“AR-1 and 2, coming in hot,” Chuck announced as he lowered the shield.
Ioan’s heart tripped as it always did when his brother’s team was in trouble but he pushed it down and got into position. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bates do the same. Ioan frowned at the fierceness he read in the other man’s posture. He didn’t care for it one bit. If he were honest, he didn’t much like the man in general. Not many on the city did. Bates was a hardass with a temper. He was the one in charge of base security and, to Ioan’s mind, the responsibility had not done the man any favors to his attitude.
Any further thought was pushed aside when stunners came through the gate, followed closely by both teams. Ioan had only enough time to register no major casualties when one final stunner came through the gate just before the shield came back up, hitting McKay square in the face who immediately crumpled to the floor.
“McKay!” Sheppard yelled, dropping to his knees.
Ioan stared in abject horror at the still form of Rodney, as Sheppard frantically checked for a pulse. Ioan knew he had found it when the Major’s body seemed to go lax with relief.
Hitting his com, Ioan barked, “Medical team to the gate room, stat! Man down.” Hurrying over, Ioan’s eyes roamed over the others before resting on his brother. Only then did he notice that Evan was limping. Slipping an arm around his waist, Ioan helped him to the stairs so he could sit down. “You okay? What happened?” he asked quietly.
Evan shook his head. “Nothing. Just tripped over a loose rock on the way to the gate. I’ll be fine.”
“And the mission? You weren’t due back until tonight,” Ioan pressed.
“The Wraith arrived about two hours after we got to the planet. They kept the gate open for a while before we finally managed to dial out. We can scratch that address off the list for possible Alpha sites, obviously,” Evan said with a groan as he attempted to stretch his leg.
Ioan frowned. Another Wraith attack? How many did that make now, where AR-1’s team had encountered them shortly after arriving on a planet, Ioan wondered.
Carson stopped in front of them to check on Evan. “You alright, lad? Think you can make your way to the infirmary on your own?”
Evan glanced at Ioan, then nodded even as Ioan said, “Don’t worry, doc, I’ll make sure he gets there.”
Carson flashed a brief smile, then hurried back to Rodney who was being put on a gurney. Glancing behind them, Ioan frowned at a scowling Bates. The man looked like he was about to explode. He radiated suspicion and anger – not a good combination in Ioan’s book. He shared a knowing look with his brother as he helped him to his feet. They both agreed that trouble was brewing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“I’m sorry about this, Halling,” Evan said quietly as he prepared to take off. They were ferrying the Athosians to the mainland – a compromise between Weir and the Athosians while they figured out how the Wraith got their intel that continuously seemed to jeopardise their missions.
It didn’t sit well with Evan that the Athosians had been treated more like prisoners than friends, or that Bates had been stoking the fire behind the paranoia that seemed to have come over Weir. Granted, he could see as well as the next person that there was something going on, but his gut told him that Sheppard was right about the Athosians and that there were no spies among them.
Halling sighed, shaking his head. “As am I, Major Lorne. I truly hope that one day your Dr. Weir will find her trust in us again. Perhaps our settling on the mainland will aid with that.”
Offering the man a small smile, Evan nodded. “Perhaps.”
The trip to where the Athosians would be putting up camp took less than half an hour. Evan offered to help get everything moved, but Halling waved him off. “No need, Major Lorne. We will manage. This is not the first time we have had to start again.”
“Alright. Remember, if you or your people need anything, call us. We will be there,” he stressed, though he could tell from some of the faces around him that not all the Athosians shared his belief.
Halling, however, nodded. “Thank you, Major.” Evan was touched when Halling made to do the Athosian greeting – though Evan had long since learned it was used both in greetings and goodbyes, as well as offers of support and comfort.
Touching his forehead to Halling’s, Evan murmured, “Be safe, my friend.”
“And you,” Halling replied softly.
With one final glance over the first friends they had made in Pegasus, Evan went back to the jumper and made his way back to the city.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rodney glowered, arms crossed over his chest as Bates dumped the contents of the bag on his desk. Rodney knew full well that John would never have ordered Teyla’s belongings searched and that he would be pissed once he found out Bates had gone behind his back. “You want me to go through her stuff?” he asked incredulously.
Bates, who had already turned to head out the door, glanced over his shoulder with a determined look in his eye. “We’re looking for weapons, transmitters, recording devices. Anything that looks like it’s beyond the Athosian level of technology.”
Taking a deep breath, Rodney stared at the ceiling, trying to keep a tight rein on his temper. “And if I don’t find anything, do we move on to a strip search?” He was feeling queasy. Teyla was his friend, too, and there was just no way she would betray them.
Glaring at him, Bates ordered, “Just do it,” and walked away.
