Scarce
Author: Cheryl W.
Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to claim Stargate Atlantis and John Sheppard as my very own, they aren't and I am making no profit from these ramblings.
Author's Note: Set 3rd Season: After Irresponsible and John's wild west gunfight with Kolya, John tags along on Major Lorne's boring supply mission but it turns anything but boring when savage beasts chose them as their next prey.
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Chapter 1: Skipping Town
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Finishing up his final jumper prep for his two man mission, Major Evan Lorne was surprised to find, not the Marine assigned to join him, but his commanding officer slipping into the co-pilot seat of the jumper and making himself comfortable. "Not that I don't relish your company, sir, but if Lt. Supplee is sick, there are at least ten other Marines who could do this with me," the Major initiated their lines of communication, knowing his CO might not. Then he watched his leader's face for things the man wouldn't say, read the grimace as Sheppard shorthand for uncomfortable feelings.
"A little time away from Atlantis will do me good," and there was chagrin in Sheppard's tone, like he wasn't skipping off the base for his own good but for someone else's.
Trying to express his concern for Sheppard's need to escape the base without, well, expressing it, because Sheppard wasn't a touchy feely kind of guy, Evan needlessly pointed out, "You just got back from an off world mission seven hours ago, sir."
"Right…yes," John admitted almost initiated the jumper engines before he remembered he had agreed to be a benchwarmer. Focusing on things NOT involving the jumper functions, he turned to Lorne, saw the other man wasn't letting this go, was giving him that 'waiting for further orders sir' look. "I was feeling a little …cramped."
'By all twenty miles of Atlantis," Evan almost snarked but saw the Colonel was avoiding him now, tapping his fingers against the side of the ship, along the control panel, like he was itching to take over. And seeing Sheppard restless instead of his usual laid back self, sent flares of worry through Evan. Out of concern, he dropped his military formality, "John…"
Not wanting Evan to say whatever he was about to, John was desperate enough to stall that to reveal a portion of why he was sitting in a jumper, encroaching on Lorne's mission. "Everyone's kinda pissed at me. Thought it best if I made myself scarce until they cooled down."
And John recalled his teammates' rebukes after his shootout with Koyla.
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Of course Rodney was the first one to break the silence that had fallen after Koyla's collapse. "Are you out of your mind?! You knew the personal shield's power could be nearly depleted, especially after that bomb blast and yet you stood there and let them fire every single bullet they had at you?!"
But Ronon stopped over Kolya's corpse and got right up into John's face. "No, what was stupid was giving Kolya another chance to kill you! You think he deserved your respect…an honorable death!? Was he thinking of honoring you when he had a wraith suck the life out of you?!"
Teyla had wanted her say too. "John, you shouldn't have…" but John cut her off, didn't need her to voice her disgust at what he had done.
"What? Killed him? Should have taken him into custody? Well I'm sorry…to all of you who could have done things better but I'm not going to say I was wrong, wearing the shield, facing off with Kolya or killing him."
Beckett thought that moment was a safe time to begin patting him down, searching his body for bullet holes. John had irritably pushed the doctor's hands away. "I'm fine!"
"Fine, are you?!" Beckett's brogue had been strong with his frustration, anger and residual fear. "You've been in a bloody explosion, spent hours running around trying to stay alive, fighting," (there he had picked up John's hand to show his bloody knuckles weren't going unnoticed), "and had 60 bullets come at you. Nearly 61 bullets," he had amended, jerking his head back to Kolya's corpse.
"Doctor, why don't you spend your time checking to see if anyone here actually needs your help," John groused and walked away, began helping to round up Kolya's men, anything to distance himself from his disapproving teammates.
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Stuffing the memories of the chilly, uptight return ride back to Atlantis with his team back into the box in his head, John smiled at his second in command. "I'm at your full disposal, Major. Consider me just another one of your Marine grunts along to do your bidding. This is still your mission." And John thought it would be a welcome relief to be able to simply follow orders, to not be responsible for lives, to not be a disappointment to everyone around him.
