Jellyfishing
Title: Jellyfishing
Author: Titan5
Rating: PG
Word count: ~7700
Summary: New world, new trading partners, new foods, and of course, new and dangerous wildlife.
Author’s note: Big thank you to black_raven135 for doing the beta thing and fixing my goofy mistakes. Merry Christmas to anyone still hanging around looking for gen Sheppard h/c stories!!
Jellyfishing
John Sheppard emerged from the gate and moved several steps to his right so that he was out of the way. Blips behind him announced the arrival of Ronon and Teyla as he scanned the tree line just a few yards away. Satisfied, he glanced around and waited. Ronon wandered toward the trees, obviously checking the area out while Teyla moved to stand beside him.
John sighed. “I thought he was right behind you.”
“As did we,” she replied.
Ronon came up to stand with them and crossed his arms. “Want me to go back and get him?”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “No, we’d have to shut it down and dial back to Atlantis.” He reached for his radio to ask what the holdup was when Carson Beckett staggered through the gate. “It’s about time,” John muttered under his breath. He began walking over to the doctor as the gate shut down. “I was about to give up on you, doc. Problem?”
Beckett was mumbling as he dug through his pack. It looked like he was repacking it. “Sorry, colonel. I had to wait for Kelly to bring my hand scanner. I guess I must have laid it down while packing and went off and left it sitting on my desk.” With a final jerk, he smiled and zipped the pack up. “I’m ready.”
Ronon looked at John, arched one eyebrow briefly, and stalked off in the direction of the village. Yeah, this could be an interesting trip. He looked at Teyla. “You mind watching our back and I’ll walk with the doc?”
Teyla nodded as she smiled. “I will be happy to.”
With a quick nod, John turned to follow Ronon down the well-worn path through the forest. “Okay, Carson, here we go. Can you carry that?”
Carson finally managed to wrestle the backpack in place and sighed heavily. “Aye, I’ve got it. Let’s get on with it then. How far did you say the walk was?”
“About a forty-five minute walk,” John replied, trying to hide his smile. They were on their way to visit the Klavontean people, hopefully to open trade negotiations. The Athosians had traded with them for years, as had many other worlds. The Klavonteans lived on the coast and while they traded seafood items, they were known for their medicines. Carson about had a runaway when he found out they apparently made several types of Pegasus antibiotics.
“At least the weather is favorable,” said Carson.
John nodded in agreement. The whole area was on the fringe of the tropics, resulting in a warm climate that provided excellent growing conditions for the forest they were walking through. The well-worn pathway reinforced what they had been told about the Klavonteans being frequent traders. Although John would never voice his concerns to Teyla, he was always a little unsettled at the first meeting with supposedly simple people. The Genii had definitely left a bad taste in his mouth.
“There’s supposed to be food when we get there, right?” asked Ronon over his shoulder.
John chuckled at the big man’s constant appetite. “Yes, Chewy, there is. Halling said the man he talked to at Market World told him we should come today for the big feast before we set up the trade so we would know more about what they had to offer.” Ronon grunted his approval and went back to monitoring the trail.
They walked in silence for a while. Random flower scents drifted by on the breeze that kept them from overheating. While John was slightly sweaty from the exertion, it wasn’t bad considering the tropical climate.
Rodney would be happy he missed the hike but sad he missed the food. He’d begged off the meet and greet, claiming he and Radek were in the middle of repairing power conduits near the east pier. Since there was apparently no Ancient tech to examine and Carson was coming to evaluate the medical aspect of the trade, John had let the scientist off the hook. He grinned as he remembered milking the situation, telling Rodney he owed him big time for not making him come.
“That’s an evil looking grin, colonel,” commented Carson with a smirk.
“I was just thinking about McKay missing our little adventure. Think we should take him leftovers?” asked John.
“Nope,” said Ronon without turning around. “If he was too busy to come with us then he’s too busy to eat the food from the feast.” He said it so matter-of-fact like that John and Carson exchanged a look and then burst out laughing.
“Okay, no doggie bag for Rodney,” John said. The trail between the trees widened as the forest became a field and the cool breeze picked up, now carrying the scent of the sea. He could see the ocean ahead, a blue strip just below the purplish skyline. He hadn’t noticed the purple tint to the sky until now and it seemed to be more obvious on the horizon.
Teyla gasped from behind him. “Halling did not mention how beautiful the sky was,” she said. “I believe Major Lorne would enjoy coming here to paint.”
John nodded. “He would. I’m pretty sure he’d camp out on the beach and we’d have to drag him back to Atlantis.”
“We should bring him with us if we come again,” Teyla said.
“Excellent idea, lass,” said Carson. “The poor lad has earned it, what with all the double duty he pulls when the colonel is in the infirmary.”
John bristled, a frown creasing his forehead and wrinkling his eyebrows. “Hey, I resent that. You make it sound like I’m laid up in bed half the time while he does all the work.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Although you were out of action for a bit recovering from the retrovirus incident. And then you got bit by that snake on P3Y-447.”
“You were also injured when the jumper lost power and crashed near the ruins on P6V-224,” offered Teyla.
“I didn’t crash,” objected John. “It was more of a hard landing. And it was just some bruised ribs from hitting the console. I was on light duty so I just couldn’t go off world. I still did my paperwork.”
Ronon turned around, walking backward with a feral grin as he prepared to add his two cents worth, but John cut him off. “Okay, enough. I get the point. I tend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could we talk about something else?”
Carson put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Aye, we can. But after I remind everyone that you usually get injured trying to protect or help others. I believe the snake bite was while you were wading floodwaters to help rescue some trapped children.”
“And it was not your fault the jumper lost power. You stayed at the controls trying to keep the jumper from crashing and seriously injuring the rest of us,” offered Teyla.
The corner of John’s mouth twitched. “Well, when you put it like that . . “ He sobered as he processed everything they had said. “Crap, you’re right. Lorne really does deserve a break. I’ll talk to him when we get back, arrange some R and R time for him.”
“We’re here,” announced Ronon, stopping near a four foot drop off that led to the sandy beach in front of them. He pointed to their left where the forest had circled around the field and crept almost up to the shore. Houses were spaced out under the canopy, hidden from any ships that might be flying above. At least the Wraith couldn’t drop down right on top of them.
As they made their way toward the village, John began noticing the people coming and going as well as the laughter of children playing in a sort of courtyard. The buildings were made of wood or woven reeds. Planks topped with fronds from palm trees lining the beach formed the roof of most of the houses. Each house had several open windows but as they got closer, John could see shutters or other coverings adjacent to each one. They probably only closed the windows during storms because the ocean breeze and warm temperature made for a pleasant combination.
A large man about John’s height with tanned skin and dark, unruly hair approached them. He was unarmed, wearing a brightly colored shirt, tan fabric shorts, and a necklace of shells and grinning from ear to ear. “You must be the people Halling spoke of. I am Laylan of the Klavonteans. Welcome to our village,” he said as he swept one arm toward the settlement.
John smiled and stepped forward. “Yes, we are. I’m Colonel John Sheppard. This is Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagen from my team. And this is Dr. Carson Beckett, our healer,” he said, indicating each one as he introduced them.
Laylan’s eyebrows went up at Carson’s introduction. “Ah, yes. Halling has spoke most well of your people and of the care of healer Beckett. Our healer, Montasia, is most anxious to speak to you.”
Carson chuckled as he nodded. “Aye, Halling has spoken well of your people too. And I am also anxious to speak to Montasia. I understand she has some medicines we may be interested in trading for. We’ve had a bit of a time bringing some infections under control lately and I think we need a local antibiotic to properly fight them.”
“I know little of healer practices, so I will leave that discussion to the two of you. The feast is almost ready. Let me take you to meet some of the villagers that help set up trade agreements. We will address those issues after we eat so that you may see the wonderful bounty the sea provides us. Come, enjoy!” Laylan grinned and practically bounced off, leading them to a large pavilion with many tables set up, several of which were being loaded down with what looked to be a huge seafood buffet.
John grinned and his stomach growled at the mixing smells of boiled, grilled, and fried food wafting in the breeze. “McKay is going to have a fit when he finds out what he missed.”
Ronon grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth. “More for us.”
The meal went well as far as John could tell. The people were open and friendly, obviously used to traders coming and going from their village. They wore light, brightly colored clothing. The food was probably the best John had eaten since coming to the Pegasus galaxy. The offerings included several kinds of fish cooked a variety of ways. They had the native version of almost crab, almost shrimp, and almost lobster. A variety of multicolored vegetables and fruits were also included. The net result was that the Lanteans ate until they were stuffed.
While the rest of the village cleaned up, Teyla and Carson talked trade with Laylan, Montasia, and a couple of old looking guys. Ronon and John just sat at the other end of the table, trying to stay out of the way.
