Lieutenant Ford had to check his watch twice. Yup, he’d watched the sun rise six hours ago, and now it was falling beneath the horizon as fast as the New Year’s Eve Ball on Times Square. He glanced over at Parker and Smitty, who stood with him near the Stargate. “Man the days are short here.”
Parker was about to reply when Ford’s radio squawked and Colonel Sumner’s voice barked into his ear. “Major Sheppard, this is Colonel Sumner, come in.”
No answer. After a moment Ford keyed his own radio. “Colonel, this is Lieutenant Ford. Major Sheppard is out of radio range at the moment.”
Sumner paused; Ford could swear he heard cussing through the static. Eventually the Colonel’s voice came back. “Where the hell is he?”
Oh, this wasn’t going to go down well. “Teyla wanted him to see something—”
Without warning the Stargate burst into life, the symbols lighting in a rapid sequence, faster than anything Ford had seen on the Earth gate. “Take cover,” he ordered his men, dropping into a crouch. Then, to Sumner, “Colonel, we have gate activity here.”
Keeping his weapon fixed firmly on the Stargate, Ford ducked behind a fallen tree. Smitty and Parker were to his left. Within seconds the event horizon surged out into the gloom, then settled into the familiar puddle. Perhaps Dr. Weir had needed to evacuate— He didn’t even have time to finish the thought before a black ship, glistening like oil, exploded from the gate. It sliced through the air with a scream, deadly and pointed like a bayonet.
A gunshot of adrenaline flared in Ford’s chest. He trailed the ship with his weapon, directly overhead and then off toward Teyla’s village. A second and third ship followed, as if being spat from the gate, all tearing in the direction of the settlement. “Colonel,” he yelled into his radio, “three bandits, headed your way!”
When the sun decides to set around here, it sets fast. Sheppard blew out an irritated sigh, squinting through the gloom as he and Teyla picked their way through the forest. The journey that had been long and laborious in daylight was twice as difficult in pitch darkness, and he’d already found himself face-down in the dirt once. He could swear the tree roots were actually reaching up and snagging his ankles on purpose, because falling over was usually something he reserved for the times when he’d had one too many tequila shots. And he knew how to hold his drink, so it was pretty rare that he—
Teyla stopped so sharply he almost crashed into her. She remained dead silent, head cocked, and stared blindly into the night.
“What is it?” he whispered, feeling unease tingle across his skin.
At first she didn’t answer, but eventually she turned to look at him. Her face was pale, angry and afraid. When she spoke, her voice was harsh. “The Wraith.”
And with that she started running, racing through the night as if the hounds of hell were on her heels. Perhaps, Sheppard thought as he bolted after her, they really were…
Chapter Six
In the settlement, panic erupted quietly. Men, women and children sprinted through the night, here and there the cries of a sobbing child carrying over the pounding of their feet as the entire population fled toward the tree line. This was a people used to terror, a people who understood the value of silence.
No moonlight cut the darkness and most of the torches and fires in the settlement had been doused by the fleeing villagers. These folks knew what they were doing. Above, the alien stars glittered coldly and Colonel Sumner cocked his head to listen as a faint hum, like a wasp, drifted through the air. Engine noise.
“Take cover,” he ordered his men, lifting his weapon to the stars. “And stay sharp.”
Around him his team settled into strategic defensive positions. With satisfaction, he noticed a couple of M160 rocket launchers making their appearance. Whoever these ‘Wraith’ were, Sumner doubted they’d be a match for the US Marine Corps.
P90 braced against his shoulder, Sumner kept his eyes locked on the sky. The hum was louder now, more of a whine. People were still running, order beginning to break down. He heard someone wail, somebody else cry out. The enemy was upon them. With a scream of engines a black shape, like an arrow tip, ripped across the treetops, followed by a second and third. Swooping back and forth over the settlement, it was if they were searching for something. Suddenly, from between the tents, a man stumbled forward. Sumner recognized him as Halling, the father of the kid they’d discovered in the trees. Halling’s eyes were wild, and he was grabbing at the fleeing settlers. “Have you seen Jinto? Jinto!” He was desperate.
