responded, stepping in front of her onto the path. Teyla followed hesitantly.
The brush and overgrowth combined with the rain made walking very difficult. Ford pushed forward, hoping that there might be something interesting along this path. He never seemed to find anything on these missions and it would be a welcome change to be the one to find something that made McKay drool and babble. The thought made Ford snicker and he cleared his throat to suppress it. Teyla did not speak as they walked on. He knew she was right. They should have radioed to the others and let them know what they had found. His curiosity had won in the battle against his common sense.
“Lieutenant,” Teyla’s voice once again shook him from his thoughts. “There is something up ahead of us.”
Ford looked and saw it too. A large black rock, towering up out of the small clearing the path they were on led into. It must have been about twenty feet high.
“Let’s check it out,” he said, holding his P-90 up and moving cautiously forward. He heard Teyla hesitate and then follow his lead. They moved into the clearing and swept around the area. It was empty except for the rock. The rock was rectangular and polished smooth on three of the four sides. The side facing the path from which they had emerged had an obscure form of writing on it and there was a white circle in the center of the writing.
“There’s something familiar about this writing,” Ford said, moving in to take a closer look. Teyla was looking back toward the path and was about to say something when there was a bright flash of light. Ford flew through the air and landed with a thud just in front of the path at the edge of the clearing. Teyla ran to his side.
“Aiden!” she cried as she knelt next to him. He groaned and tried to sit up.
“Aiden, are you alright?”
He didn’t answer immediately and Teyla knew that there was something wrong. The rain echoed in the silence between them. Ford was staring around the clearing but didn’t seem to be looking directly at anything. Finally, he held out a hand in front of him.
“Teyla?”
Teyla grasped his hand and his head shifted toward where she was sitting.
“Teyla, I can’t see.”
* * * * * * * *
Teyla had radioed Sheppard immediately. It didn’t take the remaining two members of the team long to reach Teyla and the recently-blinded Ford. Teyla had not left his side, talking to him to keep him calm. He shivered but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or if it was fear.
“You were just looking at it?” McKay asked as he circled the rock.
“McKay, maybe you should be a little careful with that thing? It did kinda blind Ford,” Sheppard said, watching the scientist scrunch up his nose as he stared at the writing.
“Yes, I was just looking at it,” Ford said. “I thought that the writing looked familiar.”
“But you didn’t touch anything?” McKay asked, holding up his penlight to get a better look.
“No...Wait. I did. I put my hand on it when I was getting a better look at that inscription.” Ford had almost forgotten that he had indeed touched the black stone.
“You touched it and it flashed?” McKay was getting that excited, I’ve-just-discovered-the-earth-is-round sound in his voice.
“McKay, don’t do anything-“ Sheppard didn’t even get the whole sentence out of his mouth when McKay placed both hands on the smooth black surface of the rock. Sheppard winced but nothing happened.
“Interesting,” McKay said as he pulled a device out of his pack and began swiping it around the rock.
“Maybe it’s outta juice?” Sheppard suggested.
“What? What happened?” Ford was beginning to get skittish again. It was just too damn disorienting not being able to see.
“Nothing happened when I touched it.” McKay kept taking readings as Sheppard paced around the rock himself.
“Major, could you do me a favor and touch the rock just like Ford described?” McKay didn’t even look up from his instruments as he asked.
“What!? You’ve got to be crazy! I’m not touching that thing!” Sheppard took a couple steps back and McKay rolled his eyes.
“I’m fairly certain it won’t do anything to you,” he replied, that familiar sarcasm sneaking into his voice.
“’Fairly certain’?” Sheppard turned to look at Ford, who was still swiveling his head around like he was trying to look at something, anything.
“I’ve got a hypothesis, I need to test it,” McKay stated matter-of-factly.
Sheppard sighed and gave McKay his best glare, then walked up to the front of the rock and timidly put a hand on it, wincing as he did so. Again, nothing happened.
“Just as I thought,” McKay said, pleased with himself. “It’s a form of Ancient, though I can’t decipher it as readily as anything I’ve come across in Atlantis. From what I can understand, we both have the Ancient gene and are therefore unaffected by whatever hit Ford and blinded him.”
McKay studied the stone for a few more minutes. It felt like a lifetime to Ford.
“Well, does it say whether this is permanent or not!?” he finally blurted out. Teyla put a comforting hand on his arm and tried to soothe him.
“I’m working on that, Lieutenant,” McKay said, not looking away from the writing. “Patience is a virtue.”
“Yeah, one I’m running a little LOW on at the moment,” Ford said, trying not to let the fear he was feeling enter his voice.
“Teyla, could I trouble you?” McKay motioned for the Athosian to join him. Teyla patted Ford’s arm and then walked up to the rock.
“Did you find something, doctor?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he said. “I need you to touch the rock too.”
Teyla raised an eyebrow and looked toward the blinded Ford in hesitation.
“Another hypothesis, doctor?”
“You could say that,” he replied, then motioned to the spot that Sheppard had touched a moment ago. “Please.”