“This isn’t right,” Rodney muttered to himself as he reluctantly began sorting through his friend’s belongings. He continued talking to himself as he methodically poured over everything. “See, there’s nothing here. I can’t believe Bates could be so-.” He cut off as he fingered Teyla’s necklace. Something seemed off about it, so he carried it over to his computer and began to do a search through the database. His stomach dropped down to his toes as a single, condemning entry popped up on his screen.
He knew Bates would want to know as soon as possible, but Rodney just could not bring himself to radio the sergeant. Instead, he hurried over to the infirmary, certain he would find John there. His thoughts kept snarling, twisting him up inside. Regardless of what the database said, he couldn’t believe Teyla capable of working for the Wraith. John trusted her implicitly. That had to mean something, didn’t it?
The relief Rodney felt at seeing John sitting next to Ford as he walked into the infirmary was instant. “Major! I err… Oh, Ford. How are you feeling? Pins and needles everywhere?” he asked, genuinely concerned for his teammate. He remembered only too well what it felt like to get hit by a stunner, and not just because he was still dealing with the aftereffects of it off and on.
Ford looked bashful as he explained he had managed to dodge the stunner only to hit his head on a rock on his way down. So merely concussed, Rodney thought, his mind already spinning back to Teyla and what he had uncovered. “Er, Major, there’s something I need you to see,” he urged, walking off without waiting to see whether John followed. He was only vaguely aware of Ford calling after them, but his actual words never registered.
The closer they came to his lab, the worse Rodney felt because it meant he would soon be the one to provide immutable proof that Bates had been right about their friend. “What the hell is this?” John asked as soon as he spotted Teyla’s things on Rodney’s desk.
Taking a deep breath, Rodney briefly closed his eyes before meeting John’s. “I know how it looks. Special request from Sergeant Bates.” Oh, how he hated that look in John’s eyes. The one that said he was hurt by his betrayal.
“I’m gonna bust that son of a bitch,” John growled.
Rodney didn’t doubt that. He sighed. “Major.” He needed to keep a level head. Rodney couldn’t appeal to John right now, so he used his title instead, hoping to get through to him.
“Teyla has nothing to do with this,” John protested vehemently.
Jaw clenching, Rodney steeled himself. “Thing is, he was right,” he said quietly.
The anger in John was replaced by shocked disbelief as he gaped at Rodney, who wished he didn’t have to deliver the news. “I know, I was as surprised as you are,” he murmured, unable to keep eye contact. Turning to his computer, he pulled up the information on the necklace. “Look at this.”
He beckoned John over. “It’s her locket,” he said, holding it up to compare it to the image on the screen. “It’s a transmitter. It’s been broadcasting a continuous signal. I wouldn’t even have noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it specifically,” he confessed, his gut churning.
John released a long breath of relief, much to Rodney’s surprise. “I found it,” John admitted.
Rodney stared at him, dumbfounded. “What?”
Meeting his gaze, John confided, “I found it. On her planet, the first time we met. Teyla took me to the old ruins. That,” he said, pointing to the locket, “was half buried in dirt. I gave it to her.”
Mind racing over the implications, Rodney snapped his fingers. “But that means-,” he paused, then snapped his fingers again, already walking at a clipped pace, clutching the necklace. “We need to talk to Elizabeth. Now.”
Bates was already with Elizabeth when he and John entered the room she had been using to ‘interview’ the Athosians. Rodney tried not to dwell on that as it still made him uneasy to know just how quickly the light of suspicion had been cast on an innocent people. On their friends. Still, with Bates here, it would be easier to allay any further concerns regarding Teyla. He hoped.
Tossing the necklace on the table in front of Elizabeth, Rodney walked back to stand next to John. “The locket’s signal isn’t strong enough to travel very far, certainly not through subspace. Now, my guess is there are probably relay devices on certain planets that pick up the transmission and then alert the nearest hive ship. Those were the planets where we were attacked.”
“Boy do we owe a few people an apology,” John said with a pointed glance at Bates, who still seemed determined to be right no matter the evidence laid before him. Rodney felt oddly pleased that John was remaining so calm.
Elizabeth shook her head and sighed, relief at Teyla’s innocence apparent. “Teyla had no idea that she was giving away your position.”
Rodney smiled, happy that she at least was finally beginning to understand and accept what was going on. John nodded, murmuring, “She said it was a present from her father. She lost it when she was a kid.”
Putting the last pieces of the puzzle together, Rodney nodded to himself. “It was probably dormant until Major Sheppard picked it up, activating it.” Well didn’t that make perfect sense. Everything John touched that was Lantean seemed to work for him, so why not that locket.
Bates looked less convinced. “If she wore it as a kid, how come they weren’t attacked back then?”