Overhead one of the enemy ships made a second pass, coming in low right behind Halling and the rest of the stragglers. Sumner braced himself for weapons fire, but none came. Instead a wide bright beam flared from the underside of the ship and swept across the ground like a searchlight. Halling was running now, desperation replaced by stark terror. But he and the others were too slow, they couldn’t reach the trees. The beam trapped them and—
Holy crap. They were gone. Just disappeared as if the light had disintegrated them or scooped them up into the ship.
“Fire on that target!” Sumner yelled, squeezing the trigger and pumping half a clip into the ship. Might as well have been using a pop-gun for all the good it did. The ship turned for another pass, the other two wings joining in an intricate pattern that raced across the ground and scooped up anyone in their path. They were harvesting these people…
From the corner of his eye, Sumner saw movement. He spun around, just in time to see a shadow flicker between two tents. It looked like a man, but moved faster than any human. Unnaturally fast. His breath coming short and sharp, Sumner took a step forward, finger tight on the trigger. Come on you sonofabitch, show yourself.
And there it was again, another shadow flitting through the night. He spun and fired. At thin air…
Sheppard could barely keep up, Teyla was little more than a shadow in the night, racing through the trees like a leopard on the hunt. “Teyla!” he hissed, not wanting to shout. “Wait!”
In the distance he heard a burst of gunfire, then another. His radio hissed static, and Bates’ panicked voice crackled into his ear. “Colonel, they’re on the ground. They’re all around us!”
More gunfire, wild now. Desperate. Shit. Suddenly something huge, with a glowing underside, passed directly overhead. Sheppard hit the dirt, this time on purpose, as the ship streaked overhead barely clearing the treetops. Cautiously he climbed to his feet, then froze. Something was in the trees. A shadow, moving too fast to be human. Blood pounding in his ears, Sheppard raised his weapon and held it steady. They’re all around us! Crap. A sound, like the rasp of dead leaves scraping together, whispered through the forest. It almost sounded like voices, unintelligible and malevolent. “Teyla?” His mouth was dry, his throat scratchy.
Another sound, this time right behind him. He turned, almost fired. Nothing there! Damn it. A movement, on his left. A shadow, half-seen, vanishing like smoke when he turned toward it. What the hell was this? Something cold brushed his cheek, he spun around, and it was right in front of him. A ghost, black on black, looming like death. With a cry he opened fire and the shadow melted like morning mist. Like it had never been there.
He felt breathless, hands clammy. He couldn’t fight shadows!
A twig snapped behind him. His finger squeezed the trigger as he jerked toward the sound, his weapon raised and aimed at— “Teyla…”
She looked solid and real and grim as hell. “They aren’t really there.”
“What?” It came out a rasp.
“Don’t trust your eyes!” she insisted, pushing down the barrel of his gun with one hand. “The Wraith can make you see things that aren’t there.” Then she was moving again, back into the trees. “This way!”
Mind games? Holy hell. Blinking a couple of times, shaking it off, Sheppard raced after her into the forest. This was a whole new ballgame, and he was beginning to realize that his team didn’t even know the rules – let alone have a winning play. They were in so far
over their heads it wasn’t even funny.
It was all going to hell! They were everywhere, all around. Shadows on shadows, whispering and hissing as they drew closer, their cold, clawing hands itching for his throat. Sumner let loose another volley, but it did no good. What use were bullets against phantoms?
Fire engulfed the tents, casting ruddy light and dancing black shadows into the night. The Wraith ships hovered like vultures, narrow energy beams scorching into the dirt. Sumner had lost track of his men, didn’t know who was still alive. Not that it mattered, they were all going down. There were just too many of the sonsofbitches, too many ghosts, too many—
“Colonel!” Sheppard’s voice crackled over the radio. “What you see on the ground is just an illusion! Concentrate your fire on the ships!”
Illusion… Sumner squeezed his eyes shut, just for a moment. Illusion. Okay, okay…
When his eyes snapped open, he saw the world anew. Saw the burning tents, the charred bodies, the white sweep of the Wraith beam punctured by the searing blasts of their energy weapon. And through it all he saw Bates, an M160 perched on his shoulder, frozen with panic as he stared into the night.
