Easter 2010 Fic Exchange: Into the Rain by stella_pegasi
Title: Into the Rain
Author: stella_pegasi
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne
Spoilers: The Return I & II, Inquisition (Story set after Season Five)
Warnings: Whump
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Genre: Action/Adventure
Word count: 19,474
Disclaimer: I do not own them, I would have treated them better.
Summary: Written for x_erikah_x for the Easter 2010 Fic Exchange. Prompt at the end of Chapter 5.
INTO THE RAIN
INTO THE RAIN
By stella_pegasi
CHAPTER FOUR VENGEANCE
Kelore’s men brought Shiana to his office, where Sheppard’s team, along with Major Lorne waited. As she walked in the room, she jerked her arm away from the guard who had practically dragged her through the doorway.
“Kelore, I demand to know why I have been brought here, in front of these people, against my will. You will pay for this insolence. We may be on your home world, but you are nothing more than a council member, as am I. You have no authority over me.” Her dark brown eyes were flashing hostility at everyone in the room.
Turning toward the Atlantians, she glared at Teyla in particular, “Don’t tell me that this is all because of Sheppard and the other one. I have told you, I do not know where they are, and I do not care. Kelore let me go now, or there will be serious consequences.”
Kelore motioned for the guard to place Shiana in a chair; she started to resist but then sat down. He walked around his desk and stood directly in front of her.
“Shiana, what can you tell us about Mischen Vangar, and do you know where he is right now?”
“What about him?” From the stunned expression on her face, she was obviously not anticipating questions about her personal aide.
McKay couldn’t control his impatience with the council woman any longer. Slamming his fist onto Kelore’s desk, he shouted, “Damn it, Shiana, answer the question now. Where is he?”
Shiana gave McKay a short laugh and a curt answer. “I have no idea.”
Ronon decided that he had listened to enough lies from the council woman. Grabbing the back of Shiana’s chair, he spun her around. With his face only inches from hers, he quietly said, “Tell us where he is, or I will make you tell.”
“Ronon!” Teyla rushed to him and attempted to pull him away. The Satedan didn’t budge, continuing to stare into Shiana eyes.
His dark eyes were blazing with anger as he spoke, “You will answer me. I’m a native of the Pegasus galaxy. I have a right to ask you, a council member, what you know, now talk.”
Ronon turned to look at Teyla, her hands still locked around his arm, and pushed Shiana’s chair, nearly sending it over on its side. One of the Latiran guards grabbed the chair in time to prevent Shiana from crashing to the floor. Ronon walked across the room, and leaned against the wall. His fingers curled around the grip of his blaster; his eyes still locked on Shiana.
Shiana looked nervously at the faces intently watching her as she answered, “I do not know where he is; in fact, I have asked members of my staff to try and locate him. He hasn’t been seen anywhere in the city since shortly after the session adjourned.”
Kelore asked, “Would Vangar have reason to want to harm Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey?”
Her expression became even darker as she looked directly at Teyla, who had gone to stand near Ronon. “Yes, he does; his family was killed by the Replicators when my family was. In fact, it was Mischen who pulled me through the gate of the Ancestors when he realized that both of our families were dead and we could do nothing to help them. He has every reason, as do many of us, to wish punishment on the Atlantians.”
Kelore was quiet for a moment, “Shiana, this has been settled; the Atlantians are not to blame for all of the horrors that have befallen this galaxy. Atlantis is an integral part of our existence now, and we must all work together. If the Coalition is to survive, restore order and move forward, we cannot look to the past. Tell us now, what do you know?”
“I swear on the lives of my husband and children, I do not know where he is or if he is behind the disappearance of the Atlantians.” She paused as if she was reluctant to continue, “However, it would not surprise me; the lost of his wife, two sons, and daughter weigh heavy on him every moment of every day. He requested to serve on my staff so that he could help with building the coalition. I owed him that, he saved my life. Although, I’m not certain either one of us are happy that we lived.”
Kelore motioned to the guards to escort Shiana from the office. Turning to the Atlantians, he asked, “What now?”
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John Sheppard leaned against the rock wall, deciding he had enjoyed better days. The rain was pouring down as fiercely as it had since last night, his left thigh was throbbing, his head hurt, and he was cold, wet, and miserable. Upon reflection, he thought, this day was not unique; it was simply another normal day for Atlantis’s military commander.
Once he was back in the valley, Sheppard searched for a time before he located a protected area surrounded by large boulders and scrub brush. There was a small recessed area carved into the mountain that offered him shelter from the relentless rain. Well aware that he couldn’t rest for long, he took the luxury of closing his eyes for a few minutes.
Digging a powerbar from his pants pocket, he munched on the bar as he contemplated his next move. He had no idea how badly he had injured the bastard following him. He had watched Big Idiot fall after he fired at him, but for all Sheppard knew, the man might have gotten right back up, uninjured. The fact was, he didn’t know, and that meant he had to keep moving.
Before he left the relatively dry area of the shelter, he inspected the bandages on his leg. His wounds were still seeping. He assumed the constant flexing of his leg muscles as he ran over the rough ground was causing the oozing blood. Ripping another long strip of cloth from what was left of his shirt, he fastened the new layer over the existing bandages. He got to his feet reluctantly, and scanned the terrain around him; not seeing his assailant, Sheppard limped out into the rain.
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McKay was sitting in a jumper, parked on the ground, monitoring the data from the latest air search that Lorne had ordered. The other jumpers were searching in a widening concentric grid around the city again to see if they missed anything during the first search.
