Story: Redemption Part 2/4
John began to question his own orders as their wait dragged on into a second hour. But, question as he might, he still didn’t see any alternative besides leaving, and that wasn’t something he was prepared to do. He stood and paced across the room. Leaving Ford behind on the hive had gone against everything he’d believed in, but at the time he’d also had no alternative. In spite of everything that’d happened, Ford was still a member of his team and his safety was John’s responsibility. But Teyla and Ronon were teammates too, and the same responsibility applied to them. John drew in a deep breath. Rescuing Teyla and Ronon and getting them all to safety had been the right choice. He knew it then and he knew it now. But he’d never, ever accepted it. John’s mind replayed the moment when that decision had become crystal clear, just as he had countless times before….
John leapt into the cockpit of the dart, slapping the controls activating the shield over his head. He’d had an interface before to translate his commands to the alien technology, but it hadn’t meant that the pilot in him hadn’t paid attention. Now, that diligence was paying off. He smacked his headset, activating his radio. “Ford, this is Sheppard, do you read?” He pursed his lips at the silence and tried again. “Ford, respond!” He shook his head. “Ford, this is Sheppard. Do you copy?” He let the silence linger for another moment, before he grabbed the dart controls. For just a moment, he closed his eyes against the decision he had to make. Ronon and Teyla were waiting for him with no other way to get off this hive. Ford was alive… maybe, but he had no idea where to look, even if he had the time. John opened his eyes and steeled his resolve, making the only decision he could. Silently, he piloted the dart off the hanger deck….
Turning away from the wall he’d inadvertently been staring at, he met gazes with Teyla who sat quietly. Her expression was intuitive as she stood and walked over to him.
“What is it?” she asked.
John looked down for a moment, pushing aside the emotion that had surfaced from within. “Just thinking about the hive… and leaving Ford behind.”
“You had no choice, John,” Teyla insisted, though her voice was gentle. “Aiden knows that, even if he does not admit it right now.”
John’s lips tightened reflexively. ““I know. But that doesn’t make it right.”
Teyla shook her head just a little. “There was nothing right about that mission.”
“No,” he admitted. “There wasn’t.”
She smiled slightly. “We will save Aiden this time, John.”
One side of John’s mouth lifted and he nodded. “Yes, we will.” His smile faded and his attention was drawn to the door, which opened with a grating squeal. Ford stood quietly in the doorway, his expression mostly neutral though a bit of sadness found its way into his eyes. He eyed them hesitantly.
Teyla reacted first. “Aiden.” She quickly crossed the room, placed her hands on his arms and bowed her head in a traditional Athosian greeting.
Ford looked down at her head for a moment, boyish admiration replacing the stoic expression on his face. He grinned just a little and touched heads with her.
After a moment, Teyla lifted her chin. “It is good to see you safe.”
“You too,” he said quietly. His hand still on Teyla’s arm, Ford’s smile faded as he regarded John. “Sir, the hive, the mission, I….” His voice trailed off and he looked away.
“Don’t,” John’s voice was low but insistant. He put on the best reassuring expression he could. “Let’s just take it from here, okay? Leave the past where it is.” He held gazes with his lieutenant for a long moment, before Ford finally nodded.
“You should see what we’ve been up to then,” Ford answered. Apparently confident the team would follow him, he turned and walked out the doorway without looking back. “Come on,” his voice echoed from the hallway..
John sighed quietly, grabbed his P-90 and started after Ford, his team right behind him. The last time Ford had done something like this, they’d wound up fighting for their lives for an impossible mission on a hive ship. John had meant what he’d said. He was willing to just go forward from here. Every time he thought of leaving Ford behind, it tied him in knots, and that, along with the indecision that came with it, was something he couldn’t afford. And then there was the disaster on the hive ship. Dredging that up wouldn’t accomplish anything. In fact, it’d probably be counterproductive, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t wary. Ford without the enzyme was a level-headed, competent, and outstanding officer, the kind of guy you always wanted on your six in a firefight. Ford on the enzyme was irrational, unpredictable and unreliable at best. John just hoped Ford didn’t have another impossible mission planned this time. He quelled his frustration. If they could just get him back to Atlantis, and weaned off that damned enzyme, the kid stood a chance. If they failed, there was only one ending in Ford’s future, and it wasn’t one John was willing to politely accept.
“I don’t like this,” Rodney muttered as he caught up with John.
