The Breaking of John Sheppard by Laura_trekkie [Reviews - 50]
Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Category: Threesomes and Moresomes > Strictly slash
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Original Character, Radek Zelenka, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan
Rating: NC-17
Genres: AU - Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, First Time, Hurt Comfort
Warnings: Non-consensual
Series: None
Word count: 58587; Completed: Yes
Summary: A simple mission goes horribly wrong when several of the team are captured. Things do not go well. Major John-whumping, with added Rodney and Radek minor whumpage. McKay/Sheppard/Zelenka.
Spoilers: Alludes to events in The Storm/ The Eye.
Beta: Many thanks go to Huntress for her untiring beta, even as this thing grew longer and longer, and I kept on confounding her with my British spellings :).
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it's so very not mine.
Notes: This is set after Storm/Eye, maybe a few months later. AU, as it disregards events in Brotherhood.
My maths rivals Ford's, so apologies for the vagueness go to any maths scholars out there. Also, I'm not a medical person, so any medical procedures herein are purely my imagination and I just hope they sound plausible/logical.
I like to think this is pretty dark, but I'm also willing to accept that John's recovery may not fit everyone's view of how things should be. I respect that view, point out that it's fiction and I can do what I want ;-p, and then point people in the direction of Kodiak Bear Country's Dear John and its follow up for a story depicting a hard recovery. There are others, but this was recent, and stuck in my mind.
Czech translations from http://intertran.tranexp.com/Translate/result.shtml
This one's long, people. I hope it keeps your attention right to the end.
*~*
Part one.
Major John Sheppard and his team waited in front of the Stargate while Peter Grodin dialled the address for P3X-862. The recon team had reported some ruins that they thought were Ancient, as well as some faint energy readings, so John and his team were going to check it out. Due to the nature of the mission, they were taking two 'soft scientists', Doctors Singh and Jones from the archaeology department, as well as Radek Zelenka, who would be assisting Rodney with whatever the energy readings turned out to be. The planet was reported to be uninhabited, so John hadn't felt it necessary to take along any marines for back up.
The gate finished dialling and the team walked through to Elizabeth's customary call of, "Be safe." John nodded to her before following everyone else through to the planet.
He stepped out onto a world like a lot of the others the Ancient's seemed to favour; green grass, green trees, and okay, the rocks were sliding towards the purple spectrum and the sky was...not sky blue...aqua maybe? But it was pretty much Earth-norm. They started on the short walk to the site of the ruins. It was only twenty minutes and the terrain, through a few fields and a narrow belt of the ubiquitous trees, was virtually flat. This, combined with the fact that he was lost in his scans for energy readings, meant that, for once, Rodney didn't complain about the fact that they were walking rather than taking a puddle jumper. Everyone was silently relieved to be spared the whining for once.
They arrived at the ruins and Doctor Singh started setting up his equipment while Dr Jones brought out his camera. John ordered, "Ford, you and Teyla stay here with Singh and Jones. I'll go with McKay and Zelenka."
Ford replied with a "Yes, sir" and Teyla inclined her head.
John turned to leave, following behind Rodney and Radek, who were already heading in the direction that Rodney's scans indicated. He swung round and added, "Keep an eye out, Ford. I've got a bad feeling about this place."
"Will do, sir. Check in every hour?" he asked.
John nodded, took a final look around and then jogged the short distance to catch up to his geeks. He felt a little uneasy but couldn't pinpoint why. He took out his life signs detector, but it showed no one other than his team. Still, the feeling persisted and he resolved to stay extra vigilant.
"Bad feeling, Major?" Radek asked, wondering if he should be worried.
"Yeah, it's just too quiet," John frowned.
Rodney, eyes still glued to his scanner as he waved it back and forth, said, "'Too quiet'? And how do you know? You've never been here before; maybe it's always this quiet. What are you, psychic now? They teach you that in grunt school?" His tone was scathing.
