NOTE: The prompt from the Genficathon was "Here there be Dragons" (hence the name LOL) and it was an action/adventure prompt. I did my research, and came up with this interpretation. Enjoy!

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"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception."

~Aldous Huxley

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The feel of the P-90 bouncing lightly against his TAC vest as he walked towards the Jumper Bay was familiar - comforting in its own way - so John paid it little heed. He quickly checked the load on his Beretta as he half listened to Woolsey talking to him.

"I feel the need to reiterate the concerns I aired in the mission briefing, Colonel. There is next to no information in the database about this gate or the world it orbits."

John slid his gun back into its holster. They'd already been through this and dwelling on it wasn't helping his mission get off the ground any faster. The briefing was over, the decision had been made, so he wasn't sure why Woolsey was dwelling on it. Except, maybe, being as new as he was, he was afraid of making a wrong decision. John quelled his concern, even though second guessing an order wasn't exactly the best trait he could think of for a base commander to have. "You gave us the go ahead, Mr. Woolsey. Besides, we've found some pretty valuable stuff in the past from planets the Ancients conveniently forgot to describe in the database."

"And, according to your own reports, some other of those planets you barely escaped alive from," Woolsey countered. "I know I gave you the go ahead, but I still have reservations about this."

John stopped in front of the doors to the Jumper Bay, turned and faced his new boss. "Mr. Woolsey," he raised his hand, pointing slightly, "going through the Stargate is dangerous every time we do it, whether we know what's on the other side or not." He paused for a moment and let his statement sink in. Plenty of times, they'd known what they were walking into and still nearly got killed. "It's what we do." He pursed his lips and stared intently at Woolsey. "We never have all the information we need to make decisions, but we still have to make them."

Behind his glasses, Woolsey's eyes narrowed slightly, before he nodded. "Very well. Be careful, Colonel."

One side of John's mouth lifted in a slight smile. "Always." Turning, he waved his hand over the door crystal and entered the Jumper Bay. Standing by Jumper Four, his team were waiting for him.

"Was that Woolsey you were talking to?" Rodney asked as John walked up to them.

John nodded. "Yeah, just some last minute… stuff." He kept his answer vague on purpose. Woolsey second guessing himself in front of John was one thing, but for the rest of the expedition to know, even just his team, was something else. John had held Weir and Carter's confidences in the past when either of them had reservations and it was a courtesy he'd decided to extended to Woolsey as well. It was part of being second-in-command to him, and a burden he willingly carried. Even base commanders needed a safe person to talk to, without sacrificing how they were perceived to the rest of their command. John suspected that Woolsey didn't see that role in him yet, but would eventually.

"Stuff, huh?" Rodney's expression was suspicious. "Care to fill us in on that… stuff?"

John's expression turned cynical. "Nope." He walked past Rodney and up the ramp into the jumper.

"Fine." Rodney's short response as he followed John, with Teyla and Ronon right behind him, left no doubt that he was annoyed.

John set his P-90 next to the pilot's chair and sat down, instantly feeling the jumper come to life and connect with him. He smiled slightly. After almost five years, the familiar feeling never got old. He glanced at Rodney, who took a moment to glower at him before turning his attention to the co-pilot console. "Oh, knock it off, McKay," John looked down at his own console. "You don't have to know everything that's going on. Your curiosity gets us into enough trouble as it is."

"Oh, that's rich," Rodney snapped back. "That's quite a line coming from you, Colonel 'Let's Check it Out' Sheppard." He glared at John. "You do realize that we get into serious trouble every time you say that, don't you?"

As John powered up the jumper and lifted off, he decided the conversation wasn't worth pursuing, and he simply grunted in a non-committal way to Rodney's statement.

"Ha!" Rodney answered triumphantly. "You can't deny it."

"No," John cocked a brow and glanced in his direction, "I'm just not answering you."

"Were you able to find anything else about this planet in the database, Rodney?" Teyla smoothly interrupted, her statement sidetracking Rodney's apparent comeback.

Rodney turned towards her. "Not since the briefing. There's nothing there except a gate address and a note that the gate is in orbit. No indication as to why though."

John shook his head. "Doesn't have to be a reason why. We've seen a lot of orbital gates."

"Maybe the Wraith did it," Ronon offered quietly.

"Oh, that's comforting," Rodney answered.

"McKay," John interrupted, "just dial."

"Right." Rodney's hands flew over the DHD as John cued the hangar bay doors to open, before he checked his console. "Wormhole established."

John slowly pushed the jumper into a descent and entered the Gate room. He clicked on communications. "Control, this is Jumper Four. Ready to depart."

"You're cleared, Jumper Four," Woolsey answered. "Check-in set for four hours. Please be punctual."

John arched a brow at Woolsey's statement. "Aren't we always?"

"Would you like me to answer that, Colonel?" Woolsey almost sounded amused.

John frowned. "Not really. Jumper Four, out." Refocusing his attention on the wormhole, he throttled the jumper forward and through the gate.

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As soon as they emerged from the Stargate and glided into orbit, John looked over at where Rodney was busy adjusting controls. John sent a quick mental command to the Jumper and, obediently, the HUD popped up. "What's the scoop, Rodney?"

"Hmm." Rodney's reply was non-committal in the extreme.

John frowned. He had a strong feeling McKay was still ticked at him Great. One of those missions… "Think you can be a little more descriptive?"

"When I have something worth describing, yes." Rodney muttered. He looked up at the HUD. "Not much unusual about the planet. Breathable atmosphere, no measurable toxins or anything contra-indicative to life."

John nodded and looked out the Jumper windshield at the planet. "Good start, but…?"

"What?" Rodney glanced over at him.

John returned the gaze. "You sound like there's something more."

Rodney looked back down at the panel. "Well, yes. I'm getting some weird energy readings. Not sure what to make of them."

"Weird as in dangerous?" John asked, his attention returning to the HUD.

"Weird as in I have no idea," Rodney replied shortly.

"It would probably not be advisable to land until we know more," Teyla offered.

John nodded. "For sure. McKay?"

"What?" Rodney snapped.

"Is it dangerous?" John prompted. He cocked a brow as the annoyance in Rodney's expression only intensified.

"I don't know! Give me a minute, okay?" His hands flew over the console. "I can't just pull this information out of thin air… huh."

"What?" Ronon beat John to the reply.

"The energy. It's an odd magnetic field in the planet's atmosphere. Doesn't seem harmful though… and I'm getting sporadic energy readings from the surface."

