Fic: Protect and Survive I: Might Just Save Your Life (5/8)
Title: Protect and Survive I: Might Just Save Your Life (5/8)
Fandom: Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: action/adventure, drama
Summary: Laura Cadman thought she came back to Atlantis for Carson Beckett... but things aren't really happening as planned, thanks to our favorite Major, Evan Lorne.
A/N: Okay, now it's the right chapter. And in case anyone missed the explanation: I messed up posting order with last chapter so if you feel a little deja-vu regarding this one, you might want to go back to Chapter Four and read it again, seeing as I replaced it with the real Chapter Four when I realized my mistake. Yeah, yeah, sometimes I suck., I know. *sighs(also... I'm several chapters into the story and now I remember that I actually have a banner for this story? *rolls eyes)
( Might Just Save Your Life Prologue )
( Might Just Save Your Life 1/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 2/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 3/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 4/8 )
Five
The bang from the grenade still echoes in their ears, but they still set off without any delay. They move quickly and silently, with her stopping now and then to patch some C4 against the walls and place the detonators. But even after a few more corners, they haven’t discovered any resistance. It’s starting to make her edgy again but she needs all her concentration to set the charges.
They work their way forward, efficient, silent and fast, and nothing and no one stands in their way. She wants to believe with all her heart that they finally hit a lucky streak and will make a clean get-away. For a “simple scouting mission” they’ve had far too much hassle already, and she’d be thankful if they didn’t run into any more trouble. Somehow, though, she doubts they’ll be this lucky.
But as it is, things are quiet in the corridors. She really wants to be comforted by that but something inside her - most probably her inner Rodney McKay - tells her that the impending doom is just prolonged to somewhere she really doesn’t want to encounter it. “Sir?” She whips around, ready to give Meyers a good tongue-lashing for breaking radio silence and interrupting her precious concentration but she manages to rein in her impulsiveness just for once. This isn’t the time for dressing down someone, and most of all it just isn’t her place to do it.
“What is it, Sergeant?” Evan says, not turning around, but she thinks she just made out some edge in his voice that hasn’t been there before.
“Shouldn’t we be meeting some resistance?” ‘Course, Captain Obvious, she wants to reply, but thankfully Evan is faster.
“Good question. Been wondering about that, too.” Well, she would have been seriously worried if he hadn’t. “My guess is they’ve prepared something big, probably at the ‘Gate or one of the exits there. Laura?”
Now he turns around and she turns to face him. “Yeah?” He knits his brows together and it occurs to her that the strain is starting to wear him thin as well. She’d just never seen it before, because she never got this close to him and because she never knew how to read him correctly before. He does show insecurity and weakness, but the signs are much more subtle and need a longer time to surface than with all the other soldiers she knows, maybe even including Sheppard and Mitchell.
“Can you keep enough C4 to make a blast big enough to kill anyone who might lurk around in the immediate surroundings of an exit hole without actually opening the hatch before?” She takes deep breath, grimaces a little and runs a few quick calculations through her head. Technically… yes, it would be possible. But she’d need a bit of time for figuring out how to program the remote so she wouldn’t blow up the whole facility.
She tells him so, and all he does is nod and say, “We’ll make sure you get the time.” With that they continue their silent trail through the empty corridors and hallways, until they finally arrive at one of the exits that should, according to the map on the wall, be near the ‘Gate. Evan pulls out his lifesigns detector but like every time since they entered this underground shelter, it doesn’t tell them anything. He doesn’t comment on it, just heaves a small silent sigh.
A nod towards her tells her to get up the ladder and place her charges. With her face set determined, she takes the steps up, does as she’s expected to and climbs back. Before she gives another shout of “Fire in the hole!” it fleetingly crosses her mind that she’s done a lot of blowing up on this mission; especially considering her statement about this mission not being one which demanded the presence of a demolitions specialist. But that’s the Pegasus Galaxy for you, she thinks. Full of surprises. She just hopes that blowing up this hatch will rid them of a few unpleasant ones.
And yes, when the explosion is over and everything has cooled down enough to climb back up, all seems quiet on the hatch front. Quickly, the guys climb up and she follows them. Meyers is the first to reach the top, and gives them the all clear. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she follows Evan to the surface.