Teyla reached out and place her hand on the smooth surface. Again, nothing happened. They all looked at each other, then to Ford who was starting to look as though he were going to panic again.
“Well, that answers that,” McKay said and took out a small digital camera. He began to snap pictures of the inscription.
“What answers what!?” Ford asked, the fear finally sneaking into his voice.
“It only works on humans,” McKay replied. “Major Sheppard and I have the gene and Teyla has Wraith DNA. Nothing happened when any of us touched it.”
“Maybe it is out of juice?” Ford supplied.
“Not likely with the spiked energy reading I took off it,” McKay answered.
“Do you know if it’s permanent?” Sheppard asked.
“Not yet, but I suggest we get him back to Beckett and have him checked out.” McKay had begun to pack up his tools. Teyla and Sheppard helped Ford to his feet and the four worked their way back to the Stargate.
* * * * * * *
Beckett had finished his checkup of Ford and was sitting in the next room with Dr. Weir, McKay, Teyla and Sheppard.
“I can’t be sure due to the nature of how he was blinded,” he began, and then looked down at the table. “It looks as though the damage is permanent.”
“Does he know?” Weir asked, looking through the doorway to the sleeping lieutenant.
“Not yet. I was hoping Rodney had something from that inscription that might help.”
McKay shook his head. Sheppard stared at the table, not saying anything. Teyla followed Weir’s gaze to Ford’s motionless body.
“I should not have let him go on without radioing the Major,” Teyla said, her voice tinged with sadness and regret.
“It wasn’t your fault, Teyla.” Weir said. “There was nothing any of you could have done to prevent this.”
“How long will he sleep, Dr. Beckett?” Teyla asked.
“Probably about an hour or so,” Beckett answered.
“I should be the one to tell him,” Sheppard said suddenly. No one else spoke but Beckett nodded in understanding. They all looked back out into neighboring room and slowly, one by one, left the briefing area.
AUTHOR: pip22
SUMMARY: On a mission to a new planet, Ford is stricken blind by a mysterious artifact.
CATEGORY: Gen
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: slight spoilers for season one. (“Rising”, “The Gift” and “Hide and Seek”)
NOTES: Written for the 'darkness' challenge. Many thanks and cookies to silverwind126 for the beta! (Also, disclaimer: I don't own 'em, unfortunately.)
Ford walked slowly throughout the thick forest, P-90 held at the ready. Teyla was moving almost silently behind him. The planet had yet to be of any use to them. There were no people, no ruins, nothing but forest and the cold rain. Ford was thinking to himself how useless this trip was turning out to be when Teyla’s voice jarred him from his thoughts.
“Aiden, there appears to be a path here,” she said, gesturing with her head as she looked at him through the rain. Ford backtracked to where Teyla had stopped and followed her gaze into the trees. There was an overgrown path, veering off to the north. Ford stepped forward but was stopped short by Teyla’s hand on his forearm.
“Should we not radio to Major Sheppard and Dr. McKay?” she asked, her eyebrow raised slightly.
“Let’s not bother them until we see where it leads,” he responded, stepping in front of her onto the path. Teyla followed hesitantly.
The brush and overgrowth combined with the rain made walking very difficult. Ford pushed forward, hoping that there might be something interesting along this path. He never seemed to find anything on these missions and it would be a welcome change to be the one to find something that made McKay drool and babble. The thought made Ford snicker and he cleared his throat to suppress it. Teyla did not speak as they walked on. He knew she was right. They should have radioed to the others and let them know what they had found. His curiosity had won in the battle against his common sense.
“Lieutenant,” Teyla’s voice once again shook him from his thoughts. “There is something up ahead of us.”
Ford looked and saw it too. A large black rock, towering up out of the small clearing the path they were on led into. It must have been about twenty feet high.
“Let’s check it out,” he said, holding his P-90 up and moving cautiously forward. He heard Teyla hesitate and then follow his lead. They moved into the clearing and swept around the area. It was empty except for the rock. The rock was rectangular and polished smooth on three of the four sides. The side facing the path from which they had emerged had an obscure form of writing on it and there was a white circle in the center of the writing.
“There’s something familiar about this writing,” Ford said, moving in to take a closer look. Teyla was looking back toward the path and was about to say something when there was a bright flash of light. Ford flew through the air and landed with a thud just in front of the path at the edge of the clearing. Teyla ran to his side.
“Aiden!” she cried as she knelt next to him. He groaned and tried to sit up.
“Aiden, are you alright?”
He didn’t answer immediately and Teyla knew that there was something wrong. The rain echoed in the silence between them. Ford was staring around the clearing but didn’t seem to be looking directly at anything. Finally, he held out a hand in front of him.
“Teyla?”
Teyla grasped his hand and his head shifted toward where she was sitting.
“Teyla, I can’t see.”
* * * * * * * *
Teyla had radioed Sheppard immediately. It didn’t take the remaining two members of the team long to reach Teyla and the recently-blinded Ford. Teyla had not left his side, talking to him to keep him calm. He shivered but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or if it was fear.