"No, not psychic, Rodney, but go through enough war and fighting and you start to get a sense for imminent danger," was John's reply. "And I'm not a grunt, I'm a pilot," he added.
"Paranoia is what it is," Rodney shot back.
Radek was amused, mentally comparing this blasé Rodney with the old version who would have been running for the gate by now.
"Hey, it's my job to be paranoid. I've got to expect the worst and keep an eye out for it so that you're free to have your little geek-gasms without worry. And anyway, I said it was a feeling, which is why we're just being careful rather than heading back home."
Radek was amused by the bickering, but he noticed that John only seemed to be paying the snark half his attention, still tense and watching their surroundings. It made Radek nervous.
"10625," he said suddenly. He wanted to try and ease the tension by dragging them into a game of prime, not prime. Also, he was interested to see just how much of Major Sheppard's attention was needed to figure the answers. Radek was curious as to just how good the major's maths was, and it was no use simply asking the man. He'd just clam up and smile it all away.
"Not prime," was John's prompt response. Radek hadn't even had time to blink.
"Hmm, interesting," he mused.
"What's interesting?" John was curious to know.
"Oh, I was just testing to see how much concentration you needed to get the answer. It seems that you can do it with at least half your attention elsewhere."
John looked a little uncomfortable at this observation. Radek assumed he was concerned about his dumb flyboy routine being disproved. Though why he wanted to hide his intelligence, Radek didn't know.
John was saved from having to reply to Radek's comment by Rodney blurting, "Oh please! The Major could probably get primes right even in the middle of sex!" He then seemed to realise what he'd said if the sudden indrawn breath was any indication. He was careful to not turn round.
"Was that a proposition, Rodney?" John drawled.
Rodney scoffed and tried to hide his splutter, because yes, it was a proposition, but not one Rodney had ever planned on saying out loud. "Don't be absurd, Major. What would I want with an idiot flyboy when the universe contains the likes of Samantha Carter," he covered.
John and Radek exchanged amused eye rolls and John said, "Gee, Rodney, you wound me. I'm hurt."
Radek was pleased to see that John had relaxed a little; it meant he could relax too. He found himself fighting a brief twinge of jealousy though, certain that Rodney did indeed have feelings for John. He also found himself unsure about whom his jealousy was aimed at. This was something to ponder once they were back on Atlantis, he decided.
Rodney was about to reply when he suddenly stopped and swung to his left. "The energy readings are coming from over there." He pointed to the sparse trees ahead.
They headed through the trunks and came to a clearing with some more ruins. These looked to be Ancient as well. Rodney and Radek virtually fell rapturously on the broken walls, slipping into geek-speak, half sentences and arm waving.
John was amused. He turned to walk a quick perimeter, his unease still not entirely abated. He took out the life signs detector again, but it was still clear of anyone other than his teammates.
His perimeter completed, John settled in a ready position close by Radek and Rodney, staying far enough distant to avoid being in the way. A short while later and it was time to contact Ford. "Ford, this is Sheppard, do you copy?"
"Go ahead, sir," came Aiden's reply.
"How's it looking there?"
"It's quiet here, sir. The doc's are doing whatever it is they do. I get the feeling that Teyla and I could disappear and they wouldn't notice," he reported. "What about you, sir? Still getting that strange feeling?" he added.
"Yeah. Keep your eyes peeled, Aiden. Sheppard out"
"Will do, sir. Ford out.."
*~*
Another hour slipped past, Rodney and Radek lost in their investigation. They had moved inside the ruins now, John trailing along behind them, his eyes alternately scanning their surroundings and his life signs detector.
The floor plan wasn't very large and it only seemed to have been a single storey structure. Radek had posited that it was a substation to the main building, or maybe a lab complex. Rodney thought that at least part of the building was underground, but every time he tried to check, his scans got bounced back.
"It doesn't make sense," he bemoaned at one point. "Why would the Ancients shield something from their own scanners?" No one had an answer, so they searched the ruins for a way down.