“Well…” she starts saying, but the sentence turns into a cry of surprise and pain as a bullet hits her right shoulder. Immediately all of them dive for cover, because now the bullets have started to rain down on them from almost every direction. They are sitting behind another fallen tree, and she hopes the guys haven’t registered her cry and is thankful for the dark because it hides the blood and the torn vest.
Gritting her teeth, she ignores the pain as well as she can and joins the guys in methodically firing into the woods, to where the bullets are coming from, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect. Evan seems to have had the same though, since he pulls out one of his grenades and throws them into the direction of the nest that is blocking their way to the ‘Gate. With a satisfying explosion, it silences any shots coming from there.
“To the ‘Gate, now!” he shouts, as if they’d really need an incentive. Shooting up and dashing to the ‘Gate through the hail of bullets, she briefly wonders where the hell these lunatics got the guns from. Weapons cache, it shots through her mind, and something clicks… Explosives. If they indeed raided one of the weapons caches the Atlantis Expedition left behind, they should be in the possession of explosives as well.
And the way they’ve waited for them to ambush them just when they thought they were finally safe suggests that their madness is not that of raving lunatics, but of cold-blooded killers that can hold back their blood thirst to lure their victims in the bloodiest trap possible… booby traps!
All this runs through her head in the matter of only seconds, and when she realizes what all this means, she spotts the telltale sign of a remote detonator on the ground, only a few feet left of Evan… in this moment she stops thinking and simply lurches forward to throw him off his feet and push him farther away from the charge. At first, nothing happens and she can push him a few more feet and move to shield him, but then there’s suddenly an explosion in their backs, strong enough to pierce her with shrapnel and scorch the back of her vest enough to burn some of it away.
She feels a little dizzy from the shockwave and needs a moment to register that Evan is sitting up and has asked her something. Or maybe he called something to Meyers over the still hammering bullets. Slowly, she shakes her head to clear away the confusion. “Laura? Can you get up?” Sure she can. What a stupid question, really. Gritting her teeth again, she only nods and tries to get up.
Well, trying being the operative word. After two unsuccessful attempts at getting up, she feels herself hauled up and dragged towards the ‘Gate. She knows she has to run as fast as possible, but the multiple cuts, deeply buried shrapnel pieces and the burned parts of her back make it kind of hard for her to keep up with Evan. Still, she’s a Marine, and Marines don’t whine or give up. They buck up and do as they’re told.
So she pulls herself together and stumbles the last few meters to the ‘Gate. Then, when they are nearly there, she suddenly trips over a root on the ground - or at least she thinks she just tripped, because there’s no way her legs could have just given out under her - and hits the ground hard. She wants to struggle up again, but Evan’s there to grab her and drag her behind the nearest stone. She manages to prop herself up, when Evan starts fussing around with her vest and coming dangerously clear to the shoulder wound. The last thing she needs now is for him to discover this really small thing and start worrying.
So she tries shaking him off with her shoulders and grinding out, “I’m fine.”
He looks quite unimpressed by her feeble attempts, though. “No, you’re not. Now, shut up and stop wriggling.”
“Honestly, Evan, I’m fine. I can…” He hits something and pain shots through her, making her nearly faint. In fact… she doesn’t feel too good at all. Can’t barely keep her eyes open, with all the pain suddenly overwhelming her…
“Laura! I said no more caskets, but you need to help me.”
Over the now nearer coming shots, Meyers suddenly calls, “Wormhole established, sir!”
A short hopeful grin crosses his face, but she isn’t quite sure if he’s just keeping up appearances for her sake. “Okay, Laura, you hear that?” Hear… what? she thinks, trying to get through the pain and fatigue, but losing the battle fast. “Meyers, tell Atlantis we need a medical emergency team. And tell them to clear the ramp; we’re coming in hot.”
She closed her eyes, so she doesn’t see the worry and desperation that have replaced the brief hope in his eyes as she feels his fingers brush against her cheek. “Help me, Laura. Fight the pain. Just for a few moments more.” She wants to tell him that yes, of course, she’ll do it, but she finds she needs all her strength to stay awake and lucid. A groan is the only thing that makes it out of her mouth, but obviously that’s enough for him. “Thanks, Laura.” With that she feels him lifting her up and carrying her towards the ‘Gate. She even manages to stay lucid long enough to realize they’ve really made it back to Atlantis after all.
