Hello All! Hope you enjoy the update! Please remember to comment/vote!
><><
Kai and McKay worked non-stop the whole next day to finish the dart. They could have used another day, but Kai wasn't willing to risk their friends any longer on the enzyme. It was late afternoon before they were done and called Ford out to see it. John and the others approached the dart. Mckay was standing on the ladder and Kai was bent over, making some last minute adjustments. John tried not to stare as she straightened, smoothing her hair back from her face. He swallowed thickly as she turned around to face him.
"Ready?" she asked gesturing towards the ladder.
He nodded and scaled the ladder before settled into the oversized cockpit. McKay scuttled up the ladder next to him, his tablet gripped in one hand.
Rodney leaned into the cockpit and plugged his tablet into some spliced together wires, then set it in the dash in front of Sheppard. "Now, this is probably going to make you a little uneasy, but when the canopy closes it will be perfectly opaque."
John scowled and turned to shoot a look of disbelief at McKay. "Then how am I going to fly this damn thing?"
McKay snapped his fingers excitedly, it was actually one piece of Wraith technology he was impressed by. "The whole thing is one giant HUD and will display everything you need."
John however didn't look nearly as excited as McKay. "Yeah, in Wraith," he snapped sardonically.
McKay huffed out an impatient breath. "Which is why I was up half the night creating a transcription readout of the controls." McKay hit the power button and the tablet lit up with line after line of command controls. "My tablet here is interfaced with the technology and will transmit a lot of their readouts," he said proudly.
John still didn't look like he believed McKay. "By a lot you mean all because my wraith's not all that good."
"Enough to get you by," McKay said with a casual shrug.
"I knew you guys could do it!" Ford said proudly. He was practically preening as though he had somehow helped with this accomplishment. "Right on time too. Kanayo will get everyone suited up," Ford said authoritatively.
McKay nodded and turned to head back into the group. Ford climbed the ladder and leaned a hip against the ship. "He seems a little nervous." He observed, his eyes flickering from the fidgeting McKay to Kai who stood off to the side looking calm and collected despite the scowl on her face.
John glanced back at Rodney with a casual shrug. "You know McKay, he'll be fine."
"You know how to dial the DHD on this thing?" Ford asked and it felt like a leading question.
"The address is memorized," John promised as he flicked through several of the controls.
"Good, good," Ford said nodding. "Listen, I should probably tell you, there's been a slight change of plans..." he dragged off.
John turned to look at Ford a bad feeling going over him. His eyes flickered to where McKay and Kai were standing with the others.
"Oh yeah?" John asked as casually as he could manage.
Ford was grinning at him like the cat who caught the canary. "Kanayo!" Ford called.
Kanayo swung his gun around so it was pointing at McKay and Kai. Kai took a fast step in front of McKay, lifting her chin aggressively, daring the man in front of her to shoot them. Ronon went for his sword and all of Ford's men snapped into motion. Each of them pulled their guns and soon all five of them were covered.
"What the hell are you doing?" John asked shoving himself to his feet.
Ford was just as relaxed as he had been before. "McKay's going to stay here while we complete the op. Take him!" Ford ordered and two of his men broke off dragging McKay back towards the cave.
"Wait!" McKay called helplessly, but the enzyme laced soldiers dragged him mercilessly away.
"That wasn't part of the plan," Sheppard growled.
Ford turned hard, angry eyes on Sheppard. "Neither was you heading back to Atlantis," he snapped. "You didn't really buy the whole 'I wanna go home' speech did you? Huh?" he challenged with a derisive snort.
Kanayo and his men had already disarmed Ronon and Teyla. He moved to Kai and began pulling knives.
"You always underestimated me Sheppard, you need to stop doing that," Ford advised calmly as he watched Kanayo search Kai with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. "Complete the mission and McKay lives," he said with a shrug. "Course if you don't...I'll put a bullet in McKay and shoot Kai full of a double dose of enzyme and make you watch her die."
John had kept a lid on his temper the whole time Kanayo searched Kai but he saw red when Ford threatened her again. He shoved himself to his feet, leaning into Ford's space. "We can't complete the mission Ford. It's a bad plan!"
"You said it was a great plan," Ford snapped dismissively as though John were just trying to hurt his feelings.
John scoffed. "You didn't buy the whole 'It's a great plan' speech did you?" John asked throwing Ford's words back in his face.
Ford's confidence faltered for only a second. "Get this dart in the air and come scoop us up," he ordered, then he paused and turned back to Sheppard. "Oh and the dart DHD will only dial to the planet we're going to and back here. Jace made sure of it," Ford snorted. "Just in case McKay's life isn't enough motivation to get you to do the right thing."