John shrugged. “Me either, but I’m still content to just play along.”
“Really?” Rodney snapped. “And exactly how long are we going to play along with all of this? Last time that didn’t work out so well.”
John frowned. “We play along, until it’s not a good idea anymore.”
“Reassuring,” Rodney muttered.
John refrained from commenting further as Ford led them down a twisting hallway and into another large room. Here, sparring dummies hung from the ceiling, and a variety weapons, ranging from knives and swords to something resembling Bantos Rods, and even a couple types of guns, were arranged in neat rows on several large tables.
On the other side of the room, three men were sparring on thick mats. Each had long, stout staffs which they held with solid confidence.
John ran his hand over the guns. Most resembled Genii style handguns, with a few shotguns like Derg carried mixed in. From what he could tell, each weapon was well maintained and in good, serviceable condition. He glanced at Ford who sauntered up next to him.
“We take care of the guns,” Ford commented. “We don’t have a lot of them and ammo’s hard to come by sometimes. That’s why we have the other weapons and,” he waved behind him, “it’s why we spend a lot of time sparring.” Ford turned to watch the sparring match and John followed his lead.
Facing off against each other, two men seemed to pair up against the third, who repelled both of them with more ease than John thought should be possible. One well placed shot to the temple took down one of the fighters and the man spun, delivering a blow to the gut of the second, who collapsed, gripping his midsection. The single combatant stepped back and twirled his staff over his head, before bringing it to rest at his side. The two injured fighters slowly pushed themselves up from the mat.
John glanced at Ronon, who stepped up to join them. “Pretty impressive.”
Ronon nodded. “Yeah. They’re good.”
“You were that way when you were on the enzyme,” Ford interjected. “I don’t think you could take them now, though.”
John could feel the tension from Ronon as he peered around John to glare at Ford.
“Want to test that?” Ronon’s voice was low and dangerous.
Ford seemed unfazed. “Wouldn’t be good for you.” He met strong gazes with Ronon. “You should’ve stayed on the enzyme.” He looked past Ronon and at Teyla, who walked up with Rodney right behind her. “Teyla too. You guys were unstoppable. Best fighters I had. But without the enzyme…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged indifferently.
John instinctively reached up, planting a firm hand on Ronon’s chest as he moved menacingly towards Ford. “Okay, alright. Let’s just agree to disagree here, okay?” He gave Ronon a hard commanding look, before giving Ford a warning one.
Ford’s look darkened as he stared coldly back. “You don’t agree with me.”
John looked evenly back at him. Ford’s statement wasn’t a question. He exhaled. Lying would get them nowhere. “No, I don’t.”
Ford’s chortle was distinctly cynical and he looked away. “I thought you said I had nothing to prove to you, Sheppard.” He stared back at John. “But you still don’t trust me.”
John closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath. “Trust you?” He opened his eyes and poured as much sincerity into his expression as he could. “I trusted you on my six more times than I can count, Lieutenant.” He said quietly. “And you saved my life, more than once. Trust has never been the issue.”
“Really?” Ford held onto his air of disbelief. “Could’ve fooled me.”
John’s gaze narrowed, and he repeated what he felt like he’d said a hundred times before, hoping that maybe this time he could get through. “The enzyme is messing with your head, buddy. As long as you’re on it, you’re not thinking straight.” He took a step closer to Ford. “All I want to do,” he paused, “is help you.”
The cynicism dropped from Ford’s face and conflict replaced it. His expression turned vulnerable and he chuckled quietly. “Remember the natives on P56-98…98…981?”
John’s mind raced as he tried to place the memory.
“The tribal natives of Seeba,” Teyla supplied. “Yes.”
John tossed her a grateful look as the memories came flooding back. “I remember.” His attention turned back to Ford. “You shot one when he tried to put an arrow in my back.” John smiled a little. “You saved my life.”
“Gladly,” Ford whispered. A twitch ran up his cheek and the conflict in his face deepened. He abruptly stepped back and dropped his head to stare at the ground. “I know… I know I… I have to earn that place back.”
John’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Earn what place back?”
Ford kept his head lowered and his shoulders rounded in resignation. “On your team,” he whispered. He looked up, past John and right at Ronon. “You replaced me.”
John’s eyes slid shut as suddenly everything made sense. How could he convince a clearly altered Ford that he didn’t have to prove anything, when every time Ford saw Ronon, he saw his replacement? “Buddy, I…” He shook his head and opened his eyes. “We thought you were dead.”