John's gaze narrowed at the HUD display. "Inhabitants? Ancient tech?"

"Not sure," Rodney shrugged slightly. "I'm detecting a lot of life signs on the planet, but it's hard to tell if they're human or animals. I don't see any indications of technology or other signs of human life. Could be unpopulated."

John pondered the situation. McKay seemed relatively confident that the odd energy in the atmosphere wasn't harmful. At the same time, if he'd known exactly what it was, he would've said so. That small, unknown element could be dangerous. Mentally, John weighed the danger against the promise of the sporadic readings from the surface. "Is it worth checking out?"

Rodney sighed. "Hard to say. I don't really want to dismiss it off the cuff. But without any more information, I don't know if it's worth looking into or not."

This time, it was John's turn to sigh. "Great."

"It is possible," Teyla offered, "that the Ancients hid something here because of the unusual properties in the planet's atmosphere. If it is indeed uninhabited, it is unlikely the Wraith would venture here."

John shrugged. "Maybe."

"That's a possibility," Rodney admitted. "But the only way we'll know is if we go look."

John stared at the HUD a moment longer. "You're sure the magnetic energy field isn't harmful?"

Rodney squinted at his console. "Positive. It won't hurt us."

John nodded and began to pilot the jumper towards the planet. "All right, let's take a look." As he pushed the Jumper into a controlled descent, he felt a slight shudder pass through the hull. He looked at Rodney expectantly.

Rodney returned his look for a moment and scanned the controls. "Nothing out of the ordinary." He shrugged. "You're in the green."

"So what was that?" Ronon sounded unconvinced by Rodney's reassurance.

"Not sure," John answered, "but she's still…," his voice trailed off as he suddenly had to struggle to keep the controls steady. "Uh-oh. Got a problem here…."

Rodney's hands flew over the controls. "What the hell…?"

"What is happening?" Teyla asked.

John pulled hard on the controls, but got little response, and when he reached out with his mind, his connection with the Jumper had disappeared, replaced by cold nothingness. "This is not good." He shook his head. "We're losing power. I'm getting us out of here while we still can." He pulled back on the controls again, and this time was rewarded with nothing. "Damn it!"

"You're not pulling up." Rodney's words were short and distracted.

"I noticed, thanks," John snapped.

"McKay what the hell is going on?" Ronon demanded.

"I don't know!" Rodney admitted frantically. "It's that strange magnetic energy: it's affecting the jumper's power systems. I can't find a way to compensate."

"I thought you said it wouldn't hurt us!" Ronon half stood from his chair.

"I said us, not the jumper! There was no way I could've known it'd have this effect!" Rodney's hands moved in a flurry over the controls. "Maybe I can compensate…."

John's grip on the controls turned white knuckled as misty clouds whisked by the jumper's windshield. "Passing into the troposphere," he warned. "We don't have enough power to break the planet's pull, not now, but I might be able to soften the landing. Hang on."

"We're going to crash?" Rodney braced his hands on the console.

"Yes, Rodney, we're going to crash!" John shot back as he pulled hard on the controls and reached out with his mind, looking… seeking any mental link with the failing ship. Come on, baby, listen to me…. From somewhere, he sensed a glimmer of a connection and he latched onto it. Easy… slow down… do this softly. Come on, girl, nice and easy…. Through the connection, he felt the Jumper respond, slowing considerably, although the ground still rushed towards them at an alarming rate. "Hang on!" John quickly reached out and switched all remaining power to the inertial dampeners, but it wasn't enough to blunt the crash completely. Branches whipped against the jumper's frame as they plowed through the trees. As his body was thrown forward and into the console, one errant thought ran through his head.

Woolsey was right.

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A groan escaped John as he slowly pushed himself up from the console. His head throbbed and he blinked hard, trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind. Sitting up, he moved gingerly and was, relieved to find that nothing seemed to be broken. A miracle, considering the half-assed landing he'd barely managed. Great….

He looked to his right, where Rodney was slowly sitting up. "McKay? You all right?"

Rodney reached up, dabbing some blood off his forehead. "I'm bleeding."

John nodded. "It's a cut. Are you okay?" he repeated.

Rodney nodded slightly. "Think so."

John turned his chair to see Teyla lying on the floor. As he slid to one knee next to her, she rolled onto her back. "Teyla?"

She pushed herself up on her elbows. "I am all right," she said quietly as she slowly sat up.

John eyed her for a moment, before he decided he could take her at her word. Looking past her, he watched Ronon get to his knees. "Chewie?"

Ronon waved away his concern as he sat back on his haunches. "Fine."

"Oh, this is bad. Very, very bad," Rodney lamented.

John eased back into his seat, trying to ignore the protesting muscles in his body and the pounding in his head. "What…? Oh, hell." His gaze fixed on a large branch, its thick end stuck at about a forty-five degree angle through the Jumper windshield. Spider-web cracks criss-crossed the glass in front of the co-pilot's chair and extended nearly halfway across the windshield. Random droplets of water were hitting the dash as rain from the downpour outside managed to work its way through the cracks. "That's what I call a hard wood," he commented quietly.

"Do you realize how unbelievably screwed we are?" Rodney sounded on the edge of panic. "Even if we could get this thing off the ground again," he looked around, "and I do mean if, we can't reach an orbital gate with a shattered windshield!"

"Atlantis will come for us when we do not check in," Teyla reasoned quietly.

"And they'll meet the same fate we did in the planet's atmosphere!" Rodney shot back.

John sighed. It was bad enough they had crashed, without another team suffering the same fate. He drew in a deep breath. "First things first. Power."

"Are you kidding me?" Rodney groused as he slapped the console in a less-than-gentle fashion. "We're dead in the water here." He shook water off his hands and took a moment to glare outside at the torrential rain. "Just once, I'd love to crash land on a tropical island with sun and seventy five degrees."

Ignoring his complaining, John stood. "See if you can cobble together some power; enough for communications and, hopefully, sensors so we can warn the rescue team off when they come through. Once they know, they can work on a way to compensate for this… whatever energy, and find a way to get us out of here."

"Communications and sensors?" Rodney's stare was an odd cross between incredulous and thoroughly annoyed. "Why don't I just power the DHD and levitate us into orbit while I'm at it?"

"McKay!" John snapped, and sent a warning glare his way.

Rodney glared back at him for a moment before he looked away and fished around on the floor beside his chair, presumably for his tablet. "Right," he muttered.