“Nothing yet?” The scientist looked up from his pad as he heard Ronon’s voice; the Satedan and Teyla had returned to the jumper after canvassing the government building.
Teyla and Ronon, along with Captain Waters and Lt. Salem’s teams had been re-interviewing everyone in the coalition headquarters again, now that they had something to question them about. Kelore had sent his own security guards out into the city to see if anyone had knowledge of Mischen Vangar’s whereabouts.
“It’s been two hours since we found out that bastard might have taken them, what if we’re too late?” The tension in his voice and the pain evident in his eyes revealed Rodney’s increasing anxiety. “Do you think Shiana had a hand in Sheppard and Woolsey disappearing?”
“Rodney, it is possible that Shiana is involved, but I was watching her face when she heard Vangar’s name. I believe she was quite shocked when she realized that he might be involved in John and Woolsey’s disappearance. I am not certain that she does have anything to do this.” Teyla sat down across from Rodney, leaning back in the co-pilot’s chair, she sighed. “I have a bad feeling that we may not be able to find them.”
Rodney shivered as he looked at Teyla, “Teyla, I’m the one that always pessimistic. People expect me to say something like that, but you; you are the one who always gives us hope. Please don’t start changing on me now; I don’t think I can deal with that at the moment.”
Ronon smacked Rodney lightly on the back, “Don’t worry, little man, we’ll find them.”
The radio crackled and Lorne’s voice reverberated in the cockpit, “Dr. McKay, we may have a lead; please come to the conference room.”
Sheppard’s teammates raced out of the jumper and through the side door of the building into the corridor, leading to the conference room. The first thing they noticed as they walked into the room was a small, pale, thin man sitting at the conference table, flanked by two large Marines.
“This is Bevern; he works at a tavern on the edge of the city. He believes that he saw Vangar around 1130 hrs today. Tell them what you saw, Bevern.”
Bevern appeared very nervous and spoke in a quiet, timid voice. “I was taking empty barrels out of tavern to the storage building, and I saw a very large man heading out of town on the old quarry road. I noticed him because the quarry is abandoned; no one ever goes down that road any more. He looked like the man they described to me.”
Lorne prompted him to continue, “Go on, Bevern, what happened next?”
“Well, about fifteen minutes later, I brought another barrel out and I heard a funny noise. A kind of humming sound, and it was coming from the sky. I looked up, and there was this silver boxy thing in the air, it looked something like that thing out there.” He pointed to the jumper visible through the windows. “It was above the trees, and it kept going up a ways, then headed north.”
Lorne thanked Bevern, nodding for the Marines to escort him out. Once the room was clear, Lorne spoke, “Kelore tells me that the quarry road runs parallel to the road to the stargate is located on. Only a quarter of a mile separates the roadways, with a forested area in between. Flying toward the north would take the ship toward a large mountain range.”
“That’s where he took them, no wonder we couldn’t find any trace of them.” Rodney shook his head, “Lorne, we need to check out that road, might be able to find some clues.”
“Let’s go; meantime, I’m going to recall the search jumpers, and send them toward the mountains to survey what we’re up against.” Lorne lead the way as they exited the conference room, this time with a small ounce of hope.
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Inside the dark cave, time seemed to standstill for Richard Woolsey after Sheppard departed. The pale dim light from the cave opening did not penetrate as far as the dark corner where Sheppard had left him. He had never felt more alone.
He could hear the constant pounding of the heavy rain hitting the rocks outside the cave. The rain was lulling him into the sleep he so desperately needed, but he was determined to stay awake. He needed to do that for Sheppard. Damn fool colonel had put himself in danger in order to protect him; the least he could do was stay awake and alert.
His legs and back were numb from remaining in same position for too long. He attempted to shift his weight without disturbing his broken arm, but even the slightest movement sent agonizing pain coursing through his body. Woolsey tried to breathe through the pain, but his broken ribs quickly alerted him that wasn’t a great idea.
He was making an effort to settle down when he heard a muffled noise from outside the cave. Gunfire; he was positive that the sharp crack had to be weapons fire. A short period of time passed, and he heard another sound like gunfire, this time further away. Woolsey was certain that Sheppard was in trouble, and there was nothing he could do to help.
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As Sheppard tried to draw the man further away from Woolsey, he began to sense he might have made an error in choosing the direction he was heading. The valley was quickly narrowing, and the stream that ran through the valley was threatening to overspill its banks. He decided that he needed to circle around, and head in the other direction.
Cautiously, Sheppard turned around, and began making his way back. He decided Big Idiot would assume that he wouldn’t try to traverse the stream, which was flowing much swifter than earlier in the day. At least, that was what he hoped his pursuer would think. He began scouting for a decent place to cross. He would remain on the other side of the stream until he passed the location where he thought Big Idiot might be, and then cross the stream again. With any luck, he would become the pursuer.
Sheppard skirted along the tree line until he spotted an area of the stream that looked narrow enough to cross. After scanning around for the Idiot, he ran as fast as he could on his injured leg and hit the water sinking up to mid-thigh. The water was rushing around his legs, propelling him forward, but the effort to stay upright was taking a toll on his wounds. He could feel the strength in his injured thigh fading as the burning and cramping increased. He was almost to the other side when his left leg collapsed under the strain, and Sheppard fell into the swiftly moving water, which began to sweep him downstream.
