SGA: Lucky Ones (part 1)
Okay, so it’s a week later than I thought it would be, and several pages longer, but it didn’t turn out as depressing as I originally had planned, so does that count? Mer and Jill are back (because they really are fun to write).
Title: Lucky Ones
Genre: AU, McShep, genderswitch
Rating: R for violence, language, and implication of non-con.
Season/Spoilers: Ronon’s in it, but considering this is an AU, not much spoiler-wise.
Synopsis: They took Mer. Jill’s going to get her back.
Author’s Notes 1: Takes place in my Gate Ministry/Jill and Mer universe. If you’re not sure what that is, basically everyone from the Milky Way galaxy is genderswitched and everyone from the Pegasus galaxy is not. Meet Lieutenant Colonel Jillian Sheppard and Doctor Meredith McKay.
Author’s Notes 2: The title comes from the Bif Naked song “Lucky Ones”.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Stargate universe or any of the concepts of characters from it. I’m just borrowing it to play and making no profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was supposed to be a simple trading mission, but weren’t they all? The people of M3X-492 called themselves the Sororre and were a primarily agrarian culture, but did boast several impressive old temples, which McKay had determined were likely Ancient research facilities based upon their descriptions.
The team made the short trek from the gate to the village, said the proper hellos and abided by the proper genialities, before continuing on the slightly longer trek to the so-called temples. They could see them while still quite some distance away, the architecture clearly of Lantean design.
McKay had her PDA pulled out, both analyzing and recording the data as they walked. “Picking up energy signatures, like that’s a surprise,” she reported, typing something else in to the handheld device. “Huh,” she said, pausing to type some more.
“’Huh’ what, Mer,” Jill prompted, her eyes drifting from the buildings to the wooded area around them before settling back on the scientist. Teyla and Ronon waited patiently at her side, used to the distracted musings, but also knowing an answer always came eventually.
“The readings match the standard Ancient power sources, not powerful enough for a ZedPM, but one of the lesser generators, but there’s this other undertone to them, something extra,” she explained, finally lifting her eyes from the readings to meet her teammates’ and shrugged.
“And you don’t have any idea what it is?” Ronon guessed, fingers already on the hilt of his weapon.
McKay shook her head. “No, not yet,” she admitted, brushing a wayward curl out of her way. “I haven’t seen anything quite like it before. It’s almost more raw, less refined. There are spikes, and then they fall away, only to come back again. It could be malfunctioning, or it could be an entirely new energy source. Either way, I’d say it’s worth investigating.”
They looked to Sheppard for permission and she reluctantly nodded. Something was setting her on edge, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe it was just the extra energy mixing in with the usual Lantean rhythms she felt around Ancient tech, she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of was that it was enough to dictate caution. “Agreed, but...” was all she needed to say, hearing the satisfying click of Teyla and Ronon readying their weapons just in case. She flipped off the safety on her P90 and let Meredith lead the way.
McKay obediently paused outside one of the doorways, letting Jill and Teyla shine their lights in and clear the room while Ronon stayed with her and covered their backs. Activated by the nearby presence of the ATA gene, the room lit up on its own, showing itself to be empty aside from the usual equipment and some ornate wall hangings that appeared to have been made by the locals. Mer entered with the Satedan following her, watching as she started scanning the consoles and screens for what she needed.
McKay had reached the far side of the room, frowning at the clearly un-Lantean addition of a dark metallic screen when they heard the click. “What was that?” she asked, head whipping around.
Sheppard was already reaching for her life signs detector, flipping it into one hand as she steadied her weapon with the other. “Shit!” she cursed. “We’ve got about a dozen, maybe more approaching. They’re circling around to the front to block us off.”
“Perhaps they are only the villagers? They do claim these were once temples, it is possible that there are those who still worship here,” Teyla pointed out. No one mentioned the fact her own P90 was up and in ready position.
“And the likelihood of that is...” Mer added sarcastically, reaching for her gear. Most was still with her, but a few pieces were scattered around the room. It was then she felt it: a barrier as solid and impenetrable as a wall, only she could see right through it. A fascinating discovery, if she hadn’t apparently been on the other side of it from her team.
“McKay, you coming?” Sheppard called from the main doorway, glancing back. They had not blocked the entrance yet, but they were close.
“Love to, can’t,” Mer said miserably, feeling around the edges of her prison. A faint light marked the edge whenever she got too near. Nothing painful or even really shocking, but annoying nonetheless. The floor had thin lines the color of the metal behind her that seemed to parallel the field. She never would have found them amongst the standard Ancient decoration if she had not known what she was looking for.
Jill spun around, trusting Ronon to warn them if whoever it was got too close. “McKay?” she questioned. Seeing the miserable form trying to press through whatever was holding her, her tone softened. “Mer?”
Anything else that was to be said was interrupted by Ronon’s announcement of “They’re coming!” It was a bit redundant as the walls near the metal box were pulling back to reveal armed men, all in unfortunately too familiar Genii uniforms.