There was still a plate of some kind of seafood on the table. John was pretty sure he and Ronon were addicted to the stuff because full as they were, they kept grabbing one more piece. It was oval, about the size of a potato chip but a quarter of an inch thick. Half the platter was fried and half was grilled and they were both excellent. It was crispy without being tough on the outside and tender on the inside, kind of like buttered crab meat. John had to fight the urge to groan as he chewed. Ronon just went with it, making the villagers grin at him.
“Are they including this stuff in the trade?” Ronon asked as he grabbed another piece.
“Yeah, at least I told Teyla to,” said John, eyeing the shrinking pile of meat. “But if we get some, we need to get the recipe on how to cook it. I’m pretty sure they marinated it in something to give it all this flavor and make it so tender. I’d hate for the mess hall to ruin it because they didn’t know how to cook it.”
Ronon stopped chewing, looking horrified at the prospect. He swallowed and shook his head. “That would be very bad . . . for them.”
John sighed. “I keep telling you, threatening the kitchen staff does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of the food. Plus it increases my paperwork when they complain.”
Ronon got that evil glint in his eye, the one that appeared right before he did something violent. “I haven’t threatened them yet.”
John flashed him the stink eye, not that it did any good. All Ronon had to do was look at you and most people felt threatened. Add in his growl and people ran for cover. And the big man knew it.
Someone smacked their hand on the table, startling John. He jerked up from where he’d slumped down in the chair to find Laylan laughing and clapping Carson on the back. Teyla looked pleased, so he took it the trade had gone well. Laylan stood and walked down to their end of the table. He waved one hand toward the nearly empty platter between the two bored men.
“You like the wentic, yes? It is very good.”
John nodded. “Yes, we like it a lot.” He glanced at Teyla, who had joined them. “Please tell me we got some of this stuff in the trade.”
One eyebrow rose, but her eyes were laughing at them. “Yes, colonel, the wentic was part of the trade.”
John and Ronon high-fived, making Carson laugh. “Do we get the recipe as part of the trade, because Ronon’s threatening violence if the mess hall ruins it.”
“Recipe?” said Laylan, his eyebrows going up.
“He wants to know how you prepare it,” said Teyla.
Laylan nodded. “Yes, if you do not prepare it properly, it is not so good. We will show you.” Laylan suddenly straightened and smiled. “Would you and your friends like to come help collect the wentic?”
John’s eyes widened. “Right now?”
“Yes,” Laylan said with a chuckle. “The wentic come in the not deep water for eight days following the full moon. That is the easiest and safest way to collect them. You and your friends can collect some and take them back for your people to sample. It will not be counted as part of the trade since you will do the work to catch them. I can show you how.”
John got quickly to his feet. “Well, yeah, if you’re sure. Wait, this won’t hurt the numbers you collect for your people will it?”
Laylan tilted his head as he studied John. “There are many, enough for you to take some and still leave many for us. It is good that you asked about the needs of my people. We are honored to trade with such people who care for others as well as themselves.” He broke out into a huge smile. “Come and we will join the others in gathering the wentic. We must wade into the not deep water, so I have some clothes you may borrow if you do not wish to get yours wet.”
John nodded. “I think we’d appreciate that.”
“Come, we have a guest dwelling where you can change and store your things. I had my wife guess what size you needed during the negotiations and place clothes there in case you wished to join us,” said Laylan, looking very satisfied with himself.
“Thank you, Laylan,” said Teyla. “We are honored to join your people in their harvest of the wentic.”
Ronon just grinned and nodded toward Teyla. “What she said.”
John looked at Laylan. “And now you know why we let her do the negotiating.”
Laylan laughed so hard his belly shook. “Well spoken, my friend,” he said as he led them to a house just a few steps from the pavilion. It was divided into three rooms, a large front room with cooking facilities and two sleeping rooms with comfortable looking mats against the walls. One room had three sets of shorts and loose tops made of cotton-like material and the other room had one set. They quickly changed and stored their weapons in a closet-like compartment, then joined Laylan outside.
They walked down to the beach to find a good number of villagers out in the water, working in pairs. Like John and his team, most were barefoot, dressed in loose shorts and tops. Each member wore a bucket-like pouch strapped to their waist and they seemed to be dropping things in both buckets. Most were in water just above their hips, where the bottom of the pouch was in the water. John frowned, trying to figure out what they were harvesting.
They stopped at a pile of supplies in the sand and Laylan began showing them how to attach the pouches. Once outfitted, they waded into the water, with Laylan leading them to a young couple already at work. They watched as the man gripped something in the water and carefully lifted it out. The animal consisted of a bluish white, somewhat translucent sphere with long, thin strands hanging off the bottom. John stared for a moment and then looked over to Carson. They both said, “Jellyfish,” at the same time.
John chuckled as he watched the man hold the alien jellyfish over a pouch so his wife could cut off the tentacles and then he dropped the animal into his own pouch. Laylan beamed at them. “And that is how we harvest the wentic. Be careful of the arms that hang down. They can give a painful sting.”
Shaking his head, John grinned. “I can’t believe that wonderful stuff we ate was jellyfish. I didn’t know you could eat those things.”
“I was also unaware of the practice of eating them,” said Carson, looking as surprised as John felt.
Laylan chuckled at them. “You have these creatures where you are from?”
John snorted. “We have something that looks like the wentic, but I’m pretty sure you can’t eat them, so they must be more different than they look. For one thing, these guys seem to be a lot thicker. Our version is called a jellyfish.”
Laylan had them watch the harvesting process one more time and then John worked with Carson while Ronon worked with Teyla. As they waded away from the others, John thought he saw something in the water. He grabbed the bell like Laylan had showed them and pulled the jellyfish from the water. “Hey, I got one,” he said. It definitely felt more solid than jellyfish he’d encountered on earth.
Carson cut the tentacles off and John dropped the thing into his pouch. He stood there a second and then gasped. “Madison will be so proud. We’re jellyfishing.”
“We’re what?” asked Carson. “I see one over there.” The doctor took two steps over and pulled a jellyfish from the water and held it out for John to cut off the tentacles.
“Jellyfishing . . . . Sponge Bob?” John watched as the physician dropped the animal into collecting pouch and then stared at the pilot.
“Sponge who?” Carson was frowning at him like he was two steps from dragging him out of the water and straight to the loony bin.
John sighed. “Never mind.” He found himself missing Rodney, who had made John sit with him and Madison and watch Sponge Bob cartoons the last time they had been on earth. He’d have to tell Madison about his jellyfishing adventure one day.
An hour later they made their way to shore, their jellyfish pouch full. They joined several other pairs of workers who had gathered around some large containers where they were emptying their pouches. After emptying their contribution into one of the huge pails, John turned to Laylan.
“Thank you for the opportunity to harvest the wentic with your people. I have to admit, I’ve never done anything like that before,” said John.
Laylan chuckled and nodded. “I knew you would enjoy it. Our people have -“ The village leader was cut off by a scream from several yards down the beach. All three men ran toward a woman yelling and waving while holding a toddler on her hip.
Laylan began talking to the semi-hysterical woman while John scanned the ocean where she had been watching and waving. He spotted a head bobbing just above the water about the time Laylan turned to them. “Talaina says her daughter was swimming by the living rock and must have been caught by the currents. She has been pulled beyond the living rock, out where many dangerous creatures live.”
John was already moving toward the water as Laylan finished speaking. “I’ll get her,” he called as he reached water deep enough he could push off and start swimming. He swam as hard as he could, trying to keep her head in sight. He needed to keep his aim straight not only so he could get there quickly, but also in case she went under he’d know where to look. He could hear her calling for help, sputtering when she took in water. When he was twenty feet away, she went under and did not come back up.
Reaching her last position, John quickly dove under. She was only a few feet down, struggling to get to the surface. She was a tiny thing, short and thin with dark hair forming a halo around her head. He gave her a little wave and pointed to the surface before grabbing her arms and kicking, hoping he didn’t scare her.
As soon as they broke the surface, she began coughing and gasping. He didn’t think she’d taken in much water, so he just held her trembling body steady until she calmed down. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Hey,” he said softly, smiling at her. “Do you remember me?”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
“Good. I’m John and I’m here to help you back to shore. Would that be okay?”
Once again she nodded, but her eyes had settled back to their regular size. She coughed again and cleared her throat. “I am Eona. I was enjoying the water and did not mean to let it carry me out so far. Momma is going to be angry.”
“I like the water too. Sometimes I stay in too long as well, so I know how easy it is to do that. I think right now your momma will just be glad that you’re okay. I’ll take us back and you just relax, okay?”
She nodded again. “Good. I am very tired. I could not keep my head out of the water any more and I thought I would die. Thank you . . . John.”