"Sheppard." Ronon's quiet voice grabbed his attention and John looked back towards where Ronon was now standing in the rear compartment of the Jumper.

His frown deepened. Where there should've been a tight seal between the back hatch and the body of the jumper, he saw daylight… lots of daylight. "Great. Looks like the whole frame was bent from the impact."

"I can't believe we're all in one piece." Rodney dabbed his forehead and blanched at the blood on his fingers. "More or less…."

"Kicked all the power into the inertial dampeners right before we crashed," John commented absently. "Good thing."

"It would have been much worse had you not, John." Teyla nodded and smiled slightly in approval.

"All right." John reached down next to his seat and grabbed his P-90. "Without sensors, we don't know what's out there. That doesn't sit right with me. McKay, keep working on the power." Rodney gave him an absent nod. "Ronon, Teyla, let's check the perimeter and see what we landed in." He paused for a moment and looked up at the top of the jumper as he listened to the loud tapping of the rain. He didn't relish the idea of getting cold and wet, but didn't see where they had any choice. "Great," he muttered. "Next time we visit your island, Rodney."

"How about next time we just don't crash?" Rodney shot back, without looking up from his data pad.

John shrugged silently. Standing up, he walked to the back of the jumper. The hole between the back hatch and the body was wide enough for him to squeeze through, though he suspected it would be a tight fit for Ronon. While they could manually release the hatch, without power they didn't have many options for closing it. Without knowing what was out there, John was pretty sure he'd rather have a small hole, than a large one. Turning sideways, he slipped through, stepped down onto the ground, and then raised his P-90 and looked around. The constant rainfall echoed in the woods around him and he immediately felt his head and clothes getting damp. After a moment, he walked a few steps to the side, making room for Teyla and Ronon to follow him.

His feet sank slightly in the soft forest floor. Like a lot of other planets, the woods here reminded him of forests on Earth - that is, until some strange bird made some strange noise and pulled him back to reality. It didn't take this planet long to remind him. He looked up, squinting against the raindrops, and watched a small bird fly overhead, its high-pitched call a cross between a chirp and a chilling wail.

"Aroyut," Teyla commented from behind him. She motioned upwards with her head as John looked at her questioningly. "The bird. It is called an Aroyut. There are many people in this galaxy that see them as a dark omen of things to come."

John frowned. "Not what I needed to hear."

"It is only a superstition," Teyla reassured him.

John nodded. "Right." He looked back at Ronon. "Go left, Teyla and I will go right. We'll meet at the front of the jumper."

Ronon nodded silently and raised his gun before slowly walking along the side of the craft.

John watched him for a moment, and then continued his own path around the back of the jumper, Teyla right behind him. "Stay sharp."

"Yes." Teyla's quiet reply was, as always, reassuring.

John scanned the underbrush as he slowly walked along, extending his senses, looking… feeling for anything close by. He would never put his instincts for stuff like this up next to Teyla's or Ronon's, but he still liked to think his senses were pretty sharp, and he didn't like what his gut was telling him. Nothing around them showed any sign of being dangerous: it just looked like another forest. Still, he couldn't shake the foreboding inside him. Something wasn't right, wasn't… safe, and it had nothing to do with the obvious situation they were in with the jumper. There was something else, his instincts insisted, even if his rational mind didn't agree.

The sound of the rain echoing through the trees didn't help much either. With dark amusement, John reflected that an elephant could come charging their way and he'd never hear it coming. He quirked a brow. The rain probably wasn't that loud, but loud enough to mask a lot of other, potentially dangerous sounds.

Rounding the front of the Jumper, they met up with Ronon, who shook his head. "Nothing," he affirmed. "Don't like it though."

John's gaze narrowed. "Don't like what?"

"This place," Ronon answered. "There's something about it." He sniffed. "I don't like it."

John grimaced. "Glad I'm not the only one."

"I sense nothing," Teyla added, "and yet…." she shook her head.

Suddenly, Ronon took a giant step forward, swiftly drawing and powering his gun as he aimed at something over John's shoulder.

John's reaction was instantaneous. He spun, bringing his P-90 to bear and next to him, Teyla did the same. John looked around, searching for a target. "What?" he whispered. When no answer came, he spared a glance at his Satedan friend. "What?" he repeated, more insistently.

"Thought I saw something…." Ronon's voice trailed off as his eyes narrowed. "Something moved."

"I do not see anything," Teyla murmured.

"Maybe it was just branches moving in the rain," John suggested. His own answer and Ronon's unconvinced look didn't comfort him one bit.

"What the hell is going on out there?"

John looked around, taking a moment to identify the muffled voice as McKay yelling through the broken windshield. He raised his hand, waving Rodney into what he hoped was silence, but he wasn't surprised when his radio crackled to life. "What is it?" Rodney demanded.

John quickly tapped his headset. "Stand by and shut up," he ordered, before again glancing at his Satedan team mate. "Ronon?"

Frustrated, Ronon shook his head and lowered his gun. "Nothing."

John also lowered his gun. "Okay, let's…." Suddenly, a weight barreled into his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and propelling him back against the side of the jumper. His P-90 flew from his grip, and he instinctively raised his hands, his fingers curling around what had to be the neck of something, although all he could see were teeth and fangs.

"Sheppard!"

John could hear Ronon's shout and the creature's screech… before it vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. John staggered, but still managed to pull his sidearm. He raised the gun, searching for something to shoot at. "What the hell?" he panted, his breath coming back to him in heaves. "Where is it?"

"I don't know," Ronon held his gun at eye level and turned in a circle. "It disappeared."

"Well which way did it run?" John insisted.

"It did not," Teyla added. "It… disappeared."

John straightened as what his team mates were trying to tell him finally sank in. "Disappeared? As in 'into thin air?'"

"I do not believe the air is thin," Teyla responded, "but it did just, simply, disappear."

"What the hell is going on out there? And don't you dare tell me to shut up!" Rodney's voice blared over the radio.

John tapped his headset. "Stay sharp, McKay, we're headed back in." Holstering his Beretta, John reached down and retrieved his P-90. Raising it defensively, he slowly edged along the jumper, towards the back. "How'd you get it off me," he whispered in the direction of Ronon.

"Knife." Ronon answered. "One of my better ones."

John arched a humorless eyebrow. "Sorry 'bout that."

Suddenly, a deep snarl grabbed his attention and he spun, just in time to see an animal materialize from nowhere and leap on Ronon, propelling him to the ground.