Breaking cover, Sumner ran to the man. “Bates!” he yelled in his face. “Snap out of it.”
Wide-eyed, pale and terrified, Bates whispered, “They’re everywhere, sir!”
Screw that. He jerked his thumb at the Wraith ship screaming overhead. “Take that thing down!”
With a visible jolt, Bates pulled himself together, lifted the rocket launcher and fired at the enemy. It was a good shot, the Wraith ship exploded in a bright fireball and fell out of the sky.
“That’s one,” Sumner grinned. “Let’s—”
The world disappeared in a blinding flash of white that incinerated all thought and feeling… Then everything went black.
At last the trees gave way to open land. In the distance, across a field, Sheppard could see the burning remains of Teyla’s settlement – and something else. Looked like Sumner had taken down one of the Wraith ships. Darts, Teyla had called them. Wraith Darts. It was a—
Behind them streaked the sudden whine of engines and he turned. Another Dart was diving in, its oily surface a patch of black against the night sky. It was hunting them. “Get down!” Sheppard yelled, as a broad white beam sliced toward them. He flung himself to the right, hitting the ground and jolting the air from his lungs. Gasping, he watched the light sweep past him as the ship banked hard, screaming up into the sky.
Pushing himself to his feet, he looked around frantically. “Teyla?” But she was gone. Not dead, just gone. They’d taken her. The bastards had taken her.
“Sir?” Stackhouse’s voice came over the radio. He sounded shaken. “The Colonel’s been taken!”
Damn it! Damn it to hell. Acknowledging the report, Sheppard started jogging toward the settlement. This was bad. Very bad, and getting worse. With Sumner gone, he was the ranking military officer. Which meant he needed a plan. He needed to find them a way out of this mess, but with Atlantis sinking where the hell were they supposed to go?
Before he could think of a single option, his radio squawked again. “Sir!” It was Ford. “The gate just came on again. Two enemy ships are approaching.”
Going home with their prize? “Let them go!” he ordered. “There are friendlies on board.” And then he had an idea. “Look at the dialing device! Burn those symbols into your mind!”
“Yes sir!” Ford sounded confident, and Sheppard liked that. He was just a kid, but he had potential. He’d remember. If he didn’t, the odds of getting Sumner and Teyla back would be virtually nil…
Forcing that thought out of his head, Sheppard kept running, the burning village a beacon in the dark. It was eerily silent now, as if even the forest were holding its breath. Waiting for another attack. But none came. When he reached the edge of the settlement, Sheppard slowed. He was breathing hard, spent. Without much hope he keyed his radio. “Colonel Sumner.”
No response.
Still catching his breath, he moved towards the wreck of the Wraith Dart. There wasn’t much left of it beyond a scorched furrow in the soft earth and a tangled knot of burning metal. He stopped well clear, instinctively raising his weapon. Even like this, the thing seemed to exude an aura of unadulterated evil. He could feel it like a chill in the air, the stench of death. Nose flaring in disgust, he circled the wreck until he saw a slight movement in the twisted metal. His finger tightened on the trigger and he took a step closer, peering through the gloom until he saw— “Son of a…” It was an arm, green-tinted skin with huge, claw-like fingers. And it was moving. What made it particularly gross was the fact that the arm was no longer attached to a body.
Sheppard shivered with revulsion and fired a short burst into the thing. It jerked, shuddered, and eventually lay still. He actually felt sick to his stomach: what the hell were these things?
A sound behind him made him jump, but when he turned he realized it was just the villagers slowly emerging from the forest. They were staring at him and the fallen Dart with bleak eyes; there was no triumph here, only weary resignation. Suddenly he sensed someone watching him and turned to see the kid, Jinto, step out from behind one of the trees. His face was almost white in the starlight, his eyes round and frightened. In a very small voice he said, “I can’t find my father.”
It was enough to break anyone’s heart. Having no answer and refusing to lie to the kid, Sheppard just reached out and ruffled Jinto’s hair, pulling him close and wrapping an arm around his skinny shoulders. Everywhere the survivors were spilling from the trees, standing and staring in shock at the remains of their homes. A few clung together, others were crouched in the dirt, silently weeping for the lost.