“You are very welcome Eona. I’m glad I was here to help.” John got the girl positioned and turned them back toward the shore, where it looked like the entire village had gathered. As he started swimming, his left ankle and lower leg scraped against the coral reef that served as their living rock. He pushed away from it to give himself more room to kick and a sharp pain sliced just above his ankle, surprising him. Apparently he’d found a sharp edge to cut himself on and Carson would not be happy.
It took them a few minutes to swim back. John was taking an easy pace so as not to worry the girl. He guessed she was in her early teens and he’d kept her talking for the swim, once she’d decided she wasn’t going to die and her mother probably wouldn’t kill her when they reached shore. John’s strength was lagging by the time they reached shallow water and his leg felt like it was on fire. He was getting a bad feeling about that coral.
When the water was waist high, several villagers met them and helped Eona get to the shore. John got his legs under him, but decided to let the water help him walk so he didn’t have to put weight on his left leg. Pain was beginning to shoot into his lower back and a band seemed to be tightening across his chest. Ronon was there supporting him as he tried to stagger out of the water.
“Sheppard, what’s wrong?” asked Ronon, wrapping an arm around his waist.
John fought for control over his trembling, cramping muscles. If Ronon hadn’t been holding him up, he’d have been face down in the sand. “Not sure . . . think something . . . got my leg.”
Ronon lowered John in front of a rock so that he could lean back against it. John turned his left leg over so he could see just above his ankle. A small gash was oozing blood and the skin around it was fire engine red. Muscle cramps in his calf and thigh had him squeezing his eyes shut and trying to breathe through it, even as lighter spasms attacked the muscles of his back and abdomen.
When the pain let up enough he could catch his breath and open his eyes, he found Carson bent over examining the wound site while Laylan looked on, a frown creasing his brow. “That is the sting of the ar’karare. It is an insidious creature that hides in crevices of the living rock, striking out with a stinger on the end of its long tail. That is how it captures prey and defends itself. It is bad, very bad. Many days of pain.”
John’s gut clenched at the thought of this level of pain going on for days. He was starting to feel nauseated and the sharp pain had traveled up his neck into his head. Another wave of muscle cramps took over and he curled up into a ball against it, sliding over on his side. Everything was lost to the pain as he writhed against it, trying to push it away.
When he was coherent again, he found himself lying on a blanket. Carson looked down at him, concern in his face and voice while Montasia looked over his shoulder. “There you are. I’ve given you a shot of morphine, colonel, to try to ease the pain. I can’t give you too much because from what Montasia had told me, the toxin is a neurotoxin and may affect your breathing. Ronon is running back to the gate to bring a jumper so we can get you back to Atlantis.”
“Okay,” John mumbled as he rolled to his back and began sliding his feet back and forth on the blanket, the motion helping ease the spasms in his legs. A few seconds later it felt like hot acid creeping up the back of his throat and he struggled to sit up. Carson and Teyla figured it out pretty quickly and pulled him into a sitting position just as he began emptying his stomach. Carson had apparently been expecting the involuntary purging because he thrust an empty bucket down just as John began emptying his stomach.
As the vomiting finally subsided, his abdominal muscles locked up along with his diaphragm and for what seemed like an eternity, John couldn’t breathe. His vision was beginning to gray out when he finally managed to draw in a shuddering breath.
“That’s it lad, breathe,” said Carson, patting him on the back. “If you think you can make it, we’re going to help you over to one of the houses so you can lie down until the jumper gets here.”
John nodded. “I can make it.” Right now, getting out of the sun sounded like a good idea. Teyla and Carson each took an arm, pulling him to his feet. He looked down and was surprised to see a bandage around his lower leg. The doc had apparently been busy.
The trip to the hut was an exercise in pain. They had to stop twice so John could curl up against the full body charley horse that had become his reality. Once there, he curled up on a small bed against the wall and writhed around, the constant motion distracting him enough he could remain semi-coherent. Teyla remained by his side with Carson checking on him every few minutes while trying to convince Laylan that everything would be okay.
It seemed to take forever, but eventually he heard Ronon and Lorne talking. Pushing the pain back, he focused on the pair across the room as they stood with Carson and Laylan. Teyla squeezed his arm and said, “They have landed a jumper on the beach. We will be taking you home soon.” She sounded so relieved that John felt guilty for being so sick. He started to apologize when bile shot up the back of his throat. He lunged forward, managing to sit up as a thin stream spewed out his mouth and into a bag Teyla was holding. It was one quick shot and then it was gone, almost like some kind of weird reflex action.
“Thanks,” he mumbled as she helped him lay back against some lumpy pillows. Apparently he’d garnered the attention of the folks across the room, because suddenly the whole troop was standing beside his bed.
“Did you call for a taxi, sir?” asked Lorne with a tight grin.
“More like a bloody ambulance,” said Carson.
“Yes . . . and thank you,” John said to Lorne and then gave Carson a quick glare. The door opened and a couple of marines entered with a stretcher. “Ohhh,” John groaned, realizing he’d be carried through the village on his way to the jumper. He was never coming back here again, provided he managed to live through this nightmare. Stupid galaxy with all its stupid venomous animals. He could have just moved to Australia and stayed on earth for this.
Carson patted his arm. “It’ll be alright, colonel. I have a wee bit of a plan.”
Lorne grinned and shook his head. “We’ve cleared the path, sir. No audience for your ride.”
John dredged a small smile up from someplace. His people knew him well, it seemed. “Thanks, major. I owe you one . . . or three.”
Lorne nodded. “We can discuss the exact count later, sir. When you’re in a more generous mood.” Then the major broke out into an almost evil grin.
John was trying to think of a comeback when the pain hit full force again and he lost some more time.
He was aware of the trip to the jumper because they had secured him to the litter to the point he was virtually immobilized, which meant he couldn’t writhe around with the pain and it was costing him dearly. Vises clamped the muscles in his thighs, back, abdomen, and chest. He was grateful Lorne had been true to his word, because he was pretty sure he groaned a few times. Mostly he clenched his teeth to keep from making pitiful sounds because marines didn’t generally appreciate things like that and he was still trying to convince them pilots weren’t soft.
As soon as they set the litter down in the jumper, Carson clamped an oxygen mask on his face, which he was grateful for as he didn’t feel like he was pulling in near enough air. His heart was racing and it felt like his head was about to explode. Suddenly a blood pressure cuff inflated on his arm, sending him off in another swirl of pain.
Then he was traveling down the halls of Atlantis and she was singing a worried song in his head. At least if he was going to die, it would be at home and not surrounded by strangers. Rodney’s sharp voice was berating someone, making him aware enough to realize he wasn’t moving any more. Infirmary. Someone was patting his hand. When they removed the restraints, he was moving again, sliding his feet up and down against the cool sheets, moving his hands and arms across his chest and stomach.
They attached him to monitors, set up an IV, wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm, and clipped that oxygen thing on his finger. He knew he was making it harder on them by being a moving target, but it was impossible to lie still. They talked to him and he answered as best he could. He was aware that his team was with him, coming and going, trading places, talking to him and touching his arm or his leg to help ground him. Occasionally he would spit a stream of bile into a dish one of them held in front of him. Everything was a haze of pain and motion and people and pressures on his skin. It seemed to last forever and he started to wonder if maybe they couldn’t fix him this time.
And then he was waking up after somehow having fallen asleep. Sounds were beginning to penetrate the haze and then slowly make sense. Rodney was talking and talking and then Ronon was laughing. He struggled to get his eyes open, to find out what was going on. And then it hit him. The pain was gone. He was sore and achy, but the cramps and tremors and sharp, stabbing pain was gone. His eyes popped open at the realization, startling Carson into jumping back from where he’d apparently been standing over John.
“Oh, bloody heck, colonel. Ya just shaved a few years off my life,” said Carson with a long sigh.
Rodney laughed. “You mean more than he’s shaved off during the last twenty-four hours?”
“Aye, unfortunately,” mumbled Carson. Stepping back over to John’s bedside, he smiled at his patient. “Well, now that you’re back with us, how do you feel?”
John licked his dry lips. “Doesn’t hurt anymore,” he rasped. “Just tired and sore.” His muscles felt like over-pulled taffy, achy and not really under his control.
Carson patted his arm and grinned. “Good. We engineered a sort of antivenom with Laylan’s help. Normally I wouldn’t advise such a thing because there was a high danger of an allergic reaction, but . . . “ The doctor paused to rub his chin.
“Just . . . spit it out,” said John as Rodney raised the head of the bed a little. Teyla appeared from somewhere with a cup of water and held the straw to his lips.
Carson sighed and looked at John while he drank. “Your heart rate and blood pressure went through the roof and we could not get them down. I was afraid you were headed for a heart attack or a stroke if we did not intervene. Fortunately the antivenom worked and they began to come down fairly quickly after that. I’m confident there will be no lasting damage.” The doctor smiled and the relieved expression on his face eased the tension that had begun building.