"Ronon!" John immediately opened fire, the sound of Teyla's weapon joining his an instant later.

The animal - lion was the word that popped into John's head, although it was bigger than anything Earth had - screeched in pain, before leaping off Ronon and again, literally vanishing.

Ronon staggered to his feet and pulled his gun.

John spared him a quick look. "You okay?"

Ronon took one moment to check a bleeding gash on his forearm before nodding.

Briefly scanning the area around them, John turned and once more quickly started towards the back of the jumper, Ronon and Teyla right behind him. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I have never seen creatures such as these," Teyla answered, her voice tense.

John rounded the back of the jumper and stood just outside the opening. He motioned with his head. "Get in." Facing towards the woods, John covered Ronon and Teyla as they entered the jumper, before he ducked inside himself. Once inside, he shook the rain off his head and swiped a hand over his wet face.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Rodney demanded.

"There's something out there," John answered.

"Brilliant!" Rodney snapped, "I deduced that much from the god-awful screeching, thank you! What is it?"

"I don't know." John's voice was equally annoyed. He stood at the opening, gun raised, as he watched for any sign of attack. "Looked like some sort of… big… lion… thing."

"Big lion thing?" Rodney glowered.

John shrugged. "It kept disappearing. And when I say disappear I mean…," he waved his hand, "vanishing! Into thin air."

"Oh, that is so not good," Rodney whispered.

"No, it's not," John agreed. "So what say you get the power restored?"

"Right," Rodney returned his attention to his data pad.

John's gaze never left the opening. "Ronon? You okay?"

"It is not a deep wound, Colonel." Teyla had already pulled out the first aid kit and was finishing wrapping a bandage around Ronon's arm as John glanced in her direction.

"Glad to hear it." John took a deep breath and held his position, watching the rain fall outside the jumper.

"What do we do now?" Ronon asked.

John sighed. "Well, we're sure as hell not going back out there if we can help it. We've got a pretty defensible position here, along with shelter and supplies. We stay put and let McKay fix the jumper."

"No pressure," Rodney quietly interjected.

John ignored him. "Then we can warn the inevitable rescue team, and find a way to get off this rock." He tensed as the sound of a piercing cry echoed through the trees.

"What the hell was that?" Rodney hissed.

"Sounds like our friend," John answered, as he stared over the top of his P-90. He peered through the sheets of rain, looking for an attack.

"You have an odd definition of fr…. Whoa!"

John spun, Rodney's exclamation startling him. His eyes widened as their 'friend' leapt straight at the damaged windshield. The Jumper shook under the impact, and a portion of the windshield buckled slightly with an ominous crack. Getting his first good look at their attacker, John stared for a moment. 'Lion' wasn't far from the truth though, from what he'd seen, lions on Earth had nothing on these guys. Large, jagged teeth protruded from its mouth, and its claws had to be at least four inches long.

Rodney scrambled backwards out of his chair as the 'lion' managed to stick one paw through a small hole in the windshield just above the tree branch and swipe at him. On hands and knees, Rodney crawled towards Ronon and Teyla, making sure he stayed out of their line of fire.

"Hold your fire!" John ran up to stand shoulder to shoulder with his Pegasus teammates, and raised his hand in Ronon's direction. "Ronon! You'll blast a ten foot hole in the windshield with that thing!" Switching his gun to single shot mode, John carefully aimed several shots at the exposed paw.

The animal's snarls turned pained. It abruptly withdrew its now bloodied paw and once again disappeared.

"Tenacious, aren't they?" John muttered as he lowered his gun.

"They?" Rodney squeaked.

"Has to be more than one. We put several shots into one outside but that one," John waved at the windshield, "didn't have any wounds… not that I could see." He looked down, his gaze following Rodney as the scientist stood. "You okay?"

Rodney's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Compared to what?"

John cocked his head and stared, deadpan, at Rodney who sighed.

"Right. Yes. Fine." He pointed back towards the co-pilots seat. "Power." Tentatively, Rodney walked back up to the cockpit. "You don't think that thing…?"

Ronon lowered his gun and followed Rodney. "Got your back, McKay. Just fix the jumper."

John took a deep breath as a chill ran through him. "We need to get warm."

Ronon took a moment to look back. "I'm good."

John quirked a cynical eyebrow. "You're wearing waterproof leather." His gaze fell to Teyla. "There should be a case up there," he nodded toward the overhead cargo netting, "with cold weather gear, including coats. Find it and get one."

Teyla nodded and started rummaging through the supply cases.

John returned to his post, watching the opening. He lowered his P-90, but kept a firm and ready hold on it as he fixed his gaze outside. His jaw tightened. Big lion things that leap outta nowhere at you? Was there no end to the surprises Pegasus would throw at them, even after nearly five years? John's gaze narrowed as he continued to stay on alert. After a few moments, he heard Teyla walk up next to him, but he still didn't avert his eyes until her soft voice compelled him to.

"John?"

He looked over at her, and the jacket she held out to him. He looked back at the opening for a moment, before reaching up and unclipping his P-90 from his vest. He took the coat and let Teyla step in front of him, her own gun raised as she covered the entrance.

John set his P-90 on the bench, shrugged out of his TAC vest and peeled off his wet jacket. He could feel the goose bumps on his arms as he quickly donned the dry, black parka. He zipped it to his neck and put his vest back on. The jacket was bulkier than he was used to, but he was still satisfied with his range of motion, and warmth was already starting to spread through his body. Fair trade off…. He spread his wet coat out next to Teyla's, hoping it would dry, before he grabbed his gun and walked back to where she guarded the entrance.

"Do you think Rodney can fix the power?" she asked quietly.

John shrugged and peered outside, his gun held in a relaxed but ready grip. "Hope so. If he doesn't, then whoever Woolsey sends after us will crash too." John's lips tightened slightly as he thought of another team stranded like they were. "Damn it," he muttered.

"It is not your fault, John," Teyla answered.

John looked over and flashed a slight half smile at her. "I know, but I don't like it any better. If they crash, then they're stuck here and we still will be too. Atlantis will have no idea what happened to either one of us." Though he returned his attention to watching the hole, he saw Teyla's nod from the corner of his eye.

"Do you think Woolsey will presume we are all dead at that point?"

John drew in a deep breath and nodded. "It'd be a reasonable assumption."

"Elizabeth would not have. Neither would Colonel Carter," Teyla answered.