He was bouncing off rocks, as he desperately tried to grab one of the low hanging tree limbs passing over his head. Missing on the first two attempts, he managed to hook his left arm around the third. The force borne by his body to stop his forward momentum felt like it was going to rip his arm from its socket. Wrapping his right arm around the limb, he pulled himself toward the bank, and rested for a few moments. Then he crawled out of the stream, and managed to stand up.
“Uhhh...way to go, John. At least you managed to get swept to the side of the stream you wanted to be on.” Needing to rest after the wild water ride, he starting looking around for a place to get out of sight.
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Rodney was monitoring the jumper’s sensors as they began a low pass over the old quarry road. Within a couple of minutes, he detected an anomalous energy reading, minute traces of a radioactive substance.
“I’ve got something.” He was pounding the keyboard of his pad running calculations.
Major Lorne, who was piloting the jumper, glanced over at the scientist, “What…what do you have, McKay?”
“A residual energy reading, some sort of radiation; could be from a engine.”
“Where?” Lorne asked.
Rodney looked up at the jumper’s windshield and pointed to the right. “There’s an open field just past the tavern on the right. Sensors are picking up a weak energy signal from the other side of that large grove of trees.
Lorne radioed the other jumpers to scout the area for the ship in case Vangar may have parked it elsewhere, then he landed near the coordinates of the energy residue. They exited the jumper to take a look around.
“There is definitely trace radiation here; this has to be where he parked the ship.” Rodney began walking toward an area that was tucked behind several large trees.
Ronon and Teyla had started looking for looking for tracks. Ronon called to Lorne, “definitely something big sat here, grass matted down, and some trees branches bent.’
“There are tracks from here leading to the road.” Teyla added.
“OK…let’s get back in the air and join the others. We’ll make a quick sweep of the area in case he’s still around. If he’s smart, he would park the ship in a different location each time he returns.”
Once they were back in the jumper, Lorne asked McKay, “Doc, can we use that energy reading to locate Vangar’s ship?”
McKay nodded to the major, “Yeah, I think we can. Vangar’s ship’s engine is not very powerful, not like the jumpers, and the energy residue is slight. But we can reconfigure the sensors on the jumpers to pick it up. The only problem is that we would have to be pretty close to the ship, or to where it’s been to find it; the energy reading is very weak.”
“Then let’s get the jumpers back to the government building where you can work on the sensor reconfig. We secure some topographical maps of the mountains, and start planning a search grid. I have a feeling he took them there.” Lorne banked the jumper around toward the city, and radioed for the others to follow. Behind them, the storms from the mountains were moving toward the city.
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Sheppard glanced up at the sky; the shadows were getting deeper in the valley, and he knew darkness would cloak the valley before the sun actually set. He estimated that he had about an hour or so before he would lose daylight, and needed to find a place to take cover for the night.
The ordeal was beginning to affect him; walking was becoming a struggle. Nearly all of the muscles in his body were burning from the constant movement, abuse from the tumble in the stream, and the gunshot wounds. At least he wasn’t thirsty or dehydrated; he had consumed water all along from cupping his hand in the rain as well as gulping down a lot during his wild ride in the stream. What he needed was protein and electrolytes to keep his muscles from cramping; he envisioned a thick, juicy steak but a powerbar would have to do, and he took one from his pocket.
Stopping to get his bearings, Sheppard surmised he was about twenty yards past the cave entrance. He wanted to check on Woolsey’s condition, but he couldn’t risk Big Idiot seeing him enter the cave. He had attempted to be as quiet as he could as he walked past the cave opening to prevent Woolsey from hearing him. No need to unduly alarm the director.
The stream was now overflowing its banks, and he didn’t want to tackle crossing it again until he rested. He decided to continue going forward until he found an area protected enough to stay the night. He was slowly making his way through a thick grove of trees and underbrush when he heard the sound.
The sound was almost indiscernible over the heavy rains, but he heard it. Readying a gun to fire made a very unique and distinct noise, not soon to be forgotten by someone in the military. Sheppard slipped his hand onto the grip of his 9-mil, waiting quietly for the gunman’s next move.
“You are a slippery bastard, Sheppard. You thought you could get away from me, didn’t you? The smart colonel from Atlantis should be able to outsmart a mere resident of the Pegasus galaxy. I believe I have proven that you were quite wrong about that assumption, my dear colonel. Put your hands up where I can see them, and move over into that clearing.”
Taking a cue from his instructions, Sheppard hoped that Big Idiot couldn’t see his hands. He slipped the 9-mil from its holster and slid the handgun into the back waistband of his pants, pulling what was left of his black t-shirt over the weapon. Then he slowly turned to locate where the Idiot was standing. As he turned, Idiot fired a shot which struck the rock face behind him.
“I’m not kidding, Sheppard. Get into the clearing.”
Sheppard stepped out into the clearing, and got his first real look at the man he had been calling Big Idiot. Unfortunately, Big Idiot didn’t look like an idiot. He was tall, about Ronon’s size, as well as heavier and quite a bit older than the Satedan. There was blood matted on the side of his head, appearing to come from a long, raw groove cut into his hair. Sheppard assumed that was his handiwork; he had hit him with the shot earlier. The Big Idiot was bruised and cut all over his body just as he was, and, as the big guy moved a bit closer to him, Sheppard could see he was also limping severely, grimacing as he put weight on his right leg.
“Who are you?” Sheppard asked.
“I am the man who is going to kill you.”
“Oh…heard that before. Uh...Need to get a more original line.” Sheppard gave Big Idiot a little smirk.