“Well, thanks. All I know is that I’m grateful the pain is gone.”
Carson nodded. “The venom is similar to that of a box jellyfish on earth, with a few little twists here and there. Interestingly enough, the creature that stung you looks a bit more like a cross between a lobster and a scorpion,” said Carson.
“You should have seen it, Sheppard,” said Ronon with a huge smile. “It was amazing.”
John grimaced. “Not sure I want to, big guy. I’ve about had enough of Pegasus variety . . . bug like creatures.” Fortunately the residual exhaustion and soreness made it easy to resist the temptation to rub his neck where he could almost feel the iratus bug sucking the life out of him. He shuddered. What was it with this stupid galaxy?
Suddenly horrified, John looked up at a still grinning Ronon. “Wait a minute. How do you know what it looked like?”
“Me and some of the Klavonteans had to go catch some for that antivenom stuff. It was kind of fun.”
John sighed and let his head fall back on the pillow. That was what he’d been afraid of. “Chewy . . . “
Ronon huffed. “It’s fine. They showed me how to get them and we were careful. No one got stung but you.”
“The colonel here thinks he’s the only one who can risk his life to help other people,” said Rodney. “He’s not happy unless he’s throwing himself on the proverbial sword and saving the day.”
John arched an eyebrow at the scientist. “Rodney,” said Teyla, her brow furrowing. “John was merely trying to keep a child from drowning. He was not aware of the danger when he swam out past the living rock.”
Rodney waved his hand and shook his head. “Wouldn’t have mattered if he did. He’d have still gone.”
Ronon nodded. “Yeah, he would have.”
“He’s sitting right here,” John said in exasperation.
Carson huffed out a breath. “You don’t need to be winding the colonel up. He still needs to rest and I don’t want you driving his blood pressure back up with your shenanigans.”
John sighed and rubbed his forehead. These people weren’t helping his headache. “The colonel wants to know about our trade agreement. Is it still a go?”
Rodney made a hmming noise and crossed his arms. “Is it still a go? You saved the life of the head guy’s great niece . . . or was it grand niece once removed . . . whatever. The point is that you saved that girl’s life and they want to do a big feast to celebrate our trade agreement and say thank you to the grand hero.”
“We still get wentic, Sheppard,” said Ronon with a huge smile. Leave it to Ronon to address the important stuff.
“I believe they also wish to thank Carson for the antivenom,” said Teyla. “Someone from the village will occasionally be stung by the ar’karare and Laylan was glad to find out there was now a treatment. Montasia told us she has lost one or two people who have been stung in the past.”
“Since they have no way to store the antivenom and the likelihood of an allergic reaction is strong, they will have to contact Atlantis in the event they need it and I’ll come administer it myself,” said Carson. “We were very fortunate to have Dr. Heang with us. His experience in developing antivenoms was the reason we were able to do it so quickly.”
“Well thank you to both of you,” said John. “I’ll be steering clear of the reef on any return trips. That was about as much fun as an iratus bug.”
“Aye, I imagine so,” said Carson. “You three can visit for a wee bit and then the colonel needs to rest. It’ll take a few days for everything to settle. I’ll be keeping a close eye on your blood pressure for a while as it’s still not down where I’d like it. How’s the headache?”
John’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t say I had a headache.”
“Ya didn’t have to lad, I can see it in your eyes. I’ll bring you something for it when I come to run your team off. And you three don’t get him wound up while I’m gone.”
Teyla nodded, Ronon smirked, and Rodney rolled his eyes. Carson sighed and shook his head before leaving them to return to his office. It was a wonder the man didn’t stab them all with a sedative sometimes.
oOo
“I still say I could have walked,” said John, getting to his feet.
Rodney snorted as he moved away from the copilot seat of the jumper. “Maybe some of us didn’t want to walk all that way. Besides, then Lorne would have had to haul all his art supplies.”
Lorne frowned as got out of the pilot’s seat and turned around. “I didn’t bring that much stuff with me. I could have carried it to the village but the doc said the colonel didn’t need to walk that far yet.”
“And he didn’t,” said Carson as moved up from the cargo bay so he could meet John’s eyes. “I know you’re feeling better and anxious to work the soreness from your muscles, but I’ve just now gotten your blood pressure and heart rhythm performing normally and I don’t want to chance stressing either of them. You’re going to have to take it easy for a few more days to be sure everything stabilizes properly.”
“I know,” John said, trying not to whine. “I just feel like I need to get my body moving to get my strength back. It’s hard, but I’m trying to be good.”
Carson clapped him soundly on the shoulder. “I know ya are lad. Just be patient another day or two and I’ll start gradually increasing your activity level. Now come on with ya. We’ve got a banquet to attend.”
John’s stomach growled as he stood up and he chuckled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” He followed his team, Lorne, Carson, and Elizabeth out of the jumper. The small field John’s team had crossed just before reaching the village had turned out to be large enough to land a jumper and that was where they were currently parked.
“I can’t wait to taste all these foods you’ve been talking about,” said Elizabeth.
“My mouth’s been watering all morning just thinking about it,” admitted John as he watched two of his teammates rushing toward the village. “Just don’t stand between Rodney or Ronon and the table or you might lose an arm.” Elizabeth chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I think Major Lorne has discovered why you wanted him to come.”
John followed her gaze to see Lorne standing at the edge of the beach, staring out to sea. The purple sky met the blue of the ocean at the horizon for a spectacular splash of color. John figured the image would just get better and better when it closed in on sunset. He grinned at the look of wonder on his XO’s face.
“Careful, Lorne. Remember to keep breathing.”
“Sir? Oh, right. This is . . . amazing.”
John stopped to stand beside the major. “We thought you’d probably like it. We’ll be here for the rest of the day, so when you get ready, feel free to wax artistic all you want. But I’d wait until after the food. That stuff is an art form all its own.”
Lorne smiled and nodded. “I have to admit, I can’t wait to try out some of the things you guys have been talking about.” He waved his hand past the ocean, beach, and village. “This place is amazing, like some kind of really cool vacation place.”
John grinned. “Exactly. One of the things we’re trading for is to use this place as kind of an R&R destination for a few people at a time.” He turned back to Lorne. “Enjoy the day, major. You’ve earned it lately. I wanted to say thanks for all the times you got stuck with my paperwork and other responsibilities.”
Lorne shrugged one shoulder. “No problem, sir. Just don’t ever make it permanent. Those IOA reports are just nuts. After finishing one of those, I feel like I need to go hit a wall or something.”
John sighed. “I know just what you mean. We’d better catch up with the others if we want to get there before the food is all gone.”
The two men were the last to arrive at the banquet tables loaded with food. John’s stomach rumbled at the sight and smells. His people were talking and mingling with the Klavonteans like they’d been buddies for years, which made John smile. Ar’karare sting aside, this was the way it should be. People from different cultures working together to make life better for both. Now all they had to do was convince the rest of the galaxy of that.
“You look way too thoughtful and serious for John Sheppard,” said Elizabeth as she sidled up next to him. “Especially John Sheppard at a party.”
John lifted one shoulder as he briefly tilted his head down toward it. “What can I say. One too many encounters with life sucking alien bugs.”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at him. “Carson said it stung you, not that it was sucking your life like the iratus bug.”
“Hey, wasn’t a lot of difference in the pain. It sure felt like he was sucking the life out of me. What is it with this galaxy and its . . . killer alien bugs? And why do they always attack me?”
Rodney came running up with food in both hands and his eyes so wide he looked bug-eyed. “Have you tasted this stuff, especially the wentic. This is amazing. Make sure we have some of everything in the trade agreement.”
John stepped back to keep the juice running off Rodney’s fingers from dripping on his clothes. “McKay! You aren’t supposed to eat yet. Laylan has to do some speech thing first. And quit dripping on my boots.”
Rodney looked at the food in his hands and then back at the tables. After a moment he stuffed it all into his mouth and struggled to chew without spitting it out everywhere as he scurried back to the table. They could see Ronon and Teyla talking to him and it looked as though Teyla was scolding him.
“Interesting team you have there,” Elizabeth said with a grin.
John just grinned back. “They’re the best.”
Ronon smacked Rodney in the back of the head, making him cough and sputter around the last bite of seafood.
“You were saying,” said Elizabeth.
“I’ll say it again. They’re the best.” He paused for effect. “The best at what, I’m not really sure sometimes. But they always have your back.” He watched as Carson came up and patted Rodney on the arm. “And that includes Scottish doctors who hover worse than any mother in the galaxy.”
Elizabeth nodded as they smiled and watched their friends . . . their family. John wouldn’t trade these people for all the wentic in the galaxy.
