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Title: The Past Always Finds You - Part Three
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kellifer_fic
Characters: Team
Rating: PG13
Note: Prologue - the sga_flashfic entry Minor In Action
Spoilers: None.
*Thanks to my beta superfox*
Link to Part One
Summary: He would dream that he was pinned to the floor, unable to move and there would always be hands reaching for him.
Hands with gaping mouths.
…Then…
Lorne and Sheppard lay side by side on the hard packed earth, smiling up at the blue sky above. The rumbling started, humming through their skin before the actual sound reached their ears. Sheppard loved the way he could feel the vibration in his ribs and down his spine and the way it made the hair stand up on his forearms.
“What are you boys doing there?” A gruff yell echoed over the rising din and both were up and off, feet kicking up dust. They heard feet pounding behind them but were soon at the fence that surrounded the airfield and snaking their way through the gap in the wire. Lorne got his sleeve caught halfway through and there was a ripping sound as Sheppard leaned back to yank him through.
Curses were thrown at their backs as the man pursuing them realized he was too big to fit through the hole and by the time he got to a gate they would be long gone.
“Don’t come back here!” he yelled and Lorne and Sheppard grinned at each other as they jogged down the dirt road.
They would be back. While Tantou’s flew above they would be there to feel it. Until the Academy, it would be the closest Sheppard would come to flying.
***
"Wow, he’s freaky looking,” Lorne remarked, holding a book so close to his nose that there was the faint smudge of print on the end when he pulled it away.
“What?” Sheppard looked up from his position lying on his belly on the floor, books spread out around him. He had a pen behind his ear and another in hand and there were ink stains on the top joint of his middle and index fingers.
Lorne held the book out to him solemnly, and John got up on his knees to have a look. His brows knitted when he looked at the fine etching of a man, but not a man. “What’s that?”
Lorne pulled the book back to himself and flipped it around until he could read the inscription underneath the picture. “A Wraith. It says they can affect what you see and eat souls.”
“That’s stupid,” Sheppard said, but something about the image on the page troubled him deeply. He’d seen something like the figure that was etched finely in blues and grays before, burned into his brain in the depths of night. Sometimes his mother would wake him and tell him he was having a nightmare and he would remember seeing men who were taller than they should be, with pale skin and intricate tattoos. He would dream that he was pinned to the floor, unable to move and there would always be hands reaching for him.
Hands with gaping mouths.
Sheppard rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead and found the sweat collected there was cold.
“I thought they were made up,” Lorne said, puzzlement on his face. Sheppard’s head jerked up.
“Of course they are,” he said shakily, feeling a little hysterical. Lorne looked at him, the puzzled expression growing. He held the book out again.
“It’s a history book,” he said. “It’s talking about culling and how it used to happen all the time until we learned to close our ‘gate and the Wraith slept.”
“They’re real?” Sheppard’s voice was a pained whisper. His mother had stroked his brow and smiled and had assured him that the monsters of his nightmares weren’t real.
He’d been lied to.
…The not so distant Now…
“Open the gate.”
Elizabeth and Daniel looked at Rodney, carefully weighing what they would say it seemed. Finally Elizabeth said, “Rodney, how can you be sure? It’s been-“
“I know exactly how long it’s been,” Rodney snapped, waving a dismissive hand, and then stabbing at the screen with his other finger. “Open the gate.”
“Even if it’s them, we have no idea-“ Daniel began in his placatory tone that made Rodney turn on him with eyes narrowed. Rodney’s gaze then skipped to the tech on duty that stood by the inbuilt DHD, looking panicked.
“Open the gate,” he ordered. The tech’s hand came up automatically but Daniel turned with quick gesture to stop.
“We’re not opening the gate to a bunch of unknowns,” Daniel said, exasperated. Rodney’s lips pulled down into a narrow line.
“Fine,” he snarled and then tapped his earpiece, switching on his radio. “Ronon, Teyla, meet me in the gateroom.”
“On our way,” came Teyla’s crisp reply and there was an acknowledging grunt from Ronon. When Rodney made for the stairs, Daniel stepped sideways and into his path.
“You’re not going there either,” Daniel said sternly. “Those people look to be under fire if it isn’t staged. Even if that’s Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne, they’ve spent fifteen years being raised by a people who cut off all communication with us. They’re strangers.”
“We’ll send a MALP,” Elizabeth offered, her eyes darting to Daniel for agreement, who didn’t look happy but nodded curtly. “To get an idea of numbers and if there are any nasty surprises waiting for us. We’ve answered distress calls before that have ended badly. You know that.” Elizabeth reached out a hand and gently laid it on Rodney’s shoulder. “If this is them… god, if it is, I’m afraid Daniel’s right. They’re not the men we knew.”
Ronon and Teyla appeared at the top of the stairs, both breathing heavily like they’d run the whole way, which they probably had. Daniel watched as Rodney moved over to them and explained what happened and marveled at how neither of them had questioned, but had simply responded to Rodney’s call.
Just like Rodney wanted to automatically respond to John Sheppard’s.
