Chapter Text
Immediately John's clothes began clinging to his skin. The air smelled strongly of soil and water; humidity assaulted them but at least the cavern was cool. Sheppard used the bright backdrop of the stargate to find his chem-lights in his vest pocket, cracking three and tossing them in different directions to illuminate their surroundings. By the time the yellow glowing sticks hit the ground, the Stargate shut off leaving the team of four alone in the expansive cavern.
To his left, Lt. Aiden Ford mirrored his actions, cracking his own lights and throwing them in different directions to grant them a 360 of low light illumination. “Alright campers, we’ve got 48 hours to explore. Let’s find something to make it worth it,” Sheppard called out, his voice echoing in the stone encased space.
“The database said there was an ancient outpost on this planet. If any place was to have a Zed-P-M, I’d put my money here.” Rodney chirped, tapping away at his tablet. “Not that I’m betting, mind you- “
“Alright Rodney, just figure out where we’re headed. Ford, Teyla take a look around and see if there are any tunnels leading out of here.” The three spread out while McKay set up next to the MALP, focused on whatever readings he was trying to pick up.
The cavern roof reached up into the darkness, impossible to see in their low lighting. The air was still and quiet save for the dripping of moisture from the far walls and ceiling. Examining the walls, it was impossible for John to ascertain if the cavern was man made or a natural formation. He could tell based on the striations in the rock showing lines of different colours and densities like rings on a tree, that this cavern was old. Very old. There were a number of small tunnels that branched out of the main chamber, many of which had collapsed, the stones blocking their path marred with erosion from constantly dripping water.
“I got something!” John turned back to where Rodney called, raising an inquisitive brow at the scientist as he approached, footfall echoing in the chamber. “There’s a very weak energy signature coming from that direction” Rodney pointed towards the expansive darkness of the cavern.
“Weak? How weak?” John probed, pulling his Life-signs detector from the interior pocket of his tac’ vest. The only life-signs visible were that of he and his team, but he kept the device handy in case that were to change.
“Hard to say when we’re under what could be a mountain. It’s a very low frequency, I could hardly detect it without pushing the MALP sensors to their maximum,” Rodney sighed, unplugging his tablet from the reconnaissance robot that preceded any off-world exploration.
Teyla approached at a jog, her P-90 and flashlight pointed to the ground, “I found a tunnel that looks promising. The air smells fresher coming from that direction, and it feels warmer.”
John motioned for her to lead the way, “Great. Warmer, just what we need with the humidity.” Ford was standing point at the mouth of the tunnel waiting for Teyla to return with John and McKay. Quickly, Teyla grabbed a sharp rock from the ground and marked an arrow heading back the way they came with a circle to represent the stargate. “Good call,” John nodded at her, “Keep marking the way as we go. Ford take point, Rodney stay between us.”
The team moved quietly through the tunnels, the walls becoming slick with moisture as they closed in. By the time a sliver of light was visible signalling the end of their underground trek, the ceiling was brushing the top of Sheppard’s hair, and their arms were damp from the cave walls. Not a tight squeeze, but enough to warrant Rodney’s verbalized discomfort with enclosed spaces.
The sliver of light came through a tight crack in what appeared to be a large stone put over the cave entrance. The crack was big enough for each member to pull themselves through after removing their vests and packs and was disguised by heavy vines on the exterior. “No wonder the ‘gate didn’t look like it saw any traffic. I doubt anyone even knows it’s here.” Ford mused, holding back the foliage for McKay to duck under.
The buzz of wildlife was around them, and the heat and humidity was assaulting. McKay immediately swatted at an insect that had come far too close for comfort. “If I die by malaria of all things…”
“Relax Rodney. The faster we find that outpost the faster we can get you back to the safety of your lab.” John grumbled, removing his jacket and rolling it up in his pack before pulling back on his tac’ vest and shouldering the pack. His fellow team members also adjusted for the heat – except Rodney, who was more worried about protecting his skin than suffering the effects of the tropical atmosphere.
McKay checked his tablet, turning in a circle until he was able to triangulate the direction of the energy source, “Interesting. The readings are still indicating the trace energy as being… well, trace. I don’t think this is coming from a Zed-P-M, it is far too weak.”
“Could it just be, I don’t know, sleeping?” Ford asked, observing their surroundings for threats, P-90 loosely gripped but ready as needed.
“No, Lt. Ford, this is a highly powerful ancient device, not a 2001 Windows Laptop,” the scientist threw back, a look of disbelief and disappointment evident on his face as he glared at the Lieutenant.