THE END
Author: Titan5
Rating: PG
Word count: ~7700
Summary: New world, new trading partners, new foods, and of course, new and dangerous wildlife.
Author’s note: Big thank you to black_raven135 for doing the beta thing and fixing my goofy mistakes. Merry Christmas to anyone still hanging around looking for gen Sheppard h/c stories!!
Jellyfishing
John Sheppard emerged from the gate and moved several steps to his right so that he was out of the way. Blips behind him announced the arrival of Ronon and Teyla as he scanned the tree line just a few yards away. Satisfied, he glanced around and waited. Ronon wandered toward the trees, obviously checking the area out while Teyla moved to stand beside him.
John sighed. “I thought he was right behind you.”
“As did we,” she replied.
Ronon came up to stand with them and crossed his arms. “Want me to go back and get him?”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “No, we’d have to shut it down and dial back to Atlantis.” He reached for his radio to ask what the holdup was when Carson Beckett staggered through the gate. “It’s about time,” John muttered under his breath. He began walking over to the doctor as the gate shut down. “I was about to give up on you, doc. Problem?”
Beckett was mumbling as he dug through his pack. It looked like he was repacking it. “Sorry, colonel. I had to wait for Kelly to bring my hand scanner. I guess I must have laid it down while packing and went off and left it sitting on my desk.” With a final jerk, he smiled and zipped the pack up. “I’m ready.”
Ronon looked at John, arched one eyebrow briefly, and stalked off in the direction of the village. Yeah, this could be an interesting trip. He looked at Teyla. “You mind watching our back and I’ll walk with the doc?”
Teyla nodded as she smiled. “I will be happy to.”
With a quick nod, John turned to follow Ronon down the well-worn path through the forest. “Okay, Carson, here we go. Can you carry that?”
Carson finally managed to wrestle the backpack in place and sighed heavily. “Aye, I’ve got it. Let’s get on with it then. How far did you say the walk was?”
“About a forty-five minute walk,” John replied, trying to hide his smile. They were on their way to visit the Klavontean people, hopefully to open trade negotiations. The Athosians had traded with them for years, as had many other worlds. The Klavonteans lived on the coast and while they traded seafood items, they were known for their medicines. Carson about had a runaway when he found out they apparently made several types of Pegasus antibiotics.
“At least the weather is favorable,” said Carson.
John nodded in agreement. The whole area was on the fringe of the tropics, resulting in a warm climate that provided excellent growing conditions for the forest they were walking through. The well-worn pathway reinforced what they had been told about the Klavonteans being frequent traders. Although John would never voice his concerns to Teyla, he was always a little unsettled at the first meeting with supposedly simple people. The Genii had definitely left a bad taste in his mouth.
“There’s supposed to be food when we get there, right?” asked Ronon over his shoulder.
John chuckled at the big man’s constant appetite. “Yes, Chewy, there is. Halling said the man he talked to at Market World told him we should come today for the big feast before we set up the trade so we would know more about what they had to offer.” Ronon grunted his approval and went back to monitoring the trail.
They walked in silence for a while. Random flower scents drifted by on the breeze that kept them from overheating. While John was slightly sweaty from the exertion, it wasn’t bad considering the tropical climate.
Rodney would be happy he missed the hike but sad he missed the food. He’d begged off the meet and greet, claiming he and Radek were in the middle of repairing power conduits near the east pier. Since there was apparently no Ancient tech to examine and Carson was coming to evaluate the medical aspect of the trade, John had let the scientist off the hook. He grinned as he remembered milking the situation, telling Rodney he owed him big time for not making him come.
“That’s an evil looking grin, colonel,” commented Carson with a smirk.
“I was just thinking about McKay missing our little adventure. Think we should take him leftovers?” asked John.
“Nope,” said Ronon without turning around. “If he was too busy to come with us then he’s too busy to eat the food from the feast.” He said it so matter-of-fact like that John and Carson exchanged a look and then burst out laughing.
“Okay, no doggie bag for Rodney,” John said. The trail between the trees widened as the forest became a field and the cool breeze picked up, now carrying the scent of the sea. He could see the ocean ahead, a blue strip just below the purplish skyline. He hadn’t noticed the purple tint to the sky until now and it seemed to be more obvious on the horizon.
Teyla gasped from behind him. “Halling did not mention how beautiful the sky was,” she said. “I believe Major Lorne would enjoy coming here to paint.”
John nodded. “He would. I’m pretty sure he’d camp out on the beach and we’d have to drag him back to Atlantis.”
“We should bring him with us if we come again,” Teyla said.
“Excellent idea, lass,” said Carson. “The poor lad has earned it, what with all the double duty he pulls when the colonel is in the infirmary.”
John bristled, a frown creasing his forehead and wrinkling his eyebrows. “Hey, I resent that. You make it sound like I’m laid up in bed half the time while he does all the work.”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Although you were out of action for a bit recovering from the retrovirus incident. And then you got bit by that snake on P3Y-447.”
“You were also injured when the jumper lost power and crashed near the ruins on P6V-224,” offered Teyla.
“I didn’t crash,” objected John. “It was more of a hard landing. And it was just some bruised ribs from hitting the console. I was on light duty so I just couldn’t go off world. I still did my paperwork.”
Ronon turned around, walking backward with a feral grin as he prepared to add his two cents worth, but John cut him off. “Okay, enough. I get the point. I tend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could we talk about something else?”
Carson put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Aye, we can. But after I remind everyone that you usually get injured trying to protect or help others. I believe the snake bite was while you were wading floodwaters to help rescue some trapped children.”
“And it was not your fault the jumper lost power. You stayed at the controls trying to keep the jumper from crashing and seriously injuring the rest of us,” offered Teyla.
The corner of John’s mouth twitched. “Well, when you put it like that . . “ He sobered as he processed everything they had said. “Crap, you’re right. Lorne really does deserve a break. I’ll talk to him when we get back, arrange some R and R time for him.”
“We’re here,” announced Ronon, stopping near a four foot drop off that led to the sandy beach in front of them. He pointed to their left where the forest had circled around the field and crept almost up to the shore. Houses were spaced out under the canopy, hidden from any ships that might be flying above. At least the Wraith couldn’t drop down right on top of them.
As they made their way toward the village, John began noticing the people coming and going as well as the laughter of children playing in a sort of courtyard. The buildings were made of wood or woven reeds. Planks topped with fronds from palm trees lining the beach formed the roof of most of the houses. Each house had several open windows but as they got closer, John could see shutters or other coverings adjacent to each one. They probably only closed the windows during storms because the ocean breeze and warm temperature made for a pleasant combination.
A large man about John’s height with tanned skin and dark, unruly hair approached them. He was unarmed, wearing a brightly colored shirt, tan fabric shorts, and a necklace of shells and grinning from ear to ear. “You must be the people Halling spoke of. I am Laylan of the Klavonteans. Welcome to our village,” he said as he swept one arm toward the settlement.
John smiled and stepped forward. “Yes, we are. I’m Colonel John Sheppard. This is Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagen from my team. And this is Dr. Carson Beckett, our healer,” he said, indicating each one as he introduced them.
Laylan’s eyebrows went up at Carson’s introduction. “Ah, yes. Halling has spoke most well of your people and of the care of healer Beckett. Our healer, Montasia, is most anxious to speak to you.”
Carson chuckled as he nodded. “Aye, Halling has spoken well of your people too. And I am also anxious to speak to Montasia. I understand she has some medicines we may be interested in trading for. We’ve had a bit of a time bringing some infections under control lately and I think we need a local antibiotic to properly fight them.”
“I know little of healer practices, so I will leave that discussion to the two of you. The feast is almost ready. Let me take you to meet some of the villagers that help set up trade agreements. We will address those issues after we eat so that you may see the wonderful bounty the sea provides us. Come, enjoy!” Laylan grinned and practically bounced off, leading them to a large pavilion with many tables set up, several of which were being loaded down with what looked to be a huge seafood buffet.
John grinned and his stomach growled at the mixing smells of boiled, grilled, and fried food wafting in the breeze. “McKay is going to have a fit when he finds out what he missed.”
Ronon grinned, showing a mouthful of teeth. “More for us.”
The meal went well as far as John could tell. The people were open and friendly, obviously used to traders coming and going from their village. They wore light, brightly colored clothing. The food was probably the best John had eaten since coming to the Pegasus galaxy. The offerings included several kinds of fish cooked a variety of ways. They had the native version of almost crab, almost shrimp, and almost lobster. A variety of multicolored vegetables and fruits were also included. The net result was that the Lanteans ate until they were stuffed.
While the rest of the village cleaned up, Teyla and Carson talked trade with Laylan, Montasia, and a couple of old looking guys. Ronon and John just sat at the other end of the table, trying to stay out of the way.