***
There was a ragtag group of about twenty-five that made their way through the gate, marines covering them from every vantage point in the gate room. Two moved forward to relieve them of their weapons when the event horizon disengaged but all looked to the tall and dark haired twenty year old who bore an aching resemblance to John Sheppard. He nodded almost imperceptibly and weapons were held out. Despite having given his permission, Rodney saw the man hesitate for a second before handing over his own weapon, every line in his body going tense.
“They certainly bear an uncanny resemblance,” Teyla whispered, leaning her head towards Rodney and Ronon.
“It’s them,” Ronon returned with a raised eyebrow and a shrug.
The two younger men stood together, both warily eyeing their surroundings, trying not to look amazed although the shorter of the two was having a harder time of it. The older woman stepped forward when Elizabeth and Daniel descended the stairs, inclining her head in greeting.
“What do you think they were doing on P4M?” Rodney asked. It was so easy to fall into the old habit of conferring with his team and he realized with a jolt that it was one of the things he missed.
“I do not know, it is uninhabited and three cycles out of every four the sun is too hot for the land. I cannot believe they were settling.” Teyla mused.
“They were hiding,” Ronon said and both Rodney and Teyla looked at him. “When you’re hiding from the Wraith, you head for the planets with no people.”
All three watched as the woman with ash blonde hair indicated her group and said something to Elizabeth that had her face draw down into a worried frown. Daniel leaned forward and by the cant of his head, asked a question. The woman shook her head and her shoulders slumped in resignation.
Ronon suddenly stiffened and bounded down the stairs, his face grim. The marines around the room tensed, having learnt to trust the large Satedan’s instincts. Ronon reached out and collared the nearest refugee and now the blonde woman let out a sharp bark of protest. Ronon yanked the man’s shirt up and off, spinning him so his back was to the assembled group. There was an ugly scar at the top of the man’s spine.
“Runners. All of them,” Ronon growled.
There was shocked silence in the room for a few moments which was only broken when the young man they thought was Sheppard said, “Take your hands off him,” in a voice they all recognized.
“Is that an order, Sheppard?” Ronon asked, his voice low and challenging.
The man blinked, looking poleaxed. “How the hell do you know my name?” he demanded.
Elizabeth looked quickly at Rodney, but his signature ‘told you so’ expression was absent. Instead he looked worried and pale. “When’s Carson due?” he asked in a small voice.
“The Theseus is due within the hour,” Daniel said slowly.
“Too long. Get the medical personnel up here now and dial Fiora. I need Radek.” Rodney said grimly.
Part Four
Author:
kellifer_ficCharacters: Team
Rating: PG13
Note: Prologue - the sga_flashfic entry Minor In Action
Spoilers: None.
*Thanks to my beta superfox*
Link to Part One
Summary: He would dream that he was pinned to the floor, unable to move and there would always be hands reaching for him.
Hands with gaping mouths.
Lorne and Sheppard lay side by side on the hard packed earth, smiling up at the blue sky above. The rumbling started, humming through their skin before the actual sound reached their ears. Sheppard loved the way he could feel the vibration in his ribs and down his spine and the way it made the hair stand up on his forearms.
“What are you boys doing there?” A gruff yell echoed over the rising din and both were up and off, feet kicking up dust. They heard feet pounding behind them but were soon at the fence that surrounded the airfield and snaking their way through the gap in the wire. Lorne got his sleeve caught halfway through and there was a ripping sound as Sheppard leaned back to yank him through.
Curses were thrown at their backs as the man pursuing them realized he was too big to fit through the hole and by the time he got to a gate they would be long gone.
“Don’t come back here!” he yelled and Lorne and Sheppard grinned at each other as they jogged down the dirt road.
They would be back. While Tantou’s flew above they would be there to feel it. Until the Academy, it would be the closest Sheppard would come to flying.
"Wow, he’s freaky looking,” Lorne remarked, holding a book so close to his nose that there was the faint smudge of print on the end when he pulled it away.
“What?” Sheppard looked up from his position lying on his belly on the floor, books spread out around him. He had a pen behind his ear and another in hand and there were ink stains on the top joint of his middle and index fingers.
Lorne held the book out to him solemnly, and John got up on his knees to have a look. His brows knitted when he looked at the fine etching of a man, but not a man. “What’s that?”
Lorne pulled the book back to himself and flipped it around until he could read the inscription underneath the picture. “A Wraith. It says they can affect what you see and eat souls.”
“That’s stupid,” Sheppard said, but something about the image on the page troubled him deeply. He’d seen something like the figure that was etched finely in blues and grays before, burned into his brain in the depths of night. Sometimes his mother would wake him and tell him he was having a nightmare and he would remember seeing men who were taller than they should be, with pale skin and intricate tattoos. He would dream that he was pinned to the floor, unable to move and there would always be hands reaching for him.
Hands with gaping mouths.
Sheppard rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead and found the sweat collected there was cold.
“I thought they were made up,” Lorne said, puzzlement on his face. Sheppard’s head jerked up.