As quickly as it appeared, the innocence fled from Ford’s face, replaced by a steeled determination. “Well, I wasn’t.” The twitch returned to his cheek, and this time his entire head jerked slightly as a mask of anger crossed with madness veiled his face. “But you still left me behind.” He spun away, hastily striding towards the exiting hallway.
“Ford!” John called, but the lieutenant didn’t even break stride. He thought for a moment of going after him, but dismissed the idea. Experience had proven that Ford’s moods swung wildly and on this end of the swing, there was no reasoning with him.
“Again?” Rodney lamented. “How can we convince him of anything if he keeps running away?”
“He is confused, Rodney,” Teyla answered.
“I know that!” Rodney snapped before sighing. “I… yeah,” his voice was subdued and void of the typical sarcasm. “I know.”
“Sheppard,” Ronon started.
“Don’t.” John cut him off. He looked at the Satedan. “This isn’t your fault.” He looked back at the now empty hallway. “It’s mine.”
“John, you should not blame yourself for any of this,” Teyla reasoned softly.
John kept staring at the hallway, trying to process his own thoughts and the emotions he hated facing. “Maybe not,” he admitted equally as quietly, “but I do.” His gaze narrowed as Derg appeared from the shadows of the hallway and walked into the room. He made a beeline for John.
“The Lieutenant asked me to take you back to your room,” Derg nodded at each of them. “He’ll talk to you later.”
John glanced at each of his teammates and shrugged. “Sure, okay.” Leading his team, he followed Derg down the hallway.
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He pulled his hands from the controls and curled his fingers into fists, hissing quietly. At last, they’d arrived. The planet below had been destroyed long ago, its inhabitants killed or fed upon. No hive had been there for decades. He hissed again. The perfect hiding place. The humans were more ingenious than he’d believed. All the more reason to destroy them.
He turned, fixing his gaze on a small group of human men standing mute, their heads bowed. “They are on this planet?”
“Yes, Master,” the leader responded. “This was the address on the woman’s parchment. The rogue humans and the Lanteans are here.”
“Excellent,” he said.
“Will you fire upon them, Master?” another human asked.
“No,” he answered. He turned back and stared at the display of the planet. “They killed a Queen. For that, we will look into their eyes as they die.”
“I ask for the honor for my men and myself to help destroy them, Master.” The human leader immediately spoke.
He looked appraisingly at the group of worshippers. Their loyalty was not in question, but their strength, especially compared to his drones, was. Still, they could be of use, as long as the ultimate revenge and satisfaction was for him and his brothers. “Very well,” he agreed. “My Second will command you on the surface. If you engage them, you are not to kill the leaders. They are to be brought before me. Do with the others as you wish, but bring me the leaders.”
“Yes, Master,” the leader answered. “Their leaders will be captured, even if we must die to do so. Your command is ours.”
He smiled, just a little. “Very good. Go.” He waved his hand and watched as each of the humans bowed low and hastily departed.
He turned, again looking at the screen as his Second walked up next to him. As expected, the Second’s voice entered his head.
“I will take four companies of drones and all fit males. We will avenge ourselves upon them.”
He nodded, holding the sneering smile present on his face. “Yes, good. But I will look into the eyes of the leaders before they die.” He looked over at his Second, his smile fading. “That is my order.”
The Second bowed his head deeply. “Yes, Consort.” He turned and hastily left.
He looked at the planet again. “Soon,” he sent his thought to every Wraith on the hive. “Soon.”
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John rubbed his eyes vigorously before he grabbed a cup and poured some water from the waiting carafe. He sipped a little before he downed the cup in one take. He pursed his lips, his thoughts dwelling on Ford and the revelation he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen before. His guilt redoubled in spite of his rational mind, who agreed with Teyla.
It’s not your fault.
John set the cup down and turned away from the table, even as he subconsciously turned away from that one simple thought. He couldn’t let himself dwell on this, beat himself up over decisions that were made. Decisions that were right at the time, and even in retrospect, were right regardless. Still, in the face of all of the rational, clinical facts, the tragic look on Ford’s face was burned into his memory.
“John,” Teyla’s quiet voice broke his thoughts.
He didn’t turn and look at her, but raised his hand. “Don’t Teyla. I know what you’re going to say and I know you’re right.” He lowered his hand and, after a long moment, looked right as Teyla eased up next to him.