There was still a plate of some kind of seafood on the table. John was pretty sure he and Ronon were addicted to the stuff because full as they were, they kept grabbing one more piece. It was oval, about the size of a potato chip but a quarter of an inch thick. Half the platter was fried and half was grilled and they were both excellent. It was crispy without being tough on the outside and tender on the inside, kind of like buttered crab meat. John had to fight the urge to groan as he chewed. Ronon just went with it, making the villagers grin at him.
“Are they including this stuff in the trade?” Ronon asked as he grabbed another piece.
“Yeah, at least I told Teyla to,” said John, eyeing the shrinking pile of meat. “But if we get some, we need to get the recipe on how to cook it. I’m pretty sure they marinated it in something to give it all this flavor and make it so tender. I’d hate for the mess hall to ruin it because they didn’t know how to cook it.”
Ronon stopped chewing, looking horrified at the prospect. He swallowed and shook his head. “That would be very bad . . . for them.”
John sighed. “I keep telling you, threatening the kitchen staff does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of the food. Plus it increases my paperwork when they complain.”
Ronon got that evil glint in his eye, the one that appeared right before he did something violent. “I haven’t threatened them yet.”
John flashed him the stink eye, not that it did any good. All Ronon had to do was look at you and most people felt threatened. Add in his growl and people ran for cover. And the big man knew it.
Someone smacked their hand on the table, startling John. He jerked up from where he’d slumped down in the chair to find Laylan laughing and clapping Carson on the back. Teyla looked pleased, so he took it the trade had gone well. Laylan stood and walked down to their end of the table. He waved one hand toward the nearly empty platter between the two bored men.
“You like the wentic, yes? It is very good.”
John nodded. “Yes, we like it a lot.” He glanced at Teyla, who had joined them. “Please tell me we got some of this stuff in the trade.”
One eyebrow rose, but her eyes were laughing at them. “Yes, colonel, the wentic was part of the trade.”
John and Ronon high-fived, making Carson laugh. “Do we get the recipe as part of the trade, because Ronon’s threatening violence if the mess hall ruins it.”
“Recipe?” said Laylan, his eyebrows going up.
“He wants to know how you prepare it,” said Teyla.
Laylan nodded. “Yes, if you do not prepare it properly, it is not so good. We will show you.” Laylan suddenly straightened and smiled. “Would you and your friends like to come help collect the wentic?”
John’s eyes widened. “Right now?”
“Yes,” Laylan said with a chuckle. “The wentic come in the not deep water for eight days following the full moon. That is the easiest and safest way to collect them. You and your friends can collect some and take them back for your people to sample. It will not be counted as part of the trade since you will do the work to catch them. I can show you how.”
John got quickly to his feet. “Well, yeah, if you’re sure. Wait, this won’t hurt the numbers you collect for your people will it?”
Laylan tilted his head as he studied John. “There are many, enough for you to take some and still leave many for us. It is good that you asked about the needs of my people. We are honored to trade with such people who care for others as well as themselves.” He broke out into a huge smile. “Come and we will join the others in gathering the wentic. We must wade into the not deep water, so I have some clothes you may borrow if you do not wish to get yours wet.”
John nodded. “I think we’d appreciate that.”
“Come, we have a guest dwelling where you can change and store your things. I had my wife guess what size you needed during the negotiations and place clothes there in case you wished to join us,” said Laylan, looking very satisfied with himself.
“Thank you, Laylan,” said Teyla. “We are honored to join your people in their harvest of the wentic.”
Ronon just grinned and nodded toward Teyla. “What she said.”
John looked at Laylan. “And now you know why we let her do the negotiating.”
Laylan laughed so hard his belly shook. “Well spoken, my friend,” he said as he led them to a house just a few steps from the pavilion. It was divided into three rooms, a large front room with cooking facilities and two sleeping rooms with comfortable looking mats against the walls. One room had three sets of shorts and loose tops made of cotton-like material and the other room had one set. They quickly changed and stored their weapons in a closet-like compartment, then joined Laylan outside.
They walked down to the beach to find a good number of villagers out in the water, working in pairs. Like John and his team, most were barefoot, dressed in loose shorts and tops. Each member wore a bucket-like pouch strapped to their waist and they seemed to be dropping things in both buckets. Most were in water just above their hips, where the bottom of the pouch was in the water. John frowned, trying to figure out what they were harvesting.
They stopped at a pile of supplies in the sand and Laylan began showing them how to attach the pouches. Once outfitted, they waded into the water, with Laylan leading them to a young couple already at work. They watched as the man gripped something in the water and carefully lifted it out. The animal consisted of a bluish white, somewhat translucent sphere with long, thin strands hanging off the bottom. John stared for a moment and then looked over to Carson. They both said, “Jellyfish,” at the same time.
John chuckled as he watched the man hold the alien jellyfish over a pouch so his wife could cut off the tentacles and then he dropped the animal into his own pouch. Laylan beamed at them. “And that is how we harvest the wentic. Be careful of the arms that hang down. They can give a painful sting.”
Shaking his head, John grinned. “I can’t believe that wonderful stuff we ate was jellyfish. I didn’t know you could eat those things.”
“I was also unaware of the practice of eating them,” said Carson, looking as surprised as John felt.
Laylan chuckled at them. “You have these creatures where you are from?”
John snorted. “We have something that looks like the wentic, but I’m pretty sure you can’t eat them, so they must be more different than they look. For one thing, these guys seem to be a lot thicker. Our version is called a jellyfish.”
Laylan had them watch the harvesting process one more time and then John worked with Carson while Ronon worked with Teyla. As they waded away from the others, John thought he saw something in the water. He grabbed the bell like Laylan had showed them and pulled the jellyfish from the water. “Hey, I got one,” he said. It definitely felt more solid than jellyfish he’d encountered on earth.
Carson cut the tentacles off and John dropped the thing into his pouch. He stood there a second and then gasped. “Madison will be so proud. We’re jellyfishing.”
“We’re what?” asked Carson. “I see one over there.” The doctor took two steps over and pulled a jellyfish from the water and held it out for John to cut off the tentacles.
“Jellyfishing . . . . Sponge Bob?” John watched as the physician dropped the animal into collecting pouch and then stared at the pilot.
“Sponge who?” Carson was frowning at him like he was two steps from dragging him out of the water and straight to the loony bin.
John sighed. “Never mind.” He found himself missing Rodney, who had made John sit with him and Madison and watch Sponge Bob cartoons the last time they had been on earth. He’d have to tell Madison about his jellyfishing adventure one day.
An hour later they made their way to shore, their jellyfish pouch full. They joined several other pairs of workers who had gathered around some large containers where they were emptying their pouches. After emptying their contribution into one of the huge pails, John turned to Laylan.
“Thank you for the opportunity to harvest the wentic with your people. I have to admit, I’ve never done anything like that before,” said John.
Laylan chuckled and nodded. “I knew you would enjoy it. Our people have -“ The village leader was cut off by a scream from several yards down the beach. All three men ran toward a woman yelling and waving while holding a toddler on her hip.
Laylan began talking to the semi-hysterical woman while John scanned the ocean where she had been watching and waving. He spotted a head bobbing just above the water about the time Laylan turned to them. “Talaina says her daughter was swimming by the living rock and must have been caught by the currents. She has been pulled beyond the living rock, out where many dangerous creatures live.”
John was already moving toward the water as Laylan finished speaking. “I’ll get her,” he called as he reached water deep enough he could push off and start swimming. He swam as hard as he could, trying to keep her head in sight. He needed to keep his aim straight not only so he could get there quickly, but also in case she went under he’d know where to look. He could hear her calling for help, sputtering when she took in water. When he was twenty feet away, she went under and did not come back up.
Reaching her last position, John quickly dove under. She was only a few feet down, struggling to get to the surface. She was a tiny thing, short and thin with dark hair forming a halo around her head. He gave her a little wave and pointed to the surface before grabbing her arms and kicking, hoping he didn’t scare her.
As soon as they broke the surface, she began coughing and gasping. He didn’t think she’d taken in much water, so he just held her trembling body steady until she calmed down. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Hey,” he said softly, smiling at her. “Do you remember me?”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
“Good. I’m John and I’m here to help you back to shore. Would that be okay?”
Once again she nodded, but her eyes had settled back to their regular size. She coughed again and cleared her throat. “I am Eona. I was enjoying the water and did not mean to let it carry me out so far. Momma is going to be angry.”
“I like the water too. Sometimes I stay in too long as well, so I know how easy it is to do that. I think right now your momma will just be glad that you’re okay. I’ll take us back and you just relax, okay?”
She nodded again. “Good. I am very tired. I could not keep my head out of the water any more and I thought I would die. Thank you . . . John.”