“You were just looking at it?” McKay asked as he circled the rock.
“McKay, maybe you should be a little careful with that thing? It did kinda blind Ford,” Sheppard said, watching the scientist scrunch up his nose as he stared at the writing.
“Yes, I was just looking at it,” Ford said. “I thought that the writing looked familiar.”
“But you didn’t touch anything?” McKay asked, holding up his penlight to get a better look.
“No...Wait. I did. I put my hand on it when I was getting a better look at that inscription.” Ford had almost forgotten that he had indeed touched the black stone.
“You touched it and it flashed?” McKay was getting that excited, I’ve-just-discovered-the-earth-is-round sound in his voice.
“McKay, don’t do anything-“ Sheppard didn’t even get the whole sentence out of his mouth when McKay placed both hands on the smooth black surface of the rock. Sheppard winced but nothing happened.
“Interesting,” McKay said as he pulled a device out of his pack and began swiping it around the rock.
“Maybe it’s outta juice?” Sheppard suggested.
“What? What happened?” Ford was beginning to get skittish again. It was just too damn disorienting not being able to see.
“Nothing happened when I touched it.” McKay kept taking readings as Sheppard paced around the rock himself.
“Major, could you do me a favor and touch the rock just like Ford described?” McKay didn’t even look up from his instruments as he asked.
“What!? You’ve got to be crazy! I’m not touching that thing!” Sheppard took a couple steps back and McKay rolled his eyes.
“I’m fairly certain it won’t do anything to you,” he replied, that familiar sarcasm sneaking into his voice.
“’Fairly certain’?” Sheppard turned to look at Ford, who was still swiveling his head around like he was trying to look at something, anything.
“I’ve got a hypothesis, I need to test it,” McKay stated matter-of-factly.
Sheppard sighed and gave McKay his best glare, then walked up to the front of the rock and timidly put a hand on it, wincing as he did so. Again, nothing happened.
“Just as I thought,” McKay said, pleased with himself. “It’s a form of Ancient, though I can’t decipher it as readily as anything I’ve come across in Atlantis. From what I can understand, we both have the Ancient gene and are therefore unaffected by whatever hit Ford and blinded him.”
McKay studied the stone for a few more minutes. It felt like a lifetime to Ford.
“Well, does it say whether this is permanent or not!?” he finally blurted out. Teyla put a comforting hand on his arm and tried to soothe him.
“I’m working on that, Lieutenant,” McKay said, not looking away from the writing. “Patience is a virtue.”
“Yeah, one I’m running a little LOW on at the moment,” Ford said, trying not to let the fear he was feeling enter his voice.
“Teyla, could I trouble you?” McKay motioned for the Athosian to join him. Teyla patted Ford’s arm and then walked up to the rock.
“Did you find something, doctor?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he said. “I need you to touch the rock too.”
Teyla raised an eyebrow and looked toward the blinded Ford in hesitation.
“Another hypothesis, doctor?”
“You could say that,” he replied, then motioned to the spot that Sheppard had touched a moment ago. “Please.”
Teyla reached out and place her hand on the smooth surface. Again, nothing happened. They all looked at each other, then to Ford who was starting to look as though he were going to panic again.
“Well, that answers that,” McKay said and took out a small digital camera. He began to snap pictures of the inscription.
“What answers what!?” Ford asked, the fear finally sneaking into his voice.
“It only works on humans,” McKay replied. “Major Sheppard and I have the gene and Teyla has Wraith DNA. Nothing happened when any of us touched it.”
“Maybe it is out of juice?” Ford supplied.
“Not likely with the spiked energy reading I took off it,” McKay answered.
“Do you know if it’s permanent?” Sheppard asked.
“Not yet, but I suggest we get him back to Beckett and have him checked out.” McKay had begun to pack up his tools. Teyla and Sheppard helped Ford to his feet and the four worked their way back to the Stargate.
* * * * * * *
Beckett had finished his checkup of Ford and was sitting in the next room with Dr. Weir, McKay, Teyla and Sheppard.
“I can’t be sure due to the nature of how he was blinded,” he began, and then looked down at the table. “It looks as though the damage is permanent.”
“Does he know?” Weir asked, looking through the doorway to the sleeping lieutenant.
“Not yet. I was hoping Rodney had something from that inscription that might help.”
McKay shook his head. Sheppard stared at the table, not saying anything. Teyla followed Weir’s gaze to Ford’s motionless body.
“I should not have let him go on without radioing the Major,” Teyla said, her voice tinged with sadness and regret.
“It wasn’t your fault, Teyla.” Weir said. “There was nothing any of you could have done to prevent this.”
“How long will he sleep, Dr. Beckett?” Teyla asked.
“Probably about an hour or so,” Beckett answered.
“I should be the one to tell him,” Sheppard said suddenly. No one else spoke but Beckett nodded in understanding. They all looked back out into neighboring room and slowly, one by one, left the briefing area.