“Then I will not say it again,” she said with a small rueful smile as she looked down at her TAC vest and brushed a hand over the front. “But should you have difficulty convincing yourself, I will be more than happy to tell you once more, or to listen if you needed to talk.” She adjusted the vest zipper and brushed back a wisp of hair that had escaped her ponytail, before she looked up at him, her rueful smile turning to a warm one.
In spite of his mood, John couldn’t help but smile in return. He shook his head a little and arched his brows in dark amusement. “Thanks,” he answered.
His smile faded as the sounds of distant shouting, audible even through the closed door, snatched his attention. His brows furrowed as he stepped around Teyla, clutched his P-90 and strode to the door, Ronon right beside him. He rested his hand on the door and leaned in close to it, listening. He couldn’t make out words, but definitely heard shouting in the distance.
“That can’t be good,” Rodney walked up behind him. “What’s going on?”
John shook his head. “I can’t tell what they’re saying, but something’s definitely up.” He grabbed the door handle and nodded to Ronon, who took one step to the right and pulled his gun, ready to cover whatever might be on the other side. Carefully, John turned the knob and opened it, lifting his own gun at the same time Teyla did, but all they saw was an empty, dim corridor. Cautiously, he walked out of the room and into the hallway, with his team only a step behind him. They’d only gone a dozen or so feet before the distant rumble of an explosion echoed around them.
“What the hell was that?” Rodney whispered emphatically.
“An attack?” Ronon asked.
John scowled. “Sounds like it.” He sighed deeply. “I got a really bad feeling about all of this. We gotta find Ford.” He started forward again, heading for the central area of the warehouse. Turning a few more corners, they finally came to the main antechamber. John lowered his gun just a bit at the sight of Ford, Derg and five other men. “Ford,” John strode purposefully towards the lieutenant, “what the hell is going on?”
Ford turned and glared at John, his expression seething mad. “The Wraith found us!”
John’s eyes widened. “Wraith? Where?”
“Coming this way, thanks to you!” Ford shot back. “They’re coming after us!”
John pushed back his irritation. “Hold on. What do you mean, thanks to us?”
“They spotted the jumper you left parked in the broad daylight for anyone to see! Now they know we’re here!”
“Why did they come to this planet in the first place?” Rodney interrupted. “What reason would they have?”
“You!” Ford shouted. “They came because of you!”
“Wait just a damn minute,” John shot back. “You’re the one that called us here! We didn’t tell anyone outside of the senior staff on Atlantis what was happening or where we were going!” He paused a moment and took a deep breath. “Rodney’s right, what brought them here in the first place? Jumper or no jumper, they had to have a reason to be in orbit.”
Ford waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. We have to get out of here.”
John looked around. The building, while it still had four walls and a roof, was in bad shape. Stress showed on the girders and the walls were crumbling in places. It’d never stand up to weapons fire of any kind, much less what the hive could unleash on them. As much as he hated to get caught out in the open, this building and the remains of all the others he’d seen, weren’t a good alternative. “Agreed. How many men do you have? We might all be able to fit in the jumper….”
“No,” Ford answered. “The Wraith destroyed it.”
“The explosion,” Rodney muttered. “We are so screwed.”
John’s mind raced. Without the jumper it was about a two mile hike back to the gate, and there were Wraith to consider. He scratched the back of his head and paced. If they didn’t just blow everything up from orbit, they’d be on the ground and it’d be a fight the whole way to the gate. He turned to Ford. “Do your men have eyes on them? Are the Wraith on the ground?”
Ford nodded. “Yes, sir. Coming this way. I sent skirmish teams out to slow them down, but we have to go.”
“Why do they not just destroy everything from orbit?” Teyla asked.
Ford shrugged. “Don’t know. But after they blew up the jumper, the hive hasn’t fired another shot. That’s when they started appearing on the ground.”
“Whatever the reason,” John said, “they’re coming after us on foot, and our only way out is on foot too.” He looked at Ford. “How many men do you have?”
“Twenty three,” Ford answered immediately. “Everyone, except who you see here, are out in skirmish teams. Their orders are to hound the Wraith and then get to the gate.”
“Okay,” John inhaled deeply. “We’re going to have to make our way to the gate on foot and the sooner we leave, the better.” His gaze lingered on Ford for a second, before he looked at his team. “We’ll try to stay together, but if we get separated for any reason, we’ll meet at the gate.”
