2 Days Ago
The 3/10ths of a .3 seconds that it took for John Sheppard to dematerialize, travel across space and time and rematerialize on Abreca were simply not enough for him to wrap his mind around the fact that Elizabeth had actually cracked a joke about the kiss. They had never joked about the kiss; in fact they had successfully avoided even talking about it. Fortunately, it was easy to conceal his lack of a witty answer by checking out his surroundings. And Elizabeth, for all her earlier flirty bravado, studiously avoided him, instead choosing to appear engrossed in a conversation with Rodney.
He had to admit that Abreca itself was a pleasant change from the normal woodland medieval setting. The area around the stargate was quite different from any other that he had ever seen. For one thing the steps that descended from the gate led to a medium square shaped area, which was decorated with what looked like a dedication plaque and some local plant life. The dedication plaque was not written in any language John recognized. He guessed that based on her fascination with it, Elizabeth didn’t recognize it either. In each corner of the square stood tall light posts, which automatically lit once the stargate disconnected. It looked almost like the waiting area of a more upscale train station.
Beyond the square, and in fact surrounding it, was a large city. The stargate appeared to be located in a deserted section of a city, for there was no one around. But the area itself was clean and all the buildings appeared relatively new. The surrounding buildings positively dwarfed the gate itself and reminded him of those he had seen in New York, or maybe Tokyo, their edges lit with what looked like softened neon. The streets and sidewalks were exactly like those on Earth, only much cleaner. It was almost exactly like stepping out of the stargate and finding yourself in Manhattan. What was truly eerie was how quiet it all was, there was literally no one around. Of course they had arrived at night, which could explain the absence of any visible life. John’s first assumption was that they had walked into a trap.
“Does anyone else think that this is a little creepy?” he asked, as they left he square and began moving carefully down one of the streets.
“It’s certainly quiet,” responded Elizabeth. The team had stuck close together, all affected by the strangeness of the situation.
“I don’t like it,” said Ronon as he pulled out his weapon. John did the same, automatically maneuvering Elizabeth in between himself and Ronon, leaving McKay to trail behind.
“Why do we have to automatically assume that just because there’s no one around that something bad will happen?” said Rodney, ignoring the look that passed between John and Ronon.
“Rodney, there’s not a single person around,” John pointed out. “You don’t find that even a little bit odd.”
“Well, yes, I guess it’s a bit strange, but—“
Whatever McKay had planned to say was drowned out by the loud whine of engines coming from directly overhead. A spotlight flooded the area around them with bright white light. John looked up, trying to make out the size and shape of the craft that hovered above them. The glare of the spotlight made it nearly impossible to make out specific details, but judging by the size and shape it appeared to resemble a puddle jumper more than anything else. Based on the look of the rest of the city, he might have expected something more like a helicopter, but there were plainly no propellers on whatever it was.
“This just can’t be good,” John observed. Before anyone could respond, a booming voice filled the night air.
“Mol’no amalya!” All members of the team looked at each other questioningly. Elizabeth was the first to speak.
“Anyone recognize that?” she asked.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say no,” said John. His original bad feeling about this particular mission was expanding exponentially. He didn’t think the tiny joy he would get from how right he had apparently been would be much consolation.
“Whatever they were saying,” began Ronon, circling around to stand behind Rodney. “It didn’t sound friendly.”
“Mol’no amalya,” the voice repeated. “Kal bishna thu!”
“How far are we from the gate?” John asked, craning his neck in an attempt to get a better look at whoever was giving the orders.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” blustered Rodney. “They are directly above us! There’s no way we could—“
“About 2 blocks,” said Ronon.
“Too far,” said John.
“Too far,” agreed Ronon.
“Didn’t I just say that?” McKay’s voice had risen to near shriek level, panic having obviously gotten the better of him.
“Suggestions?” John thought he could almost hear muffled voices coming from the craft above them. It seemed like they were talking frantically amongst themselves. Ronon continued to circle protectively around the team, not taking his eyes off the hovering ship.