‘Shut up, do you think I’m some sort of idiot you can make fun of?”
“Well, I nicknamed you Big Idiot for attempting this little stunt so if it fits…”
The man fired his weapon, the bullet passing inches from Sheppard’s head, striking a tree behind him. Sheppard didn’t flinch as slivers of bark and wood flew past.
The Big Idiot chuckled, “Don’t scare easy, do you? Well, you should be scared because there is no way out of this for you or for the other one. Where is your companion?”
“He’s dead; died in the fall he took right before you spotted us.”
“Don’t believe you. You wouldn’t have come to this valley if Woolsey was dead, you would’ve returned to the cabin to confront me. I know military tactics, colonel. I served in the militia of the Tribes of Santhal as a young man. We were a proud people, colonel, we suffered from the Wraith, as all have, but we survived. However, we could not survive the powerful weapons of the Replicators. You caused the destruction of my people by your interference, and I am going to make you pay, even if the coalition wouldn’t.”
Sheppard was quick to realize that this man had little to lose; if Big Idiot was from the Tribes of Santhal then he would be an ally of Shiana. He was another person who most likely lost family and friends to the replicators, and blamed Atlantis for their deaths.
“Look, I’m sorry; I really am. We had no idea that the Replicators would harm so many worlds in their fight with the Wraith. We didn’t have any idea they would use the destruction of entire planets as a way to destroy the Wraith’s feeding ground. When we did realize what was happening, we stopped them; a coalition of people living in this galaxy stopped them.”
“Ah, the great and noble Atlantis to the rescue. There would not been a need for rescue if you hadn’t interfered to start with. Sit…” He limped toward a rock and motioned for Sheppard to sit down on the ground, aiming his weapon at the colonel’s head until he complied. He then sat down carefully on the rock, pain evident in his face. Sheppard suspected he might have a broken leg.
“You asked who I am, colonel; I will tell you. I am Mischen Vangar, personal aide to Coalition Counsel Member Shiana; you remember her, don’t you, colonel; you murdered her family as well as mine.”
“Shiana is behind this?” Sheppard asked. As Vangar spoke, his eyes would drift away from Sheppard and the colonel used the opportunity to seize a large, heavy stone that had been lying next to his right hand.
“Actually no, she isn’t; she knows nothing of this, but if I am captured, I will tell everyone that she was the mastermind. They would never believe me; since my family died, I have played shall we say dumb, the idiot you like to call me. People believe that the grief from losing my family affected me, and I am no longer the man I was. I wanted everyone to believe that, colonel; for how else could I fool anyone into thinking I couldn’t actually pull off kidnapping the two most powerful men in Pegasus.”
“So, you did this all on your own? That is a surprise.”
“Insults can get you killed, colonel. Oh, yes, that’s right; you’re going to die anyway, so insult me all you like.” Vangar shifted his weight on the rock, moaning as he moved his right leg.
“I was an important man on Santhal; a merchant, a highly successful merchant and a tribal leader. I shared my life with my beautiful wife, Laedre; two handsome sons, Joseres and Geoja, who were going to inherit my business one day, and a beautiful young daughter, Veleze. Then on that horrid day, the Replicators came, sending a white beam of light from the sky, and in an instant, all we knew was gone. Our only chance of escape was through the Ring of the Ancestors.” He paused; he was having difficulty continuing.
“We were almost to the Ring when one of my sons fell, his brother ran back to help him, my wife and my daughter stopped to wait for them. I stopped a few feet away from them, but before I could get to them, the beam swept across them. I watched them disintegrate into nothing. Shiana was standing next to me; her husband and children died in the same beam. I pulled her through the Ring of the Ancestors to safety. But neither of us really wishes to be alive. “
He closed his eyes for a brief second as the memories flooded over him like the rain. When he opened his eyes, he glared at Sheppard with a look of pure venom.
“You are going to die, colonel. You are going to die now.”
Vangar raised his weapon, a Genii pistol, but he did not see that Sheppard had the stone hidden in his hand. As he aimed, Sheppard threw the stone, hitting Vangar in the forehead; Vangar’s gun fired before he fell backward over the large rock where he had been sitting.
As he released the stone, Sheppard rolled away from the clearing, intending to take cover behind the large rocks to his left. He had almost succeeded when the bullet from Vangar’s gun tore across his side. The burning pain consumed him for a moment, but slowly he began to focus again. When his vision cleared, he saw that Vangar was struggling to his feet.
Pulling himself up, Sheppard turned to run but didn’t see the flat rim along a shallow gully and he tripped, rolling about ten feet before coming to a stop. As he opened his eyes, he could see his 9-mil lying next to him, and reached for it, but it was just past his fingertips. He started to crawl over to it when he heard a gun hammer cock again.
“Slippery, yes, you are but not slippery enough. Now, finally, you will die, Colonel Sheppard. You pay for the lives of my family.”
Sheppard was trying to determine if he could reach his gun before Vangar pulled the trigger when he heard Vangar utter a strange sound. As he looked at the man's face, Sheppard thought Vangar looked more perplexed than surprised as he fell to the ground.
Sheppard was also a bit perplexed until Vangar fell revealing, with bloody knife in hand, Atlantis Director Richard Woolsey. As he attempted to regain his voice to say something witty to Woolsey, who had just saved his life, movement on the ground caught his eye. Vangar wasn’t dead. Sheppard rolled, picked up his gun, and fired. Vangar’s arm holding the weapon dropped back to the ground, and this time he didn’t move again.