~*~
TBC in Chapter Six.
Fandom: Stargate
Rating: K+
Genres: action/adventure, drama
Summary: Laura Cadman thought she came back to Atlantis for Carson Beckett... but things aren't really happening as planned, thanks to our favorite Major, Evan Lorne.
A/N: Okay, now it's the right chapter. And in case anyone missed the explanation: I messed up posting order with last chapter so if you feel a little deja-vu regarding this one, you might want to go back to Chapter Four and read it again, seeing as I replaced it with the real Chapter Four when I realized my mistake. Yeah, yeah, sometimes I suck., I know. *sighs(also... I'm several chapters into the story and now I remember that I actually have a banner for this story? *rolls eyes)
( Might Just Save Your Life Prologue )
( Might Just Save Your Life 1/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 2/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 3/8 )
( Might Just Save Your Life 4/8 )
Five
The bang from the grenade still echoes in their ears, but they still set off without any delay. They move quickly and silently, with her stopping now and then to patch some C4 against the walls and place the detonators. But even after a few more corners, they haven’t discovered any resistance. It’s starting to make her edgy again but she needs all her concentration to set the charges.
They work their way forward, efficient, silent and fast, and nothing and no one stands in their way. She wants to believe with all her heart that they finally hit a lucky streak and will make a clean get-away. For a “simple scouting mission” they’ve had far too much hassle already, and she’d be thankful if they didn’t run into any more trouble. Somehow, though, she doubts they’ll be this lucky.
But as it is, things are quiet in the corridors. She really wants to be comforted by that but something inside her - most probably her inner Rodney McKay - tells her that the impending doom is just prolonged to somewhere she really doesn’t want to encounter it. “Sir?” She whips around, ready to give Meyers a good tongue-lashing for breaking radio silence and interrupting her precious concentration but she manages to rein in her impulsiveness just for once. This isn’t the time for dressing down someone, and most of all it just isn’t her place to do it.
“What is it, Sergeant?” Evan says, not turning around, but she thinks she just made out some edge in his voice that hasn’t been there before.
“Shouldn’t we be meeting some resistance?” ‘Course, Captain Obvious, she wants to reply, but thankfully Evan is faster.
“Good question. Been wondering about that, too.” Well, she would have been seriously worried if he hadn’t. “My guess is they’ve prepared something big, probably at the ‘Gate or one of the exits there. Laura?”
Now he turns around and she turns to face him. “Yeah?” He knits his brows together and it occurs to her that the strain is starting to wear him thin as well. She’d just never seen it before, because she never got this close to him and because she never knew how to read him correctly before. He does show insecurity and weakness, but the signs are much more subtle and need a longer time to surface than with all the other soldiers she knows, maybe even including Sheppard and Mitchell.
“Can you keep enough C4 to make a blast big enough to kill anyone who might lurk around in the immediate surroundings of an exit hole without actually opening the hatch before?” She takes deep breath, grimaces a little and runs a few quick calculations through her head. Technically… yes, it would be possible. But she’d need a bit of time for figuring out how to program the remote so she wouldn’t blow up the whole facility.
She tells him so, and all he does is nod and say, “We’ll make sure you get the time.” With that they continue their silent trail through the empty corridors and hallways, until they finally arrive at one of the exits that should, according to the map on the wall, be near the ‘Gate. Evan pulls out his lifesigns detector but like every time since they entered this underground shelter, it doesn’t tell them anything. He doesn’t comment on it, just heaves a small silent sigh.
A nod towards her tells her to get up the ladder and place her charges. With her face set determined, she takes the steps up, does as she’s expected to and climbs back. Before she gives another shout of “Fire in the hole!” it fleetingly crosses her mind that she’s done a lot of blowing up on this mission; especially considering her statement about this mission not being one which demanded the presence of a demolitions specialist. But that’s the Pegasus Galaxy for you, she thinks. Full of surprises. She just hopes that blowing up this hatch will rid them of a few unpleasant ones.
And yes, when the explosion is over and everything has cooled down enough to climb back up, all seems quiet on the hatch front. Quickly, the guys climb up and she follows them. Meyers is the first to reach the top, and gives them the all clear. Letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, she follows Evan to the surface.