"Aidan, what are you doing?" Teyla asked stopping him.
Ford looked down at Teyla and for just a second his expression softened. "Just making sure you guys are holding up your end of the bargain," he explained like it made perfect sense. He turned to his men. "Give them back their weapons," Ford ordered.
"Are you sure?" Kanayo asked, his eyes cutting to where Kai stood her hands on her hips as she glared daggers at Kanayo.
Ford looked at Kai and a pleased smile stretched his scared face, as though she were somehow being adorable. "Yes. If we're going to do this we all need to work together," he said as his men handed back the weapons.
It was almost comical how long it took for Kai to put all of her knives back where they went. John watched her with a sort of pride, but she didn't take her eyes off of Kanayo. If he wasn't careful he was going to end up with a knife in the neck in the back hallway of the hive.
Ford shook his head as he watched her as well. He glanced at The Colonel, it was impossible to miss Sheppard's admiration for The Mortii. It was good, it was a sure fire way to control both of them despite neither being on the enzyme. "Good luck to us all," Ford called and he stepped clear of the dart.
John's jaw was set like stone as he activated the dart. "Stand by for pickup," he called through the radio. He closed the canopy and lifted off. The dart wasn't as intuitive as the jumpers but by the time he had swung it around for pick up he had a hang of the controls.
This was such a bad idea.
><><
Back on Atlantis Doctor Weir stood in front of Major Lorne in her office. "And you didn't see who attacked you?" Weir asked.
Major Lorne was sitting in an office chair, staring down at his hands in shame and looking very much like a young man sent to the principles office. "No ma'am," his said. His limbs were still prickling from the effects of the stunners. His men had all headed down to the infirmary to be checked out but he had come straight to Weir.
"And there was no evidence of what happened to Kai?" Weir asked.
"No ma'am," he said again. "Once we came to we searched the entire area but she was just gone," he shrugged helplessly. "There's a good chance she was taken through the gate."
Weir sat down and scrubbed at her face. Now she had two missing groups of her people and they were no closer to finding any evidence of who took them.
Lorne glanced up sheepishly at Weir. "Ma'am there's a chance the people who took the Colonel could have taken Zian as well."
Weir scowled in surprise. "Why?" she asked sharply. "What would taking Kai get anyone when they already have the whole of AR-1?"
Lorne hesitated, uncertain quite how to answer. It felt like the elephant in the room and he didn't want to betray The Colonel. Sheppard was the best commanding officer he had ever had. To Lorne's knowledge there wasn't anything inappropriate going on between him and Zian, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes, except apparently Weir, that The Colonel had a thing for the Mortii. Lorne opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to come up with a way of phrasing it. Lucky for him Weir was already moving two or three steps down the line.
"I want everyone cleared for off world mission helping with the search," Weir said grimly. "We have to assume there's a chance the Kai was taken by someone else. We are not going to leave her behind if there's a chance she's on that planet somewhere. The Daedalus is on its way from earth and will be able to help, but until they get here it is up to us."
Lorne nodded sharply, although he was pretty positive Zian was with The Colonel. If it was someone who knew The Colonel well, they would know Zian was a sure fire way of controlling the Colonel. Assuming of course that they could manage to control Zian. She was a risky hostage all on her own.
Lorne cleared his throat. "Ma'am I know that, but I need you to understand that it is going to take a very long time to search every planet on the list Zelenka pulled. It could take months."
"We can't afford months, Major," Weir snapped in a way that implied he was dismissed.
Lorne climbed to his feet and nodded his head respectfully as he moved towards the door. "I know that too ma'am."
><><
"This is going to take some getting used to," John muttered as he flew the dart away from the gate. The dart was smaller than the Jumpers and more maneuverable but the cockpit was too large for him, built to accommodate a large Wraith soldier. He also found he missed the telepathic link of the Jumpers.
He flew away from the planet. If he was reading the transcription correctly he was approaching the Hive. Suddenly the screen went dark.
"Oh come on," he grumbled racking his knuckles against the dash. "And we were getting along so well," he muttered. He was more nervous than he wanted to admit having his people in the stupid computer. He couldn't help thinking about what happened to McKay when he was rematerialized. Too many things could go wrong.
McKay's tablet started beeping and a new line of script appeared:
AUTOPILOT INITIATED
"Autopilot?" he read. "No, no, no." he said and he tried to adjust the flight pattern but the controls weren't responding. He flipped several switches but nothing happened.