"Woolsey's cut from a different cloth." John gently rebuked the implied criticism in her words. "But…." He pursed his lips slightly.

"What?"

"I don't know." John's gaze narrowed slightly. "He's… not what I expected. I mean in a lot of ways he is, but he isn't…." He shook his head. "I'm not so sure he'd write us off so quickly."

"That would be good," Teyla's smile was small.

"Yeah," John returned her smile. He looked back outside while he thought about Woolsey. He'd been dubious, to say the least, in the beginning. But right from the get go, Woolsey, while being a tight ass about protocol, had bent the rules when the situation warranted it… and bent them right, in John's opinion. He thought about all the times in the past when he'd wanted nothing more than to deck Woolsey for being the uncompromising bureaucrat that he was. Yet, forced to fill the shoes left behind first by Elizabeth and then by Carter, Woolsey had shown a surprising ability to break away from protocol when he had to.

Coming back to the present, John looked over his shoulder and past Teyla. "McKay?"

"You're timing is impeccable," Rodney answered without looking up. "I was just about to try a partial power up… at least enough to maybe bring sensors online."

"What about communications?" John asked.

This time, Rodney did turn around to look at him, and his expression was anything but pleasant. "Do you realize what I had to go through just to get this far?" he snapped.

John just stared back. "So that's a no?"

Rodney glared. "That's a 'not yet.'" He swiveled around in his chair. "We can't use the HUD," he waved his hand absently at the damaged windshield, "for obvious reasons, but I can get some readings on the console… providing this works."

John nodded his head towards the entrance. "Teyla, keep an eye out." He walked around her and up behind Rodney's chair, looking down at the console just in time to see it light up. He smiled slightly. "Good job, Rodney."

"Hmm," Rodney responded absently. "Still tracking our mysterious energy signature, but the reading is stronger from here. It's a low-level power source, probably something on standby. Definitely Ancient."

"How far away?" John leaned on the back of Rodney's chair.

"About two miles north of here," Rodney tapped a couple keys. "There's animal life all over the place," he added, "but no way of telling which ones are our lion… friends.…"

"Might be a group of them around," Ronon pointed out.

John nodded. "Lions on Earth roam in prides. Not saying these things are the same, but…." He shrugged.

"Great," Rodney muttered. "As if one wasn't…." His statement was cut off as sparks leaped from the console. His hands in contact with the controls, Rodney stiffened, before he was flung backwards, the stout chair the only thing keeping him from being propelled across the jumper. The console went dark, and the slight background hum of power disappeared.

"McKay!" John caught Rodney as he slumped sideways, and pushed him up straight in the chair, before kneeling in front of him. He stared at Rodney's closed eyes, reassured by the scientist's even breathing. "Rodney?" He put a hand on Rodney's shoulder and squeezed, shaking his head slightly at the lack of response. "He's unconscious."

"Is he all right?" Teyla called from the back of the jumper.

"I'd feel better if he was awake and bitching," John answered. He took a moment to glance behind him at Ronon, who was leaning over his shoulder, before looking back at Rodney. "McKay?" He shook Rodney's shoulder slightly, and was rewarded with a quiet moan. "Come on, Rodney, wake up."

Rodney opened his eyes, and then blinked them hard and shook his head as if to clear it. He stared at John.

"You okay?" John asked.

Slowly, Rodney pushed himself up straighter in the chair and nodded.

John stared at him for another moment, before grabbing one of his hands. "You're not burned, are you?"

"No." Rodney pulled his hand away. "Let go, will you?" He sat forward in his chair, his expression more lucid.

John took a deep breath and looked over at the dark console. "Don't suppose you're going to be able to fix that again?"

"You're kidding, right?" Rodney's voice was slightly gravely. "A surge like that had to destroy the crystals…. God, my hands are tingling…." He held them out in front of him, palms upwards.

"You'd be dead if that had been fully powered," John pointed out.

"Reassuring. Thanks," Rodney muttered. He looked up at Ronon and lifted his arm. "Help me up."

John put a hand on Rodney's chest. "Wait… give yourself a couple minutes, McKay. You're a bit scrambled."

Rodney shook his head. "No. I need to see how screwed we are." He waved his hand at Ronon again.

John looked up at Ronon's questioning expression and nodded once.

Ronon extended his hand and eased Rodney out of the chair and onto his feet, before helping Rodney walk slowly back to the rear compartment. One hand still on Ronon's shoulder for balance, Rodney opened one of the crystal bays. "This is not good," he muttered. "Sometimes I hate it when I'm right."

John looked back at him. "Fried?"

"Completely," Rodney answered.

John stood and stared down at the charred console, before sighing loudly. "You're sure you can't fix it again?" he asked, knowing deep down what the answer would be.

"No! And before you say anything, I really do mean no. It's not possible." Though still weak, Rodney's voice was back to its usual snappy self. "I need parts to even consider fixing any of this."

John listened to the rat-tat of rain, and felt the stiffness in his back from being thrown against the Jumper by whatever it was outside that hunted them. Two miles… He didn't like the direction his thoughts were going, not for a second, but he couldn't see an alternative. Woolsey would send another jumper when his team missed their scheduled call-in; without at least communications to warn the rescue team off, they'd suffer the same fate, or worse.

John tore his gaze from the console and watched Rodney poke at a couple crystals. He'd received a hell of a shock, and still looked unsteady on his feet. And Rodney was a slow mover in the best of conditions….

John shook his head. In spite of possibly needing that egghead of McKay's, he couldn't justify dragging him on a dangerous two-mile hike. He pursed his lips and nodded once. "Okay. McKay, I know it's impossible, but try to find some power somewhere. Ronon stay with him."

"What part of impossible are you not getting here?" Rodney groused, but he continued to poke at the crystals. He reached past the first bay and opened another one.

"Where are you going?" Ronon asked, his gaze narrowing in suspicion.

"To see if the Ancients left anything behind that we can use. If there's an energy signal, then there has to be some sort of power. Maybe even communications to warn off the rescue team."

"Are you crazy? You can't go out there!" Rodney turned too quickly, and was forced to grab onto Ronon for support.

John stared hard at Rodney. "Give me an alternative," he answered evenly.

Rodney returned his gaze for a moment, before he sighed. "Right." He took a deep breath. "But I should be going with you."

"No," John answered succinctly.

"You need me to figure out what you're looking at," Rodney insisted.