Author: stella_pegasi
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing: John Sheppard, Richard Woolsey, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Evan Lorne
Spoilers: The Return I & II, Inquisition (Story set after Season Five)
Warnings: Whump
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Genre: Action/Adventure
Word count: 19,474
Disclaimer: I do not own them, I would have treated them better.
Summary: Written for x_erikah_x for the Easter 2010 Fic Exchange. Prompt at the end of Chapter 5.
INTO THE RAIN
INTO THE RAIN
By stella_pegasi
CHAPTER FOUR VENGEANCE
Kelore’s men brought Shiana to his office, where Sheppard’s team, along with Major Lorne waited. As she walked in the room, she jerked her arm away from the guard who had practically dragged her through the doorway.
“Kelore, I demand to know why I have been brought here, in front of these people, against my will. You will pay for this insolence. We may be on your home world, but you are nothing more than a council member, as am I. You have no authority over me.” Her dark brown eyes were flashing hostility at everyone in the room.
Turning toward the Atlantians, she glared at Teyla in particular, “Don’t tell me that this is all because of Sheppard and the other one. I have told you, I do not know where they are, and I do not care. Kelore let me go now, or there will be serious consequences.”
Kelore motioned for the guard to place Shiana in a chair; she started to resist but then sat down. He walked around his desk and stood directly in front of her.
“Shiana, what can you tell us about Mischen Vangar, and do you know where he is right now?”
“What about him?” From the stunned expression on her face, she was obviously not anticipating questions about her personal aide.
McKay couldn’t control his impatience with the council woman any longer. Slamming his fist onto Kelore’s desk, he shouted, “Damn it, Shiana, answer the question now. Where is he?”
Shiana gave McKay a short laugh and a curt answer. “I have no idea.”
Ronon decided that he had listened to enough lies from the council woman. Grabbing the back of Shiana’s chair, he spun her around. With his face only inches from hers, he quietly said, “Tell us where he is, or I will make you tell.”
“Ronon!” Teyla rushed to him and attempted to pull him away. The Satedan didn’t budge, continuing to stare into Shiana eyes.
His dark eyes were blazing with anger as he spoke, “You will answer me. I’m a native of the Pegasus galaxy. I have a right to ask you, a council member, what you know, now talk.”
Ronon turned to look at Teyla, her hands still locked around his arm, and pushed Shiana’s chair, nearly sending it over on its side. One of the Latiran guards grabbed the chair in time to prevent Shiana from crashing to the floor. Ronon walked across the room, and leaned against the wall. His fingers curled around the grip of his blaster; his eyes still locked on Shiana.
Shiana looked nervously at the faces intently watching her as she answered, “I do not know where he is; in fact, I have asked members of my staff to try and locate him. He hasn’t been seen anywhere in the city since shortly after the session adjourned.”
Kelore asked, “Would Vangar have reason to want to harm Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey?”
Her expression became even darker as she looked directly at Teyla, who had gone to stand near Ronon. “Yes, he does; his family was killed by the Replicators when my family was. In fact, it was Mischen who pulled me through the gate of the Ancestors when he realized that both of our families were dead and we could do nothing to help them. He has every reason, as do many of us, to wish punishment on the Atlantians.”
Kelore was quiet for a moment, “Shiana, this has been settled; the Atlantians are not to blame for all of the horrors that have befallen this galaxy. Atlantis is an integral part of our existence now, and we must all work together. If the Coalition is to survive, restore order and move forward, we cannot look to the past. Tell us now, what do you know?”
“I swear on the lives of my husband and children, I do not know where he is or if he is behind the disappearance of the Atlantians.” She paused as if she was reluctant to continue, “However, it would not surprise me; the lost of his wife, two sons, and daughter weigh heavy on him every moment of every day. He requested to serve on my staff so that he could help with building the coalition. I owed him that, he saved my life. Although, I’m not certain either one of us are happy that we lived.”
Kelore motioned to the guards to escort Shiana from the office. Turning to the Atlantians, he asked, “What now?”
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John Sheppard leaned against the rock wall, deciding he had enjoyed better days. The rain was pouring down as fiercely as it had since last night, his left thigh was throbbing, his head hurt, and he was cold, wet, and miserable. Upon reflection, he thought, this day was not unique; it was simply another normal day for Atlantis’s military commander.
Once he was back in the valley, Sheppard searched for a time before he located a protected area surrounded by large boulders and scrub brush. There was a small recessed area carved into the mountain that offered him shelter from the relentless rain. Well aware that he couldn’t rest for long, he took the luxury of closing his eyes for a few minutes.
Digging a powerbar from his pants pocket, he munched on the bar as he contemplated his next move. He had no idea how badly he had injured the bastard following him. He had watched Big Idiot fall after he fired at him, but for all Sheppard knew, the man might have gotten right back up, uninjured. The fact was, he didn’t know, and that meant he had to keep moving.
Before he left the relatively dry area of the shelter, he inspected the bandages on his leg. His wounds were still seeping. He assumed the constant flexing of his leg muscles as he ran over the rough ground was causing the oozing blood. Ripping another long strip of cloth from what was left of his shirt, he fastened the new layer over the existing bandages. He got to his feet reluctantly, and scanned the terrain around him; not seeing his assailant, Sheppard limped out into the rain.
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McKay was sitting in a jumper, parked on the ground, monitoring the data from the latest air search that Lorne had ordered. The other jumpers were searching in a widening concentric grid around the city again to see if they missed anything during the first search.