“Before that….” Ford walked over to a small cabinet situated just inside one of the hallways and pulled out several vials of red liquid, along with a couple syringes. He waved his men over.
“Enzyme,” Rodney muttered.
“John,” Teyla stepped up next to him, her gaze following his to Ford’s team. “They do not think right while on the enzyme. Should we let them take it?”
John’s gaze narrowed. He expected Teyla to be pretty sensitive to using the enzyme; she’d had firsthand experience with it, as had Ronon, but he seemed to hide his feelings about it better. John couldn’t deny the array of negative side effects from the drug, but at the same time, now wasn’t exactly the time to go down that road. “We need them strong to pull this off. They’re already hooked anyway.” He looked down at her. “We can’t do anything about it right now. We’ll deal with it after we’re off this planet.”
Teyla’s conflicted expression turned resigned and she nodded quietly before turning away.
John watched silently, as Ford and each of his men injected themselves before they all walked back. Without any comment to them, John again looked at each of his team members. “How are you for ammo?”
Ronon twirled his gun expertly. “Fully charged.”
“Extra clip for my P-90,” Teyla replied, “as well as for my sidearm.”
Rodney pointed briefly at Teyla. “What she said.”
John flipped the safety off on his P-90. “Same here.” He looked at Ford. “Armed?”
“All of us,” Ford answered.
“Okay,” John reached in his TAC vest pocket and pulled out an extra radio. “Take this.” He gave it to Ford and then turned towards the door. “Move out.”
“No!” Ford answered, stopping everyone in their tracks.
John looked back, his brows quirking at the twitch in Ford’s face. “What?”
“I’m in charge here,” Ford shot back, pocketing the radio. “No one does anything until I give the order.”
John’s lips tightened in irritation and he bit back a snap response. Fighting with an enzyme-hyped Ford was an exercise in futility, but they were heading into an inevitable firefight. A clear line of command had to be established. He drew in a measured breath. “Not the last time I checked, Lieutenant.”
“This is my op.” Ford’s voice was undeterred. “My base, my rules.”
John hardened his gaze, adding a note of command to his voice. “This is my team,” he responded. “Including you.”
He watched as the anger dissolved from Ford’s expression and for a moment, he looked like the carefree kid that had cracked jokes and kept them all smiling their first year in Pegasus, even when they didn’t want to. All he needed was a smile, but that was far from his expression. John fought to hold onto his stern expression, when sympathy and regret flowed through him at the almost innocent quality in the young man’s face.
“Yes, sir,” Ford answered quietly, his demeanor completely different. “Sorry, sir.”
John softened his expression just a little, though he still held onto his position of command. “Apology accepted, Lieutenant.” The unpredictability of Ford’s reactions was the biggest concern he had in this entire situation. The Wraith would do what they do, and after almost two years, he could pretty accurately predict their actions, but the enzyme made Ford unpredictable. It was that uncertainty that could get them all killed. “Move out,” he repeated, and headed towards the door. The best he could do was hope this little lesson in command stuck, at least until they escaped the planet.
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“Clear!” John shouted as his eyes scanned over the motionless bodies of six Wraith, five drones and one male. He looked back at his team and Ford’s men. “Everyone okay?”
“We’re good,” Ronon answered.
John looked at Ford, who nodded. “Okay, let’s go.” He started down the street again, scanning back and forth in a methodical fashion, alert for any sort of attack. Next to him, Teyla did the same.
“They seem to be more intent on getting close to us than stunning or killing everyone from a distance,” she said quietly.
John nodded, his attention never diverting from their surroundings. “Noticed that. Any idea why?”
“No,” Teyla answered. “I have never seen Wraith behave this way before. The closer they are to us, the more risk they take of injury or death. I do not see why they are doing this.”
Movement out of the corner of his eye immediately caught John’s attention. He spun left. “Watch out!” Pushing Teyla ahead of him, he dove for cover as gunfire erupted around them. From behind a large chunk of rubble, John crouched and glanced at Teyla. “Gunfire, not stunners. Those aren’t Wraith.” His radio headset clicked.
“Who the hell is that?” Rodney demanded loudly. “As if we didn’t have our hands full enough with the Wraith!”
John tapped his headset. “No idea. Was too busy trying not to get shot to take a closer look. Anyone got eyes on the enemy?”
“Nope,” Ronon answered. “Can’t see them.”