John looked pointedly at the hand Rodney had on Ronon's shoulder, before meeting gazes with the scientist again. "You're not up to the hike, McKay."

Realization dawned on Rodney's face and he looked away, nodding quietly. After a moment, he gazed up at the crystal trays. "Maybe I can patch in some sort of external power source like the defibrillator…."

John looked down at his watch. "Our check-in is in two hours. Once we miss it, Woolsey will send a team." Reaching over the pilot's seat, he grabbed a life-signs detector. He punched a few keys, zeroing it in on the energy source, before shoving it inside his vest. "Hopefully we can at least get communications running here, or at that base, and be able to warn them off." He grabbed his P-90. "Teyla, you're with me." As he walked by Ronon, the big man grabbed his arm.

"Those things are still out there. Should go with you." Ronon's voice was quiet but resolute.

John shook his head. "And leave McKay here alone?" he pointed out quietly. "I need you to watch out for him, Big Guy."

Ronon squinted for a second, before he nodded. "Yeah." He let go of John's arm.

"One other problem, as if we don't have enough all ready," Rodney interjected.

John looked around Ronon and met Rodney's gaze. "What?"

"The same disturbance that brought down the jumper is interfering with radio communications. Without the jumper's communications systems and power to boost the signal, we're not going to be able to communicate once you leave. We'll be cut off from each other."

John sighed. "This just gets better and better," he groused. He took a deep breath. "With any luck, we'll find something at the base that can help."

He walked around Ronon, reached up into one of the overhead cargo nets and grabbed an emergency backpack. Opening it, he stuffed several extra P-90 clips in with the clothes, med kit and provisions it already contained, and handed the pack to Ronon so the Satedan could clip it to the back of his vest. The he walked up next to Teyla and looked outside at the rain. He sighed. "I was just starting to warm up," he griped quietly.

Teyla's smile was thin. "As was I."

"Be careful."

Ronon's quiet advice made John turn. He nodded once, curtly. "You too." Taking a deep breath, he squeezed through the opening and out into the rain.

----------------------------

For not the first time since they'd started this hike, John wished the rain would let up, just a little. The coat he wore was waterproof so, even though his hands and head were cold, he was still functioning okay and the wet was merely annoying. It was the sound of the rain that concerned him. Most of the woods around him were made up of deciduous trees, and the heavy rain on the leaves echoed around him. It wasn't just that it masked other sounds; it was like white noise: it lulled his mind and, after a while, he had to fight to still listen alertly.

He reached inside his TAC vest and pulled out the life-signs detector he'd taken. He veered slightly to his right, correcting their course through the trees so that he and Teyla were headed straight for the energy source once again, and slid the detector back inside his vest. He staggered abruptly as Teyla's hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks. Immediately, he lifted his gun. "What?"

"Something is out there," she whispered.

"Where?" He kept his own voice low.

"I do not know." Teyla sounded a little frustrated. "But the woods have suddenly grown quiet."

John quirked his brows. The constant static of rain on the trees sounded the same to him, so how she could hear anything else was beyond him, but her instincts, born of generations of hunters, had saved their butts before and John wasn't about to dismiss them. He slowly turned right, his gaze fixed over the top of his gun, as Teyla turned left. Stopping with his back against hers, he could feel her take a deep breath.

He felt her shake her head. "It is gone. I am sorry. I truly believed something was out there."

"Don't apologize." John relaxed slightly and lowered his gun, though he still kept a watchful eye. "With those damned… things popping in and out of nowhere, caution is a good thing."

"Yes," Teyla nodded, "but it does not help if we are… what is the saying…? Jumping at our own shadows?"

John chortled. "True. But I still want you to keep that Spidey Sense of yours on point." He smiled a little, imagining the slightly bemused expression that would have settled on her face. After four and a half years, the running joke he had about her almost supernatural instincts never got old.

"I will do so," she responded quietly.

Taking a deep breath, John once again started through the trees, Teyla right behind him.

---------------------------

"This is not going to work."

From his place guarding the hole in the Jumper's side, Ronon looked back at McKay as he dropped his pad on one of the benches in exasperation.

"What?" Ronon arched an eyebrow.

"This!" Rodney waved at the opened crystal trays, before dropping his hand and smacking the cover of the portable defibrillator. "There's no way I can make this interface work. The defibrillator has a capacitor, but it doesn't hold nearly enough juice for even basic jumper systems… and the crystals on the jumper that could hold enough power are fried. So even if I could send several bursts of power from the defibrillator to the jumper, there's no way of storing that power until it reaches a point where it'll be enough to do any good."

Ronon shook his head. He'd only understood about half of what McKay had said. It wasn't that he was a stupid man – Ronon liked to think he had at least average intelligence, and most of the time he could follow the Earth scientists' explanations – but frustration had McKay talking at gate travel speed. "Come on, McKay," he urged, "you can do this."

Rodney glared at him. "No, I can't," he answered shortly. "It's…." He was interrupted by a high-pitched keening that echoed around them. "Oh God…," he whispered.

Ronon raised his gun at the opening to the rear and waved one hand at Rodney. "Stay right there." Taking a deep breath, he watched intently, but still missed the attack when it came. The jumper shook and over his right shoulder, he heard the crash of breaking glass as the windshield buckled under an assault from the front.

Ronon whirled around and fixed his sights on a beast crouched just in front of the DHD. The animal shook its head once and snarled.

Ronon took two big steps up next to Rodney and fired, but his shot was a moment too late as the beast leapt at them.

---------------------------------------

John shook water out of his eyes and kept walking. The trees were thinning, while the loud thrumming of rain had lessened to a light pitter-patter on the ground. Stepping out of the dense vegetation at last, he found the grass around his feet was thick while the sky above, though grey, had grown brighter. To his right, the land dipped down toward a large pond, and John used it to guide their path.

On one hand, he was glad for the open land, it made it a lot easier to see if anything was stalking them, but on the other hand he felt uncomfortably exposed. There was no cover here: if they were attacked…. Almost as if his thoughts were prophetic, he was stopped in his track by a hail from Teyla.

"Colonel."

"Teyla?" He did a quick one eighty and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, but didn't have to wait for her response. From behind, in the trees somewhere, a loud screeching call answered him. "Aw, hell." He raised his gun and swallowed, staring over the top of his P-90. "Think they're after us?" he asked, even though he had a strong suspicion he knew what the answer would be.

"Yes," Teyla answered quietly.