Evan fought back a sigh. To his recollection, John Sheppard never just tooled along meekly doing anyone's bidding. And John wouldn't be skipping out of Atlantis if he wasn't hurt by being on the receiving end of "everyone" that was supposedly "pissed" at him. Then there was the stunning act of John admitting, even in this unspoken way, that he was hurt…it definitely meant things were at DEF CON 3. 'Great and he's hitched a ride with me because I am sooo good at helping people patch up emotional wounds. Me with two ex-finances who think I'm emotionally incapable of admitting vulnerabilities, not to mention one ticked off mother who wanted to be able to "visit" me on my base someday to which I gave a resounding 'not a chance, mom'.'
Watching Lorne sit there immobile in the pilot's chair, John wondered if his second in command was going to officially request he get the heck off his ship. Feeling like he was unknowingly pulling rank on the Major by forcing him to endure his company, John began as he started to get out of the co-pilot chair, "Major maybe I should just get your marine escort back here and I'll just…."
Realizing that the colonel had read his self-internalizing worry he'd fail John in his somewhat time of need as Evan's desire to boot Sheppard off his ship, Evan quickly snapped, "I don't remember giving you permission to abandon your post, Sheppard," eyes coming up to meet John's, hoping the man knew it was his way of extending his invitation for John to join him.
John gave a lopsided smile. "No sir, you didn't," he replied as he reclaimed the co-pilot seat, before questioning his temporary superior. "Permission to ask about the mission parameters, Major."
And that was just like the Colonel, to volunteer and then find out what he was volunteering for. Giving a smirk and a shake of his head at his commanders antics, Lorne read in his mission teammate. "Probably a pretty boring excursion, sir." At his addressing Sheppard formally slip up, he amended, "Sorry, grunt Sheppard." A snarky putdown that earned him an approving chuckle from Sheppard. "We are hoofing through about 6 miles of woods to take supplies to a new ally. They are mostly farmers, have some weapons …like our great great great grandfathers used in the revolutionary war."
"We talking sabers or ball and muskets?" Sheppard asked, suddenly liking his decision more and more. Getting back to a simpler time without stunners, constant communications and ancient tech appealed to him.
"Both. I think they might be playing around with black powder for explosions but aren't there yet," Evan surmised before he admitted. "Honestly I like them. They work hard, are willing to join a fight against the Wraith, regardless of their lack of weaponry and …."
Sensing the Major was purposefully drawing this out by the twinkle in Lorne' eyes, John prodded, "And what?"
"They have the best ale in all of the Pegasus Galaxy."
John held back a smile, barely. "And you of course only partook of this ale for the sake of good will between you and this settlement."
"Absolutely," Evan managed to agree straight-faced. "I really think the whole negotiated peace hung in the balance of immersing myself into their culture. Fully…a few times." Then both men broke into smiles.
"Well then it would do harm to this peace if we didn't join them again in a toast for two, right?" John said before he deferred, "With your full permission of course, sir."
"In some instances like this, you just have to take one for the team."
"Very noble of you, Major."
"I learned a lot from my CO," Evan quirked and John turned on a beaming smile.
"He sounds like a great leader."
"Ah…actually a bit mediocre and predictable," Evan joked. "You probably wouldn't like him. Good thing you have me for a boss instead."
"Right, yeah, I'm thanking my lucky stars for that," Sheppard sarcastically drawled.
Then a technician from the control interrupted them. "Major Lorne, are you ready for us to dial the gate?"
"Affirmative," Lorne commanded, waited for the "Gate is now open, sir," response from the technician before piloting the jumper down into the gate room and then swiftly through the gate. They breached the stargate onto a gate surrounded on all sides by towering trees and a thick forest expansion. Expertly, Lorne landed the jumper, shut down all the controls and turned to his companion. "Welcome to MRS-3892 grunt Sheppard." Then the Major was walking to the rear of the jumper, securing his weapons then held out a bulging pack to Sheppard, who took it and slung it over his shoulder with smugness like the pack was light instead of the 30 pounds it was. But his cocky smile faded when Lorne shoved a second heavier pack at him.