Radek watched as John called Ford for their hourly check in. He had relaxed a little but, "The Major is still tense," he whispered to Rodney.
"I know," Rodney replied. Despite his scoffing (it was expected of him, after all) he knew that John's 'spidey-sense' had been pretty reliable in the past. He was a little nervous and had been careful to stick close by the other two men and also to only unpack equipment as he needed it. "All clear?" he asked when John finished on the radio.
"Yeah," was John's succinct reply.
He looked down at his scanner again and stiffened, grabbing his P-90. "McKay, Zelenka, head for the tree line," he ordered in his terse military commander's voice, adding a sharp, though quiet, "Now!" when Rodney hesitated.
Glaring briefly Rodney turned and headed for the trees, Radek and John hot on his heels. Once they were in far enough to be hidden by the shadows, John stopped them and had them drop down low. He took out his field binoculars and trained them back on the ruins.
Radek could see that Rodney was itching to ask what was happening, but was pleased to see that he was following John's lead and staying quiet for now.
"Dammit!" John whispered fiercely then, binoculars still trained on the ruins, toggled his radio and said quietly, "Ford, this is Sheppard. Fall back to the gate, we've got Genii crawling around here." He heard the indrawn breaths from Radek and Rodney at this pronouncement.
"Do you need back up, sir?" came Aiden's response.
"Negative. Get your civilians safely home, we're heading your way. Sheppard out."
Putting actions to words, John said, "Rodney, take point, I'll cover our rear. Stay low and quiet."
He was pleased to see that both scientists had pulled their Berettas at the mention of Genii, and also that Rodney, although his eyes widened a little in worry, simply nodded and headed off down the trail leading to the gate.
Rodney was very nervous at being put in the lead, but it hadn't taken him long to realise that he was the next most experienced in combat of the three men and that John was best at the back as that's where the Genii were.
He set as brisk a pace as he dared, John staying where he was with his P-90 trained back towards the ruins, giving Rodney and Radek cover as they retreated. They had made it maybe a hundred metres and John had caught up with them, when suddenly a voice floated out from the trees a little ahead and to the right of them.
"That's far enough," it said, and was swiftly followed by seven Genii soldiers ghosting out of the trees to surround them, weapons aimed.
In the few seconds between first hearing the voice and being confronted, Rodney and Radek had come to a sudden halt, with Radek squashed up close to Rodney's side from not stopping quite as quickly as Rodney had, and John had pivoted so that his back was to the other men's.
Everyone stood frozen for a few seconds, guns pointed every which way. Then one of the soldiers said, "Lower your weapons." He turned out to be the owner of the voice. Radek eyed the man, who was in the uniform of a captain, a touch hysterically; he was disgustingly nondescript with the type of face you would never be able to describe or recognise again. He was of average height and build and so not the image of a bad guy that Radek was used to seeing in every TV show and movie.
He wasn't a man easily panicked, but these people were Genii and Radek couldn't completely fight off the feeling. He desperately wanted to turn his head to see Rodney or Major Sheppard, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the enemy soldiers.
As Radek was having these thoughts, the captain was using these few seconds to study his captives. The tallest man was so obviously a soldier. He didn't even need the visual aids of a bigger gun and different uniform. No, all he had to do was take a look at the dark eyes. They were tight with anger, but the captain saw the predator there, saw as tactics were considered and discarded lightening quick. This was the one to watch. The other two, while they put on a good front, couldn't hide the fear in their eyes.
He took another second to run his eyes appreciatively over the lean soldier, then introduced himself with, "I am Captain Bren of the Genii. I won't ask for you to lower your weapons again, gentlemen." He was deceptively polite.
The three men stood for a few seconds more before the soldier said tightly, "Do it," and lowered his assault rifle. The two not-soldiers reluctantly did as bidden.