“Nothing yet?” The scientist looked up from his pad as he heard Ronon’s voice; the Satedan and Teyla had returned to the jumper after canvassing the government building.
Teyla and Ronon, along with Captain Waters and Lt. Salem’s teams had been re-interviewing everyone in the coalition headquarters again, now that they had something to question them about. Kelore had sent his own security guards out into the city to see if anyone had knowledge of Mischen Vangar’s whereabouts.
“It’s been two hours since we found out that bastard might have taken them, what if we’re too late?” The tension in his voice and the pain evident in his eyes revealed Rodney’s increasing anxiety. “Do you think Shiana had a hand in Sheppard and Woolsey disappearing?”
“Rodney, it is possible that Shiana is involved, but I was watching her face when she heard Vangar’s name. I believe she was quite shocked when she realized that he might be involved in John and Woolsey’s disappearance. I am not certain that she does have anything to do this.” Teyla sat down across from Rodney, leaning back in the co-pilot’s chair, she sighed. “I have a bad feeling that we may not be able to find them.”
Rodney shivered as he looked at Teyla, “Teyla, I’m the one that always pessimistic. People expect me to say something like that, but you; you are the one who always gives us hope. Please don’t start changing on me now; I don’t think I can deal with that at the moment.”
Ronon smacked Rodney lightly on the back, “Don’t worry, little man, we’ll find them.”
The radio crackled and Lorne’s voice reverberated in the cockpit, “Dr. McKay, we may have a lead; please come to the conference room.”
Sheppard’s teammates raced out of the jumper and through the side door of the building into the corridor, leading to the conference room. The first thing they noticed as they walked into the room was a small, pale, thin man sitting at the conference table, flanked by two large Marines.
“This is Bevern; he works at a tavern on the edge of the city. He believes that he saw Vangar around 1130 hrs today. Tell them what you saw, Bevern.”
Bevern appeared very nervous and spoke in a quiet, timid voice. “I was taking empty barrels out of tavern to the storage building, and I saw a very large man heading out of town on the old quarry road. I noticed him because the quarry is abandoned; no one ever goes down that road any more. He looked like the man they described to me.”
Lorne prompted him to continue, “Go on, Bevern, what happened next?”
“Well, about fifteen minutes later, I brought another barrel out and I heard a funny noise. A kind of humming sound, and it was coming from the sky. I looked up, and there was this silver boxy thing in the air, it looked something like that thing out there.” He pointed to the jumper visible through the windows. “It was above the trees, and it kept going up a ways, then headed north.”
Lorne thanked Bevern, nodding for the Marines to escort him out. Once the room was clear, Lorne spoke, “Kelore tells me that the quarry road runs parallel to the road to the stargate is located on. Only a quarter of a mile separates the roadways, with a forested area in between. Flying toward the north would take the ship toward a large mountain range.”
“That’s where he took them, no wonder we couldn’t find any trace of them.” Rodney shook his head, “Lorne, we need to check out that road, might be able to find some clues.”
“Let’s go; meantime, I’m going to recall the search jumpers, and send them toward the mountains to survey what we’re up against.” Lorne lead the way as they exited the conference room, this time with a small ounce of hope.
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Inside the dark cave, time seemed to standstill for Richard Woolsey after Sheppard departed. The pale dim light from the cave opening did not penetrate as far as the dark corner where Sheppard had left him. He had never felt more alone.
He could hear the constant pounding of the heavy rain hitting the rocks outside the cave. The rain was lulling him into the sleep he so desperately needed, but he was determined to stay awake. He needed to do that for Sheppard. Damn fool colonel had put himself in danger in order to protect him; the least he could do was stay awake and alert.
His legs and back were numb from remaining in same position for too long. He attempted to shift his weight without disturbing his broken arm, but even the slightest movement sent agonizing pain coursing through his body. Woolsey tried to breathe through the pain, but his broken ribs quickly alerted him that wasn’t a great idea.
He was making an effort to settle down when he heard a muffled noise from outside the cave. Gunfire; he was positive that the sharp crack had to be weapons fire. A short period of time passed, and he heard another sound like gunfire, this time further away. Woolsey was certain that Sheppard was in trouble, and there was nothing he could do to help.
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As Sheppard tried to draw the man further away from Woolsey, he began to sense he might have made an error in choosing the direction he was heading. The valley was quickly narrowing, and the stream that ran through the valley was threatening to overspill its banks. He decided that he needed to circle around, and head in the other direction.
Cautiously, Sheppard turned around, and began making his way back. He decided Big Idiot would assume that he wouldn’t try to traverse the stream, which was flowing much swifter than earlier in the day. At least, that was what he hoped his pursuer would think. He began scouting for a decent place to cross. He would remain on the other side of the stream until he passed the location where he thought Big Idiot might be, and then cross the stream again. With any luck, he would become the pursuer.
Sheppard skirted along the tree line until he spotted an area of the stream that looked narrow enough to cross. After scanning around for the Idiot, he ran as fast as he could on his injured leg and hit the water sinking up to mid-thigh. The water was rushing around his legs, propelling him forward, but the effort to stay upright was taking a toll on his wounds. He could feel the strength in his injured thigh fading as the burning and cramping increased. He was almost to the other side when his left leg collapsed under the strain, and Sheppard fell into the swiftly moving water, which began to sweep him downstream.