“Of course they are,” he said shakily, feeling a little hysterical. Lorne looked at him, the puzzled expression growing. He held the book out again.
“It’s a history book,” he said. “It’s talking about culling and how it used to happen all the time until we learned to close our ‘gate and the Wraith slept.”
“They’re real?” Sheppard’s voice was a pained whisper. His mother had stroked his brow and smiled and had assured him that the monsters of his nightmares weren’t real.
He’d been lied to.
“Open the gate.”
Elizabeth and Daniel looked at Rodney, carefully weighing what they would say it seemed. Finally Elizabeth said, “Rodney, how can you be sure? It’s been-“
“I know exactly how long it’s been,” Rodney snapped, waving a dismissive hand, and then stabbing at the screen with his other finger. “Open the gate.”
“Even if it’s them, we have no idea-“ Daniel began in his placatory tone that made Rodney turn on him with eyes narrowed. Rodney’s gaze then skipped to the tech on duty that stood by the inbuilt DHD, looking panicked.
“Open the gate,” he ordered. The tech’s hand came up automatically but Daniel turned with quick gesture to stop.
“We’re not opening the gate to a bunch of unknowns,” Daniel said, exasperated. Rodney’s lips pulled down into a narrow line.
“Fine,” he snarled and then tapped his earpiece, switching on his radio. “Ronon, Teyla, meet me in the gateroom.”
“On our way,” came Teyla’s crisp reply and there was an acknowledging grunt from Ronon. When Rodney made for the stairs, Daniel stepped sideways and into his path.
“You’re not going there either,” Daniel said sternly. “Those people look to be under fire if it isn’t staged. Even if that’s Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne, they’ve spent fifteen years being raised by a people who cut off all communication with us. They’re strangers.”
“We’ll send a MALP,” Elizabeth offered, her eyes darting to Daniel for agreement, who didn’t look happy but nodded curtly. “To get an idea of numbers and if there are any nasty surprises waiting for us. We’ve answered distress calls before that have ended badly. You know that.” Elizabeth reached out a hand and gently laid it on Rodney’s shoulder. “If this is them… god, if it is, I’m afraid Daniel’s right. They’re not the men we knew.”
Ronon and Teyla appeared at the top of the stairs, both breathing heavily like they’d run the whole way, which they probably had. Daniel watched as Rodney moved over to them and explained what happened and marveled at how neither of them had questioned, but had simply responded to Rodney’s call.
Just like Rodney wanted to automatically respond to John Sheppard’s.
There was a ragtag group of about twenty-five that made their way through the gate, marines covering them from every vantage point in the gate room. Two moved forward to relieve them of their weapons when the event horizon disengaged but all looked to the tall and dark haired twenty year old who bore an aching resemblance to John Sheppard. He nodded almost imperceptibly and weapons were held out. Despite having given his permission, Rodney saw the man hesitate for a second before handing over his own weapon, every line in his body going tense.
“They certainly bear an uncanny resemblance,” Teyla whispered, leaning her head towards Rodney and Ronon.
“It’s them,” Ronon returned with a raised eyebrow and a shrug.
The two younger men stood together, both warily eyeing their surroundings, trying not to look amazed although the shorter of the two was having a harder time of it. The older woman stepped forward when Elizabeth and Daniel descended the stairs, inclining her head in greeting.
“What do you think they were doing on P4M?” Rodney asked. It was so easy to fall into the old habit of conferring with his team and he realized with a jolt that it was one of the things he missed.
“I do not know, it is uninhabited and three cycles out of every four the sun is too hot for the land. I cannot believe they were settling.” Teyla mused.
“They were hiding,” Ronon said and both Rodney and Teyla looked at him. “When you’re hiding from the Wraith, you head for the planets with no people.”
All three watched as the woman with ash blonde hair indicated her group and said something to Elizabeth that had her face draw down into a worried frown. Daniel leaned forward and by the cant of his head, asked a question. The woman shook her head and her shoulders slumped in resignation.
Ronon suddenly stiffened and bounded down the stairs, his face grim. The marines around the room tensed, having learnt to trust the large Satedan’s instincts. Ronon reached out and collared the nearest refugee and now the blonde woman let out a sharp bark of protest. Ronon yanked the man’s shirt up and off, spinning him so his back was to the assembled group. There was an ugly scar at the top of the man’s spine.
“Runners. All of them,” Ronon growled.
There was shocked silence in the room for a few moments which was only broken when the young man they thought was Sheppard said, “Take your hands off him,” in a voice they all recognized.
“Is that an order, Sheppard?” Ronon asked, his voice low and challenging.
The man blinked, looking poleaxed. “How the hell do you know my name?” he demanded.
Elizabeth looked quickly at Rodney, but his signature ‘told you so’ expression was absent. Instead he looked worried and pale. “When’s Carson due?” he asked in a small voice.
“The Theseus is due within the hour,” Daniel said slowly.
“Too long. Get the medical personnel up here now and dial Fiora. I need Radek.” Rodney said grimly.
Part Four