They started firing as soon as they were clear from the wall, Teyla returning fire and trying her best not to hit the structure holding McKay on the off chance it did not protect against such things. A lucky shot from the enemy had one of the structures beside her exploding in a mass of sparks, tossing her back several steps though she never let up on the trigger.
The sound of Ronon’s blaster signaled the frontal attack and Jill was torn between helping him, helping Teyla, or trying to rescue McKay. She fired off several shots in each direction, beginning the slow creep over to her trapped teammate. A hand on her vest pulled her back. She turned to protest just as part of the ceiling collapsed right where she would have been. The damage was significant, blocking the most direct route across the room as well as one of the secondary pathways.
“We’ve gotta get out of here,” Ronon told her, pulling her to her feet from where she crouched behind the debris.
“What about Mer?” she challenged. She turned back to see the cage that held the still crouched woman retreating, another half a dozen Genii soldiers stepping up into the now open space.
“We will find her,” Teyla promised, firing off another volley at their attackers.
Ronon did the same in the other direction. “The path is clear if we go now,” he warned.
Sheppard reluctantly nodded, darting one last glance at the hole where her lover had been trapped. All that was left were more soldiers, advancing through the rubble. She fired on them all, hoping to cost them what they were costing her. As they ran for the cover of the woods, she shot at everything that remotely looked like a Genii uniform.
After several minutes of running, they cornered one hapless grunt stationed further away from the building than most, Teyla slamming him against a tree while Ronon kept a look out for others.
“Where are they taking her?” Sheppard demanded.
“Why should I tell you?” he gasped, the fist in his shirt tightening enough to restrict his airflow.
Jill lowered her weapon and fired a shot, taking off the edge of the man’s boot. “Because you want to walk again,” she replied. She made a show of edging her weapon over slightly so it was centered over his foot. “Where are they taking her?” she repeated.
“There’s a tunnel that leads back to the Circle, we’ve got bases on several planets loyal to us, I don’t know which one was the final location,” he said quickly, edging his feet closer together and hopefully away from the bullet’s trajectory.
“You’re lying,” Sheppard told him, finger tightening on the trigger.
“No! I’m not!” he insisted. “The officers dial, we just follow. Anything outside of our main camps and they keep the address to themselves.”
Sheppard bit her lip, wanting to both doubt him and ask him more. Anything else was a loss though as Ronon warned, “Here they come!”
Teyla swung and knocked the man out cold with the butt of her gun. Certain he would not be following or giving away their location, she joined her teammates on the run once more.
~~~
They ran for hours, each minute getting that much farther away from rescuing their teammate. Every time they would stop to catch their breath, it was mere moments before they either heard something or the life signs detector warned them of people encroaching on their position. At this point, it did not matter if it were Genii or the villagers. They didn’t trust either. True, the villagers could have been taken advantage of, but it was equally as likely that they were working with the Genii all along.
Finally, when it had been nearly forty minutes since the last close encounter and daylight was quickly fading, Jill called for a rest. They were near a rocky outcropping, hidden by trees and a shaded further by a looming cliff. They had a relatively clear view of everything but the overhang above them and, as filthy as they were, blended into the scenery themselves. As they drank from their canteens and munched halfheartedly on their spare Power Bars, Jill finally had a moment for her freak out.
“They took her,” she said, her voice shaking as much as her hands. She leaned against the rock face to steady herself, but all it did was make sure she didn’t fall down.
“We will find her,” Teyla promised.
“They took her and I just stood by and watched,” she whispered. The Power Bar crumbled in her hand and she pounded it against the stone in a fit of frustration before tossing it away. Taking a calming breath, she repeated, “They took her.”
“And we’re going to get her back,” Ronon promised. “And then we’re going to make them pay.”
Sheppard nodded, not trusting her voice. They would pay. She would make sure of it. Ronon and Teyla would help, that much was certain, but when it came time for revenge, she knew they would step back and let her at it. In the time they had been teammates, they learned exactly what each of them needed, how to deal with it, when to push and when to let it go. Right now she needed Mer. After that, she needed whoever did this to suffer. They would help her get Mer back, even if it involved taking out all the Genii who dared to cross their path along the way. Once they found her, and found who was responsible, they would let her at them and be there to ground whatever pieces were left into the dirt.
They had been at the outcropping for no more than twenty minutes when their radios chirped to life. “Colonel Sheppard, this is Weir, do you copy?”
She keyed her comm and answered, “Sheppard here.”
Weir’s voice sounded relieved as it responded, “Your team is an hour overdue. Something in those ruins catch your attention?”
Jill bit her lip and resisted the urge to bang her head against the rock, letting her military training take over. “Not quite,” she replied. “We need immediate evac from approximately 25 klicks northeast of the gate. I want a squad of Marines fully armed and ready for deployment and a team of scientists ready to hack the gate for the last dialed address.”
That got Lionel’s attention. “What’s wrong?” he asked, concern tinging his words.