“We could try talking to them,” said Elizabeth, a hint of skepticism in her voice.
“How?” asked John. “If we don’t understand them, what makes you think they’ll understand us?”
“Don’t you think it’s at least worth a shot?” she asked. “Unless you have a better idea.”
“Not unless you consider running for our lives a better idea,” he responded, shooting her a hopeful look. She frowned at him, and then turned her attention back to the disembodied voice.
“We mean you no harm,” she began.
“Why don’t you just say, we come in peace and be done with it,” snapped Rodney, only to yelp in pain a moment later when John smacked him on the back of the head. “What? What did I say?”
“We are from the city of Atlantis and—“
Her sentence ended in a shriek as a gloved hand appeared from the darkness surrounding them and yanked her away from the group. In the few seconds that it took him to sprint after Elizabeth and her captor, John saw Rodney get hit from behind and fall to the ground, thankfully not unconscious. Ronon immediately fired upon Rodney’s attacker, who screamed as he recoiled out of the circle of light.
“Get Rodney back to the gate,” John ordered over his shoulder as he set off in pursuit of Elizabeth. “And bring back reinforcements!”
He could hear weapons fire from behind him and hoped against hope that Ronon and Rodney would make it safely to the gate. His eyes adjusted to the dark fairly quickly and he was able to see a squirming Elizabeth being dragged down a side street. Her struggling was slowing them down significantly. John didn’t even attempt stealth, just ran flat out towards them, anger and worry increasing his pace.
So intent was he on reaching Elizabeth, he neither heard nor saw who it was that tagged him from behind. All he knew was that one minute he was chasing down Elizabeth’s attacker and the next he couldn’t feel his body. Though he was reasonably sure he fell to the ground, he didn’t feel it. The last thing he was aware of before he lapsed into unconsciousness was a ship passing overhead and Elizabeth screaming in the distance.
Thanks to my betas for continuing to be so wonderful!
The 3/10ths of a .3 seconds that it took for John Sheppard to dematerialize, travel across space and time and rematerialize on Abreca were simply not enough for him to wrap his mind around the fact that Elizabeth had actually cracked a joke about the kiss. They had never joked about the kiss; in fact they had successfully avoided even talking about it. Fortunately, it was easy to conceal his lack of a witty answer by checking out his surroundings. And Elizabeth, for all her earlier flirty bravado, studiously avoided him, instead choosing to appear engrossed in a conversation with Rodney.
He had to admit that Abreca itself was a pleasant change from the normal woodland medieval setting. The area around the stargate was quite different from any other that he had ever seen. For one thing the steps that descended from the gate led to a medium square shaped area, which was decorated with what looked like a dedication plaque and some local plant life. The dedication plaque was not written in any language John recognized. He guessed that based on her fascination with it, Elizabeth didn’t recognize it either. In each corner of the square stood tall light posts, which automatically lit once the stargate disconnected. It looked almost like the waiting area of a more upscale train station.
Beyond the square, and in fact surrounding it, was a large city. The stargate appeared to be located in a deserted section of a city, for there was no one around. But the area itself was clean and all the buildings appeared relatively new. The surrounding buildings positively dwarfed the gate itself and reminded him of those he had seen in New York, or maybe Tokyo, their edges lit with what looked like softened neon. The streets and sidewalks were exactly like those on Earth, only much cleaner. It was almost exactly like stepping out of the stargate and finding yourself in Manhattan. What was truly eerie was how quiet it all was, there was literally no one around. Of course they had arrived at night, which could explain the absence of any visible life. John’s first assumption was that they had walked into a trap.
“Does anyone else think that this is a little creepy?” he asked, as they left he square and began moving carefully down one of the streets.
“It’s certainly quiet,” responded Elizabeth. The team had stuck close together, all affected by the strangeness of the situation.