"I'm starting to think staying on Atlantis would have been better for my back," Sheppard complained as he tried to balance the two packs totaling over 70 pounds on his back while Lorne only shouldered one.
"I don't think I have to remind you that this was your choice, sir…Sheppard."
"Fine. But why do I have two monster packs and you only have a knapsack?"
The Major couldn't help a gloating smirk. "The privilege of rank." But at Sheppard's glower that reminded him he was taunting his supervisor, he cleared his throat and amended, "Actually it's because I need my hands free to work the scanner to find our way to the settlement. The trails…well, there really aren't any trails to follow, you just have to head toward the lifesigns."
"That's a likely story," John mumbled under his breath but when Lorne looked ready to ask him to repeat it for his hearing, he gave him a wave off. "Forget it. I hitched a ride and this is the payment so lead on, Major."
"Yes, sir," Lorne automatically replied, grimaced at Sheppard's sigh at his second in command's inability to adept to a changing situation. So without another word, he headed out of the jumper first. Silently, he sent up a prayer that everything went smoothly on this mission and his CO wouldn't promptly demote him when they returned to Atlantis. But it was almost as if Dr. McKay was laughing in his head at that thought and snarkily goading his optimism. 'Go smoothly?! And you brought Sheppard along?! Have you no sense of the laws of probability, Major.' To that, Evan summarily told the McKay voice in his head to shut up.
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Doctor Beckett turned around to consult a nurse but found Rodney McKay in his personal space instead. "Hey, have you seen Sheppard?"
"No and I let him off the hook last night but first thing this morning he should have been here getting checked over," Carson's voice showing he was a little less than pleased with the Colonel's absence. He was about to finally get to ask his nurse his question when McKay demanded, "Was he hurt?" McKay's face creased with anxiety and his tone accusatory like Carson had kept something from him.
Realizing that he wasn't going to be allowed to get a word in to his nurse until Rodney had all his answers, Carson waved the nurse away and put his full focus on his friend. "I think the point of him getting checked over is for me to make that determination, Rodney." Now his ire clearly directed at McKay.
"Don't snap at me because you lost your patient," Rodney snapped right back before realizing the bad choice of wording he had made, the implications it implied, not only about John but to Beckett's other patients probably within earshot there in the infirmary. Suddenly, he stammered, "I don't mean lost…he's not lost…you didn't lose anybody…well not recently….did you?" His statement turning into a question as he continued, "I mean I know lately there's been some other off world missions that haven't been…"
But Carson had lost someone, literally and figurative under the Wraith's mind control: Sgt. Barroso. So he cut across McKay's rambling's with rare true rancor. "Yes I bloody lost someone! You were there to see it! Sgt. Barroso remember?"
All color drained from Rodney's features and he stammered, "Oh…right…I …fo…didn't…I'm sorry Carson."
But Carson raised his hand stopping McKay's apology, knew it wasn't the man's fault it was a touchy subject with him. So with a sigh, he suggested in a much calmer, less angry tone, "Rodney, it would be best if you did something useful for both of us and found the Colonel and brought him here."
That stopped McKay's inquisitiveness but not his snarkiness, had him cockily nodding his head. "Right, yes. Find Sheppard. Course that's what I was trying to do and you've been no help whatsoever so thanks for that." And as briskly as he had entered the infirmary he left but there was a nagging worry now in Carson's gut that Rodney had been searching for Sheppard in the first place, didn't know where he was. In his book, whenever one of the Colonel's teammates couldn't instinctively find their leader, it didn't bode well. "Ah crap," he mumbled before he determinedly pushed his trepidation away and focused on what he could. "Love, can you give me that information now?" he called to the nurse.