“Alright. Ford take right, Teyla left. McKay, stay behind me and make sure we’re heading in the right direction.” John cut in before the pair could start squabbling. His team fell into place, and they began carving their way through the dense brush and twisting vines that reached for them from tropical yet alien looking trees. Eventually members of the team began struggling against the thick foliage surrounding them, opting to cut through with their knives rather than risk thorns in their flesh. The red clay that covered the ground coated their boots in a thick film, the air heavy and sweltering. Sweat trickled down John's back and his hair began to stick to his forehead. There was no visible path, the area abandoned by all but what little wildlife roamed the jungle. Every so often John took a glance at the LSD, but still only saw four dots moving in unison.
About thirty minutes into their hike, and Rodney was complaining again. Hunger, heat, humidity, tripping on vines, and God only knows what diseases the bugs could be carrying.
John half turned to tell the scientist to shut up again, when his next footfall was met with little to no resistance. The red clay that made up the soil of the jungle floor gave way beneath him, and he fell forward, reaching out for anything to stop his descent.
“Lt. Ford, Teyla!” Rodney called out in panic, each member turned towards Rodney’s cries and began hurrying through the dense brush to reach him. “Careful! There’s traps!” Ford immediately stopped his advance and pushed closer at a slow, cautious pace. Teyla watched him and mirrored his movements, touching the ground with her toe before putting her weight down. Finally, they reached Rodney and looked down into the pit that had collapsed under Sheppard’s footing.
A pit, at least six feet deep and big enough for multiple people to lay comfortably at the bottom sat open, debris from the false floor lay scattered around the prone from of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard. The fall itself however wasn’t the trap, as stakes sharpened to deadly points stood tall in the red clay, poised to eviscerate any poor soul who fell into the trap.
“John!” Teyla called, and much to her relief, he stirred, groaning. “Stay still.” It seemed obvious to say; however, she could see John was trying to move himself off of a stake that was already stained red from his blood.
Ford carefully dropped into the pit, avoiding landing of the sharp weapons and approached John at a crouch. He pulled off his pack and immediately removed his small travel med-kit. “Talk to me Colonel.”
“I believe I’ve fallen.” John stated dryly, “Just help me up, would you?”
“No can do, Sir. You’ve got yourself a pretty big… splinter.” There was no way to sugar coat what he saw. The stake had gone through John’s abdomen on the left side four fingers up from his hip, pretty close to the edge, maybe an inch and a half but the stake was still two inches in diameter and had broken during impact. It protruded about an inch out of the back of his vest, and another stake grazed his inner right thigh, another his shoulder. It was enough to rip fabric, but he couldn’t see if they’d drawn blood. Ford felt underneath the Colonel to see if the stake was still attached to the ground and found that it wasn’t. It had snapped with the force of the impact. “Okay, Sir, I need to roll you on your side so I can see the entry wound.” John grunted in affirmation as Ford quicky checked the arm and leg wounds. They did break skin, but barely. He wasn’t attached to those stakes like he was in his abdomen. Quickly Ford cut John’s pants to release the stake and rolled John onto his good side. The Colonel cried out for a moment, biting his bottom lip against the discomfort.
“Get the damn thing out of me,” John groaned, his upper lip damp with sweat and his complexion pallid.
“I can’t do that Sir. We need to get you back to Atlantis. I’ll secure the stake, so it doesn’t dance around and we’ll get you out of here.” Ford began packing the area around the stake with gauze, both in the front and back before wrapping more gauze tightly around his torso to secure it in place. It was a chop-shop solution, but the bleeding was slow, and John was moveable. “Alright, Teyla help me get him up.”
Ford stood, scooping up John under the arm so the Colonel could curl around his wounded side. With the pair on their feet, Ford moved towards the edge of the six-foot wall. Teyla crouched, extending her hand. Coming from John's interior tac' vest pocket, the LSD began to rapidly beep, alerting the team to the incoming presence of potential enemies.
Suddenly the bushes behind Teyla and Rodney moved, and rope lassos whipped out, falling over each of their heads and around their necks. Teyla reacted immediately, reaching for her throat, however the rope tightened and yanked both her and Rodney backwards. The pair collapsed with choaking coughs on their backs, red dust erupting around them from impact as they clawed at the thick rope that secured them.
A number of heavily camouflaged warriors with large angry looking knives came out of the brush, grabbing Teyla and Rodney, and standing them up on their knees at the edge of the pit. Ford had all but dropped the Colonel to grab his P-90, but with the knives now pressing hard against McKay and Teyla’s throats as they choked for air, he knew their only choice was surrender.