"R2, I need you to turn the autopilot off," he grumbled. "Now!" he ordered.
But still nothing happened. "Worth a try," he muttered to himself.
He was stuck watching the approach to the dart bay on the screen. As he came into position the screen beeped again:
REMATERIALIZE CARGO?
He reached out, his finger hovering over the YES button on the touch screen for only a second. There was no going back now. He heard the zip of the drive and hoped that it had gone according to plan
><><
Kai's stomach rolled. One second she was standing in the sunny field and the next she was standing on a large platform in the dart bay. There were screams as three of Ford's men dropped off the edge.
"Jace!" Ford yelled, making a grab for the falling man, but he missed. Jace screamed as he disappeared from sight.
Kai sagged forward as the urge to pass out went over her again.
Ronon gripped her arm, steadying her. "Easy Little Sister," his voice rumbled near her ear.
She pinched her eyes shut and fought to stay on her feet as her stomach rolled. She leaned into Ronon knowing he could easily support her weight, and forced herself to breathe through it. Passing out here was a death sentence.
"We have to go after them!" Ford snarled desperately, he was still leaning out over the edge staring into the blackness that had swallowed his men.
"No one would have survived that fall," Teyla said grabbing Ford's arm and dragging him back.
"We have to get out of the open," Ronon said. He wrapped an arm around Kai's waist, his hand tightening around her hip. She looped her arm around his shoulder, but he was so tall it was awkward.
"What's wrong with her?" Teyla asked in concern.
"She doesn't have any of the enzyme in her system, it's amazing she isn't unconscious," Kanayo snapped, his voice was tight with agitation as he swept his gun over the area looking for potential threats.
"This way!" Ford called, jogging towards a large door. He was pointedly ignoring the others as rage burned through him.
"You let her come knowing she might not be awake when we rematerialized?" Teyla asked in shock.
Kanayo shrugged. "Ford said we needed to know how a Mortii responded to the dematerializer, guess it worked out."
Rage twisted Teyla's pretty features but she didn't get a chance to say what she was thinking.
"Are you guys okay?" John's voice crackled over their comms and Kai focused on that as she breathed through the pins and needles sensation that was radiating through her body.
"No," Ford snapped back as he led the way down a long, dark hall. "We are not okay," he sputtered. "You beamed half of us off the edge of the platform."
There was an audible intake of breath through the comm. "Kai? Teyla? Ronon?" John asked, bracing himself for the news.
"Is that all you care about? You murdered my men," Ford snarled angrily.
"I've lost all control of the dart, I had to release you blind."
Ford scoffed, it was clear he didn't believe Sheppard. "Maintain radio silence until we lay the charges."
John's voice rose authoritatively. "Negative, we should stay in contact, their ship-"
Ford flipped the switch on the radio, cutting John's voice off before he could finish.
"You should leave that radio on Aidan," Teyla advised calmly.
Ford whirled on her, his eyes flashing dangerously. He was barely keeping it together. "Don't tell me what to do."
><><
"Ford?" John called into the silent radio. "Ford? Ford!" there was still no response. The punk kid had turned off the comm. "Damnit!" John snapped punching the dash.
McKay's tablet beeped again and he looked down.
EXIT CRAFT FOR INSPECTION
He groaned. His day couldn't get any worse. "I'd prefer not to," he muttered.
OPENING CANOPY
John groaned as the canopy dematerialized around him, leaving him open to the dart bay. "Oh boy." A set of stairs appeared beside the dart and two Wraith climbed up."Mind checking the oil boys?" he asked flippantly and he fired his P-90 killing them both. An alarm started blaring loudly, echoing through the dart bay around him.
"This is not good," he growled and he swung himself out of the cockpit and raced down the stairs.
He had to find the others.
><><
The alarm was high pitched and the tone helped Kai shake off the last of the darkness threatening to pull her under. She drew her hand gun and the group prowled through the halls. Ronon wasn't supporting her anymore, but he also wasn't letting her get very far from him either. She wasn't back to one hundred percent yet.
"What's that?" Ford asked looking around. He raised his hands to cover his ears.
"It's an alarm," Ronon replied stoically.
"That shouldn't happen," Ford growled.
"No it shouldn't," Ronon agreed.
Ford pulled out his radio clicking it back on. "Sheppard you there?"
There was no response.
"Sheppard, respond now," Ford snapped.
When the radio reactivated Kai could hear gunfire from John's end before he answered. "I think I might have set the alarm off, you guys be careful there's probably some guards on the way." She could hear the click of him reloading his P-90. To her knowledge he would only have one more clip.