“I got ‘em, boss,” Ford interjected. “Derg and my guys are gonna flank ‘em.”
“How many of them are there?” John asked.
“Don’t know for sure,” Ford said.
Concern welled up in John. “Ford, call your men back until we know how many we’re facing. They could get in over their heads.”
“No way,” Ford’s voice was confident and slightly angry. “They can handle it, Sheppard, no matter how many bad guys are out there.”
John grit his teeth in frustration. They needed every skilled fighter they could get to even make it to the gate. Ford’s use of his men was reckless. “Ford,” he tried to keep his voice calm. “Call them back. That’s an order.” He glanced at Teyla as the silence lingered, punctuated by an occasional gunshot as the enemy tried to get his team to return fire. “Ford?” he prompted. “Ford, respond!”
John risked a glance over the top of the rubble and then ducked as rapid gunfire suddenly started, but it wasn’t aimed at them. He again peeked over the rubble and lifted his P-90, looking for a target, but couldn’t find one. Almost as soon as it started, the gunfire ceased and Derg appeared from behind more rubble about a hundred yards down the street.
Derg waved. “All clear!”
John slowly stood, looking around as Ford trotted over to him.
“See?” Ford answered. “No problem. You need to trust me and my men, Sheppard.”
John glanced at Ford but said nothing. They’d gotten lucky this time, but he knew he had no chance of convincing Ford of that. Lifting his gun, he started down the street towards Derg’s position. “Come on.”
“Report,” Ford ordered as they approached Derg.
John looked around, spying six dead fighters. His eyes widened slightly at the motionless forms of two of Ford’s men. He looked back at Ford and Derg.
Derg jerked his head towards his fallen comrades. “We lost Beck and Eron.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call this a success, Lieutenant,” John’s voice was hard. He hated losing men, and in this case, any diminishment in their already small number could spell disaster. “You should’ve waited for my order.”
Ford stared back at him before waving at the dead ambushers. “They’re dead, aren’t they? Isn’t that the point?”
“Yes,” John answered, “but so is keeping your men alive. You used to know that, Lieutenant.” He held onto his stern expression, locking eyes with Ford, whose expression matched his.
“Not all of them are dead,” Derg interjected.
John held Ford’s gaze for one more moment before looking at Derg, who dragged one of the attackers to his feet only briefly before he shoved the man to his knees in front of John and Ford.
John looked at Ronon and nodded once. The big Satedan grabbed the shoulders of their prisoner, helping Derg restrain him.
John stared at their prisoner. Blood flowed freely from a wound in his side, but his expression was far from cowed as he glared defiantly back. John let his P-90 hang from his vest and smoothly pulled his .45. He walked up to the prisoner and pressed the barrel into his forehead. “Who are you?”
“My Master protects me, Lantean. I will tell you nothing,” the prisoner spat back.
Teyla stepped up next to John. “Who is your master?”
The prisoner shifted his glare to her. “Those who are all powerful. They heal us, protect us, and we gladly serve them.”
“The Wraith,” Teyla said, but he only smiled in return.
“You’re a worshipper,” Rodney added.
The prisoner looked right at him. “Yes. Gladly so.”
John clenched his teeth and resisted pulling the trigger. “How did you know we were here?”
The prisoner considered him for a moment, before looking at Ford. “Your spies are too easy to spot. The woman, she resisted, but in the end we learned what we needed. My Master wants you dead.” He looked back at John. “Your presence was a welcomed surprise. He wants you dead too. As do I.” His gaze narrowed dangerously. “The death of our Queen must be avenged.”
He looked away for a moment, ignoring the scrape of the gun barrel across his forehead. “I will tell you no more that will help you in battle.” Again, he locked dark gazes with John. “Your fate is sealed, Lantean. You will not leave this planet alive.”
“We’ll see.” John took a deep breath and pulled the gun back from the prisoner’s head. Without another word he swiftly struck the barrel across the man’s face, knocking him unconscious. “Sounds like they got to your spies, Ford.”
“You didn’t kill him.” Ford’s voice was almost accusatory as he completely ignored John’s statement.
“No,” John answered flatly. He looked around at the wide street, bordered by rubble and dark alleys, all great places for ambushers to hide. “We’re too out in the open here. We need to get moving.” He holstered his sidearm and again lifted his P-90 to a ready stance. He did a quick calculation in his head. With two of Ford’s men dead, they were down to eight. Not as good as ten, but better than four. John briefly arched a brow. Not an ideal answer, but then again, there was nothing about this situation that even remotely qualified as ideal.
