Come Ashore

Come Ashore

Come Ashore

In retrospect, it only made sense that more than one civilization had been protected by the EM technology similar to what they’d discovered on the planet with all the kids. It also wasn’t all that unreasonable to expect that discovery of such a field would occur when the team was split up, considering how often that happened during their off-world missions. That it had happened during an evacuation of the pitifully small remainder of the planet’s population due to the pressing matter of dangerous solar radiation was, in the grand scheme of things, frighteningly predictable.

The fact that P4B-722’s stargate was situated in space was just icing on the cake. Lemon icing.

The landing hadn’t been too bad, considering the distinct lack of shelter in the surrounding landscape. Rodney had been completely taken by surprise when the jumper started to lose control, but he’d managed to turn the ship toward the ridge of cliffs at the southern perimeter of the desert, landing within fifty meters of the disturbingly familiar energy reading. For her part, Teyla hadn’t objected to his snap decision to steer their rapidly falling ship deeper into the disruptive field, even though he had heard her catch her breath as he’d fought with the unresponsive craft.

There was a heavy silence as Teyla and Rodney looked out of the angled windshield at the spray of dark sand glittering in the first light of sunrise.

“Are you all right?” she asked him, her soft voice echoing in the dim, enclosed space. Rodney realized he was panting for breath, and wondered whether it was from fear at their predicament or excited relief at having landed in one piece.

“Yes. Yes, I’m just--” he traced a circle in the air with one hand, chasing the best explanation for how he felt. “You?” Rodney added belatedly.

“Physically, I am fine, but I am worried about how far we’ve come from the settlement,” she said, standing to lean closer to the thick glass, peering out toward the soft light on the horizon. “I also worry that we do not have time to reach shelter before daybreak.”

“The jumper should be okay for one day at least,” Rodney said, scrambling out of his seat to check the back of the jumper for damage from the rough landing. “Hey, at least we were carrying extra food and water.” He took a moment to rest both hands on top of the stack of emergency supplies that each of the five jumpers deployed for the relocation had all been issued. “You’re right, their sun will be up in less than an hour--and trust me, you do not want to be walking around out there, even with a radiation suit on.”

“How far into the field do you think we have traveled?” Teyla asked after trying her radio and receiving only static.

“We didn’t detect it in our initial surface scans, and these readings seem to indicate it has a pretty small circumference--halfway, maybe? I tried to get as close to the strongest point as possible.” Rodney rummaged in the supply box closest to him and pulled out various MREs until he found a few of his favorites. The evacuation took place during nighttime, and it had been hours since he’d had more than a powerbar. “Would you like…” his voice trailed off mid-offer when Teyla’s eyes grew wide and her mouth twisted slightly. She looked like she was going to be sick, and he set the packages down and went to her, staying at a safe distance but still hovering close by.

“I am fine, Rodney,” Teyla assured him after a minute. She sat down and placed a trembling hand to her stomach, her face pale as she looked away from him. Rodney sank into the seat opposite her and fidgeted for a long moment, hating that he’d been the cause for her discomfort.

“Teyla, I’m so sorry--I know I’m not the best pilot, but you should have said something if it was making you sick! I’d have--I don’t know, concentrated harder, or--”

“It was not you, Rodney,” Teyla said with surprising forcefulness, her tone at odds with the gentle look on her face. He felt something twist in his stomach and recognized the warm weight of repressed longing he usually managed to keep hidden from her. On some levels he’d allowed himself to acknowledge it--she was certainly attractive, as anyone on the base would agree, but there was a deeper intensity to her pull on him that was more than just her beauty and more than just the nature of their friendship. Teyla Emmagan was the only woman he knew who had formed her opinion of him separate from his achievements in science. That she valued his friendship despite this at once mystified and thrilled him.