“We were attacked. They took McKay. We need to get her back.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The getting her back proved to be more problematic than originally expected. Lorne and her team took a Jumper to Sheppard’s position, but were under orders to take the trio back to Beckett for a once over before they would be allowed to contribute to the search. Caitlin tsked over them, fussing over wounds they had hardly noticed while Ellen and her team stood by to both get a report and make sure they did not ditch the good doctor.
As Cait applied antiseptic and gauze to yet another insignificant scratch, Jill resisted the urge to slap her hands away, knowing this is how the other woman was dealing with the stress of her missing friend: over-caring for the ones she had left. It was when she started cleaning the gash on her arm for the third time that Sheppard had enough. “Doc,” she warned.
“Sorry,” Cait replied, pausing in her ministrations and looking up sheepishly. “I just...”
“I know,” Jill replied, wincing when it came out sharper than she originally intended. Softer now, she said, “I know, but we can’t find her until you let us out of here.”
Beckett nodded and wrapped a final layer of dressing around the wound, taping it into place. “Don’t overstrain yourself or you’ll need stitches,” she warned, looking like she knew her words would have the same effect speaking to an empty room. She backed away slightly, letting the other woman hop down from the gurney she had been perched on. Teyla and Ronon had already been treated and were waiting at the side to be dismissed. With a final nervous nod, she requested, “Keep me appraised, please?”
“I will,” Sheppard promised, headed for the door.
In a voice just loud enough to carry the distance and with a brogue heavy from stress, Caitlin added, “Find her?”
“We will,” Ronon promised, and Jill knew his words to be true. One way or another, they would.
~~~
The days passed with no perceptible progress. The first two had involved the science team ripping apart the Sororre DHD and analyzing its contents while the Marines interrogated anyone and everyone from the settlement that they could get their hands on. Not all of them had sided with the Genii, but enough had to cause tempers to start flaring and Teyla and Ellen to step in to calm things down. The next three days were spent gating to possible locations based on addresses being deciphered from the DHD. Still they found nothing.
Weir had ordered Sheppard to take a break. Jill was snapping at her own people, barely restraining herself from shouting at Zelenka and her team when yet another address came up cold. She knew Rala was doing her best, and yet she still knew it was not enough.
The nights had been filled with fitful sleep, when she got any at all. Her mind full of images of just what was happening to Mer, only wishing her dreams were worse than the possible realities.
On the fifth night, Teyla had led her to McKay’s room, dead on her feet. She forced her to drink some Athosian tea and gently chided her for not taking care of herself enough to be ready when the time came.
“She warned me, you know?” Jill muttered, not wanting to meet Teyla’s eyes.
“How so?” the Athosian prompted, handing her another cup of tea.
Sheppard dutifully sipped, feeling some of the weariness melt away. She had no idea if it was the tea, the company, or the complete and utter exhaustion, but she felt the need to talk. Teyla, as always, listened without judgment, only caring that her friend was well, or least doing better than she had been the past few days.
“When we first started to get together, she warned me it was a bad idea, said we were tempting fate too much in a galaxy full of death, destruction, and life-sucking aliens.” Jill chuckled without humor, wrapping her hands around the clay mug. “I told her it was worth the risk.”
“She must have been very pleased.”
“No, not really,” Jill corrected. “She slapped me upside the head and called me stupid and willful and greedy.”
Teyla’s eyes widened slightly, but she kept her voice calm as she asked, “And then?”
Jill smiled, the first one in days. “Then we made out.” She seemed lost in the memory for a moment before her face settled into the dour look she had been wearing for the last several days. “Tell me we’ll find her,” she pleaded.
A warm hand wrapped around her wrist, willing her to meet her friend’s eyes. “We will bring her home,” Teyla swore, and Jill really wanted to believe it.
They talked about nothing for a while. As her anger drifted and her teammate’s words seemed to slur, she realized she had been slipped a mickie. She would have glared, but found her eyes could barely stay open. Teyla slowly removed Jill’s boots and laid her down on Mer’s bed, wrapping her lover’s comforter around her and promising to wake her if they found anything. In the morning she woke to find the smaller woman curled up in one of the chairs, having never left the night before.
The following nights were filled with similar experiences, minus the drugged tea. After a fruitless day of searching, she passed out in Mer’s room, silently mourning the loss of her lover’s scent from the pillow as the time wore on. There were nightmares, vivid and painful, causing her to rush awake gasping for air. Always Teyla was there with reassuring words and a comforting shoulder to cry on. Her friend sat with her when sleep would not return and she paged through the files of photos on a shared laptop, tracing the images with her fingers and explaining the story behind each one, how their first date had been an accident caused by too much drink and too little inhibitions, and how she had never regretted it yet. Teyla sat with her as she told stories about their plans for the future, and held her as she questioned whether or not that future would ever come. Every morning was met with the same promise, “We will find her.”
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On to part 2 because Live Journal says I wrote too much