“I don’t like it,” said Ronon as he pulled out his weapon. John did the same, automatically maneuvering Elizabeth in between himself and Ronon, leaving McKay to trail behind.
“Why do we have to automatically assume that just because there’s no one around that something bad will happen?” said Rodney, ignoring the look that passed between John and Ronon.
“Rodney, there’s not a single person around,” John pointed out. “You don’t find that even a little bit odd.”
“Well, yes, I guess it’s a bit strange, but—“
Whatever McKay had planned to say was drowned out by the loud whine of engines coming from directly overhead. A spotlight flooded the area around them with bright white light. John looked up, trying to make out the size and shape of the craft that hovered above them. The glare of the spotlight made it nearly impossible to make out specific details, but judging by the size and shape it appeared to resemble a puddle jumper more than anything else. Based on the look of the rest of the city, he might have expected something more like a helicopter, but there were plainly no propellers on whatever it was.
“This just can’t be good,” John observed. Before anyone could respond, a booming voice filled the night air.
“Mol’no amalya!” All members of the team looked at each other questioningly. Elizabeth was the first to speak.
“Anyone recognize that?” she asked.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say no,” said John. His original bad feeling about this particular mission was expanding exponentially. He didn’t think the tiny joy he would get from how right he had apparently been would be much consolation.
“Whatever they were saying,” began Ronon, circling around to stand behind Rodney. “It didn’t sound friendly.”
“Mol’no amalya,” the voice repeated. “Kal bishna thu!”
“How far are we from the gate?” John asked, craning his neck in an attempt to get a better look at whoever was giving the orders.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” blustered Rodney. “They are directly above us! There’s no way we could—“
“About 2 blocks,” said Ronon.
“Too far,” said John.
“Too far,” agreed Ronon.
“Didn’t I just say that?” McKay’s voice had risen to near shriek level, panic having obviously gotten the better of him.
“Suggestions?” John thought he could almost hear muffled voices coming from the craft above them. It seemed like they were talking frantically amongst themselves. Ronon continued to circle protectively around the team, not taking his eyes off the hovering ship.
“We could try talking to them,” said Elizabeth, a hint of skepticism in her voice.
“How?” asked John. “If we don’t understand them, what makes you think they’ll understand us?”
“Don’t you think it’s at least worth a shot?” she asked. “Unless you have a better idea.”
“Not unless you consider running for our lives a better idea,” he responded, shooting her a hopeful look. She frowned at him, and then turned her attention back to the disembodied voice.
“We mean you no harm,” she began.
“Why don’t you just say, we come in peace and be done with it,” snapped Rodney, only to yelp in pain a moment later when John smacked him on the back of the head. “What? What did I say?”
“We are from the city of Atlantis and—“
Her sentence ended in a shriek as a gloved hand appeared from the darkness surrounding them and yanked her away from the group. In the few seconds that it took him to sprint after Elizabeth and her captor, John saw Rodney get hit from behind and fall to the ground, thankfully not unconscious. Ronon immediately fired upon Rodney’s attacker, who screamed as he recoiled out of the circle of light.
“Get Rodney back to the gate,” John ordered over his shoulder as he set off in pursuit of Elizabeth. “And bring back reinforcements!”
He could hear weapons fire from behind him and hoped against hope that Ronon and Rodney would make it safely to the gate. His eyes adjusted to the dark fairly quickly and he was able to see a squirming Elizabeth being dragged down a side street. Her struggling was slowing them down significantly. John didn’t even attempt stealth, just ran flat out towards them, anger and worry increasing his pace.
So intent was he on reaching Elizabeth, he neither heard nor saw who it was that tagged him from behind. All he knew was that one minute he was chasing down Elizabeth’s attacker and the next he couldn’t feel his body. Though he was reasonably sure he fell to the ground, he didn’t feel it. The last thing he was aware of before he lapsed into unconsciousness was a ship passing overhead and Elizabeth screaming in the distance.
Thanks to my betas for continuing to be so wonderful!