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To Evan's surprise, the trek was being carried out in silence. Sure the Colonel could be silent as a tomb on a mission, all serious and 'bring 'em back alive' and 'kill them all' mentality forefront. But this wasn't life or death, was them hoofing it through a thick forest, lumbering over fallen trees, hacking at underbrush to clear a way, basically taking a nice leisurely hike. So yes, he expected some conversation, maybe more whining, which was hilarious coming from Sheppard as he usually got that from McKay. He opened his mouth to make that funny comparison but decided against it. Again, he liked being a Major.
John was starting to think this wasn't his best plan. Like he needed more time to be stuck in his own head space. To wonder if his team now thought he was some…some loose cannon, some thrill junky. Ok, so maybe he had been called both those things in his career but he wasn't…ok, mostly wasn't those things. Facing off with Kolya was strategic, was so more lives weren't lost, so Kolya didn't stage an escape and kill someone, maybe someone John cared about in the process…no, Kolya would have done that just for spite. Enjoyed killing one of his teammates right in front of him. No, it had had to be finished there, so no one else got caught in the crossfire. And yes, it was personal. Damn right it was personal. For Kolya and for him. He had killed Kolya's men, maybe thirty of them and Kolya had sicced a wraith on him. Personal as hell.
When Kolya fell, he was relieved, felt a fission of fear silenced in him. At least one enemy down, only one thousand nine hundred ninety nine to go. He hadn't expected the disapproval…the anger from his own teammates. He had handled it, Kolya wasn't a threat anymore and neither were his supporters. Why all the lecturing?! Where were the pats on the back, the 'thanks for risking your life to save us' accolades? Not that he needed that but it would have sure beat their reactions. And now he had doubts, doubts that they would trust that he wasn't taking unnecessary risks, not with his own life, but with theirs. Which he would never…tried to never…course than there was the whole him shooting Ronon and Rodney while under the effects of the Wraith hallucinogenic machine. Which hey, wasn't that a great team building event. Hell, if Lorne didn't soon talk to him and break up this torturous mental therapy session, he was going to demote the man.
But it wasn't Lorne who broke up the silence but an animal's roar that vibrated through the woods. Both soldiers halted in their tracks and pulled their guns. "You didn't mention any menacing four legged predators in your mission recruitment flyer, Major," Sheppard quipped, ears straining for sounds around them, of big paws hitting the ground, charging for them.
"Didn't mention it because we didn't encounter anything the two times I've been here. Plus the villagers didn't warn us of any threats," Lorne reported, scanning their surroundings as he began to wonder if the villagers liked him and the Atlantis visitors a whole lot less than they let on, wanted them to be something's dinner.
The roar came again, causing both men to swivel to the east, pinpointing the source coming from that direction, breath held, gun steady, waiting. "Gotta admit, last time I went up against something that made that kind of racket, I lost… both rounds," Sheppard glibly confessed, remembered the invisible manifested creature in the sanctuary, that he had nearly been clawed to death by it, twice.
"Good to know where your skill sets are lacking, sir," Lorne quipped back, stepped closer to Sheppard, determined that if they were going to face off with something with a lot of teeth, they were going to do it shoulder to shoulder.
John shot Evan a look. "Could we stow the 'sirs' right now. If we're about to be a woodland creature's snack, I rather not go out screaming just our ranks."
Sparing a look to his CO, Evan found himself smirking. "Will do, sir…John," he amended before he taunted, "Thought you were the eternal optimist?"
John shrugged nonchalantly, like they weren't in a forest being sized up by a sabertooth tiger for all they knew. "Seeing as you're the lead on this mission, it's your job to deliver the pep speeches." Catching Lorne's 'really, sir' look, John acknowledged, "Ok, I've had a few shitty days lately and it would be par for the course for me to survive 60 bullets and Kolya's fast draw only to be Yogi the Bear's picnic basket snack."
Appreciating John's admission but knowing his CO wouldn't appreciate if he got all serious on him, Evan reassuringly vowed, "I'll try to make sure you only get maimed, not killed."