He was bouncing off rocks, as he desperately tried to grab one of the low hanging tree limbs passing over his head. Missing on the first two attempts, he managed to hook his left arm around the third. The force borne by his body to stop his forward momentum felt like it was going to rip his arm from its socket. Wrapping his right arm around the limb, he pulled himself toward the bank, and rested for a few moments. Then he crawled out of the stream, and managed to stand up.
“Uhhh...way to go, John. At least you managed to get swept to the side of the stream you wanted to be on.” Needing to rest after the wild water ride, he starting looking around for a place to get out of sight.
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Rodney was monitoring the jumper’s sensors as they began a low pass over the old quarry road. Within a couple of minutes, he detected an anomalous energy reading, minute traces of a radioactive substance.
“I’ve got something.” He was pounding the keyboard of his pad running calculations.
Major Lorne, who was piloting the jumper, glanced over at the scientist, “What…what do you have, McKay?”
“A residual energy reading, some sort of radiation; could be from a engine.”
“Where?” Lorne asked.
Rodney looked up at the jumper’s windshield and pointed to the right. “There’s an open field just past the tavern on the right. Sensors are picking up a weak energy signal from the other side of that large grove of trees.
Lorne radioed the other jumpers to scout the area for the ship in case Vangar may have parked it elsewhere, then he landed near the coordinates of the energy residue. They exited the jumper to take a look around.
“There is definitely trace radiation here; this has to be where he parked the ship.” Rodney began walking toward an area that was tucked behind several large trees.
Ronon and Teyla had started looking for looking for tracks. Ronon called to Lorne, “definitely something big sat here, grass matted down, and some trees branches bent.’
“There are tracks from here leading to the road.” Teyla added.
“OK…let’s get back in the air and join the others. We’ll make a quick sweep of the area in case he’s still around. If he’s smart, he would park the ship in a different location each time he returns.”
Once they were back in the jumper, Lorne asked McKay, “Doc, can we use that energy reading to locate Vangar’s ship?”
McKay nodded to the major, “Yeah, I think we can. Vangar’s ship’s engine is not very powerful, not like the jumpers, and the energy residue is slight. But we can reconfigure the sensors on the jumpers to pick it up. The only problem is that we would have to be pretty close to the ship, or to where it’s been to find it; the energy reading is very weak.”
“Then let’s get the jumpers back to the government building where you can work on the sensor reconfig. We secure some topographical maps of the mountains, and start planning a search grid. I have a feeling he took them there.” Lorne banked the jumper around toward the city, and radioed for the others to follow. Behind them, the storms from the mountains were moving toward the city.
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Sheppard glanced up at the sky; the shadows were getting deeper in the valley, and he knew darkness would cloak the valley before the sun actually set. He estimated that he had about an hour or so before he would lose daylight, and needed to find a place to take cover for the night.
The ordeal was beginning to affect him; walking was becoming a struggle. Nearly all of the muscles in his body were burning from the constant movement, abuse from the tumble in the stream, and the gunshot wounds. At least he wasn’t thirsty or dehydrated; he had consumed water all along from cupping his hand in the rain as well as gulping down a lot during his wild ride in the stream. What he needed was protein and electrolytes to keep his muscles from cramping; he envisioned a thick, juicy steak but a powerbar would have to do, and he took one from his pocket.
Stopping to get his bearings, Sheppard surmised he was about twenty yards past the cave entrance. He wanted to check on Woolsey’s condition, but he couldn’t risk Big Idiot seeing him enter the cave. He had attempted to be as quiet as he could as he walked past the cave opening to prevent Woolsey from hearing him. No need to unduly alarm the director.
The stream was now overflowing its banks, and he didn’t want to tackle crossing it again until he rested. He decided to continue going forward until he found an area protected enough to stay the night. He was slowly making his way through a thick grove of trees and underbrush when he heard the sound.
The sound was almost indiscernible over the heavy rains, but he heard it. Readying a gun to fire made a very unique and distinct noise, not soon to be forgotten by someone in the military. Sheppard slipped his hand onto the grip of his 9-mil, waiting quietly for the gunman’s next move.
“You are a slippery bastard, Sheppard. You thought you could get away from me, didn’t you? The smart colonel from Atlantis should be able to outsmart a mere resident of the Pegasus galaxy. I believe I have proven that you were quite wrong about that assumption, my dear colonel. Put your hands up where I can see them, and move over into that clearing.”
Taking a cue from his instructions, Sheppard hoped that Big Idiot couldn’t see his hands. He slipped the 9-mil from its holster and slid the handgun into the back waistband of his pants, pulling what was left of his black t-shirt over the weapon. Then he slowly turned to locate where the Idiot was standing. As he turned, Idiot fired a shot which struck the rock face behind him.
“I’m not kidding, Sheppard. Get into the clearing.”
Sheppard stepped out into the clearing, and got his first real look at the man he had been calling Big Idiot. Unfortunately, Big Idiot didn’t look like an idiot. He was tall, about Ronon’s size, as well as heavier and quite a bit older than the Satedan. There was blood matted on the side of his head, appearing to come from a long, raw groove cut into his hair. Sheppard assumed that was his handiwork; he had hit him with the shot earlier. The Big Idiot was bruised and cut all over his body just as he was, and, as the big guy moved a bit closer to him, Sheppard could see he was also limping severely, grimacing as he put weight on his right leg.
“Who are you?” Sheppard asked.
“I am the man who is going to kill you.”
“Oh…heard that before. Uh...Need to get a more original line.” Sheppard gave Big Idiot a little smirk.