"Too late," Ronon growled drawing his sword as Kai heard the pounding of running feet coming towards them. "If you want to live, stay behind me," he said stalking around to the front of the group.
The Wraith came in a large group, firing stunners as they went. Kai leaned against the wall and emptied her handgun into the nearest Wraith. Ronon kept his position of protective big brother, standing in front of her as they fired stunner shots. Ronon easily absorbed three shots as he charged the wraith. Kai swore and ran after him.
She slammed one of her knives up under a helmet and used her knife to swing around and kick another back towards Ronon. He swiped his sword through three of them like they were nothing.
Kanayo and Teyla were fighting back to back, shooting as guards charged them down the halls. Ronon and Kai swung around each other like they were in a dance. Ronon was taking out two to three times as many Wraith as Kai was but even without the enzyme she was holding her own. She twisted and fought, pushing herself to the edge. There was a cry as Kanayo was struck by another stunner and went down. With no one to watch her back, Teyla went down before she even realized what had happened.
"Keep fighting!" Ford bellowed as though they had any choice.
Stunner after stunner erupted around them and Kai knew it was only a matter of time before she was hit. She felt more than heard a concussion grenade somewhere below them and she knew John was in trouble. He was her last thought before she caught a stun blast to the shoulder and went down.
><><
John groaned as he came awake. His whole body ached but his head was resting on something soft. He blinked up to see Kai leaning over him. It took him another second to realize his head was resting in her lap.
Kai was sitting crosslegged on the floor with John's head resting on her legs. Her hand rested against the warmth of his neck. "Are you all right?" she asked, looking down at him.
John was more comfortable than he should have been. He forced himself to look away from Kai's eyes and look around them. "Are we in a holding cell?" he asked with a frown.
Kai's expression turned grim. "Yes."
"On a hive ship?" he asked.
"Well..." she dragged off.
John pushed himself up onto his elbows, leveling an irritated glower at Ford. "Then no, I'm not doing so good."
Ford stomped over to him. "I can't believe you screwed up," he snarled in Sheppard's face. Kai tensed, ready to attack.
"I did what?" John asked, shoving himself to his feet. His whole body was pins and needles, but he ignored the sensation, refusing to let Ford blame him for this. Kai stood beside him, her hands gripped into fists as she glared up at Ford.
Ford shoved into John's face. "You set off the alarm, you ruined the mission."
John shoved him back. "The dart went on autopilot the second I got close to the hive. You're lucky I was able to get you out," he snapped. He was sick and tired of Ford's attitude and he wasn't going to put up with it.
Ford hesitated, looking confused. "Why would it do that?"
John scoffed. "Because that's what Jumpers do when they gate to Atlantis!" John exclaimed.
"Then why didn't you say something?" Ford asked.
"Why didn't I say something?" John growled dangerously.
Kai moved closer to Ford, ready to interfere as tensions rose in the cell.
"You want me to fail, you want me to look bad!" Ford accused.
John narrowed his eyes and took another step closer to Ford. He didn't give a shit if he was full of the enzyme. He was ready to knock the kids head off. "That's right, you snot nosed brat I risked my teams life just to prove you wrong," John snarled shoving his finger into Ford's chest.
"We got company," Ronon called calmly from the door as a group of Wraith approached the door.
The head Wraith stepped forward. "Move away," he commanded glaring down at Ronon.
"What do you want?" Ronon growled crossing his arms aggressively over his chest.
The Wraith snarled and bared his teeth at Ronon. "The one who flew the ship."
"Why don't you start with me?" Ronon challenged.
The Wraith chuckled and one of his guards stunned Ronon. Ronon dropped to the ground and Kai and Teyla leapt up to go to his defense. The Wraith sniffed the air, and his eyes locked on Kai. His eyes glittered with excitement and he took a step towards her, his hand already extending. "What are you?"
"Wait!" John snapped and everyone stopped. "You want me," John told the Wraith and he stepped forward willingly. "I'm the one who flew the ship."
"No!" Kai yelled jumping forward to stop them. One of the guards backhanded her and she stumbled back. Two guards grabbed Sheppard by the arms and dragged him out of the cell.
The cell closed behind them and Kai leapt forward grabbing the sickening, flesh bars watching as they dragged John away.
"It's all right," Ford called from behind her. "There's always a way out."
Kai whirled around to face Ford, rage thundered out a steady rhythm in her ears. Her grey eyes were snapping angrily as she shoved Ford back. "If he dies, you die," She promised.
><><