"I feel safer with you already," John sarcastically drawled but he was smiling and Evan considered that a win. When no more roars echoed through the forest and there was no indication anything was approaching, the two men's eyes met, each determinating the same course of action: move out but stay alert.
Taking lead again, Evan didn't put his gun away, balanced it with his lifesigns monitor, had to give a little credit to McKay for having to do this a lot of the time on their missions. And that thought had him thinking again what McKay and the others had done to make Sheppard want to skip out of Atlantis and avoid them. "Well you could be nice and safe and sound on Atlantis. You choose to come along," he reminded John, a part of him hoping the other man would say more of why he had done that.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get me to talk about my feelings, but we both know I don't have any," John snarked back, glanced over his back and thankfully didn't find any signs they were being tracked by Yogi.
"No, course you don't have feelings," Evan seemed to agree before mockingly qualified, "You're cold as a snake, Sheppard."
"Ok, but I don't think I like that comparison," John protested before he tripped over some above ground roots, had to steady himself on a tree trunk and reposition both packs on his back. "Just once I'd love to drop onto a planet that invented a motorized vehicle."
"Love to have my Jeep about now," Evan agreed immediately, doing his own two step over more roots ahead. "It does pretty good off-roading. What about you? What would you be tooling around town in back on earth?"
"My Ducati bike," and there was fondness in Sheppard's tone.
At that admission, Even couldn't help shooting a look back to his companion. "Ducati? Nice. I've heard them called the Ferraris of the motorcycle world."
"I'd take my Ducati over a Ferrari any day of the week," John replied before he had time to think things through, saw that his statement hadn't gone past Lorne's radar.
"And you've driven a Ferrari? Had that kind of option?!" Here Lorne gave a low whistle. "Man, Lieutenant Colonels get paid a lot more than I guessed."
Almost chagrinned, John confessed, "Actually they don't." And that was all John was going to say but he could see by the set of Lorne's back that the other man was taking his shut down on the conversation as a keep out. Which it was…and wasn't. He let them travel in stilted silence a while before he quietly said "Had my choice for my 16th birthday. The bike or a black Ferrari. So my bike's an oldie but a goodie," trying to undervalue the bike's worth, the fact that he had an obscenely rich family.
At that staggering bit of personal information, Evan told himself to not turn around, not act surprised, play it aloof. "Great sweet sixteen huh?" He missed Sheppard's shrug but he heard it in the man's voice.
"Came with conditions."
"Right, like promises to wear your helmet and never speed…" Evan could just imagine the list his own parents would have made had he had the chance to take a bike even around the block when he was sixteen.
John fought back a snort at Evan's suggestions, those would have been fine conditions, unlike his father's. "More like begin interning at my father's company and pledge the rest of my life to amassing power and money in his corporate world."
Knowing that John wasn't old enough to have made a splash in the corporate world and then joined the military and make the rank he had, Evan was glad he didn't have to face Sheppard for this conversation, wondered if they'd even be having this conversation if he was looking at John. Quietly, Evan surmised, "Guess that's one pledge you didn't keep." But as soon as the words were out he was mentally kicking himself for the phrasing, as if John had done something wrong, shameful. Stopping, he turned around, began to profusely apologize, "John, I'm sorry. That was out of line and not what I meant…or how I meant it."
John gave him one of his lopsided smirks and passed by him, taking lead, putting himself out of Evan's scrutiny it was easier to say the rest. "You're not wrong. I didn't keep my pledge…didn't really take it seriously when he told me that, was too busy snatching the keys from his hand and getting on the bike."
There was sadness and bitterness in John's tone and Evan cursed himself for making John think he needed to defend himself to him or tell him anymore. After all, John was as closed mouth about his past as anyone Evan had ever met. Guess there's a reason for that. 'It's not all sunshine and rainbows, not even for the rich.' No matter how many times Sheppard tried to make it seem everything was just great, never better, Evan knew the man had deep hurts, heck, they all did being soldiers, being stationed on Atlantis. But now he knew there were underlying hurts that had scored the man long before he put on an Air Force uniform. "You were sixteen, none of us knew what we wanted to be at that age," he absolved John, tried for lightness he didn't feel.