‘Shut up, do you think I’m some sort of idiot you can make fun of?”
“Well, I nicknamed you Big Idiot for attempting this little stunt so if it fits…”
The man fired his weapon, the bullet passing inches from Sheppard’s head, striking a tree behind him. Sheppard didn’t flinch as slivers of bark and wood flew past.
The Big Idiot chuckled, “Don’t scare easy, do you? Well, you should be scared because there is no way out of this for you or for the other one. Where is your companion?”
“He’s dead; died in the fall he took right before you spotted us.”
“Don’t believe you. You wouldn’t have come to this valley if Woolsey was dead, you would’ve returned to the cabin to confront me. I know military tactics, colonel. I served in the militia of the Tribes of Santhal as a young man. We were a proud people, colonel, we suffered from the Wraith, as all have, but we survived. However, we could not survive the powerful weapons of the Replicators. You caused the destruction of my people by your interference, and I am going to make you pay, even if the coalition wouldn’t.”
Sheppard was quick to realize that this man had little to lose; if Big Idiot was from the Tribes of Santhal then he would be an ally of Shiana. He was another person who most likely lost family and friends to the replicators, and blamed Atlantis for their deaths.
“Look, I’m sorry; I really am. We had no idea that the Replicators would harm so many worlds in their fight with the Wraith. We didn’t have any idea they would use the destruction of entire planets as a way to destroy the Wraith’s feeding ground. When we did realize what was happening, we stopped them; a coalition of people living in this galaxy stopped them.”
“Ah, the great and noble Atlantis to the rescue. There would not been a need for rescue if you hadn’t interfered to start with. Sit…” He limped toward a rock and motioned for Sheppard to sit down on the ground, aiming his weapon at the colonel’s head until he complied. He then sat down carefully on the rock, pain evident in his face. Sheppard suspected he might have a broken leg.
“You asked who I am, colonel; I will tell you. I am Mischen Vangar, personal aide to Coalition Counsel Member Shiana; you remember her, don’t you, colonel; you murdered her family as well as mine.”
“Shiana is behind this?” Sheppard asked. As Vangar spoke, his eyes would drift away from Sheppard and the colonel used the opportunity to seize a large, heavy stone that had been lying next to his right hand.
“Actually no, she isn’t; she knows nothing of this, but if I am captured, I will tell everyone that she was the mastermind. They would never believe me; since my family died, I have played shall we say dumb, the idiot you like to call me. People believe that the grief from losing my family affected me, and I am no longer the man I was. I wanted everyone to believe that, colonel; for how else could I fool anyone into thinking I couldn’t actually pull off kidnapping the two most powerful men in Pegasus.”
“So, you did this all on your own? That is a surprise.”
“Insults can get you killed, colonel. Oh, yes, that’s right; you’re going to die anyway, so insult me all you like.” Vangar shifted his weight on the rock, moaning as he moved his right leg.
“I was an important man on Santhal; a merchant, a highly successful merchant and a tribal leader. I shared my life with my beautiful wife, Laedre; two handsome sons, Joseres and Geoja, who were going to inherit my business one day, and a beautiful young daughter, Veleze. Then on that horrid day, the Replicators came, sending a white beam of light from the sky, and in an instant, all we knew was gone. Our only chance of escape was through the Ring of the Ancestors.” He paused; he was having difficulty continuing.
“We were almost to the Ring when one of my sons fell, his brother ran back to help him, my wife and my daughter stopped to wait for them. I stopped a few feet away from them, but before I could get to them, the beam swept across them. I watched them disintegrate into nothing. Shiana was standing next to me; her husband and children died in the same beam. I pulled her through the Ring of the Ancestors to safety. But neither of us really wishes to be alive. “
He closed his eyes for a brief second as the memories flooded over him like the rain. When he opened his eyes, he glared at Sheppard with a look of pure venom.
“You are going to die, colonel. You are going to die now.”
Vangar raised his weapon, a Genii pistol, but he did not see that Sheppard had the stone hidden in his hand. As he aimed, Sheppard threw the stone, hitting Vangar in the forehead; Vangar’s gun fired before he fell backward over the large rock where he had been sitting.
As he released the stone, Sheppard rolled away from the clearing, intending to take cover behind the large rocks to his left. He had almost succeeded when the bullet from Vangar’s gun tore across his side. The burning pain consumed him for a moment, but slowly he began to focus again. When his vision cleared, he saw that Vangar was struggling to his feet.
Pulling himself up, Sheppard turned to run but didn’t see the flat rim along a shallow gully and he tripped, rolling about ten feet before coming to a stop. As he opened his eyes, he could see his 9-mil lying next to him, and reached for it, but it was just past his fingertips. He started to crawl over to it when he heard a gun hammer cock again.
“Slippery, yes, you are but not slippery enough. Now, finally, you will die, Colonel Sheppard. You pay for the lives of my family.”
Sheppard was trying to determine if he could reach his gun before Vangar pulled the trigger when he heard Vangar utter a strange sound. As he looked at the man's face, Sheppard thought Vangar looked more perplexed than surprised as he fell to the ground.
Sheppard was also a bit perplexed until Vangar fell revealing, with bloody knife in hand, Atlantis Director Richard Woolsey. As he attempted to regain his voice to say something witty to Woolsey, who had just saved his life, movement on the ground caught his eye. Vangar wasn’t dead. Sheppard rolled, picked up his gun, and fired. Vangar’s arm holding the weapon dropped back to the ground, and this time he didn’t move again.