“You are very welcome Eona. I’m glad I was here to help.” John got the girl positioned and turned them back toward the shore, where it looked like the entire village had gathered. As he started swimming, his left ankle and lower leg scraped against the coral reef that served as their living rock. He pushed away from it to give himself more room to kick and a sharp pain sliced just above his ankle, surprising him. Apparently he’d found a sharp edge to cut himself on and Carson would not be happy.
It took them a few minutes to swim back. John was taking an easy pace so as not to worry the girl. He guessed she was in her early teens and he’d kept her talking for the swim, once she’d decided she wasn’t going to die and her mother probably wouldn’t kill her when they reached shore. John’s strength was lagging by the time they reached shallow water and his leg felt like it was on fire. He was getting a bad feeling about that coral.
When the water was waist high, several villagers met them and helped Eona get to the shore. John got his legs under him, but decided to let the water help him walk so he didn’t have to put weight on his left leg. Pain was beginning to shoot into his lower back and a band seemed to be tightening across his chest. Ronon was there supporting him as he tried to stagger out of the water.
“Sheppard, what’s wrong?” asked Ronon, wrapping an arm around his waist.
John fought for control over his trembling, cramping muscles. If Ronon hadn’t been holding him up, he’d have been face down in the sand. “Not sure . . . think something . . . got my leg.”
Ronon lowered John in front of a rock so that he could lean back against it. John turned his left leg over so he could see just above his ankle. A small gash was oozing blood and the skin around it was fire engine red. Muscle cramps in his calf and thigh had him squeezing his eyes shut and trying to breathe through it, even as lighter spasms attacked the muscles of his back and abdomen.
When the pain let up enough he could catch his breath and open his eyes, he found Carson bent over examining the wound site while Laylan looked on, a frown creasing his brow. “That is the sting of the ar’karare. It is an insidious creature that hides in crevices of the living rock, striking out with a stinger on the end of its long tail. That is how it captures prey and defends itself. It is bad, very bad. Many days of pain.”
John’s gut clenched at the thought of this level of pain going on for days. He was starting to feel nauseated and the sharp pain had traveled up his neck into his head. Another wave of muscle cramps took over and he curled up into a ball against it, sliding over on his side. Everything was lost to the pain as he writhed against it, trying to push it away.
When he was coherent again, he found himself lying on a blanket. Carson looked down at him, concern in his face and voice while Montasia looked over his shoulder. “There you are. I’ve given you a shot of morphine, colonel, to try to ease the pain. I can’t give you too much because from what Montasia had told me, the toxin is a neurotoxin and may affect your breathing. Ronon is running back to the gate to bring a jumper so we can get you back to Atlantis.”
“Okay,” John mumbled as he rolled to his back and began sliding his feet back and forth on the blanket, the motion helping ease the spasms in his legs. A few seconds later it felt like hot acid creeping up the back of his throat and he struggled to sit up. Carson and Teyla figured it out pretty quickly and pulled him into a sitting position just as he began emptying his stomach. Carson had apparently been expecting the involuntary purging because he thrust an empty bucket down just as John began emptying his stomach.
As the vomiting finally subsided, his abdominal muscles locked up along with his diaphragm and for what seemed like an eternity, John couldn’t breathe. His vision was beginning to gray out when he finally managed to draw in a shuddering breath.
“That’s it lad, breathe,” said Carson, patting him on the back. “If you think you can make it, we’re going to help you over to one of the houses so you can lie down until the jumper gets here.”
John nodded. “I can make it.” Right now, getting out of the sun sounded like a good idea. Teyla and Carson each took an arm, pulling him to his feet. He looked down and was surprised to see a bandage around his lower leg. The doc had apparently been busy.
The trip to the hut was an exercise in pain. They had to stop twice so John could curl up against the full body charley horse that had become his reality. Once there, he curled up on a small bed against the wall and writhed around, the constant motion distracting him enough he could remain semi-coherent. Teyla remained by his side with Carson checking on him every few minutes while trying to convince Laylan that everything would be okay.
It seemed to take forever, but eventually he heard Ronon and Lorne talking. Pushing the pain back, he focused on the pair across the room as they stood with Carson and Laylan. Teyla squeezed his arm and said, “They have landed a jumper on the beach. We will be taking you home soon.” She sounded so relieved that John felt guilty for being so sick. He started to apologize when bile shot up the back of his throat. He lunged forward, managing to sit up as a thin stream spewed out his mouth and into a bag Teyla was holding. It was one quick shot and then it was gone, almost like some kind of weird reflex action.
“Thanks,” he mumbled as she helped him lay back against some lumpy pillows. Apparently he’d garnered the attention of the folks across the room, because suddenly the whole troop was standing beside his bed.
“Did you call for a taxi, sir?” asked Lorne with a tight grin.
“More like a bloody ambulance,” said Carson.
“Yes . . . and thank you,” John said to Lorne and then gave Carson a quick glare. The door opened and a couple of marines entered with a stretcher. “Ohhh,” John groaned, realizing he’d be carried through the village on his way to the jumper. He was never coming back here again, provided he managed to live through this nightmare. Stupid galaxy with all its stupid venomous animals. He could have just moved to Australia and stayed on earth for this.
Carson patted his arm. “It’ll be alright, colonel. I have a wee bit of a plan.”
Lorne grinned and shook his head. “We’ve cleared the path, sir. No audience for your ride.”
John dredged a small smile up from someplace. His people knew him well, it seemed. “Thanks, major. I owe you one . . . or three.”
Lorne nodded. “We can discuss the exact count later, sir. When you’re in a more generous mood.” Then the major broke out into an almost evil grin.
John was trying to think of a comeback when the pain hit full force again and he lost some more time.
He was aware of the trip to the jumper because they had secured him to the litter to the point he was virtually immobilized, which meant he couldn’t writhe around with the pain and it was costing him dearly. Vises clamped the muscles in his thighs, back, abdomen, and chest. He was grateful Lorne had been true to his word, because he was pretty sure he groaned a few times. Mostly he clenched his teeth to keep from making pitiful sounds because marines didn’t generally appreciate things like that and he was still trying to convince them pilots weren’t soft.
As soon as they set the litter down in the jumper, Carson clamped an oxygen mask on his face, which he was grateful for as he didn’t feel like he was pulling in near enough air. His heart was racing and it felt like his head was about to explode. Suddenly a blood pressure cuff inflated on his arm, sending him off in another swirl of pain.
Then he was traveling down the halls of Atlantis and she was singing a worried song in his head. At least if he was going to die, it would be at home and not surrounded by strangers. Rodney’s sharp voice was berating someone, making him aware enough to realize he wasn’t moving any more. Infirmary. Someone was patting his hand. When they removed the restraints, he was moving again, sliding his feet up and down against the cool sheets, moving his hands and arms across his chest and stomach.
They attached him to monitors, set up an IV, wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm, and clipped that oxygen thing on his finger. He knew he was making it harder on them by being a moving target, but it was impossible to lie still. They talked to him and he answered as best he could. He was aware that his team was with him, coming and going, trading places, talking to him and touching his arm or his leg to help ground him. Occasionally he would spit a stream of bile into a dish one of them held in front of him. Everything was a haze of pain and motion and people and pressures on his skin. It seemed to last forever and he started to wonder if maybe they couldn’t fix him this time.
And then he was waking up after somehow having fallen asleep. Sounds were beginning to penetrate the haze and then slowly make sense. Rodney was talking and talking and then Ronon was laughing. He struggled to get his eyes open, to find out what was going on. And then it hit him. The pain was gone. He was sore and achy, but the cramps and tremors and sharp, stabbing pain was gone. His eyes popped open at the realization, startling Carson into jumping back from where he’d apparently been standing over John.
“Oh, bloody heck, colonel. Ya just shaved a few years off my life,” said Carson with a long sigh.
Rodney laughed. “You mean more than he’s shaved off during the last twenty-four hours?”
“Aye, unfortunately,” mumbled Carson. Stepping back over to John’s bedside, he smiled at his patient. “Well, now that you’re back with us, how do you feel?”
John licked his dry lips. “Doesn’t hurt anymore,” he rasped. “Just tired and sore.” His muscles felt like over-pulled taffy, achy and not really under his control.
Carson patted his arm and grinned. “Good. We engineered a sort of antivenom with Laylan’s help. Normally I wouldn’t advise such a thing because there was a high danger of an allergic reaction, but . . . “ The doctor paused to rub his chin.
“Just . . . spit it out,” said John as Rodney raised the head of the bed a little. Teyla appeared from somewhere with a cup of water and held the straw to his lips.
Carson sighed and looked at John while he drank. “Your heart rate and blood pressure went through the roof and we could not get them down. I was afraid you were headed for a heart attack or a stroke if we did not intervene. Fortunately the antivenom worked and they began to come down fairly quickly after that. I’m confident there will be no lasting damage.” The doctor smiled and the relieved expression on his face eased the tension that had begun building.