"Wasn't supposed to be up to me," John remembered the shouting matches, the accusations, the threats of being cut off from the family fortunes. "When I didn't join his corporate world, my father asked for the bike back, said when a business deal was broken, all upfront remittances had to be repaid, with interest sometimes."
Evan felt his hand tighten on the lifesigns monitor, couldn't ever imagine his own father asking him to pay back any gift he had given him, especially not in so cold of terms. Suddenly he didn't like John's father very much, like at all. "I hope you told him to go to hell," he bit out before he thought it was the wrong thing to say, again. That he shouldn't speak ill of John's father, wasn't his place.
But John chuckled instead of reaming him out for bad mouthing his family. "Actually, I did. Needless to say that didn't help my relationship with my dad. But on the upside, I still have the bike," John tried to see a silver lining to all of it.
Evan, however, saw a huge positive that John wasn't mentioning. "Not sure how much my opinion matters but I'm sure glad you're here saving our lives instead of being some egomaniac corporate mogul."
That had John shooting a smirk over his shoulder to Evan. "Aw, shucks, Major. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to my face."
"Or even behind your back," Evan quipped, smiling broadly.
"Good to know," John replied, smiling as well, feeling some of the weight of his memories of his family lift at Evan's words, knew the man wasn't saying that to brown nose his CO. That wasn't Lorne's style. He wouldn't have made him his second in command if it was. "So tell me again how long until we reach the village?"
"If I didn't know better I'd say I was traveling with McKay. What next? Whine that you need bug spray?" Lorne taunted, smirked when John protested.
"Hey, no need to get insulting!" but then Sheppard asked, a tinge of unease in his tone, "Wait, what kind of bugs are we talking about because I am so not interested in encountering anything that's bigger than my pinkie."
"Don't worry, as your current CO I will personally rescue you by smacking any bugs that land on you," Evan vowed, a chuckle in is timbre.
"You're kind of mean spirited, Major. I'm surprised none of your insubordinates have reported you to me." John ducked under a low hanging branch and fought the urge to growl himself when his packs slid forward to smack him in the head.
"They are too scared to report that to you." Evan easily ducked under the branch with his shorter stature and his lighter load.
"Scared of you?" And John couldn't see that being true.
"Nope, scared of you. Rumor is you eat marines for breakfast." And that was 100% hogwash but Lorne was enjoying the rare treat of being able to tease his CO without their ranks getting in the way.
"False," John let a beat of silence fall before he clarified, "I actually feed them to McKay when his blood sugar gets low."
"Good to know. I'll inform my men. They'll be so relieved. Now do you think I could take lead again, because I'm actually the only one who knows where we're supposed to be going." Evan made a point to wave the lifesigns monitor in his hand when Sheppard shot him a look over his shoulder.
"Now who sounds like McKay?" Sheppard good humoredly grumbled as he stopped and waved Lorne forward.
Bypassing Sheppard, Lorne threatened, "I might just have to write you up for that insubordinate remark."
"It's Sheppard with two "P"s" John supplied and somehow Lorne didn't think it was the first time John Sheppard had made that remark upon the threat of him being formally written up.
Evan was about to make some smart aleck comment back when a man's scream rent the air. "Oh great, so much for uneventful," he muttered even as Sheppard was streaking off toward the scream. "Yeah and so much for 'I lead you follow'," he groused as he took up pursuit of his CO, not really mad Sheppard was taking up his rightful leadership role only worried that he was the only one to have Sheppard's back in whatever situation they were running right into. And if anything, anything at all happened to Sheppard, it would be his fault. No matter whose rank beat whose because this was his mission, his contact, his responsibility to know what they were walking into. Not to mention that Sheppard's teammates would kill him slowly if he didn't bring Sheppard back to them in some semblance of one piece.
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TBC
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Thanks if you read this far! Hope there's interest for more of this story!
Have a great day!
Cheryl W.