“Well…” she starts saying, but the sentence turns into a cry of surprise and pain as a bullet hits her right shoulder. Immediately all of them dive for cover, because now the bullets have started to rain down on them from almost every direction. They are sitting behind another fallen tree, and she hopes the guys haven’t registered her cry and is thankful for the dark because it hides the blood and the torn vest.
Gritting her teeth, she ignores the pain as well as she can and joins the guys in methodically firing into the woods, to where the bullets are coming from, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect. Evan seems to have had the same though, since he pulls out one of his grenades and throws them into the direction of the nest that is blocking their way to the ‘Gate. With a satisfying explosion, it silences any shots coming from there.
“To the ‘Gate, now!” he shouts, as if they’d really need an incentive. Shooting up and dashing to the ‘Gate through the hail of bullets, she briefly wonders where the hell these lunatics got the guns from. Weapons cache, it shots through her mind, and something clicks… Explosives. If they indeed raided one of the weapons caches the Atlantis Expedition left behind, they should be in the possession of explosives as well.
And the way they’ve waited for them to ambush them just when they thought they were finally safe suggests that their madness is not that of raving lunatics, but of cold-blooded killers that can hold back their blood thirst to lure their victims in the bloodiest trap possible… booby traps!
All this runs through her head in the matter of only seconds, and when she realizes what all this means, she spotts the telltale sign of a remote detonator on the ground, only a few feet left of Evan… in this moment she stops thinking and simply lurches forward to throw him off his feet and push him farther away from the charge. At first, nothing happens and she can push him a few more feet and move to shield him, but then there’s suddenly an explosion in their backs, strong enough to pierce her with shrapnel and scorch the back of her vest enough to burn some of it away.
She feels a little dizzy from the shockwave and needs a moment to register that Evan is sitting up and has asked her something. Or maybe he called something to Meyers over the still hammering bullets. Slowly, she shakes her head to clear away the confusion. “Laura? Can you get up?” Sure she can. What a stupid question, really. Gritting her teeth again, she only nods and tries to get up.
Well, trying being the operative word. After two unsuccessful attempts at getting up, she feels herself hauled up and dragged towards the ‘Gate. She knows she has to run as fast as possible, but the multiple cuts, deeply buried shrapnel pieces and the burned parts of her back make it kind of hard for her to keep up with Evan. Still, she’s a Marine, and Marines don’t whine or give up. They buck up and do as they’re told.
So she pulls herself together and stumbles the last few meters to the ‘Gate. Then, when they are nearly there, she suddenly trips over a root on the ground - or at least she thinks she just tripped, because there’s no way her legs could have just given out under her - and hits the ground hard. She wants to struggle up again, but Evan’s there to grab her and drag her behind the nearest stone. She manages to prop herself up, when Evan starts fussing around with her vest and coming dangerously clear to the shoulder wound. The last thing she needs now is for him to discover this really small thing and start worrying.
So she tries shaking him off with her shoulders and grinding out, “I’m fine.”
He looks quite unimpressed by her feeble attempts, though. “No, you’re not. Now, shut up and stop wriggling.”
“Honestly, Evan, I’m fine. I can…” He hits something and pain shots through her, making her nearly faint. In fact… she doesn’t feel too good at all. Can’t barely keep her eyes open, with all the pain suddenly overwhelming her…
“Laura! I said no more caskets, but you need to help me.”
Over the now nearer coming shots, Meyers suddenly calls, “Wormhole established, sir!”
A short hopeful grin crosses his face, but she isn’t quite sure if he’s just keeping up appearances for her sake. “Okay, Laura, you hear that?” Hear… what? she thinks, trying to get through the pain and fatigue, but losing the battle fast. “Meyers, tell Atlantis we need a medical emergency team. And tell them to clear the ramp; we’re coming in hot.”
She closed her eyes, so she doesn’t see the worry and desperation that have replaced the brief hope in his eyes as she feels his fingers brush against her cheek. “Help me, Laura. Fight the pain. Just for a few moments more.” She wants to tell him that yes, of course, she’ll do it, but she finds she needs all her strength to stay awake and lucid. A groan is the only thing that makes it out of her mouth, but obviously that’s enough for him. “Thanks, Laura.” With that she feels him lifting her up and carrying her towards the ‘Gate. She even manages to stay lucid long enough to realize they’ve really made it back to Atlantis after all.
~*~
TBC in Chapter Six.