John flipped the safety off on his gun. "Then they're in for a rude awakening. You take point, I'll stay on the six, and let's keep moving. Slowly, but keep moving."

Teyla stepped around him and started walking along the pond bank, with John backtracking behind her. They'd only gone a dozen steps or so, when Teyla stopped abruptly.

"What?" John asked, not turning his head.

"There is more than one," Teyla murmured.

"Yeah," John's gaze narrowed slightly at her obvious statement, before dread crept over him. "They're not…?" His voice trailed off, and Teyla picked up his thought, though he really wished she hadn't.

"We are surrounded," she confirmed with a note of finality.

"Damn it," John whispered. "Can you see the ones in front of you?"

"No," Teyla answered, "but they are there."

John backed up a half step and pressed his backpack against her back. "Looks like we're fighting our way out of this one," he quipped darkly.

"Yes." He felt Teyla's answering nod.

-------------------------------------

The weight of the beast slamming into him propelled Ronon backwards. His gun flew from his grip as his free hand locked onto the throat of the attacking animal. Somewhere, he heard Rodney's shout.

"Ronon!"

Devoid of his gun, Ronon brought his other hand up to join the first and pushed on the throat of the beast. His nose wrinkled at the carrion breath on his face as he tried to get his legs between him and the animal. It was his only chance to push it off before his arms weakened and the animal took him. He held tight and forced his legs upwards until suddenly, the beast went limp and fell against him, a dead weight on his chest. Wasting no time, he pushed it off him and rolled towards where his gun must've fallen, but he didn't see it.

It was only then that he realized the beast was motionless on the floor, a blackened wound on its side smoking from singed hair. Ronon looked up, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Rodney. His big gun looked almost comical in the scientist's hand, but there was nothing funny about Rodney's shot; it had saved Ronon's life.

After a moment, Rodney lowered the gun and looked over at Ronon. "You okay?"

Ronon stood and walked the couple steps over to Rodney before taking back his gun. "Yeah." One side of his mouth turned up slightly. "Thanks."

"Yes, well," Rodney scratched his head, "I could've used mine, but yours is, you know, better." Abruptly, his eyes widened at something over Ronon's shoulder. "Holy sh…!"

Ronon spun and immediately fired on another beast that had appeared just inside the Jumper, this time coming in through the hole in the twisted frame. His shot dropped the animal in its tracks.

"Jesus," Rodney whispered, and stepped further into the corner behind Ronon. "They're all over the damned place!"

Ronon took a couple deep breaths as his gaze flicked back and forth between the shattered windshield and the hole in the jumper's frame. There was no way he could cover both fronts equally and if they were attacked at the same time from different directions….

Ronon looked back at Rodney. "How do we close the door between us and the cockpit?"

Rodney stepped around Ronon and across the rear compartment. "We don't have any power, but there is a manual release for the door." He knelt and pulled off a panel under one of the bench seats to reveal a lever. "Let me…." He pulled the lever once and looked up expectantly, but the door didn't budge. "Oh no…." He pumped the lever two more times but still the door didn't move.

"What?" Busy watching both fronts, Ronon didn't spare him a glance.

"It's stuck! Probably from the crash." Rodney stood. "When we bent the frame enough to cause that," he pointed back at the hole, "it must have jammed the door as well."

Ronon gritted his teeth as he assessed the situation. After a moment, only one option presented itself. "We can't stay here."

"What? Are you, nuts?" Rodney shot back. "We can't go out there!"

"I can't defend both entries at the same time," Ronon answered, his own frustration creeping into his voice. Sure, McKay had a gun and could use it, but these things were strong… damned strong. If more than two attacked at once, they'd be trapped in the Jumper with no escape. What had been a defensible position was now, with the windshield out, a potential coffin.

"Sure you can," Rodney insisted, "you're… well… Ronon!"

Ronon arched an annoyed brow at Rodney. "And what if more than two attack at once? Where are we going to go?"

Rodney looked around at the solid walls surrounding them and swallowed hard. "Good point," he muttered. "Maybe we can catch up with Sheppard and Teyla?"

Ronon nodded. "Maybe."

"Right," Rodney sighed. He fished around in the cold weather gear pack and grabbed a thick parka. He pulled off his TAC vest and stuck his arms into the parka. "I'll probably get hypothermia and pneumonia from this venture," he grumbled as he zipped up first the coat, then his TAC vest over the top of it. Just as John had done, he grabbed a life-signs detector. "Let me calibrate this to hone in on the energy reading. We can't distinguish Teyla and Sheppard's life form readings from the rest around here, but wherever that energy signature is, they're likely to be." Rodney finished his adjustments and stuffed the detector into his vest.

Ronon had pointedly ignored Rodney's rambling. All he needed to do was get into the woods. Rain or no rain, he knew he could track their friends, no problem.

Still holding his gun, he pulled down another case with his free hand and flicked it open. Grabbing several nine mil clips, he held them out to Rodney. "Here."

Rodney took them. "This sucks," he commented as he stuffed the clips into various pockets in his vest.

Ronon's grunt perfectly expressed the cynicism he was feeling. He grabbed a spare nine mil for himself, reached behind his back and tucked it into the waistband of his pants. When he was sure Rodney was ready, he ducked out through the hole and out into the rain.

-----------------------------------------

John's instincts and reflexes were the only thing that saved him as he opened fire on a beast that appeared from nowhere, the shots going home practically before he could think about them. Behind him, he heard the rattle of Teyla's gun, but he focused on the targets in front of him that randomly appeared and disappeared. With swift expertise, he pulled the empty cartridge free of his gun and expertly loaded another one with hardly a break before he fired on the next target.

Another beast appeared to his right, but before he could fire, he felt Teyla lurch against him, and abruptly the comforting weight of her back against his pack disappeared.

John spun, his eyes widening as he watched Teyla and a beast slide down the short hill and into the pond. Raising his gun, John never got a chance to fire, as the beast that had been to his right slammed into him, propelling him to the ground.

John lost his P-90. With one hand on the beast's throat, he fumbled for his Beretta. He tightened his hold on the grip and forced the gun between himself and the snarling animal. Without hesitation, he emptied the clip into his attacker.

The beast went limp. Pushing it aside, John rolled and simultaneously grabbed his P-90, and then used his momentum to come to his feet. Leaping over the dead animal, he looked for Teyla; what he saw turned his blood cold.

In the shallows of the water, Teyla's head broke the surface briefly before the weight of the animal on top of her pushed her back under. Suddenly, all he could see were her arms, pushing desperately against the neck of the beast that had her pinned. John opened fire just as her elbows buckled.