"Drop them on the ground and kick them away from yourselves," Bren ordered next. He wasn't stupid enough to send his soldiers in close enough to retrieve the guns from the men's hands and he especially didn't intend on letting any of his men near the military man until he was subdued. Bren didn't mind admitting to himself that he was a little chilled by the expression on the man's handsome face. It reminded him uncomfortably of Commander Kolya.
That thought gave him pause. He hadn't served directly under Kolya, but he had attended some of the commander's training sessions and had also read the report that had been circulated concerning the Atlanteans and Kolya's defeat by only a handful of men. The report had included details about how to spot Atlanteans off world. One such detail had been the uniforms, which were described as being single coloured trousers and matching jacket, with the jacket having two coloured panels on the front...much like these uniforms in front of him now.
"Well, well, well. Atlanteans, hmm?" Bren said.
There was no reply, but his guess was confirmed by the slightly widened eyes of the two not-soldiers...scientists probably. Bren recalled the report saying that there were lots of scientist and techs on Atlantis.
"That's okay, you don't have to answer just yet. You're coming with us regardless. We have orders to apprehend anyone that turns up to investigate the ruins, Atlanteans especially. Some of them are wanted for war crimes, you know." He gestured for his prisoners to head back to the ruins. "I don't suppose it's worth asking you for names, is it?" he asked, not at all surprised when he received only silence. He leaned across to one of his men and murmured instructions to him.
The man nodded then stepped towards John. "Hands behind your back," he ordered.
John gave a brief hesitation, but then complied. It wasn't worth putting Rodney and Radek in any extra danger by pushing things when they were out numbered.
The young Genii soldier handcuffed John's hands securely, then quickly and unexpectedly lashed out, hitting John at the base of the skull with his pistol grip. John crumpled to the floor, unconscious before he could even make a sound.
"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed, making an abortive move towards John. He stopped almost before he'd begun as several guns swung in his direction. He settled for fierce scowling instead.
"Why did you do that?" Radek wanted to know.
"Simple," Bren replied. "Eliminate the worst threat, in this case the soldier," he gestured to John, "and reduce the chances of you two trying anything by making you carry him."
It was a logical, if highly irritating, plan, Rodney had to admit- only to himself though. He knelt down to take John's left side as Radek moved to his right. They hauled him upright with difficulty, John so much dead weight and no help from the Genii, and then tried to get a good grip. The handcuffs prevented them from slinging John's arms over their shoulders, so they were forced to clamp their hands round his upper arms.
"Can you at least take the cuffs off so that we can support him properly?" Rodney asked. Bren simply shook his head and grinned very slightly, amused by the struggle.
It was awkward and they found it difficult to keep from dropping him as they started in the direction indicated by Bren.
They marched back to the ruins and Rodney and Radek exchanged brief looks of vindication that there really was an underground part to the ruins and irritation at not finding it earlier, when they were stopped at a hatch in the ground.
"What is it with you Genii and your underground hatches?" Rodney couldn't stop himself saying. Radek frowned in consternation, which quickly turned to anger when the soldier nearest to Rodney shoved him hard, causing him to loose his grip on John who sagged against Radek's support.
"Hey!" Rodney was indignant as he moved to retrieve John.
"Do not antagonise them, I cannot carry both of you down these steps," Radek pleaded. He remembered at the last second not to start his sentence with 'Rodney'...they hadn't given the Genii any names yet, and he was determined not to be the one to slip.
Impatient, Bren motioned for them to get going down the steps in front of them. Rodney was relieved to see that there were actual stairs rather than a ladder, but even so, "Can you at least help us get him down there?" he asked.
Bren shook his head and smirked, enjoying the irritation he was causing.
Rodney huffed then said to Radek, "Get his feet, will you? I'll carry his shoulders."
Radek nodded and they manhandled John down the stairs, thankfully only one level. He was heavy when he was unconscious. Rodney was certain that all this hauling about was doing his delicate back no good. He made a mental note to complain to John when he finally woke up.
They were taken to a room and shoved inside unceremoniously, the door slamming shut decisively behind them.