Now what the hell was he supposed to do?
Atlantis spread out below her, misty through the clear water. And beautiful. Elizabeth Weir thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, the poignancy of its imminent death only adding to her sense of the city’s perfection. They were witnessing the end of days, the passing of a lost greatness they would never be able to retrieve. It was melancholy beyond belief.
At her side, Peter Grodin shifted. She’d found him standing here, staring out the window, on her way to check on the situation in the control room, and she had paused at his side for a moment. He looked as hopeless as she felt. “Here it comes,” he said quietly.
“What am I looking for?”
Through the window she suddenly saw a ripple race across the surface of the force shield that was covering a distant spire. A slow rumble followed, shaking the floor beneath her feet, and in the distance she saw air bubbles rise from the windows of the flooding tower.
“There…” Grodin said bleakly. “Another part of the force field just failed.” He’d given up. “I don’t think we have much time.”
It was too easy to give up. Moving away, she began to climb the stairs to the control room. Half way up, she looked back at him. “Maybe,” she said quietly, “you should stop looking out of the window.”
Grodin started at the gentle reprimand, and she felt a flicker of guilt. She hadn’t meant the words for him alone. Softening the comment with a smile, she nodded toward the stairs, inviting him to follow.
“How are we doing?” she asked, the moment she stepped into the control room. McKay was there, buzzing between two monitors, harassed as always. She guessed he had reason. But his answer was a shake of the head. They were fighting a losing battle, and they both knew it. “If we could just buy ourselves another day, maybe—”
“The city is sacrificing parts of itself to sustain these main areas,” he snapped. “But catastrophic failure is inevitable.”
Inevitable? Unbelievable, more likely. “Not in my wildest dreams,” she sighed, “did I hope to find the lost city of the Ancients so completely untouched, so pristine after all this time.” Talk about bitter ironies… “And we have no choice but to walk away from it.”
“In order to save it,” McK
ay pointed out curtly.
“Save it for whom?” she countered, feeling Peter Grodin’s defeatism descending around her again. “We don’t even have the power to send a message! As far as Earth is concerned we’ll be missing and presumed lost.”
McKay’s attention was still fixed on the monitors, but he wasn’t giving up. “We’ll be back,” he asserted. “We’ll find another power source somewhere in Pegasus.”
“We haven’t even heard back from Colonel Sumner,” she pointed out grimly. “We don’t even know what’s out there.”
McKay stopped his frenetic pacing and looked at her. For a moment he didn’t speak, and she found herself impressed by this man’s calm. Of them all, he was the only one not letting this defeat him. “We can’t wait,” he said simply. “It’s time to go. Now.”
She nodded. He was right, she knew he was right, but it was the very last thing she wanted to do. Gritting her teeth against a cold sense of defeat, she gazed out over the gate room that had been theirs for so short a time and keyed her radio. “Attention all personnel,” she began. “This is Weir…”
Suddenly the entire room started to shake. Really shake. And this time it didn’t stop. Holding onto the balcony rail for support, she carried on speaking, keeping her voice even despite the oscillating floor. “Stand by for immediate evacuation!” She flung a look at McKay. “Dial the gate.”
Without a word, he moved to the Ancient DHD and started punching in the coordinates. The chevrons lit up, and without warning the shield over the gate fizzed into life. For a moment Weir was confused, but then McKay looked up and frowned. “We’ve got an incoming wormhole,” he said.
Sumner!
McKay rushed to another console, tapped a few keys. “I’m reading Lieutenant Ford’s identification code.”
Yes! At last.
The shield shimmered white as the gate activated behind it. “Let them in,” Weir ordered, racing for the stairs. She took them two at a time and slid to a stop in front of the gate as the shield shivered and disappeared. It felt like forever, but at last the puddle rippled and out stepped Major Sheppard. Her relieved greeting was cut short when she realized he had a kid with him. Ford followed next, and after him, in twos and threes, came a ragged, terrified group of people who stared around them in awe. Some were injured, others were weeping, others just looked shell-shocked.
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