“Well, thanks. All I know is that I’m grateful the pain is gone.”
Carson nodded. “The venom is similar to that of a box jellyfish on earth, with a few little twists here and there. Interestingly enough, the creature that stung you looks a bit more like a cross between a lobster and a scorpion,” said Carson.
“You should have seen it, Sheppard,” said Ronon with a huge smile. “It was amazing.”
John grimaced. “Not sure I want to, big guy. I’ve about had enough of Pegasus variety . . . bug like creatures.” Fortunately the residual exhaustion and soreness made it easy to resist the temptation to rub his neck where he could almost feel the iratus bug sucking the life out of him. He shuddered. What was it with this stupid galaxy?
Suddenly horrified, John looked up at a still grinning Ronon. “Wait a minute. How do you know what it looked like?”
“Me and some of the Klavonteans had to go catch some for that antivenom stuff. It was kind of fun.”
John sighed and let his head fall back on the pillow. That was what he’d been afraid of. “Chewy . . . “
Ronon huffed. “It’s fine. They showed me how to get them and we were careful. No one got stung but you.”
“The colonel here thinks he’s the only one who can risk his life to help other people,” said Rodney. “He’s not happy unless he’s throwing himself on the proverbial sword and saving the day.”
John arched an eyebrow at the scientist. “Rodney,” said Teyla, her brow furrowing. “John was merely trying to keep a child from drowning. He was not aware of the danger when he swam out past the living rock.”
Rodney waved his hand and shook his head. “Wouldn’t have mattered if he did. He’d have still gone.”
Ronon nodded. “Yeah, he would have.”
“He’s sitting right here,” John said in exasperation.
Carson huffed out a breath. “You don’t need to be winding the colonel up. He still needs to rest and I don’t want you driving his blood pressure back up with your shenanigans.”
John sighed and rubbed his forehead. These people weren’t helping his headache. “The colonel wants to know about our trade agreement. Is it still a go?”
Rodney made a hmming noise and crossed his arms. “Is it still a go? You saved the life of the head guy’s great niece . . . or was it grand niece once removed . . . whatever. The point is that you saved that girl’s life and they want to do a big feast to celebrate our trade agreement and say thank you to the grand hero.”
“We still get wentic, Sheppard,” said Ronon with a huge smile. Leave it to Ronon to address the important stuff.
“I believe they also wish to thank Carson for the antivenom,” said Teyla. “Someone from the village will occasionally be stung by the ar’karare and Laylan was glad to find out there was now a treatment. Montasia told us she has lost one or two people who have been stung in the past.”
“Since they have no way to store the antivenom and the likelihood of an allergic reaction is strong, they will have to contact Atlantis in the event they need it and I’ll come administer it myself,” said Carson. “We were very fortunate to have Dr. Heang with us. His experience in developing antivenoms was the reason we were able to do it so quickly.”
“Well thank you to both of you,” said John. “I’ll be steering clear of the reef on any return trips. That was about as much fun as an iratus bug.”
“Aye, I imagine so,” said Carson. “You three can visit for a wee bit and then the colonel needs to rest. It’ll take a few days for everything to settle. I’ll be keeping a close eye on your blood pressure for a while as it’s still not down where I’d like it. How’s the headache?”
John’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t say I had a headache.”
“Ya didn’t have to lad, I can see it in your eyes. I’ll bring you something for it when I come to run your team off. And you three don’t get him wound up while I’m gone.”
Teyla nodded, Ronon smirked, and Rodney rolled his eyes. Carson sighed and shook his head before leaving them to return to his office. It was a wonder the man didn’t stab them all with a sedative sometimes.
oOo
“I still say I could have walked,” said John, getting to his feet.
Rodney snorted as he moved away from the copilot seat of the jumper. “Maybe some of us didn’t want to walk all that way. Besides, then Lorne would have had to haul all his art supplies.”
Lorne frowned as got out of the pilot’s seat and turned around. “I didn’t bring that much stuff with me. I could have carried it to the village but the doc said the colonel didn’t need to walk that far yet.”
“And he didn’t,” said Carson as moved up from the cargo bay so he could meet John’s eyes. “I know you’re feeling better and anxious to work the soreness from your muscles, but I’ve just now gotten your blood pressure and heart rhythm performing normally and I don’t want to chance stressing either of them. You’re going to have to take it easy for a few more days to be sure everything stabilizes properly.”
“I know,” John said, trying not to whine. “I just feel like I need to get my body moving to get my strength back. It’s hard, but I’m trying to be good.”
Carson clapped him soundly on the shoulder. “I know ya are lad. Just be patient another day or two and I’ll start gradually increasing your activity level. Now come on with ya. We’ve got a banquet to attend.”
John’s stomach growled as he stood up and he chuckled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” He followed his team, Lorne, Carson, and Elizabeth out of the jumper. The small field John’s team had crossed just before reaching the village had turned out to be large enough to land a jumper and that was where they were currently parked.
“I can’t wait to taste all these foods you’ve been talking about,” said Elizabeth.
“My mouth’s been watering all morning just thinking about it,” admitted John as he watched two of his teammates rushing toward the village. “Just don’t stand between Rodney or Ronon and the table or you might lose an arm.” Elizabeth chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I think Major Lorne has discovered why you wanted him to come.”
John followed her gaze to see Lorne standing at the edge of the beach, staring out to sea. The purple sky met the blue of the ocean at the horizon for a spectacular splash of color. John figured the image would just get better and better when it closed in on sunset. He grinned at the look of wonder on his XO’s face.
“Careful, Lorne. Remember to keep breathing.”
“Sir? Oh, right. This is . . . amazing.”
John stopped to stand beside the major. “We thought you’d probably like it. We’ll be here for the rest of the day, so when you get ready, feel free to wax artistic all you want. But I’d wait until after the food. That stuff is an art form all its own.”
Lorne smiled and nodded. “I have to admit, I can’t wait to try out some of the things you guys have been talking about.” He waved his hand past the ocean, beach, and village. “This place is amazing, like some kind of really cool vacation place.”
John grinned. “Exactly. One of the things we’re trading for is to use this place as kind of an R&R destination for a few people at a time.” He turned back to Lorne. “Enjoy the day, major. You’ve earned it lately. I wanted to say thanks for all the times you got stuck with my paperwork and other responsibilities.”
Lorne shrugged one shoulder. “No problem, sir. Just don’t ever make it permanent. Those IOA reports are just nuts. After finishing one of those, I feel like I need to go hit a wall or something.”
John sighed. “I know just what you mean. We’d better catch up with the others if we want to get there before the food is all gone.”
The two men were the last to arrive at the banquet tables loaded with food. John’s stomach rumbled at the sight and smells. His people were talking and mingling with the Klavonteans like they’d been buddies for years, which made John smile. Ar’karare sting aside, this was the way it should be. People from different cultures working together to make life better for both. Now all they had to do was convince the rest of the galaxy of that.
“You look way too thoughtful and serious for John Sheppard,” said Elizabeth as she sidled up next to him. “Especially John Sheppard at a party.”
John lifted one shoulder as he briefly tilted his head down toward it. “What can I say. One too many encounters with life sucking alien bugs.”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at him. “Carson said it stung you, not that it was sucking your life like the iratus bug.”
“Hey, wasn’t a lot of difference in the pain. It sure felt like he was sucking the life out of me. What is it with this galaxy and its . . . killer alien bugs? And why do they always attack me?”
Rodney came running up with food in both hands and his eyes so wide he looked bug-eyed. “Have you tasted this stuff, especially the wentic. This is amazing. Make sure we have some of everything in the trade agreement.”
John stepped back to keep the juice running off Rodney’s fingers from dripping on his clothes. “McKay! You aren’t supposed to eat yet. Laylan has to do some speech thing first. And quit dripping on my boots.”
Rodney looked at the food in his hands and then back at the tables. After a moment he stuffed it all into his mouth and struggled to chew without spitting it out everywhere as he scurried back to the table. They could see Ronon and Teyla talking to him and it looked as though Teyla was scolding him.
“Interesting team you have there,” Elizabeth said with a grin.
John just grinned back. “They’re the best.”
Ronon smacked Rodney in the back of the head, making him cough and sputter around the last bite of seafood.
“You were saying,” said Elizabeth.
“I’ll say it again. They’re the best.” He paused for effect. “The best at what, I’m not really sure sometimes. But they always have your back.” He watched as Carson came up and patted Rodney on the arm. “And that includes Scottish doctors who hover worse than any mother in the galaxy.”
Elizabeth nodded as they smiled and watched their friends . . . their family. John wouldn’t trade these people for all the wentic in the galaxy.
THE END