*~*
TBC...
Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Category: Threesomes and Moresomes > Strictly slash
Characters: Aiden Ford, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Original Character, Radek Zelenka, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan
Rating: NC-17
Genres: AU - Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, First Time, Hurt Comfort
Warnings: Non-consensual
Series: None
Word count: 58587; Completed: Yes
Summary: A simple mission goes horribly wrong when several of the team are captured. Things do not go well. Major John-whumping, with added Rodney and Radek minor whumpage. McKay/Sheppard/Zelenka.
Spoilers: Alludes to events in The Storm/ The Eye.
Beta: Many thanks go to Huntress for her untiring beta, even as this thing grew longer and longer, and I kept on confounding her with my British spellings :).
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it's so very not mine.
Notes: This is set after Storm/Eye, maybe a few months later. AU, as it disregards events in Brotherhood.
My maths rivals Ford's, so apologies for the vagueness go to any maths scholars out there. Also, I'm not a medical person, so any medical procedures herein are purely my imagination and I just hope they sound plausible/logical.
I like to think this is pretty dark, but I'm also willing to accept that John's recovery may not fit everyone's view of how things should be. I respect that view, point out that it's fiction and I can do what I want ;-p, and then point people in the direction of Kodiak Bear Country's Dear John and its follow up for a story depicting a hard recovery. There are others, but this was recent, and stuck in my mind.
Czech translations from http://intertran.tranexp.com/Translate/result.shtml
This one's long, people. I hope it keeps your attention right to the end.
*~*
Part one.
Major John Sheppard and his team waited in front of the Stargate while Peter Grodin dialled the address for P3X-862. The recon team had reported some ruins that they thought were Ancient, as well as some faint energy readings, so John and his team were going to check it out. Due to the nature of the mission, they were taking two 'soft scientists', Doctors Singh and Jones from the archaeology department, as well as Radek Zelenka, who would be assisting Rodney with whatever the energy readings turned out to be. The planet was reported to be uninhabited, so John hadn't felt it necessary to take along any marines for back up.
The gate finished dialling and the team walked through to Elizabeth's customary call of, "Be safe." John nodded to her before following everyone else through to the planet.
He stepped out onto a world like a lot of the others the Ancient's seemed to favour; green grass, green trees, and okay, the rocks were sliding towards the purple spectrum and the sky was...not sky blue...aqua maybe? But it was pretty much Earth-norm. They started on the short walk to the site of the ruins. It was only twenty minutes and the terrain, through a few fields and a narrow belt of the ubiquitous trees, was virtually flat. This, combined with the fact that he was lost in his scans for energy readings, meant that, for once, Rodney didn't complain about the fact that they were walking rather than taking a puddle jumper. Everyone was silently relieved to be spared the whining for once.
They arrived at the ruins and Doctor Singh started setting up his equipment while Dr Jones brought out his camera. John ordered, "Ford, you and Teyla stay here with Singh and Jones. I'll go with McKay and Zelenka."
Ford replied with a "Yes, sir" and Teyla inclined her head.
John turned to leave, following behind Rodney and Radek, who were already heading in the direction that Rodney's scans indicated. He swung round and added, "Keep an eye out, Ford. I've got a bad feeling about this place."
"Will do, sir. Check in every hour?" he asked.
John nodded, took a final look around and then jogged the short distance to catch up to his geeks. He felt a little uneasy but couldn't pinpoint why. He took out his life signs detector, but it showed no one other than his team. Still, the feeling persisted and he resolved to stay extra vigilant.
"Bad feeling, Major?" Radek asked, wondering if he should be worried.
"Yeah, it's just too quiet," John frowned.
Rodney, eyes still glued to his scanner as he waved it back and forth, said, "'Too quiet'? And how do you know? You've never been here before; maybe it's always this quiet. What are you, psychic now? They teach you that in grunt school?" His tone was scathing.