Rodney stared at the sergeant, only barely refraining from asking the man if he was really that stupid. “Didn’t I just say it was dormant?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
Bates shrugged, apparently really as dumb as he looked. “But if it’s activated by touch, then-.”
“You’re not listening,” Rodney retorted, counting silently to ten in order to keep his cool as he gave the sergeant a look that plainly said he was too stupid to breathe the same air as him. “Major Sheppard activated it.”
Elizabeth seemed to get it as she leaned forward. “As far as the Wraith are concerned, Teyla is just another human being.”
Rodney nodded. “They would have no interest in tracking her. Now Major Sheppard on the other hand,” he said, jerking his thumb to the man in question.
Elizabeth finished his sentence. “Has the Ancient gene.”
Grinning, Rodney nodded. “Exactly. Now at one point, the Wraith and the Ancients were at war. The Wraith created or adapted this device to detect Ancients,” he explained, noting that Bates finally seemed to be getting with the program.
John grimaced. “So some Athosian thought this would make a nice little necklace?”
Blinking, Rodney stared at John. Was he kidding? “How could I possibly know that? What am I? Answer man?” As much as the question irked him, it took Rodney a few seconds to realize that it had been rhetorical and that John was trying to hold back a grin. Right. Of course. Giving himself a shake, he tried to let it go. “The point is-.”
Elizabeth interrupted him. “It wasn’t Teyla. Or any of the Athosians.”
A light bulb seemed to suddenly go off for John. He leaned on the table, eyes focused on Elizabeth. “If that’s the case,” he intoned carefully, “then we can use that against them.”
Rodney was equal parts proud and horrified as John laid out his plan. If he were completely honest with himself, the Wraith terrified him more than anything he had ever encountered. Beings that would steal your life from you by essentially ‘eating’ your energy and that looked like tricked out Marilyn Mansons to boot? Yeah, that was the stuff of nightmares. Right up there with clowns and Moby Dick.
An hour later his team along with AR 2 and 3 had gathered and they were going over John’s plan again. Rodney was wringing his hands, trying to control the nervous jitters coursing through him – or was that still the aftereffect of that stunner? He wasn’t sure.
John frowned at him, his hand on his hip. “You seem nervous.”
What? What did he mean he didn’t have to do this, Rodney wondered. Lifting his chin stubbornly, he forced his body to still. “No. No, I’m part of this team. I’m doing this.”
Bemused, John smiled at him. “Yes, you are. I just said you seem nervous.”
Rodney blinked in confusion. “Oh. I thought you said I didn’t have to do this,” he confessed. Wishful thinking, he supposed. “Damn right I’m doing this,” he added, as much to convince himself as John. He might still be new at this whole ‘team’ thing and having one another’s backs, but there was no way in hell he would let John go on this mission without him there.
John grinned. “Yes, you are.” Rodney couldn’t quite keep from smiling at the obvious approval in John’s voice.
Shaking his head, Rodney tried to focus on what Ford was saying and before long he and the rest of AR-1, 2, and 3 were back on the planet, preparing their ambush. Rodney had to consciously remember how to breathe, fighting the rising fear as Ford radioed John to let him know they had four Wraith incoming. John pressed lightly against his side. “You still look nervous.”
Swallowing hard, Rodney tried to put forth as much confidence as he could. He knew John was worried about him and he had to do what he could to alleviate his concern. He would not be the reason this mission would fail, and he would most definitely not be the reason John got hurt. “No. No, I’m good. I can do this.”
Eyeing him carefully for a moment, John finally nodded. “I know you can,” he said reassuringly. Oddly enough, it made Rodney feel a little better. And then there was no more time for worrying. No more time for fear as they launched their attack. Everything went as planned, much to Rodney’s astonishment. At least right up until the Wraith they had taken down activated his self-destruct and blew up, nearly taking them with him.
Rodney was momentarily stunned from the blast. John appeared to fare little better but his experience in the field seemed to help him recover much quicker. John grabbed his wrist, his tone urgent. “You alright?”
“Yeah,” he croaked. “This is fun for me.” It wasn’t, but no need to tell John that. They still had to finish what they came to do. “Go. Help the once-over’ll be fine.”
With a worried look, John got to his knees and touched his cheek briefly before getting to his feet. Once he was gone, Rodney allowed himself a few moments to regain his breath. Once he was sure everything was still functioning as it should, he followed after John. He was glad to see that Ioan, Evan, and the rest of their teams were largely okay. The Lorne brothers were standing on either side of John, all three with guns – or in John’s case, a Wraith stunner – trained on their captive.
Helping Teyla to her feet, he patted her arms as he gave her a quick once-over. “You hurt?”
Smiling tiredly, she shook her head. “I am fine, thank you, Rodney.”
Rodney grinned or tried to. They had done it. They had captured a Wraith and without any casualties.
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