He flinched, jumping at the gunshot right next to him and spun around, eyes widening as Ford lowered his gun. John’s gaze shifted to the remains of their prisoner’s head. “Damn it, Ford!”
Unfazed, Ford’s expression was unnervingly calm as he looked at John. “Leave no enemy alive, Sheppard.” He gestured haphazardly at the dead worshipper. “We didn’t need him behind us.”
John glared at Ford, a slew of scathing words flying through his head, but all of them silenced by the persistent nagging of his instincts. They were too out in the open to be arguing now. “Move out,” he snapped, turning away.
Cautiously, he moved forward, leading his team down the street, his well practiced combat skills allowing him to push aside Ford’s actions and focus on their situation. Adrenaline sharpened his senses, making him keenly aware of everything around him, and the silence was oppressing. The only sounds were the footsteps of his team. Nothing else, not even a breeze to rattle its way between buildings or shift debris around him. He felt like he had a gigantic target on him and that any moment some Wraith was going to bull’s-eye it.
At the next intersection, he paused and carefully peeked around the corner before gesturing his team forward as he walked down the cross street. He sighed regretfully as they passed a charred pile of wreckage. Even amidst the destruction, enough pieces were left to unmistakably identify it as their jumper… or what was left of it. “Don’t think we’ll find anything helpful there,” he commented darkly.
“Damn it,” Rodney said. “I was hoping there’d be at least something left that we could use.”
John’s thoughts again lingered on the Wraith’s annoying but admirable trait of never, ever doing anything half-assed. “I think that was the point of obliterating it, Rodney.” He did a quick calculation in his head. “Still about a mile and a half to the gate.”
“Gonna get worse the closer we get,” Ronon commented quietly.
John nodded. “Yeah. I expect the gate to be pretty heavily guarded along with the area around it, especially now that they’ve destroyed the jumper. They know it’s the only place we can go to escape.”
“They’re right,” Ronon answered.
“What do we do?” Teyla asked from right behind John.
John sighed and shook his head. “Well, it is our only option. We keep moving, fight where we have to, avoid fighting if we can.”
“What do we do when we get there?” Rodney interjected, “in case you haven’t noticed, we have limited ammo here.”
“One thing at a time, McKay” John insisted, staying focused. “First we need to get there. We’ll figure it out then.”
“For some reason I don’t find that very comforting,” Rodney muttered.
John quirked a brow, silently agreeing with Rodney. They needed a good plan, but right now, he really couldn’t make one. They had no idea how much resistance they’d encounter, what it would take in ammo to get by that resistance, or what they’d have left in both manpower and ammo when they did finally get to the gate. He pushed away the thoughts, taking his own advice.
One thing at a time.
------------------------------------------------------
High atop the tallest building left somewhat standing, the wind was stiff. It blew his white hair straight out behind him, but he paid it no heed. His gaze focused, he watched from a distance beyond human eyesight, focusing in on movement in the streets. The humans were tasking his fighters and their worshippers, but he’d expected no less. These super humans had proven themselves formidable and the deadly abilities of the Lanteans were well known amongst his brethren. The worshipers were expendable and served their purpose efficiently, diminishing manpower and ammunition with each encounter. Satisfaction flooded through him. He would take great pleasure in exacting revenge on those who led… those responsible for his Queen’s demise. Their death would be face to face and personal. He would watch the life slowly ebb from their eyes amidst torture and pain.
He flexed his feeding hand, feeling a surge of strength flow through him. They’d already captured skirmishers, some dead in the fight, some brought before him and his brothers. They’d fed long and deep, savoring the defiance and gathering strength from it for the coming fight.
He turned his head slightly, scanning the ruined city to settle on the gate. Each street leading to it was well guarded and the gate itself guarded best of all. There, and directly before it, lay his best fighters. Males who’d pursued and dispatched multiple Runners across the galaxy, proving themselves as keen warriors, along with the biggest and strongest of the drones. That alone was formidable, but all of them had fed on the skirmishers and their regeneration and strength was at its highest.
His lips pulled back in a sneer. If they were not dispatched of before reaching the gate, the humans would face the best of his hive. He swiftly turned and hastily made his way down off the building. The humans were quickly advancing towards their defeat and he would be there to ensure it.
On to Part 3!