"No, not psychic, Rodney, but go through enough war and fighting and you start to get a sense for imminent danger," was John's reply. "And I'm not a grunt, I'm a pilot," he added.
"Paranoia is what it is," Rodney shot back.
Radek was amused, mentally comparing this blasé Rodney with the old version who would have been running for the gate by now.
"Hey, it's my job to be paranoid. I've got to expect the worst and keep an eye out for it so that you're free to have your little geek-gasms without worry. And anyway, I said it was a feeling, which is why we're just being careful rather than heading back home."
Radek was amused by the bickering, but he noticed that John only seemed to be paying the snark half his attention, still tense and watching their surroundings. It made Radek nervous.
"10625," he said suddenly. He wanted to try and ease the tension by dragging them into a game of prime, not prime. Also, he was interested to see just how much of Major Sheppard's attention was needed to figure the answers. Radek was curious as to just how good the major's maths was, and it was no use simply asking the man. He'd just clam up and smile it all away.
"Not prime," was John's prompt response. Radek hadn't even had time to blink.
"Hmm, interesting," he mused.
"What's interesting?" John was curious to know.
"Oh, I was just testing to see how much concentration you needed to get the answer. It seems that you can do it with at least half your attention elsewhere."
John looked a little uncomfortable at this observation. Radek assumed he was concerned about his dumb flyboy routine being disproved. Though why he wanted to hide his intelligence, Radek didn't know.
John was saved from having to reply to Radek's comment by Rodney blurting, "Oh please! The Major could probably get primes right even in the middle of sex!" He then seemed to realise what he'd said if the sudden indrawn breath was any indication. He was careful to not turn round.
"Was that a proposition, Rodney?" John drawled.
Rodney scoffed and tried to hide his splutter, because yes, it was a proposition, but not one Rodney had ever planned on saying out loud. "Don't be absurd, Major. What would I want with an idiot flyboy when the universe contains the likes of Samantha Carter," he covered.
John and Radek exchanged amused eye rolls and John said, "Gee, Rodney, you wound me. I'm hurt."
Radek was pleased to see that John had relaxed a little; it meant he could relax too. He found himself fighting a brief twinge of jealousy though, certain that Rodney did indeed have feelings for John. He also found himself unsure about whom his jealousy was aimed at. This was something to ponder once they were back on Atlantis, he decided.
Rodney was about to reply when he suddenly stopped and swung to his left. "The energy readings are coming from over there." He pointed to the sparse trees ahead.
They headed through the trunks and came to a clearing with some more ruins. These looked to be Ancient as well. Rodney and Radek virtually fell rapturously on the broken walls, slipping into geek-speak, half sentences and arm waving.
John was amused. He turned to walk a quick perimeter, his unease still not entirely abated. He took out the life signs detector again, but it was still clear of anyone other than his teammates.
His perimeter completed, John settled in a ready position close by Radek and Rodney, staying far enough distant to avoid being in the way. A short while later and it was time to contact Ford. "Ford, this is Sheppard, do you copy?"
"Go ahead, sir," came Aiden's reply.
"How's it looking there?"
"It's quiet here, sir. The doc's are doing whatever it is they do. I get the feeling that Teyla and I could disappear and they wouldn't notice," he reported. "What about you, sir? Still getting that strange feeling?" he added.
"Yeah. Keep your eyes peeled, Aiden. Sheppard out"
"Will do, sir. Ford out.."
*~*
Another hour slipped past, Rodney and Radek lost in their investigation. They had moved inside the ruins now, John trailing along behind them, his eyes alternately scanning their surroundings and his life signs detector.
The floor plan wasn't very large and it only seemed to have been a single storey structure. Radek had posited that it was a substation to the main building, or maybe a lab complex. Rodney thought that at least part of the building was underground, but every time he tried to check, his scans got bounced back.
"It doesn't make sense," he bemoaned at one point. "Why would the Ancients shield something from their own scanners?" No one had an answer, so they searched the ruins for a way down.