John continued firing, his shots turning the side of the beast red, before he slid down the soft decline and sloshed into the knee deep water. "Teyla!" Pushing the animal aside, he plunged his free hand into the water, grabbed onto the front of her TAC vest and hauled her to the surface. He spared only a moment to look down at her closed eyes before he dragged her out of the water.

He knelt next to her and pressed his fingers into her throat, nodding in relief at the rapid pulse. He leaned over, his ear close to her nose as he watched her chest for any sign of breathing, but she was deathly still. "Damn it!" He dropped his P-90, tilted her head back and gave her two quick breaths before staring intently at her for a moment. He shook his head in frustration and gave her two more breaths. Teyla! Don't do this! He rechecked her pulse and then repeated the cycle, determined to breathe life back into her. After all they'd gone through, everything they'd survived in the last four and a half years, he wasn't going to lose her to some freakish wild animal. He'd be damned if he was going to let Torren grow up without a mother! "Teyla!" he snapped quickly between breaths.

Suddenly, Teyla's body heaved and she coughed violently. John rolled her on her side as she drew in a loud, hoarse, breath, before falling into another coughing fit.

"Easy," John held her steady. "Teyla? You with me?"

She drew in a ragged breath, before nodding weakly. "J-ohn…?" she managed.

He squeezed her shoulder and helped her roll onto her back again. "Take it easy," he ordered. "You're okay." Relief swarmed through him when she opened her eyes and met his gaze. He smiled. "Hey." His voice was soft, in spite of his own rapid breathing.

"Beasts…?" Teyla tensed.

"Okay for now," John reassured her, even if he wasn't a hundred percent positive that was true. Though he took the fact that they weren't being attacked at the moment as a good sign.

Slowly, Teyla pushed herself up on her elbows before she stiffened and inhaled sharply, her eyes squeezing shut.

"Whoa," John put a restraining hand on her chest. "Easy, there. What is it?"

Teeth clenched, Teyla managed a response. "Right knee."

John scooted to his left and down next to her knee. Carefully, he wrapped his hands around it and pushed gently, feeling the swelling that was already beginning. He froze as Teyla hissed in pain again, and then let her leg go.

Standing, he trotted a half dozen steps away to retrieve her P-90 before returning to her side. Setting the weapon beside her, he held out a hand. "Let me help you sit up. Then I'll take a look at that knee while you watch for more of our… friends."

Teyla nodded, grabbing his wrist as his fingers circled around hers. Slowly, he pulled her to a sitting position. Steadying her knee, he helped her turn away from the water so she could watch the empty land around them.

Satisfied Teyla was watching his back, John set his P-90 close by and reached to unclip the backpack from his TAC vest. Rummaging around inside, he found the first aid kit and fished out a stout ace bandage. "We can't stay here," he commented as he ripped open the packing, "but I want to wrap your knee and immobilize it as best as possible." He looked up and met her gaze. "I'll help you walk, but we have to keep moving."

"I will not need help," Teyla answered.

John's gaze narrowed slightly. "I'll be the judge of that." He gave her a firm look before quickly wrapping her knee and securing the bandage with a couple of claw clips. He reached into the kit and grabbed a two-pack of Tylenol. "Here." He held it out to her along with his canteen.

Teyla took the pack, ripped it open and stuck the pills in her mouth, before washing them down with water. She passed the canteen back to John, who had reached inside the pack again, shifted things around and pulled out an extra coat. "Not as warm as these parkas, but its dry." He shrugged out of his TAC vest and parka and put on the spare jacket, before holding his parka out to her. "Here."

"John, no." Teyla shook her head. "I will take the other coat."

"No arguments," John insisted. "You're injured, I'm not. Besides, you're soaking wet. You're going to need it more than me. Now, take it." He shook the coat once for good measure.

Silently, Teyla took it and while John held his P-90 close and kept watch, she switched out of her wet coat and into the dry. John tied the wet parka to the back of the pack and once more secured the pack to his vest. Grabbing his P-90 again, he stood and extended his hand to her. "Nice and slow now."

Teyla nodded, grabbed his hand and shifted her good leg under her.

Carefully, John pulled her to her feet. He held firmly to her arm as she gingerly put weight on her injured leg. A strangled cry escaped her as she staggered, but John held fast, steadying her. He stepped around, hip to hip, and flung her arm over his shoulders. "That settles it." He wrapped his left arm around her waist.

"John…," Teyla started but he cut her off.

"Teyla." He gave her a no-nonsense look and arched a brow at her.

After a moment, Teyla nodded silently.

Without another word, John held tightly to her and they slowly resumed their course.

------------------------

Rodney wasn't sure if the rain starting to let up was a good or a bad thing. On one hand, the echo of rainfall was quieter now and the sounds of the forest were gradually becoming audible. The trade off was that every sound had him on edge wondering if something was going to jump out at him. Why me? Rodney sighed internally. It was hard enough for him to fight off the feeling that he was going to be attacked any second under 'normal' circumstances during off world excursions, but this time… "Sheppard calls it paranoia," he muttered.

Ronon glanced back at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Abruptly, he spun and pulled his gun, a crack in the bushes to his left startling him. He could practically feel Ronon's glare as the big man stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

"There's nothing there." Ronon's voice was confident.

Rodney swallowed, but refused to lower his gun. After all, the creatures did appear from nowhere…. "Are you sure?"

"McKay."

Rodney grimaced at Ronon's quiet, but irritated tone and lowered his gun. "Right. Sorry." He holstered his gun and turned and followed Ronon as the Satedan walked on.

"How far are we from the base?" Ronon threw back over his shoulder.

Rodney pulled out his life-signs detector and tapped a couple keys. "About a mile and a half…." His shoulders sagged. "We've only gone a half mile?" he asked of no one in particular.

Ronon seemed unfazed. "No way to locate Sheppard and Teyla?"

"Not unless I can calibrate this thing to pick up their sub-q transmitters, but I doubt it's capable of that kind of precision."

Ronon glanced up at the trees overhead. "All right, we keep heading for the base."

"Right," Rodney sighed. He followed Ronon in silence for a few minutes before the big man spoke again.

"Sheppard was right, you know."

Rodney's gaze, fixed on Ronon's back, narrowed. "About what?"

"You are paranoid," Ronon replied.

Rodney glared at the Satedan's back. "Very funny."