Radek watched as John called Ford for their hourly check in. He had relaxed a little but, "The Major is still tense," he whispered to Rodney.
"I know," Rodney replied. Despite his scoffing (it was expected of him, after all) he knew that John's 'spidey-sense' had been pretty reliable in the past. He was a little nervous and had been careful to stick close by the other two men and also to only unpack equipment as he needed it. "All clear?" he asked when John finished on the radio.
"Yeah," was John's succinct reply.
He looked down at his scanner again and stiffened, grabbing his P-90. "McKay, Zelenka, head for the tree line," he ordered in his terse military commander's voice, adding a sharp, though quiet, "Now!" when Rodney hesitated.
Glaring briefly Rodney turned and headed for the trees, Radek and John hot on his heels. Once they were in far enough to be hidden by the shadows, John stopped them and had them drop down low. He took out his field binoculars and trained them back on the ruins.
Radek could see that Rodney was itching to ask what was happening, but was pleased to see that he was following John's lead and staying quiet for now.
"Dammit!" John whispered fiercely then, binoculars still trained on the ruins, toggled his radio and said quietly, "Ford, this is Sheppard. Fall back to the gate, we've got Genii crawling around here." He heard the indrawn breaths from Radek and Rodney at this pronouncement.
"Do you need back up, sir?" came Aiden's response.
"Negative. Get your civilians safely home, we're heading your way. Sheppard out."
Putting actions to words, John said, "Rodney, take point, I'll cover our rear. Stay low and quiet."
He was pleased to see that both scientists had pulled their Berettas at the mention of Genii, and also that Rodney, although his eyes widened a little in worry, simply nodded and headed off down the trail leading to the gate.
Rodney was very nervous at being put in the lead, but it hadn't taken him long to realise that he was the next most experienced in combat of the three men and that John was best at the back as that's where the Genii were.
He set as brisk a pace as he dared, John staying where he was with his P-90 trained back towards the ruins, giving Rodney and Radek cover as they retreated. They had made it maybe a hundred metres and John had caught up with them, when suddenly a voice floated out from the trees a little ahead and to the right of them.
"That's far enough," it said, and was swiftly followed by seven Genii soldiers ghosting out of the trees to surround them, weapons aimed.
In the few seconds between first hearing the voice and being confronted, Rodney and Radek had come to a sudden halt, with Radek squashed up close to Rodney's side from not stopping quite as quickly as Rodney had, and John had pivoted so that his back was to the other men's.
Everyone stood frozen for a few seconds, guns pointed every which way. Then one of the soldiers said, "Lower your weapons." He turned out to be the owner of the voice. Radek eyed the man, who was in the uniform of a captain, a touch hysterically; he was disgustingly nondescript with the type of face you would never be able to describe or recognise again. He was of average height and build and so not the image of a bad guy that Radek was used to seeing in every TV show and movie.
He wasn't a man easily panicked, but these people were Genii and Radek couldn't completely fight off the feeling. He desperately wanted to turn his head to see Rodney or Major Sheppard, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the enemy soldiers.
As Radek was having these thoughts, the captain was using these few seconds to study his captives. The tallest man was so obviously a soldier. He didn't even need the visual aids of a bigger gun and different uniform. No, all he had to do was take a look at the dark eyes. They were tight with anger, but the captain saw the predator there, saw as tactics were considered and discarded lightening quick. This was the one to watch. The other two, while they put on a good front, couldn't hide the fear in their eyes.
He took another second to run his eyes appreciatively over the lean soldier, then introduced himself with, "I am Captain Bren of the Genii. I won't ask for you to lower your weapons again, gentlemen." He was deceptively polite.
The three men stood for a few seconds more before the soldier said tightly, "Do it," and lowered his assault rifle. The two not-soldiers reluctantly did as bidden.
"Drop them on the ground and kick them away from yourselves," Bren ordered next. He wasn't stupid enough to send his soldiers in close enough to retrieve the guns from the men's hands and he especially didn't intend on letting any of his men near the military man until he was subdued. Bren didn't mind admitting to himself that he was a little chilled by the expression on the man's handsome face. It reminded him uncomfortably of Commander Kolya.
That thought gave him pause. He hadn't served directly under Kolya, but he had attended some of the commander's training sessions and had also read the report that had been circulated concerning the Atlanteans and Kolya's defeat by only a handful of men. The report had included details about how to spot Atlanteans off world. One such detail had been the uniforms, which were described as being single coloured trousers and matching jacket, with the jacket having two coloured panels on the front...much like these uniforms in front of him now.
"Well, well, well. Atlanteans, hmm?" Bren said.
There was no reply, but his guess was confirmed by the slightly widened eyes of the two not-soldiers...scientists probably. Bren recalled the report saying that there were lots of scientist and techs on Atlantis.
"That's okay, you don't have to answer just yet. You're coming with us regardless. We have orders to apprehend anyone that turns up to investigate the ruins, Atlanteans especially. Some of them are wanted for war crimes, you know." He gestured for his prisoners to head back to the ruins. "I don't suppose it's worth asking you for names, is it?" he asked, not at all surprised when he received only silence. He leaned across to one of his men and murmured instructions to him.
The man nodded then stepped towards John. "Hands behind your back," he ordered.
John gave a brief hesitation, but then complied. It wasn't worth putting Rodney and Radek in any extra danger by pushing things when they were out numbered.
The young Genii soldier handcuffed John's hands securely, then quickly and unexpectedly lashed out, hitting John at the base of the skull with his pistol grip. John crumpled to the floor, unconscious before he could even make a sound.
"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed, making an abortive move towards John. He stopped almost before he'd begun as several guns swung in his direction. He settled for fierce scowling instead.
"Why did you do that?" Radek wanted to know.
"Simple," Bren replied. "Eliminate the worst threat, in this case the soldier," he gestured to John, "and reduce the chances of you two trying anything by making you carry him."
It was a logical, if highly irritating, plan, Rodney had to admit- only to himself though. He knelt down to take John's left side as Radek moved to his right. They hauled him upright with difficulty, John so much dead weight and no help from the Genii, and then tried to get a good grip. The handcuffs prevented them from slinging John's arms over their shoulders, so they were forced to clamp their hands round his upper arms.
"Can you at least take the cuffs off so that we can support him properly?" Rodney asked. Bren simply shook his head and grinned very slightly, amused by the struggle.
It was awkward and they found it difficult to keep from dropping him as they started in the direction indicated by Bren.
They marched back to the ruins and Rodney and Radek exchanged brief looks of vindication that there really was an underground part to the ruins and irritation at not finding it earlier, when they were stopped at a hatch in the ground.
"What is it with you Genii and your underground hatches?" Rodney couldn't stop himself saying. Radek frowned in consternation, which quickly turned to anger when the soldier nearest to Rodney shoved him hard, causing him to loose his grip on John who sagged against Radek's support.
"Hey!" Rodney was indignant as he moved to retrieve John.
"Do not antagonise them, I cannot carry both of you down these steps," Radek pleaded. He remembered at the last second not to start his sentence with 'Rodney'...they hadn't given the Genii any names yet, and he was determined not to be the one to slip.
Impatient, Bren motioned for them to get going down the steps in front of them. Rodney was relieved to see that there were actual stairs rather than a ladder, but even so, "Can you at least help us get him down there?" he asked.
Bren shook his head and smirked, enjoying the irritation he was causing.
Rodney huffed then said to Radek, "Get his feet, will you? I'll carry his shoulders."
Radek nodded and they manhandled John down the stairs, thankfully only one level. He was heavy when he was unconscious. Rodney was certain that all this hauling about was doing his delicate back no good. He made a mental note to complain to John when he finally woke up.
They were taken to a room and shoved inside unceremoniously, the door slamming shut decisively behind them.
*~*
TBC...